June 2022 Wrap Up

June was a great month for reading! I read 57 books-mostly because I knocked out 30 picture books in a day. I read a lot of really fantastic books, but did narrow it down to my top 5.

Have you read any of these books? Drop me a comment if you did and what you thought!

Want to read more about these books? Scroll below for my reviews of my top 5!

JUNE 2022 Reads by Alexis Ennis

My Top Reads

Picture Book

You Are Not Alone by Alphabet Rockers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a fun book! I loved the music of this story celebrating all of us for who we are. It was unique in that it spoke to the reader, it made us part of each character. Lift our voices and each other up! Share your story! You are enough. Thank you Sourcebooks!

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Middle Grade-Graphic Novel

Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I flew through this graphic novel and loved every page. The raw emotions about hair love made me keep reading to find out what would happen – and I loved the ending so much. I do not have thick, curly hair, but I can connect because I have the exact opposite-and have always thought it was bad hair. I love the self-love message. Thank you NetGalley and First Second for sharing a copy with me.

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Middle Grade-Novel

Thirst by Varsha Bajaj
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I learned so much from this book about water in India. I would say that this is a good companion to Long Walk to Water as it talks about the lack of water resources in the world and how girls are prevented from going to school because they have to take care of their family. It broke my heart to read about so many boys and girls who couldn’t pursue an education because they had to take care of their family. I take for granted the privileges I have in my world-education is just something that you do. You have to do it to a point.

This book touches on a lot of tough topics, but is very accessible to readers of the middle grade range-4th grade and up. I think it’s an important read and am so glad it was picked for the Global Read Aloud. I think it’s a perfect book for everyone to read and discuss together.

Thank you Penguin and Nancy Paulsen Books as well as NetGalley for an early copy to read in exchange for a review. Definitely a book I needed.

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Young Adult

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. It’s honest. It’s raw. It’s open. It’s inspiring. I loved how it was written-like you were right there with George talking with him. And oh my gosh-Nanny! ❤️ I think this book is a must read. Trigger warning for sexual assault and also mature content.

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Adult

Finding Me by Viola Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was blown away reading Viola’s story. This was a book that had some really tough situations, but at the end, had so much hope, I felt inspired. Her journey is one that we need to read about and talk about as it is not necessarily unique to her.

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How was your June reading month?

Thanks for stopping by and happy reading!