August Monthly Recommendations: 1-Year Anniversary!

The Goodreads group, Monthly Recommendations, was created by the lovely Trina and Kayla Rayne one year ago and to celebrate, this month’s theme is to chose one book from each of the previous 12 themes. Without further ado, here are my recommendations!

-An underrated book: Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

I’ve only just read this book in June as part of the #TomeTopple and I wish I had read it earlier because it is absolutely wonderful. It is one of the more realistic looks at mental illness in teenagers and it broke my heart into a million pieces. I haven’t heard too much about it (probably because it is almost 10 years old now), but I think that everyone should give it a try.

-A book set in school: Looking for Alaska by John Green

My all-time favorite book set in school is obviously the Harry Potter series with The Perks of Being a Wallflower in a close second, but I’m trying to recommend books that I haven’t already (even though they both just got a shout-out right here, whoops!). However, I definitely think that Looking for Alaska is also a worthy book. It’s not my favorite John Green book, but I did appreciate the format of the book and I loved the side characters. I don’t condone all of the actions of the characters (yay responsible adult!), but I do recognize that there are teenagers who participate in the activities of the characters.

-A creepy book: The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

I actually saw the movie before I read the book because, as is the case with a lot of movies actually, I had no idea that it was based off of a book. I mainly went to go see it because Daniel Radcliffe was in it. And let me tell you, the movie is just as creepy as the book, though the stories are a little different. I made the mistake of trying to read this at night, you’d think I’d know not to since I’ve also made the mistake of watching the movie at night, and I was thoroughly spooked. This is a perfect book to read right around Halloween.

-A trilogy: The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

So confession, I haven’t actually read these books yet. But as I was looking through the books that I have read, I realized that I own a lot of trilogies that I just haven’t gotten around to, and since I already recommended The Hunger Games in a previous post, I figured I would recommend one of the trilogies that I was most highly anticipating. I know that a lot of people have already read these books, but I’m hoping that there are some who are a little behind the times like I am.

-A book you think others should read ASAP/before the end of the year: All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

I just read this book in July and let me tell you – it is extremely powerful. I’ll have a full review posted soon, but I just want to put it out there right now that I think that everyone needs to read this, especially given what is going on in America. It is a difficult read, but an extremely important one. Trigger warning for police brutality.

-A fantasy book: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Now I know that I said that I was trying to avoid recommending books that I’ve already recommended, but since I only sort-of recommended this in my empowering females post because I hadn’t read it, I’m gonna throw it out here as an official recommendation. I read in in July and just fell in love. If you are into a lot of descriptions and the idea of Hades + Persephone in an Indian setting, then this book is definitely for you!

-A book with little to no romance: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I’m cheating a little bit here. While this book has almost no romance (I always saw potential between two of the characters), it does still have love in it. It’s just that the love is that of a found family, which I am a huge fan of. Gaiman’s writing is whimsical and the characters are just absolutely wonderful. I also suggest reading the graphic novelizations of this book because they are just as wonderful (I think I may even like them a little bit better because they helped me visualize some of the scenes better).

-A standalone: Frakenstein by Mary Shelley

Confession time: I was a terrible student in high school when it came to reading assigned novels. However, my senior year, I distinctly remember reading exactly four of the assigned ten. One of them was Dracula, which I recommended back in March, and the other was Frankenstein. I could not put the book down – I think I finished it in a day, which was a feat for me at the time because a) I’m a super slow reader and b) I was dancing almost every day of the week on top of participating in Academic Decathalon and taking almost all AP/dual credit/honors courses. Aaaand now I sound like a pompous ass. I’m just trying to get across that I really really love this book. Bonus, it’s one of my mom’s all-time favorite novels as well.

-Your favorite survival story: Show Me All Your Scars: True Stories of Living With Mental Illness edited by Lee Gutkind

This is another book that I haven’t read yet, but is high up on my TBR. Despite the fact that I really don’t feel the pull to go into psych nursing, I am fascinated to learn about mental illnesses, and what better way than reading first hand accounts? I am looking forward to reading about these authors’ experiences and bravery.

-Your favorite book friendship: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

The friendship between Magnus, Sam, Blitzen, and Hearthstone is one of my favorite aspects of the book. They are a rag-tag team that support each other, are sarcastic to each other, and just enjoy being in each others’ company (even when the others may be annoying). I also appreciated that, so far, there is no inkling of a romance between Magnus and Sam.

-A book set outside of the US, or that features travel/vacation: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Well, I’d say space is definitely outside of the U.S.! This book ripped my heart out, had me holding my breath, and kept me on the edge of my seat. If you can, I suggest listening to the audiobook while reading along because hot dang does that just enhance the reading experience ten-fold.

-A book with your favorite empowering female character: The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

I’m currently making my way through Cress right now and I just. I love these characters so much! I love that the cast is diverse. I love that the girls each have their own identity and show that there are different types of strength. Part of me wants to prolong finishing the series because I’m not ready to let my babies go, but the other part of me is screaming that I need to because I need to know that they are all alright. I just love them all.