Great summer read-a-thon of 2011

One of the things that I have missed most while being at college has been reading solely for the purpose of pleasure. I have been collecting stacks of books over the past eight months that have sat waiting to be read.

So this week I began the great descent into the great summer read-a-thon of 2011. My four conquests this week: The Summer I Turned Pretty, Anna and the French Kiss, Something Borrowed, and Sarah Dessen’s new book What Happened to Goodbye. None of which were anywhere near academic reading material—yay! :)

 

I am a bad reviewer when it comes to books and movies because I am so easily infatuated with a good story; however, if it’s a bad movie or an awful book and I’ll be the first to let you know. But a few miscellaneous notes on each:

The Summer I Turned Pretty: My mother really encouraged me to read this one (she’s a reader/lover of anything YA) and I’m so glad she did. This isn’t your typical summer beach story, but rather so much more as Belly’s world begins to spin like a top from all the changes brewing around her. But as her life is tossed upside down from so much change, will she realize that everything is simply turning out as it should be?

Anna and the French Kiss: If the title doesn’t scream girly, I really don’t know what does. Although the main character is a senior in high school, this is the perfect book for college freshman as it depicts moving from all things familiar and homey to some place foreign and new; from finding new friends to understanding a new city and gaining your independence. I absolutely loved the fact that I learned so much about Paris—from the landmarks, tourist destinations, to the food and the language. If you can’t travel to Paris this summer, try visiting through this book!

Something Borrowed: I’m one of those people; the ones who have to read the book before they see the movie. Something Borrowed was no exception. I absolutely loved this book, but I found that at the end I was mad at myself because I wasn’t upset that the main character was having this affair with her best friend’s fiancé. In my defense, the author made if very easy to fall in love with these characters and not feel a moment of guilt over their less than moral behaviors. If you read it, you’ll totally understand.

What Happened to Goodbye: I should say first that I absolutely love Sarah Dessen. And this book is no exception. While the story is so very different from most of Dessen’s other books, I still had that same you could totally be my best friend connection with the main character, McLean. And her story of discovering herself, literally, was something that I loved sharing with her. I also happen to love that characters/objects/places pop up from Dessen’s other books totally unbeknownst to readers who haven’t read other Dessen books—I didn’t catch quite a few of them to afterwards.

And so ends the first week of the great summer read-a-thon of 2011.

What’s on the schedule for this second week? You’ll have to check back next Sunday to see :)

And if you would like to leave suggestions or additional book reviews in the comment section below, please do!!