It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's summer time, and it's Monday. It's also when I join Jen and Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts in their weekly meme to share book titles. Hopefully, you'll find a little something here that you can keep for yourself!

I read SWAY at the beginning of the week. It's a middle grade written by Amber McRee Turner. Set in the south, it's the story of a girl whose mother is away as she serves on a rescue team. But as with most family stories, things aren't as they seem. The main character-- Cass--is a sweet girl who's just trying to figure things out. Her dad does his best, and the story is really about their journey together as a daughter and father. It's not a story of quick events. It's more about characters and moments. It reminded me a bit of Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles.

I also read UNDER THE MESQUITE by Guadalupe Garcia McCall.

I met the author at the YA Coffee Klatch at ALA but hadn't read her book. I

quickly corrected that. I was so moved by this story that I reread it right afterwards. This is a novel-in-verse about a young girl from a Mexican family struggling in the United States. We hear her dreams, we experience her family's hardships, and we hope with her as she perseveres. Of course, this book also won the Pura Belprè Author Award for 2012 and was a finalist for the William C. Morris Award (debut book published by a 1st time author writing for teens). I picked up the ARC for Garcia McCall's next book: Summer of the Mariposas. I can't wait to read it!

I also read these titles:

CAPTURE THE FLAG by Kate Messner

DRAMA by Raina Telgemeier (ARC)

GUYS READ: THE SPORTS PAGES by Jon Scieszka (ARC)

SINISTER SWEETNESS OF SPLENDID ACADEMY by Nikki Loftin (ARC)

LIGHTS OUT by Arthur Geisert (picture book)

THE LONELY BEAST by Chris Judge (picture book)

( I'll write more about the ARCs as we get closer to the release date. The rest will be future blog posts or tweets!)

This week I am reading:

CHAINED by Lynne Kelly (A Texan!)

THE REVOLUTION OF EVELYN SERRANO by Sonia Marzano (ARC)

There are so many good books to choose from these days. I'm sometimes indecisive about my next selection. I know when I pick up a book if it's the right time to read it or not. Grad work also fills my days. I reward myself with a book after a finished goal (completed paper, studying for an amount of time, etc.). Somehow, I've managed to hold my own on #bookaday and #summerthrowdown. It's constant reading, but it's what I love to do.

I hope you're reading a book you love!