With summer having finally arrived, it only seemed fitting to do a bit of a tribute post to what I hope to be a thing of the past for all of us. I'm talking about the summer reading packets we all received and absolutely dreaded to complete, flipping through those pages in hopes of finding anything that remotely grabbed our attention. With a great trip down memory lane — and consulting friends — I've compiled a short list of the most popular and memorable summer reading books within the 2000s.
Come on, you know you read them... or read a summary of them!
1. The ENTIRE Harry Potter series
These books were plastered EVERYWHERE back in the day. If you were anything like me, who had (and still has) absolutely no interest in this series, you have to admit you read a few of these books to fulfil your summer reading requirements and see what the hype was all about.
2. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
I don't believe I'm generalizing when I say that every pre-teen girl has read this book at least once. It was the typical coming-of-age novel that dealt with things we were all too embarrassed to discuss out loud (i.e. sex, experiencing your first period, going through puberty, receiving your first bra) and that also sort-of replaced that awkward talk with your mom.
3. A Child Called "It"
I'm still not completely sure how we were allowed to read such a graphic, heartbreaking book at such a young age. Author Dave Pelzer details the abuse he suffered through as a child and, to this day, I still have nightmares about the acts mentioned throughout.
4. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The ORIGINAL #squadgoals. While sharing clothes with your best friends was already typical, this book had you planning trips to Greece with your girlfriends at about age 11 with no concept of money or travel in the least.
5. Something by William Shakespeare
Found within the section of the summer reading packet that was always ignored because it was uninteresting or difficult. And, let's be honest here, anyone who said they read one of these books was either a genius or lying their ass off with a Sparknotes or Cliff's Notes tab opened.
6. Stargirl
About a decade and a half before The Weeknd released his hit album Starboy, Jerry Spinelli released his book Stargirl. I vaguely remember this book being about a girl who dressed and behaved differently than everyone else and a boy having a crush on her. Come to think of it now, I believe I only got halfway through this book before I gave up and Sparknotes'd the rest of it. Sorry, Mrs. Renz!
7. A Series Of Unfortunate Events
To this day, this is still one of my favorite book series. I mean, who doesn't love a satiric story about three young siblings who find themselves recently orphaned and trying to escape the clutches of their "uncle" Count Olaf, who - 18 year old spoiler alert! - isn't actually their uncle and is simply after their inheritance money?
8. The Twilight Saga
I don't know how I almost forgot to include this, as if I didn't read all four books about three times. Everywhere you looked in the classroom there was someone with one of these books in hand. Cue the extreme Team Edward/Team Jacob debates. (Team Jacob was the obvious winner, just so you all know.)
