Let’s be honest. Most of the mandatory summer reading books were, let’s say… picked by adults. The majority of students despise summer reading with a burning passion. We get it. The books that we are forced to read are boring and long and uninteresting to us as young adults. But not all books are like this. Summer reading doesn’t have to be a chore. Finding a book you genuinely enjoy allows you to reap the benefits of reading as well as gain a positive new hobby. Summer reading helps us retain our literary skills and develop new skills, so we are prepared to return to school in September. Along with that, reading provides social-emotional benefits as well. Emotional intelligence is something that a lot of us lack, and that’s okay because reading helps us develop and maintain close relationships with friendships and relationships. Reading also helps us develop critical thinking skills by seeing how different characters handle issues. Wanting to experience different lives, times, and cultures are all reasons for reading. We often find ourselves curious as to what another life would be like. We can all live this life through books.

If you want to start reading, but don’t know where to start, here are some recommendations! If you’ve heard of Daisy Jones & the Six, you would love Malibu Rising or The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, also written by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

If you’re looking for something more mysterious, If We Were Liars by E. Lockhart is a psychological horror. It follows Cadence, the main character, who suffered a head injury when she was 15 during the summer but can’t remember how it happened. A few years later she is determined to figure out what happened. Cadence goes through a roller coaster of uncovered secrets, hardships, and lies about her family history. In the end, the events that occurred when she was 15 are finally revealed, and the shocking truth will stay with the reader long after finishing the book.

A good beach read is The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. The book tells the story of fifteen-year-old Belly and her eventful summer vacation at cousin’s beach, where she hopes to fall in love. The series focuses on her romantic endeavors as she finds herself in a love triangle with two brothers, Jeremiah and Conrad. If you’ve watched the show, give the book a try!

If you’re looking for something that will give you emotional whiplash, If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin is the perfect book for you! This love story spans the history of two teenagers lives, Autumn’s and Finn’s, and all the moments when if one little thing had been different, their futures would have been together instead of apart. This book is an achingly authentic and raw portrait of love, regret, and the life-altering impact of the relationships we hold closest to us.

If you want to talk about these books, or others you have read, with other people and share your opinions on them, then the Bear’s Book Club is just what you need! Join our Schoology classroom using the code XT7T-JXFB-5Q583. This month’s theme is dystopian books. Aside from the literary masterpiece titled The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, one of our favorite dystopian books is the Shatter Me series. Shatter Me is about Juliette Ferrars, a 17-year-old whose touch paralyzes and kills, taking living organisms’ energy. Juliette is in an asylum because three years prior, she killed a small boy in a store with her unusual touch. We’re in a crazy dystopian world where everything is run by a group that calls themselves The Reestablishment. What happens when Juliette fights The Reestablishment for the freedom of herself and others?

Overall, books are pretty cool and are meant to help us. Remember, summer reading is supposed to be fun, it doesn’t have to be a chore.

Love,

your favorite people ever, Neha and Taylor <3