Summer Holiday Reading

I love an opportunity to read uninterrupted and for hours at a time.  These holidays I got my chance and devoured these reads:

• The Other Life by Susan Winnacker - this was a fast moving action packed teen novel.  I'm looking forward to the sequel.
• I'll Tell You Mine by Pip Harry - boarding school setting (which I love), teenage girl, family problems... things young adults can relate to.  The main character was believable.
• Snakes and Ladders by Maryanne Scott - another boarding school setting, teenage boy, family problems... set in New Zealand which was nice for a change.
• Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan - this was haunting and has stayed with me since completion.  It was slow moving at the beginning and I think more of an adult read than teen fiction.
• Shift by Em Bailey - I can't wait to recommend this to my Year 9 girls.  It was a bit of a thriller, shocking and enthralling.  I loved this and will check out what else Bailey has written.
• Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood - I laughed so much throughout this read.  The main character is so so likeable.  Great teen fiction.
• Love-Shy by Lili Wilkinson - my first impressions were that this would be a bit of a soft read - it wasn't - it packed a real punch.  Dealt with some big themes very very well.
• Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak - I love this book - I love the whole Wolfe family.  Zusak is an incredible talent.  This book is on our Year 9 booklist.
• The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick - I always enjoy Herrick's work and this was not an exception.  A sweet main character and a good story line written in poetic form.  It works beautifully.

The following aren't from my school library, they are off my own bookshelf:

• Love's Executioner by Irvin Yalom - this is a masterpiece - I loved the arrogance of the narrator, the varied stories of the patients and delving into their headspace, all the time guided by an expert psychotherapist. 
• The Tall Man by Chloe Hooper - I'm about to start this - it's been recommended to me and I heard an interview on ABC radio with the author whilst touring Tasmania on a little holiday.

Speaking of holidays... these have been lovely; I feel relaxed, refreshed, rejuvenated and ready for a new year.