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✔️Ninth read of summer ☀️🌻

The Seven Generations and the Seven Grandfather Teachings by Jame Vukelich Kaagegaabaw—An excellent introduction to Anishinaabe culture and language. I’ve been looking for a more rooted way to establish expectations in my classroom, and in my own investigations I kept rounding back to the Seven Grandfathers. This book does an excellent job breaking down the language and its meaning combined with history and belief. For this one, I recommend the audiobook to help with pronunciation and practice. 5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #summer reads #the seven generations #the seven grandfathers #anishinaabe #john vukelich #indigenous wisdom #indigenous languages

✔️Eighth read of summer ☀️🌻

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali—A powerful story about friendship that spans many decades and encompasses societal upheaval and the repression of human rights, _The Lion Women of Tehran_ is a book that shows the strength of women and the importance of freedom. The pacing of this book was a little slow at first, matching the role of time in the protagonists’ childhoods—and in childhood, in general—and ramps up quickly with the transition to adulthood. Beautiful historical fiction. 4.5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #summer reads #the lion women of tehran #marjan kamali #historical fiction

✔️Seventh read of summer ☀️🌻

Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross—A companion novel of the _Divine Rivals_ duology, _Wild Reverence_ follows Matilda in finding the extent of her powers as the most recent god-child born to the Underland and Skyward gods. The writing is incredibly beautiful and Romantic (with a capital “R,” though there is some romance-romance throughout), the worlds built are complex and brutal, and the story is sweeping and exciting. It reminded me of _The Knight and the Moth_, for those of you who enjoyed that one. If you haven’t read _Divine Rivals_, you can still enjoy this book, though the epilogue won’t have the same meaning for you. 4.5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #summer reads #fantasy reads #wild reverence #rebecca ross #divine rivals #romantasy

✔️Sixth read of summer ☀️🌻

The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin—Set in late 1800s England, _The Secret Book Society_ opens in media res on a woman being hauled away to an insane asylum and her friend, Lady Duxbury, finding the invitation that suggests The Secret Book Society—of which both women are members—is the cause for her institutionalization. The story then flashes back, following three members of the Society as they navigate the strict and stifling existence of being a woman during this time period. If you need more fiction depicting the pointless cruelty of the patriarchy in western societies and norms, add this one to your TBR. The true and bolstering friendships depicted, and the bravery and strength of women who aren’t crushed by the systemic mechanisms designed to subjugate us will always get a thumbs-up from me. 4.5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #summer reads #the secret book society #madeline martin #victorian england #book clubs #fuck the patriarchy

✔️Fifth read of summer ☀️🌻

(and 50th of 2026! 🥳)

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer—Anyone who loves Nature or wants to improve their relationship with Nature should read Kimmerer’s works, whether it’s _Braiding Sweetgrass_, _Gathering Moss_, or this beautiful addition to her bibliography, _The Serviceberry_. Kimmerer is a biologist with the writing prowess and soul of a poet. Her writing is so beautiful and her reasoning, explanations, and calls to action are so logical and straight-forward that I find myself increasing frustrated with the capitalistic and consumer market we’ve dug ourselves into. Kimmerer blends Indigenous teachings with ecological and biological imperatives in a way that makes learning about the world around us a beautiful and moving experience. 5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #summer reads #the serviceberry #robin wall kimmerer #indigenous wisdom #reciprocity

✔️Fourth read of summer ☀️🌻

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah—I’ve had this one on my TBR for a while, and it lived up to the hype around it… for the most part. Following a young woman named Elsa, living in the Texas panhandle in the years leading up to, and through, the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, _The Four Winds_ is a heartbreaking snapshot of the hardships faced by working-class people just trying to make a life for themselves and their families. This story was so beautifully descriptive that the devastation of the historical events was painful to read at times. The ending was the kicker for me; it’s not how I wanted the story to conclude, but it is another excellent Kristin Hannah historical fiction. 3.75🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #summer reads #historical fiction #the four winds #kristin hannah #the great depression #the dust bowl #unionize

✔️Third read of summer ☀️🌻

Starchaser by R.M. Gray—Sequel to _Nightweaver_, which is—fair warning—a currently incomplete YA fantasy series that combines angel-and-demon-like creatures with pirates. This one was definitely dedicated to setting up the series finale, due out in September, and added a lot of new characters and was delightfully twisty, especially at the end. I’m always on the look-out for middle-grade reads for students who like fantasy and romance but aren’t quite ready for the spiciness that often accompanies that genre. This series is a good option for them, and for you, if that’s what you’re ready for or interested in. Kind of predictable, but still fun. I’m excited to see how the series ends. 3🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #summer reads #fantasy reads #r.m. gray #starchaser #nightweaver #series #pirates

✔️Second read of summer ☀️🌻

I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman—I’m really testing myself by choosing dystopian novels during these trying times. _I Who Have Never Known Men_ begins with an unnamed narrator recounting her life growing up in an underground bunker with 39 adult women, held captive for more than a decade, monitored by guards who do not speak to the women with words but, rather, with the cracks of a whip. No one can remember exactly how they got in the cage, and no one knows for sure why they are there—or even where *there* is exactly. Tense, provocative, and mysterious, _I Who Have Never Known Men_ is a story of female resilience, friendship, and what it means to be a human and what it means to truly live, sometimes in spite of odds and circumstances. This one will sit with me for a loooooong time to come. 4.25🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #summer reads #dystopia #i who have never known men #jacqueline harpman

✔️First read of summer ☀️🌻

Nightweaver, by R.M. Gray—Interesting new-to-me debut novel in the self-titled fantasy series that combines sailing the high seas and thinly veiled angel-and-demon-like creatures at odds in a new world where two continents are divided by an ocean ruled over by pirate clans. Aster Oberon is the heroine—a 17-year-old pirate who is fiercely devoted to her family and her independence. _Nightweaver_ is a fast-paced story that tries to pack *a lot* into a little. The action is violent, visceral, messy, but altogether satisfying. The twists were signaled early, but not fully; readers know *something* is coming, but the details were still surprising. I liked it enough to want to read book two. 3.75🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #summer reads #fantasy reads #nightweaver #r.m. gray #pirates #angels and demons #pretty pages

✔️Thirty-first read of spring 🌱🌦️

And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie—Classic Dame Agatha, “Queen of Crime.” Despite its problematic title origins, _And Then There Were None_ is one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels because it doesn’t come with classic heroes and villains. Ten people answer invitations to the secluded “Soldier Island,” and each guest is faced with the crimes they all thought they had long outrun. Excellent twists and turns and a shocking conclusion. 5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #agatha christie #and then there were none #murder mystery

✔️Thirtieth read of spring 🌱🌦️

Whistler, by Ann Patchett—I have been divided in my Ann Patchett enjoyment (loved _Bel Canto_, hated _Tom Lake_), but I’m happy to report that _Whistler_ falls on the “loved” side of things. After a chance reunion with her step-father, Daphne Fuller re-examines her memories and relationships since Eddie Triplett and her mother divorced when Daphne was nine. _Whistler_ is a story about the love we share with one another, even for a short amount of time, and the bravery even the youngest among us possesses. The simplicity of the writing allows the incredible characters and relationships to positively sing. 5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #ann patchett #whistler

✔️Twenty-ninth read of spring 🌱🌦️

Starling House, by Alix E. Harrow—Another Harrow triumph! While it did take me a few chapters to get into, _Starling House_ is a uniquely imaginative dive into the monsters and villains immortalized in local folklore and history (that also transcends to all stories, everywhere). Along the river in Eden, Kentucky, Starling House was the place everyone avoided because of its dark history, and the “Starlings” who lived there were reclusive and not to be trifled with. As usual, this is NOT the whole story, and Opal discovers the darkness below the surface of Starling House’s mythology and in her own traumatic history. This book is a well thought-out examination of the treatment of women through history, the corruption and evil of powerful, cruel, and wealthy men, and the ramifications of prejudice. 4.25🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #alix e. harrow #starling house #fantasy reads

✔️Twenty-eighth read of spring 🌱🌦️

A Fortune of Sand, by Ruta Sepetys—Y’all, Detroit in the 1920s, especially in historical fiction, was a wild ride. _A Fortune of Sand_ took on this wild ride through the lens of women’s—especially creative or eccentric women—agency, as well as the restrictive family expectations within the rising “dynasties” of the age. Main character Marjorie Lennox is the youngest child of glass magnates of the auto industry and is a budding fashion designer who joins an exclusive artists’ retreat where she enters a strange and mysterious program that turns out to be more than what it appears on the surface. Readers be warned: the ending is abrupt, and—to this reader—not as satisfying as it could have been. Still, 4🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #ruta sepetys #a fortune of sand #historical fiction #detroit michigan #1920s

✔️Twenty-seventh read of spring 🌱🌦️

Bog Queen, by Anna North—I loved North’s _Outlawed_, an old-West take on defending reproductive rights. That said, I had high hopes for _Bog Queen_. Told in three perspectives—two from women thousands of years apart in northern England’s sacred peat marshes, and the third from the seemingly godlike, sentient, and eternal moss that witnesses the lives of civilizations come and go—_Bog Queen_ is a slowly unfolding mystery of death, legacy, and the choices we make in the name of “what’s best.” Informative, sad, and reflective _Bog Queen_ takes on the nuances of being in a position of power, of betrayal, and consequences. 3.25🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #bog queen #anna north #historical fiction

✔️Twenty-sixth read of spring 🌱🌦️

Lady Tremaine, by Rachel Hochhauser—When I first heard about _Lady Tremaine_, I understood it to be a villain origin story mixed with a twisted fairy tale. After a friend encouraged me to give it a try, I was surprised to find it was both of the things I expected but also neither of those things, as well. _Lady Tremaine_ is, at its core, a story of women’s survival set during our horrifyingly misogynistic past and shows women seeking independence amidst violence and controlling restrictions put on female bodies; it also does a good job portraying the damage fellow women so casually inflicted—and still inflict—on their sisters in the name of serving the rigged status quo, making their own experiences marginally more palatable at the expense of others. While it was not what I expected, _Lady Tremaine_ joins the ever-growing collection of stories shining a light on the experiences of women—as much of the past as the present. 4.25🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #lady tremaine #rachel hochhauser #cinderella #twisted tales #historical fiction

✔️Twenty-fifth read of spring 🌱🌦️

The Birchbark House, by Louise Erdrich—As summer rolls in, I find myself inspired to revisit middle-grade classics, and this is one in a long line. Omakakiins, or Little Frog, is saved as a toddler, the only survivor of a smallpox outbreak in her home, by the cantankerous Old Tallow. Through the seasons of Omakakiins’s eighth year, _The Birchbark House_ examines traditional Ojibwe life, family, and the encroachment of white people. Omakakiins deepens her kith-ship with the island, animals, and plants of her home and experiences great joys and sorrows. 4.25🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #historical fiction #louise erdrich #the birchbark house #omakakiins #little frog #ojibwe #anishinaabe

✔️Twenty-fourth read of spring 🌱🌦️

Tuck Everlasting: The Graphic Novel, adapted and illustrated by K. Woodman-Maynard—First, _Tuck Everlasting_ has long been one of my favorite books. This, in addition to its superb writing, was a factor in adding it to the options of whole-class reads for my middle school classes. On the day my sixth and seventh graders voted to read the novel version of this book for next year, my little Ro-girl was at the library with her dad and—according to him—she stopped, plucked the graphic novel off the shelf, brought it to him, and said, “for Mama,” then went back to playing. Heard, universe, heard.

The graphic novel of _Tuck Everlasting_ is as true to the novel as any graphic-novel adaptation could hope to be, and the artwork is so beautifully rendered that it brought literal tears to my eyes. Magical and poignant. 5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #tuck everlasting #tuck everlasting the graphic novel #graphic novel #natalie babbitt #middle school #middle grade #novel adaptation

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