What I Read in July

Another Summer Reading month, so time and energy for reading was in short supply. However, there were definitely some standouts.



The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

A refreshing book about being different and the pressures of trying to live up to other's expectations. By day Sebastian is a prince looking for a bride; by night he is Lady Crystallia, fashion icon and trendsetter, who works with his personal dressmaker and best friend Francis to wow Paris. How can he reconcile his two worlds? And what about the feelings developing between the prince and his dressmaker?



Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake

When one of her best friends accuses Mara's twin brother of rape, she struggles to understand the disconnect between who she believes her brother to be and what he has done. Meanwhile, her parents and schoolmates immediately take his side, while her ex-girlfriend, Charlie, and his best friend, Alex, also question what really happened. And Mara also has to deal with her own past experience with sexual assault.

This was a very hard book to read and it should be. How do you deal with a rape when the rapist is your twin and the survivor is one of your very best friends? And your parents and most other friends totally believe your brother without even hearing the rest of the story? The emotions and behaviors in this book are very appropriate to the age group and situations, quite realistic and believable. We needed this book.

 1. As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gilman
 2. Skellig by David Almond
 3. Tales from Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger
 4. All Summer Long by Hope Larson
 5. Gordon: Bark to the Future! by Ashley Spires
 6. Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol
 7. The Joy of Cookies: Cookie Monster's Guide to Life by Cookie Monster
 8. Call of the Wild by Jack London
 9. Lumberjanes: Bonus Tracks by Holly Black, et al.
10. The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One by Amanda Lovelace
11. Shade's Children by Garth Nix
12. The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
13. Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang
14. Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
15. Paper Girls vol. 4 by Brian K. Vaughn
16. Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Penelope Bagieu
17. "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman by Harlen Ellison
18. Sometimes You Fly by Katherine Applegate
19. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
20. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
21. Whale in a Fishbowl by Troy Howell
22. The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates
23. The Funeral by Matt James
24. A Busy Creature's Day Eating by Mo Willems
25. Play by Jez Alborough
26. The End of the Beginning: Being the Adventures of a Small Snail by Avi
27. A Beginning, a Muddle, and an End: The Right Way to Write Writing by Avi
28. We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
29. What If...by Samantha Berger
30. Yellowcake by Margo Lanagan
31. Ocean Monsters by Natalie Lunis
32. The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley
33. Surprising Sharks by Nicola Davies
34. See Me Grow by Penelope Arden
35. Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake