Summer Reading Suggestions

The temperature is creeping back up and it's time to head to the beach! What books are you loading into your bag (or onto your ereader)? Here are a few suggestions for the whole family, inspired by the shelves of the Hingham Public Library:

For Adults:

• The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty. It's 1922, and "It Girl" Louise Brooks (reimagined at 15) plans to take Manhattan by storm. Her chaperone, Cora, has her own reason for quitting Wichita. Will oil and water mix in the Big Apple?
• Little Night by Luanne Rice. Years ago, coming to the aid of her sister got Clare banished from her family. Now Clare's niece steps into the breach, hoping to bring about reconciliation.
• Walking the Amazon by Ed Stafford. The ex-soldier recounts his 6,000 mile trek to trace the Amazon from its source on the Pacific, across the Andes, to its mouth on the Brazillian coast.

For Young Adults:

• Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. The long-awaited companion to "Graceling" and "Fire." Eighteen-year-old Bitterblue, queen of Monsea, realizes her heavy responsibility and the futility of relying on advisors who surround her with lies as she tries to help her people to heal from the 35-year spell cast by her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities.
• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. A bloody, intoxicating horse race on the Island of Thisby is the backdrop for this atmospheric novel. The heart-pounding story pits two teens against death – to win is to survive.
• Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys.  Fifteen-year-old Lina and her family are evicted from their home in Lithuania and transported to Siberia as prisoners during Stalin’s reign of terror in the 1940s.  The journey is perilous; not all will survive. Lina is determined to document it all in her art and her journal.

For Middle Grade readers (8-12):

• Real Mermaids Don't Hold Their Breath by Hélène Boudreau. Jade is totally confused. As in, "will this be a leg-day or a tail-day?" kind of confused. Even worse, it's been forever since her first kiss with Luke and now—nothing. Not even a text message. Sigh. But Jade doesn't have time to figure out the weirdness of boys and how to use her shiny new tail. (Seriously, being a mermaid should come with a handbook.) She has to come up with a plan to get her missing mermaid mom back on dry land. The only problem is...Jade is afraid of the ocean. But even aqua-phobic mer-girls have to take the plunge sometime...The second book in the trilogy.
• See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles. Twelve-year old Fern just wants to be normal. Instead she must endure her father’s endlessly embarrassing advertising ploys to boost the family business and the invisibility that comes with being the middle child in a family of strong personalities….including her adored younger brother Charlie. While everyone seems to be too busy for Fern—her mom dotes on Charlie, her brother Holden is mysterious and absent, and her sister Sarah seems not to care—Fern is left feeling she is all alone. But when a sudden tragedy occurs, Fern’s family must learn to stick together to overcome their grief and sadness.
• The Tanglewood Terror by Kurtis Scaletta. When 13-year-old Eric Parrish comes across glowing mushrooms in the woods behind his house, he's sure there's a scientific explanation. But when they start encroaching on the town—covering the football field and popping up from beneath the floorboards—Eric knows something's seriously wrong. Not that much else is going right: his parents are fighting, his little brother Brian is a little pill, and he's had a falling-out with his football team—over a pig.  Then a runaway girl from a nearby boarding school warns Eric that the fungus could portend the town's doom and leave it in rubble—just like the village that inexplicably disappeared in the exact same spot over 200 years ago. Eric, Brian, and Mandy set out to solve a very old mystery and save the town of Tanglewood.

For the littlest readers:

• Mia and the Daisy Dance by Robin Farley. Mia's dance class is putting on their first show! Each dancer will perform her own special part, and Mia can't wait to practice. The dance is going to be perfect! But when Mia's friend Anna leaves class early without learning her part, Mia begins to worry. Will Anna be able to dance at the show?
• Blue Sky by Audrey Wood. In Wood's bright, new concept book, a child and his family experience the fun of a sunny-sky day at the beach, then the electricity of a thunderstorm sky, and finally the magical delight of a rainbow sky. After the night sky fills up with stars, readers are sure to be soothed by the pleasure of wishing on a star.
• Ride, Fly Guy, Ride! by Tedd Arnold. While riding in the car with Buzz and his father, Fly Guy gets blown out of the window and finds himself riding in a truck, then a boat, a train, an airplane, and even a rocket.