5 Stand-Alone Books I Hope To Read This Summer | 2016 – 2017

Last updated on 13 December 2017

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase with one of these links, I recieve a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read the full Affiliate Policy.

Last week I talked about the fact that unlike all you folks in the Northern Hemisphere putting on your extra layers of socks and pulling our your mittens, December means summer in New Zealand. And summer means holidays. And holidays mean reading. A lot of reading.

In last weeks post I shared with you guys 5 of the sequels that I really hope I get around to reading this summer.

As well as these books from series, there are so many stand-alone books that I have started and really enjoyed, but have yet to pick up. I really need to continue reading some of these, and I hope this summer will be the summer it all happens.

While you can find out which books I vow to read in 2017 on Blogger’s Bookshelf later in January, you can see the 2016 post here. I’ve only read one of those books. One. I really must change that by December 31s.

---

Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid
Published by Harlequin Teen
on August 1st 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Fiction
Pages: 287
Find at Booktopia
Buy on Mighty Ape
Goodreads

Never date your best friend
Always be original
Sometimes rules are meant to be broken

Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliché high school kids — the ones who sit at the same lunch table every day, dissecting the drama from homeroom and plotting their campaigns for prom king and queen. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they’d never, ever do in high school.

Some of the rules have been easy to follow; like No. 5, never die your hair a colour of the rainbow, or No. 7, never hook up with a teacher. But Dave has a secret: he’s broken rule No. 8, never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It’s either that or break rule No. 10, never date your best friend. Dave has loved Julia for as long as he can remember.

Julia is beautiful, wild and impetuous. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. He even dyes his hair an unfortunate shade of green. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the clichés, they’ve actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love.

This book has been on my shelf for a while now and it’s definitely one I’ve been meaning to pick up. I really enjoyed Alsaid’s other book, Let’s Get Lost, so I’m hoping I’ll enjoy this one too.

---

Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Published by Orion
on July 31st 2014
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 310
Find at Booktopia
Buy on Mighty Ape
Goodreads

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems besides the point now.
Maybe that was always besides the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

Another one that’s been on my shelf for over a year now. I love Rainbow Rowell’s books, and this is still the only one I haven’t read. Not because I don’t want to, but simply because I haven’t gotten around to it yet. Will this year be the year? I hope so.

---

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
on October 6th 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Fiction
Pages: 388
Find at Booktopia
Buy on Mighty Ape
Goodreads

Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed 'America's Fattest Teen'. But no one's taken the time to look past her weight to get to see who she really is. Since her mum's death, she's been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby's ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for EVERY POSSIBILITY LIFE HAS TO OFFER. I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin too. Yes, he's got swagger, but he's also mastered the art of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a secret: he can't recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He's the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can't understand what's going on with the inner workings of his own brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don't get too close to anyone.

Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game which lands them in group counseling, Libby and Jack are both angry, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world - theirs and yours.

This book was released at the beginning of October and I’m so excited to read it! I loved her previous book, All the Bright Places; it was one of my favourite books that I read this year. Can’t wait to read this!

---

We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach
Published by Simon & Schuster
on March 26th 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Fiction
Pages: 370
Find at Booktopia
Buy on Mighty Ape
Goodreads

Before the asteroid we let ourselves be defined by labels:The athlete, the outcast, the slacker, the overachiever.

But then we all looked up and everything changed.

They said it would be here in two months. That gave us two months to leave our labels behind. Two months to become something bigger than what we'd been, something that would last even after the end.

Two months to really live.

Published last year (2015) in March, this book has been on my radar for a while now. Only this past November did I manage to pick up a copy for myself at the book fair. It’s a book I’ve heard rave reviews on, so definitely looking forward to this.

---

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Published by Delacorte Press
on November 1st 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Fiction
Pages: 384
Find at Booktopia
Buy on Mighty Ape
Goodreads

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

Released just over a month ago, I have heard nothing but amazing things about it. I have just recently bought this book (thanks, Book Depository!) so I’m excited about picking it up!

 

What about you? Are there books that you plan on reading this summer? Or ones you plan to read in your cosy warm feather-duvet-ed beds with hot chocolate? 

---

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.