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I
haven’t posted a book haul in months, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been
accumulating books. I’m always accumulating books. I think they breed on my
shelf when I’m not looking. Anyway, here are the books I got during the spring
and summer. I’ve already read a few of them. Nicely done, me.
🌻 July 2021 Book Haul 🍉
The Luck Uglies by Paul Durham
Middlegrade Fantasy
Strange things are happening in Village Drowning, and a terrifying encounter has Rye O'Chanter convinced that the monstrous, supposedly extinct Bog Noblins have returned. Now Rye's only hope is an exiled secret society so notorious its name can't be spoken aloud: the Luck Uglies. As Rye dives into Village Drowning's maze of secrets, rules, and lies, she'll discover the truth behind the village's legends of outlaws and beasts . . . and that it may take a villain to save them from the monsters.
Why I'm excited to read it: Whenever I meet an English teacher or a reading teacher, I have to ask which books their students are loving. A teacher I met recently said her students were passing this series around. I picked up the first book to see what the middle schooler hype is about.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Young Adult Paranormal Fiction
When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.
However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.
My review: I needed a book that would help me escape from the stress of real life, and this one was perfect! It’s exactly what I needed. It’s fast-paced, unique, and funny. There’s a sweet love story and a compelling murder mystery. It’s all very entertaining. I loved it. I think it will be one of my favorite books of 2021. Read it if you want to smile until your face hurts.
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Adult Romance
First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations. The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince.
As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?
Why I'm excited to read it: I don't normally read romance, but this book has been all over the internet for years. Even the non-bookish people are raving about it. I was recently watching a gamer on YouTube who randomly mentioned that this is her all-time-favorite book. It's supposed to be hilarious. I'm ready to laugh.
The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Adult Science Fiction
Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.
Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.
Why I'm excited to read it: It's not like anything I've read before. Goodreads describes it as "a light-hearted space opera." I'm trying to branch out and read happier books. I can't read depressing stuff all the time!
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
Young Adult Contemporary Fiction
Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend, Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit, and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.
My review: This is one of those young adult books that remind me I’m no longer a young adult. It has too much angst for my tastes. It’s an emotionally heavy story. The book is a well-written and accurate portrayal of depression, but I was never fully invested in it because nothing happens! The character is so depressed that she doesn’t do anything. I found my mind wandering. It’s not a terrible book, but I feel like I’ve already forgotten it.
Red At The Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
Young Adult (?) Historical Fiction
As the book opens in 2001, it is the evening of sixteen-year-old Melody's coming of age ceremony in her grandparents' Brooklyn brownstone. Watched lovingly by her relatives and friends, making her entrance to the music of Prince, she wears a special custom-made dress. But the event is not without poignancy. Sixteen years earlier, that very dress was measured and sewn for a different wearer: Melody's mother, for her own ceremony: a celebration that ultimately never took place.
My review: I keep reading Jacqueline Woodson’s books because I love her writing style, but I always end up feeling “meh” about the book as a whole. That’s what happened with this one. It’s about a teenage girl’s coming-of-age party. She’s thinking about her future and about the lives of her parents and grandparents. The structure jumps backward and forward in time and examines how each character arrived at this exact moment in their lives. The book is too short! I was interested in every character’s story, but they flashed by too quickly. I wanted more time with them. This seems to happen to me with every Jacqueline Woodson book. They’re either too long or not long enough. I’ll keep reading them, though.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Young Adult Contemporary Novel-In-Verse
Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.
But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.
So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.
Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.
Why I'm excited to read it: I've come across this book on a few lists of modern novels that are destined to become classics. The author is an award-winning slam poet. This book won the National Book Award and the Printz Award. That's impressive. Those are big awards. I hope I love it as much as award committees seem to.
The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Adult Fantasy
France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
My review: V.E. Schwab is one of my favorite authors, and this book did not disappoint! I love how the author examines the upsides and downsides of freedom. Addie can do whatever she wants because she can’t die, and there are no consequences for her actions because people forget her as soon as she leaves their sight. Sounds awesome, right? The author also captures Addie’s crushing loneliness and her struggle to survive. She can’t make meaningful connections with people. She can’t keep a job or own a house. It’s a fascinating and thought-provoking novel that will make you question what you really want from life.
Have Dog, Will Travel: A Poet's Journey by Stephen Kuusisto
Memoir
At the age of thirty-eight, Stephen Kuusisto—who has managed his whole life without one—gets his first guide dog, a beautiful yellow Labrador named Corky. Theirs is a partnership of movement, mutual self-interest, and wanderlust.
Why I'm excited to read it: I want to read more animal books, but it's hard to find good ones because too many of them are sappy! I can't stand sappy books that try too hard to make the reader feel something. I have no idea if this book is sappy, but I picked it up because it has extremely positive reviews on Goodreads. The author's adventures with his dog sound fascinating.
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
Young Adult Contemporary Fiction
The based-on-true-events story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record—all of which is narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS.
While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teen boys dealing with languishing long-term relationships, coming out, navigating gender identity, and falling deeper into the digital rabbit hole of gay hookup sites—all while the kissing former couple tries to figure out their own feelings for each other.
Why I'm excited to read it: It sounds weird. Like, I'm not even sure what this book is about. What's the plot? I picked up this novel because I studied the Greek Chorus narration style as part of my graduate school thesis, but I somehow missed this book.
Have you read any of these? What did you think?
So many good ones! I loved addie, the long way to a small angry planet, RWRB! I’m now obsessed with Becky chambers books!
ReplyDeleteRed, White & Royal Blue was a great read, and The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet was also excellent - it was my first space opera, and I'd love to read more!
ReplyDeleteGosh, you've got some good books on this list. I agree that books just seem to multiple on my TBR shelf and I am sure it has nothing to do with me going to our indie bookstore! Poet X is excellent.
ReplyDeleteTwo Boys Kissing - an oldie but goodie. I really enjoyed The Poet X. I am an Acevedo fan. I liked RW&RB, but I think you will like it more than I did.
ReplyDeleteI've had Red White and Royal Blue for over a year. And as I am thinking I'm going to read it, now I'm not sure if I loaned it to my sister in Scotland, which means I won't see it till Christmas. Hmm. Oh well. I've got a copy of Addie Larue to read as well. I tried reading another book by the author of Poet X, but they are in verse, and I have a lot of trouble reading books like that. I just prefer good old regular novel writing. But that's me, everyone else I know loves Acevedo books.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your thoughts on THE LONG WAY TO A SMALL, ANGRY PLANET.
ReplyDeleteIn scifi (not depressing at all), I so enjoyed Project Hail Mary, by Any Weir: https://wordsandpeace.com/2021/07/23/book-review-project-hail-mary/
I have heard really good things about Two Boys Kissing and The Cemetery Boys. I wonder if I can convince my husband that the books multiply on their own.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of these, but I am interested in Poet X and Have Dog will Travel.
ReplyDeletehttps://fromarockyhillside.com
I hope you'll love Red, White & Royal Blue. I laughed so hard throughout that one, but also had all the mushy feelings, too. :)
ReplyDeleteI liked The Poet X, but the end made me mad. LOL I LOVE Red, White, and Royal Blue. And I also recommend Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall if you haven't read it.
ReplyDeleteLauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
You've got some wonderful books in this haul! Red, White, and Royal Blue was excellent -- funny, but also heartfelt. I also loved The Long Way To a Small, Angry Planet. And The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is on my physical TBR pile. And now I'm intrigued by The Luck Uglies.
ReplyDelete