Best YA Novel: The Siren by Kiera Cass
I love this author - she wrote The Selection series, which I raced through last school year. Kahlen is the protagonist in this mystical tale of a woman who became a servant of the ocean. She surrendered 100 years of her life to serving the ocean by singing as a siren every time the ocean needed humans to feed it. This YA novel had great characterization and description. The conflict was also something many of us could relate to; Kahlen fell in love with someone she couldn't be with. The main premise of this book sounds a bit cheesy. Honestly, I didn't think I would like it at all and only read it because I respect the author so much. She surprised me though, and I would definitely recommend The Siren to all my female students.
Who doesn't love a good mystery? This one intrigued me because I have three small children at home and they are my world. The main plot in this novel surrounds a couple who couldn't get pregnant on their own. They had to resort to using a sperm donor and the wife Christine becomes pregnant. Shortly after they celebrate her pregnancy, Christine sees a news clip about a man who was arrested for murder. The man looked exactly like their donor. Christine and Marcus panic, as they fear their unborn child will be genetically prone to being violent. Christine takes matters into her own hands and basically becomes a detective to help prove the innocence of their donor. She risks her life, turns from teacher to investigator, and really does help solve the crime. Read to find out what happens in the end!
Best Book for Boys: Don't Get Caught by Kurt Dinan
So I'll start off by saying this book was written by one of our very own Mason High School English teachers, Mr. Dinan. He rocks tenth grade CP English, so some of you may have the pleasure of sitting in his class at this time next year. I'm pretty sure most MHS teachers purchased a copy of his book when it came out in spring 2015, mostly because we knew him. But his book is phenomenal! Mr. Dinan is one of the funniest people I know and his humor comes right out in his writer's voice in Don't Get Caught. This book is about a group of high school misfits who band together to create legendary pranks after they are framed for a prank they didn't commit by a notorious group at their school called The Chaos Club. Well-developed characters, humor, and little mentions of teachers' names and details from MHS make this a great read.
Best Autobiography: My Fight/Your Fight by Ronda Rousey
This seems like an odd choice for me. I'm not a wrestling/martial arts kind of person. But I was inspired to read this because Ronda Rousey had a condition called CAS (Childhood Apraxia of Speech) which my youngest son has. Rousey didn't speak until she was six, and my own son is three and nonverbal. I wanted to read about how this condition impacted her. Shockingly, she only talked about apraxia for about a chapter. Most of the book was about her intense determination to be successful and "the best" in whatever she does. What drive this woman has! I was so impressed by her never-give-up attitude. I hope my son is the same way.
There you have it! Some of my favorite read from this summer. I'm looking forward to reading about what you read this summer.
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