Summertime is here, my friends, and am I right in saying there's absolutely nothing better in the whole world?! Some of my earliest memories are of days at the beach, book in hand, just soaking up the rays. And, whether I wanted to believe it or not, there is such a thing as the perfect beach read! When I'm there relaxing and enjoying a beautiful sunshiney day, I want something sweet, fun, romantic and soul-fulfilling. These are, without a doubt, the perfect summertime reads in my book (pun intended)!

On the Fence by Kasie West

We'll Always Have Summer (The Summer Series) by Jenny Han

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Rules of Summer by Joanna Philbin

Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar

Something Real by Heather Demetrios

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature from The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week they will post a new top ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a great way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Beach Reads

1. Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar - Why, you ask? Well, it's a beachy read, peoples. It's about a surfer. Granted, it's a bit darker than you might want for your normal beach read, but trust me when I say that this is a book you must read...preferably on the beach...in one sitting. Ready? Go.

2. The Rules of Summer by Joanna Philbin - If you haven't read anything by her, you probably should because you're missing out. Plus, it's a sweet, fun, fast-paced and well-written book that will totally brighten a beach day. 

3. Purity by Jackson Pearce - It's not my all-time favourite by Ms. Pearce, but it's an engaging and engrossing read that you'll totally devour in one sitting. Plus, it's just quirky enough for you to want to do so. 

4. Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar - While you're at it though, read the whole dang series. Personally, I hated the show, but these books are fun, guilty-pleasure reads for me, for sure. I bet you you'll love them if you try them. 

5. Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle - This has been a favourite of mine since my childhood. It's a modern  version of the Biblical story of Noah's Arc with just a twist of sci-fi, a touch of romance and a whole lot of drama. It's perfection, in my humble opinion.

6. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling - I dare you to ask me to have a list without HP on it. Seriously. I dare you. But really, I've been taking these books with me to the beach since day one. Granted, I've been taking them pretty much everywhere, but that's besides the point. Just do it.

7. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick - Summery, sweet, romantic, adorable and just plain fun - this is one of those books that I enjoyed so much I couldn't even put it into words. Seriously though, it's the perfect summery and beachy read. 

8. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler - Okay, this is another that's a bit heavier than your average beach read, but a lot of it actually takes place on the beach, so that has to count for something, right? Plus, it's heartfelt, emotional, sweet, endearing and, well, pretty darn great. 

9. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson - This is another one of those summer reads that's perfect for a beach day, a road-trip, lying out in the grass...actually, just reading it anywhere. If you haven't read it yet, you probably should. 

10. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen - I swore off Ms. Dessen's books when I first started blogging, but trust me when I saw I was wrong. This is the type of book you can lie in the sun reading all day. Just bring a cool drink, a wide-brimmed hat, plenty of sunscreen and get lost in the characters' story. 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over at The Broke and the Bookish. They'd love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week they will post a new top ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Ten Books That I Read That Were Outside Of My Comfort Zone (whether you liked them or not):

1. Raw Blue - I've never been a fan of contemps, so this one was for sure out of my comfort zone when I signed up to participate in a tour. I was sold about ten pages in. The writing is phenomenal, the story is rich and real and, frankly, it's an all-time favourite of mine.

2. Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar - I hate vampires. If you're an avid reader of my blog, you'll know it's mainly because I want my vampires to be dark and horrible, not sparkly and frou-frou. Anyhoo, this blends steampunk, action, war and some serious hunky viciousness. It's epic.

3. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour - This, too, was one of those contemps that my followers raved about consistently. So, I picked it up, I read it, and I loved it. It was so fun and sweet!

4. Dark Song - I love me some dark and twisty, but dark and twisty contemps have to be done just right to make me truly cringe. This story is brutal, and it's graphic and it is seriously wrong. That's why it pushed the envelope and, in a weird way, I loved it.

5. Boyfriends with Girlfriends - I'll be honest and say I haven't delved too deeply into the realm of LGBTQ fiction, but this one was one of my first attempts. It had a great premise and a solid plot, but I just wasn't completely sold - not the content that did that though...the writing style.

6. I Heart You, You Haunt Me - Verse novels are tricky for me. There's a subtext in the lack of excessive descriptiveness that needs to speak volumes, and this one works flawlessly. I adored how poetic it was.

7. The Long Weekend - I really don't read too much horror, or too many psychological thrillers, but when I was approached to read it, I couldn't help but be sold. The content is horrifying in and of itself. The author also is tremendously talented and paints a terrifying picture without going overboard. It's stunning.

8. Generation Dead - I love zombies in films and a lot of pop culture, but this was one of my first attempts at zombies in YA lit. Unfortunately, it fell horribly flat for me. I could barely get through it.

9. Life As We Knew It - This was one of my first dystopians (perhaps my first, actually), and I was sold on the cover. Colour me petty. It was bleak and dismal, for sure, but there was a trickle of hope that bled through the pages and sold me on the genre.

10. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - About five months after it came out, my little sister was reading this, and I teased her mercilessly. I believe I said something about a "hairy potter." Fastforward ten-odd years, and see how obsessed I am now? It convinced me there's more to YA fiction than I might have thought, and it's my favourite series of all time.

Title: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour
Author: Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BYR
Publish Date: May 4, 2010
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 352
Source: Personal Copy

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life.

Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn't seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she's coming to terms with her father's death and how to put her own life back together after the accident.

Amy's life is anything but upbeat. After the sudden death of her father, her mother packs up and moves to Connecticut to start fresh. Amy was left in California to finish her junior year, but has to journey across the country in the family car driven by Roger, a guy she barely knows. She's certain things are going to go from bad to worse, and her luck has officially run out. But along the way, Amy and Roger learn that know matter how hard they plan and carefully they detail the road to home and a new life, there are always unexpected twists and turns that throw one for a loop in the best possible way.

I've never been a summer-read kind of girl. I just haven't been. I like my books to be dark and issue-heavy, and while this had all the makings of being a true issue book, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour managed to feature an upbeat, bittersweet and entirely realistic tone. Morgan Matson has painted a true-to-life picture of a girl dealing with grief in her own way and her own time. Chronicling Amy's journey to peace, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour is true to its title; it's epic, it's loving and it's a story that promises to make your heart soar with hope and happiness.

There were so many good things about Amy & Roger's Epic Detour that I'm sure I'll miss a few, but I want to try to explain what made the book so great for me. First off, Amy is a brilliant character. She's well-rounded and her grief, though apparent, isn't all-consuming or overbearing. It's a subtle undertone that courses through her actions and inactions that draws the reader into her story. Likewise, Roger was solid and reassuring without being some huge rock that saves the damsel in distress. Their relationship was quirky at best, as well as very cute and unassuming. The writing of Amy & Roger's Epic Detour was spot on. Fluid and fun, sprinkled with illustrations and receipts, postcards and napkins, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour spins the reader on a cross-country journey that is engaging, mesmerizing and has you feeling like a part of the journey. Plus, if I might add, the musical playlist scattered through the book is phenomenal.

Overall, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour was a fantastic book. Well-written and featuring a great theme without ever being overwhelming or overdone, it's a beautiful and heartfelt story. I give it a 5 out of 5, and it's up there in my top contemporaries of all time. I highly recommend it to fans of YA, especially those who enjoy contemporary fiction.