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Feathers and Stripes

Boston mom blogger | motherhood, baby + kids, family travel, + home

life · September 13, 2019

Everything I Read this Summer

I used to read A LOT. This summer I wasn’t able to read as much as in past summers, but I still made it through 9 books. Not too bad! I’m recapping each one that I read and giving each a grade.

books to read on vacation, best summer books for vacation

I won’t give you the synopsis on these books (the back of the book can do that) – but here are my honest thoughts on each one! (You’ll notice there are only 6 here… I read 3 other books that I literally cannot remember anything about, so I’m leaving them out. They just weren’t memorable enough!)

What I read this summer

Where the Crawdads Sing: A

I had heard such good things about this book, and then it finally came available at my library so I jumped at the chance to read it. So. Good. I never use this word, but the ending was just delicious. If you only read one book in the next year, make it this one!

The Tattooist of Auschwitz: B-

I really wanted to love this book, especially after I read the epilogue and found out that it’s based on a true story. But there was just something missing for me… Almost like parts of the book crawled and others sped by. I think if there had been more development of some of the major parts of the story (rather than just speeding through and being like “oh and this happened”) I would have liked it more. I wish that I liked it more, but at the end of the day I have to say it’s a B- for me.

Find more book reviews and recommendations!

Between Sisters: C

This book is about two sisters who are very, very different from each other: A topic I’m familiar with! I’m giving it a C because it started out so good, with a lot of promise, but the ending just fell flat. (I tend to like books that have more realistic endings and this one was tied up too neatly at the end!)

The Sea Glass Sisters: B

A cute story about (again) sisters who have very different personalities. Not one I’d drop everything to go read, but it’s a good vacation read! (The author, Lisa Wingate, also wrote one of my recent favorite books, Before We Were Yours.)

Tending Roses: B

Another Lisa Wingate novel! (Clearly, I was trying to find something I loved as much as the first book I read of hers.) This one has a sweet story of a rather dysfunctional family and the thing that brings them all together. Good for vacation reading for sure!

The Great Alone: A

When I started this book, it was because I kept reading that it was THE book for 2019. The character development is amazing, and there were parts of the book where I just couldn’t stop reading and had to get through another chapter- and another- and another. Highly recommend!

Find more book reviews and recommendations!

Posted In: life

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About Alyssa


Hi, I’m Alyssa. Mom of three, wife, dog mom, blogger. I write tips and tricks on motherhood, focusing on baby gear reviews, the best toys for kids, family travel, and home organization.

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