Souhegan Reads 2019 Summer Reading List Sadie by Courtney Summers: Sadie has grown up on her own, raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water. When Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues. 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. (mystery, revenge, murder, sisters, podcasts, thriller, suspense) Boots on the Ground: America’s War with Vietnam by Elizabeth Partridge: 40+ years after America left Vietnam in 1975, the war remains controversial and divisive both in the U.S. and abroad. The history of this era is complex; the cultural impact extraordinary. But it's the personal stories of eight people—6 American soldiers, 1 American military nurse, and 1 Vietnamese refugee—that create the heartbeat of Boots on the Ground. From dense jungles and terrifying firefights to chaotic helicopter rescues and harrowing escapes, each individual experience reveals a different facet of the war. (nonfiction, military, Vietnam War, personal histories, memoir, history) A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi: It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s a turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped. To cope, Shirin drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother. Then she meets Ocean James, the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her—they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds—and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down. (romance, breakdancing, prejudice, hijab, 9/11, bullying) The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware: On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person—but also that the cold-reading skills she’s honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money. Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased, where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the center of it. (psychological thriller, suspense, inheritance, gothic, tarot, family secrets) Hooper by Geoff Herbach: Adam Reed’s basketball skills have taken him from a Polish orphanage to a loving adoptive mother in Minnesota. When he’s selected to play on an AAU team with some of the best players in the state, it confirms that basketball is his ticket to new friendships, the girl of his dreams, & a better future. Yet when a police incident threatens to break apart the bonds Adam’s formed after a lifetime of struggle, he must make a choice between his new family and the sport that’s given him everything. (basketball, adoption, sports, realistic fiction, friendship) On the Come Up by Angie Thomas: 16-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill. Yet it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral…for all the wrong reasons. Bri soon finds herself at the center of a controversy, portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. (realistic fiction, hip-hop, friendship, MC battles, fame, notoriety, dynasty, music, prejudice) My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows: You may think you know the story of Jane Eyre: penniless orphan Jane Eyre begins a new life as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets dark, brooding Mr. Rochester. Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions, in which all is not as it seems, a certain gentleman is hiding more than skeletons in his closets, and one orphan Jane Eyre, aspiring author Charlotte Bronte, and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood are about to be drawn together on the most epic ghost hunt this side of Wuthering Heights. A tale of mischief, romance, and supernatural mayhem. (ghosts, humor, adventure, paranormal, governess, fantasy, Gothic, supernatural) Dry by Neal and Jerrod Shusterman: The drought—or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it—has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t take long showers-- until the taps run dry. Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbors and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. When her parents don’t return and her life is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she’s going to survive. (adventure, survival, drought, climate change, dystopian, apocalyptic, disaster, alternating narratives) The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir: Essie Hicks is the youngest child on Six for Hicks, a reality television phenomenon. She's grown up in the spotlight, both idolized and despised for her family's fire-and- brimstone brand of faith. When Essie's mother, Celia, discovers that Essie is pregnant, she arranges an emergency meeting with the show's producers: Do they sneak Essie out of the country for an abortion? Do they pass the child off as Celia's? Or do they try to arrange a marriage--and a ratings-blockbuster wedding? Meanwhile, Essie is quietly plotting her own future through entirely different means. (reality TV, family, mysteries, tough decisions, identity, realistic fiction) Kevin VanDam’s Bass Fishing Strategies by Kevin VanDam: The nation's most revered bass angler reveals everything you need to know to catch more bass from reservoirs, natural lakes, and rivers. In addition to dozens of tips for finding and catching bass, VanDam analyzes the dilemmas anglers face and how to overcome them. Regardless of their skill level, readers will become smarter and more efficient anglers as a result of what they learn from this edition. (nature, fishing, nonfiction, strategy, bass, bait) Vita Nostra by Sergey and Marina Dyachenko: While vacationing on the beach with her mother, Sasha Samokhina meets a strange man with an even stranger request: he directs her to complete a simple, yet strange task or risk a terrible consequence. After her task, Sasha receives gold coins in an equally strange fashion. She finds herself caught up and unable to defy the requests, but increasingly curious about their origins. This interaction leads Sasha to the Institute of Special Technologies, a school she has never heard of. Situated in a tiny village, she finds the students are bizarre, and the curriculum even more so. Yet despite her fear, Sasha undergoes changes that defy the dictates of matter and time; experiences which are nothing she has ever dreamed of . and suddenly all she could ever want. (dystopian, Russia, speculative fiction, fantasy, metaphysics, coming of age) Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus: Ellery's never been to Echo Ridge, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at 17. And only 5 years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows. The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets. Before school even begins for Ellery, someone has declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. (thriller, small town, serial killer, homecoming, theme parks, family relationships, romance, addiction) Landscape with Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson: When the vuvv first landed, it came as a surprise to aspiring artist Adam and the rest of planet Earth — but not necessarily an unwelcome one. Can it really be called an invasion when the vuvv generously offered free technology and cures for every illness imaginable? As it turns out, yes. With his parents’ jobs replaced by alien tech and no money for food, clean water, or the vuvv’s miraculous medicine, Adam and his girlfriend, Chloe, have to get creative to survive. (sci/fi, dystopian, aliens, invasion, technology, art, money) The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz: London, 1890. 221B Baker St. A fine art dealer visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson to beg for their help. He is being menaced by a criminal who has followed him all the way from America. In the days that follow, his home is robbed, his family is threatened. And then the first murder takes place. The House of Silk bring Sherlock Holmes back with all the nuance, pacing, and almost superhuman powers of analysis and deduction that made him the world's greatest detective. (Sherlock Holmes, mystery, detective, London, adventure, historical) One Goal: A Coach, A Team and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together by Amy Bass: When thousands of Somali refugees resettled in Lewiston, Maine, a struggling, overwhelmingly white town, longtime residents grew uneasy.