new summer reads

Matched

by Ally Condie (another LDS author!)

In the Society, everything is chosen for you from the food you eat to the person you marry. Casssia is surprised to learn that her Match is Xander, a boy she has known all her life, not a common occurrence. But when she looks at the disc with information about him, the face of Ky, another boy she knows, appears briefly on the screen.

Mistakes like that aren’t supposed to happen in the Society and it draws Cassia to learn more about Ky, an Aberration who was orphaned and then adopted by a couple near Cassia’s home. In learning more about Ky, Cassia also learns more about choices still left to her, the poem from her grandfather about not “going gently into that good night,” and the Society that is showing weaknesses in what is supposed to be a perfectly modulated order for the good of the people.

There is a sequel coming on this one as we follow Cassia on her search for Ky.

The Wanderer

by Sharon Creech

Sophie is a natural sailor and is included in the crew of three uncles and two cousins as they sail across the Atlantic to England. Through the alternating journal entries of Sophie and her cousin, Cody, we learn more about the journey and the intertwined relationships that extend beyond the boat. What really happened to Sophie’s dead parents? Will Uncle Dock find his lost love? Can Cody and his father build a closer relationship? These and other questions are answered during a sailing excursion with enough adventure for a lifetime.

The Truth About Forever

by Sarah Dessen

With her boyfriend away at camp, Macy has nothing to look forward to during the summer except long days at the reference desk of the library with two girls who hate her guts. Then she stumbles into a part-time job with a catering crew named Wish. She meets Wes, a talented artist with a past, Kristy who doesn’t let her scarred face stop her, Monica of the monosyllables, and Bert who is continually playing the game of “gotcha!” She also comes to term with her father’s death after watching him die – unlike her mother who won’t let go of her fanatical hold on her business long enough to allow herself to grieve.

A good summer read that might encourage you to get out of the library and live.