dogeared reads archive

Amy’s List

Fever Dream
by Samanta Schweblin
Takeaway: Very cool narrative style. Also, if a horse falls ill after drinking from a stream, stay away from the local water supply.

The Rape of Nanking
by Iris Chang

Takeaway: Well-documented but horrific chapter from Chinese history.

Khan al-Khalili
Khan Al-Khaliliby Naguib Mahfouz
Takeaway: Keep your girl away from your handsome and charismatic brother.

Mary’s List

The Lying Woods
by Ashley Elston
Takeaway: I had no idea so much work went into harvesting pecans.

Freshmen
by Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison
Takeaway: Definitely reconsidering the wisdom of my high school crushes and the importance of cookie cutters.

Sadie
by Courtney Summers
Takeaway: Revenge killing is never easy, even when the writing is beautiful.

Literally
by Lucy Keating
Takeaway: It’s always good to be reminded about who’s driving the car of your life.

See All the Stars
by Kit Frick
Takeaway: Good friends are hard to find.

The Seven Torments of
Amy and Craig

by Don Zolidis
Takeaway: Repeated heart-wrenching breakups were never so funny.

Dreamology
by Lucy Keating
Takeaway: With dreams like these, you should defnitiely sleep more..

Dead to You
by Lisa McMann
Takeaway: There are only two ways a story like this can go. Either he is the long lost son or he isn’t. It’s always fun to find out.

Noggin
by John Corey Whaley
Takeaway: A lot can change in five years while you’re cryogenically frozen waiting for a new body.

Never Apart
by Romily Bernard

Takeaway: The choice between the cute always-reliable next door neighbor or mysterious new boy who’s trying to kill you in multiple dimensions made me rethink physics.

Dear Reader
by Mary O’Connell
Takeaway: Beware of classic novels that you steal from a missing teacher if the text is morphing into a different story.

Sometimes I Lie
by Alice Feeney
Takeaway: Maybe don’t buy in hundred percent to what a narrator is telling you when the title is screaming at you to proceed with caution.

#Famous
by Jilly Gagnon
Takeaway: If a guy shows up on your doorstep with a french fry bouquet, say yes.

My Lady Jane
by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows
Takeaway: There’s something to be said for arranged marriages–at least when your betrothed is half horse.

180 Seconds
by Jessica Park

Takeaway:If someone asks you to do a social experiment where you get to stare into a cute boy’s eyes for 180 seconds, maybe go ahead and do that.

Then She Was Gone
by Lisa Jewell
Takeaway: When an attractive stranger offers to share his carrot cake with you in a café, carefully consider whether the cream cheese frosting is worth the risk.

The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy
by Jenny Han
Takeaway: If at all possible, try to fall in love with only one of the brothers of your close family friends.

A Totally Awkward Love Story
by Tom Ellen &
Lucy Ivison

Takeaway: When you meet a boy in a toilet at a party who immediately makes you laugh and feel comfortable, try to get his number. At the very least, don’t leave the bathroom without knowing his name.

The Cheerleaders
by Kara Thomas
Takeaway: If all the cheerleaders in your town die in a period of a few weeks (or any club or after school group for that matter), it’s probably not a coincidence.