Quick Thoughts : Five Summers, On the Fence, The Secrets of Lily Graves, Panic
I went through a lot of books on my YA contemporary reading month, and let’s be honest; for me, there comes a point when it gets almost impossible to have enough interesting thoughts to share on all the books I read. But I still enjoy keeping track of them all, the favorites like the boring ones; so today I’ll be doing it with quick reviews for a few of these books, sharing what I did like about them!
Five Summers by Una LaMarche : Mystery, 2.5/5
I love the summer camp setting! As a kid, I was so envious of my best friend, who would get to go every summer. The friendship between the girls worked great; both their good and bad moments felt realistic, and I liked how the story was told by alternating the different years of the camp and the present.
On the Fence by Kasie West : Mystery, 3/5
Cute romance. I liked all the brothers (I would have liked to know them more, in fact!) and I thought the main character had a bit of a sporty side that I liked (different than the bookworms we usually see – though, as a bookworm myself, I love those of my kind dearly!). Kasie West writes great chemistry for her protagonists!
The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer : Mystery, 2.5/5
Good mystery with interesting setting. The “who did it” wasn’t too obvious and I liked main character’s voice. It’s fun when characters have secrets, too! Bonus points for funeral business, which never fails to make its characters interesting.
Panic by Lauren Oliver : Mystery, 3/5
I really like Lauren Oliver’s writing. This one was packed full of action and never boring. It also raises a lot of question and would be a great book for discussion. I connected well with the characters and I liked that there was more than one point of view. It reminded me that I still have to finish reading the Delirium series…
Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?
Five Summers sounds the most interesting of all of those.
I like the quick overview of these few contemporary reads, I think sometimes I find I run out of different things to say about a similar kind of story, so I try to separate them apart or group them in smaller reviews.
I want to check out the Kasie West book since I have heard lots of good things, so I’m glad you liked it!
Kasie West’s contemporary fiction is really cute! I haven’t read her series yet, but I heard great things about it too.