It's time for Summer Reading!
- Charity Harvey
- Jun 5, 2025
- 6 min read
It is time for Summer Reading, ya'll!
Has anyone got their summer reads picked out? I do have an ever growing wishlist, but I am procrastinating once again and haven't started it yet! But I will be reading again soon.
During my time working at the library, I always tried to encourage children and their parents to read over the summer! I don't know if anyone still uses this phrase, but we used to call it the "summer slide" because most kids stop reading if they don't have homework, and lose some of their reading skills before returning to school in the fall. So we always had a Summer Reading Program with fun events and reading challenges with prizes to keep kids reading! My local library still does this, and I encourage you to check yours out and see what fun summer programs you can enroll in! If that's not for you, there are also reading challenges on Goodreads you can set for yourself. My goal on Goodreads this year is to read 12 new books, one for each month.
I got the opportunity to be part of my local library's Summer Reading kickoff! They hosted literacy carnivals at all of our local branches to get everyone signed for Summer Reading. I was amazed at the turnout and everything they had planned! There were bouncy houses, cotton candy, ice pops and slushies, face painting, and more. And I got to set up a booth! See how fun your local library can be? You definitely need to find yours and keep up with their programs!
Part of my booth was showcasing this very blog and some of my most recommended reads. We had the perfect weather for it, though I did help myself to an ice pop (it was still pretty hot, don't judge me!) and ended up with a farmer's tan, but I know all the kids had a blast. I was able to host a book review contest and give away free bookmarks. I made the bookmarks myself, which is always fun! My favorite was one with a cat on the front (of course)! I will include pictures of it as well.
Hopefully, you all already have some books picked out to read during your leisure time over the summer. Most people want something easy going, not too serious, and light hearted for their summer reads. So I thought I would take this time to include a couple of my favorite, easy, exciting reads!
Who doesn't like a good mystery or thriller? This one is great, and so are a lot of other titles by this author! Although it was published quite a few years ago (2013 to be exact) it is still a great summer read! It is a shorter book at around 200 pages, so I was able to read it in one day; even if it had been longer I think I would have finished it in one day because it was that good! Great for reading on the beach or chilling on the couch with the tv going.
I do not want to spoil anything so I'll keep it vague. You get to solve the mystery along with the main character; the author does not tell the reader what's going on. So our main character wakes up on the first page with amnesia; she doesn't even know her name. We have to discover everything along with her, which I really liked! It kept me turning the pages because I just had to figure out what in the world was going on.
Quick list of pros and cons:
Pros--quick read, lots of action. Plot that's not too "over the top". (It does feel slightly mission impossible at some points, but hey, it wouldn't be an exciting thriller without it.) Fairly clean read, I only remember one curse word in the whole book, and it wasn't a very strong one. It does have some descriptive fighting/torture sequences, but it's not graphic.
Cons--it is so short it's hard to "get to know" the characters. But this book isn't meant to be a series or emotionally driven, it's action/plot driven. The ending is a bit rushed, but I was ok with it.
Highly recommend to young adults/adults, especially if you like fast paced thrillers.
How about a romance? Everyone reads a romance it seems, during the summer.
I have to start off by saying this: I hate contemporary young adult romance. Some of you just gasped in shock. I have only read a couple that I enjoyed, but even those have not been my one of my favorite books. I went into this thinking "maybe this will be a little cutesy book that I'll start and maybe not finish", and let me tell you I was wrong. I was blown away. I LOVE this book, it is one of my favorite books of ANY genre. I don't want to spoil things because there is a mystery to this book, so first I'm going to let you read the book description, courtesy of goodreads:
Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is go back home.
But then she is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires her, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.
People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.
Things I loved:
1) The characters. Carolina or "Lina" as she is called in the story is so likeable. Her narration is natural, doesn't read too young and flows well. Even though she is narrating I felt like a connection with all of the other characters too.
2) The setting. Italy. I was worried that it would come off as WAY too cheesy for a romance novel, but the author portrayed it beautifully. We saw it through the eyes of someone who wants to love the place because, well it is ITALY, but she is also in so much pain from losing her mom. At first she can't enjoy it. But Lina changes throughout the story, and we get a "tourist" view of Italy without over romanticizing it. But we do get to see how places in Italy can mean so much and be so beautiful.
3) It's clean. By clean I mean no foul language and innocent romance scenes. Nothing goes beyond kissing, which is so nice and refreshing for a young adult novel! I think the author did an amazing job portraying that first love; innocent and awkward. We get to see a real relationship develop, not a shallow romance based on looks and physical stuff.
4) IT WAS SO CUTE. The gelato, the characters, the kisses. Cuteness overload and not in a bad way, it was perfect. Also be prepared to want gelato and ice cream as you're reading.
5) The mystery. You as the reader AND Lina figure out some parts together, and the rest sort of comes at you like, "what? Didn't have that part figured out." The mystery was a game changer for me in this book. The book was cute and adorable, but the mystery her mother left behind kept me reading until I finished in hours. You only get a little bit at a time, so you have to finish the book to reveal everything! It made this book stand out from every other YA romance I've ever read. Kudos to the author.
So, as you embark on your summer adventures, remember to pack a book (or three)! Here's to a fabulous start to your summer, and as always, happy reading!
