Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge

June starts tomorrow, which means it’s officially the start of Summer Reading season (at least, for me), even if it’s not really Summer, yet. This year I’m going to share my TBR according to the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge. It features 23 challenges, either summer related or designed to stretch your reading comfort zone.

 

Into the Great Wide Open: Read a book that takes place in the great wide open.

The Gracekeepers tells the story of Callanish and North. Callanish is a “gracekeeper” who lays the dead to rest deep in the sea, alone on an island. North is a performer in a traveling circus that sails from one archipelago to the next in a world that’s covered in water. This sounds like a beautiful story of friendship and adventure on the vast sea.

 

Get Your Grill On: Read a book that features outdoor summer activities.

This memoir by Cameron Powell tells the tale of his 500-mile journey across Spain with his mother, who has cancer (hiking is a summery enough, right?). This book comes out on June 5th, and I’m excited to start reading it.

 

The Colors of Summer: Read a book that features a yellow, green, or sandy cover.

Yellow enough, yes? I’ve been excited to read Strange the Dreamer for a long time, and all of my friends who have read it have spoken highly of it. I’m not too clear on what the plot is, but I believe it centers around a boy who wants to find a lost city.

 

Beach Bum: Read a book that could be considered a “beach read.”

According to PureWow, this is a beach read. I’ve been meaning to read this book for a while, but never really got to it. Anyways, it’s a high school murder mystery that combines The Breakfast Club with Pretty Little Liars.

 

Sand Between My Toes: Read a book that takes place in or around a beach or ocean.

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids is the story of Elyse, a singer who lost her voice in a boating accident. She accepts a friends invitation to stay in a seaside town in Oregon, and I’m sure some romance ensues.

 

Ocean Blue: Read a book that takes place on the water.

Denver sneaks into a beach party in Malibu, but things turn from bad to worse when a tsunami strikes California and Denver is swept out to sea on a small boat with the most popular kids at her high school.

 

Hook ‘Em: Read a book that features fishing or fishermen.

According to the Goodreads List “Fisherman Novels”, this book features a fisherman. In Little Beach Street Bakery, Polly Waterford moves to the seaside resort of Polbearne, where she opens a bakery.

 

Sports-A-Holic: Read a book that features a popular summer sport.

Caroline is destined to be a wherryman (sailing = sport), but it might be too late. When her father is arrested, Caroline volunteers to transport mysterious cargo in exchange for his release, hoping the river will select her for the position of wherryman.

 

Campfire Story: Read a book that scares the bejesus out of you.

I just selected a horror novel for this one, This Darkness Mine, about Sasha, a girl who absorbed her twin in the womb. But that doesn’t explain the gaps of missing time and memories of things she definitely didn’t do.

 

 

One and Done: Read a book that you can finish in one day.

The shortest book on my TBR pile, Get Well Soon features Anna, a girl who suffers from depression. Her parents have her sent to a mental hospital, where she meets a cute boy and a secretive roommate. One of my friends recommended this book, and I’m excited to see if it is good.

 

 

Let’s Get it On: Read a book that features falling in or out of love.

Dylan is the younger sister of Dusty, the former Miss Mississippi and who is now marrying the prince of  Scotland. Dylan is thrust into the spotlight of reality TV, where she meets a cute bookish groomsman.

 

 

Take Pride: Read a book by an LGBT author or that features an LGBT character.

This book sounds really interesting and features two love stories centered around attending a convention, which sounds super cool. The author, Jen Wilde is bisexual, and I believe there is at least one LGBT character in the book.

 

Read the World: Read a book that takes place in a country different from your own.

In The Kingdom of Little Wounds, Princess Sophia is preparing for her wedding in the Scandinavian city of Skyggehavn. However, a mysterious illness plagues the royal family and the courtier sets a devious plot into motion, hoping to win the king’s favor.

 

Diversify Yourself: Read a book by an author of color.

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In Orléans, the people are born gray and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful. But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite—the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orléans to live in the royal palace

 

You Have A Lovely Accent: Read a book that was translated from another language.

Ruby Red was translated from German and tells the tale of Gwyneth, whose cousin Charlotte had prepared to be a time traveler her whole life. Unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth who takes a trip through time to 18th century London, where she must solve mysteries about herself and her family.

 

Won’t Be Long: Read a collection of short stories or essays.

Straying husbands lured into the sea can be fetched back, for a fee. Magpies whisper to lonely drivers late at night. Trees can make wishes come true – provided you know how to wish properly first. Houses creak, fill with water and keep a fretful watch on their inhabitants, straightening shower curtains and worrying about frayed carpets. A teenager’s growing pains are sometimes even bigger than him. And, on a windy beach, a small boy and his grandmother keep despair at bay with an old white door. In these stories, Cornish folklore slips into everyday life. Hopes, regrets and memories are entangled with catfish, wrecker’s lamps, standing stones and baying hounds, and relationships wax and wane in the glow of a moonlit sea.

 

Poet at Heart: Read a book of poetry.

I’ve been seeing this book everywhere. It’s a poetry collection about growth, healing, ancestry, honoring one’s roots, and rising up to find a home within yourself. All of the people I know who’ve read this have spoken very highly of it, and I’m sure it will be an interesting read.

 

My, What Big Teeth You Have: Read a book that puts a spin on a fairy-tale.

The Night Dance is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, as you can probably tell. I don’t really know what spin is put on the tale, but I hope that it will be an interesting take on one of my favorite fairy tales.

 

 

High Noon: Read a classic or contemporary Western.

When Kate Thompson’s father is killed by the notorious Rose Riders for a mysterious journal that reveals the secret location of a gold mine, the eighteen-year-old disguises herself as a boy and takes to the gritty plains looking for answers and justice. What she finds are devious strangers, dust storms, and a pair of brothers who refuse to quit riding in her shadow.

 

TBRing It: Read a book from the bottom of your TBR pile.

I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while. Replica features a research institute off the coast of Florida, where thousands of replicas, or human models are made. Lyra is a Replica, while Gemma is a girl who gets abducted by a stranger claiming to know her. They must both unravel the mysteries of Haven, and learn the terrible truth about themselves.

 

Unshelve It: Read a book that’s been sitting on your Goodreads shelves for a while.

I’ve had this book on my Want to Read shelf for a little over a year, and I’ve heard it’s really good. Blue meets Gansey on St. Mark’s Eve, when the soon-to-be dead walk past. For long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, she isn’t so sure anymore.

 

Childhood Reboot: Read a choose-your-own-adventure novel.

I just saw this being announced, and it looks really cool. I believe it is a historical romance, and it is also choose-your-own-adventure that allows you to pick between several romantic interests and situations.

 

 

Listen to Me: Listen to an audiobook.

I’ve been making my way through The Mortal Instruments the past month or so, and I’ve really been enjoying it. I’m sure most of you know about the plot of this series, but if not it is about a group of Shadowhunters, who rid the world of demons.

 

 

Quite a long TBR post, but it is for three months. I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to get to all of these books, though I may not stick strictly to this TBR. Stay tuned for Wrap-Ups throughout the summer.

Have a lovely day!

xoxo, Adeline