Summer Reading Roundup Part 1

Summer is here and it has been bliss. The first bit of it has been crowded with some family vacations, but I am back now and reading to sink into a routine of reading and all the rest of my cozy hobbies. Since I last posted, I finished a few more books and wanted to jot down a few thoughts.

 

Girl Mans Up by M-E Giraud follows eighteen year old Pen as she navigates through her way through her last bit of high school as a masculine lesbian. She meets a girl she's head over heels for the pair start dating. She faces difficulties, however, from her traditional-minded parents and insensitive peers. This story featured excellent representation and diversity. It was a heartfelt and realistic look at what LGBTQIA+ teens often go through.  4/5 stars.

The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr follows seventeen-year-old Flora Banks, a girl with no short term memory. She has not been able to form new memories since she was a small child and lives with her extremely protective parents. When she unexpectedly forms a new memory with a boy she likes, Flora becomes determined to reconnect with him, no matter how far outside her comfort zone she has to push herself. In doing so, she begins to uncover some truths about her situation that she didn't remember and understand what she is capable of doing, despite her difficult situation. This was a very unique and engaging read. It was well-written and very interesting. I enjoyed it quite a bit. 4/5 stars.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell is a romcom novel follows a young man named Lincoln who is hired as a night shift IT assistant at a newspaper. Part of his job involves monitoring employee emails. In the course of his work, he begins taking an interest in the emails exchanged by two employees, Beth and Jennifer. They send irreverent, funny, and heartfelt messages back and forth about their lives. Lincoln, rather than sending them a warming about the frivolous use of their work email, begins reading the emails nightly. He finds himself falling in love with Beth through her writing, but he doesn't know how to make a relationship between them work, given his somewhat creepy and awkward way of getting to know her. I thought this novel was pretty cute and I did enjoy reading it. As usual, Rainbow Rowell's writing is sharp and funny. It's an older book. so some of her jokes haven't aged particularly well, but overall I liked her writing style. The idea of someone reading your email for months and then approaching you with romantic interest is inherently problematic, but I think Rowell addresses it fairly well in the story. This was a cute read if you don't think too hard about it. 3/5 stars.

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour follows a young woman named Marin that lives with her grandfather on the California coast. As the story begins, we learn that Marin went through some sort of traumatic event at home and abruptly left for college in New York. She didn't take anything with her and hasn't spoken to anyone from her old life since. She is clearly very deeply hurt and struggling to function normally at school. As the plot develops further, we learn more details about what happened and watch Marin try to come to terms with her part any move forward. This book is definitely better if you head into it without knowing specific details, so I won't spoil any here. I thought this book was very touching and engaging. Definitely worth the read. 4/5 stars.

So that wraps up my latest reading. I'll be back with the rest of my summer reading in a later post. I hope everyone is having a happy and relaxing summer!

2024 Reading Challenges Tally:

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 12/30

Clear the Shelves 2024: 12