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Top Ten Tuesday | September 15, 2020

Posted September 15, 2020 by Kaity in Bookish Memes, Top Ten Tuesday / 46 Comments

Happy Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday is a Bookish Meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and this week’s theme is COVER FREEBIE!

I LOVE pretty book covers. If I’m looking for a book anywhere that doesn’t have the description readily available (aka, when I’m browsing my kindle or looking at books in the library/bookstore), covers are what grab my attention. I actually had most of this post put together for a new meme I was going to join in last Friday, but I didn’t end up finishing the post in time, so I’m recycling it and using it today! I’ve already done my favorite covers of the first half of 2020, and I’m waiting until December to do the last half, so today’s post is… TEN COVERS I LOVE THAT FEATURE FUN PATTERNS!

And now without any further ado, here’s this week’s Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday | September 15, 2020Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan
Published on April 6, 2021 by Scholastic Press
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, YA, Queer
Pages: 320
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Zara's family has waited years for their visa process to be finalized so that they can officially become US citizens. But it only takes one moment for that dream to come crashing down around them.
Seventeen-year-old Pakistani immigrant, Zara Hossain, has been leading a fairly typical life in Corpus Christi, Texas, since her family moved there for her father to work as a pediatrician. While dealing with the Islamophobia that she faces at school, Zara has to lay low, trying not to stir up any trouble and jeopardize their family's dependent visa status while they await their green card approval, which has been in process for almost nine years.
But one day her tormentor, star football player Tyler Benson, takes things too far, leaving a threatening note in her locker, and gets suspended. As an act of revenge against her for speaking out, Tyler and his friends vandalize Zara's house with racist graffiti, leading to a violent crime that puts Zara's entire future at risk. Now she must pay the ultimate price and choose between fighting to stay in the only place she's ever called home or losing the life she loves and everyone in it.

Top Ten Tuesday | September 15, 2020The Wise and the Wicked by Rebecca Podos
Published on May 28, 2019 by Balzer + Bray
Genres: Fantasy, Magical Realism, YA, Queer
Pages: 368
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Ruby Chernyavsky has been told the stories since she was a child: The women in her family, once possessed of great magical abilities to remake lives and stave off death itself, were forced to flee their Russian home for America in order to escape the fearful men who sought to destroy them. Such has it always been, Ruby’s been told, for powerful women. Today, these stories seem no more real to Ruby than folktales, except for the smallest bit of power left in their blood: when each of them comes of age, she will have a vision of who she will be when she dies—a destiny as inescapable as it is inevitable. Ruby is no exception, and neither is her mother, although she ran from her fate years ago, abandoning Ruby and her sisters. It’s a fool’s errand, because they all know the truth: there is no escaping one’s Time.
Until Ruby’s great-aunt Polina passes away, and, for the first time, a Chernyavsky’s death does not match her vision. Suddenly, things Ruby never thought she’d be allowed to hope for—life, love, time—seem possible. But as she and her cousin Cece begin to dig into the family’s history to find out whether they, too, can change their fates, they learn that nothing comes without a cost. Especially not hope.

Top Ten Tuesday | September 15, 2020Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills
Published on January 15, 2019 by Henry Holt & Company
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, YA
Pages: 312
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For Sophie, small town life has never felt small. With her four best friends—loving, infuriating, and all she could ever ask for—she can weather any storm. But when Sophie’s beloved Acadia High School marching band is selected to march in the upcoming Rose Parade, it’s her job to get them all the way to LA. Her plan? To persuade country singer Megan Pleasant, their Midwestern town’s only claim to fame, to come back to Acadia to headline a fundraising festival.
The only problem is that Megan has very publicly sworn never to return.
What ensues is a journey filled with long-kept secrets, hidden heartbreaks, and revelations that could change everything—along with a possible fifth best friend: a new guy with a magnetic smile and secrets of his own.

Top Ten Tuesday | September 15, 2020Paper Boats by Dee Lestari, Tiffany Tsao
Published on May 1, 2017 by Amazon Crossing
Genres: Contemporary, YA
Pages: 400
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She’s a free-spirited dreamer. He’s a brilliant painter. But now their shared passion for art has turned into something deeper.…
For as long as she can remember, Kugy has loved to write. Whimsical stories are her passion, along with letters full of secret longings that she folds into paper boats and sets out to sea. Now that she’s older, she dreams of following her heart and becoming a true teller of tales, but she decides to get a “real job” instead and forget all about Keenan, the guy who makes her feel as if she’s living in one of her own fairy tales.
Sensitive and introverted, Keenan is an aspiring artist, but he feels pressured to pursue a more practical path. He’s drawn to Kugy from first sight: she’s unconventional, and the light radiating from her eyes and the warmth of her presence pull him in.
They seem like a perfect match—both on and off the page—but revealing their secret feelings means risking their friendship and betraying the people they love most. Can they find the courage to admit their love for each other and chase their long-held dreams?

Top Ten Tuesday | September 15, 2020Three Sides of a Heart: Stories about Love Triangles by Natalie C. Parker, Rae Carson, Brandy Colbert, Katie Cotugno, Alaya Dawn Johnson, E.K. Johnston, Tessa Gratton, Garth Nix, Veronica Roth, Sabaa Tahir, Brenna Yovanoff, Renee Ahdieh, Julie Murphy, Justina Ireland, Lamar Giles, Bethany Hagen
Published on December 19, 2017 by HarperCollins
Genres: Anthology, Contemporary, Romance, YA, Queer
Pages: 448
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You may think you know the love triangle, but you've never seen love triangles like these.
These top YA authors tackle the much-debated trope of the love triangle, and the result is sixteen fresh, diverse, and romantic stories you don’t want to miss.
This collection, edited by Natalie C. Parker, contains stories written by Renee Ahdieh, Rae Carson, Brandy Colbert, Katie Cotugno, Lamar Giles, Tessa Gratton, Bethany Hagan, Justina Ireland, Alaya Dawn Johnson, EK Johnston, Julie Murphy, Garth Nix, Natalie C. Parker, Veronica Roth, Sabaa Tahir, and Brenna Yovanoff.
A teen girl who offers kissing lessons. Zombies in the Civil War South. The girl next door, the boy who loves her, and the girl who loves them both. Vampires at a boarding school. Three teens fighting monsters in an abandoned video rental store. Literally the last three people on the planet.
What do all these stories have in common?
The love triangle.

Top Ten Tuesday | September 15, 202011 Paper Hearts by Kelsey Hartwell
Published on January 5, 2021 by Underlined
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, YA
Pages: 240
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Ella's life was picture perfect. She had a circle of close friends, a jam-packed social life, and an amazing boyfriend. But then something completely unexpected happened: a car accident after a Valentine's Day dance. When Ella woke up in the hospital, she couldn't remember the accident . . . or anything about the weeks before it, including the reason she broke up with her boyfriend.
Now, a year later, she begins receiving paper hearts from a mysterious admirer who seems to have the answers she craves. Ella is intrigued. The hearts contain clues to help Ella remember her life before . . . and take her on a journey she never imagined. Following the paper hearts is the most spontaneous thing Ella has ever done . . . but will she find love?

Top Ten Tuesday | September 15, 2020Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley
Published on June 6, 2017 by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, YA
Pages: 273
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This is a love story. It's the story of Howling Books, where readers write letters to strangers, to lovers, to poets. It's the story of Henry Jones and Rachel Sweetie. They were best friends once, before Rachel moved to the sea. Now, she's back, working at the bookstore, grieving for her brother Cal and looking for the future in the books people love, and the words they leave behind.

Top Ten Tuesday | September 15, 2020Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
Published on October 4, 2016 by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, YA
Pages: 391
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram

Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed "America's Fattest Teen." But no one's taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom's death, she's been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby's ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything. 
Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he's got swagger, but he's also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can't recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He's the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can't understand what's going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don't get too close to anyone.
Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.

Top Ten Tuesday | September 15, 2020Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi
Published on March 2, 2021 by Scholastic Press
Genres: Contemporary, YA, Queer
Pages: 320
Add to Goodreads

CeCe Ross is kind of a big deal. She and her girlfriend, Silvie, are social media influencers with zillions of fans and followers, known for their cute outfits and being #relationshipgoals.
So when Silvie breaks up with her, CeCe is devastated. She's lost her first love, and now she can't help but wonder if she'll lose her followers as well.
Things get even messier when CeCe meets Josh, a new boy in town who is very much Not Online. CeCe isn't surprised to be falling for a guy; she's always known she's bi. And Josh is sweet and smart and has excellent taste in donuts... but he has no idea that CeCe is internet-famous. And CeCe sort of wants to keep it that way.
But when CeCe's secrets catch up to her, she finds herself in the middle of an online storm, where she'll have to confront the blurriness of public vs. private life, and figure out what it really means to speak her truth.

Top Ten Tuesday | September 15, 2020The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Series: The Wrath and The Dawn #1
Published on May 12, 2015 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Genres: Retellings, Romance, YA
Pages: 404
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One Life to One Dawn.
In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.
Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

What covers do you love with fun patterns on them? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous week!

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46 responses to “Top Ten Tuesday | September 15, 2020

  1. I love the cover of Words in Deep Blue. The only book I can think of with a striking pattern is I Should Have Honor by Khalida Brohi. I think it’s based on a traditional fabric pattern among women of Pakistan, but I could be wrong about that. Great list!

  2. Your blog is absolutely GORGEOUS. I haven’t read any of these books but they’re all so pretty! I cannot wait to read The Wrath & The Dawn. I hope I can get around to reading it one of these days! 😀

    -Amber

  3. the Storyenthusiast

    Love all the pastels being used in these covers! And so many also have tromp l’oiel texture which I really like. Great choices.

  4. OMG all of these covers are amazing and give me life 😍 The colours are just perfect! I also love when they have details on them like Words in Deep Blue (that’s one of my favourite reads + covers)! Can stare at these all day 🙂 Great list!

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