bookshelves of doom

By the catalog: Merit Press, Fall 2013.

Titles I've read from the Adams Media Fall 2013 catalog:

Poor Little Dead Girls, by Lizzie Friend:

Sadie doesn’t trust people blindly, and she makes a concerted effort to avoid making stupid choices—there are a few conversations about the idiocy horror movie heroines—and Friend works to give even the most two-dimensional of her characters at least SOME depth. (The British twins, granted, don’t get much in the way of fleshing out, but they are REALLY funny, and since they created their public personas as a very deliberate caricature, I gave them a pass.)

Unaccompanied Minor, by Hollis Gillespie:

Things that work: As long as you aren't looking for something SUPER realistic—the bad guys are all mustache-twirlers, for example—almost everything! It's funny, fast-paced, smart, witty, and just totally entertaining across the board. Extra points for the phrase "psychotic Bobbsey Twins".

No Surrender Soldier, by Christine Kohler:

There certainly are aspects of the book to appreciate and admire: most notably the depiction of the Guamanian culture, which combines aspects of the various colonial powers that have controlled the island over the years with the indigenous Chamorro culture that was there originally and is there still. The cast reflects that multicultural heritage—Kiko is Chamorro, as is his crush at school, while his best friend Tomas is of Japanese descent—as does, and often in a stomach-growling inducing way, the food.

Escape from Eden, by Elisa Nader: I read this one and loved it, and then never wrote about it! I'll have to go back and re-read so I can do it justice, because Nader BROUGHT THE CRAZY, and in a TOTALLY EXCELLENT WAY. It's about a cult, and escaping from a cult, and first love. It's action-packed and tension-filled and there are thrills and chills and GAHHHHs galore! Also, HUMAN FREAKING TRAFFICKING. *shudder*

Ahem. Yeah, so I liked that one. A lot.

Titles I want to read from the same catalog:

Twigs, by Alison Ashley Formento: Issues galore, but hopefully in a none issue-y way? I'm mostly intrigued because it's apparently an homage to High Noon.

Deceived, by Julie Anne Lindsey: A thriller about a girl in boarding school who discovers that her father might be a complete stranger to her. I'm always up for a new thriller set in a boarding school.

Anyone But You, by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes: I really liked Exposure, the previous installment in the Twisted Lit series, so I'll definitely be reading this one, which is a re-imagining of Romeo & Juliet in and around Italian restaurants. Suddenly I feel like I should dedicate a week or two to getting caught up on all of the Shakespeare rewrites that I've missed over the last few years. BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT.

By the catalog: Macmillan, Winter 2014.

Titles I've read from the Macmillan Winter 2014 catalog:

Scarlet, by Marissa Meyer:

Anyway, it's pretty safe to say that if you liked Cinder, that you'll really like Scarlet! It has all of the first book's strengths—plucky heroine, really cool worldbuilding INCLUDING a setting centered OUTSIDE of the United States (WOO!), political intrigue and threads about cultural and economic and physical differences and YES, ROMANCE—and, like Cinder, in Scarlet, Meyer takes a familiar story and makes it fresh and new and compelling and surprising.

My Book of Life by Angel:

Unlike a lot of verse novels, it reads like poetry: lots of rhythm, lots of passages that convey multiple meanings, even some wordplay. As the title suggests, Angel is writing her own story, and voice is believable, raw, determined, and surprisingly enough* considering her circumstances, displays a decent amount of humor. I don't want to say that there are moments of loveliness in the story—because, for me, there weren't—but the writing itself is lovely.

Midwinterblood, by Marcus Sedgwick:

It's not going to be for everyone. I GUARANTEE that some readers are going to want to throw it at the wall. (Perhaps you have already done so?) But something about it resonated with me. It's not just that I'm impressed by the structure—I am—or that I love Sedgwick's writing and skillful atmosphere creation—I do—or that I was blown away by how each segment was so different, but how (even discounting the physical details: the names, the flowers, the hare) each one was also so clearly part of a larger whole.

Titles I'd like to read from the same catalog:

The Rule of Three, by Eric Walters: Sounds a bit like Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It, but with a larger cast. I continue to suffer from apocalypse ennui, but I'll give it a try.

Grandmaster, by David Klass: Klass' books have been hit-or-miss for me (LOVED You Don't Know Me, HATED Firestorm), but this one is about a CHESS TOURNAMENT! (I have no interest in playing chess, but oddly enough, I am fascinated by the culture that surrounds it.)

The Winner's Curse, by Marie Rutkoski: The catalog write-up namechecks Kristin Cashore. GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME.

Love Letters to the Dead, by Ava Dellaira: This one sounds like it'll be a readalike for both 13 Reasons Why and Perks of Being a Wallflower. So. Onto the list it goes.

Plus One, by Elizabeth Fama: Star-crossed love in a world where people are divided into two groups—those who can only go out at night, and those who can only go out during the day.

Cress, by Marissa Meyer: GIMME GIMME GIMME. Ahem. Yes, I very much enjoyed Cinder and Scarlet. So. Duh.

The Undertaking of Lily Chen, by Danica Novgorodoff: A graphic novel about a guy who accidentally kills his older brother... and then is ordered to go out and find him a bride. He finds the perfect girl, but there's one rather large problem: she's still alive.

Tin Star, by Cecil Castellucci: I covered my reasons for wanting to read this one over at Kirkus.

She is Not Invisible, by Marcus Sedgwick: I love his books. That is all.

Keeping the Night Watch, by Hope Anita Smith: Verse novel about a boy wrestling with his feelings about his father, who walked out on the family... and then came back.

Fourmile, by Watt Key: When Foster first gets to know the new guy in town, a Gulf veteran, he thinks he's found the perfect ally to go up against Dax, his mother's bad news boyfriend... but it turns out that the stranger might be just as dangerous as Dax, if not more so. WARNING: THERE IS A DOG ON THE COVER.

By the catalog: Flux, Winter 2014.

Titles I'd like to read from the Flux Winter 2014 catalog:

Hero Worship, by Christopher E. Long: As the storyline involves superheroes who act in less-than-super ways, this one sounds like it would pair well with the upcoming V is for Villain. Bonus points for a thread about economic class (the protagonist is a homeless boy who isn't ALLOWED to use his superpowers).

More Than Good Enough, by Crissa-Jean Chappell: A boy moves onto the Miccosukee reservation to live with his father. From the blurb, I'm getting the impression that the book deals with friendship, family, identity, culture, and maybe a romance.

The Violet Hour, by Whitney A. Miller: Daughter of the leader of a powerful religious organization starts having visions of what looks like a future apocalypse... and then said visions begin to come true. Set in Asia.

The Drowned Forest, by Kristopher Reisz: Best friends jump off a bridge to go swimming, only one survives. Instead of a body surfacing, though, a sad and confused mud creature does: and anyone she touches dies. Sounds super dark and super creepy, but also possibly super depressing. So I'm iffy on this one.

There are also some titles that're entries in ongoing series. Anything there I shouldn't miss?

By the catalog: Disney-Hyperion, Spring/Summer 2014.

Titles I've read from the Disney-Hyperion Spring/Summer 2014 catalog:

Project Paper Doll: The Rules, by Stacey Kade:

Ariane’s narration is funny and thoughtful, and her paladin tendencies make her immediately likable. In order to disappear into the background, she observes human behavior (and high school culture) very closely, and her habit of constantly second-guessing each action with an “Okay, what would a regular human do?” keeps her perspective fresh while also evoking all of Dexter Morgan most entertaining moments.

School Spirits, by Rachel Hawkins:

• Fans of Buffy will love that Izzy’s relationship with her mother is complex and believable, that she almost immediately aligns herself with the school outcasts (who are all awesome), and that Hawkins turns the usual P.E. dodge-ball scene on its head when Izzy gets ticked off and accidentally dislocates a bully’s shoulder.

In Too Deep, by Coert Voorhees:

All that said, it might work for a younger fan of adventure stories who’s just beginning to explore the teen section...well, as long as you’re dealing with a reader who’ll respond to sexual innuendo along the lines of, “I bet he’s showing you his hard drive” and “I hope you’re using a surge protector” with a giggle rather than a gasp.

All Our Yesterdays, by Cristin Terrill:

On the one hand, Terrill does a great job of writing two versions of the same characters: Future Em and Past Marina, Finn's selves and, to a lesser degree, James' past and future selves are all clearly the same people with the same personalities, but they are vastly different in terms of maturity and perspective. Which is extremely cool. 

Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase, by Jonathan Stroud:

It's smart, it's scary, it's exciting, it's funny, it's got loads of atmosphere and great world-building and DID I MENTION HOW MUCH I LOVE IT?

Titles I want to read from the same catalog:

The Ring and the Crown, by Melissa de la Cruz: I've only ever read one book by de la Cruz, and it wasn't a good fit for me. But that was a long time ago, and I'm ready for another dance. Oh, who am I kidding? I totally got reeled in by the "glam of thrones" line in the description. Also, alt-history involving a "bastard mage"! Obvs, I need to check it out.

Far From You, by Tess Sharpe: Murder mystery! Addiction issues! Long-held secrets! Debut author!

Don't Look Back, by Jennifer L. Armentrout: Mean girl gets amnesia! Sounds a bit like if Lois Duncan had written Before I Fall, minus the fantasy element?

Project Paper Doll: The Hunt, by Stacey Kade: I loved the first one in the series, so duh.

The Rules for Disappearing, by Ashley Elston: Witness protection! Lots of romantic thrillers in this catalog, which is OKAY BY ME.

Caged Warrior, by Alan Lawrence Sitomer: Mixed Martial Arts cage matches in Detroit. A Boy With Potential is pulled every which way by a terrifying and controlling father, an inspirational teacher, and the local criminal element.

V is for Villain, by Peter Moore: The brilliant-but-generally-seen-as-unimpressive younger brother of a superhero gets his own adventure. The blurb suggests that the "heroes" and "villains" might be reversed in this one, so I'm kind of hoping for some hilariously awful heroes along the lines of Captain Hammer or Captain Quark.

Dark Metropolis, by Jaclyn Dolamore: 1930s-ish! Dark magic! Atmospheric! Disappearances and curses and decadence and "heartless masterminds"!

Midnight Thief, by Livia Blackburne: I'm worried that this debut fantasy is just going to make me miss Starcrossed's Digger all the more, but I'll give it a whirl.

Welcome to the Dark House, by Laurie Faria Stolarz: Contest winners thrown together in a creepy house. Sure, it's an old premise, but it's one of my favorites!

By the catalog: Chronicle, Spring 2014.

Titles I've read from Chronicle's Spring 2014 catalog:

Nobody's Secret, by Michaela MacColl:

It’s possible that it could have worked as short fiction, but there’s so little story here that 230 pages feels really, really long. It’s clear that the author has an appreciation for her subject both as a person and a poet, but the characters—including Emily, which is especially unfortunate—never make the shift from two-dimensional characters into three-dimensional people.

The Clockwork Scarab, by Colleen Gleason:

It’s fun, it’s smart, and despite the familiar components, it’s a solidly entertaining steampunk adventure. Most notably, it has a much stronger focus on the relationship between the girls than on any of the various romantic entanglements, and there’s a thought-provoking thread about feminism, and about cultural assumptions about gender roles: how “appropriate” conduct is defined by worldview.

Under Shifting Glass, by Nicky Singer:

Under Shifting Glass is about beginnings (birth, family, new realizations about old relationships) and endings (death, the end of friendship, the end of childhood); it’s about different kinds of families (blood, chosen, kindred spirits), about jealousy and about the realization that there is room in your heart for more than one person at a time. In another book, a convergence of so many storylines that drive the same themes home could easily feel contrived, but in this book, which celebrates connections of all sorts—Jess calls them ‘joinings’—it just...works.

Titles I want to read from the same catalog:

Always Emily, by Michaela MacColl: I wasn't a huge fan of Nobody's Secret, but I'm a sucker for all things Brontë. And really, I have to read it, because otherwise, my Wuthering Heights roundup would be INCOMPLETE.

The Falconer, by Elizabeth May: Revenge and romance in steampunk Scotland. It's the first in a trilogy (obvs, since standalone fantasies are an endangered species), but there are EVIL FAERIES. So, you know: worth a try!

Going Over, by Beth Kephart: Two crazy kids in love, separated by the Berlin Wall in 1983. Kephart's writing is so gorgeous in You Are My Only that I'll read anything by her.

In the picture book realm, I've got my eye on Cali & Chaud's I Didn't Do My Homework Because... and Reynolds & Tankard's Here Comes Destructosaurus purely because I like the artwork.

Oh, and also Pittau & Gervais' The Open Ocean, because I love nature books with lift-the-flaps and pop-ups.

By the catalog: Candlewick, Spring-Summer 2014.

Titles I've read from Candlewick's Spring-Summer 2014 catalog:

The Freedom Maze, by Delia Sherman:

Descriptions of a working, pre-Civil War plantation; the relationships between slaves, and between slaves and their owners; the speech patterns and dialect; the depiction of a complicated religious and mythological belief system; from all of that and more, as I read, I was convinced that Delia Sherman must have done a boatload of research for this book*. That made the complete lack of infodumps all the more impressive: even when Sophie gets a crash-course in plantation life via some of the younger slaves, Sherman doesn't use that opportunity to give her readers a lecture—instead, she cuts away from the scene. I loved that.

Feral Nights, by Cynthia Leitich Smith: I adored the Tantalize quartet, and so I was so excited to find out about this spin-off series! It's set in the same universe, and it stars some of the same characters: Clyde the werepossum, human Aimee, and newcomer Yoshi, the super-sexy werecat brother of Ruby the suspected murderess (and also super-sexy) werecat.

As in the Tantalize books, Smith plays a LOT with the different traits and cultural relationships between the different species, and she includes LOADS of SF/F references. It's different in tone, though, more quirkfest-bananas (one word: WEREYETIS), and less end-of-the-world EPIC. Kind of like the Zeppo episode of Buffy, or the episode of Leverage where Parker is stuck at home with a broken leg, a comparison that is even more apt when you consider the fact that that action in this book is taking place at the same time as the action in Diabolical. (They work as stand-alones, though.)

Smith dosn't satirize herself in quite the same way as Buffy and Leverage did, though the end result is similar: ultimately, Clyde and Aimee level up from being sidekicks to heroes in their own right. Her books are always such a blast, and I can't wait to read the next one.

The Cydonian Pyramid, by Pete Hautman: As in The Obsidian Blade, the story rapidly bounces from time to time, place to place, character to character, timestream to timestream, and because of that alone, there will be plenty of readers who won't find it particularly enthralling. The jargon and occasional dialect will turn others off.

Personally, I loved the first book in the series, and so even though this one didn't do a whole lot for me emotionally (except for the section about Lah Lia's time in Hopewell, which felt more personal than the rest of the book), I'm still enjoying the series on a more intellectual level: basically, I'm curious about where Hautman's going with it, and I look forward to the inevitable final confrontation between Tucker and his father and Lah Lia and hers.

Personal Effects, by E.M. Kokie: ...apparently, I never wrote about this one. It's about Matt, who is grieving for his older brother, who was recently killed in Iraq. Matt's life is spiraling down—school, home, friends—and so he starts digging into his brother's life in an effort to find some closure. In so doing, he finds out that his brother was keeping some Rather Large Secrets: the big one being [SPOILER] that he was gay [END SPOILER].

It's a story that could have gone in any number of unimpressive directions—trite, preachy, insipid, black/white—but doesn't. Kokie doesn't shy away from Matt's less-than-politically-correct and sometimes less-than-empathetic feelings—and even when he's exhibiting them, he's still a sympathetic character because of all of the pain and confusion and anger he's feeling—and she always, always stays true to her character. It's a good one about the complexities of family and brotherhood and truth and bravery, and I'm kicking myself for not having gotten around to writing about it Way Back When.

Titles I want to read from the same catalog:

Weasels, by Elys Dolan, and Have You Seen My Dragon?, by Steve Light: Since I'm doing all of the ordering for the library, I have to pay closer attention to picture books now, too! And these two look way cool. I mean, HELLO, AWESOME--->

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made & Timmy Failure: Now Look What You've Done, by Stephen Pastis: Kid Detective! Enough said.

Boy on the Edge, by Fridrick Erlings: Icelandic author! Setting: a home for troubled boys called the Home for Lesser Brethren. O.o

Feral Curse, by Cynthia Leitich Smith: As I said above, I ADORE THE TANTALIZE QUARTET, and I don't know how I managed to miss out on this spin-off series for so long. (I only read Feral Nights today! Apparently Feral Curse has a haunted carousel! HAUNTED! CAROUSEL!)

The Story of Buildings, by Patrick Dillon and Into the Unknown, by Stephen Ross: In both books, the illustrations are by Stephen Biesty, so these are obvious picks for fans of his Cross-sections books. (Of which I am one.)

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, by Leslye Walton: Magical realism is generally Not My Thing, but it looks like Candlewick is pushing this one hard. Which makes me curious.

Swim that Rock, by John Rocco & Jay Primiano: Did you ever see that movie Diggers? I feel like no one else did, even though it was quite good, and, like, EVERYONE was in it. Okay, by 'everyone', I mean Ken Marino and Paul Rudd and Maura Tierney. ANYWAY. This book ALSO deals with clamming and a family teetering on the brink of economic disaster. And I want to read it.

Breakfast Served Anytime, by Sarah Combs and The Chance You Won't Return, by Annie Cardi:
Two debut contemporaries. A coming-of-age story set in a Kentucky summer camp for geeks and a girl figuring out high school and first love... and a mother who thinks she's Amelia Earhart. SOLD AND SOLD.

The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf, by Ambelin Kwaymullina. Another debut, this one from Australia, and by an author of indigenous descent. Sounds kind of like X-Men (people with varying extraordinary abilities) in a future militaristic world (heroine is captured by government and hooked up to a machine that will interrogate her to find the location of her people). Sounds tense and possibly upsetting, but I wouldn't cross the girl on the cover: she's got a seriously formidable look in her eye.

 

The Klaatu Terminus, by Pete Hautman. This is my relationship with Pete Hautman: He writes it, I will read it.

 

Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature, by Betsy Bird, Julie Danielson, and Peter D. Sieruta. Because, duh.

 

Three Bird Summer, by Sara St. Antoine. On one hand, "FAMILY MYSTERY". On the other, "POIGNANT". So I'm a little concerned that it might be a Crying Book. But my curiosity is piqued.

 

Girls Like Us, by Gail Giles. Two graduates of their high school's special ed program enter the adult world. This is a story I haven't read before, it's one my extended family has a history with, and I'm SO THERE.

 

PHEW.

 

Candlewick, you are KILLING ME. WHY MUST YOU MAKE ME WANT TO READ ALL THE BOOKS?

By the catalog: Albert Whitman, Spring 2014.

Titles I've read from the Albert Whitman Spring 2014 catalog:

Being Henry David, by Cal Armistead:

To a degree, Being Henry David is one of those frustrating stories in which the protagonist could save himself pages and pages of torment and confusion if he’d just, you know, ask someone for help. But Armistead makes Hank’s reasons for avoiding the authorities emotionally believable and logically plausible, so it’s not really an issue. It is, as evidenced by my one-sitting read, an extremely compelling book, and the Thoreau quotes are woven in quite nicely: I can easily imagine this book inspiring younger readers to go and look him up.

Titles I want to read from the same catalog:

Mafia Girl, by Deborah Blumenthal: Sounds like Son of the Mob, but with more DRAMZ. So I'm there, obvs.

Skin and Bones, by Sherry Shahan: I oftentimes avoid books about eating disorders because I they make me have lots of feels in a bad way. But this one is about a male protagonist, which is unusual. So I'll make an exception.

The Summer I Found You, by Jolene Perry: I'm always looking for new Dessen readalikes. And despite the preponderance of Somewhat Heavy Issues in the description, the cover art suggests Dessen. (Or Ockler, or Scott, or Han, etc., etc., etc.)