So Classic: Night by Elie Wiesel really is a must! I've read it three or four times in my life and it never gets old. I recommend this addition, it is translated by his wife, so I figure it's the most accurate. It's actually quite short too, and read with 8th graders so it's a good summer read.
Teen Reads: It's a toss up, Farewell to Manzanar or A Child Called It. Assuming most people have come across the later - I'll go ahead and spotlight the first. It's been a while since I read this one, but I remember really liking it. Again, it is middle school aged and short - so a very good one for a beach day or a long car ride. What I like about this book more so than other Japanese Internment books is that she spends a good portion of the book letting you know what it was like adjusting back to the real world. That, and her dad's change are most impressionable to readers.
Contemporary: About 30% of the 50 novels on this shelf are actually memoirs. So this is a big win. Lipstick Jihad. Which is actually only chosen for the current airtime Iran is getting. I really liked this book when I read it. But I read a few reviews that weren't as keen so I haven't run around telling people to read it. I just thought considering the turmoil in Iran some people may be interested in learning more about the country and the people there. This is the best I've come across. I especially like that it is written from an American point of view. You know, girl grows up in America feeling Iranian so she moves to Iran and learns she's really American. I was really struck by her friends reactions when 9/11 happens. Give it a try, not too political . . . may be a little racy (nothing bad, just written by a 20-something single woman).
Our last category, religion. This actually isn't an LDS book. However, my mom read it while at BYU and held on to for all these years. Summer of my first year at college she handed it to me late one morning and I had it finished mid afternoon (+ the drive from Delta to Logan). I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! Ben rolls his eyes while I tell the plot, but this guy dies for like 7 minutes. What happens to him on the other side is SOOOOO everything I believe. So I don't think he's making it up. At the end of this book I felt so impressed to keep the light of Christ with me and treat others with kindness, thus the religious tag. LOVED IT! Think I might just have to read it again this summer too.
Let me know what you think if you pick any of my reads for your summer list.
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