The school year is nearly over. We’re rushing towards summer vacation at high speeds. What to read when summer arrives? Here’s a list of books and series that I personally think are good reads. Most of them can probably be found at Lincoln City Libraries, although occasionally there might be a few not found there.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: This book series will kick off the list. In five books, Rick Riordan leads you on a journey as Percy Jackson. Follow his journey across the country to, what else? Save the world from an evil Titan and his minions, assorted monsters and a couple of Percy’s fellow demigods, or half god half human. Action and fighting in every book, along with humor and inside jokes lasting long after the series ends. Sequel series: Heroes of Olympus.
The Wild Girls: You may remember this from sixth grade, because that’s how I found it. Mr. Plager had us read it in LA when I had him. Meet Joan, a middle school girl with an angry dad, stereotypical older brother, and welcome mat mother. She moves to California with her family. Now meet Sarah, who prefers to be called The Queen of the Foxes, a girl who lives with her father, a writer who looks like a biker, in the woods. Her mother ran off a long time ago, when Fox was still young. Join them as they go through the drama of middle school life, combined with Fox’s mom showing up at last, just to get a divorce so she can marry some new guy. As they meet the Circus of Chaos through a writing class, their lives seem to come together at last. Told from Joan’s point of view.
Not Just A Witch: (Description taken right from the flap) “Hecate Tenbury-Smith, who calls herself Heckie, is an animal witch. Even as a child she could give people whiskery snouts and thick black fur, and so her parents enrolled her in a school for witches–good witches, that is. Now, a recent graduate, Heckie is not just a witch, she’s a witch who means to make the world a better place. Heckie befriends a boy named Daniel and informs him of her mission to do good by turning bad people into animals. She envisions a band of Wickedness Hunters–children and witches united to rid Wellbridge of Wickedness. Using her ‘Knuckle of Power,’ she creates a familiar–a half-dragon, half-worm–that gets sick when it meets anyone evil. With the help of Daniel and the dragworm, Heckie performs many a good deed, such as turning the mean owner of a nasty nursing home into a warthog. But when Heckie falls in love with the conniving Lionel Knapsack, neither Daniel nor the dragworm can make her see that he is using her powers for his own gain. Will Daniel be able to foil his plan before hundreds of people become snow leopards and, even worse, Heckie’s heart is broken?” (Again, taken right from the flap)
Island of the Aunts: This book’s title is pretty straightforward. Three aging Aunts live on an island with their aging father, (Which is a nice way of saying pretty much older than dirt) and take care of the animals there. But of course, this is no ordinary island. This is the Island, where all creatures come to be healed by the Aunts, and by creatures, I mean everything from birds to seals to mermaids, that’s how cool this island is. They get an idea that they will need some replacements to help the creatures when the Aunts are too old to do it themselves, not adults though. Children. They set out and child snatch three children, Minette, Fabio, and a brat by the name of Lambert. Minette and Fabio love the island, and will do everything they can for the creatures there, but all Lambert wants to do is steal back his mobile telephone and get help. When Lambert’s dad finally finds his son, his greed is overwhelming. He steals every single magical creature that inhabits the island, so he can put them in zoos and get rich, including a very special someone who means quite a lot to a very important someone. (I am trying not to spoil anything for you guys)
What I Call Life: I haven’t finished this one yet and writing this article is dragging me away from it, but I guess that’s fine. I’m going to take this one’s plot summary straight from the flap again. “Cal Lavender is perfectly happy living her anonymous life, even if she does have to play mother to her own mother a whole lot more than an eleven-year-old should. But when Cal’s mother has one of her ‘unfortunate episodes’ in the middle of the public library, she is whisked off by the authorities, and Cal is escorted to a seat in the back of a police car. On, as she puts it, ‘just a short, temporary detour from what I call life,’ Cal finds herself in a group home with four other girls, watched over by a strange old woman everyone refers to as the Knitting Lady. At first Cal can think of nothing but how to get out of this nuthouse. She knows she doesn’t belong there. But it turns out that all the girls, and even the Knitting Lady, may have a lot more in common than they could have imagined.”
The Fairies of Nutfolk Wood: This one is taken from the flap also. “Welcome to Nutfolk wood, population 52. In the country town of Plunkit, where Willa and her mom start anew after her parents’ divorce, Willa catches sight of a strange sparkle by the creek and in the old woods. Her older-than-old neighbor, Hazel Wicket, has an amusing story about these surroundings and an imagined family of tiny people that inhabit a tree stump. Willa knows there’s no such thing as fairies,but when she spots more and more oddities around her, she can’t stop an itchy feeling that there’s some certainty to Hazel’s curious tales of the Nutfolk.” Sequel: Whistle Bright Magic.
Legend: Taken straight from the flap. Again. “Once known as the western coast of the United States, the Republic is now a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors, the Colonies. Born into an elite family in one of the Republics wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a military prodigy. Obedient, passionate, and committed to her country, she is being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest circles. Born into the slums of the Republic’s Lake Sector, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths–until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered, and Day becomes the prime suspect. Now, caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June tries desperately to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths to which their country will go to keep its secrets.” Other two books in the trilogy: Book two: Prodigy, and Book three: Champion.
