Summer Book List

It's a rainy day outside.  There's nothing good on TV, you've watched all of your movies so many times that you are tired of them, and all of your friends are on vacation or at camp so there's nobody to talk to online.  You're bored.  What are you supposed to do on a day like this?  You can go read a good book to pass the time away!

Author Name

Description of Book(s)/Author's Writing Style

Books by: Tamora Pierce

The books written by Tamora Pierce have everything you could want out of a book.  It covers all topics and is a very entertaining read.  The Tortall books take place in a medieval-like setting.  There are battles to be won and knighthood to be earned.  All the while, everyone is trying to battle and adapt to the immortal beasts that have recently come to Tortall.  Friendship and heroic actions prevail above all as well as stubbornness and determination needed for the characters to achieve their goals. 

Books by: Diana Wynne Jones

Diana Wynne Jones has a gift for weaving complex storylines in a tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat.  She is the author of two quartets including the Tales of Chrestomanci and The Dalemark Quartet.  These books all have a main purpose that run through the quartet.  These are all great books filled with adventure, imagination and fun.

Books by: Celia Rees

Celia Rees is an amazing author.  She can really make the story seem like a factual story.  I was really surprised to find out that they weren't real and was amazed at how she fooled me.  Her books include Witch Child and Sorceress.  These people feel like they are real because they have such distinct personalities.  These books chronicle the journey of a teenage girl who doesn't know if she is a witch or not.  No one else knows either and they are willing to burn her to be rid of bad luck.

Books by: T.A. Barron

T.A. Barron makes you feel like you have entered into another world.  This world is sophisticated and complex and you don't know what's going to happen.  It is set in a time when there weren't big cities but small communities and rural villages.  His series is titled The Lost Years of Merlin and is one of the most fascinating series you can read.

Books by: Eoin Colfer

Eoin Colfer is the author of the Artemis Fowl series.  He has written many other books as well.  He mixes magic with the supernatural with our modern world to create a believable, lovable story that will leave you wanting more.  Artemis Fowl is his most renown work and it is about a teenage genius who wants to discover the fairy world and does.  It is up to the fairies to stop him from destroying everyone there.

Books by: J.R.R. Tolkien

You might be wondering why this was put here at all.  Almost everyone seems to have seen the movie.  So why should you read the book?  The book is so much richer with culture and stories that couldn't have possibly been put in the Lord of the Rings movies.  There are characters that weren't added and storylines that weren't mentioned.  Notable parts in the Lord of the Rings book includes the meeting of Tom Bombadil and the scouring of the Shire.  Also read The Hobbit and The Silmarillion.

Books by: J.K. Rowling

Everybody by now has probably heard of the Harry Potter books.  Even so, not everyone has read the books.  If you have, reread them.  You are bound to find out something that you never realized before.  I needed to reread them several times in order to catch a lot of the clues hidden in the text.  Every time I found something.  I probably still haven't found them all.  They are a very entertaining read that has magic around every corner.

Books by: Jenny Nimmo

Jenny Nimmo is the author of the Charlie Bone books.  These are really great books about a boy going to school to learn magic.  He finds out that he is part of a special group of people that were descended from the founders of the school, and so, they are granted with special powers that others don't have.  Evil relatives and close friends are in this book that is a cross between a mystery and a fantasy.  Harry Potter fans will love this book.

Author Name

Description of Book(s)/Author's Writing Style

Books by: Janet Tashjian

Janet Tashjian writes inquisitive novels that make you think twice about the way you live.  She has written The Gospel According to Larry and its sequel and they are both amazing.  These books offer insights into our society and the way we live it and questions whether it is right or not.  It follows a teenage boy who makes a web site that offers his opinions on things.  It becomes a phenomenon and everyone wants to know who is behind it.  It goes through his story in a believable manner.  It is truly a great story. 

Books by: Lois Lowry

Lois Lowry is the author of a lot of books.  Some of her most popular ones include The Giver and its companion books.  The Giver is about a perfect society and how they function without some of the privileges of today's world.  Everything is the same until one person messes it up.  Find out what happens by reading this book. 

Books by: Scott O'Dell

Scott O'Dell has written critically acclaimed books including The Island of the Blue Dolphins.  This book is about a young Indian girl who has to fend for herself on a deserted island.  It tells of her struggles to stay alive and try to reach civilization again.  This is based off of a real-life story that happened over 200 years ago.  It is truly a fascinating book and a great story.

Books by: Madeleine L'Engle

Madeleine L'Engle is the author of A Wrinkle in Time.  This is a true classic that will be read each generation by all.  A Wrinkle in Time is about a teenage girl that has to go through time and space to save her father.  She has to face what her father had went away trying to learn about and that is when there's a wrinkle in time.

Books by: Diane Duane

Diane Duane writes a realistic story.  Her series is called So You Want to be a Wizard.  This series chronicles a teenager who goes to the library and finds a book called How to be a Wizard.  They think that it is a joke until they try it and get magical powers.  It is a spellbinding series that will leave you wanting more as it travels through the life of a teen with power.

Books by: Lemony Snicket

Lemony Snicket is known for his mysterious ways and books that have a different twist.  He is the author of The Series of Unfortunate Events.  Are you tired of always having the predictable, happy ending?  Then these books are for you.  It is very rare that something good happens for any of these characters and when it does, it immediately gets worse.  It is nice to read a book that is different yet entertaining and well-written.