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Can’t Wait Wednesday is hosted by Wishful Endings. I get to show off all the new book releases I'm excited to read. Have you read any of these? What did you think?
🎃 Fall 2021 Book Releases 🍁
THE SISTER WHO ATE HER BROTHERS: AND OTHER GRUESOME TALES BY JEN CAMPBELL
Middlegrade Dark Fairytale Collection
October 12, 2021
Featuring fourteen short stories from China, India, Ireland, and across the globe, The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers is an international collection of the creepiest folk tales. Illustrated with Adam de Souza’s brooding art, this book’s style is a totally original blend of nineteenth-century Gothic engravings meets moody film noir graphic novels.
Why I’m excited to read it: If I would have seen this book in the library as a child, it would have immediately come home with me. I was obsessed with creepy tales. This book reminds me of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. I loved that collection so much that I memorized it and traumatized everyone at Girl Scout Camp . . . .
ANY SIGN OF LIFE BY RAE CARSON
Young Adult Dystopia
October 12, 2021
Paige Miller is determined to take her basketball team to the state championship, maybe even beyond. But as March Madness heats up, Paige falls deathly ill. Days later, she wakes up attached to an IV and learns that the whole world has perished. Everyone she loves, and all of her dreams for the future—they’re gone.
But Paige is a warrior, so she pushes through her fear and her grief. And as she gets through each day—scrounging for food, for shelter, for safety—Paige encounters a few more young survivors. Together, they might stand a chance. But as they struggle to endure their new reality, they learn that the apocalypse did not happen by accident. And that there are worse things than being alone.
Why I’m excited to read it: This book is being compared to Neal Shusterman’s Dry, which is one of my all-time-favorite dystopias. It’s fast-paced, and the teen characters learn that they’re not as badass as they first thought. Survival is a real struggle for them. I’d love to find another book like Dry.
WELCOME BACK, MAPLE MEHTA-COHEN BY KATE MCGOVERN
Middlegrade Contemporary Fiction
October 12, 2021
Maple Mehta-Cohen has been keeping a secret: she can’t read all that well. She has an impressive vocabulary and loves dictating stories into her recorder—especially the adventures of a daring sleuth who’s half Indian and half Jewish like Maple herself—but words on the page just don’t seem to make sense to her. Despite all Maple’s clever tricks to hide her troubles with reading, her teacher is on to her, and now Maple has to repeat fifth grade. Maple is devastated—what will her friends think? Will they forget about her? She uses her storytelling skills to convince her classmates that she's staying back as a special teacher’s assistant (because of budget cuts, you know). But as Maple navigates the loss of old friendships, the possibility of new ones, and facing her reading challenges head-on, her deception becomes harder to keep up. Can Maple begin to recognize her own strengths, and to love herself—and her brain—just the way she is?
Why I’m excited to read it: This sounds like my life story. I was in special ed classes as a kid and struggled with everything school-related, but I was excellent at making up crap and lying to people. I think Maple will be a relatable character for a lot of young readers.
THE DEATH OF JANE LAWRENCE BY CAITLIN STARLING
Adult Horror
October 19, 2021
Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations, and decided that the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first choice, the dashing but reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence, agrees to her proposal with only one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling family manor outside of town. Yet on their wedding night, an accident strands her at his door in a pitch-black rainstorm, and she finds him changed. Gone is the bold, courageous surgeon, and in his place is a terrified, paranoid man—one who cannot tell reality from nightmare, and fears Jane is an apparition, come to haunt him.
By morning, Augustine is himself again, but Jane knows something is deeply wrong at Lindridge Hall, and with the man she has so hastily bound her safety to.
Why I’m excited to read it: It’s being recommended for fans of Rebecca. That’s me! The synopsis is definitely giving me Rebecca vibes. And Jane Eyre vibes. And Bluebeard vibes. And Doctor Jekyll And Mr. Hyde vibes. With so many vibes, I have to read this book! It sounds like a compelling mystery.
DARK STARS: NEW TALES OF DARKEST HORROR BY JOHN F.D. TAFF (EDITOR)
Horror Anthology
November 2, 2021
Dark Stars is a tribute to horror’s long-standing short fiction legacy, featuring 11 terrifying novelettes from today’s most noteworthy authors.
Within these pages you’ll find tales of dead men walking, an insidious secret summer fling, an island harboring unspeakable power, and a dark hallway that beckons. You’ll encounter terrible monsters—both human and supernatural—and be forever changed. The stories in Dark Stars run the gamut from traditional to modern, from dark fantasy to neo-noir, from explorations of beloved horror tropes to the unknown—possibly unknowable—threats.
Why I’m excited to read it: This anthology is packed full of stories by amazing horror authors! Check it out if you like Stephen Graham Jones, Alma Katsu, Josh Malerman, or Caroline Kepnes. I’m excited to read stories from familiar authors and potentially discover a new favorite.
Which fall book releases are you looking forward to reading?
I have Jane Lawerence and can't wait to read it! The creepy folktales sounds wonderful
ReplyDeleteHere is my link:
https://twogirlsandtheirbookishlife.blogspot.com/2021/10/cant-wait-wednesday-husband-material-by.html
The Maple Mehta-Cohen book really appeals to me. I think it's great when you can find a book you can connect with on that level too. Hope it's a winner!
ReplyDeleteThe Death of Jane Lawrence is definitely one I'm looking forward to - love the Rebecca/Jane Eyre vibes.
ReplyDeleteI love a good short story anthology. And the Rae carson one looks great to me, although maybe it's just that cover! I like that there are some dark picks here.
ReplyDeleteThere are just far too many good books out there; I feel like I can't keep up!
ReplyDeleteSo many of these are on my TBR as well, hope you get to enjoy them all!
ReplyDeleteFantastic list of fall books!
ReplyDeleteI'd be most likely to read Welcome Back, Maple Mehta-Cohen, I think. Interesting plot. I hope you enjoy all of these.
ReplyDeleteThe Sister Who Ate Her Brothers sounds great and I love the cover. Hope you'll enjoy all of these!
ReplyDeleteI don't usually like anthologies but the list of authors in Dark Stars is pretty irresistible.
ReplyDeleteHi AJ! Ooooe great selection and they are perfect for Fraterfest! Especially The Sister who ate her brothers.... I do like the sound of Any sign of life.
ReplyDeleteSee you at Fraterfest!
Elza Reads
I LOOOOVED Any Sign of Life! So I hope you do too! I am also looking forward to Jane Lawrence and Dark Stars, too! So many amazing looking books coming out this fall!
ReplyDelete