Welcome to the 22nd I Heart YA Blog Carnival! (Every 2nd Tuesday). I HEART YA is a Blog Carnival for readers, writers, and lovers of young adult fiction. Every month there will be a blogging prompt that celebrates my favorite reading genre --YA fiction. Bloggers are invited to write their own take on the topic and post a link in the comment section, or if you prefer just put your thoughts in the comments. Either way, if you own a blog, grab the button to show your pride, and add your link to the list below. If you're not sure what to do, go to the I HEART YA tab for more details.

And here we go! 

Summer is winding down (sadness) so the natural topic of the day is Summer Love! If you want to participate, I'll leave the rest to you and your fertile imagination. Did you love a book you read this summer? Was there one with a perfect love story? Did you have a summer romance? (If you did, that MUST be your topic. Seriously.) Did you get through your summer reading list? Did you just play instead? Just include summer and love in the topic and you're good to go!

As for me, my only summer romance is one that has been a spring, summer, fall, and winter romance for the last 30 years. Yep 30. Which I know makes me old, but it's also kind of a phenom in the romance department. Still, it doesn't make a juicy summer romance story, so I'll settle for a look at my reading list. 

I'm looking at the reading pile sitting next to my bed (Not to mention the one in my "cloud".) feeling a little bit like a failure. My plan was to put in solid writing time every day, interspersed with reading time while trotting around with the kids and grandkids. And while I did PLENTY of the said trotting around, the reading and writing part didn't happen nearly as much as I'd hoped. Though I have to say I don't regret for a minute spending time IN the pool instead of lounging next to it. Or playing miniature golf, or walking through a museum with "real" dinosaurs or...oh wait. We're talking books. Now you see how I get distracted?  

And back to books...My unread (but dying to get there) list includes Broken by C.K. Bryant. Become, by Ali Cross. SoulKeepers by G.P. Ching. And a book I picked up at Costco called The Shapeshifter's Secret by Heather Ostler. I don't even think it's an ebook, but it has a beautiful cover and looks intriguing. And I did actual squeeze in quite a bit of reading. I'm on a big Megg Jensen kick. She got me hooked with Anathema (though I have to admit it took me a while to get into it, but the solid writing kept me going, and by the end I was hooked.) 

But (finally) to the meat of my thoughts - a surprise summer read recommendation! This is a book I have to admit I would have never picked up if the author hadn't asked. And I also have to admit my expectations were low. It's called "The Son of Rage and Love" by Thomas Raymond. This is a story of a 12-year-old boy who is the son of a larger-than-life celebrity. He spends his days drugged up on ADHD medication while his narcissistic grandmother controls every aspect of his life--which consists mostly of television and video games. That is until his mother decides to improve her tarnished image by adopting a Haitian boy, who turns all their lives upside down. 

The book only took a couple of hours to read, and was absolutely fun. I loved the little digs at some well-known celebrities, whether they were intended or not. And the big escape by the boys in a toy Jeep. My only problem with the book is that I'm not sure where to place it. Even though the main character is a 12-year-old boy, I didn't feel like handing it over to my 13-year-old son. Not that it was inappropriate (though it does deal with some heavy issues like drug addiction, child abuse, and child pornography), but because it isn't the type of thing he's in to. I may still put it on his nightstand and see what happens, but for older teens and adults I whole-heartedly recommend it. 

So what about you? What have you loved this summer? 

Share your thoughts! (And don't forget to add your blog to the Linky Tool, and share the link in the comments!)

Share your thoughts! (And don't forget to add your blog to the Linky Tool, and share the link in the comments!)