Happy Tuesday!
Top Ten Tuesday is a Bookish Meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and this week’s theme is Places Mentioned In Books That I’d Like to Visit! (But SPOILER ALERT: That’s not what I did!)
I haven’t done Top Ten Tuesday in a while (I haven’t really posted much of anything in a while, actually), and I missed the topic I was most looking forward to!
So this week I’m doing TEN MOST RECENT ADDITIONS TO MY TBR (which I did back on November 13, December 18, and honestly will probably do again because I really enjoy this theme)
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett Published on September 17, 2019 by Wednesday Books
Genres: YA, Science Fiction
Pages: 416
Add to Goodreads
A speculative thriller in the vein of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Power.
“A visceral, darkly haunting fever dream of a novel and an absolute page-turner. Liggett’s deeply suspenseful book brilliantly explores the high cost of a misogynistic world that denies women power and does it with a heart-in-your-throat, action-driven story that’s equal parts horror-laden fairy tale, survival story, romance, and resistance manifesto. I couldn’t stop reading.” – Libba Bray, New York Times bestselling author
No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.
Girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.
Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for their chance to grab one of the girls in order to make their fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.
With sharp prose and gritty realism, The Grace Year examines the complex and sometimes twisted relationships between girls, the women they eventually become, and the difficult decisions they make in-between.
The End and Other Beginnings: Stories from the Future by Veronica Roth Published on October 1, 2019 by Katherine Tegen Books
Genres: YA, Science Fiction, Futuristic
Pages: 272
Add to Goodreads
Bestselling Divergent and Carve the Mark author Veronica Roth delivers a stunning collection of novella-length stories set in the future, illustrated with startling black-and-white artwork.
No world is like the other. Within this masterful collection, each setting is more strange and wonderful than the last, brimming with new technologies and beings. And yet, for all the advances in these futuristic lands, the people still must confront deeply human problems.
In these six stories, Veronica Roth reaches into the unknown and draws forth something startlingly familiar and profoundly beautiful.
With tales of friendship and revenge, plus two new stories from the Carve the Mark universe, this collection has something for new and old fans alike. Each story begins with a hope for a better end, but always end with a better understanding of the beginning.
With beautifully intricate black-and-white interior illustrations and a uniquely designed package, this is the perfect gift for book lovers.
The Athena Protocol by Shamim Sarif Published on October 8, 2019 by HarperTeen
Genres: YA, Thriller
Pages: 304
Add to Goodreads
Jessie Archer is an agent for the Athena Protocol, a vigilante all-female organization created to combat injustices around the world. Athena has strict policies to not kill, so when Jessie loses control on a mission, she’s kicked off the team, right before they’re supposed to take down a human trafficking kingpin in Belgrade. Desperate to prove herself, Jessie launches her own investigation—but going rogue means there’s no one there to watch her back as she gets closer to the horrifying truth.
Our Year in Love and Parties by Karen Hattrup Published on October 8, 2019 by HarperTeen
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 368
Add to Goodreads
Four nights of the highest highs and the lowest lows. Three seconds to get lost in a good party. Two friends with the potential to be something more. One year that will change everything. Tucker knows that relationships take work. Some are easier than others though. With his best friend, Bobby, and his mom, everything is simple and consistent. His dad, on the other hand, who is sick, still treats him like a nine-year-old. Then Erika Green comes back into his life, stirring up old feelings. A small part of him knows he shouldn’t get too attached during senior year. But a bigger part doesn’t want her to disappear again.
Erika from before the video liked to shock people with her words and bright- pink hair. Lately, she’s been holing herself up in small, liberal college life and hoping that the past will stay where it belongs—in a dumpster fire. But then she reconnected with Tucker Campanelli. With him, she doesn’t have to pretend to be okay. And she can’t deny the unexplainable connection between them. And though it’s complicated, she really wants to hold onto that feeling for as long as possible.
All the Things We Do in the Dark by Saundra Mitchell Published on October 29, 2019 by HarperTeen
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Thriller
Pages: 304
Add to Goodreads
There’s no such thing as a secret.
SOMETHING happened to Ava. The curving scar on her face is proof. But Ava would rather keep that something hidden—buried deep in her heart and her soul.
She has her best friend Syd, and she has her tattoos—a colorful quilt, like a security blanket, over her whole body—and now, suddenly, she has Hailey. Beautiful, sweet Hailey, who seems to like Ava as much as she likes her. And Ava isn’t letting anything get in the way of finally, finally seeking peace. But in the woods on the outskirts of town, the traces of someone else’s secrets lie frozen, awaiting Ava’s discovery—and what Ava finds threatens to topple the carefully-constructed wall of normalcy that she’s spent years building. Secrets leave scars. But when the secret in question is not your own—do you ignore the truth and walk away? Or do you uncover it from its shallow grave, and let it reopen old wounds—wounds that have finally begun to heal?
The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young Published on September 3, 2019 by Wednesday Books
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Pages: 352
Add to Goodreads
The new gut-wrenching epic from the New York Times bestselling author of Sky in the Deep.
For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.
For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home.
The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg Published on May 28, 2019 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Genres: YA, Science Fiction
Pages: 352
Add to Goodreads
Welcome to the Kingdom... where 'Happily Ever After' isn't just a promise, but a rule.
Glimmering like a jewel behind its gateway, The Kingdom(TM) is an immersive fantasy theme park where guests soar on virtual dragons, castles loom like giants, and bioengineered species--formerly extinct--roam free.
Ana is one of seven Fantasists, beautiful "princesses" engineered to make dreams come true. When she meets park employee Owen, Ana begins to experience emotions beyond her programming including, for the first time... love.
But the fairytale becomes a nightmare when Ana is accused of murdering Owen, igniting the trial of the century. Through courtroom testimony, interviews, and Ana's memories of Owen, emerges a tale of love, lies, and cruelty--and what it truly means to be human.
Testimony from Your Perfect Girl by Kaui Hart Hemmings Published on May 14, 2019 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Genres: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 272
Add to Goodreads
A compulsively readable story that celebrates the awkward complexity of teenage relationships--with their families, and with each other, from the
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Descendants
.
Annie Tripp has everything she needs--Italian sweaters, vintage chandelier earrings, and elite ice skating lessons--but all that changes when her father is accused of scamming hundreds of people out of their investments. Annie knows her dad wasn't at fault, but she and her brother are exiled to their estranged aunt and uncle's house in a run-down part of Breckenridge--until the trial blows over.
Life with her new family isn't quite up to Annie's usual standard of living, but surprisingly, pretending to be someone else offers a freedom she's never known. As Annie starts to make real friends for the first time, she realizes she has more in common with her aunt and uncle than she ever wanted to know. As the family's lies begin to crumble and truths demand consequences, Annie must decide which secrets need to see the light of day . . . and which are worth keeping.
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas Published on February 12, 2019 by Crooked Lane Books
Genres: Historical Fiction, Alternate History, Time Travel
Pages: 336
Add to Goodreads
Perfect for fans of Naomi Alderman's The Power and Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures comes The Psychology of Time Travel, a mind-bending, time-travel debut.
In 1967, four female scientists worked together to build the world’s first time machine. But just as they are about to debut their creation, one of them suffers a breakdown, putting the whole project—and future of time travel—in jeopardy. To protect their invention, one member is exiled from the team—erasing her contributions from history.
Fifty years later, time travel is a big business. Twenty-something Ruby Rebello knows her beloved grandmother, Granny Bee, was one of the pioneers, though no one will tell her more. But when Bee receives a mysterious newspaper clipping from the future reporting the murder of an unidentified woman, Ruby becomes obsessed: could it be Bee? Who would want her dead? And most importantly of all: can her murder be stopped?
Traversing the decades and told from alternating perspectives, The Psychology of Time Travel introduces a fabulous new voice in fiction and a new must-read for fans of speculative fiction and women’s fiction alike.
Frankly in Love by David Yoon Published on September 10, 2019 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 432
Add to Goodreads
High school senior Frank Li is a Limbo–his term for Korean-American kids who find themselves caught between their parents’ traditional expectations and their own Southern California upbringing. His parents have one rule when it comes to romance–“Date Korean”–which proves complicated when Frank falls for Brit Means, who is smart, beautiful–and white. Fellow Limbo Joy Song is in a similar predicament, and so they make a pact: they’ll pretend to date each other in order to gain their freedom. Frank thinks it’s the perfect plan, but in the end, Frank and Joy’s fake-dating maneuver leaves him wondering if he ever really understood love–or himself–at all.
And that’s it! What have you recently added to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
All of these sound like very interesting places to visit.
On a totally unrelated note, I’m demisexual and bisexual/biromantic myself. It’s always nice to meet others on the ace-spectrum, so hello!
My Top Ten Tuesday post.
Lydia recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Places Mentioned in Books That I’d Like to Visit