Summer Days and Summer Nights #BookClub

14 Aug 2017

Welcome to the first post in my book club!

I'm a huge bookworm, so I'm going to start writing reviews about the books that I read from now on. Don't worry, though, I will never give away too much of the stories! I'm not too fond of spoilers myself, and I'd hate to ruin it for anyone else.
(Also, just to clarify; none of the reviews that I'm going to be writing will be sponsored unless otherwise noted. I read all books because I'm genuinely interested in them and all opinions are mine and honest.)

I think the best way to start this off is to mention that I mainly read YA novels, romance genre in particular. I'm not sure why, I'm just a sucker for romantic stuff. Although, I'm starting to push myself to broaden my horizons. I'm eyeing some sci-fi and thriller books at the moment, and I really hope I can get more into those types of books.

Now let's get into the book review!

The first book that I'll be writing about is Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, edited by Stephanie Perkins. This anthology is written by twelve bestselling authors, including a story by Stephanie herself.

Photo by me ©
Let's start with the front cover. The title makes it obvious, all stories are set in summer time, that's no mystery. But my favorite thing about the cover is the tiny illustrations of people on there. 'Cause get this, all twelve stories have their own set of main characters on the cover. It makes me feel giddy and a little like an 8-year-old kid, but I just love flipping back to the front to figure out which character is who.

The thing I love most about an anthology is that I can read one story in one sitting and that's the end of it. I hate it when I put down a novel and then when I pick it up again, I have to read back a little to figure out what's happening again. Anthologies crush that concept. Sometimes I've only got a sliver of free time to spare and that's where one of these short stories come in handy.

This book's stories are very unpredictable. Since there's no summary of any of the stories, every one is a little surprise. I've found it's pretty diverse. You've got gay couples, fantasy and sci-fi stories and interracial couples. I'm pretty sure that something can be found for everybody. The catch is that you don't know what the story has in store, so don't be surprised when suddenly a mythical creature pops up.

Another thing I discovered about anthologies is that it's a great way to discover authors I otherwise wouldn't have known. Because of the short stories, I got a glimpse of their writing style and if I liked it, I could check out their other work.
But of course, you also take the risk that you stumble upon stories that are absolutely not your thing. There are a couple stories in here that were just really hard to read through because they were not my typical cup of tea. Or the ending was really disappointing, which made the overall story mediocre. It's quite frustrating, but at least now I know that those authors aren't something for me.

My favorite story out of all twelve is probably Stephanie Perkins' one. In Ninety Minutes, Turn North is actually a sequel story to It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown from Stephanie's first anthology (more about that below). I really love her writing style and the characters' relationship develops so well in only two short stories, which is just really impressive to me.
Another personal favorite was Veronica Roth's Inertia. The Divergent author stays true to her style and has written a unique story with a bit of sci-fi sprinkled in.

It's really up to yourself whether you'd like to read an anthology or not. Like I said, you take the risk of reading some stories that are worse than others. But don't get me wrong, you can find hidden gems in anthologies too, and I have definitely found some.

Although autumn is starting to loom around, with these tales you'll sure be in the summer mood for a little while longer!

Happy reading!

Love, Faith

P.S. Be sure to check out Stephanie Perkins' first anthology; My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories. Instead of summer, it's time for Christmas! It's perfect for when you want to curl up on the couch on a cold winter day. I know the holidays are still a few months away, but maybe it's something to put on your wishlist.

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