Happy Saturday! New to the Queue is a bookish feature on Kait Plus Books where I talk about books I’ve recently added to my never ending #tbr! *EDIT: Now with the correct covers and genres. Sorry for the mix up!*
Hi there! I love making these posts. Looking at the books that I’ve added to my tbr and getting excited about all the wonderful stories I’ll be able to read someday, it just makes me happy.
And now without any further ado, here are THIRTEEN of the books I’ve recently added to my queue!
The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska Published on December 28, 2021Genres: YA, Fantasy
Pages: 384
Add to Goodreads
It's Karnawał season in the snow-cloaked Kingdom of Lechija, and from now until midnight when the church bells ring an end to Devil's Tuesday time will be marked with wintry balls and glittery disguises, cavalcades of nightly torch-lit "kuligi" sleigh-parties.
Unbeknownst to the oblivious merrymakers, two monsters join the fun, descending upon the royal city of Warszów in the guise of two innocent girls. Newfound friends and polar opposites, Zosia and Marynka seem destined to have a friendship that's stronger even than magic. But that's put to the test when they realize they both have their sights set on Lechija's pure-hearted prince. A pure heart contains immeasurable power and Marynka plans to bring the prince's back to her grandmother in order to prove herself. While Zosia is determined to take his heart and its power for her own.
When neither will sacrifice their ambitions for the other, the festivities spiral into a wild contest with both girls vying to keep the hapless prince out of the other's wicked grasp. But this isn't some remote forest village, where a hint of stray magic might go unnoticed, Warszów is the icy capital of a kingdom that enjoys watching monsters burn, and if Zosia and Marynka's innocent disguises continue to slip, their escalating rivalry might cost them not just the love they might have for each other, but both their lives.
Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets by Chelsea Ichaso Published on April 5, 2022Genres: Contemporary, YA, Thriller
Pages: 204
Add to Goodreads
Piper's fall was no accident. Did someone want her dead? It's up to her sister to discover the truth in this shocking new thriller with an unreliable narrator, from the acclaimed author of Little Creeping Things.
Piper Sullivan was in a strange hiking accident last month and has been in a coma ever since. Her older sister, Savannah, can't pretend to be optimistic about it; things look bad. Piper will likely never wake up, and Savannah will never get any answers about what exactly happened.
But then Savannah finds a note in Piper's locker, inviting Piper to a meeting of their school's wilderness club...at the very place and on the very day that she fell. Which means there was a chance that Piper wasn't alone. Someone might've seen something. Worse, someone might've done something. But who would want to hurt the perfect Piper Sullivan...and why?
To discover the truth, Savannah joins the club on their weekend-long camping trip on the same mountain where her sister fell. But she better be careful; everyone in the club is a suspect, and everyone seems to be keeping secrets about that tragic day.
And Savannah? She's been keeping secrets, too...
Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes Published on March 1, 2022 by Harper Perennial
Genres: Adult, Historical Fiction, Retellings
Pages: 320
Add to Goodreads
The tellers of Greek myths--historically men--have routinely sidelined the female characters. When they do take a larger role, women are often portrayed as monstrous, vengeful or just plain evil--like Pandora, the woman of eternal scorn and damnation whose curiosity is tasked with causing all the world's suffering and wickedness when she opened that forbidden box. But, as Natalie Haynes reveals, in ancient Greek myths there was no box. It was a jar . . . which is far more likely to tip over.
In Pandora's Jar, the broadcaster, writer, stand-up comedian, and passionate classicist turns the tables, putting the women of the Greek myths on an equal footing with the men. With wit, humor, and savvy, Haynes revolutionizes our understanding of epic poems, stories, and plays, resurrecting them from a woman's perspective and tracing the origins of their mythic female characters. She looks at women such as Jocasta, Oedipus' mother-turned-lover-and-wife (turned Freudian sticking point), at once the cleverest person in the story and yet often unnoticed. She considers Helen of Troy, whose marriage to Paris "caused" the Trojan war--a somewhat uneven response to her decision to leave her husband for another man. She demonstrates how the vilified Medea was like an ancient Beyonce--getting her revenge on the man who hurt and betrayed her, if by extreme measures. And she turns her eye to Medusa, the original monstered woman, whose stare turned men to stone, but who wasn't always a monster, and had her hair turned to snakes as punishment for being raped.
Pandora's Jar brings nuance and care to the millennia-old myths and legends and asks the question: Why are we so quick to villainize these women in the first place--and so eager to accept the stories we've been told?
Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon Published on January 11, 2022 by Berkley
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Pages: 352
Add to Goodreads
Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram
Ari Abrams has always been fascinated by the weather, and she loves almost everything about her job as a TV meteorologist. Her boss, legendary Seattle weatherwoman Torrance Hale, is too distracted by her tempestuous relationship with her ex-husband, the station’s news director, to give Ari the mentorship she wants. Ari, who runs on sunshine and optimism, is at her wits’ end. The only person who seems to understand how she feels is sweet but reserved sports reporter Russell Barringer.
In the aftermath of a disastrous holiday party, Ari and Russell decide to team up to solve their bosses’ relationship issues. Between secret gifts and double dates, they start nudging their bosses back together. But their well-meaning meddling backfires when the real chemistry builds between Ari and Russell.
Working closely with Russell means allowing him to get to know parts of herself that Ari keeps hidden from everyone. Will he be able to embrace her dark clouds as well as her clear skies?
Everyone Is Tulip by Dave Baker, Nicole Goux, Ellie Hall Published on July 13, 2021 by Dark Horse Books
Genres: Contemporary, Graphic Novels, Mystery, YA
Pages: 184
Add to Goodreads
Centered around the aspiring actress Becca and her whirlwind rise to stardom, Everyone is Tulip is an original graphic novel that explores what it means to be a star in a generation that places more attention and value on YouTube clips and memes than it does Hollywood celebrities.
Becca Harper lands an acting role she didn't think would go anywhere, and suddenly finds herself flung into a 15 minutes of fame that sees her likeness not up in lights, but in memes, reaction videos, and even conspiracy theories.
Donning the guise of Tulip for an experimental artsy video, directed by an affluent jerk (that she somehow ends up dating), Becca's dreams seem to have come true when her persona becomes the talk of the internet. With a sudden army of fans, complications arise when Becca begins to question whether or not she has the right to consider herself a star.
Created by indie comic all-stars Dave Baker (Star Trek: Voyager - Seven's Reckoning, F*ck Off Squad, Night Hunters) and Nicole Goux (Shadow of The Batgirl, F*ck Off Squad, Jem and The Holograms: Dimensions 3, Murders), Everyone is Tulip is a deeply psychological exploration of the new frontier of modern media and the discomfort of internet fame.
Outlawed by Anna North Published on February 15, 2022 by Bloomsbury Publishing
Genres: Adult, Historical Fiction, Thriller
Pages: 272
Add to Goodreads
In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw.
On the day of her wedding-dance, Ada feels lucky. She loves her broad-shouldered, bashful husband and her job as an apprentice midwife.
But her luck will not last. It is every woman's duty to have a child, to replace those that were lost in the Great Flu. And after a year of marriage and no pregnancy, in a town where barren women are hanged as witches, Ada's survival depends on leaving behind everything she knows.
She joins up with the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang. Its leader, a charismatic preacher-turned-robber known to all as The Kid, wants to create a safe haven for women outcast from society. But to make this dream a reality, the Gang hatches a treacherous plan. And Ada must decide whether she's willing to risk her life for the possibility of a new kind of future for them all.
Girl Giant and the Jade War by Van Hoang Series: Girl Giant and the Monkey King #2
Published on December 7, 2021 by Roaring Brook Press
Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Pages: 320
Add to Goodreads
In this sequel to Girl Giant and the Monkey King, Thom and her friends set off on a far flung adventure to save the Heavens and the Jade Emperor from certain destruction.
Thom Ngoh thought View Spoiler » But with the stakes higher than ever, the price for help may be more than Thom is willing to pay...
Heart of the Impaler by Alexander Delacroix Published on December 7, 2021 by Swoon Reads
Genres: YA, Alternate History, Historical Fiction, Retellings
Pages: 452
Add to Goodreads
Ilona Csáki has no desire to marry the voivode's eldest son, but love and marriage are the least of her worries.
The royal family's enemies have already tried to put an arrow through her back—and if anyone discovers her blossoming feelings for her betrothed's cousin Andrei, and younger brother, Vlad, she may just wish they'd succeeded.
Beneath the shadow of impending war, the only battle that will be deadlier than the one for Ilona’s life will be the one for her heart.
The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale Published on December 7, 2021 by St. Martin's Press
Genres: Contemporary, Thriller, Adult
Pages: 304
Add to Goodreads
Fourteen years ago, Delphine abandoned her prestigious soloist spot at the Paris Opera Ballet for a new life in St. Petersburg––taking with her a secret that could upend the lives of her best friends, fellow dancers Lindsay and Margaux. Now 36 years old, Delphine has returned to her former home and to the legendary Palais Garnier Opera House, to choreograph the ballet that will kickstart the next phase of her career––and, she hopes, finally make things right with her former friends. But Delphine quickly discovers that things have changed while she's been away...and some secrets can't stay buried forever.
Moving between the trio's adolescent years and the present day, The Ballerinas explores the complexities of female friendship, the dark drive towards physical perfection in the name of artistic expression, the double-edged sword of ambition and passion, and the sublimated rage that so many women hold inside––all culminating in a twist you won't see coming, with magnetic characters you won't soon forget.
The Nineties: A Book by Chuck Klosterman Published on February 8, 2022 by Penguin Press
Genres: Adult, History, Non-Fiction
Pages: 384
Add to Goodreads
It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. In between, one presidential election was allegedly decided by Ross Perot while another was plausibly decided by Ralph Nader. In the beginning, almost every name and address was listed in a phone book, and everyone answered their landlines because you didn't know who it was. By the end, exposing someone's address was an act of emotional violence, and nobody picked up their new cell phone if they didn't know who it was. The 90s brought about a revolution in the human condition we're still groping to understand. Happily, Chuck Klosterman is more than up to the job.
Beyond epiphenomena like Cop Killer and Titanic and Zima, there were wholesale shifts in how society was perceived: the rise of the internet, pre-9/11 politics, and the paradoxical belief that nothing was more humiliating than trying too hard. Pop culture accelerated without the aid of a machine that remembered everything, generating an odd comfort in never being certain about anything. On a 90's Thursday night, more people watched any random episode of Seinfeld than the finale of Game of Thrones. But nobody thought that was important; if you missed it, you simply missed it. It was the last era that held to the idea of a true, hegemonic mainstream before it all began to fracture, whether you found a home in it or defined yourself against it.
In The Nineties, Chuck Klosterman makes a home in all of it: the film, the music, the sports, the TV, the politics, the changes regarding race and class and sexuality, the yin/yang of Oprah and Alan Greenspan. In perhaps no other book ever written would a sentence like, "The video for 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' was not more consequential than the reunification of Germany" make complete sense. Chuck Klosterman has written a multi-dimensional masterpiece, a work of synthesis so smart and delightful that future historians might well refer to this entire period as Klostermanian.
Drew Leclair Gets a Clue by Katryn Bury Published on March 1, 2022 by Clarion Books
Genres: Contemporary, Middle Grade, Mystery
Pages: 288
Add to Goodreads
Drew Leclair knows what it takes to be a great detective. She’s pored over the cases solved by her hero, criminal profiler Lita Miyamoto. She tracked down the graffiti artist at school, and even solved the mystery of her neighbor’s missing rabbit. But when her mother runs off to Hawaii with the school guidance counselor, Drew is shocked. How did she miss all of the clues?
Drew is determined to keep her family life a secret, even from her best friend. But when a cyberbully starts posting embarrassing rumors about other students at school, it’s only a matter of time before Drew’s secret is out.
Armed with her notebooks full of observations about her classmates, Drew knows what she has to do: profile all of the bullies in her grade to find the culprit. But being a detective is more complicated when the suspects can be your friends. Will Drew crack the case if it means losing the people she cares about most?
Wingbearer by Marjorie M. Liu, Teny Issakhanian Published on March 1, 2022 by Quill Tree Books
Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade
Pages: 208
Add to Goodreads
Zuli is extraordinary--she just doesn't realize it yet. Raised by mystical bird spirits in the branches of the Great Tree, she's never ventured beyond this safe haven. She's never had to. Until now.
When a sinister force threatens the life-giving magic of the tree, Zuli, along with her guardian owl, Frowly, must get to the root of it. So begins an adventure bigger than anything Zuli could've ever imagined--one that will bring her, along with some newfound friends, face-to-face with an ancient dragon, the so-called Witch-Queen, and most surprisingly of all: her true identity.
Golden Girl by Reem Faruqi Published on February 22, 2022 by HarperCollins
Genres: Contemporary, Middle Grade
Pages: 336
Add to Goodreads
Seventh grader Aafiyah loves playing tennis, reading Weird but True facts, and hanging out with her best friend, Zaina. However, Aafiyah has a bad habit that troubles her--she's drawn to pretty things and can't help but occasionally "borrow" them.
But when her father is falsely accused of a crime he hasn't committed and gets taken in by authorities, Aafiyah knows she needs to do something to help. When she brainstorms a way to bring her father back, she turns to her Weird but True facts and devises the perfect plan.
But what if her plan means giving in to her bad habit, the one she's been trying to stop? Aafiyah wants to reunite her family but finds that maybe her plan isn't so perfect after all...
Did you add any of these books to your tbr? Let me know in the comments below and have a splendiferous week!
Leave a Reply