What I Read in June!

How is June nearly over already? This month has flown by and I have done a lot this month! I got a lot read this month and I am happy with what I got to read! Here is what I read in June!

Call it What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer

“When his dad is caught embezzling funds from half the town, Rob goes from popular lacrosse player to social pariah. Even worse, his father’s failed suicide attempt leaves Rob and his mother responsible for his care.

Everyone thinks of Maegan as a typical overachiever, but she has a secret of her own after the pressure got to her last year. And when her sister comes home from college pregnant, keeping it from her parents might be more than she can handle.

When Rob and Maegan are paired together for a calculus project, they’re both reluctant to let anyone through the walls they’ve built. But when Maegan learns of Rob’s plan to fix the damage caused by his father, it could ruin more than their fragile new friendship…”

I finished this book in the first couple of days of June and I loved it. I actually wrote a ful length review of this book which you can find here. This book is wonderful, broke my heart and I couldn’t put it down. I love Brigid’s writing and want to read more of her books soon!

★★★★★

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I Hold Your Heart by Karen Gregory

“When Gemma meets Aaron, she feels truly seen for the first time. Their love story is the intense kind. The written-in-the-stars, excluding-all-others kind. The kind you write songs about.

But little by little their relationship takes over Gemma’s life. What happens when being seen becomes being watched, and care becomes control?”

This book was extraordinary. I flew through this book on the plane journey to Lanzarote and it hit me hard. I sadly related to this book more than I should have but it was such an incredible read that I feel so many people should read. I will be reviewing this in full very soon!

★★★★★

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Birthday by Meredith Russo

“Born on the same day, at the same time, in the same place. They’ve always shared this one day together, but as they grow up they begin to grow apart. 

Everyone expects Eric to get a football scholarship, but no one knows he’s having second thoughts.
Former quarterback Morgan feels utterly alone, as she wrestles with the difficult choice to live as her true self.

Both of them are struggling to be the person they know they are. Who better to help than your best friend?”

I have been excited about reading this book for a long time. When I found it that it was released a few days before I went on holiday it was packed in my bag. I loved this book a lot and will be reviewing it in fun soon. As well as discussing it at Sarah and Sophie’s book club soon!

★★★★★

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All the Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman 

“16-year-old Mehreen Miah’s anxiety and depression, or ‘Chaos’, as she calls it, has taken over her life, to the point where she can’t bear it any more. So she joins MementoMori, a website that matches people with partners and allocates them a date and method of death, ‘the pact’. Mehreen is paired with Cara Saunders and Olivia Castleton, two strangers dealing with their own serious issues. 

As they secretly meet over the coming days, Mehreen develops a strong bond with Cara and Olivia, the only people who seem to understand what she’s going through. But ironically, the thing that brought them together to commit suicide has also created a mutually supportive friendship that makes them realise that, with the right help, life is worth living.”

All I can say about this book is wow. This is easily one of my favourite books of the year so far. I have so many amazing things to say about this book and I am going to be posting a full review very soon. Yasmin has written a beautiful debut novel that I’m sure will be talked about a lot.

★★★★★

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Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

“Ellery and Malcolm both know it’s hard to let go when you don’t have closure. Then another girl disappears, and Ellery and Malcolm were the last people to see her alive. As they race to unravel what happened, they realize every secret has layers in Echo Ridge. The truth might be closer to home than either of them want to believe.”

I had high expectations for this book and I wasn’t let down. This is a book that I flew through and filled my true crime fix. Being a true crime fanatic it was lovely to read a YA thriller that felt authentic and  as though it has been thoroughly researched.

★★★★

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Alex in Wonderland by Simon James Green

“In the town of Newsands, painfully shy Alex is abandoned by his two best friends for the summer. But he unexpectedly lands a part-time job at Wonderland, a run-down amusement arcade on the seafront, where he gets to know the other teen misfits who work there. Alex starts to come out of his shell, and even starts to develop feelings for co-worker Ben… who, as Alex’s bad luck would have it, has a girlfriend.”

This book is so much fun! Simon James Green is such a wonderful person in real life and makes such incredible books. I laughed out loud so much whilst reading this book. I even did a happy cry. I am such a big fan of this book and will be recommending it non-stop!

★★★★★

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A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa Sheinmel

“Seventeen-year-old Hannah Gold has always been treated like a grown up. As the only child of two New York professionals, she’s been traveling the world and functioning as a miniature adult since the day she was born. But that was then. Now, Hannah has been checked into a remote treatment facility, stripped of all autonomy and confined to a single room.”

I am obsessed with a previous book by Alyssa Sheinmel, Faceless, so I was extrememly excited when this was released. Although I saved it for my holiday so I knew I could sit and read it in a couple of sittings in the sun. Alyssa captured me once again with her incredible writing and stories. If you are looking for an unreliable narrator story then this is for you!

★★★★

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Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippencott

“Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.

The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.

Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.”

I bought this book on a whim in the airport just in case I read all the books I had already packed in my suitcase and I am so glad I did. I flew through this book within a few hours and of course I sobbed. A beautiful story that raises awareness for cystic fibrosis.

★★★★

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Patron Saints of Nothing by Randay Ribay

“Jay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his senior year playing video games before heading to the University of Michigan in the fall. But when he discovers that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte’s war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened, Jay travels to the Philippines to find out the real story.” 

This book was incredible and extremely hard hitting! I will be reviewing this book in full very soon so keep an eye out for that. I went into this book knowing about what was happening in the Philippines and this book has made me realise there is an even bigger picture that needs to be looked at. This book is wonderful!

★★★★

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Sadie by Courtney Summers

“Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray―a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America―overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.”

I picked this up in audio book form on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the layout of this book being part story and part podcast episodes and I think listening to it on audio book really added to me enjoying this book. I would love to read more YA thriller / mystery books like this!

★★★★

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Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

“First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humour and more than one ghost haunting him.”

I enjoyed this book a lot! I listened to the audiobook as  it was available on Scribd and it was a lot of fun! I want more books like this and in an age range as Alex and Henry. I love a good book about people in the same age range as me! This book definitely lived up to the expectations I had for it!

★★★★Those are all of the books I have read in June! It has surprisingly been an excellent reading month! What have you read this month? What are you going to be reading next month? Let me know in the comments!