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✔️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

✔️Twenty-third read of spring 🌱🌦️

Tress of the Emerald Sea, by Brandon Sanderson—Weirdly, this my first Brandon Sanderson after years of adding his work to my TBR. The main character, Tress—so named for her unruly locks—undertakes an amazing, other-worldly high seas (well, it’s not *really* seas, but that’s a bigger story) adventure to save the man she loves. Featuring a beautiful and quirky cast of characters, Tress’s adventures range from the silly to the epic. The world-building and characters are incredible and quirky, and the story is well-suited for middle, YA, and adult readers alike. 4.5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #tress of the emerald sea #brandon sanderson #fantasy reads #ya lit

✔️Twenty-second read of spring 🌱🌦️

Know My Name, by Chanel Miller—One in five women in the United States has experienced completed or attempted rape during their lifetime. _Know My Name_ is the examination of this ignored cultural norm through the author’s personal experiences. Miller’s story is absolutely heartbreaking but also incredibly inspiring, exactly the mirror we need to put up to ourselves as a society. Everybody needs to read this book. EVERYBODY. 5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #know my name #chanel miller #sexual assault #survivor story #memoir

✔️Twenty-first read of spring 🌱🌦️

Alchemised, by SenLinYu—Powerhouse new (to me) science-fantasy that follows Helena Marino through an alchemy-necromancy based civil war that she can’t remember. All her records indicate she was a healer, but the holes in her memory suggest she was a much more critical member of the now-apparently-defeated Resistance. Dark, violent, thrilling, and remarkably human, _Alchemised_ addresses war, choice, justice, and the stories we create about the world we want vs. the world that is. 5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #alchemised #senlinyu #science fantasy #dark fantasy

✔️Twentieth read of spring 🌱🌦️

Don’t Call Us Dead, by Danez Smith—Another powerful collection of poetry by Danez Smith examining the perils of being in Black and queer bodies in America today. Smith writes candidly about race and ties sex, violence, desire, HIV diagnoses, fear, and love together in a way that will break your heart over and over. 5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #poetry #danez smith #don’t call us dead #powerful

✔️Nineteenth read of spring 🌱🌦️

Lord of the Butterflies, by Andrea Gibson—Gorgeous spoken-word poetry that glides with a sense of ease that anyone who has ever written a word will know is a breath-taking success story. Lovely, poignant, and profound reflection on trans, queer, and empathetic existence in the chaotic world we inhabit. 5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #poetry #andrea gibson #lord of the butterflies

✔️Eighteenth read of spring 🌱🌦️

Dog Show, by Billy Collins—Dog-themed poetry collection from the talented Billy Collins. Both light-hearted and profound, Collins’s simple language cuts to the heart of our relationships with our canine companions and how impactful they are in our lives. 4.25🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #poetry #dog show #billy collins

✔️Seventeenth read of spring 🌱🌦️

The Faraway Inn, by Sarah Beth Durst—Another cozy fantasy read from Sarah Beth Durst, _The Faraway Inn_ is about 16-year-old Calisa visiting her great aunt’s B&B in the remoteness of Vermont for the summer to help cure her heartache while lending aging Auntie Zee a hand. It doesn’t take long for Calisa to realize that there’s much more to this B&B—and its guests—than is easily explainable in our mundane existence. Delightfully fluffy, quick read. 4.25🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #fantasy reads #spring reads #ya lit #sarah beth durst #the faraway inn #cozy reading #cottagecore #pretty pages #painted edges

✔️Sixteenth read of spring 🌱🌦️

We Burned So Bright, by TJ Klune—Sad but beautiful in its swift examination of the human race, _We Burned So Bright_ follows Don and Rodney on a cross-country trek, trying to keep a promise, at the end of the world. Because of a one-in-a-trillion chance opening of a black hole in our solar system, the Earth and its inhabitants have a few weeks to come to terms with “The End”. Don and Rodney reflect on their 40-year love story, found-family, identity, love, mercy, and what we owe to one another. In true Klune form, it is both devastating and gorgeous in its complexity. A quick, albeit dense read. 4.75🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #science fiction #we burned so bright #tj klune #don and rodney #end of the world #found family

✔️Fifteenth read of spring 🌱🌦️

A Stage Set for Villains, by Shannon J Spann—Theatre and fantasy nerds, unite! _A Stage Set for Villains_ is a dark fantasy set in a divided land called Theatron, where the Players—a supernatural troupe of actors with extraordinary access to “Craft”—terrorize the populace looking for attention and adulation. At the beginning of the story, the main character, Riven Hesper, is cursed by an encounter with one of the Players, and she joins the cast in an effort to find a cure. Wonderfully twisty and exciting, _A Stage Set for Villains_ was a delight from start to finish. 4.75🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #fantasy reads #spring reads #ya lit #shannon j spann #a stage set for villains #fantasy #theatre

✔️Fourteenth read of spring 🌱🌦️

The Boleyn Traitor, by Philippa Gregory—From now on, anytime anyone asks me, “if you could travel back in time, when would you travel to?” I’m just going to hand them this book to remind them that women have been treated like trash for always, so I’m not traveling anywhere worse than now. Dr. Philippa Gregory is a historian who illuminates the experience of women affected by and living with major historical men, primarily during the Plantagenet and Tudor reigns of England. _The Boleyn Traitor_ follows Jane Boleyn, the sister-in-law of Queen Anne Boleyn, senior lady-in-waiting to five of Henry VIII’s wives, and spy to Thomas Cromwell up until her execution near the end of Henry VIII’s reign. Devastatingly sad in the utter hopelessness of women forced to rely on ambitious and cruel male relations and ruled by vicious and unstable leaders, the Plantagenet and Tudor series endeavors to un-white-wash the great male historical figures to show their flaws and bring some justice to the long vilified women of history. 3.75🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #historical fiction #philippa gregory #the boleyn traitor #henry viii

✔️Thirteenth read of spring 🌱🌦️

The Bookseller at the End of the World, by Ruth Shaw—Startling memoir of Ruth Shaw whose life story leading up to opening her “Wee Bookshops” in New Zealand is so incredible I feel like I have whiplash. The casualness with which she retells her life is punctuated by everything from sexual assault, to losing a child, to sailing the South Pacific with her dog and an adopted dock cat, to getting boarded by pirates, to reconnecting with the love of her life 20 years after a broken engagement. The narrative of Shaw’s life interweaves with stories of patrons in her bookstores and was a delight to read. 3.75🌟

#booklr #good books #reading #spring reads #ruth shaw #the bookseller at the end of the world #booksellers #memoir

✔️Twelfth read of spring 🌱🌦️

Eliza and Her Monsters, by Francesca Zappia—Eliza Mirk is not social. Eliza Mirk is not a joiner. What Eliza Mirk is, is the world-famous online artist of the _Monstrous Sea_ comic with millions of fans who know her only as Lady Constellation. When she inadvertently befriends—and begins to fall for—one of _Monstrous Sea_’s biggest fans, the anonymity she has so carefully guarded begins to crumble. Addressing expectations of artists, anxiety, and growing up in a family that doesn’t always understand you, _Eliza and Her Monsters_ is an excellent reminder that we are who we are, and that is a beautiful thing. 4.75🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #eliza and her monsters #francesca zappia #fanfiction #monstrous sea

✔️Eleventh read of spring 🌱🌦️

The Compound, by Aisling Rawle—This is one of the most unsettling reads I’ve had in a long time. The voyeurism, vanity, misogyny, materialism, and selfishness portrayed in this book are simultaneously dystopian and realistic. The story begins when Lily wakes up in “The Compound,” with a group of other beautiful 20-somethings, to compete in a Big Brother-esque reality show for luxury items and prizes and to escape the crumbling outside world. Tense and dark consistently throughout, this one will stick with me for a looooooong time. 3.5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #spring reads #the compound #aisling rawle #dystopia #unsettling reads #reality tv

✔️Tenth read of spring 🌱🌦️

The Bones Beneath My Skin, by TJ Klune—Getting really sick of picking up a TJ Klune book, getting to the end, and thinking “well, I guess I have a new favorite book now.” Just kidding, I’m not sick of it; keep ‘em coming, TJ! But truly, even on a reread, Klune’s work hits me in all the right places: humor, relationships, connections, found-family, and love, love, love. In _The Bones Beneath My Skin_, Nate Cartwright is struggling to find meaning in his life, until he finds Alex and the incomparable Artemis Darth Vader. All the hijinks you would associate with a character named “Artemis Darth Vader” ensue, and Nate finds everything he was missing in his life and so much more. Solid 5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #fantasy reads #spring reads #the bones beneath my skin #tj klune #artemis death vader #five star reads

✔️Ninth read of spring 🌱🌦️

Finding My Way, by Malala Yousafzai—If you are unfamiliar with the incredible Malala Yousafzai, please, please, please look her up. Her story is miraculous and filled with violence and bravery that will leave your heart absolutely aching. In this more recent memoir, Yousafzai writes candidly about the toll her activism and ambitions took on her in her college and early adult life. Though her story is incredible, her experiences, feelings, and fears are so relatable that I was, at times, brought to tears. I absolutely devoured _Finding My Way_, and I suggest you do, too. 5🌟

#booklr #reading #good books #memoir #finding my way #malala yousafzai #i am malala #women’s rights #right to education

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