May and June Reading Wrap-Up

May and June Wrap-Up!

My summer book binge is in full swing y'all! I have read (insert number) books this summer and I am not stopping any time soon! I haven't been picking up the best books sadly, but one of my reading goals this year was to get the number of books on my tbr (to-be-read) shelf significantly down and I really have! At the beginning of this year I think my tbr shelf had about 50 books on it and now it is down to 25ish. I have incorporated a couple new methods to getting my tbr shelf down that have been helping me pick up books that I normally wouldn't. I participated in the Cramathon read-a-thon in June with my stepsister, O. I also started a tbr jar, where I wrote slips of paper with all of my unread books and put them in a mug and have been drawing out books to help me pick up books when I'm not sure what I want to read next. I am so pumped to see what the rest of the summer has in store for reading and hopefully I will get have some 5-star ratings!
P.S. I know I didn't do a wrap-up for April, but I only read two books and they were for school, so it wasn't worth a whole blog post about them, but they were Angelhead by Greg Bottoms and The Truth Matters by Bruce Bartlett. ~Em

 This was the last of the books I had to read for my Senior Seminar class. Our final project was to write a dialogue about a topic we were passionate about. I did mine on the importance of using cruelty-free products! The subtitle pretty much explains what the author does in this book. It was a quick, easy read that is relatable to our current state in society. Rating: 4/5

 This book came as a complete surprise to me. I got it when Hastings went out of business and just let it sit on my shelf for over a year. I ended up absolutely loving it! The book follows a boy named Casper, who is the only human in a world where every living person has an "extra-human trait." But then he meets Evee and she helps him discover that he does actually have an EHT. However, Evee learns from someone with the ability to see into the future that when she meets this boy, it will end in tragedy. Rating: 5/5 

 Megan Miranda is the author of one of my favorite books of all time, so I was excited to pick up this one, but sadly I was disappointed by it. All the Missing Girls is about Nicolette. She abandoned her hometown after her best friend, Corinne, went missing. 10 years after the incident, Nicolette's brother calls her to tell her that their father isn't doing well and they need to sell the house. Shortly after she gets there, another girl goes missing and Nicolette's past begins to resurface. The twists did surprise me, and this honestly could have gotten a higher rating, but I absolutely DESPISED the ending. Rating: 3/5

 This is the sequel to Teardrop that I read last August. I didn't love how this duology ended, but it was an enjoyable read. I don't want to spoil it so check out my August wrap-up from last year to see what the first book is about. Rating: 3/5

 Last year I read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and I loved it! I had heard such rave reviews about Speak and they were right, so I thought I would really like other things written by Anderson too. Well, I really did not like this book. It's about a boy named Tyler, who has always been a loser. However, after he gets arrested for vandalizing school property, people start to see him as a bad boy. The most popular girl in school starts to like Tyler and he goes to a party with her, but after the party, some nude photos of her are leaked and everyone thinks that Tyler took them. This book used some slang that I was not a fan of and it seemed like the author was trying too hard to write a teenage boy so she made him overly raunchy. Rating: 3/5

 I was really surprised by this book! It's a dystopian novel, which I didn't think I would like that genre anymore but I really did! It follows Rhine, who was taken from her hometown to become a bride for a rich man. She was forced to leave her twin brother, Rowan, and is determined to escape to find him. Rating: 4/5

 As some of y'all may know, I am trying to read more classics, because it is my least favorite genre. A while back I found a list titled "How To Be Well-Read: 45 Short Novels" and it has a lot of classic novels on it. So I have been slowly working my way through the list. I didn't like As I Lay Dying as much as I thought I would honestly. But then again, classics are not my cup of tea. It's about the Bundren family. Addie Bundren has one dying request and that is to be buried in Jefferson where her family is from. After she passes away, her husband and children are bound to keep her wish but face many struggles to get her there. Rating: 3/5

This one was a re-read for me so I could read the second book in this duology. I used to really love Ellen Hopkins books. I think I liked them a lot because they deal with grown up topics and as a middle school/junior high student I thought I was super cool. Recently I haven't liked them as much, but this reread went really well. It follows three teens who have all attempted and failed at committing suicide. They are all sent to a rehab center where they try to work their way through therapy to get back into society. Rating: 4/5

The House of Night series is one of my all-time favorites. I don't know if I would have the same feelings if I re-read the series, but I picked up this graphic novel that kind of re-imagines some of the scenes from the books. It was my first time reading a graphic novel and I'm not super sure how I feel about it. It was really fun to jump back in with my favorite characters, but I'm not sure that I really liked the art style. Rating: 3/5

This was the sequel to Impulse that I read. It is about some of the friends and relatives of the characters in the first book. Unfortunately I did not like this one as much as Impulse. I have a read time enjoying books that basically tell the same story from different perspectives in series. Rating: 3/5

I know I am SUPER late to the John Green train, but I read TFIOS for the Cramathon for the challenge of "A book that has been on your tbr for a really long time." I truly thought I was going to hate this book, but I can honestly say that I enjoyed my reading experience. I don't think this book was wonderful and pivotal and I didn't fall head over heels for Augustus and Hazel's relationship. I am very glad I read this as a college grad as opposed to as a junior high student back when it was popular, because there were many references I understood that I know I would not have back then. Rating: 4/5

Nimona is a graphic novel about a shapeshifter who attempts to disguise herself as a sidekick when she is actually a monster. She joins forces with a villain to take down the Institution because they are the truly evil forces. I liked the art style and there were several very goofy, laugh-out-loud moments. I read this during Cramathon for the challenge of "a non-traditional novel." Rating: 4/5

I chose this book during Cramathon for the challenge of "an own voices book with LGBTQIAP+ rep" which means a book with a character(s) who identify as members of the LGBTQIAP+ community, written by someone who also identifies in that community. I read another book by Adam Silvera earlier this year and liked it a lot, but I did not feel the same way about this one. In this book, Aaron has had a tough life. His dad committed suicide and even though he has a wonderful girlfriend, he can't help falling for a new guy named Thomas. Things start to crumble more for Aaron and he seeks the help of a memory-repressing company called Leteo. Rating: 3/5

Literary Witches was a gift from AA and it has great art and little tidbits of information about famous female authors. I read this during Cramathon for "a book out of your comfort zone." This is a nonfiction book which is one of my least favorite genres, but it helped that there was beautiful art and short paragraphs about each of the authors. Rating: 4/5

I read this book during Cramathon for the challenge of "a book with your favorite color on the cover." It is a short little contemporary mystery book about Alison who comes from a line of rich people. One day her mom is arrested and it becomes national news. Her cousin/best friend betrays her and Alison begins to feel like she is losing everything. I probably would have rated this book lower, but the cliffhanger/twist at the end really caught me by surprise and I am excited to continue on with the series. Rating: 3/5

I got really interested in reading A Wrinkle in Time when the movie came out earlier this year (or late last year, I don't remember.) It's a children's classic and I was intrigued by the plot. I think the premise is very interesting and I think I would have liked it more, but I was so annoyed by the main character, Meg. The book follows Meg and her brother, Charles Wallace, on the hunt for their father, with the help of some witchlike entities. I started AWIT during Cramathon for the challenge of "a predicted 5-star read," but sadly it did not earn a 5-star rating from me and I didn't finish all of the challenges for Cramathon because I didn't get to read much while I was in Disney. Rating: 3/5

This was another dystopian book that surprised me. It's set in a world where most of the US has been destroyed by natural disaster or war, so, many teens under 15 are sent to schools "for their safety." Louis, the main character, and her best friend, Maddie, are sent to the Country Manor School, but on their way there they meet a girl named Evelyn believes that it's all a scheme. Weird things start happening when the girls arrive to the school and they have to learn how to survive. Rating: 4/5

 Right after I read the first book in this series I went ahead and picked up the second one. It follows the perspective of Rosie, one of the roommates from the first book. I can't say much else or it would be major spoilers, but I enjoyed this one more than I enjoyed the first. Rosie is a strong character and it is nice to follow her no bs point of view. Rating: 4/5

This was another book from the "How To Be Well-Read: 45 Short Novels" list. Miss Jean Brodie is a progressive teacher that always raises a group of students to subscribe to her ideals and be part of her "set." The book follows one particular set of Miss Brodie's girls as they go through school. The girls are particular interested in Miss Brodie's love life because instead of a normal teaching style, Miss Brodie tells them exciting stories about her life and her travels. This was a cute, funny book and I'm glad that I picked it up! Rating: 3/5