The Square Life

Summer is a magical time; it’s a time of no school, vacations, and swimming pools. And while we don’t have as much free time as when we were kids, it’s still a time to relax and have fun. So plan your staycation around these five books because they are sure to take you on that mini getaway you need.

THE LIGHTNING THIEF - by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson knows he is a little different, I mean who gets kicked out of a troubled youth school? But he thought he was different because of his A.D.D., not because he is a half-blood, son of Greek God, Poseidon. Because of Percy’s differences he soon finds himself on a quest, with a satyr and a daughter of Athena, to return Zeus’s stolen master lighting bolt, with his prime suspect being Lord of the Underworld, Hades.

THE QUEEN OF BABBLE - by Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot’s writing is pure entertainment, I usually find myself laughing out loud while reading her books. And The Queen of Babble is no exception, which is all about Lizzie Nichols who has a problem, but it’s not that she just graduated college and has no idea what she’s going to do with her life, or she’s blowing all her money she had saved for a down payment on a cute little apartment in Manhattan, on a trip to London to visit her boyfriend. No those aren’t any of Lizzie’s really problems; her real problem is she can’t keep her mouth shut. Her big mouth seems to have a mind of its own and a tendency of getting people in trouble. Especially herself.

THE ASSOCIATE - by John Grisham

The Associate is about Kyle McAvoy, a recent Yale law school graduate, with an unlimited future in front of him, who wants nothing more then to practice public law. But a night, and a tape from his Yale days don’t allow that. Instead, Kyle is blackmailed into working as a corporate spy for a cutthroat Wall Street firm. On the outside the job looks great, this is the type of job to his fellow classmates is a dream come true, but all Kyle can dream about is getting out before it’s to late. The Associate is vintage Grisham; it has all the classic twists and turns that made Grisham the storyteller we all love to read.

ANGUS, THONGS, AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING - by Louise Rennison

Georgia Nicholson is just trying to be a normal teen living in England. But everyone in her life seems to be trying to keep Georgia as far away from normal as possible. Including, Jas, best friend who thinks she looks like an alien just because she saved off one of her eyebrows (it was on accident). Her cat Angus, has been trying to eat Mr. and Mrs. Next Door’s poodle, she tried to keep him on a lash, but as Georgia explain to Mrs. Next Door, he ate it. Georgia’s family has been no help on the normalcy front either. Her sister, Libby, likes to leave presents for Georgia in her bed, which is why Georgia made her start wearing diapers at night. So even though Georgia’s life is far from normal, add a little boy-stalking, teacher-baiting, and full-frontal snogging with a Sex God, and Georgia's year just might turn out to be the most fabbitty fab fab ever!

THE BOOK THIEF - by Markus Zusak

“It’s just a small story really, about, among other things: A girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.” This book is narrated by Death, and is about his encounters in Nazi Germany in 1939. Death follows the story of a young girl named, Liesel Meminger, who he sees when her brother dies and as the gravediggers are burying her brother, Liesel takes the gravedigger's handbook, although she hasn’t yet learned how to read. Liesel takes the book home to her foster house and soon her foster father is teaching her how to read. This creates Liesel’s love of words and her journey of figuring out how get those words and then getting them out for all to hear.