100 BOOKS

Back in May, I made a post about how I had completed my Goodreads Book Challenge goal for the year by reading 50 books. I finished WAY ahead of time. Obviously 5 more months have gone by and now, I HAVE READ 100 BOOKS so far this year!

Isn't that insane? I've never tracked the books I read that meticulously but I doubt that I've ever read this much before. 100 books in 295 days is about a book every 3 days! I think the thing that pushes me the most to read all of these books is my students. I do my best to read a lot of books so that I can continue to recommend books and find new ones for them to read.

Since in my last post I pointed out some of my favorite reads from the first 50, I'll share with you some of my favorite books from the other 50 books I read this year.

Super Jake and the King of Chaos by Naomi Milliner is a great portrayal of a family learning to navigate the difficulties of having a child with disabilities. Eleven-year-old Ethan has a two-year-old special needs brother, Jake. In order to escape some of the struggle of frequent hospital visits and developmental delays, Ethan retreats into the world of magic. He enters a junior magic competition and is dying to win so that he can meet his hero, Magnus the Magnificent. Ethan must figure out the balance between doing what he loves and supporting Jake and his family.

The Soul Keepers by Devon Taylor starts out with the violent death of Rhett in a car accident. But when he dies, it isn't the end. He is greeted by a young man who takes him back to a boat they call the Harbinger where Rhett finds out that he is now a Syllektor--"spirits" who aid in the collection of souls after they have died. This select group must track down the souls before they are eaten by psychons who feed on their energy. When a demon named Urcena discovers that Rhett is a "twice-born son," she realizes that he is more powerful than he knows. She wants what Rhett has and will stop at nothing to get that power for herself.

All of Me by Chris Baron is the story of Ari, a young boy with body-image issues. His mother is an artist and his dad travels around selling her art. His parents are never around so when would he have the chance to tell them about his being bullied at school because of his weight. As Ari's feelings and difficulties reach a climax, his mom suggests he go on a diet and while it begins to work in terms of losing weight, it doesn't seem to be able to fix everything. His parent's marriage seems to fall apart, Ari struggles to understand his Jewish heritage, and he learns about making friends who care more about him than what he looks like.

The Virtue of Sin is about a teenage girl named Miriam who was born in New Jerusalem, a community founded by a prophet named Daniel in the Californian desert. Miriam has never known anything besides the safe walls of their city and feels that if she follows God's will through Daniel, will be happy and receive salvation. When the second generation of The Children of Daniel have reache the age of 16, it is time for a Matirmony. Miriam is in love with one of the young men, Caleb. However, the night of the ceremony, everything goes wrong and Miriam ends up married to someone else. Miriam begins to question Daniel, what the will of God really is, and the beliefs that keep them all in New Jerusalem. When Miriam really starts to use her voice and trust in her own ideas, she realizes just how dangerous that can be.

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal takes place in Arawiya, a kingdom suffering from the disappearance of magic and darkness taking over the land. Zafira, a young woman, has disguised herself as a man and takes on the name of The Hunter, so that can provide food for her people despite those who doubt the abilities of women. Nasir, the Prince of the Death, is the son of the sultan and an assassin who must do his father's bidding or face the consequences. Both of them realize the difficulty of their situation and the difficulty in revealing their true selves. Zafira must fulfill her destiny and go on a quest to recover the lost artifact that would restore magic to the kingdom and save the people she loves. Nasir is sent by his father to also retrieve the artifact--and kill the Hunter! When their paths collide they must discover where their true strength lies, how they can conquer their fears, and come to terms with their true identities before they can save the rest of the kingdom.

Up For Air by Laurie Morrison is about Annabelle, a thirteen-year-old girl who struggles ta school but excels in the water. When summer comes and she gets to spend more and more of her time in the pool, she feels more like herself. But this year, everything changes when she is asked to join the high school swim team instead of swimming for the middle school team with her friends. Suddenly she is learning how to interact with the older crowd--including a boy who seems to pay her special attention. She starts to feel like she is standing out in a good way. However, Annabelle finds that she starts having to compromise her values and her relationships with her friends in order to fit in with the high school kids. After she gets into some trouble with her new friends, the high school boy abandons her, she is injured, and can't even swim. Annabelle finds that she doesn't know who she is without swimming--the one thing she feels like she is good at. She must rediscover who she is and what self-worth is.

The Liar's Daughter by Megan Cooley Peterson is my second cult related book of the year! Seventeen-year-old Piper's father is a Prophet. She would do anything for him. That's why she takes care of her siblings, she runs drills to prepare for the end of the world and she never asks questions. But one day the government raids the compound in which she lives and she is torn from her family and everything she loves. Now Piper must live in the outside world with a woman that they say is her real mother. They say that Father and Mother stole her from her real family. But Piper doesn't believe a word of it. And she is planning on escaping.



I'd love to hear about any books that you've read so far this year that have stood out to you, made an impact on you, or made you think! What do you recommend I read for the rest of this year?