Some light summer reading between blueberry picking and baseball games.

At last, we've made it to the long, dog-days. Get out your flip flops, put on your blueberry earrings, and lather on the SPF. Summer has arrived.

I've spent the past week or so bouncing between my mom's house in Indiana filled with nieces, grandmas, and other assorted family members and Dave's new apartment in Michigan filled with Dave and fresh air. It has been a week of long runs, driveway basketball, ice cream shops, minor league baseball, and late night reading marathons. Of course, I've also engaged in my fair share of driving, unpacking, repacking, job interviews, and transcript requests, but no one wants to hear about that.

My mom and I visited the local public library (love!) earlier this week, and I grabbed a few middle grade novels. It was a bit ambitious with the to do list I've got going, but I'm shooting to get through them before I head north Monday. After all, you can't take library books on canoe trips. Oh no.

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, 1990

Just read this dang book, MC. Just read it. Who hasn't heard of it? A classic of young adult literature, Maniac Magee (Newbery winner) is the story of a young orphaned boy who runs away from his home with his aunt and uncle and becomes a legend. Intriguing, right? Also, Spinelli is the author of one of my all time favorite YA reads...Stargirl!

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool, 2010

A 2011 Newbery medal winner, Moon Over Manifest is set in Kansas in the heart of the Great Depression. All signs point to a nice read about a girl discovering herself as she unearths her father's mysterious past. I like that kind of thing.

After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick, 2010

And I know next to nothing about this book except that it keeps showing up on new must read lists for teens and is receiving sweeping praise. So sure. I'm hip. I'll do it. It is also important to note it is a sequel to Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, but apparenlty, it stands alone as the story of a teen whose cancer is in remission.

For now, I'm off to chat away the evening with my lovely, best neighbor friend. And then rise and shine in the AM to pick blueberries with my mom and grandma. It should only top out at about 100 degrees tomorrow. What's there to worry about?!

*Pics from BarnesandNoble.com!