It’s Fall Break! I know my students are ready for a little post-midterm breather and I’m sure you are too.
As if Mother Nature knew it was time for us to cuddle up and relax a bit, the weather turned more fall-like today in Oklahoma.
The break coupled with the cooler temperatures make this weekend the perfect time to curl up with a book.
A lot of my students claim they love reading, but say they have a difficult time keeping up with their class readings, let alone read anything for pleasure during the regular semester. Fall Break gives us a good excuse to grab a soft blanket, a hot beverage and curl up on the sofa or in our favorite chair to read.
The only problem is deciding what to read. A lot of you aren’t really used to picking what you read, since so much of your time is spent reading what is required. Have no fear! I’m here to help.
Here are my 12 recommendations of books you should consider reading during your relaxation time.
My Sunshine Away
Everything changed in the Baton Rouge neighborhood in the summer of 1989. That’s when Lindy Simpson, 15, was raped while riding her bike home one evening.
The story of how things changed (and sometimes how they did not) after Lindy’s rape is told through the eyes of the boy who lives across the street and who loves her. He also was a suspect in her rape.
M.O. Walsh‘s storytelling in My Sunshine Away was incredible, the characters were vivid and I just had to know how it ended. So much so that I stayed awake long after my bedtime reading until my eyes blurred. That’s my sign of a good book.
Saving Grace
Saving Grace by Jane Green is about novelist Ted Chapman and his trophy wife, Grace. The couple seems to live a fairy tale life, despite Ted’s rages that no one knows about. But, when Grace hires a new assistant, she finds herself questioning her marriage, her reputation and her sanity. The question becomes how much the new assistant, Beth, has to do with Grace’s problems.
I changed my mind about Grace’s issues several times while reading this book and still was surprised by the end. That’s some strong plot development.
Lacy Eye
Lacy Eye is about a couple, Joe and Hanna, and their daughters, Dawn and Iris.
Iris is the stereotypical beautiful, popular teen. She’s the daughter Joe and Hanna don’t have to worry about.
Dawn is plain, awkward and frequently teased at school. She’s the daughter that gives the couple constant worry.
The couple is happy when Dawn seems to be settling in at college, and they hope she’s finally found a place where she fits in. They are less-than-impressed when Dawn brings her boyfriend, Rud, home for her sister’s wedding. There is just something off about the first man in their daughter’s life, although they try not to focus the possibility that they can’t figure out why someone so handsome would be with Dawn.
After a Thanksgiving dispute among the four, Hanna and Joe are attacked in their home. Joe is killed and Hanna is beaten severely, causing a head injury and memory loss. Rud is convicted of the crime and, while Dawn initially is thought to be involved, she is not indicted by a grand jury.
When Rud is given an appeal, Dawn returns home to live with her mother, who desperately tries to remember what happened that night so she can keep Rud in jail and exonerate her daughter for good.
I read Lacy Eye in a single day. It was one of those books that I just couldn’t put down. The writing was wonderful, and the plot kept me questioning the final outcome. When I reached the end of the book, I was dealt a few new surprises, which I absolutely love. In a time when it seems like there are few new storylines, Jessica Treadway introduced one.
Finding Jake
Simon Connolly doesn’t know what to think about his son, Jake. He responds in a frenzied panic when he learns that shots were fired at the high school his son and daughter attend. When he arrives at the school, he finds out that his daughter is safe, but teens are dead and Jake is the only living suspect.
Finding Jake by Bryan Reardon tells the story of the Connolly family (through the eyes of Simon Connolly) as they try to locate Jake before the police do and struggle with their beliefs of his guilt or innocence.
I wasn’t aware until after I finished the novel and gave it a perfect rating that Finding Jake is Reardon’s first novel. I was taken immediately with the quality of writing in the book.
Every Last Word
Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone is about Samantha McAllister, a popular high school junior working overtime to keep up the careful facade she created. What no one but family (and her therapist) knows about Samantha is that she has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Her disorder causes repetitive, obsessive behaviors, but also abnormal amounts of worry, much of which is unfounded.
One of Samantha’s realistic worries is that her life-long group of popular girlfriends would ostracize her if they found out about her illness. So, Samantha obsesses about keeping them from learning the truth.
When Sam meets Caroline, she discovers that maybe she’s better off without the popular girls and that she can find real friends elsewhere. For the first time in her life, Sam begins to feel normal and connected with her new friends in Poets Corner. But Sam learns that her new best friend is anything but normal.
Being a teenager is difficult. I can only imagine that being a teenager with an emotional disorder is even more difficult. Sam was a relatable character. You want to see her “win” and rally for her throughout the book.
Every Last Word joins The Fault In Our Stars and The Perks of Being a Wallflower on my list of young adult must reads.
Inside the O’Briens
Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova is about Joe O’Brien, a 44-year-old Boston police officer and father of four. Joe is diagnosed with Huntington’s, a neurodegenerative disease with no treatment or cure. What’s worse is that each of his children has a 50 percent chance of also having the disease.
The book is the story of the O’Brien family and how they each learn to cope with Joe’s worsening health and the possibility of their own disease.
As Night Falls
As Night Falls by Jenny Milchman had a plot that sounded similar to scary movies I’ve seen and episodes of Dateline that I’ve watched.
Sandy and Ben Tremont have just finished eating dinner in their secluded, state-of-the-art cabin when two escaped convicts walk into their kitchen. As Ben tries to fight the men, Sandy’s goal is keeping them unaware of the couple’s 15-year-old daughter, Ivy, who pouted in her room instead of joining them for dinner. But Ben is badly injured in the fight and Sandy can’t keep Ivy a secret for long, despite the other secrets we learn she has kept from her family.
Those secrets are the little plot twists that had me holding my eyelids up so I could stay awake and finish the book.
When I finished As Night Falls, I added every book Milchman wrote to my reading list.
Easy
Easy by Tammara Webber is the first book in the Contours of the Heart series. I don’t usually enjoy series, and I’m not sure I’ll read the other books, but I’m glad I read the first one.
I found Easy on a list of books about rape culture. It begins with Jacqueline, a college student, leaving a party and being attacked by her ex-boyfriend’s fraternity brother. That’s how she meets Lucas, the rebellious barista she’s never noticed in her economics class. He saves her from her attacker. Of course, we want Jacqueline and Lucas to get together right from the beginning. I mean, he saved her from the most terrifying thing most of us can imagine. But, in the end, we learn that they really have the ability to save each other.
Easy could be described as young adult, although the content is a bit mature for that genre. It reads in the adolescent tone of a YA novel. I loved this book because the characters are relatable and it’s about college students. It also addresses the difficult issue of rape and rape culture in a realistic, responsible way.
Remember Mia
Estelle Paradise wakes up in a hospital severely injured and missing and ear. As she comes to, Estelle remembers that her infant daughter, Mia, is missing. But she doesn’t remember anything aside from finding Mia’s crib empty and Mia and her things (diapers, clothes, bottles, etc.) gone.
Estelle, who suffered from postpartum depression that she tried unsuccessfully to hide, is the police’s primary suspect. Witnesses come forward who have seen her acting strangely toward the colicky Mia.
To clear her name and find her daughter, Estelle must recover her memory, but she’s not certain she wants to because the truth may be more than she can handle.
I loved the unique storyline in Remember Mia by Alexandra Burt. It kept me entertained and wondering what would happen next. I also didn’t guess the outcome until I was almost done with the book.
Paper Towns
Paper Towns by John Green is the story of 17-year-old Quentin Jacobsen, who has been in love with his next-door neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman, since they were children. But Margo is one of the popular girls and Quentin is a nerd, making theirs one of those relationships that ended after childhood.
Margo shows up at Quentin’s window one night a few weeks before graduation and they spend a night playing pranks on the popular students who have wronged Margo.
Just when Quentin thinks things may have changed between them, Margo disappears. In his search to find her, Quentin discovers that Margo wasn’t as happy as he previously thought and he doesn’t know her as well as he believed.
I generally love John Green’s novels, so it wasn’t surprising that I liked this one too. If you’re interested in reading some of Green’s other books, here are my reviews:
My Sister’s Grave
Tracy Crosswhite is tough. Being a detective doesn’t phase her because she’s already been through the most difficult experience she’ll ever have.
Tracy watched 20 years ago as her younger sister, Sarah, pulled away in her red truck, never to be seen again.
Edmund House, a convicted rapist, later was jailed for Sara’s murder. Sara’s body was never found, and the evidence used to convict House never sounded quite right to Tracy. She left her hometown filled with bad memories and became a detective, hoping to give other families the closure hers never got.
When Sara’s remains are discovered, Tracy is more convinced than ever that something isn’t right about the case against House. She fears the wrong man is in prison and her sister’s killer is running free.
As she searches for the truth, Tracy discovers that the heartache she experienced losing Sara was just the beginning.
My Sister’s Grave by Robert Dugoni was well written and had a unique storyline that kept me reading. I love it when I just consume a book because I can’t wait to know what happens next. I read Dugoni’s page turner in a single day, which says a lot about the story’s plot. If you like thrillers, you won’t want to miss this one.
What We Saw
My favorite books typically are not light-hearted or funny, in case you haven’t noticed yet. What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler is not an exception. The book, inspired by the Steubenville rape case, looks at how a terrible crime divides a community.
Kate Weston doesn’t remember much about the party at high school star basketball player John Doone’s house. She remembers taking shots with Stacey Stallard. She remembers her lifelong friend and another star basketball player, Ben Cody, driving her home. That’s about it.
Kate has a terrible hangover when she wakes up the next morning, but it’s nothing compared to the headaches, heartaches and stomach aches she’s soon to experience.
A photo begins circulating online of Stacey passed out over another basketball player’s shoulder. Then Stacey claims that four of the basketball players raped her.
It may not even be fair to say the town is divided since everyone sides with the men. They’re good boys from good families. They couldn’t possibly have done what Stacey claims.
But when Kate uncovers a video of the night that most people thought had been deleted, she finds out the truth about what happened and who all was involved. Then she has to struggle with what to do with the information.
Of course, I don’t expect you to read all of these books during Fall Break. I just wanted you to have options. I hope you find something on the list you enjoy.
As always, happy reading!
AnneBogel says
profkrg Now that is a list I can get behind.
Letthemuseflow says
MeghanMBiro profkrg Brilliant! And so much better – books are the ultimate comfort for a tiring mind.
Ramikantari says
JRBuckley68 It just went live, crediting you, on my RebelMouse http://rbl.ms/1HziwnN
profkrg says
AnneBogel Thank you, Anne! You know I consider that a big endorsement. Have you read these?
AnneBogel says
profkrg I meant the subject line was after my heart. I’ve only read half of Genova’s: I’ve enjoyed her books but couldn’t handle that one.