This summer, my son was old enough to participate in the town library’s summer reading program, and as I like to lead by example, that meant I got to read a lot this summer too, and we both logged our books in Beanstack, a purpose-built reading app for schools and libraries. Part of me definitely missed the old paper summer reading logs of my youth, but my son got excited every time he reached a new badge or completed an activity for another virtual sticker, and I admit being able to scroll through and see cover art for all those books we read together is pretty enthralling. He’s already looking forward to the October “Boooooooooks!” bingo challenge, so that’s a good sign too.
Looking at the list of what I read, there was definitely an unintentional (but not the slightest bit surprising) marine/nautical theme to the novels I picked up for the summer, with a secondary theme definitely being fantastical academia. Here are a few that really stood out for me:
Mermaids and Pirates
The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda Hall – Piracy, coming of age, star crossed love, self-reflection, non-binary characters, criticism of imperialism and colonial economic policies, this was a chock-full read that barely took a breath from start to finish and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson – Weird but satisfying. High seas adventure, working girl goes off to rescue her lordling in distress, piracy and questing and curses and wordplay. This book is impossible to explain, largely because it’s told by an unreliable and probably slightly unhinged narrator, but I’m very curious to find out what else Sanderson has planned with his other “secret Covid books” he wrote in this same universe.
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty – Probably my favorite thing I read this summer, this was densely delightful world building, really fun historical fantasy, non-Eurocentric, dryly hilarious, and featuring a 40-something retired-pirate mom who gets to go adventuring again to save her family and reunite with her old crew. I was so sorry when I turned the last page. I recommend this one highly.
American Mermaid by Julia Langbein – This promised to be a critical look at writing, Hollywood, and the cost of fame with a healthy dash of magical realism thrown in, which sounded really fun. Sadly, it was a little more cynical than I was really up for, and had far less magical realism than I would have liked, but there are definitely some scenes that linger in my memory, so it was an interesting read.
Fantastical Schools and Libraries
The Golden Enclaves, by Naomi Novik – The final volume in the Scholomance series, which deserves a deep-dive post of its own, probably after I have a chance to re-read them all (though not right before I go to bed, yikes. So many nightmares.). Fascinating reflection on what it takes to really change unjust systems, from both outside and within, and I loved so many of Novik’s character choices. One of my favorite writers for so many reasons.
Ink Blood Sister Scribe, by Emma Torzs – This one was on everyone’s recommendation lists this summer, and I can see why. Fascinating magic system, well developed characters, satisfying plot, just enough humor to offset how very dark things can and do get at points. I turned around and recommended it myself to various folks as soon as I finished it.
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor – This has been on my backlist to read for years, and I was happy to grab it finally. I loved the Binti trilogy by Okorafor and this has a lot of the same: beautiful language, very fierce and charming protagonists, marvelous and immersive worldbuilding with science and magic. I definitely want to pick up the next in the series when I get a chance.
A Novel Disguise by Samantha Larsen – Historical fiction that I did not pick up with any real expectation of historical accuracy, as it was mostly a cozy mystery featuring a single woman who goes undercover as her dead half-brother to save her cottage and find out who poisoned him. Definitely a ‘potato chip’ sort of book, but amusing, and set earlier than the Regency period one could have easily assumed it would be, so the details of wigs, powder, and beauty patches to cover pox marks were all fun additions to the disguise.
Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker – A cute YA graphic novel about a late teen witch who works in a bookstore with her amazing witchy grandmothers, and her werewolf girlfriend who comes back to town to deal with something creepy in the woods. Great intergenerational team up, sweet illustration style, funny and creepy in a good balance, probably should have saved it to read in October for some Halloween fluff.
Sea Dreams and Time Machines 