August
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POLL: Your Favorite Summer Reads
Summer vacation has always, for me, been about getting extra time to read. As a kid, I didn’t have to cram extra reading time by the light of my red glowing LED clock; I had full days with extra daylight hours to devour books. As an adult, I could wake up and go curl up with a big fat novel and read it in one sitting. (That nearly never happens during the school year!)
And I have always packed my clothes for trips around my books.
I know I’m among friends when I say these things to you, Nerdy Nation.
Since summer is winding down, we thought it would be fun to look back on what you’ve read to share your favorite titles. Leave your favorites in the comments below!
Nerdy Book Club 
Just shared this on my blog yesterday! Fav summer PB: Ninja! by Arree Chung. Fav MG: Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff and The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier. Fave YA: we were liars by e. lockhart. Fav adult: The Storied Life of AJ Fikry.
Yea summer reading!
I love the series of I heart band. It’s great for middle schoolers
YA favorite – Eleanor and Park. Adult favorite – The Husband’s Secret. So far! Summer isn’t over yet….. And I’m halfway through YA – Eggs and Adult – Invisible
Now read Big Little Lies by the same author. Loved it even more than HS.
Adult favorite: The Rosie Project
Yes!
This summer’s favorite children/ya books were I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora, Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson, Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff, and The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud. Favorite adult reads were Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and Delicious! by Ruth Reichl.
My favorite read of the summer was the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu.
YA favorite: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Adult favorite: One Plus One by Jojo Moyes
Seeing Red by Kathryn Erskine; The Goldfinch by Donna Tart; The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin; The Great Glass Sea by Josh Weil; Paperboy by Vince Vawter; Reality Boy by A.S. King; We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.
‘I Kill the Mockingbird’ by Paul Acampora and ‘The Meaning of Maggie’ by Megan Jean Sovern. Also ‘Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass’ by Meg Medina.
Adult- Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf; MG- Because of Mr. Terupt.
Favorite nonfiction: Phineas Gage, favorite fiction: We Were Liars, favorite professional: Close Reading and Citing from Sources by Fisher and Frey
PB fave: Hooray for Hat by Brian Won. MG fave: Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff. YA fave: If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Adult fave: The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman.
Crooked Kind of perfect Linda Urban
The Glass kitchens ad Francis Lee
The center of Everything Lind urban
Doll Bones
PB- Lindbergh: They Tale of a Flying Mouse by Torben Kuhlmann; MG-Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate; YA- Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys and Yaqui Delgado wants to Kick your Ass by Meg Medina
My favorite books this summer were: Papertowns by John Green, the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie.
Part-time Indian is my favorite book of all time!
I read a wonderful YA book: WE WERE LIARS and two adult books: THE GOLDFINCH and ME BEFOE YOU.
Issac’s Storm by Eric Larson for adult read and the Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine for tweens.
I, too, love Isaac’s Storm. All along I kept thinking: how can I be loving this book about WEATHER? It is a fascinating book.
I love Isaac’s Storm! One of my all time favorite adult reads!
I am still haunted by this book. I listened to it while driving to Jersey and I can still hear the narrator describing the storm as it raged around his house and the choices he had to make.
An adult book was my favorite this summer, but one a 7th grader has read and one many high school students could devour – UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand.
Middle grade books I enjoyed were Half A Chance by Cynthia Lord, Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff, The Night Gardner by Jonathan Auxier and Manhunt by Kate Messner. YA favorite book was Under The Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald.
I have two favorites this summer, and they’re both by Jonathan Auxier: Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes, and The Night Gardener. I couldn’t put them down! They are both slated to be read alouds with my fourth graders this year.
I loved Gae Polisner’s THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO and Ally Carter’s I’D TELL YOU I’D LOVE YOU BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU.
LITTLE BLUE LIES by Chris Lynch is my favorite YA book. I finally read all the Harry Potter books and adored them as well!
I enjoyed sooooo many great summer reads! Some of my favorites were The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd, Wild by Cheryl Strayed, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Garielle Zevin, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, The Bees by Laline Paull, The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.
I read a ton of books this summer: teaching books, YA books, adult fiction, and books of poetry. I’d never read a poetry selection before, so reading three was huge for me. The poetry of Dawn Potter, Meg Kearney, and Iain Pollock changed my view of poetry, and I am grateful. But in terms of feeding my fiction addiction? I LOVED The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers. So so good.
We Were Liars still haunts me & I really loved Summer of the Gypsy Moths.
Like many already mentioned – I liked We were liars but also just finished Courage for Beginners which I really liked and Heeartbeat – which was incredibly sad but good.
“We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart and ” Getting Schooled: The Reeducation of an American Teacher” by Garret Keizer. The latter is a fabulous memoir.
Some of my favorites from this summer- Matched trilogy (Allie Condie), Rump (Liesl Shurtliff), The Comeback Season (Jennifer Smith), Breadcrumbs (Anne Ursu). Currently reading- The Unwanteds (Lisa McMann), Up Next- The Thickety (J.A. White)
Loved How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny.
I have two favorites so far that will both be a perfect fit for my 5th graders this year: Home and Other Big, Fat Lies by Jill Wolfson and Gingersnap by Patricia Reilly Giff. Still working on Absolutely Almost!
I reread all of Margaret Maron’s Sigrid Harald and Deborah Knott series books. Heavenly! (I also did some serious reading and even read children’s books to prepare for the school year, but I cherished the carefree moments of reading a good mystery.
I read a lot of YA this summer along with some middle grade and even a couple books for adults! My favorites include: The Unwind series by Neal Shusterman (fabulous sci-fi), Etiquette & Espionage series by Gail Carriger (my first Steampunk!), and Paperboy by Vince Vawter (historical fiction with a strong voice that captures you immediately) were my favorite reads this summer!
Adult would have to be WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE? For YA, am loving ELEANOR & PARK, for mg it’s THE MEANING OF MAGGIE, picture book EXTRAORDINARY JANE. Love seeing all these titles everyone is sharing! Thanks!
GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE by Andrew Smith. Couldn’t put it down and can’t stop thinking about it.
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm is brilliant. An absolute must OWN.
I agree. I bought three copies to send to friends.
Zane and the Hurricane and Absolutely Almost were my favorite kids’ books. I have been enjoying the adult mystery series revolving around an Amish town by Linda Castillo. Her most recent (#6 in the series) is The Dead will Tell and it did not disappoint.
Everything a.s. King, Andrew smith, & rainbow Rowell
My YA favorite summer reads were We Were Liars by E.A. Lockhart and Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith My favorite adult read was The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. These stories were all the kind that stay with a reader well after they are finished. So thought-provoking.
Everything a.s. King
Loved Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald and Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord for my fourth graders. For me, I really enjoyed the Dresden Files series (Jim Butcher) and Packing for Mars by Mary Roach.
I always reread Dandelion Wine each summer, and again refueled me for another year. The best new book I read was Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. Very powerful.
I absolutely loved , Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and The Sky is Everywhere.
I also LOVED The Sky is Everywhere!
Fun!! Just finished my #bookaday challenge on Sunday! I read mostly MG books. Here are a few faves:
– realistic fiction: One For the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
– fantasy: The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
– historical fiction: A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, and Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen
– picture book: Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
– bio/autobio: Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka
– informational – Dogs on Duty by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent
Thank you for the inspiration, Nerdy Book Club!
I didn’t read it over the summer but Snicker of Magic was my favorite read so far. I read Wonder over the summer and it really touched me. The Stranded series was a fun and quick read too. For adult books, I found Breakfast at Darcy’s by Ali McNamara to be most entertaining if you like stories from the British Isles.
Your childhood sounds exactly like my childhood! 🙂 Favorite YA summer read: Grasshopper Jungle. Favorite MGs: Screaming at the Ump by Audrey Vernick, Actual &Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher by Jessica Lawson, Fourteen Fibs of Gregory K. by Greg Pincus, Wake Up Missing by Kate Messner. And the summer’s not over.
It would be either Land of Stories 3 by Chris Colfier or Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff.
YA: NOGGIN and WE WERE LIARS.
MG: I can’t stop thinking about A SNICKER OF MAGIC or ABSOLUTELY ALMOST. I also loved HOPE IS A FERRIS WHEEL. Favorite MG Read Aloud with my boys: THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN. Most Fun Read Alouds: SQUISH and LUNCH LADY series.
PB: I think GASTON was my favorite, but I think we hit the PB jackpot this summer with so many great books.
This summer I really enjoyed Emily Matchar’s Homeward Bound: Why Womena re embracing A New Domesticity, Humphrey Carpeter’s Biography of JRR Tolkien, and M.P. Kozlowsky’s The Dyerville Tales. Those were the standouts in my pile of Summer reads!
Adult Favorites – All of Tana French’s murder mysteries – In the Woods, Faithful Place, The Likeness, Broken Harbor. She is an amazing writer, similar to Gillian Flynn. I rediscovered picture books this summer, and I love The Day the Crayons Quit and Ish!
Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith, The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm, Ava and Pip by Carol Weston… Memorable summer of reading, these rose to the top!
I read these before summer, but I agree they’re all outstanding!
Loved Revolution by Deborah Wiles and Nightingale by Nikki Loftin.
I also really liked Revolution. I have Countdown in the library but had never read it. Now I will.
Favorites included: Navigating Early (learned about via the Nerdy Book Club Nation), Quiet, Because of Mr. Terupt, Mr. Terupt Falls Again, and On Looking.
The Book Thief, A Tangle of Knots, Larger-Than-Life Lara, I Kill the Mockingbird, Zombie Baseball Beatdown, Half a Chance, Technically It’s Not My Fault: Concrete Poems, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, A Long Walk to Water, and The Meaning of Maggie
So hard to choose one favorite. Picture book: Emily’s Blue Period. MIddle Grade: The Secret Hum of the Daisy and Deborah Wile’s Revolution. Y.A.: We Were Liars Adult: Boys in the Boat
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, The Selection (the whole trilogy), Reading in the Wild, Shooting the Moon, and Pictures of Hollis Wood.
Summer reading…everything from Me Before You, a wonderful, tender, funny book which brings two very different characters together to… Citizens of London, which covers American involvement in London during WWII. Another great summer book turned out to be one of my favorite teacher reads, Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller.
So difficult to pick one—Under the Egg by Fitzgerald @marxfitzy and One for the Murphy’s by Mullaly Hunt @lynmullalyhunt both were top notch middle grade readers!
I don’t read much YA, but an amazing YA book I read this summer KNOCKOUT GAMES by G. Neri. So intense, at times hard to read, but it is so well written it’s like watching a movie.
Have you read his older book, Ghetto Cowboy?
My faves are Comic Squad: Recess, The Troublemaker, Circa Now and The Night Gardener!
My favorites for the summer: What Do You Do With an Idea (Can’t wait to use this is in my classroom!), The Night Gardener, and The Testing.
I read A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night and The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness so I can be ready to meet the author at the end of July. Bone Vol. 1: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith and Saga Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples.
Just finished All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen – it was great. If you are a book nerd (aren’t we all) then The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry will not dissapoint. I finally read The Fault in our Stars and loved it. But my favorite has to be Written in My Own Heart’s Blood – the newest installment in the Outlander series.
Favorite books of the summer…A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein!! A Snicker of Magic has a great message for young and old readers alike and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library is a fun adventure read with the setting in the library.
Middle Grade – Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere – Lamana
Teen – Far From You – Sharpe
Adult – Natchez Burning – Iles
PB – Water Can Be by Salas
NF – Gravity by Chin
Middle Grade – The Boys of Blur by Wilson
YA/Adult Poetry – No Matter the Wreckage by Kay
Adult – Neverwhere by Gaiman
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd, How to Outrun a Crocodile with your Shoes Untied by Jess Keating, I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora, Circa Now by Amber McRee Turner and The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern. Number One Sam by Greg Pizzoli was my favorite picture book
I read so much this summer and loved many including Absolutely Almost, The Winner’s Game, The Actual and Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher, I Kill the Mockingbird, Circa Now, A Snicker of Magic, We Were Liars, The Invention of Wings, and One Cemetery Road.
Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord and Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd.
Adult-Delicious by Ruth Reichl
YA-Ruin and Risiing by Leigh Bardugo
Middle Grade-Tuesdays at the Castle series
Like so many others here, I loved A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd and The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier. I also enjoyed The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz.
I am still planning to read a few more books before the start of school. My favorites so far ‘One for the Murphys’ and ‘Absolutely Almost.’
This summer my favorite kids book was Counting by 7s. LOVED IT. My favorite adult book was The Round House, by Louise Erdrich.
Thanks to my 22 year old daughter, I discovered Juliet Marillier this summer. If you like fantasies with a thread of fairy tales woven through them, this is the writer for you!
Too many to choose, but…THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY by Adam Rex, HARRIET THE SPY by Louise Fitzhugh, BOOT AND SHOE (again) by Marla Frazee, DUCK AND GOOSE GO TO THE BEACH by Tad Hills, ROTTEN ISLAND (and pretty much everything else) by William Steig.
I read lots of great books this summer but my very favorite this summer was A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. I also loved One for the Murphy’s by Lynda Mullaly Hunt and The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. I am currently reading The NIght Gardener and that will rank very high as well!
What a wonderful book-filled summer I had! I crossed between picture books, middle grades, and YA, and back again. I loved Beekle, One for the Murphy’s, A Snicker of Magic, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, The Night Gardener, and Absolutely Almost. I also retread The Giver and the subsequent books in that series. I’m not quite through all of my nErDcamp books yet, but excited to know they will last me into the fall before falling into the hands of my students. Thanks to all of the comments above, I also have a plethora of books to carry my through for quite some time!
Picture Book favorites so far: Ninja!, Hooray For Hat, The Girl and The Bicycle, Beekle & Little Elliot, Big City
Middle Grade: Absolutely Almost, The Night Gardener and A Snicker of Magic
Graphic Novel: Comics Squad Recess
I thought of two more! 😉 Circa Now- Middle grade book and El Deafo- Graphic novel! 🙂
Great reading summer! Favorite YAs: Crash and Burn, Karma, On the Jellicoe Road, What Happen to Lani Garver, Me, Him, Them, & It, and The Crossover. Adult: Unbroken, The Death of Santini, and The Silkworm
Middle Grade: A SNICKER OF MAGIC. Chapter Book: THE YEAR OF BILLY MILLER (!!! WOW!!!) and PB, an oldie but goodie, MOONSHOT.
Favorites this summer: The Scorpio Races. The Music of Dolphins. One Came Back. The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend. Chalk. Flashlight. Breathe. Grandfather Gandhi. My Pet Book. My Teacher is a Monster. This is a Moose. Rules of Summer. Warning: Do Not Open This Book. What Do You Do With an Idea?
I adore The Music of Dolphins!!
Circa Now, Revolution, Flight 232
My favourite so far has been Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell
Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal by Ben Macintyre – edge-of-your seat adult nonfiction about a British double agent spy during World War II. Absolutely fascinating, insane, and all true!
Home of the Brave
Long Walk to Water
This Journal Belongs to Rachet
Absolutely Almost
How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes are Untied
One Came Home. All MG reads
The Impossible Knife of Memory – YA
Okay for Now, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Just One Year, Just One Day, Hope is a Ferris Wheel.
On the grown-up side of things:
The Rosie Project, The Girl With All the Gifts, Olvie Kitteredge
I actually read over 25 books this summer, which I think, is a record for me. Some favorites were, “Dark Lord: The Early Years”, “Out of the Dust”, “100 Cupboards”, “Paperboy”, “Amulet”, and “Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library”. Summer reading is my favorite, too!
I still have a few days of summer left, so I may read something fabulous any minute, but here are my current favorite reads from summer: Brown Girl Dreaming, I Kill the Mockingbird, Death by Toilet Paper, Flashlight, Grandfather Gandhi
I spent part of my summer reading the books on our state list. I absolutely loved Odette’s Secrets by Maryann Macdonald. It’s a fictionalized account of a real young woman that lived during World War II. She was Jewish, and it details how she learned to use secrets to survive. It’s beautifully written in prose.
I also loved Rebel McKenzie by Candice F. Ransom. The title character is often surprising, and she discovers that you shouldn’t always rely on first impressions.
Finally, I will comment on Counting 7’s by Holly Goldberg Sloan. What a heart wrenching story! A young girl loses her adoptive parents, and she is thrust into the world with no family. It is full of a cast of flawed characters that somehow find the best parts of themselves through her life-changing situation.
Two of my favorites from this summer: The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. My Grade 4 son’s favorites from this summer: the Wings of Fire series by Tui Sutherland and the Treehouse books by Andy Griffiths.
Favorite titles from THIS summer?
19 Schuyler Place
Guitar Notes
10 Miles Past Normal
YA-The Maze Runner (finally), cyberpunk-Cryptonomicon, historical fiction-Hild, Literary-The Goldfinch, and surprise read-Gun Machine (Warren Ellis). It was a great summer. Too many new books for my room
Summer Favs? I’m positive I’ll forget to list some…
Absolutely Almost (lump in my throat the entire time)
Snicker of Magic (cried at the end)
Jack (Liesl Shurtliff’s follow-up to RUMP) (Such a creative spin!! Love it!)
Paperboy (a beautiful and difficult story)
The Kite Runner (so disturbing that these things really happen)
I read 45 books this summer – heaven! Mostly YA – my Top 5:
Just finished Conversion (Katherine Howe) and LOVED it.
We Were Liars – Lockhart
The Meaning of Maggie by Sovern
Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord
Dorothy Must Die – Paige
Call Me By My Name by John Ed Bradley was hands down the best YA book I read this summer. Sasquatch in the Middle by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a close second. Written in my Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon (waited FIVE years for it!) was my favorite adult book.
This summer I caught up on reading the books I had put off for some reason or another. My favorites were:
Code Name Verity (Elizabeth Wein)
Before I Fall (Lauren Oliver)
Dark Triumph (Robin LaFevers)
Beauty Queens (Libba Bray)
I think it’s a tie between Revolution by Deborah Wiles and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
I like this post a lot. It reminds me when I was little, when I read in the summer time.
My favorite book that I read this summer was Malcolm x
What the Moon Saw by Laura Resau
The Summer I Turned Pretty series by Jenny Han
The Story of Salt (non fiction picture book surprisingly entertaining)
7 Wonders of Sassafras Springs by Betty Birney. Read it a third time. Loved it more than ever!
Spent a stacation reading a trilogy set during WWII by Anne Cooper that was particularly engaging, starts with Brief History of Montmaray, Fitzosborne’s in Exile and Fitzosborne’s in War. It describes the war from the viewpoint of the aristocracy but this proves rather interesting as it is also where many of the decisions are made.
Out of the Easy by Ruta Septys – touching, ragged, books and a madam pull the heroine out of unbelievable pathos
Wayfaring Stranger by James Lee Burke – the poetry of Burke’s writing, even through some of the worst of the ways humans treat each other, continues to amaze me. This one leads us out of snowy battlefields of WWII to the early oilfield discoveries of the late Forties in Texas and Louisiana. Strong, deep, pure love winds through this newest of James Lee Burke’s novels that leave you feeling wrung out and awe-inspired all at the same time.
Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whitemore – the heroine with the unlikely name of Mabel Dagmar spends a summer at the summer estate in Vermont with her college roommate Ev, finding herself deep in the story of the Winslows that she never dreamed existed. The rich are definitelty different, Mabel discovers. Various Winslows provide richness in the characters in unexpected ways. What did not start out as a mystery took a definite turn in that direction and became very difficult to put down in the middle of the night until I could figure out what was going on. While not the deepest of tales, Bittersweet definitely made for excellent summer reading.