Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

When I saw that my favorite historical fiction author, Ruta Sepetys, had rated Sarah’s Key 5 stars on Goodreads, I knew that I had to pick it up. Similar to some of Ruta’s work, Sarah Key’s focuses on little-known history, in this case, the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, the mass arrest of French Jews by the French Police in 1942. When journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write about the 60^th anniversary of the Vel’ d’Hiv’, she uncovers the hidden history of a girl named Sarah, whose story may resonate with Julia’s own family. While I wasn’t a massive fan of the writing style, I enjoyed reading about this historical event and seeing Sarah’s story unfold.

Dear Evan Hansen by Steven Levenson

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

I bought Dear Evan Hansen from the Drama Book Shop in NYC back in May and it was haunting my TBR pile ever since. I’ve really enjoyed Dear Evan Hansen’s original cast recording and with it being the hottest show on Broadway this season, I needed to experience this show in some way. Dear Evan Hansen is both heart-warming and heart-breaking, and if you’re sad about not being able to score tickets to this show, go pick up the book instead!

The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

After loving Emery Lord’s The Names They Gave Us, I knew I had to pick up another one of her books. I was even more driven to read The Start of Me and You when it recently became a Zoella & Friends 2017 Book Club pick. I devoured The Start of Me and You while floating around my pool, which I highly recommend doing with any contemporary read. This book follows high schooler Paige Hancock, as she rebuilds her life after the death of her boyfriend, Aaron. Even though it has its sad moments, The Start of Me and You is filled with family, friendship, books, and a boy by the name of Max Watson with a love for Girl Scout cookies that few can rival. While I wasn’t totally sold on the premise of the novel, I really enjoyed seeing Paige bond with her friends and Max, plus the nerdiness in this book was perfect (I want coffee dates to the bookstore with Max please).

Have you read any of these books? Let me know in the comments!