Top 5 books to read this summer!

The summer season is coming up, so let’s stop saving money and start buying books! But for real, summer season is near and personally I read whatever I feel like reading, but if you’re looking for a recommendation: the bookrecs are coming your way!  [NO SPOILERS]

1. ‘To all the boys I’ve loved before’ by Jenny Han

I think we – those of us who have read this book – all can agree that this summer-themed YA-classic is something we all crave in summertime! I absolutely loved this series, and the third and final book (Always and forever, Lara Jean) has just come out, so you can binge-read all three books. (I’m currently reading book 3 and I’m loving it so far!)

“To all the boys I’ve loved before” is about a teenager called Lara Jean and all her life she’s been writing love letters to boys she used to love. Her love for the boys are locked away inside a box as she puts the letters in there when done writing. Then one day, all her letters are sent out and turn her life upside down. Her quirky personality is really what did it for me, I loved her character and I absolutely adored the family dynamic between her and her sisters.

5/5 Stars.

2. ‘The sun is also a star’ by Nicola Yoon

This next book is one I didn’t expect to like as much as I did. The summary didn’t sound that appealing to me. It’s just that Booktube kept recommending it to me (I bought waaay too many books back then), so one thing led to another; I ended up loving the book. I haven’t read Yoon’s other book, “Everything, everything”, but I’m sure it’ll be a good read as well. (note to self: add to enormous TBR-pile)

“The sun is also a star” is about two people living in New York, but on the complete other side of the tracks. Our first main character: Daniel. Daniel is Korean and has a (shitty) brother, basically a classic douchebag. Daniel has to go to a alumni-interview, but he doesn’t want to go. His path crosses with our second main character: Natasha. Natasha is a Columbian young lady with an enormous Afro. She lives in the States illegally and her family’s being deported the same day she meets Daniel. Over the course of one day, Natasha and Daniel connect and go on a journey they both didn’t expect to make. I thought the background stories of the minor characters were absolutely hilarious and moving, and it really added to the specialty of the storyline.

4/5 stars.

3. ‘It ends with us’ by Colleen Hoover.

“It ends with us” is a book you should most definitely not read in public, as it is one of the few books that made me cry. I’m not a book-crier, not at all, I barely ever get to the point where I’m so sad I shed tears (apart from the classic book-cries like Clockwork Princess, oh my lord that book broke my soul). You have been warned!

“It ends with us” is about a young woman with an awful name: Lily Bloom (yeah, her parents are cruel). Her parents have an abusive relationship and Lily and the rest of her family suffer from it. When Lily grows up, she moves away from all the awfulness her family has brought her. In Boston she starts a new life, meets her new boyfriend and also re-encounters her ex-boyfriend. Though the book has lighter parts, be aware that this is a heavy read. Abuse and violence are present.

I personally think that even though this book covers such subjects, Hoover portrayed it quite perfectly. Since you see Lily’s thought process, you start caring so much about her and the people around her. A real tip: read the Note from the Author in the back when you’re done reading, it completely changes your reading experience and gives you more insight on the storyline.

4/5 stars.

4. ‘The Rest of Us just live here’ by Patrick Ness.

“The rest of us just live here” is a very special book, or at least in my opinion. When I heard its summary I was intrigued immediately. The book’s concept is basically: we follow the ordinary people, in a fantasy world. It’s not that this book is a fantasy though, I’d say contemporary/fantasy-ish.

So instead of following the chosen ones – the ones who save the world – we follow the rest of the people. More specifically, we follow Mikey and his friends. They all suffer from something or are hiding something from the rest of the group. I thought the dynamic between all the different characters was great, though there were moments when I enjoyed the chosen ones’ stories more. At the beginning of each chapter there’s a short tale containing what the chosen ones are up to, and it’s hilarious because Ness uses all the cliché’s there are.

3.7/5 stars.

5. ‘Stalking Jack the Ripper’ by Kerri Maniscalco.

“Stalking Jack the Ripper” a.k.a. probably my favourite book of 2016. (mind you; I read A Court of Mist and Fury in 2017)

For all the history-lovers out there (me), this book is definitely worth your time. It’s great because it’s historically accurate. Jack’s story is one we don’t know the ending to, so you can do such creative things with it and personally I think Maniscalco did a spectacular job.

“Stalking Jack the Ripper” is about a young woman named Audrey Rose Wadsworth, and she’s one not to be toyed with. She lives in 1888 and is hunting Jack the Ripper – a serial killer who killed prostitutes in the eighteenth century – with her partner in crime Thomas Cresswell. She’s into forensic sciences, and that’s a sin for a woman during that time. But Audrey Rose doesn’t let herself be caged and dives into the mystery of Jack the Ripper.

10/5 stars.

So that were some of my recommendations, I am super excited for summer (because: no school a.k.a. more time to read) and I hope you are too!

See you in the funny papers,