Favorite Books of the Summer

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Saenz is one of my all time favorite authors, so I was not surprised when I fell in love with his new book.  It’s about growing and discovering who you are and coming to terms with your dark side by accepting others.  I really admired that Saenz side-stepped the romance detours that I anticipated and instead wrote a book entirely about family.

The Golem and The Jinni by Helene Wecker

A historical fantasy novel that explore the culture of early 1900s New York immigrants through the experiences of a Jewish golem and Syrian jinni.  It’s incredibly well written, and our central characters reveal the beautiful balance between caution and passion, and how they need each other.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

This is a VERY fun story with excellent dialogue and rich teenagers traveling around historical Europe with pirates! highwaymen! alchemy!  In the midst of the madcap adventure fun, the book seriously deals with the historical consequences of sexuality, race, and illness.

The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz

Longtime fan of Gidwitz’s irreverent yet earnest tone (he wrote the excellent A Tale Dark and Grimm series), this book took his talent to a new level.  In a Canterbury Tales-esque setup, he creates a medieval children’s story that is ultimately a treatise on the theology of suffering.  Incredible.

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

Written from the perspective of a genderfluid teenager, this book seriously challenged my habit of categorizing humans, refusing to give any indication of Riley’s biological sex throughout.  Genderfluidity is something I know little about, and I was so grateful to step into the journey of Riley’s bullying, safe spaces, and self-acceptance.

Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud by Anne Helen Peterson

An excellent celebrity culture journalist, Peterson dives into the stories of numerous “unruly women” in society today, from Serena Williams to Nicki Minaj to Hillary Clinton. It’s very well researched and ultimately empowering, encouraging readers to be unruly themselves in pursuit of societal change.

No Baggage by Clara Bensen

This book is exactly my kind of pretentious – two well-off people meet on OK Cupid and a month later, they’re traveling Europe without a schedule.  It’s a relationship + travel + mental illness memoir, which are pretty much three of my favorite things.

Other Summer Books

• Caraval by Stephanie Garber (6/10)
• Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones (6/10)
• The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (5/10)
• Small Victories by Anne Lamott (8/10)
• The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig (6/10)
• Have His Carcase by Dorothy Sayers (8/10)
• A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (7/10)
• The Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan (7/10)
• Hallelujah Anyway by Anne Lamott (8/10)
• Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner (8/10)
• The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli (8/10)
• Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny (7/10)
• And We’re Off by Dana Schwartz (7/10)
• 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson (7/10)
• Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne by David Gaider (5/10)
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (8/10)
• Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones (7/10)
• The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg (7/10)
• The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (7/10)
• Chemistry by Weike Wang (6/10)
• SkyBreaker by Kenneth Oppel (9/10)
• Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler (4/10)
• The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones (7/10)
• The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu (8/10)
• The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile (7/10)
• The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard (9/10)
• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (8/10)
• When We Were on Fire by Addie Zierman (8/10)