Happy Tuesday!
Top Ten Tuesday is a Bookish Meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and this week’s theme is TOP TEN BOOKS I WANT ON MY SHELF (Spoiler Alert: That’s not what I did!!!)
I’m back! I’ve been dealing with some health issues recently that have kept me away from reading and blogging as much as I would like, but I’m back today and ready to take on the world!*
*my small portion of it only, please.
Because it’s been so long since I’ve done a Top Ten Tuesday (and because I’m not particularly in love with this week’s theme), I’ve decided to do the TOP TEN RECENT ADDITIONS TO MY TBR today! And so now without any further ado, here’s this week’s Top Ten Tuesday!
Light It Up by Kekla Magoon Published on October 22, 2019 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Genres: Contemporary, YA
Pages: 368
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Told in a series of vignettes from multiple viewpoints, Kekla Magoon's Light It Up is a powerful, layered story about injustice and strength—as well as an incredible follow-up to the highly acclaimed novel How It Went Down.
A girl walks home from school. She's tall for her age. She's wearing her winter coat. Her headphones are in. She's hurrying.
She never makes it home.
In the aftermath, while law enforcement tries to justify the response, one fact remains: a police officer has shot and killed an unarmed thirteen-year-old girl. The community is thrown into upheaval, leading to unrest, a growing movement to protest the senseless taking of black lives, and the arrival of white supremacist counter demonstrators.
Saving Fable by Scott Reintgen Published on September 17, 2019 by Crown Books for Young Readers
Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Pages: 384
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Side characters can be heroes too!
Indira has been a character-in-waiting her entire life. So she can't believe her luck when she's finally chosen to travel to Fable and study at the renowned Protagonist Preparatory, a school known for producing the best heroes.
But Indira's dreams of achieving hero status don't exactly go as planned. A failed audition lands her in the school's side-character track, and her best efforts to prove advisors--famous characters like Alice from Wonderland and Professor Darcy--wrong are constantly sabotaged. Indira is starting to feel like an evil antagonist might be to blame.
As the danger spreads, Indira discovers all of Fable is under siege. With her friends Maxi and Phoenix by her side, she pieces together clues that will reveal who is behind the dark magic threatening them all. But the more Indira uncovers, the more doubt she feels about her place in this world of stories. After all, can a side character really save the day?
Loveless by Alice Oseman Published on April 2, 2020 by HarperCollins Children’s Books
Genres: Contemporary, YA, Aspec, Queer
Pages: 320
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram, TikTok
The fourth novel from the phenomenally talented Alice Oseman – one of the most authentic and talked-about voices in contemporary YA.
Georgia feels loveless – in the romantic sense, anyway. She’s eighteen, never been in a relationship, or even had a crush on a single person in her whole life. She thinks she's an anomaly, people call her weird, and she feels a little broken. But she still adores romance – weddings, fan fiction, and happily ever afters. She knows she’ll find her person one day … right?
After a disastrous summer, Georgia is now at university, hundreds of miles from home. She is more determined than ever to find love – and her annoying roommate, Rooney, is a bit of a love expert, so perhaps she can help.
But maybe Georgia just doesn’t feel that way about guys. Or girls. Or anyone at all. Maybe that's okay. Maybe she can find happiness without falling in love. And maybe Rooney is a little more loveless than she first appears.
LOVELESS is a journey of identity, self-acceptance, and finding out how many different types of love there really are. And that no one is really loveless after all.
All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace Series: All the Stars and Teeth #1
Published on February 4, 2020 by Imprint
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Pages: 384
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram
She will reign.
As princess of the island kingdom Visidia, Amora Montara has spent her entire life training to be High Animancer—the master of souls. The rest of the realm can choose their magic, but for Amora, it’s never been a choice. To secure her place as heir to the throne, she must prove her mastery of the monarchy’s dangerous soul magic.
When her demonstration goes awry, Amora is forced to flee. She strikes a deal with Bastian, a mysterious pirate: he’ll help her prove she’s fit to rule, if she’ll help him reclaim his stolen magic.
But sailing the kingdom holds more wonder—and more peril—than Amora anticipated. A destructive new magic is on the rise, and if Amora is to conquer it, she’ll need to face legendary monsters, cross paths with vengeful mermaids, and deal with a stow-away she never expected… or risk the fate of Visidia and lose the crown forever.
I am the right choice. The only choice. And I will protect my kingdom.
Keep It Together, Keiko Carter by Debbi Michiko Florence Published on May 5, 2020 by Scholastic Press
Genres: Contemporary, Middle Grade
Pages: 304
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Fans of Lauren Myracle and Wendy Mass are sure to fall head-over-heels for this sweet story about first crushes, friendship drama, and finding the courage to stand up for yourself.
Seventh grade is supposed to be a game changer. And Keiko thinks she's got it covered, especially with Audrey and Jenna by her side to shop for a new look, pick out a prime lunch spot, and even hit up that cute new bubble tea place after school. Her trio is ready to tackle life as they always have...together.
But when Audrey decides they need boyfriends before Fall Ball, it looks like things may be changing in all the wrong ways. Jenna is sick of caving in to Audrey's demands, and soon Keiko's besties are barely talking, leaving her caught in the middle. While she's been dreaming about triple-dates, first kisses, and a boy she really shouldn't have a crush on, the friendship she's always thought was rock-solid is beginning to crumble.
Keiko feels pulled in two directions. Should she try to help her friends-even if it means losing one of them-or follow her heart? When it comes to flirting, friendships, and fallouts, how is Keiko supposed to keep it all together?
All the Pretty Things by Emily Arsenault Published on March 17, 2020 by Delacorte Press
Genres: Contemporary, Thriller, YA
Pages: 352
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For fans of Sadie and The Cheerleaders comes an all new thriller about a boy who turns up dead under suspicious circumstances and the one girl who may be the key to solving the mystery of his untimely death.
For Ivy, summer means roller-coaster season, spinning cotton candy at the Fabuland amusement park, and hanging out with her best friend, Morgan. But this summer is different.
One morning, Morgan finds a dead body. It's their former classmate and coworker Ethan. To make matters worse, Morgan is taken to a hospital psych ward only days later, and she's not saying much--not even to Ivy.
The police claim that Ethan simply took a bad fall, but Ivy isn't convinced and realizes it's up to her to get answers. What she finds is unsettling--it's clear that some people aren't being honest about Ethan's last night at Fabuland. Including Morgan. And the more secrets Ivy uncovers, the closer she gets to unraveling dark truths that will change her life forever.
How to Hack a Heartbreak by Kristin Rockaway Published on July 30, 2019 by Graydon House
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 352
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Swipe right for love. Swipe left for disaster.
By day, Mel Strickland is an underemployed helpdesk tech at a startup incubator, Hatch, where she helps entitled brogrammers—"Hatchlings"—who can't even fix their own laptops, but are apparently the next wave of startup geniuses. And by night, she goes on bad dates with misbehaving dudes she's matched with on the ubiquitous dating app, Fluttr.
But after one dick pic too many, Mel has had it. Using her brilliant coding skills, she designs an app of her own, one that allows users to log harrassers and abusers in online dating space. It's called JerkAlert, and it goes viral overnight.
Mel is suddenly in way over her head. Worse still, her almost-boyfriend, the dreamy Alex Hernandez—the only non-douchey guy at Hatch—has no idea she's the brains behind the app. Soon, Mel is faced with a terrible choice: one that could destroy her career, love life, and friendships, or change her life forever.
How We Became Wicked by Alexander Yates Published on July 23, 2019 by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, YA
Pages: 368
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A plague, called Wicked, is pulsing through the world; and in its wake, it’s dividing the population into thirds:
The WICKED: Already infected by the droves of Singers, the ultraviolet mosquito-like insects who carry the plague, the Wicked roam the world freely. They don’t want for much—only to maim and dismember you. But don’t worry: They always ask politely first.
The TRUE: The True live in contained, isolated communities. They’re the lucky ones; they found safety from the Singers. And while the threat of the Wicked may not be eliminated, for the True, the threat has certainly been contained…
The VEXED: The Vexed are the truly fortunate ones—they survived the sting of the Singers, leaving them immune. But they’re far from safe. The Vexed hold the key to a cure, and there are those who will do anything to get it.
What Makes Us by Rafi Mittlefehldt Published on October 15, 2019 by Candlewick Press
Genres: Contemporary, YA
Pages: 352
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A viral video reveals a teen’s dark family history, leaving him to reckon with his heritage, legacy, and identity in this fiery, conversation-starting novel.
Eran Sharon knows nothing of his father except that he left when Eran was a baby. Now a senior in high school and living with his protective but tight-lipped mother, Eran is a passionate young man deeply interested in social justice and equality. When he learns that the Houston police have launched a program to increase traffic stops, Eran organizes a peaceful protest.
But a heated moment at the protest goes viral, and a reporter connects the Sharon family to a tragedy fifteen years earlier — and asks if Eran is anything like his father, a supposed terrorist. Soon enough, Eran is wondering the same thing, especially when the people he’s gone to school and temple with for years start to look at him differently.
Timely, powerful, and full of nuance, Rafi Mittlefehldt’s sophomore novel confronts the prejudices, fears, and strengths of family and community, striking right to the heart of what makes us who we are.
The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett Published on March 3, 2020 by Brown Books for Young Readers, Little
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Pages: 432
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An enchanted tale of intrigue where a duke's daughter is the only survivor of a magical curse.
When Ekata's brother is finally named heir, there will be nothing to keep her at home in Kylma Above with her murderous family. Not her books or science experiments, not her family's icy castle atop a frozen lake, not even the tantalizingly close Kylma Below, a mesmerizing underwater kingdom that provides her family with magic. But just as escape is within reach, her parents and twelve siblings fall under a strange sleeping sickness.
In the space of a single night, Ekata inherits the title of duke, her brother's warrior bride, and ever-encroaching challengers from without—and within—her own ministry. Nothing has prepared Ekata for diplomacy, for war, for love...or for a crown she has never wanted. If Kylma Above is to survive, Ekata must seize her family's power. And if Ekata is to survive, she must quickly decide how she will wield it.
Part Sleeping Beauty, part Anastasia, with a thrilling political mystery, The Winter Duke is a spellbinding story about choosing what's right in the face of danger.
What books have you recently added to your TBR? Let me know in the comments below and have a splendiferous week!
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with health issues. You’ll be in my thoughts.
I hope you love all of these books! Isn’t it exciting to add titles you can’t wait to read to your TBR?
My TTT.
Lydia recently posted…Happy 12th Anniversary, Long and Short Reviews!
‘How to Hack a Heartbreak’ sounds sooo good. I may have to add it to my ever-growing TBR. Great list. 😀