Recommendations based on "The Summer My Life Began"
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By Smith Ali
'These novels, in straddling immediacy and permanence, the personal as well as the scope of a world tilting toward disaster, are the ones we might well be looking back on years from now as the defining literature of an indefinable era. And the shape the telling takes is, if not salvation, brilliance itself' - The New York Times on the Seasonal quartet so far
By Cecelia Ahern
Celestine North lives a perfect life. She's a model daughter and sister, she's well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she's dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.But then Celestine encounters a situation in which she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found FLAWED.In her breathtaking young adult debut, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society in which perfection is paramount and flaws are punished. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her everything.
By Carley Fortune
The blockbuster bestseller now available as a gorgeous new hardcover!"A radiant debut."—Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book LoversTHE NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER!Six summers to fall in love. One moment to fall apart. A weekend to get it right.They say you can never go home again, and for Persephone Fraser, ever since she made the biggest mistake of her life a decade ago, that has felt too true. Instead of glittering summers on the lakeshore of her childhood, she spends them in a stylish apartment in the city, going out with friends, and keeping everyone a safe distance from her heart.Until she receives the call that sends her racing back to Barry’s Bay and into the orbit of Sam Florek—the man she never thought she’d have to live without.For six summers, through hazy afternoons on the water and warm summer nights working in his family’s restaurant and curling up together with books—medical textbooks for him and work-in-progress horror short stories for her—Percy and Sam had been inseparable. Eventually that friendship turned into something breathtakingly more, before it fell spectacularly apart.When Percy returns to the lake for Sam’s mother’s funeral, their connection is as undeniable as it had always been. But until Percy can confront the decisions she made and the years she’s spent punishing herself for them, they’ll never know whether their love might be bigger than the biggest mistakes of their past.Told over the course of six years and one weekend, Every Summer After is a big, sweeping nostalgic story of love and the people and choices that mark us forever.
By Sarah Dessen
From the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Once and for AllShe’s got it all figured out.Or does she? When it comes to relationships, Remy’s got a whole set of rules.Never get too serious. Never let him break your heart. And never, ever date a musician.But then Remy meets Dexter, and the rules don’t seem to apply anymore.Could it be that she’s starting to understand what all those love songs are about?“Remy and Dexter jump off the pages into the hearts of readers, who will wish for a romance like this of their own.” —BooklistSarah Dessen is the winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her contributions to YA literature, as well as the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award.Books by Sarah Dessen:That SummerSomeone Like YouKeeping the MoonDreamlandThis LullabyThe Truth About ForeverJust ListenLock and KeyAlong for the RideWhat Happened to GoodbyeThe Moon and MoreSaint AnythingOnce and for All
By Laurie Gilmore
The Dream Harbor box set includes the first four titles in Laurie Gilmore's internationally bestselling series.
By Kristin Hannah
From the New York Times bestselling author of On Mystic Lake comes a powerful novel of love, loss, and the magic of friendship. . . .In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all---beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become TullyandKate. Inseparable.So begins Kristin Hannah’s magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. But in the buttoned-down nineties, it is television news that captivates her. She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success . . . and loneliness.Kate knows early on that her life will be nothing special. Throughout college, she pretends to be driven by a need for success, but all she really wants is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is as driven as Tully. What she doesn’t know is how being a wife and mother will change her . . . how she’ll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted. And how much she’ll envy her famous best friend. . . .For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship---jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart . . . and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test.Firefly Lane is for anyone who ever drank Boone’s Farm apple wine while listening to Abba or Fleetwood Mac. More than a coming-of-age novel, it’s the story of a generation of women who were both blessed and cursed by choices. It’s about promises and secrets and betrayals. And ultimately, about the one person who really, truly knows you---and knows what has the power to hurt you . . . and heal you. Firefly Lane is a story you’ll never forget . . . one you’ll want to pass on to your best friend.
By Jillian Meadows
A swoony, steamy, STEM romance in which two curators at a science museum—a handsome but grumpy astronomer and an anxious but sunshine-y entomologist—realize they are the perfect match. Equal parts nerdy banter and fiery tension, it’s perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Tessa Bailey. Now with exclusive bonus content!Millie was never one to take the expected path. She’s an entomologist who loves her job as a natural science curator, inspiring museum visitors every day. It’s her dream to take a larger role in the planning of her department, so when a director position opens, she is determined not to let anything distract her from her goals. Especially Finn, her grumpy coworker with his permanent scowl, electric blue eyes, and nerdy astronomy ties.. . . Not that she’s spent much time noticing any of those things.Finn doesn’t mean to glare at everyone, but he’s juggling his role at the museum, navigating the grief of losing his sister, attempting to make his nieces smile, and trying not to ruin dinner for the fifth night in a row. He can’t afford to let anything slip, and certainly doesn’t need anything more to deal with—especially not Millie literally stumbling into him, with her bright smile and sunny optimism.He bugs her. She’s too starry-eyed for him. They want nothing to do with each other. But with Finn on the interview committee, avoidance is impossible. And Millie soon realizes it’s one thing when a job is on the line. It’s quite another when it’s her heart.
By Paul Mosier
From the critically acclaimed author of Train I Ride and Echo’s Sister comes a moving story of friendship between two girls looking for some happiness in a world that can be a little cruel. Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead, Ali Standish, and Erin Entrada Kelly.Twelve-year-old Juillet is preparing for the worst summer ever. She and her mom are staying in the seaside neighborhood of Ocean Park, California, for a month, where her mom will be working at the local hospital and Juillet will be on her own, like always.Her dad is off in Europe with his new girlfriend, and her best friend, Fern . . . well, Juiller isn’t allowed to talk to Fern anymore. Fern took the blame for Juillet’s goth-girl clothes and “not-real” fears, like sharks and rip currents and the number three.Then Juillet meets Summer, a local surfer girl who knows the coolest people and places around town. With free-spirited and adventurous Summer, Juillet begins to come out of her shell and face the things weighing her down. But when Summer reveals her own painful secret, it’s Juillet’s turn to be the strong and supportive friend.Named one of Bank Street College of Education's Best Children’s Books of the Year!
By Paris Lees
Thirteen-year-old Byron needs to get away, and doesn't care how. Sick of being beaten up by lads for "talkin' like a poof" after school. Sick of dad - the weightlifting, womanising Gaz - and Mam, who pissed off to Turkey like Shirley Valentine. Sick of all the people in Hucknall who shuffle about like the living dead, going on about kitchens they're too skint to do up and marriages they're too scared to leave.It's a new millennium, Madonna's 'Music' is top of the charts and there's a whole world to explore - and Byron's happy to beg, steal and skank onto a rollercoaster ride of hedonism. Life explodes like a rush of ecstasy when Byron escapes into Nottingham's kinetic underworld and discovers the East Midlands' premier podium-dancer-cum-hellraiser, the mesmerising Lady Die. But when the comedown finally kicks in, Byron arrives at a shocking encounter that will change life forever.Bold, poignant and riotously funny, What It Feels Like For a Girl is the unique, hotly-anticipated and addictively-readable debut from one of Britain's most exciting young writers.
By Nora Roberts
Margo, Kate and Laura were brought up like sisters amidst the peerless grandeur of Templeton House. But it was Margo whose dreams first took her far away . . .Margo Sullivan had everything a young woman could ask for. But while growing up along the rocky cliffs of Monterey, she couldn't help but dream of bigger things. The daughter of the Templeton's stern Irish housekeeper, Margo had been treated like a member of the family. Deep down, she knew that money could not buy the thing she craved most -- her mother's acceptance.Maybe things would be different if she could be sweet like Laura -- or had Kate's shrewd head for business. But all Margo knew how to do was be Margo, and that meant doing things her own way -- no matter what the consequences . . .