The Reading Challenge Group discussion

Our genre for July is YA/Middle Grade. This is a great way to find some new fun reads for summer. Or maybe a good time to revisit some old favourites!

Happy reading, everyone!

Yay! I have a lot of YA books on my TBR!

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I'm going to LOVE this month, ha! I just finished grabbing the book covers of the books I PLAN to read. We'll see how I do. Some of that time I will be on vacation, so who knows? Either way, I'm seriously stoked for this month!

TBR:

I've already put a bunch of books on hold at the library. I love this genre!

Rosemarie wrote: "I've already put a bunch of books on hold at the library. I love this genre!"

This is going to be a fun month for sure!!!

Oooo! Uprooted was really good!

I did something similar... spent time thins morning combing through my library’s website for YA audiobooks. :D

Renee wrote: "Oooo! Uprooted was really good!

I did something similar... spent time thins morning combing through my library’s website for YA audiobooks. :D"

Oooh, cool! That makes me even more excited to read Uprooted and Spinning Silver! My hardest job will be to figure out which ones to read first, lol. I will probably read Bloom and Batman early on because those are physical books I'll have to return to the library soon. But other than that, I don't have a definite plan.

Wind In The Willows is HILLARIOUS, and The Red Pyramid is really good Eileen! Glad you liked Uprooted Renee, I recently bought it, and I have Spinning Silver checked out from the library LOL! I am going to read Julie this month for sure, and probably quite a few more as my friend gave me a pile of YA books recently!

Jenny wrote: "Wind In The Willows is HILLARIOUS, and The Red Pyramid is really good Eileen! Glad you liked Uprooted Renee, I recently bought it, and I have Spinning Silver checked out from the library LOL! I am ..."

Woo hoo! Sounds like I have made a good set of selections! Now to see how many I can actually get through!

I’ll be reading Percy Jackson (#2), Artemis Fowl (#1), The Darkest Legacy (The Darkest Mind #4), Red Queen (#1) and Quintana of Charyn (The Lumatere Chronicles #3).

The other reads I have planned for July don’t fit the theme but I’m quite happy with this selection. Really looking forward to them all!

Eileen that’s an amazing list. I read “Salt to the Sea” recently & thought it was wonderful. I haven’t decided what to read for this theme.

Susy, Artemis Fowl is a great series!

Susy, Artemis Fowl is a great series!

Susy wrote: "I’ll be reading Percy Jackson (#2), Artemis Fowl (#1), The Darkest Legacy (The Darkest Mind #4), Red Queen (#1) and Quintana of Charyn (The Lumatere Chronicles #3).

The other reads I have planned ..."

I am slowly trying to make my way through the Riordan books, but eventually I want to read the Artemis Fowl books! I may also sneak in the last two Spirit Animal books (and possibly the two addendums) since I never quite completed it in the fantasy month.

Trisha wrote: "Eileen that’s an amazing list. I read “Salt to the Sea” recently & thought it was wonderful. I haven’t decided what to read for this theme."

Oooh, cool. Based on what friends on GR's have told me, I decided to read Between Shades of Grey and Salt to the Sea back to back.

Both books are good, Eileen. I hope you enjoy them.

Good to hear Jenny! I’m really looking forward to the series!

How are you liking Rick Rordian, Eileen? It’s my first and I’m loving it! :)

Are you guys talking about Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys? Absolutely loved that book!

Hi Susy, I really enjoy Rick Riordan! I've read the first five of the Percy Jackson and I'm basically trying to read his books in a recommended order. The Kane Chronicles are next on my list, and somewhere in there I'm going to read the Greek Gods and Greek Heroes one. My older sister has read pretty much all of them and she loves them.

And now I'm REALLY looking forward to the Ruta Septys books!

Wow. so many new ideas! I jumped the gun a little...grabbed up my selection ( Black Beauty ) as I tucked into bed for my evening reading time...got caught up in it, and well...it was finished before I knew it! I'll find another...there are plenty of books in this house!! And I'm sure a couple I picked up just for this genre last year! Meanwhile, there's a tome awaiting me while I'm on the True-Crime spin and the anniversary of the Brown-Goldman murders...

I just finished The Lightning Thief and loved it. Looking forward to the next book which I’ll be reading next month. First off to finishing The Rosie Result.

Susy wrote: "I just finished The Lightning Thief and loved it. Looking forward to the next book which I’ll be reading next month. First off to finishing The Rosie Result."

Oooh, I have read the first two Rosie books, but haven't read the third. You'll have to let me know what you think!

Glennis wrote: "Wow. so many new ideas! I jumped the gun a little...grabbed up my selection ( Black Beauty ) as I tucked into bed for my evening reading time...got caught up in it, and well...it was fi..."

My goodness, I haven't read Black Beauty in years! I'm glad it was still good. :D

Eileen wrote: "Susy wrote: "I just finished The Lightning Thief and loved it. Looking forward to the next book which I’ll be reading next month. First off to finishing The Rosie Result."

Oooh, I have read the first two Rosie books, but haven't read the third. You'll have to let me know what you think!"

The Rosie Result was a bit more serious/less funny than the first two books, so not that it was bad but it wasn’t exactly what I had expected. I loved the ending though so I ended up giving it 4 stars nonetheless.

If you all have not yet read With the Fire on High and it's not yet on your list, you should definitely read it and I highly recommend the audio. Elizabeth Acevedo is a wonderful narrator for her own books and I couldn't put this book down!

Thanks for the recommendation, Eileen! This was one I considered on my library’s website but didn’t know anything about.

Renee wrote: "Thanks for the recommendation, Eileen! This was one I considered on my library’s website but didn’t know anything about."

You're welcome! I hope you enjoy! Just FYI that it does mention sex once and almost sex a second time, but it's not too bad and the impression you're left with is that respect between partners and having both be ready is very important. And good lesson, I think, for teens to learn and understand.

Finally giving The Hate you Give a shot!

Kiersten wrote: "Finally giving The Hate you Give a shot!"
Cool! I hope you enjoy it! I definitely did and got my middle schooler to read it as well!

Book 1 is at the Middle Grade level:

The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

It's a great book!

I am continuing with my Brandon Mull binge and am starting to read Seeds of Rebellion today. This is the second in the Beyonders series - middle-grade fantasy by Mull.

Badlydone wrote: "I am continuing with my Brandon Mull binge and am starting to read Seeds of Rebellion today. This is the second in the Beyonders series - middle-grade fantasy by Mull."

Cool, I'm working on his Five Kingdoms book and so far, I'm liking the second one better than the first. But that's partly because I'm reading it rather than listening to it, I think. I wasn't a huge fan of the narrator. I'm also working on Queen of Attolia, and overall, I'm liking both the narrator and the second book rather than the first. The third one goes back to the first narrator, though, so we'll have to see what happens as I continue with that series. This particular series is good, but it's very slow burning, partly because there's a lot of politics in it. So it's good, but I'm not captivated by it the way I am with other series.

Eileen, that is great! I just finished Five Kingdoms and felt that the books got better as the series progressed. The first one was my least favorite. The Beyonders shares some places and characters with the Five Kingdoms.

I have not read Queen of Attolia, would love to learn more about it!

Badlydone wrote: "Eileen, that is great! I just finished Five Kingdoms and felt that the books got better as the series progressed. The first one was my least favorite. The Beyonders shares some places and character..."

Oooh, that's good to know. That makes me more motivated to keep on moving through the Five Kingdoms books. They develop more slowly than the Fablehaven books and I think that's why I didn't like it as much at first (plus the narrator of the Fablehaven books is much better than the one for Five Kingdoms). But reading them does help a lot.

I see that Robin Hobb is your favorite author--she's one of my faves too! I'll let you know what I think when I'm finished with The Thief series (Queen of Attolia).

I read Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. I had seen good reviews of the book, but didn’t like it at all. The writing style seemed very condescending in places, as though the author was trying too hard to be patient & explain things to a fairly stupid reader!

Aw, darn, I was hoping that would be a good read. I generally enjoy Neil Gaiman very much, so this is sad to hear. I just recently read his Stardust story, which was a quick and enjoyable read.

I actually quite liked it....

Either way, at some point it will be on my list of things to listen to! While I've liked some of his stories more than others, I have yet to find a Neil Gaiman I haven't liked.

Susy & Eileen, this was my first book by Neil Gaiman, though I already have “American Gods” to read later this summer. Perhaps I expected too much, or maybe this one just wasn’t for me. I know it’s popular with a lot of people. I’m glad you liked it Susy. It’s frustrating to read a book that seems disappointing.

I can understand that! I liked Ocean at the End of the Lane, but I liked Graveyard book better. I read American Gods and Good Omens long ago, and I am pretty sure I liked them both, but I'd like to reread them now, when I get the time!

Eileen wrote: "I can understand that! I liked Ocean at the End of the Lane, but I liked Graveyard book better. I read American Gods and Good Omens long ago, and I am pretty sure I liked them both, but I'd like to..."

That’s interesting, Eileen. I intended to read American Gods when I go on holiday. It’s good to know you enjoyed it.

Loved Good Omens! It has a special place in my heart.

Also, American Gods. And I read the next one which I think is called Anansi Boys. Also good. It’s good to have a bit of Norse mythology in your head. It makes the story make more sense, I think.

Renee, that's good to know. I was thinking of reading Anansi Boys after rereading American Gods, but American Gods is quite long, so it may have to wait until I make my way through The Gray House. In the meantime, it sounds like reading Norse Mythology beforehand wouldn't hurt. :)

I just finished The Other Half of Happy and I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys realistic fiction with middle school characters with a multi-cultural bent. I really loved it and found myself tearing up multiple times in the story. Really recommend it when it is released (I joined NetGalley so I could read books like this, lol).

@Trish: it sure is frustrating! I hope your next (Gaiman) read will be better!

I just finished Lost and Found and I can definitely recommend it for anyone who likes YA science fiction, although this is science fiction that does not take place on other planets. It's more like extrasensory powers (called "micropowers") and how one boy learns to use his (and help others with these micropower realize their own potential) micropower of finding things to find people. It's ultimately about friendship, imho. I very much enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down when it got way too late to keep on reading, lol. But I ended up finishing it on my plane trip at midnight last night. I've always enjoyed OSC's writing style, so if you have any fondness for any of his books, you should give this a whirl.

Started Red Queen (#1). It’s a bit predictable but fun nonetheless!

I’m having such a hard time choosing what to read for this!! Too many possibilities!!

I started with The Coldest Girl in Coldtown from my library website. It was an interesting take on the vampire story, just bordering on apocalypse, with digital voyeurism and quarantine cities. All the elements made for an interesting read. But not as satisfying as something like The Girl With All the Gifts or a story by Richard Matheson.

Now I’m looking at my Audible library. Do I really need look elsewhere??? So many unread titles!!! So now I’m thinking that I’ll alternate between the two.... because I’m greedy. And possibly crazy. I should really be finishing one of the massive books I started in June. Better Question: Do I really need to be stressing this?? Yep, definitely crazy! 😝

You know how it is when you remember reading a book, a long time ago...you remember bits and pieces, but NOT the title or the author??? I about drove myself bonkers.
Ages ago, I read a YA romance set during WWII...and I believed it was a Readers' Digest Condensed book...but not what year. After some serious searching, and accessing the Goodreads group on this subject, I finally found it!
The Distant Summer arrived this morning! Since I read the condensed version originally, and this is the UK version...it will be like reading it brand new.
I read all of Sarah, Plain and Tall last night as a break from the tome I'm reading on an old murder case. Sometimes you just have to lighten up the mood a little!

Lol Renee, aren’t we all a bit crazy? I’m signing up for more and more group and buddy reads and completely stressing out about managing to read all of them 🙈

I am in a lot of groups and am trying to participate in a lot of group reads, which doesn't prevent me from reading lots of other books anyway. I have a stack of holds and two books on Libby (library ebooks) just for this month's genre.
But they are all short. After reading 858 pages of Lonesome Dove, I really need a break.