Summer Reading

Sometimes Make It Happen Monday doesn't need to be about cooking or baking or DIY projects; sometimes it's literally about making something happen. For weeks now, we've been saying that we need to see The Hunger Games movie while it was still in theaters, as this book series has been our stand out series of the summer. So finally we stopped making excuses for not seeing it, and made it happen! On Monday night we went to see The Hunger Games. I don't want to give much away if you haven't seen or read it yet, but it was a very fascinating, and pretty accurate interpretation of the book. We both really enjoyed the movie, and were not disappointed! 


Inspired by a great movie based on a great book, and our passion for reading, the Girls Team is here this week with summer reading recommendations. So pull up a lounge chair, apply some sunscreen and get reading! 

I'll let my mom, the library insider, take it from here:

My first recommendation is "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. After seeing this book and hearing the hype of this book for years now, I could not believe how much I enjoyed it. It was really well written and so hard to put down. Every chapter was a cliff hanger. I also enjoyed the movie. I thought they did a great job following the book.

I go on reading kicks when I read all kinds of books from a certain genre. Right now I am into Historical Fiction. Here are a few of my recent favorites:

"The Kitchen House" by Kathleen Grissom takes place in the late 1700's/early 1800's on a tobacco plantation in Virginia, and is centered around an Irish orphan girl who becomes a servant on the plantation and the slaves that become her family.

"The Island" by Victoria Hislop is the story of the people in a Greek village and the island off the coast where there is a leper colony. It is set in the 1930's to 1940's.

"The Last Letter From Your Lover" by JoJo Moyes starts in the 1960's when a woman who is suffering from memory loss after a car accident, finds a letter from a man (not her husband!) she seems to have been in love with. 

A couple more of my favorites from my Historical Fiction kick are: "The Dry Grass of August" by Anna Jean Mayhew; "Molokai" and "Honolulu" by Alan Brennert; and "The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford.

I recently read some great books that are not from the Historical Fiction genre, but I really liked them and think they would make a great summer read:

"The Language of Flowers" by Vanessa Diffenbaugh - The story of an 18 year old girl who grew up in foster care and now has to make her way on her own. "Defending Jacob" by William Landay - A respected District Attorney's middle school son is accused of killing a classmate. 


And finally, the book I plan to read this summer is "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton. I have heard nothing but great things about this book and yet it has been sitting on my bookshelf for 3 summers now!

Now let's go back to Casey for her summer must-reads!

My first recommendation is The Hunger Games series. When I first heard everyone was reading this book, I was immediately turned off. I'm not a fan of Science Fiction and I happen to be very skeptical of books with cult followings. But I finally caved, and when I did, there was no turning back. I read all three books in the series in a few short weeks. Competition, girl growing pains, love stories, fantasy, and yes even SciFi, make The Hunger Games one of the best book series I have ever read! 

Introduced to this book by my mom while she was in her Historical Fiction phase, I would also suggest reading "Moloka'i" by Alan Brennert. Set in Hawaii beginning in the late 1890's, this book chronicles the life of one little girl, Rachel, who is sent to the island of Moloka'i after being diagnosed with leprosy. This book is both heart wrenching and heart warming, as we watch Rachel grow from a girl to an old woman at the leper colony. I also really liked the book because my grandpa is from Hawaii and this story made me wonder if we had any ancestors who may have had similar situations as Rachel's family. 

"American Wife" by Curtis Sittenfeld was the best book I read last summer. Loosely based on the life of Laura Bush, this fictional story follows Alice Lindgren, born in the 1940's, as she grows up in the midwest, suffers a tragic accident and then is swept into the life of a powerful Republican family. Her husband's presidency forces Alice to come to terms with many contradictions between her public and personal lives, all of which kept me glued to the pages. 

"Live Wire" by Harlen Coben is another one of my recommendations. Harlen Coben is one of my favorite writers. I've read every book of his, and am always just as thrilled and shocked when it comes to an end. Mixing mystery with sarcasm and contemporary American life, Coben always takes his readers on a ride through kidnapping, murder, secrets and lies - all of which make his books entertaining and easy reads while floating in the pool :)

Lastly, I am recommending "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck, a true classic. Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors of all time, and although I haven't read this book since high school, I plan to re-read it this summer. While dense and dry to some, I find all of Steinbeck's works to be very complete and compelling tales of American life, still applicable to modern day. The reason I want to re-read this book is because I feel like the struggles and trials of the Joads, driven off their homeland during the Dust Bowl in search of opportunities and something better, would resonate now with what's currently going on in today's environmental and economic climate. 

A few more books I would suggest because I love them would be ANY book by Jodi Picault, "The Kitchen God's Wife" by Amy Tan, and for laugh out loud fun, "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" by Mindy Kaling (the actress who plays Kelly Kapour in NBC's The Office) and "Bossypants" by Tina Fey. 

We hope that our book recommendations inspire you to read new books this summer. And if you have any favorites, leave them in the comments section below so we can enjoy your suggestions too!