The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones Book Review

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy of this ebook!

Synopsis:

It’s the summer of 1955. For Ethan Harper, a biracial kid raised mostly by his white father, race has always been a distant conversation. When he’s sent to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle in small-town Alabama, his Blackness is suddenly front and center, and no one is shy about making it known he’s not welcome there. Except for Juniper Jones. The town’s resident oddball and free spirit, she’s everything the townspeople aren’t―open, kind, and full of acceptance.

Armed with two bikes and an unlimited supply of root beer floats, Ethan and Juniper set out to find their place in a town that’s bent on rejecting them. As Ethan is confronted for the first time by what it means to be Black in America, Juniper tries to help him see the beauty in even the ugliest reality, and that even the darkest days can give rise to an invincible summer.

My Review:

Be ready to cry your eyes out! This book gave me so many feels. Summer has always been my favorite season, and I think it’s partly because of all the epic adventures my siblings and I had with our cousins on our grandparents’ farm. Ethan and Juniper’s adventures reminded me of them.

The characters were so well-developed and vibrant, I felt like I was in the story with them. The lush summer descriptions of the lake and town added to the story’s charm. And the best part was, that despite dealing with some difficult things, in the end, the reader is left with a sense of hope for a better tomorrow.

Fans of Bridge to Terabithia and Tuck Everlasting will enjoy this book, as well as anyone who loves a great friendship story full of hope.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think?

 

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My Summer Reading Plans

Summer is finally here! It’s my favorite season, and everything seems a little better when the warm weather rolls around. It’s also a great time for reading – reading on vacation, reading outside, reading by the pool, reading at the beach – you get the idea. So I always have big reading plans for summer. Here are challenges I’ll be participating in this summer:

#30booksin3months hosted by Jessica Brody.  (Most posting for this is on Instagram.) This one is pretty simple. You have until Labor Day to read thirty books. Here’s where I’m at currently:

 

#SummerFun Bingo hosted by @fourthhouseontheleft and @staycurious over on Litsy. If you don’t know what Litsy is, check out my blog post about this social media platform here. This app is totally based on books, so if you’re an avid reader, you’re going to want to check it out.

My progress so far

My local library’s summer program:

Each week they are releasing new challenges. Here are the challenges so far:

1. Libraries Stand Against Racism. (reading The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas)
2. Library Summer Reading Booklist Challenge. (reading Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison)
3. Read a Book From a Different Perspective from your own. (reading Beautiful on the Outside: a Memoir by Adam Rippon)
4.  Seasonal Favorites (spring, summer, winter, or fall in the book title, reading The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones)
5. Read a Graphic Novel. (reading Anne Frank’s Diary: the Graphic Edition)

 

What about you? What are your summer reading plans? Are you participating in any summer reading challenges? Let me know in the comments!

Summer TBR – Top Ten Tuesday

I’m so excited about today’s Top Ten Tuesday theme because summer is my favorite season, and I love finding great books to read at the beach or by the pool. 🙂 Here are the ones I’ve chosen for this summer:

1. My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton – I’ve read books by both Jodi Meadows and Cynthia Hand and really enjoyed them, plus this is a Jane Eyre retelling, so it’s a must read for me.

2. Save the Date by Morgan Matson – I’ve had on my TBR for awhile, and it’s a perfect read for summer – with the wedding shenanigans and all.

3. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – My sister recommended this one, and I haven’t gotten around to reading it, though I’ve had it on my shelf a long time. I decided it’s time to read it.

4. For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig – I got this one at a book festival earlier this year. I met the author and got my copy signed, so I’m pretty psyched to read it.

5. The Jewel by Amy Ewing – This one has been on my shelf and my TBR for like years. So it’s high time I get to it.

6. The Beholder by Anna Bright – I got an advanced reader copy not too long before the book was released, and I loved the premise. Also, the author works at a local bookstore that hosts all kinds of great YA events.

7. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier – I’ve also had this one on my TBR awhile. I loved the movie, so I’m sure I’m going to really enjoy the book.

8. Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson – This whole series has been on my TBR for a long time as well. The premise sounds so intriguing, and every time I see it on my shelf I think “I need to read this,” so on the summer list it goes.

9. Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly – My summer list wouldn’t be complete without a mermaid tale. I meant to read this last summer, but didn’t get to it.

10. Lifeguard by James Patterson – I also got to have a good mystery on this list, and what’s more summery than a lifeguard?

In conjuction with these books, I’m also participating in the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge. If you haven’t heard about that yet, you can check it out here. And if you haven’t added me as a friend on Goodreads, you can do that here. I’m always looking for new bookish friends! 🙂

How about you? What are you reading this summer? Are you doing the Goodreads challenge? Let me know in the comments.

 

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Girl. To find out more about the top ten theme, or to join in the fun go here.

Let’s Be Mermaids Read-a-thon

So I found out about this read-a-thon on Instagram, and decided to give it a go. I’ve haven’t yet participated in a read-a-thon, but have been wanting to. I love the mermaid theme of this one, and since I already have several mermaid books on my summer TBR, it works out. 🙂

The read-a-thon runs August 5th -11th. There are video challenges as well as the reading challenges, but I’m going to be focusing on the reading challenges, as I don’t have a YouTube channel. You can find out all the details about the read-a-thon on the YouTube channel here.

So my TBR list for the read-a-thon includes:

1. The Surface Breaks by Louise O’Neill (the chosen group read for the read-a-ton)

2. Emerge by Tobie Easton (a recommendation from one of the hosts, Ashten, https://wonderlandiansbooks.wordpress.com/)

3. Submerge by Tobie Easton (the 2nd book in the Mer Chronicles)

4. Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman (a book that is also a movie)

5. Of Poseidon by Anna Banks (just another mermaid book on my TBR list 🙂 )

You can also follow the read-a-thon on Twitter and Instagram.

 

How about you? Are you participating in this read-a-thon? Or reading any mermaid books this summer? Let me know in the comments!

 

 

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday – Books for the beach/pool

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Girl. To find out more about the top ten theme, or to join in the fun go here.

Today’s theme is books to read at the beach/pool. I love summer and loved finding books to fit this theme. This is also my summer TBR list and it has lots of mermaid books. 🙂

These are also all books I own (except the last one) to help me work toward the #unreadshelfproject2018. You can find out more about that here.

1. Caraval – by Stephanie Garber. Everything I’ve heard about this book has been positive, and the synopsis sounds intriguing. The carnival theme also makes it perfect for a summer read.

2. Legendary – by Stephanie Garber. I thought the first books sounded so good, I went ahead and bought the second one too! 🙂

3. Daughter of a Pirate King – by Tricia Levenseller. I’ve had this book awhile -it came in one of my Owlcrate boxes. It also sounds really good, so I’m planning to read it sometime this summer.

4. Daughter of a Siren Queen – by Tricia Levenseller. Since I’m reading the first one, I have to read the sequel. Plus, this one has mermaids. 🙂

5. Of Poseidon – by Anna Banks. This is the first book in the Syrena Legacy. And mermaids!

6. Of Triton – by Anna Banks. The second book in this triology.

7. Of Neptune – by Anna Banks. The third book.

8. Between the Sea and the Stars – by Chantal Gadoury. This is a little mermaid retelling, and I’ve seen so much about it on Instagram, I can’t wait to read it!

9. To Kill a Kingdom – by Alexandra Christo. This is another little mermaid retelling, though it has a bit of a darker spin. I’ve heard many good things about it on Instagram.

10. Sea Witch – by Sara Henning. Also a little mermaid retelling, this one doesn’t come out until the end of July, but I am pschyed to read it!

What about you? What’s on your summer TBR list? Do you like mermaid books? Let me know in the comments!