July Reads

Summer readin’, had me a blast. The month of July is almost over, meaning summer is slowly drawing to a close. With the amount of free time I now have, I managed to read 4 books this month and they were all AMAZING. I loved every single one of them. Below are the books I read this month, along with a very short review of them.

1. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (5/5) 

I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was an incredible story of accepting the fact that you are gay and being PROUD of it, rather than trying to cover it up or “fit in.” A lot of the book is written in the form of emails between Simon and this mystery guy whom he is in love  with. The guy goes to Simon’s school and they’re in the same grade, however, he doesn’t want to reveal his identity because he fears it will ruin what they have. The middle and end of the book is directed more towards finding out who the mysterious boy is. The reason why I loved this book so much is mainly because I’d never really read any books about homosexuality before, and this one presented the topic in a new light. It was as if the author understood how it really felt to grow up gay, especially in high school, and reading it felt as if you were actually living the story with Simon. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who just loves a good read with a bit of romance.

2. Diary of Anne Frank (3.5/5)

Since I’m going to Amsterdam this summer, I decided to read Anne’s diary since the Anne Frank museum is located right in the heart of Amsterdam. Throughout the entire time I was reading this book, or this diary, I was shocked. For a girl who was only 13 or 14, she was so mature in her thinking and she had such deep insight. What I loved most was that despite the fact she was cooped up in an attic with 7 other people, she considered herself to be lucky after comparing herself to the countless amount of Jews that were being shipped off to the concentration camps. The proverb that came to mind was: “I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes- until I met a man who had no feet.” Her diary consisted mostly of family troubles she experience with her sister and her parents and towards the end, there were many rants about romance and relationships. As everyone says, there are many documents that come from World War 2 but Anne Frank’s voice will continue to be heard for generations to come. The only downside to this book was that since it was a diary, it was a bit of a slow read. There was no plot to it and a lot of diary entries were a bit drawling. Nonetheless, it was great and if you’re interested in history, I highly recommend this!

3. Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella (5/5) 

Probably my favorite book I read this month. I first saw this book on Indigo’s website, because it was one of their suggested books, so I decided to give it a try. It was amazing. The main character, Audrey, has a serious social anxiety disorder that was a result of a traumatic accident that happened in the past. She never leaves her house, is unable to communicate with strangers, and wears dark sunglasses 24/7 so she doesn’t need to make eye contact with people. However, this all starts to change as she meets a boy. She slowly starts to find herself and face her fears by stepping outside her comfort zone. This is a coming-of-age novel that really speaks to teens and adults alike. I personally have a friend that has a bit of social anxiety so this book really allowed me to see how the world was like from her perspective. Perhaps my favourite quote from the book is, “I think what I’ve realized is, life is all about climbing up, slipping down, and picking yourself up again. And it doesn’t matter if you slip down/ As long as you’re kind of heading more or less upwards. That’s all you can hope for. More or less upwards.” So, whether you’re 9 or you’re 90, you will LOVE this book. I can guarantee it.

4. We are all made of molecules by Susan Nielsen (4/5) 

I really loved this book! It had a little bit of everything: homosexuality, sexual abuse, the ups and downs of high school, friendship and betrayal, family life and getting over the death of a loved one.  It’s almost like all the main themes of the books I read this month combined into one fantastic novel. The author, Susan Nielsen, is praised for her writing style and I have to join in with that praise! The way she writes is extremely funny and irresistible. I couldn’t put the book down! The story focuses on a 13-year-old child genius and his new stepsister, a 14-year-old fashionista with a C average. The story is told in both their perspectives, alternating every other chapter, and we see them try and survive a year of high school. It isn’t easy since they’re enemies for a majority of the book, but they slowly start to work things out. I don’t want to give too much away since this book is a must-read, so I’ll just leave things here.

What are some books you guys loved this month?