2021 Summer Reading List for Tweens, Teens, and Adults
Summertime is that special time of year when teens, tweens and their parents can relax, absorb some rays, and catch up on their reading wish list. Below you’ll find the 7 books Pop read this past year and figures you’d enjoy them, too.
Books for Teens and Tweens
When school is out, many kids think they can put their minds on vacation, too. But after a few weeks of boredom, nothing is better than a good book to burn away those cobwebs. Below you’ll find books I highly recommend for good fun.
Jaclyn and the Beanstalk by Mary Ting
Kindle Edition: $3.99
Paperback: $10.61
Length: 277 pages
Amazon Rating: 4.3
We’ve all heard about the boy named Jack selling his mother’s cow for some useless dried-up beans. When Jack’s mom learns of her son’s betrayal, she tosses the beans out the window only to be flabbergasted by the beanstalk penetrating the clouds the next morning. You may recall how Jack climbs the beanstalk, steals valuables from the giant, and returns home to enrich his now grateful mom.
All of that is wrong. It’s a diluted story to protect young children from the truth; a truth only award-winning author, Mary Ting, has the courage to tell in her 277-page novel, Jaclyn and the Beanstalk. Set in a rural 16thcentury community, Jaclyn hears shrieks at night frightening her out of a restless sleep. She is a 16-year-old girl raised by her parents on a farm, hours away by horseback from the nearest town. During the day, she helps her father tend the animals and during their break, he teaches her the art of self-defense—skills she’ll soon use to save her own life and the lives of hundreds of villagers.
When Jaclyn’s father joins villagers to confront a menace killing and stealing their livestock, and he doesn’t return home, Jaclyn investigates. Followed by her childhood crush, Jack, the duo encounters magic beans, nightmarish monsters, and a villain with a history spanning 1500 years.
Mary Ting brings her readers a descriptive novel with exemplary characters and an exciting plot that shows the importance of family with a Christian-based theme. Jaclyn and the Beanstalk has Jaclyn telling her story, the true story, of the beanstalk and how a girl saves an entire community with the assistance of her friend Jack.
The Legend of Koolura by Michael Thal
Kindle Edition: $3.99
Paperback: $9.95
Length: 129 pages
Amazon Rating: 4.6
Review written by Nancy Curteman, author of Murder Down Under:
In the “The Legend of Koolura” Michael Thal takes young readers on an adventure that couples magic super powers with the everyday life of intermediate grade students. Through his main character, Koolura Akopyan, a young sixth grade girl, Thal explores the complexities of school kid friendships, the adjustments needed to manage in today’s multi-culture classrooms and the importance of good values.
Koolura is a normal student in Bethune Elementary School. She experiences the same kinds of problems as all the other students. She suffers through poor treatment by snooty girls, comforts a friend whose mother is going through cancer tests and another whose parents are divorcing. She tutors students who can’t read or do math. She worries about grades, tests and homework. Every young reader can identify with Koolura and her friends.
Koolura is also different from other students at Bethune because she has the “Kool”, which gives her super powers. Sadly, it has also forced her to lead the life of a Nomad. A treacherous stalker seeks to destroy her and steal the “Kool” for himself. Koolura’s fearful father has moved her from place to place in an effort to keep her safe.
Koolura’s use of her “Kool” to help her fellow students through their difficulties and her effort to keep one step ahead of Neb, her stalker, is what makes Thal’s book an exciting experience for young readers.
Special note: I taught sixth grade and when I read Thal’s vivid descriptions of school life, I thought I was back in the classroom again.
The Moonlight Child by Karen McQuestion
Kindle Edition: $4.99
Paperback: $11.69
Length: 328 pages
Amazon Rating: 4.4
On a cold winter night Sharon Lemke, an elderly woman, scans the night sky to watch a lunar eclipse. In the corner of her eye, she notices something odd. Through her neighbor’s kitchen window, she sees a five-year-old girl washing dishes. Which was really weird because the Fleming family doesn’t include a little girl.
A few weeks later, eighteen-year-old Niki, a former foster child moves in with Sharon. Niki is recommended by Sharon’s daughter, Amy, who thinks they will be good for each other. After Niki settles in, she notices something suspicious going on in the Fleming home, and the duo decide to investigate.
Thus begins Karen McQuestion’s novel, The Moonlight Child. From first page to last, McQuestion keeps her readers riveted as she develops a gripping character driven plot. Her characterization is superb giving readers the sense they can actually hear the character’s voices. Take Suzette Fleming, the middle-aged woman controlling the Fleming household. The author delves into Suzette’s mind providing readers with a peek into the thinking of a sociopath that they immediately hate.
As one reader states, “The Moonlight Child is a perfect blend of mystery, suspense, and tender moments of love,” that make this novel superb.
Beyond the Longcase Clock by Hayley Patton
Kindle: $3.50
Paperback: $3.51
Length: 352 pages
Amazon Rating: 4.7
Sophia is a fifteen-year-old girl from the UK living with her father and brother, Oscar, above her dad’s antique shop. To earn extra money, she does odd jobs for her dad—polish antique jewelry or dust an old grandfather clock.
Unbeknownst to Sophia is the fact that her soul has inherited an ancient spell gone wrong, enabling Sophia to touch an old object and travel back in time to its point of origin. One day, while cleaning the Longcase Clock Sophia sees visions of people wearing ancient clothing. Oscar notices his sister’s strange behavior and reacts causing the siblings to travel back in time to Victorian England.
Hayley Patton begins her YA fantasy time-travel series, Chronicles of the Chiliad, with book 1, Beyond the Longcase Clock. As readers breathlessly follow Sophia’s adventures in many lands and time periods—Qing Dynasty that ruled China during the seventeenth century, southern Italy during the summer of 1798 when Napoleon was beginning his conquest of Europe, and Victorian England—as she works tirelessly to figure out her power, keep her brother safe, and find a way home.
Along the way, Patton shows readers life in different historical periods as the time travelers try to survive in primitive eras with the added pressure to avoid being captured by an evil man who wants to control Sophia’s power.
Beyond the Longcase Clock is a page turner any time travel enthusiast will love.
Song of a Whale by Lynne Kelly
Kindle: $7.99
Paperback: $6.59
Length: 309 Pages
Amazon Rating: 4.7
It’s surprising so many deaf people have families who never learn American Sign Language (ASL). Since most deafness isn’t hereditary, about 90% of Deaf children are born to hearing parents.
Unsurprisingly, twelve-year-old Iris was born deaf to hearing parents. Her mom and brother sign, but her father can’t seem to grasp his daughter’s language. And, instead of enrolling Iris in a school for the deaf, they have her mainstreamed in the public schools with a hired ASL interpreter.
One day in Science class, Iris learns about Blue-55, a hybrid blue/fin whale unable to communicate with other whales. He swims around by himself and not in a pod like most whales; and his song is at 55 hertz, much higher than other members of his species. Iris feels this whale’s pain.
Iris has a talent with electronics. Her favorite hobby is collecting broken antique radios and repairing them. Unfortunately, the kids in her middle school classroom think she’s stupid because of her deafness. Little do they know she’s a tech genius.
Moved by Blue-55’s story, Iris is determined to compose a song for the whale at his frequency. Thus begins Lynne Kelly’s novel, Song for a Whale. The book is a beautifully written tale about longing for a connection and finding it in a magical and unexpected place.
The plot moves from Iris’ neighborhood junkyard to a cruise ship showing how Iris develops the self-confidence to stand up for herself and take control of her life.
I became deaf in mid-life, so I empathized with Iris’ problem. Though she was surrounded by hundreds of classmates in the cafeteria during lunch, she was alone, just like Blue-55. Author Lynne Kelly, a sign language interpreter and teacher, shows precisely how loneliness affected Iris and how she used her smarts to not only take control of her life but also communicate with a lonely blue/fin whale.
A Song for a Whale, a New York Public Library Best Book of the Year, is a 309-page novel written with middle school children in mind, but is appropriate at any age.
For Adults and Young Adults
Young Adults (YA) are adults between the ages of 18-25. I’ve read all of the books on this list and enjoyed each one even though I’ve lived over seven decades. Here are three books all teens and adults can enjoy:
The Abduction of Joshua Bloom by Michael Thal.
Kindle: $2.99
Paperback: Not yet available
Length: 283 pages
Amazon Rating: 4.6
Review written by Maria Catalina Egan:
Joshua Bloom is not your everyday teen. Clever and resourceful he takes the reader on a brilliant intergalactic journey. His point of view and knowledge compared what he experiences with his Hebrew Culture. This makes the read relatable.
It is a clever, fast paced, interesting read. The depth and growth of the main character felt real enough to touch. My favorite intergalactic creatures were in a planet with a fascinating underwater culture. There is an intricate diversity in settings and otherworldly creatures. The plot makes sense and is well developed, a most recommended read.
Death Lake Motel by Rod Little
Kindle: $2.99
Paperback: $7.99
Length: 152 pages
Amazon Rating: 3.8
While driving up to the lake on a fishing trip, retired police officer Owen and his two best friends, Gary and Bob, face an intense storm and wrecked car. Inside the vehicle are two frightened teen girls, whom they rescue and take with them. The group stop at the first motel they find for a landline to call for help, but the storm has knocked phones out of commission. But there’s a lot more problems they uncover than disconnected phones. The desk clerk is dead, and it’s not from natural causes.
Owen and two others in the group check other motel rooms finding dead bodies and blood in almost every room they check; thus, beginning Rod Little’s 128-page novella, Death Lake Motel.
Through descriptive writing, excellent characterization, and exciting plot development, Little writes a horror story with more twists and turns than a mountain road. Death Lake Motel is a quick read as you nibble your fingernails in anticipation of the next revelation.
Over the hot summer months, when you have time to relax, do so by reading a book from Pop’s 2021 Summer Reading List, and enjoy.
Wow, the cover for “The Legend of Koolura” really jumps out of the page for me. It’s really great (in spite of the fact that it has a dog).
Thanks so much for including Song For a Whale on your list! 🐳
I loved that book, and as a latent deaf man, I understood the emotional impact of deafness on the main character. I was cheering her along all the way.