TLA Books

So many books, so little time

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

I've heard incredibly good things about this one. Several of the librarians standing in line with me raved about how great it was and how much it was their favorite book of the year. I'm not usually much of a fan of fantasy lately, and this seems rather high fantasy just within the first 50 pages that I started, but I'll keep at it because of hearing amazing things. I hope I'm not disappointed.

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

I adored Zentner's Serpent King, so I'm excited for this one. I got into his signing line unable to remember why it was his name was important enough for me to stop in and get a book and then was reminded it was because Serpent King. This one starts off with our protagonist attending the funerals of his 4 best friends that he feels he caused by texting the driver of the car while they were all together and causing the fatal wreck. That's an incredibly depressing setup, but I'm sure it gets better... And Jeff Zentner is just an incredibly nice man. Wow.

A Million Junes by Emily Henry

I know nothing about this book, except that her first/previous book got a lot of rave reviews and it's been on my to-read radar for a while. I'll probably start with this one though, since I have an ARC of it now.

Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig King

As I've said before, A.S. King is one of my favorite authors writing right now. No idea what this one is about, but I am going to devour it in short order I am sure. And I was incredibly thrilled to finally get to meet King at the conference, however brief our interaction was.

Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King

This one has been on radar for a while now, and it'll be one of the next few I start reading. A.S. King is amazing. I read a couple pages of this one while waiting in line, but it's been a long week and I've forgotten them now, so I'll start over from the beginning and never set it down until I reach the end.

Release by Patrick Ness

New Patrick Ness. Picked it up from a publisher's table. Might be good. We'll see. I still haven't read his last two that have gotten a lot of good reviews, The Rest of us Just Live Here and More Than This. These two are a little higher on my to-read radar than Release.

We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

I'd heard good things about this one, so I got in the line. I missed out on a copy of her newest title, Optimists Die First, in hardback, but there were still paperbacks of this one left. The first few pages I read in line were promising.

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy

I adore Julie Murphy as a person. She is just incredible. And each of her books gets a little better than the last. I'm certain Ramona Blue will be great. Just in the first few pages Ramona has lost her summer girlfriend who has to go back home and revealed to us that her sister is pregnant and they are living in a tiny little trailer space all together. Can't wait to get back to this one.

Akata Witch & Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor

Nnedi Okorafor was great to meet. Even though I didn't know anything about her books beyond "I have to read them," she was so sweet and kind and advised me what I should read first of what was on my radar of hers. I will probably read this one first, and then its sequel.

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

I am nearly done with this book now. I'll probably finish it up today. It's like Dumplin' meets any John Green novel ever. Libby just wants to dance. And Jack can't recognize anyone, ever. But the two of them together help each other out. I'm hoping the book ends well for them both, but it's not looking so good right this moment.

The ARC I missed out on....

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

I should have participated in the Running of the Cardigans if I wanted this book. The publisher only had 20 copies of this ARC and I'm sad I missed the chance to get one. Jennifer Mathieu is an amazing person and her books, while each so different from the last, are always so good. I always try to get a copy of her next ARC at TLA, and they never have enough, or I'm too slow. Maybe a combination of both.