July Reading List – Suggested reads for the Summer Reading Challenge
This month we are launching our Summer Reading Challenge, there are 9 categories on the Bingo chart to read over the summer holidays- here are some suggestions of books to try.
Fiction books available in the LRC |
When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson (Graphic novel)
A heart-wrenching true story about life in a Kenyan refugee camp that will restore your faith in real-life happy endings.
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Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell (Graphic novel) Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends. Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. They say goodbye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September. But this Halloween is different – Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last goodbye. Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: what if instead of moping, they went out with a bang. . .What if their last shift was an adventure? |
Echoes by Laura Tisdall (Book with a one-word title)
Mallory Park is living two lives. In one, she is trying to survive senior year, balancing OCD and social anxiety with looking after her troubled family. In the other, she spends her nights glued to her laptop, breaking into some of the world’s most secure systems as the legendary hacker Echo Six. |
One by Sarah Crossan (Novel written in verse)
Grace and Tippi don’t like being stared and sneered at, but they’re used to it. They’re conjoined twins – united in blood and bone. What they want is to be looked at in turn, like they truly are two people. They want real friends. And what about love? But a heart-wrenching decision lies ahead for Tippi and Grace. One that could change their lives more than they ever asked for.
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The Crossing by Manjeet Mann (Novel written in verse) Natalie’s world is falling apart. She’s just lost her mum and her brother marches the streets of Dover full of hate and anger. Swimming is her only refuge. Sammy has fled his home and family in Eritrea for the chance of a new life in Europe. Every step he takes on his journey is a step into an unknown and unwelcoming future. A twist of fate brings them together and gives them both hope. But is hope enough to mend a broken world? |
Lord of the Flies by William Golding (Book set on an Island) A plane crashes on a desert island. The only survivors are a group of schoolboys. By day, they discover fantastic wildlife and dazzling beaches, learning to survive; at night, they are haunted by nightmares of a primitive beast. Orphaned by society, it isn’t long before their innocent childhood games devolve into a savage, murderous hunt … |
They Both die at the End by Adam Silvera (Book by a LGBTQ+ author) On September 5th, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: they’re going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: there’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure – to live a lifetime in a single day. |
Other fiction books
Book by a LGBTQ+ author
- History Is All You Left Me, by Adam Silvera*)
- The Henna Wars, by Adiba Jaigirdar
- Loveless, by Alice Oseman
- Heartstopper Volumes 1-4, by Alice Oseman (also graphic novel)
Book set on an Island
- We were Liars, by E Lockhart
- Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray
- Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Ten, by Gretchen McNeil
Novel written in verse
- Run Rebel, by Manjeet Mann
- Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds
- Toffee, by Sarah Crossan
- Booked, by Kwame Alexander
Book with a one-word title
- Wink, by Rob Harrell
- Lawless, by Jeffrey Salane
- Ghost, by Jason Reynolds
- Divergent, by Veronica Roth
- Holes, by Louis Sachar
- Eleven, by Tom Rogers
Book made into a film
- The Hunger Games Series, by Suzanne Collins
- Harry Potter Series, by J K Rowling)
- The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer
- Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
- Five Feet Apart, by Rachael Lippincott
- The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
Non Fiction books
- Why not try out a biography or auto-biography of someone you admire?
- Any factual book can be used for this category.
** =for younger readers * = challenging read; for ambitious readers