Summer Days, Reading Away….

One of my favorite things to do is share book recommendations! In fact, when we decided that this week would be summer reading recs, I was super-excited. But when I sat down to write the post, I froze. How do I even begin to narrow down this list? THERE ARE SO MANY AWESOME BOOKS TO READ. But here are a few of my recent favorites. (And note, I’m not including THE COINCIDENCE OF COCONUT CAKE or COME AWAY WITH ME here, since I’ll be singing their praises shortly — but know that they are at the top of my READ THIS NOW list.)

wrathTHE WRATH AND THE DAWN, by Renee Ahdieh
Can’t get away? This amazing debut fantasy will offer the perfect escape. A Thousand And One Nights spin, it follows strong-willed and revenge-bent Shazi into the arms of death — quite literally — as she becomes the latest bride of Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan, a murderous prince. As the old story goes, she traps him a web of tales, and despite himself, he falls. The problem? So does she.

 

 

 

 

lastTHE LAST LEAVES FALLING, by Sarah Benwell
Moody, melodic, and utterly captivating, Benwell’s debut follows Abe Sora, a Japanese boy afflicted with ALS, as he looks for faith and friendship as he faces his own mortality at the young age of 17. A smart, conflicted protagonist, Abe’s story will leave you sobbing, but it’s a cathartic, uplifting story at one boy’s decision to live life — and to die — on his own terms.

 

 

 


paintedUNDER A PAINTED SKY, by Stacey Lee
Forget Thelma and Louise, Sam and Andy are the real deal. It’s 1849, and Samantha is in deep trouble. She’s just killed a man in a courageous act of self-defense, and goes on the run with escaped slave Annamae by her side. The pair disguise themselves as men and head across the country to California gold country, fighting for their lives—and each other. Adventure, survival, romance, and, above all, friendship are at the heart of this gorgeous work of YA historical fiction.

 

 

princessXI AM PRINCESS X, by Cherie Priest
Best friends May and Libby shared everything — including Princess X, a sword-wielding, dragon-slaying heiress they invented together. But when tragedy struck, May lost Libby — and Princess X with her. Three years later, May discovers an entire fandom dedicated to Princess, but the story has shifted, and things don’t quite add up. Could it be a clue? Fun, fast-paced and vividly drawn, this is a tale of friendship and loss, of kicking butt and slaying dragons, real and imagined.

 

 

 

Author: Sona Charaipotra

An entertainment and lifestyle journalist published by The New York Times, People, ABC News, MSN, Cosmopolitan and other major national media, SONA CHARAIPOTRA currently curates a kickass column on YA books and teen culture for Parade.com. A collector of presumably useless degrees, she double-majored in journalism and American Studies at Rutgers before getting her masters in screenwriting from New York University (where her thesis project was developed for the screen by MTV Films) and her MFA from the New School. When she's not hanging out with her writer husband and two chatter-boxy kids, she can be found poking plot holes in teen shows like Twisted and Vampire Diaries. But call it research: Sona is the co-founder of CAKE Literary, a boutique book development company with a decidedly diverse bent. Her debut, the YA dance drama Tiny Pretty Things (co-written with Dhonielle Clayton), is due May 26 from HarperTeen. Find her on the web at SonaCharaipotra.com or CAKELiterary.com.

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