Lovely and Delightful Book Recommendations for Spring!

Longer days, shorter nights. Warmer air, cool breezes. Sprouting flowers, refreshing colors. All lovely indicators of spring’s beautiful arrival. You might want to go outside or sit by a large, open window and enjoy the feeling of the sun rays on your skin. While you are basking in the sun, I would highly recommend grabbing a book and immersing into that world. If you would like some recommendations that have the “spring vibes”, you are in the perfect place.

Let’s start with some light-hearted books about adolescence and young love.

Save the Date by Morgan Matson is about Charlie Grant, the youngest of four, and her craving for one last perfect weekend with her family at her older sister’s wedding before she experiences the biggest change in her life yet. However, the weekend quickly goes south. The various humorous obstacles Charlie and her family faces will give you a good laugh and teach you that maybe a weekend can still be perfect, despite mishaps. The novel is perfect for teenagers moving away from home and venturing off to college as the novel teaches the reader that they cannot experience the future if they are stuck in the past. I personally love the wedding atmosphere, so this book was right up my alley. Its discussion about change and the lesson it leaves behind resonates with me to this day.

Our next two novels fall under the same topic, but are sequels! I would recommend reading the first book for our first recommendation, but the book can be read as a stand-alone as well. Our second recommendation is a part of a popular Netflix movie series! In my humble opinion, the books are better, but watching the first movie is also a great basis.

Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welsh is the spring-like sequel to the “summery” novel Love and Gelato! Love and Gelato is about a girl, Lina Emerson, who spends the summer in Tuscany, Italy to fulfill her mother’s dying wish. She is forced to leave her best friend Addie in the States, but the two’s friendship stays strong despite the thousands of miles between them. Love and Luck focuses on Addie as she visits Ireland for her aunt’s wedding. Addie’s past seems to haunt her as her brother pushes her to reveal the truth to her parents. She discovers a guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, that she hopes will fix her growing heartbreak due to past events and stressed ties between her and her brother. For Love and Gelato fans, you might also see an exciting appearance by some of your favorite characters! Love and Gelato is one of those books that I found myself always coming back to. The escape to Italy with Lina as she unravels the mystery of her mother’s past and discovers more about her own history lured me in every time. I was so excited when I heard the author was dropping a sequel and was especially intrigued by her choice to focus on Addie, a side character in the first novel. I was very happy to say that the novel did not disappoint. Addie’s issues with family greatly differed from Lina’s and her mystery problem was relevant to so many making the novel relatable and unique. My heart went out to Addie as she greatly struggled in the beginning and I rooted for her as she finds herself again.

You might have guessed this novel by the earlier description. It is P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han, or the sequel to To All The Boys I Loved Before. Many of us have watched and enjoyed the movies, especially the first one, but if you want a deeper dive into the life of Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky, I highly recommend sitting down and reading the books. P.S. I Still Love You takes you through the life of Lara Jean as she goes through her first real relationship with Peter, but she reencounters a past love that will leave her even more confused. The light-hearted novel is perfect for the light spring weather that surrounds us. The To All The Boys series is written by a Korean-American author and the main character is half-Korean, providing representation for those who have constantly been underrepresented for ages.

The next recommendation is a book about topics that have been extremely relevant now and have been for centuries. Racism is an ongoing disease that has plagued our world and the only cure is to continue to stay informed and educated and fight this disease at every given moment.

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong is a collection of essays that contain some of Hong’s own memoirs and provide a deeper look into racial consciousness in America. She uncovers what it is truly like to live as an Asian American in America for many. She provides the answer for those who have experienced these minor feelings their entire life and always pushed them to the side. I am currently reading this collection and have experienced so many emotions, despite only making a small dent into this collection. I learned more about specific difficulties that Eastern Asian Americans face.

Our last book recommendation is a collection of poems by our very own Ziqing Kuang: From the Ground Up! Spring is a time of renewal and provides a chance for growth. Zi’s book is about exactly that as it discusses growth, self-love, and infatuation. She makes the reader feel comforted and reassures that the pain they might be feeling is only temporary.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article and are leaving with a long list of books to read next! Spring is a lovely season that has so much potential as it is the perfect time to grow as a human being and get more informed about everything going on in this humongous world we live in. Education is everywhere. We can learn from every experience and every sentence we read. So pick up a book this spring and just have a good time and learn a bit about the world and yourself through the experience. Have an amazing day, Knights, and continue to strive for the impossible and be extraordinary!