Top Ten Tuesday – Top 10 Books That Far Exceeded My Expectations

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Top Ten Books That Surprised Me (in a good or bad way).  I had to think about this one for a while because I’m usually pretty good about picking books that I have a pretty good shot of enjoying.  The biggest wildcards for me are the books that I decide to pick up because they’re super hyped and I want to know what all of the fuss is about.  Sometimes those books are a complete bust for me, but other times, as in the case with the ten books below, these books can be a wonderful surprise and far exceed my expectations for them.  In many cases, they go on to become favorite books of mine, as in the case of the Harry Potter series, The Lunar Chronicles, and The Night Circus.

The Great Alone, which I haven’t even reviewed on the blog or Goodreads yet, is the latest in the line of books that have exceeded my expectations.  I just finished it this weekend and absolutely fell in love with it.  It’s a book that focuses on living off the land in Alaska and I don’t think I would have even picked it up if I wasn’t already such a big fan of Kristin Hannah’s writing.  I went into it thinking it might be a book that would let me down, but nope, just the opposite. I think it’s my favorite Hannah book yet.

 

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Top 10 Books That Far Exceeded My Expectations

 

 

1.  THE HARRY POTTER SERIES by J.K. Rowling

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

2. THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

3. ROOM by Emma Donoghue

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

4. THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

5. THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

6. THE LUNAR CHRONICLES by Marissa Meyer

 

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

7. THE LILAC GIRLS by Martha Hall Kelly

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

8. A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness

 


(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

 

9. THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir

 


(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

 

10. FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell

 


(Find out what it’s about…)

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Question:  What are some books that surprised you in a good way?

Can’t Wait Wednesday – Spotlight on SKY IN THE DEEP by Adrienne Young

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll just be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is SKY IN THE DEEP by Adrienne Young.  Okay, first of all, this is a story about Vikings, so I was already hooked as soon as I heard that.  But then, that little bit in the blurb about Eelyn seeing the impossible on the battlefield – her dead brother fighting for the enemy (Say what??????).  Yeah, that was the clincher for me. I know that’s some drama I want to get to the bottom of.  I’ve seen some great reviews for this one already too, so I’m really excited for it.

 

SKY IN THE DEEP by Adrienne Young

Publication Date:   April 24, 2018

 

From Goodreads:

OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother’s betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 of My Favorite Bookish Quotes about Friendship

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Favorite Book Quotes.  I have so many favorite quotes from books that it was impossible to narrow down to just ten favorites.  To help me whittle my list down though, I decided to tweak this week’s topic a bit and just focus on my favorite quotes from books about friends and friendship.

My best friends are so important to me –they’re like family, really.  And it’s not just about the good times we have together, which are of course amazing, but sometimes it’s more about the bad times and that they’re just always here for me, even when they’re hundreds (and in some cases, thousands) of miles away.  So, anytime I read a great quote about friends in the books I’m reading, the words just immediately resonate with me because they make me think about those I’m closest to and why I cherish their friendship so much.

 

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Top 10 Favorite Bookish Quotes about Friendship

 

1.  “A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship.” 

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

 

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2.  “Maybe, sometimes, it’s easier to be mad at the people you trust because you know they’ll always love you, no matter what.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Ann Brashares

 

* * * * *

 

3.  “If you have two friends in your lifetime, you’re lucky. If you have one good friend, you’re more than lucky.”

That Was Then, This is Now, S. E. Hinton

 

* * * * *

 

4.  “Friends are honest with each other. Even if the truth hurts.”

Along for the Ride, Sarah Dessen

 

* * * * *

 

5. “Friends are the family you choose.”

The Other Side of Life, Jess C. Scott

 

* * * * *

 

6.  “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”

Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone, J.K. Rowling

 

* * * * *

 

7.  “You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”

The House at Pooh Corner, A. A. Milne

 

* * * * *

 

8.  “A friend may be waiting behind a stranger’s face.”

Letter to My Daughter, Maya Angelou

 

* * * * *

 

9.  “When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.”

A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin

 

* * * * *

 

10.  “There is no happiness like that of being loved by your fellow creatures, and feeling that your presence is an addition to their comfort.”

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte


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Question:  What are some of your favorite quotes about friendship?

Can’t Wait Wednesday – Spotlight on MUSE OF NIGHTMARES by Laini Taylor

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll just be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is MUSE OF NIGHTMARES by Laini Taylor.  I fell in love with Laini Taylor’s writing style when I read Strange the Dreamer, the first book in this incredible series.  It was one of my favorite reads from last year and the first book ended on such a shocking note that I’ve been dying to get my hands on the second book ever since.  It sucks that we have to wait until October but I just know it’s going to be worth the wait!

 

MUSE OF NIGHTMARES by Laini Taylor

Publication Date:   October 2, 2018

 

From Goodreads:

The highly anticipated, thrilling sequel to the New York Timesbestseller, Strange the Dreamer, from National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy.

Sarai has lived and breathed nightmares since she was six years old.
She believed she knew every horror, and was beyond surprise.
She was wrong.

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.

Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice–save the woman he loves, or everyone else?–while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she’s capable of.

As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel’s near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?

Love and hate, revenge and redemption, destruction and salvation all clash in this gorgeous sequel to the New York Timesbestseller, Strange the Dreamer.

 * * * * *

 

I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday – Top 10 Books I Could Re-Read Forever

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Top Ten Books I Could Re-Read Forever.  This is going to have a few repeats from my discussion post last week where I talked about books I love to pick up when I’m in  a reading slump.  Books I could re-read forever would definitely fit into that category.  I’d definitely say my list is a mix of old favorites when I was in school and newer favorites that I’ve read since I started blogging, so there’s a blend of the fresh and new and the nostalgic.  There are magical reads, dramatic reads, and yes, I know you’ll be shocked, but even a romance or two! And yes, I also snuck a few series in there as well, one of which, The Winternight Trilogy, still has a book that hasn’t even come out yet but I can already tell it’s destined to be a favorite series of mine.  🙂

 

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Top 10 Books I Could Re-Read Forever

 

1. THE SHADES OF MAGIC TRILOGY by V.E. Schwab

 

 

 

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

2. THE WINTERNIGHT TRILOGY by Katherine Arden

 

 

 

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

3.  THE HARRY POTTER SERIES by J.K. Rowling

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

4. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

5. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

6. THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

7. SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

8. THE LUNAR CHRONICLES by Marissa Meyer

 

 

 

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

* * * * *

 

9. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA by C. S. Lewis

 

(Find out what it’s about…)

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10. THE HOUSE AT POOH CORNER by A.A. Milne

 


(Find out what it’s about…)

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Question:  What are some books that you could re-read forever?

Can’t Wait Wednesday – Spotlight on THE LADY’S GUIDE TO PETTICOATS AND PIRACY

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll just be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is THE LADY’S GUIDE TO PETTICOATS AND PIRACY by Mackenzi Lee.  One of my absolute favorite reads of 2017 was The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue.  It was laugh-out-loud hilarious and was brimming with lovable characters.  Felicity Montague, with her razor sharp wit and her unwavering desire to become a doctor during a time where that was just unheard of, quickly became one of my favorites.  I’m over the moon to know that she’s now going to have her own book in this series and can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.  I predict this will be one of my favorite 2018 reads!

 

THE LADY’S GUIDE TO PETTICOATS AND PIRACY by Mackenzi Lee

Publication Date:   October 2, 2018

 

From Goodreads:

Felicity Montague is through with pretending she prefers society parties to books about bone setting—or that she’s not smarter than most people she knows, or that she cares about anything more than her dream of becoming a doctor.

A year after an accidentally whirlwind tour of Europe, which she spent evading highwaymen and pirates with her brother Monty, Felicity has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of Callum Doyle, a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh; and enroll in medical school. However, her intellect and passion will never be enough in the eyes of the administrators, who see men as the sole guardians of science.

But then a small window of hope opens. Doctor Alexander Platt, an eccentric physician that Felicity idolizes, is looking for research assistants, and Felicity is sure that someone as forward thinking as her hero would be willing to take her on. However, Platt is in Germany, preparing to wed Felicity’s estranged childhood friend Johanna. Not only is Felicity reluctant to opening old wounds, she also has no money to make the trip.

Luckily, a mysterious young woman is willing to pay Felicity’s way, so long as she’s allowed to travel with Felicity disguised as her maid. In spite of her suspicions, Felicity agrees, but once the girl’s true motives are revealed, Felicity becomes part of a perilous quest that will lead her from the German countryside to the promenades of Zurich to secrets lurking beneath the Atlantic.

 * * * * *

 

I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Book Series I’ve Decided to Quit

Created at canva.com

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Books I’ve Decided I’m No Longer Interested In Reading.  I tweaked this topic a bit because even after I made a list of ten books I was pretty sure I no longer wanted to read, I still kept rethinking my decision.  (In case you haven’t heard, we Libras can be an indecisive bunch, haha!).  I could, however, pretty easily come up with 10 series that I’m not interested in continuing (or in some cases, even starting) at this point.

 

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Top Ten Book Series I’ve Decided to Quit

 

  • FIFTY SHADES by E.L. James – In this case, it’s not so much quitting a series as it is deciding not to even start it.  I bought a copy of the first book back in my pre-blogging days when the hype was so high for this series.  Everyone I knew was telling me I needed to read it.  The more I heard about it, the less interested I was until I finally sold the book the last time we had a yard sale, lol.

 

  • OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon – I liked the first book in this series well enough, but I started reading the series right about the time I got completely burnt out on reading romance so the chrmistry of Claire and Jamie just didn’t do much for me.  I do keep this one in the back of my mind in case I ever do get solidly back into reading romance.

 

  • THE NEOPOLITAN NOVELS by Elena Ferrante – My Brilliant Friend, the first book in this series, was actually one of my most anticipated reads for 2016.  With its post-war Italian setting and its focus on the friendship of two school-age girls, I thought it just sounded like such a wonderful read.  Unfortunately, it took me nearly 3 weeks to slog through the first 40% of the book and I completely lost interest in finishing it or in continuing the series.

 

  • STEPHANIE PLUM by Janet Evanovich – I think with this series, it’s a case of too much of a good thing.  I actually really love the series and all of the characters, but I got as far as book 12 and just had no interest in continuing because at a certain point, the books all start to sound the same. I could see myself revisiting this at some point, but for now, we’re on a break.

 

  • SOOKIE STACKHOUSE by Charlaine Harris  – Another good series that I just lost interest in because it started to get too predictable.  I noticed that I was starting to rate each book lower and lower so I decided it was time to stop reading.

 

 

  • THE WOLVES OF MERCY FALLS by Maggie Stiefvater – I’m not entirely sure why this series is no longer of interest.  I think maybe because I had such a mixed reaction to All the Crooked Saints, which was my first Stiefvater read.  I’m still interested in reading The Raven Cycle so maybe if I like that one, I’ll reconsider this one, but for now, it’s coming off my list.

 

  • RED QUEEN by Victoria Aveyard – I spent so much time yelling at Mare when I read the first two books of this series.  I know I’m the unpopular opinion when it comes to this series, but I just don’t think I can take a third book of her trying to decide what’s more important, boys or saving her people…

 

  • MISS PEREGRINE’S PECULIAR CHILDREN – I read the first book and thought it was pretty good, but then just lost interest in continuing with the second book.  My sister read the second book recently and said she thought it was a disappointing read even though she loved the first book.  She and I have similar taste so my gut says not to continue.

 

  • GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson and now David Lagercrantz – I read and loved all of the books in this series that were written by the original author, Stieg Larsson.  When he passed away and David Lagercrantz took over the writing duties, I decided I wasn’t interested in continuing the series.  It just didn’t feel right to have a different author at the helm of Lisbeth’s story.

 

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Question:  Do you think I should give any of these series a second chance?  What series have you decided to quit?

Can’t Wait Wednesday – Spotlight on OLIVIA TWIST by Lorie Langdon

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll just be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is Olivia Twist by Lorie Langdon.  I read and loved most of Charles Dickens’ novels when I was in high school and college, and Oliver Twist has always stood out as a sentimental favorite.  I’m intrigued by the idea of a re-imagining of this classic tale with a female in the starring role.  I also catch a hint of a possible hate-to-love trope, which as those who read my post yesterday know, I’m a huge fan of.

 

OLIVIA TWIST by Lorie Langdon

Publication Date:   March 6, 2018

 

 

From Goodreads:

Olivia Brownlow is no damsel in distress. Born in a workhouse and raised as a boy among thieving London street gangs, she is as tough and cunning as they come. When she is taken in by her uncle after a caper gone wrong, her life goes from fighting and stealing on the streets to lavish dinners and soirees as a debutante in high society. But she can’t seem to escape her past … or forget the teeming slums where children just like her still scrabble to survive.

Jack MacCarron rose from his place in London’s East End to become the adopted “nephew” of a society matron. Little does society know that MacCarron is a false name for a boy once known among London gangs as the Artful Dodger, and that he and his “aunt” are robbing them blind every chance they get. When Jack encounters Olivia Brownlow in places he least expects, his curiosity is piqued. Why is a society girl helping a bunch of homeless orphan thieves? Even more intriguing, why does she remind him so much of someone he once knew? Jack finds himself wondering if going legit and risking it all might be worth it for love.

Olivia Twist is an innovative reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic tale Oliver Twist, in which Olivia was forced to live as a boy for her own safety until she was rescued from the streets. Now eighteen, Olivia finds herself at a crossroads: revealed secrets threaten to destroy the “proper” life she has built for her herself, while newfound feelings for an arrogant young man she shouldn’t like could derail her carefully laid plans for the future.

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Literary Couples I Fell in Love With Even Though I’m Not a Fan of Romance

Created at canva.com

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Love Freebie (Romances, swoons, OTPs, kisses, sexy scenes, etc.).  I have to admit that I almost skipped this week’s topic since I don’t typically read romance novels and didn’t know if I would be able to come up with anything to share.  The more I thought about it though, the more I decided it would be fun to share some literary couples that I do love in spite of my aversion to romance novels.

I’m not up on all of the various tropes that are romance-related, but I think based on my list that romance fan or not, I am a HUGE fan of the HATE-TO-LOVE trope.  I’m all about two people being super snarky with one another and the sparks are just flying and then boom, all of the sudden they realize perhaps what they feel isn’t hate at all.  My other favorite trope is FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS.  I just love watching a relationship naturally grow beyond just a wonderful friendship into so much more.  I’m not much of a romantic, but those two tropes just really get to me.

That said, below are some of my favorite literary couples and I think it’s safe to say that all of them fall under one of these two tropes.

* * * * *

Top Ten Literary Couples I Fell in Love With Even Though I’m Not a Fan of Romance

 

BENEDICK & BEATRICE from Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George  (and from MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by William Shakespeare)

MR. DARCY & ELIZABETH BENNETT from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

NINA & MATTHIAS from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

LILAC & TARVER from THESE BROKEN STARS by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

CELIA & MARCO from The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern

FEYRE & RHYS from A COURT OF MIST AND FURY

SIMON & BLUE from Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

RON & HERMIONE from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

ELEANOR & PARK from Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

LOUISA & WILL from Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

 

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Question:  Who are some of your favorite literary couples?

Can’t Wait Wednesday – Spotlight on IN SIGHT OF STARS by Gae Polisner

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll just be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

* * * * *

My selection for this week is In Sight of Stars by Gae Polisner.  I read Polisner’s The Memory of Things a couple of years ago and fell in love with her writing style, so I was thrilled to learn that she has another book coming out next month, and that it is a coming of age story that focuses on mental illness.  That appealed to me right away, but then these early reviews sealed the deal.

  • “An intense, sometimes graphic, totally heartbreaking portrait of a character who will keep pages turning.” – Booklist, Starred Review
  • “An unapologetic and wry story about a teen finding his way out of a personal crisis.” – Kirkus Reviews
  • “An achingly fierce exploration of the way the world wounds us and heals us. If you love exquisitely written coming-of-age stories that will leave you breathless, In Sight of Stars is for you.” – Jeff Zentner, William C. Morris award-winning author of The Serpent King and Goodbye Days
  • “What a book. So human and kind and forgiving and real.” – Geoff Herbach, award-winning author of Stupid Fast and Hooper

 

IN SIGHT OF STARS by Gae Polisner

Publication Date:   March 13, 2018

 

 

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Klee’s father was the center of his life. He introduced Klee to the great museums of New York City and the important artists on their walls, he told him stories made of myths and magic. Until his death.

Now, forced to live in the suburbs with his mom, Klee can’t help but feel he’s lost all the identifying parts of himself—his beloved father, weekly trips to the MoMA, and the thrumming energy of New York City. That is until he meets wild and free Sarah in art class, with her quick smiles and jokes about his “brooding.” Suddenly it seems as if she’s the only thing that makes him happy. But when an act of betrayal sends him reeling, Klee lands in what is bitingly referred to as the “Ape Can,” a psychiatric hospital for teens in Northollow.

While there, he undergoes intensive therapy and goes back over the pieces of his life to find out what was real, what wasn’t, and whether he can stand on his own feet again. Told in alternating timelines, leading up to the event that gets him committed and working towards getting back out, Gae Polisner’s In Sight of Starsis a gorgeous novel told in minimalist strokes to maximal effect, about what makes us fall apart and how we can put ourselves back together again.

 

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂