My Summer Reading Adventures

Boy was this summer a whirlwind. I spent lots of time working in my garden, exercising and doing yoga, traveling, and (of course) reading.

I'm so excited that I was able to reach my reading goal of 20 books this summer. In fact, I read 27! It was a great combination of fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, and audio books. Did any stand out? Of course!

Here are my Top 5:

I loved Kelly Yang's last book, Front Desk. In fact, everyone loved it here at JMS because it won our 2021 Golden Jaguar! This time Ms. Yang tells the story of a family that is living in China when COVID begins to sweep across the country. In order to try to evade the virus, the family moves to San Francisco. Little do they know a pandemic is not far behind.

Samira and her family have escaped persecution in Burma and are now refugees struggling to carve out a new life in Bangladesh. One of the things that brings Samira joy in the face of all of the restrictions put on girls in her new home, is surfing. She's got a real gift. Based on actual events, this story is as delightful as sit is inspiring.

This is such a fun super heroine origin story. Superhero Girl struggles to balance fighting crime and her day job (she sometimes forgets to remove her mask). She's a quirky chick with a big heart. If you love Ms. Marvel this might be one for you.

Hazel dreams of being a medical student. She loves creating her own experiments and pours over her tattered anatomy text. But could she ever become a proper doctor as a girl? Would anyone train her or even be willing to become a patient? Hazel's world turns topsy-turvy after being discovered dressed as a boy in one of her first classes, and then she finds herself smack in the middle of a murder mystery. Will she survive?

This is one of my favorites of 2022.

I don't know where to start with this one. It is awesome. In fact, Within These Wicked Walls just might be my favorite female driven YA horror story ever. It's creepy, unsettling, filled with suspense, and even has a bit of a love story. It is the perfect illustration of why reading "classics" is so important since this is essentially an Ethiopian-inspired fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. If you want a great spooky story as we inch towards Halloween than this is a perfect candidate.

And that's it. What a great way to spend my summer. Fun stories and sunshine. I can hardly wait until next year. Until then, I have lots more reading, listening, and sharing to do.

Happy reading!

Ms. Anderson