The "If You Loved Gone Girl" Summer Reading List

SCHOOOOOOOL'S OUT. FOR. SUMMER! At least it is for most of us here in the Southern U.S. And you know what that means to most teachers, right? Me time! Time to read a book, yo. Or several books. At the beach, at the lake, camping, by the pool, on the porch, curled up on the couch... it makes no difference where.  We just love to read. But not always educational research...I like my summer reading to be FUN. Can't be stuffy and serious all the time.

Okay, so I might sound basic when I say I LOVE Gone Girl but I don't care!  I'll read that sucker in the middle of a Target carrying a Coach purse whilst wearing Uggs and drinking Starbucks. #basic. Married to an English teacher, I often feel my literary choices should be just that...literary and scholarly and errythang.  I mean, I do love me some Jane Austen and Ernest Hemingway but I love a dark, twisty, thrilling little read as much as the next basic gal. 

I read Gone Girl before there was talk of a film and I could not put it down.  I devoured it.  Then I read it AGAIN because it was just that good and it left me wanting more.  If you haven't read it, READ IT.  If you have, here's a list of some other fun little reads in the same vein. I find it a bit lame that most of them have the word "girl" or "woods" in the title but nevertheless... this is all in good fun and I highly recommend you pick up a couple (or all) of these books!

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (AMAZING.  I couldn't put it down either)

Luckiest Girl Alive (a recommendation from Reese Witherspoon's IG. So good!)

You: A Novel by Caroline Kepnes (creepy. just creepy.)

The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison (another creeper)

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica (you won't believe who did it!)

The Girl With No Past by Kathryn N. Croft (not as thrilling as the others IMO but worth a read)

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (damaged heroine)

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (kinda crime-drama-ish)

In the Woods by Tana French (I hear ALL Tana French books are great!)

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware (still in the middle of this one...seems promising!)

Ahhhh, sweet summertime:) Porch readin' and day drinkin'

So there you have it.  That should get you through the summer.  I know these Gone Girl lists are a dime a dozen but still... I had to put in MY two cents! At some point I need to shift to some lighter, happier fiction but for now I guess I love reading about girls in the dark woods or something.  

Got any other dark & twisty suggestions? 

P.S. Check out the hashtag #rwbookclub on Instagram or follow Reese Witherspoon.  Her production company made Gone Girl into a movie and is making a couple of these books into movies, too.  She is a voracious reader and always has the skinny on the next best novel!

Hey Y'all!

Hi guys!  My name is Brandy, and this is my blog, The Foxy Teacher. Welcome! I'll be honest... I've been very shy about posting and putting my words out there, but I suppose I'm feeling brave today because here I am:)  I figure this is my space, and I should just be myself and GO FOR IT!  Readers can choose to visit and read... or not. Right? LOL.  Either way, my goal is to produce useful, helpful content and provide some further insight in implementing the curriculum resources I produce.

Speaking of which, I am a curriculum author!  After being in education for eleven years in a variety of roles (3rd/4th grade classroom teacher,  Kindergarten interventionist, instructional coach for a primary school), in recent years I've found a passion for developing my own resources.  I love doing it because I get to flex my creative muscle while keeping my foot in the door education-wise; I am still using my degree and experience while being creative and self-directed.   Currently, I'm writing resources for primary grades but with a background in intermediate, I plan to venture out in the future and produce more of that content.

My most popular resource, the lil adjective packet that could! :)

You can find my resources on Teachers Pay Teachers (my store has my name, Brandy Shoemaker).  I LOVE TPT!  Loved it as a buyer and love it even more as a teacher-author.  What a fantastic place!  I love the way that TpT supports teachers and their precious time while enhancing the classroom experience for countless students.  I've considered offering my resources on other platforms, but I believe in TpT.  It's a good place to be:) I've had the good fortune of becoming a top 500 performing seller on the site and have recently began making the weekly top 100 Pk-2 sellers list.  I'm just blown away by the site and the success my little store has had.  If you've purchased a resource from me, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

Fan-girl game STRONG at the 2015 TpT Conference!

Besides being passionate about what I do, I'm a wife, mom, sister, daughter, friend....dog mom! I'm married to Shane, a teacher & football coach (makes me a football widow) who happens to be my high school sweetheart and best friend. I wouldn't want to do life without him by my side, and I know this for a fact:) We have two amazing teenage sons, Grant and Will, who play football, make good grades, and are new drivers (bless mama's poor heart...).  We live in the gorgeous Lake Cumberland area of south central Kentucky with our two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Lucy Greene and Kylo Ren. We basically love life and try to find joy and laughter in each day. We are so blessed!

Thank you so much for stopping by! If you read all of that, I've got a virtual cookie for you.  I hope you come back and find (among the overuse of commas, ellipses, exclamation points!) something that makes your life as an educator easier. Welcome:)