One of my favorite things about spring in Chattanooga is the weather. It’s balmy, slightly breezy, and usually the humidity remains below 80%, although there’s no promising on that last one.
After a week of being stuck inside from allergies and bad weather, I was ready to get back outside and enjoy the lovely weather today. It finally feels like spring outside, after a long and nasty winter that left me housebound for several weeks at a time. While I was housebound, J set up a hammock for me so I could still enjoy being outdoors, away from my grandpa’s blaring TV, without having to actually go very far.
The hammock quickly became my favorite place to read. Reading is a big hobby for me, especially because I run a book club for people with chronic illness. I have to read two books a month for the book club, write discussion questions, check out books suggested by book club members, and I still read for pleasure. Luckily for me, I read fast. Really fast. It’s both a blessing and a curse, because I sometimes read all the books I’m interested in and spend a few months just searching for more books that actually sound worth reading.
This month, I’m excited for The One by Kiera Cass. It’s the final book in The Selection series, a cross between The Bachelor and a dystopian novel. The story centers around America, a girl from a low “caste” who is madly in love with a boy from an even lower “caste.” America is planning her life with her love, when a letter arrives inviting her to participate in The Selection. The Selection is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for one girl to change her life by being chosen as the prince’s new queen. America doesn’t want to participate, but she changes her mind, takes a chance, and enters the Selection. America is soon thrown into a world of intrigue, secrets, and a love triangle she never expected. As the number of girls in the Selection narrows, the story continues in the second novel in the series, The Elite. The Elite ends on a plot twist, and left me hanging for months. Now, The One is due out in a few days, and I have already pre-ordered it. Although The Selection isn’t the best dystopian YA series I’ve ever read, or the best YA romance I’ve ever read, it’s perfect for a beach read or a quick read in the hammock.
This is a great year for books, with The One due out in a few days, Ruin and Rising being released in June, and Heir of Fire being published this fall. I’m hoping the warm weather sticks around for all of these releases, because I can’t wait to hole up in my hammock with my Kobo and live through some traumatic series endings.
What books are you excited for this year? Have you read any of the series I mentioned?
A Southern Celiac 