Mayim from The Braided Vine and I Share Our Summer TBRs

Hello! Today we have a very special guest, Mayim. She’s one of my personal favorite bloggers and I was so excited when she reached out to me and asked if I could host a stop on her blog tour. Mayim’s blog is called The Braided Vine and she writes lifestyle content focused on healthy recipes, workout routines, and outfit inspiration for teen girls. Her blog has recently undergone some really exciting changes, which is why she’s having a blog tour.

“I am so excited to announce that The Braided Vine has moved to wordpress.org! You can now find us on thebraidedvine.com. I am also hosting a giveaway and a Q&A, so hop over to my blog to enter!”

-Mayim

Today we will each be sharing our summer TBRs (To Be Read). Basically, they’re just lists of books we really want to read before the summer is over. Since the summer solstice was earlier this week, we thought this would be the perfect time to share with you guys which books we’re most excited to read. I’ve also included a brief description of each book in case you haven’t heard of them before, but please keep in mind that we haven’t read them yet. The descriptions are based off of information I found on Goodreads and the authors’ websites so I apologize if anything is inaccurate. Without further ado, let’s get started with Mayim’s list!

Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Mayim’s Summer TBR

The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy by Jenny Han

This series follows a love triangle between Belly and two brothers, Jeremiah and Conrad. Each summer since they were little, they’ve stayed at the same beach house together. This summer, it feels like everything’s changing. Her feelings for Jeremiah and Conrad begin to shift and they start to see her in a new light as well. It’s scary, but maybe that’s not always a bad thing. This series has also been made into a TV show on Amazon Prime that I’ve heard is really good.

The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

Gia’s boyfriend, Bradley dumps her right before prom. Like, they broke up in the parking lot on their way to the dance. She’s been gushing to her friends about her boyfriend for months now and she worries that if she goes to the dance alone, they’ll think she made him up. She strikes a deal with another boy to be her fake boyfriend for the night and in exchange agrees to be his fake date to his ex’s grad party. Just as Gia starts to wonder if her fill-in boyfriend could become the real thing, Bradley returns to mess everything up.

Refugee by Alan Gratz

Refugee follows three different kids in three different time periods as they try to escape the dangers of their home country. Josef, a Jewish boy in Nazi Germany, boards a ship with the rest of his family headed for the other side of the world. Isabel flees starvation and riots in 1994 Cuba on a raft with 7 other people set for America. Mahmoud and his family head on a long trek through Europe to escape the violence that has torn apart his home, Syria.

Note from Sophia: I’ve actually read this twice! Once on my own and a second time for a book club. It’s really good!

Moment of Truth by Kasie West

sixteen year old Hadley is focused on one thing — swimming. So she doesn’t exactly find it funny when a guy dressed up as new action hero, Heath Hall, crashes her swim meet. This is just one of a series of events this costumed character has disrupted but no one can figure out who it is. Hadley is determined to figure out the identity of this Heath Hall but ends up finding out a lot about herself along the way.

Places We’ve Never Been by Kasie West

Norah and Skyler were childhood best friends, but they grew apart after Skyler moved away. Their families plan a joint RV trip that Norah can’t wait to go on. However, the trip is the last place Skyler wants to be so Norah pretends to not care as well. Their relationship quickly shifts into a rivalry yet, there’s something more between them. Could a relationship between Norah and Skyler ever work?

Live by Sadie Robertson

This self-help book focuses on leading a life of fullness through becoming more confident, living in the moment, not letting jealousy overwhelm you, and using the power that is words. It is all told with a focus on faith and Christianity. Through this book, Sadie Robertson hopes to help other young people to make wise decisions, make the most of each moment, and truly live every day of their lives.

Sophia’s Summer TBR

A Year to the Day by Robin Benway

I got this book recently as a prize from my public library. It’s by Robin Benway, author of one of my new favorite books, Emmy & Oliver, so I’m super excited to read it! It has been one year since Leo’s sister, Nina, passed away. Yet, Leo still can’t remember what happened the night of the car crash. She remembers getting in the car with Nina and East, her sister’s boyfriend, but that’s about it. East still can’t bring himself to talk about the accident. Told in reverse, this book tells the story of what really happened the night of the crash.

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

Tori Spring enjoys sleeping and blogging. She doesn’t have any close friends. Not anymore anyways. Michael Holden is a social outcast by choice and her friend? Their relationship’s tumultuous to say the least. There are more important things to worry about anyways. Like Solitaire, a secret group that’s playing increasingly grand pranks on the school. To be honest, I don’t know that much about this book (hence the vague description) and the information I could find on Goodreads and Alice Oseman’s website is quite hazy. However, I just finished reading the Heartstopper series and I love Tori’s character so I’m really excited to read more about her.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

I watched the movie adaptation of this book several years ago and got the book at a garage sale soon after, but I still haven’t actually read it. I really want to though! The night before four friends all travel to different places for the summer, Carmen decides to get rid of a pair of jeans that she got at the thrift store. She just doesn’t like them. However, her friends love the pair of jeans and all try them on. The jeans fit all of them perfectly. They decide to share the jeans over the summer that will become their most memorable yet.

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Lies We Tell Ourselves is set in 1950s Virginia and focuses on two girls that are divided by the Civil Rights Movement. Sarah is one of the first African American students to attend a previously all-white high school while Linda is the daughter of the town’s most outspoken opponent of public school integration. They have been taught very different ideas of race all their lives but when they are paired up for a school project, they are forced to face the truth and what are really just lies they’ve told themselves all this time. Especially the lies they tell about each other.

This is Not the Jess Show by Anna Carey

Jess just wants to survive her junior year without too much drama. However, she seems to be failing at that goal. Her hometown, Swickley is being rampaged by a mysterious disease and even weirder, one of her friends has an iPhone. It’s 1998. Suddenly the cracks in Jess’s life form a clearer picture than what’s left and she realizes her reality is nothing more than someone else’s entertainment. But is the real world any better? I don’t know very much about this book either but the concept sounds really sick so I’m excited to read it.

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

The Rafter School for Girls has been under quarantine for the past eighteen months since a mysterious infection, The Tox, began killing students and teachers. Now they’re isolated from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves while they wait for the cure. When Byatt, who means everything to the main character, Hetty, goes missing, Hetty has to find her. Even if it means breaking the quarantine and facing whatever lies beyond their school. Even when that poses more questions than answers.

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What do you think of our summer TBR picks? Have you read any of them? Let us know you’re thoughts on them down below and share what book your most excited to read over the summer! Also make sure to check out Mayim’s blog. She’s seriously the best and I’m so proud of her for becoming self-hosted. Thank you so much for reading and as always, I hope this post finds you well and you have a great day!