Review: Those Summer Nights

 

While it's no longer summer, I had to read this one!

Hannah had a rough year. Her parents shipped her off to boarding school after behavioral issues. Now she's back for the summer. She's allowed to return to high school this fall if she meets certain conditions.  She needs to find a summer job - luckily her younger brother has her covered. 

She gets a job at an entertainment complex where she meets a cute boy and hides from her former BFF. It seems she might get off easy until the employee Olympics are announced.

And then her worlds collide. Hannah had hoped to make the Olympic soccer team until an accident ended her dream. In addition, the death of her beloved grandmother was too much for her to bear. She floundered, drowning in grief and not knowing who she was without soccer. 

Now, she's trying to pick up the pieces of her life. She doesn't need this reminder, but according to the rules from her parents, she can't quit her job. 

My Thoughts: I loved this one - for many reasons. I liked how we learned about Hannah's behavior over time. I liked her parents' rules and how she went about accomplishing them. I loved the entertainment complex. It sounds like a great place to work with fun co-workers. The Olympics were a great addition. I loved Hannah's brother and his best friend Ethan. I liked the bowling moments. I loved the older ladies in the bowling alley. They made me laugh. There's so much packed into this book - lots of layers and lots of feelings. 

Cover Thoughts: Fun

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended for your romance collection.

Book List: Help Wanted

Yesterday I wrote about It's a Cheesy Kind of Love Story and it made me think about all the YA books featuring characters with jobs. 

So many teens work for spending money or college tuition.

These are just a few of these novels:

Book List:

It's Kind of a Cheesy Love Story by Lauren Morrill 

pizza joint

Made in Korea by Sarah Suk

Small Business Owners

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

Food industry social media managers

Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen

Caterer

Recommended for You by Laura Silverman

Bookstore Worker

Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigidar,

Small Business Owners

Not Pictured:

Late to the Party by Kelly

Retail

When Summer Ends by Jessica Pennington 

Outdoor adventure company 

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

Hotel Cleaner 

What I Thought was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Companion 

52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody

various jobs (52 of them)

Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett

Hotel Worker

Holiday Book Review: Recommended For You

 

For Shoshanna, the bookstore is her happy place. She works at Once Upon and it's her own away from home. With the holidays approaching, things have gotten very busy in the indie book store. When she's asked to show a new employee around, she can't help but be disappointed that he's not a reader. How is he going to recommend books to shoppers?

When her boss announces a  competition between all the staff to see who can generate the most sales, Shoshanna knows she's a shoo-in to win. Her reader's advisory skills are off the charts. But she wasn't expecting Jake, the new guy. to give her a run for her money. 

The bonus that comes with winning the competition will help her fix her run down car and solve her transportation problems.  But the more time she spends with Jake, the more she begins to understand him. Maybe she was too quick to judge him...

My Thoughts: I really liked this book about two Jewish teens working in an indie bookstore over the holidays. I loved the banter between Shoshanna and Jake. And how they took time to warm up to each other but did become friends. Of course I loved the mentions of books and the reader's advisory scenes. I felt bad for Shoshanna as she struggled with doing the right thing (which rarely happened) with her friends and her family. I loved all the moms in this story. A heartwarming read that soothed my bookish soul.

Cover Thoughts: Adorable

Source: My library

Library Recommendation: A fun romance story with books! Highly Recommended for your school and public library collections. 

Review: Girl out of Water

Anise can't wait to spend the last summer before senior year hanging out with her friends and surfing. She feels most at home by the ocean, so much so that she isn't considering leaving for college. But when her aunt is in a serious accident, her father decides that they will both spend the summer in Nebraska helping out.

Anise isn't pleased with this situation.She's going to miss so much time with her friends and the waves. Sure, she wants to be good and help take care of her cousins, but she also wants her own summer.

Taking care of three kids isn't easy, but luckily their town has a skate park where they hang out most days. Anise gets suckered into learning how to skate with a bet from Lincoln. Could skating help her overcome her loneliness and make the time go by?

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. I loved the surfing and the skating parts. I enjoyed watching Anise struggle while she tried to not follow in the footsteps of her mother who leaves everyone behind. I loved her moments with Lincoln (a diverse character). I really liked her moments with her cousins - both the twins and Emery. I like that both Lincoln and Anise had baggage but they were able to look past it. i like how they were able to tell each other the truth about themselves. A great summer romance with family and friendship drama while trying to figure out your path in life. 

Cover Thoughts: Great - I get it more after reading the book
Source: ARC sent for review.
Library Recommendation: A great book for your library - sporty romance.