Student Nominated Summer Reading 2021

Every year Upper School students nominate books to be read in addition to their required summer reading. A student who nominates a book must  give a "pitch" at the Summer  Reading Convocation, which was held on May 23rd this year. All Upper School students choose one book from this list (although many students choose more).  When we return to school in the fall, there will be an advisory devoted to discussing the books that each student selected. I think this year's list is one of the best we've ever had!

All of these books will be  available in the Edith Hamilton Library, and most will be available in Bryn Mawr's Overdrive e-Book Collection. Just type in your Bryn Mawr e-mail address to download a book.

Student Nominated Summer Reading 2021-Pick One!

The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore

"I  would like to nominate "The Other Wes Moore" by Wes Moore for summer reading. It follows two men, both named Wes Moore, born in neighboring cities, and how their paths differ with the decisions they make in life and with the opportunities they are presented with. The book is a great reading for understanding the importance of the paths we choose in life, the influence of our surroundings, and how small the world is. Personally, I very much enjoyed this novel (and the subsequent discussion myself and some others had with Mr. Moore) and it is one of my favorite books that I've ever read."

Ayanna

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

"France, 1714: Addie wants more than what her small village can offer her. She does not fit in with the simplistic ideas of getting married, having kids, and then dying all within the same 6 feet. She wants more. Addie was always told never to pray to the gods at night, till a moment of complete desperation has her doing just that. Not knowing what she truly wants, she gets immortality, but it comes at a cost. Everyone she once knew does not remember her, and everyone she meets forgets her. Her deal is done, and her fate is sealed. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue. A dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, and takes you through history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.This novel left me contemplating the legacy I may or may not leave on this world and had me questioning what love is: sacrifice or selfishness?Whether you enjoy historical fiction or romance or sci-fi this novel has it all. Addie encounters philosophers at salons, the struggles of being a woman, poverty, sickness, death, and depression. But through all her struggle she still manages to find the light at the end of the tunnel."

Christina S.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

"The House in the Cerulean Sea is a book about love, family, and finding your place in the world. Linus Baker is a case worker for The Department In Charge Of Magical Youth, and his job is to visit the “orphanages” that house magical children, making sure that they are following the rules and regulations. One day, Linus is chosen by Extremely Upper Management to be sent on a very special trip to visit Marsyas Orphanage, which houses six...interesting cases. During Linus’ stay on Marsyas Island, he learns things about the children there, along with the head of the orphanage, that change the way he sees the world he lives in. The House in the Cerulean Sea is a story of finding a family, even if it may not be what you expect, of belonging, and of adventure. "

Caleb 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

"Although the idea of a hermit-girl surviving in the North Carolina swamp during the 1960s might not seem relatable to most people, painfully familiar feelings and moments emerge as you grow up with Kya (the hermit-girl) that leave you to wonder whether Delia Owens wrote this book just for you. Here’s just a quick synopsis, Kya has been abandoned by her entire family, leaving her dirt-poor and having to fend for herself using the land the earth gives her. The author submerges you into the setting, the deep coastal marsh where pelicans fly and seashells are in abundance. All the while, the author carries you on a journey with Kya as she goes through relatable teenage emotions like love, rejection, hope, and pain.

 If you’re listening to me and thinking, sure, this sounds interesting, but I only really read YA romance books. To that I say, there is of course a little bit of YA-stomach-butterflies-romance intertwined, but also Where the Crawdads Sing is as deep as you make it out to be. For me, Where the Crawdads Sing was a relaxing book that sort of had a cottage-core vibe, that also had me sitting on the edge of my seat and left me unsettled numerous times. That just goes to show that there's truly something for everyone in this book: there's mystery, murder, nature, social and historical issues to unpack, and of course, there's some YA romance. Really, there’s just so much to fall in love with or to be captivated by: if not the setting, it’s Kya. I highly recommend this book, especially during COVID times, if you've ever felt isolated, alone, in need of nature, or just want a break from our 2021 world!"

Kaitlyn L.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Educated by Tara Westover

"Tara Westover never stepped foot in a classroom until she was a teenager - the first portion of her life was spent in the mountains in Idaho with her family of survivalists separated from mainstream society. She spent her childhood stockpiling supplies, helping her mother's herbal tincture business, and never visited a doctor or hospital; her parents didn't believe in this. Lacking any formal education, she began to teach herself math and grammar through textbooks and was eventually admitted to Brigham Young University. Educated is a compelling and personal memoir about Tara Westover's life between two worlds, and definitely a book that will expand your awareness of how different people live."

Cynthia 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro.

"I’m a slow reader, but I recently read a book in about two days, which was a big deal for me! It’s called Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. You might recognize Ishiguro’s name because he wrote Never Let Me Go, which everyone reads in 10th grade. 

As the book opens, we meet Klara, who is a solar-powered Artificial Friend or AF. Based on Ishiguro’s description, she was made to look like a human but clearly isn’t one. In the opening chapter, she is waiting patiently but eagerly in a shop for a family to buy her and take her home, which is the ultimate goal of every AF -- to be useful to a child and to support them as they grow up. 

While AFs assume the role of friends, they aren’t equals. Later in the book, when meeting someone’s mom, Klara is met with this statement: “One never knows how to greet a guest like you. After all, are you a guest at all? Or do I treat you like a vacuum cleaner?” This isn’t the only time Klara in the book is met with hostility from others who are wary of AFs. 

Just like Never Let Me Go, a sense of foreboding permeates Klara and the Sun. The world Klara occupies, in the not-too-distant future, is different from our own. Things have changed in American society and not every child has access to the same kinds of opportunities. Many workers have been replaced by artificial intelligence. 

Like other Ishiguro texts, including Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, we see the author’s interest in themes of memory and humanity and those that society deems obsolete. This is a story about machines but also a story about what it means to love and to live fully. I would really recommend picking up Klara and the Sun this summer. It’s a quick read but a powerful story."

Ms. Fetting

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

"If you're looking for a great read this summer, I highly recommend The Vanishing Half. As soon as I started it, I was hooked on the story of the two twins living entirely separate lives. I don't want to spoil anything, but it was a fascinating dive into how our choices and the stories we tell others can change our lives more than we could ever know. The lasting effect of these choices is explored fantastically with the time jumps between sections of the novel, yet they all weave together for a complex, emotional picture of the Vignes family. It's an incredible read, and I'd highly recommend you choose it. Thank you!"

Spencer R.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Trickster’s Choice by Tamara Pierce 

"Trickster’s Choice is the first book in the Daughter of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce. It is a high fantasy novel set in the Tortall universe about a 17-year-old girl named Aly, who desperately wants to become a field agent for her father’s spy network. When she is unexpectedly captured by pirates and sold into slavery in the Copper Isles, she makes a deal with the Trickster god Kyprioth to protect two young noblewomen, Sarai and Dove, and in exchange, Kyprioth will convince her father to allow her to spy. However, the task is soon complicated by treacherous nobles, an exile, and a bubbling rebellion ready for revolution. 

This is a fantastic book, and one of my favorites by Tamora Pierce. There is a rich cast of supporting characters, all with their own distinct voices and personalities. Aly is an incredibly fun character with her knowledge of spywork and sense of ridiculousness, and the audience eagerly watches her shifting priorities. The world building and magic system are well-built and consistent, and the series is a complete standalone, though there are cameos from other characters in the same universe. I hope you enjoy this book!"

Samantha 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

"Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.  Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other." 

Lydia 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

"I’m here to tell you all about Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.

 The novel takes place in the fictional land of Orïsha, inhabited by two distinct people: divîners, who have the ability to become magical maji when they reach a certain age and are marked by white hair, and non-magical kosidán. Eleven years prior to the events of the book, King Saran figured out how to switch off magic and ordered the slaying of many defenseless divîners, including Zélie’s mother. Ever since then, divîners have been severely oppressed. After visiting the capital city, Lagos, to make enough money to pay off an increased tax on divîners, Zélie and her brother Tzain help a noble girl flee the clutches of local guards. She has stolen a scroll that can restore the magical powers of any divîner who touches it. The question now remains: can they actually bring back magic ?

If you are searching for a book that transports you to another world through the powerful use of words,

 Romance that makes you clutch your chest to check if your heart's still beating,

Adventure that has you almost falling out of your chair.

I would suggest Children of Blood and Bone."

Koko 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

"Through her powerful words and intriguing narrative in Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi tells the story of two half sisters and their descendants. Each sister is unaware of the other: their lives, their struggles, and their commonalities. The story begins with the European colonization of Africa and continues to the present day in California. Two black-stone pendants unite the sisters and their families. The novel’s many narratives kept me invested, and I found myself never wanting to put the book down. The story ends with a perfect conclusion, skilfully connecting all the characters in just one moment. I recommend this book for its gritty truth, its powerful voices, and its eye-opening stories. If you enjoy a fast-paced story with a strong impact, Homegoing is the perfect book for you to read this summer."

Christina B.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok 

"We read Girl in Translation during the spring of 8th grade at Bryn Mawr and I loved it so much I nominated it! The book explores the Chinese-American immigrant perspective from a girl named Kimberly Change and her life in New York City through her childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Kimberly must maintain a double life between school and labor at a sweatshop in Chinatown with her mom. Her dual identity means she must keep her illegal work at the sweatshop a secret during the school day and make sure to separate her two worlds. Kimberly and her mom describe their close-knit relationship as “mother and cub” and are forced to sacrifice for each other throughout the novel to make their way through life as Chinese immigrants in New York City. Through her family’s extreme poverty and many other struggles, Kimberly continues to succeed while facing many obstacles expected and unexpected. Her future and her family depend on her choices and through it all she must translate between her two worlds. Through Girl in Translation, readers will explore the diverse perspectives of Chinese Immigrants from childhood to adulthood while learning about Chinese culture and the immigrant experience." 

Cara 

*Please note: If you read this book in 8th Grade your are on your honor to choose another for your summer reading.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

"The Poppy War is a grimdark military fantasy inspired by the Song Dynasty, set in a fictional version of China called Nikan, with the conflict based on the Second Sino-Japanese War. The story starts off innocently enough -- our protagonist, Rin, is a dark-skinned, peasant orphan who, to everyone’s surprise, manages to get into Nikan’s prestigious military academy Sinegard. It sounds like the beginning of every cliche YA fantasy, but by the second part of the book, the story takes a dramatically different turn as the students are thrust into a war that no one is prepared for. Kuang does not shy back when depicting war, and I believe it’s one of the book's greatest strengths. It’s brutal and graphic and most definitely difficult to read, but the way it viscerally tears at you is unforgettable. It’s a harsh reminder of how viciously cruel humans can be, especially when you realize that what happens in the book is lifted directly from real-life historical events. This is a story that asks us to examine how we weigh the life of ‘the other’, how we justify atrocities, and what it means to be human."

Ammy 

*Warning: This is not a YA book! Due to violent content,  it is appropriate for rising Seniors (age 17+) 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

"Cady Eastman has spent every summer of her life on her family’s private Island, called Beechwood. But, one year, she experiences an accident that causes her to struggle with her memory and migraines so intense, she needs pain medication. Her recovery, and a later trip with her father cause Cady to miss multiple years of her usual summer vacation to recover, losing her contact with the cousins she used to spend the summer with. When Cady is finally allowed to return to the island, she still does not remember the accident, and no one will tell her what happened. Despite this, she reunites with her family and 2 of her cousins, nicknamed “the liars”. With the liars, Cady sets off to determine the true nature of her accident while exploring the family’s status and privilege, her past romance with Gat, who is also one of the liars and present at the island, but not actually a cousin, and how money connects the family as a whole. We Were Liars is a suspenseful mystery full of distortion, discovery, and rebellion, packed into a picture-perfect family full of lies. "

Adella 

 

From the Edith Hamilton Library Collection

 Twenty-five New Books by Black Authors to Read Anytime!

World War II from a Comparative Literary Perspective by Julia Brinker '21

Julia’s Favorite Books of All Time (in no particular order):

1. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane 

2. This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay

3. The Winds of War by Herman Wouk

As a die-hard fan of each of these novels, I can confidently say they have absolutely nothing in common, except for the fact they constitute my favorite books list. Shutter Island is about a disappearance in a mental asylum, This is Going to Hurt is a compilation of the craziest stories of a medical resident, and The Winds of War is a dense World War II novel following a Navy captain and his family. 

So, it’s no surprise when I say that as I’ve grown older, I’ve become drawn to three separate niches of literature: psychological thrillers, nonfiction hospital tales, and World War II fiction. I could spend endless amounts of time reading in any of these genres, and that is essentially what I saw my senior project as an opportunity to do. 

For my senior project (the workings-on of a senior in a field of their interest for their last two weeks of school), I knew I wanted to read. In an ideal world, that would just mean reading for two weeks. But, I had to have some kind of structure to my project. My limited areas of piqued literary interest narrowed down my options of the types of books I could focus on: psychological thrillers I deemed weren’t professional enough, and there simply aren’t enough varying medical diaries to constitute two weeks worth of work. Thus, I turned to World War II novels.  

But what to do with World War II novels? They are abundant, with so many different settings and stories and in so many different subgenres. Subgenres? Hmmm...

There are stories of love, of mystery, of families, and so many more, with their one common thread being World War II. This, I decided, is what I could do, this is what I wanted to do. I found three different books - manageable to read in less than two weeks, but nothing to sneeze at - in three different subgenres. Come From Away by Genevive Graham is a romance between a ex-Nazi and a Canadian woman; N or M? by Agatha Christie is a mystery about uncovering the identity of a German spy in Britain; and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer is a novel about family, the power of reading, and love after German Occupation. I had my books. 

But what to do with them? I decided on comparing the portrayal of World War II between them - there had to be something there (right?), but how much would a literary society on the tiny island of Guernsey have in common with a love story taking place in Canada? Well, that’s what you’re about to find out.  

   

  

Come From Away by Genevieve Graham

          

         Come From Away is first and foremost a love story. It focuses on Grace, a twenty-something Canadian woman, as she struggles with the absence of her three brothers while they are off fighting in World War II. Rudi, a German soldier whose U-boat crash lands upon a nearby beach, eventually ends up meeting Grace and decides to become a deserter. The story focuses on Grace’s internal struggle: can she trust that Rudi really wants to change, or is his Nazi past too much to overlook?

At the beginning of the novel, Grace is very adamant that Allied and enemy soldiers are nothing alike. She fervently believes that German soldiers are savage beasts, who only have one thing on their mind: murder. She rejects her parents’ ideas that German soldiers are still men...at least until Rudi comes along. Grace deals with the conflicting notions of what the outside world is telling her about Rudi and what she feels in her heart; she desperately wants to believe that people can change, and - spoiler alert - at least in this novel, they can. 

Come From Away focuses less on the military aspects of World War II - its extent is German U-boat details - and more on the humans behind the soldiers. It demonstrates man’s capacity for love: how our hearts are sometimes stronger than our brain, how people come into our lives for a reason. 

Such obvious, (excuse my cynical opinion) borderline sappy content is lost in N or M?. Christie’s novel is all about suspicions, paranoia, and who is trustworthy, as the story follows British agents as they discover the identities of undercover German spies. The only similarity between the two novels is that the characters in N or M? view any potential German the same way strangers view Rudi: skeptically, suspiciously, and with a we-should-keep-an-eye-on-you mindset. 

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society has far more in common with Come From Away than N or M? does. The characters of Elizabeth McKenna in Guernsey and Grace in Come From Away are strikingly similar, as they both see beyond a uniform or nationality - exactly the opposite of the task designated to the British agents in N or M?. In Guernsey, Elizabeth McKenna falls in love with Christopher Hellman, a captain on the German ship that has come to occupy the island. She looks past his identity as a Nazi and talks with him about books, nature, and life. Elizabeth does what Grace eventually does with Rudi: both women look past the men as World War II enemies and instead see them as people. 

I liked the take-home lessons from Come From Away: people can change and don’t judge a book by its cover. I’m not the biggest fan of love stories, but the backdrop of World War II in this one appealed to me and of course made it suitable for my project. Come From Away provided a home-front perspective of the war, and grappled with a problem - are national enemies individual enemies? - that was a very real one during World War II.  

N or M? by Agatha Christie

        By simply saying this novel is by Agatha Christie, you already know arguably the most important detail of this book: it’s a who-can-you-trust mystery. The novel’s main characters, British retired spies Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, visit the bucolic French resort Sans Souci. Allied intel claims two German spies are staying there under names that begin with N and M, and it’s their job to unmask them. 

Unsurprisingly, and as previously mentioned, the novel revolves around suspicions, paranoia, and accusations. Christie writes multiple times throughout the novel that there are Nazi spies even in the highest ranks of the British military, allowing the reader to grasp the full extent of German infiltration; Tommy’s and Tuppence’s task is not a leisurely, relaxed one - the success of Allied operations depends on them. 

Thus, where Come From Away has the Nazi deserter, N or M? has the undercover die-hard national socialist. One of Come From Away’s principal lessons - don’t judge a book by its cover - is nowhere to be found in Christie’s novel, as the Beresfords’ job is to find the Germans and expel them for being German. Grace sees Rudi for who he really is, beyond his Nazi past, and that is exactly what Tommy and Tuppence are not doing. 

N or M? Has more in common with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Even though Elizabeth McKenna’s husband, Christopher Hellman, was a kind German soldier, he is the minority. Throughout the letters that make up Guernsey, there are countless stories of Nazi soldiers who are harsh, arrogant, and selfish. They raid the houses of the already poor islanders, they make the weak and ill do strenuous manual labor, they kill the neighborhood cats and dogs for food, etc. While this type of cruelty is far different from the white-collar crime of espionage in N or M?, both novels depict the Germans as the obvious enemy in ways Come From Away did not. 

(Spoiler alert? Not if you’re familiar with Christie’s writing style…) In typical Agatha Christie fashion, the N or M? mystery gets wrapped up nicely and tied with a bow. The undercover Germans are caught and expelled, and Tommy and Tuppence save the day. But don’t let the happiness of the ending fool you - the novel is jam-packed with lies, deception, and anti-German sentiments. If you so much as have an unplaceable accent, you’re automatically put higher on the Beresfords’ watchlist. It’s filled with exactly the type of dishonesty and manipulation absent in Come From Away and honest, humble Rudi; its portrayal of Germans as evil contrast with Captain Hellman, but align with every other Nazi soldier described in Guernsey. N or M? walks a thin line between being very similar and very different from Come From Away and Guernsey, providing a distinctly different narrative just like the kind every person involved in World War II could tell. 

    

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Anna Shaffer

Lastly, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, or as I refer in shorthand, Guernsey. The book that took me the longest to get through, but I think that’s simply because it was the last one for me to read. It’s an epistolary novel, which makes the structure memorable and the narrative - everything told in first person, as you would write a letter - unique. 

With so many different letters going to so many different people, it can be tricky to keep track of all of the separate storylines. Here’s how I would describe it the plot: the main character, author Juliet Ashton, receives a letter from a man on the island of Guernsey about a book, and as they correspond, he starts to talk about the German Occupation and Juliet is enthralled. 

Where Come From Away is a romance and N or M? is a mystery, the best way to describe Guernsey is coming-together historical fiction. That’s vague, but there are so many different elements - family, love, change, power, the list goes on - in this novel, that it’s impossible to capture all of them in a more specific phrase or genre name. 

But among all of these elements, the most prominent one is family. Just like Grace had to give up her brothers to the war effort in Come From Away, Elizabeth McKenna had to give up her husband. Furthermore, the novel details how all of the children were sent to Britain proper, as the Germans weren’t as much of a threat to the mainland as they were to the island of Guernsey, and thus many parents had to give up their children.  

The character of Elizabeth McKenna - arguably the next most important character after Juliet Ashton - draws parallels still, however, to N or M?. Spoiler Alert: the reader never actually gets a letter to or from Elizabeth, as she is dead. She is sent to a concentration camp for hiding and taking care of a weak Polish slave laborer who worked on the island. But, the accusations made both to her and about her - the occupying Nazis called her a traitor, her fellow islanders called her a danger - are very similar to the ones made by Tommy and Tuppence Beresford as to who the German spy is at Sans Souci. Suspicions arose and plans were made to catch Elizabeth red-handed, very similar to the arrangements the Beresfords made to trap and unmask the German. 

Whenever I told anyone the books I was reading for my senior project, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was the one that always struck a chord. I’d hear “Oh, that’s a good one!” or “I loved that movie!” Although I haven’t seen the movie, if it’s anything like the book - and unless it was horribly directed - then I would have to agree. It’s a story of love and loss, but also the power of coming together and of books. It has a unique structure and many intertwining plotlines, but Come From Away and N or M? still share similarities with it. World War II is the common thread between these three novels, as different as they are, and their distinct portrayals of the war made them all the more enjoyable to compare and contrast.  

  Well, two weeks later: countless World War II knowledge amassed, a blog post written, and a senior project completed. 

I’ve had a lot of fun doing this. As much as I would’ve loved just reading for two weeks, what’s the point in learning if you can’t share it? Writing this allowed me to flesh out and delve into my own thoughts about the novels: the similarities between Elizabeth McKenna and Grace, the opposing portrayals of Germans between N or M? and Come From Away, and looking at World War II in varying literary perspectives. 

World War II historical fiction, as I mentioned earlier, is one of the three specific genres I indulge in. And you can bet I have so many other books like Come From Away, N or M?, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society on my to-read list. If you want suggestions, The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles and The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris are very highly acclaimed; I look forward to reading those. 

As much as I love my psychological thrillers and my medical resident stories, I doubt I could’ve gotten as much out of this project if I had chosen one of those genres. Over the past two weeks, I’ve learned about everything from the types of trees deep in the Canadian wilderness (pine) to what to do when going on a super-secret spy mission (always let at least three people know your whereabouts). The three novels I read I really enjoyed, as they not only expanded my knowledge of World War II, but also that of the human capacity for love (Come From Away), the importance of resilience (N or M?), and, most importantly for me, the power of books (Guernsey). And just like all of the people in Guernsey’s famous literary society, that’s a power I intend to keep harnessing my whole life.