June 2020 Reading & Blogging Wrap-Up + Book Haul

June2020WrapUp

A little late, but today I am wrapping up what I read & blogged in June!

» The Time of Green Magic by Hilary McKay

*2.5 Stars*

While I was expecting a middle grade fantasy, this was more contemporary with some magic realism elements. Unfortunately, this one came up a bit short for me.

» Rick by Alex Gino

#PrideMonth

Another wonderful MG book from Alex Gino. They (preferred pronoun) write such relevant and informational books with LGBTQIA+ elements. Rick includes a main character that is questioning their sexuality and exploring the idea they might be aromantic.

» Drama by Raina Telgemeier

*3.5 Stars*

#PrideMonth

I loved how this book centered around kids in their school’s theater production. I also appreciated the inclusion of gay characters in a MG graphic novel. I think coming off a Svetlana Chmakova graphic novel made this one dull in comparison…

» Bloom by Kevin Panetta

*4.5 Stars*

#PrideMonth

This was a wonderful YA graphic novel about a M/M romance. I loved the blue color palette carried out through the entirety of the book.

» The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club #1) by Lyssa Kay Adams

I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this adult romance. I was delighted with all the feminist tones, and enjoyed the humor.

» Internment by Samira Ahmed

Need a very relevant YA dystopian book in your life? The scary & unsettling thing about this book was that I could actually seeing this come to pass here in the U.S. under our current political leadership.

» New Kid (New Kid #1) by Jerry Craft

An excellent MG graphic novel about a black boy attending a predominately white private school for the first time.

» White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

ALL white people need to read this book. DiAngelo really puts things into perspective. I learned so much.

» Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

#PrideMonth

This book gave me The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender vibes, so if you enjoyed that book, you’ll probably also enjoy this one too.

» All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

#PrideMonth

Johnson shares his experiences growing up as a queer black boy in this powerful memoir. I love that Johnson wrote his story for the teen audience. This is a must read!

» Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

#PrideMonth

I thought this was a super unique genre mash up science fiction (dystopian) and western. I also loved the pack horse librarian element, but wanted MORE. I wanted a full length novel with more development, but this is a novella.

Goodreads Challenge Update: 71 books read in 2020

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NetGalley ARCs:

» Anxious People by Fredrik Bachman

Publication date: September 8, 2020

A bank robber on the run locks himself in with an over-enthusiastic estate agent, two bitter IKEA-addicts, a pregnant woman, a suicidal multi-millionaire and a rabbit. In the end the robber gives up and lets everyone go, but when the police storm the apartment it is . . . empty.

In a series of dysfunctional testimonies after the event, the witnesses all tell their version of what really happened and it’s clear we have a classic locked-room mystery on our hands: How did the robber manage to escape? Why is everyone so angry? And: What is WRONG with people these days?

» The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

Publication date: September 22, 2020

Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She’s on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband, but a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.

Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, her beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, where she helps ease the transition between life and death for patients in hospice.

But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a job she once studied for, but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made.

After the crash landing, the airline ensures the survivors are seen by a doctor, then offers transportation wherever they want to go. The obvious option for Dawn is to continue down the path she is on and go home to her family. The other is to return to the archaeological site she left years before, reconnect with Wyatt and their unresolved history, and maybe even complete her research on The Book of Two Ways–the first known map of the afterlife.

As the story unfolds, Dawn’s two possible futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried beside them. Dawn must confront the questions she’s never truly asked: What does a life well-lived look like? When we leave this earth, what do we leave behind? Do we make choices…or do our choices make us? And who would you be, if you hadn’t turned out to be the person you are right now?

» A Wolf for a Spell by Karah Sutton

Publication date: September 22, 2020

The Girl Who Drank the Moon meets Pax in this fantastical tale of a wolf who forms an unlikely alliance with Baba Yaga to save the forest from a wicked tsar.

Since she was a pup, Zima has been taught to fear humans—especially witches—but when her family is threatened, she has no choice but to seek help from the witch Baba Yaga.

Baba Yaga never does magic for free, but it just so happens that she needs a wolf’s keen nose for a secret plan she’s brewing… Before Zima knows what’s happening, the witch has cast a switching spell and run off into the woods, while Zima is left behind in Baba Yaga’s hut—and Baba Yaga’s body!

Meanwhile, a young village girl named Nadya is also seeking the witch’s help, and when she meets Zima (in Baba Yaga’s form), they discover that they face a common enemy. With danger closing in, Zima must unite the wolves, the witches and the villagers against an evil that threatens them all.

“Karah Sutton has crafted a vivid and rollicking adventure that proves a wolf doesn’t have to be big or bad to win the day!” —Rosanne Parry, New York Times bestselling author of A Wolf Called Wander

Which books did you read this month?

Have you read any of the books I read or hauled this month? If so, what did you think?

Did you buy any books? If so, which ones?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

What I'm Reading

June 2020 Reading & Blogging Wrap-Up + Book Haul