Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.
This Week's Topic is: What was the best book you read in July?
I caught up on a lot of books last month that I'd had on my list (I defninitely got my taxpayer's money worth of library lending in July!). I finally read Catching Fire -- two and a half years after reading The Hunger Games. I also revisited Meg Cabot's Heather Wells series reading Size 14 Isn't Fat Either, since she has a new edition to the series this year. I loved Past Perfect by Leila Sales (review here), a wonderful summer YA read about teens working in a historical re-enactment village.
But I have to say the best book I read was Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. This book was so different, and more of a challenge, but entirely worth it. Reading about heroic young women in World War II was inspiring and terrifying at the same time. This book could easily be shelved outside of YA, and part of me thinks if it had been written seven or eight years ago before YA really exploded, it might have been considered general market or literary fiction -- and would end up as an Oprah bookclub pick. I would read this again, and I hardly ever re-read books. Here's my posted review.
Which brings me to this rather cheeky tie-in: Forever Young Adult has their monthly calendar up for August with a Code Name Verity theme.
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I've had CODE NAME VERITY in my hand a couple of times now, and I really need to just read the thing already. It sounds very compelling and I have a bit of a fascination with all things WWII. Guess I should get on that, right? :)
ReplyDeleteI've tried twice to read Catching Fire and keep getting distracted with other books...
ReplyDeleteCode Name Verity sounds good, going to have to look into that one!
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoyed Catching Fire.
ReplyDeleteI had one of those weird months where everything I read just left me going, "Eh."
Interesting choice. i'll have to check it out. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the others, but Hunger Games and Catching Fire was a win for me. I really enjoyed that series. Reading this month was mostly CPs stuff though. I need to get my hands on a few published books this month.
ReplyDeleteI have an ARC of this and I really need to read it. I think I saw a few of your tweets about this the other day and moved it up the TBR. :)
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I'm having trouble getting into "Mockingjay," I keep re-reading the same parts! Usually I tear through a series, which is why I waited to finish the other 2 books.
ReplyDeleteCode Name Verity is definitely a different type of book; I don't think everyone will like it. I wasn't sure I liked it at first, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. It leaves such a lasting impression.
Code Name Verity isn't something I would normally read, but I keep hearing such great things about it!
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting for this one at the library. I've heard so many great things about it.
ReplyDeleteI literally had this book in my hand two days ago but didn't end up buying it. Guess I'd better head back to the bookstore!
ReplyDeleteYour pick sounds amazing, but I just read two awesome books in July... The Book Thief and Winter Garden, and both were set in WWII. I've had to swear off WWII books for awhile because they were wonderful, but intense. I'll add yours to my TBR!
ReplyDelete