July Reading Wrap-Up: A whole lotta magic…

July Rewind

I’m already missing summer! The first day back for teachers in my district was July 29, which means no more lounging around and reading books all day or watching anime. The dread typically starts to set in the first week of July, so I made sure to make the best of my last few weeks of freedom. Hit that ‘Continue Reading’ button below to see my quick thoughts on my July reads.

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Book Review: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #1)

  • Original Title: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
  • Edition: Paperback, 420 pages
  • Published: August 7, 2014 by Scholastic
  • Characters: Lara Jean Song, Katherine “Kitty” Song, Margot Song, Peter Kavinsky, Josh Sanderson
  • Rating: 2/5

Synopsis: Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. One for every boy she’s ever loved. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control…

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Book Review: The Art of Being Normal

The Art of Being Normal: A Novel

Synopsis: David Piper has always been an outsider. His parents think he’s gay. The school bully thinks he’s a freak. Only his two best friends know the real truth: David wants to be a girl.

On the first day at his new school Leo Denton has one goal: to be invisible. Attracting the attention of the most beautiful girl in his class is definitely not part of that plan. When Leo stands up for David in a fight, an unlikely friendship forms. But things are about to get messy. Because at Eden Park School secrets have a funny habit of not staying secret for long , and soon everyone knows that Leo used to be a girl.

As David prepares to come out to his family and transition into life as a girl and Leo wrestles with figuring out how to deal with people who try to define him through his history, they find in each other the friendship and support they need to navigate life as transgender teens as well as the courage to decide for themselves what normal really means.

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Book Review: Crushed

Crushed

  • Original Title: Crushed by Laura and Tom McNeal
  • Edition: Paperback, 336 pgs.
  • Published: June 10, 2014 by Ember
  • Characters: Audrey Reed, Wickham Hill, Clyde Mumsford
  • Rating: 2/5

Synopsis: Audrey and her two best friends have just transferred to Jemison High from their tiny private school. They’re a nerdy little trio, so everyone is shocked when the handsome new guy, Wickham Hill, asks Audrey out. Audrey is so smitten that she doesn’t pay much attention to The Yellow Paper, a vicious underground school newspaper…until it threatens to tell a tale that could change everything.

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Book Review: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

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