Top 5 Summer Reads.

I read a lot of books this summer. A LOT of books. So in this post I am going to be telling you the top five that I have read this summer.

1. Unrivaled

Unrivaled by Alyson Noël is definitely one of my favorite books that I have read this summer. This story is told from the point of view of four different people. Layla Harrison's dream is to be a famous reporter. Tommy Phillips just wants to prove his skill as a musician to his absentee father. Aster Amirpour wants to be the next great Hollywood actress. Madison Brooks has already made her mark in the Hollywood area by using whatever means necessary to claw her way to the top. But when Madison Brooks goes missing, dark secrets are revealed behind Hollywood's bright exterior. I liked this book because it had a very original plot that you rarely see in young adult books. However, I feel like there wasn't really a sense of completion at the end of the book. Even though this is the first book in a series it still felt like there was just randoms threads of plot left hanging that weren't really part of the main story.

2. The Last True Poets of the Sea

The Last True Poets of the Sea is told from the point of view of Violet Larkin. The Larkin family are survivors. Violet's great-great-great-grandmother didn't drown in a shipwreck, she swam to shore and founded the town of Lyric on the coast of Maine. Violet and her brother, Sam have visited Lyric every summer they can remember. One summer with Sam and Violet in their late teens, Sam tries to take his own life. Violet's parents decide the best place for her is to stay and her uncle's house in Lyric. There she starts to question what really happened after her ancestor's ship was wrecked. This was a very moving read and I absolutely loved Julia Drake's style of writing. I really loved this plot and even though it can be slow-moving in parts it is worth reading the whole book.

3. A Great and Terrible Beauty

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray is told from the point of view of Gemma Doyle. It is 1895 and Gemma is living in India with her father and mother, while her older brother is working and living in London. All she wants is to live in London and attend every ball and party. However, when her mother is killed by a mysterious assassin and she is sent to a boarding school in England, she discovers something much darker lurking behind the bright corridors of her new school. Libba Bray has a way with words that makes you feel like you're in the world with Gemma Doyle. This book is another rare find in the ever-growing world of young adult books.

4. One of us is Lying

One of us is Lying by Karen M. McManus is the story of four students who attend Bayview High school. When Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper are put in detention of Simon Kelleher, there lives will change forever. Simon is the creator of a school gossip app and he is planning to release four articles on Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper the very next day. When Simon dies in that detention all of these students are suddenly suspect. A geek, a jock, a criminal, and a princess. One of them is lying. I love this book because of the way every time you think you know the way the book is going, something happens and suddenly you think the exact opposite. This book is full of suspense and amazing writing, I recommend it to anyone looking for a good mystery to read.

5. My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life

My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life by Rachel Cohn is the story of Elle Zoellner. She lives in Washington D.C. and on her sixteenth birthday learns that her father is Kenji Takahari, a Japanese businessman who owns a chain of hotels. So instead of spending her birthday in her newest foster home, she spends it in first class on an airplane heading to Tokyo. I really liked the idea of this book but I think that the character development was a little lacking. There was also a lot of information that didn't really have any follow up and seemed to just take up space. I think this book has a good, but not well thought out plot which had great potential. Overall this book is still something I would recommend to someone who wanted to read a contemporary YA novel.

So these are some of the books I really enjoyed reading this summer. I hope you enjoy some of these to.

Other

If you are interested in other ways of learning about books please visit my YouTube Channel The Savvy Young Reader. If you would like me to review a book please comment on my blog or on my YouTube Channel. You can also email me at Savvyyoungreader@gmail.com to suggest reviews or any other book related posts you would like me to do.