It's finally summer! No more homework, studying, or exams. You finally have the summer to relax (unless you're like me and have to take summer classes), and the world is your oyster.
If you're like me, you'll be taking the time to catch up on sleep and find new books to read. While I can't assist you with the sleep part I can recommend a few good books to get your hands on.
1. Brooklyn
By: Colm Toibin
According to Good Reads, where it scored 3.6 out of 5 stars, "Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the hard years following World War Two. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America -- to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland" -- she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind. Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, who loves the Dodgers and his big Italian family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future. "
If you enjoy books about finding yourself and figuring out where you belong, Brooklyn is the novel for you.
2. Room
By: Emma Donoghue
Earning 4/5 stars on Good Reads, Room follows the story of five-year-old Jack and his Ma. "To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits. Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work. Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another."
This novel is unlike any other novel I have ever read. Your heart will race and you won't be able to turn the pages fast enough. Room is a 10/10 in my book.
3. Me Before You
By: Jojo Moyes
Me Before You tells the tale of an unlikely romance between a wheelchair bound man who previously used to be a world travel and a quirky girl who is content to stay in her small English town. This novel earned 4.3/5 stars on Good Reads.
"Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick. What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane. Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that. What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time."
This novel not only makes you anticipate the upcoming film, released on June 3, 2016, but it also makes you crave the next book, After You.
4. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
by: Cheryl Strayed
Wild tells the true story of a newly divorced woman who sets out on her own on a mission to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.
On Good Reads, where it earned 3.9/5 stars, the description of this nonfiction novel reads as, "At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone. Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her."
I will be the first to admit that the title and topic of this book did not initially intrigue me. I am not an outdoorsy girl, so reading about someone hiking the PCT did not sound appealing. But, after receiving it as a gift, I decided to give it a try. Let me tell you, after reading this novel, you'll feel like you can conquer the world.
5. Sharp Objects
By: Gillian Flynn
From the author of the fantastic novel, Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn brought us another dark and twisted tale. In Sharp Objects, a young woman returns to her hometown as a journalist to investigate a string of recent murders. But, when she reunites with her family, the mysteries continue to pile up.
This book received a 3.9/5 stars on Good Reads.
"WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart
Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.
NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg
Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.
HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle
As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming."
While you could say I enjoyed Gone Girl (I read the whole book in one day), I also thoroughly enjoyed Sharp Objects. It's even more dark and twisted than GG. If romance novels aren't for you, pick up Sharp Objects.
