9 Books to Read Over Summer Break

As our journey together here at McLean ends, I hope everyone still pursues reading over the break. I understand that it can be difficult sometimes for people to get out of a reading slump, so I composed a list of 13 books that will hopefully cure this slump. The books listed below come in multiple different genres such as historical fiction, fantasy, mystery, and realistic fiction.

• Salt to the Sea, by Ruta Sepetys – Salt to the Sea tells the journey of 4 different refugees from 4 different European countries and their journey on the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that ends up sinking and was 6 times deadlier than the Titanic, yet is still forgotten to this day. (Historical Fiction)

• The Face on the Milk Carton Series, by Caroline B. Cooney – The Face on the Milk Carton tells the story of a girl who recognizes her own face on the missing child ad on her milk carton. This leads to her solving the mystery of her own possible kidnapping with help from her friend Reeve. (Mystery)

• A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett – A Little Princess tell the story of a girl who has been spoiled all her life, yet still always remains polite. Her father leaves her at a prep school and she has to learn to live without her father, Captain Crewe and make new friends. (Classical Children’s Literature)

• The Sandcastle Empire, by Kayla Olsen-Before the war, Eden’s life was easy—air conditioning, ice cream, long days at the beach. Then the revolution happened, and everything changed. Now a powerful group called the Wolfpack controls the earth and its resources. Eden has lost everything to them. (Sci-fi)

• Red Queen Series, by Victoria Aveyard – Red Queen tells the story of a girl, Mare, who is a Red commoner. The Reds are led by the Silver elites who have god-like super powers. Sadly for Mare, she has lives in poverty stricken streets all of her life, and thinks nothing will ever change. That is until she begings work in the Silver Palace. (Fantasy)

• A Wizard’s Guide To Defensive Baking, by Ursula Vernon – A Wizard’s Guide To Defensive Baking tells the story of Mona who is a bread wizard. Her life as a teenage baker is normal, until one day she finds a dead body in the middle of her bakery. It triggers a chain of events that leads to her leading the city’s military forces with the aid of a ginger bread man and a sourdough starter. (Fantasy)

• The Girl Who Drank The Moon, by Kelly Barnhill – The Girl Who Drank The Moon tells the story of Luna, who has been raised by a witch and was accidentally given powers. As Luna grows up, she struggles to remember things like her memories, her mom, and magic. She must learn how to control and use her magic before it is too late. (Fantasy)

• A Wrinkle In Time Series, by Madeleine L’Engle – A Wrinkle In Time tells the story of Meg, an adolescent girl who has been transported on an adventure through time and space whith her younger brother and friend to rescue Meg’s father, a gifted scientist, from the evil forces that hold him prisoner on another planet. (Sci-fi/Fantasy)

• Island Of The Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell – Island of The Blue Dolphins tells the story of Karana, a girl who was accidentally left behind by her tribe on the former island with her brother. She learns how to survive, evade a group of hunters known as the Aleuts, and how to care for the world she lives in. (Historical Fiction)