Y’all. It’s been a wild month. We are in the midst of a big move to our new house, and things are just a little (okay, a LOT) crazy. So, this month’s roundup of Naptime Reads is short and sweet, as my time for sneaking a few moments with my e-reader had to be fit in between packing boxes, de-junking, and wrangling high-energy (and now one-nap-only) toddlers. But ain’t that life?
Here’s the reading list:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows: a book I just had to re-read this month in preparation for the Netflix release on the 10th. The book is absolutely one of my favorites — a charming, heartstring-tugging read that has you falling in love with characters, setting, and story in an instant. I recommend this book (and the movie) to anyone and everyone. 10/10
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock: After Sarah Dessen, this three-book series was one of my first introductions into YA, and I’ve always remembered it, even after years. One of the most important things to me — in YA, and in any book — is character. Characters not only have to be well-developed and likable, but they have to be real. DJ is such a real character with real struggles, and is totally relatable. That, coupled with a unique and engaging storyline, swoon-worthy boy (also important), and good writing earns this book an A, even on a years-after re-read. 9/10
The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock: Now that you’ve become can’t-put-the-book-down invested in the story, characters, setting, and romance, the second book in the series gives you some major emotional suckerpunches. But stay the course. Really. The eventual payoff is worth the pain. 9/10
Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock: You’ve heard me sing praises for authors who nail their characters. Catherine, gold stars for you! In this trilogy’s final installment, we see full-circle character development from nearly every one of the story’s figures, which gives us a beautiful sense of completeness and satisfaction. Besides us not wanting to the series to end, of course. In some series (that I will not name), by the third book, I’m just tapped out, no longer interested in the characters or story line. Front and Center, however, kept me engaged to the very end, and is, in my opinion, one of the strongest books — if not the strongest — in the series. 9/10
What did you read this month? Share your Naptime Reads with me!
