Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten YA New Releases in Late 2020

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by That Artsy Reader Girl. If you want to participate, click here. One of the most exciting things is discovering new books to read! The theme for this week is Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2020. The following releases that I look forward to the most are in order of release date.

1. Loveless by Alice Oseman

Release Ddate: July 9, 2020 (Postponed from April 30)

As Georgia goes to college with her friends, she is excited to finally have a chance at love. But her plan goes awry with hilarious mistakes, Georgia realizes that she is asexual, incapable of sexual attraction. In Loveless, Georgia works to discover who she is and accept herself.

2. The Game by Linsey Miller

Release Date: August 4, 2020

It is tradition that the seniors at Lincoln High School play the stragety game Assassin, where in teams they try to kill each other with water guns. Lia is stoked to play this year, but soon the game is no longer fun, as students start being murdered. Lia will risk everything to stop him before she is next.

3. Cut Off by Adrianne Finlay 

Release Date: August 11, 2020

The new virtual reality show CUT/OFF (a high-tech version of Survivor) places a group of teens in the wilderness. Whoever can go the longest without "tapping out" wins a million dollars. But when tapping out doesn't work, the teens horrifying realize that nobody is coming to save them; they are trapped in this alternate reality.

4. Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar

Release Date: August 11, 2020

Based on Hindu mythology, Sheetal is the daughter of a star and a human, struggling to keep her starlike powers a secret. But when she loses control and severely injures her human father with her fire, she must go to the heavens and find a star to heal him. But before she can save her father, she is thrust into the competition to decide the new ruler of the heavens.

5. Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

Release Date: September 1, 2020

One night, Amal Shahid, a teen artist and poet, gets into an altercation with other boys that ends in tragety. Amal is then sent to prision for a crime he didn't comit- because he is black. Told in verse, Punching The Air tells of the biased justice system and Amal's dedication to expose the truth.

6. Legendborn by Tracey Deonn

Release Date: September 15, 2020

Her first night on college campus, Bree Matthews witnesses a flying demon attack students and the secret society of Legendborn students (magical decedents of King Arthur) who defeats it. When one of the students tries to erase Bree's memory of the attack, they find out that she has unique magic of her own, which could be connected to her mother's death.

7. A Deadly Education (Scholomance #1) by Naomi Novik

Release Date: September 29, 2020

A Deadly Education is the book I am most excited to read! At Scholomance, a school for magically gifted teens, there are no teachers, grades, or friendships. But there are monsters lurking in every corner- literally. One graduates when they defeat enough monsters. But for El, who's dark powers are extremely strong, graduating might mean accidentally killing all of the other students, too.

8. All This Time by Rachael Lippincott and Mikki Daughtry

Release Date: September 29, 2020

Kyle wakes up in the hospital with a brain injury after a car accident and learns that his girlfriend died. Then he meets Marley, a girl struggling with loss of her own. Together, they face the past and move on to the future before another catastrophe arises.

9. The Truth Project by Dante Medema 

Release Date: October 13, 2020

Seventeen-year-old Cordelia Koenig's senior genetic project is supposed to be easy. But when her DNA sample comes back and reveals that her father is not her father, Cordelia must figure out who she is and try to forgive her mother.

10. The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

Release Date: December 1, 2020

Cousins Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah are estranged and barely know each another, not to mention ever met their grandmother. When each receive a letter to join her grandmother on a private island for the summer, their original surprise and curiosity reveals something more sinister about their family.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten YA Inspirational Books That Tackle Tough Issues

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Top Ten Tuesday! For this post, we are supposed to "pick a past TTT topic you wish you’d done, but didn’t get a chance to do." If you want to participate, click here. 

I have chosen to do a post from July 26, 2011 tackling tough issues, from back when Top Ten Tuesday was still managed by The Broke and the Bookish. Books that tackle tough issues (such as abuse or racism) inspire us to become better people help society move forward into progressiveness and kindness. This list was VERY difficult to choose! You can see all the inspirational books I've reviewed here. Due to how much I love all of these books, this list is only slightly in order.

1. Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro

Anger is a Gift deals with police brutality and racism in schools. This book is angering, and it is heartbreaking to see the police outright attack the students with no probable cause, but also inspiring, proving that anger and sadness can be turned into a force for change. Anger is a Gift is a true wake-up call, and is very relatable in our current political climate.
 

2. Heroine by Mindy McGinnis

 This book deals with the issue of the opioid crisis, and proves how easy it is to fall victim to addiction. Contrary to some people's opinions, addiction is a disease and not entirely in the person's control. Mickey becomes trapped in a downward spiral after being prescribed opioids after a car accident. Heroine is one of the most raw, honest stories I have ever read.

3. Crazy by Han Nolan  

Crazy is one of the most intense, emotional books I have read regarding mental illness. Jason is drowning his father's mental illness and the piles of unpaid medical bills before his mother died. When his father loses his grip on reality and succumbs to his hallucinations, Jason becomes the father in their (literally and figuratively) deteriorating house. After joining a support group at school, he discovers friendships that will inspire him to finally have the strength to get help for his father.

4. Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix

In 16-year-old Trish's English class, her teacher requires all students to keep a journal, but promises not to read anything marked "Do Not Read". When Trish's mother runs off and leaves her to care for her little brother, she vents in this journal. This book contains subjects of child abuse, neglect, mental illness, and death. It teaches about asking for help and the difference between right and wrong.

5. Gym Candy by Carl Deuker

Gym Candy is a YA realistic fiction book that exposes the dangers of steroids and the mental/physical consequences of playing football.The immense pressure involved in the popularity and idolization of the game leads to body image issues and a desperation to be accepted by any means possible. This was an extremely intense book that I know will move others to change themselves and their beliefs. 

6. Words on Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton

Adam has schizophrenia; he sees and hears things that aren't there. After making it into a new drug trial that helps him ignore his visions, he starts at a new private school and falls in love with Maya. But when the drug fails, Adam becomes afraid that she will not love him anymore. Many become angry and afraid at what they don't understand. It is also interesting to note that Adam is atheist, ironically attending a catholic school. 

7. The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter

The First Time She Drowned is one of my favorite books. Two and a half years ago, Cassie's mother dumped her in a mental hospital to get rid of her, and spun lies to make sure they kept her. Now at 18, Cassie is eager to leave and go to college. But the mental and emotional damage done to her by her mother will continue to haunt her, and secrets she has kept to herself for years and years threaten to consume her once again. This book deals with abuse, sexual assault, and mental illness.

8. Here to Stay by Sara Farizan

Here to Stay tackles bullying, racism, homophobia, and Islamophobia. I love how Here to Stay proves that even when it seems like the world is against you, there will always be people by your side who will continue to stand up for what's right. Its extremely diverse set of characters in races, religion, and sexual orientation adds to the inspirational tone.

9. Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

Little & Lion is a YA realistic fiction book about struggling with sexuality and mental illness. Suzette deals with her brother's bipolar disorder while coming to terms with her sexuality. After her brother stops taking his pills, she must find a way to save him before it's too late.Anyone who has a family member or friend who's struggling with an illness needs to read this book. This serves as a guide as to what to do in response to alarming situations.

10. Personal Effects by E.M. Kokie

Personal Effects deals with grief and the difficulty of having a family member in the military. The anger, grief, and betrayal jumped off the pages and stabbed my heart in its core. This is a special read for anyone dealing with loss.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Gripping YA Opening Lines

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. If you want to participate, click here. This week's theme is Top Ten Opening Lines.

The first page, paragraph, even the first sentence, of a book is extremely important in grabbing the reader's attention and interest. There are some where you can tell it will be an amazing read, and others where you aren't that excited anymore. Below are some of the most thought-provoking opening lines I have ever read!

1. Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu

"My mother takes the vase from the bookshelf and hurls it, smashing it to bits by my father's bare feet. My father doesn't even step back as the tiny pink and white pieces of ceramic skid past him on the hardwood floor. He just stands there, staring." I love the unusual nature of the father not instinctual moving, as well as the mother throwing it near the father. That signifies that whatever is about to come next, the context, is very important and very emotionally impactful.

2. The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shawn David Hutchinson

"The boy is on fire. EMTs wheel him into Roanoke General's sterile emergency room. He screams and writhes on the gurney as though the fire that burned his skin away burns still, flaring deep within his bones, where the paramedics and doctors and nurses cowering around him, working desperately, will never be able to extinguish it." The imagery here is very skillful, instantly grabs my attention, and leaves me eagerly awaiting to find out more not only about this boy, but about how the narrator is able to witness it.

3. Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

"If he touches her, I swear I'm going to rip his guts out with my bare hands and send them back to his next of kin for lunch." My first thought after reading this sentence was to think what a very rage-filled, slightly disturbing thought this was. Second thought was wondering "why"- the one word every writer should strive for.

4. Reality Boy by A.S. King

"I'm the boy you saw on TV. Remember the little freak who took a crap on his parent's oak-stained table when they confiscated his Game Boy? Remember how the camera cleverly hid his most private parts with the glittery fake daisy and sunflower centerpiece?" First, I love the rhetorical questions. Second, the crude imagery with a humorous, sarcastic note left me extremely intrigued in learning more of his character development since that time. 

5. Miles From Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams

"There are mice. Lots of mice. Running all over my room. Letting out crying sounds that grate on my ears. They crawl on my feet. My legs. I feel them on my arms. Soft things with toenails like blunt needles." I have never read a first sentence that immediately sets the tone for the rest of the book like this one does. Miles From Ordinary maintains a creepy, at times disturbing, tone throughout the story. This first few sentences perfectly foreshadow the rest of the book and instantly hooks the reader.

6. The Taking by Kimberly Derting 

"My head was pounding. But not like a headache. More like someone was using it as a basketball against the pavement. For target practice. That was it, I realized, prying my eyes open at last. Something was hitting me." I love simile here, which provided an emphasis on how horrible her head must be feeling. What also makes this one gripping is the desire to know what is hitting her- and why. While I did not enjoy the story and did not end up reading more of the series, it still started out great!

8. How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

"She waits until we're driving over the bridge to tell me. This is a strategic move. Wait until your temperamental daughter is suspended over the Atlantic Ocean to drop the bomb, thereby decreasing the chance that she'll fling open the car door and hurl herself over the edge." The sarcasm in these first two sentences is awesome. In addition, now the reader really wants to find out what the mother will tell her, and why it is so awful that the main character references suicide over it?

7. Dry by Jared and Neal Shusterman

 "The kitchen faucet makes the most bizarre sounds. It coughs and wheezes like its gone asthmatic. It gurgles like someone's drowning. It spits once, then goes silent." I love the personification of the faucet in the opening lines, which emphasizes the importance of the object and the ramification in the rest of the story. The similes and imagery are skillful and one can tell immediately that Shusterman has written an incredible novel.

9. Cured (Stung Book 2) by Bethany Wiggins

 "A person can survive on sixty pounds of beans and three hundred pounds of rice a year. Dinner in the Bloom home tonight is beans and rice for the 365th night in a row. And we ran out of pepper yesterday." Well, that is... depressing, and quite dreadful to think of. So what will the narrator do to prevent the 366th night from being this way? That, I was absolutely dying to find out.

10. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

"I've been locked up for 264 days. I have nothing but a small notebook and a broken pen and the numbers in my head to keep me company. 1 window. 4 walls. 144 square feet of space." This one is gripping because of the extremely short sentences describing the narrator's cell. Of course, now the narrator wants to know why she is locked up- and what could possibly change.

What books do you think have the best opening lines?

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Signs You’re a Teen Book Lover

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. If you want to participate, click here. This week's theme is Ten Signs You're a Book Lover. This one was super fun to think of and write! Let me know in the comments what you think or have anything to add!

                                             1. You Can be Found in the Library

This one is super obvious and straightforward, but I felt I had to include it! Also, walking out of the library with books in your arms!

2. You Pay Attention in English Class

Chances are that students who choose to pay attention care about the book. Mostly students who actively participate in class discussions about the assigned book (ESPECIALLY when it's Shakespeare!) and offer valid insights took the time to read it and perhaps enjoyed it. 

3. You Insert Similes/Allusions of Literature Into Everyday Conversation

Here's an example- my friend and I were arguing/talking about violence in schools and I immediately brought up Anger is a Gift. Frequently inserting in conversations "Oh, yea, like in [book]..." or quoting from your favorite author is a sure sign! Also is when you MUST vent to your best friend about the ending of a book you just read!

4. You are Constantly Recommending Books

This ties into #3, but If you hear someone talking, for example, how they are interested in social advocacy and women's rights, do you immediately jump up and tell them to read Audacity, like I do? Or, do you constantly give book recommendations to your friends, or even teachers?

5. Your Favorite Gift is a Book (or Gift Card to Buy One)

For your birthday, or Christmas or Hanukkah, do you ask for a new book instead of a new video game or clothes? Do you search for the perfect book to give an important person in your life?

6. You are Very Upset when a Character Dies
When reading a book and a character dies, do you become very sad and maybe cry, despite them not being real? Are you very upset and feel personally impacted when an author dies? Actually, in general, do you ever have intense feelings while reading and ever become passionate or invested in a character? If so, then you are a book lover!

7. You Have Book-related Museums on Your Bucket List

If your dream vacation is going to the Library of Congress, the American Writers Museum, The National Steinbeck Center or Emerson's house, you are totally a book lover!

8. You Have Book-Related Holidays Written on Your Calendar
Do you have it written on your calendar or memorized that January 2nd is National Science Fiction Day, or that Februray 14th is Library Lovers Day or how March 1st is Read Across America Day or how December 10th is Dewey Decimal System Day? If you are excited when it is your favorite author's birthday then you are TOTALLY a book lover! (P.S.: https://bookriot.com/2018/08/29/book-holidays/)

9.  The Book is ALWAYS Better Than the Movie

If you prefer the Maze Runner or the Hunger Games or Divergent to the movie versions, no question, or refuse to even watch the movie because you know you will be disappointed, you are totally a book lover!

10. You Have Books... Everywhere!
If you can be seen carrying a book (or two) everywhere you go, chances are you are a book lover. Is your room taken up by books EVERYWHERE in huge piles?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten YA Books I Want To Read This Spring 2020

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. If you want to participate, click here. This week's theme is Top Ten Books On My Spring 2020 TBR. In (mostly) order of priority, these are the books that I look forward to reading the most this spring!

1. City of Beasts by Corrie Wang

For seventeen years, girls and boys have lived in separate cities. Glori Rhodes believes what society has told her, that boys are Beasts- until her mother gives birth to one. After her little brother is kidnapped, she infiltrates the City of the Beasts to get him back, and maybe unite the sexes.

2. Scars Like Wings by Erin Stewart.

16-year-old Ava Gardener just survived a fire that killed her parents, her best friend, and burnt 60% of her body. Soon, she must return to school with the help of her new friend, Piper.

3. The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

In this dystopian society, the belief is that when girls are 16, they have magic powers of aphrodisiacs- so for that year, all girls are banished into the wild and must survive on their own.

4. Because it is My Blood (Birthright Book 2) by Gabrielle Zevin.

After reading All These Things I've Done, I am ecstatic to read the second book! After Anya is released from jail, she is forced to flee the country and hide out in a chocolate farm in Mexico. But her criminal family starts catching up to her- fast.

5. A World Without You by Beth Revis

17-year-old Bo believes he has the power to travel through time, having delusions of being in the Civil War or seeing the Titanic sink. When his parents send him to a school for troubled kids, he falls in love with Sofia. When she dies, he believes that she is trapped in time, and that he can save her. He must decide whether or not to get better, or live in psychosis with the love of his life.

6. Don't Touch by Rachel Wilson

Caddie has ambitions to be an actress- and she is a good one, too. But her OCD threatens that. When she lands Ophelia in her school play of Hamlet, she must overcome her fears.

7. Jane Anonymous by Laurie Faria Stolarz

For seven months, Jane was held captive in a tiny room. After she escapes and returns home to her parents, she must find a way to deal with the trauma.

8. Echos Between Us by Abigail Johnson

Veronia has brain cancer and can't stop seeing her mother's ghost. She has accepted her eventual death and pushes everyone away. But when she meets Sawyer, she might find a reason to live.

 9. Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

Lynn lives alone in the forest with a pond in her backyard. In this dystopian society, water is a scarce commodity- and people are willing to kill her for it.  

10. Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

18-year-old Zach is in rehab for alcoholics instead of high school. The other pressing issue is that he cannot remember how he ended up there or the trauma that made him start drinking to begin with.

What YA books are you excited to read this spring?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten YA Book Releases in Early 2020

One of the most exciting things about a new year is new books to read! Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by That Artsy Reader Girl. If you want to participate, click here. The theme for this week is Most Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2020. The following books are in order of release date (alphabetical if same date).

1. Nameless Queen by Rebecca McLaughlin

                                              Expected Publication: January 7th, 2020

The king's daughter just became Queen- but she's a Nameless, part of a peasant social class so disrespected that they don't even have names. With a kingdom in chaos, this girl needs to make a name for herself (literally), and fight for her class.

 2. Scavenge the Stars by Tara Slim 

Expected Publication: January 7th, 2020

Amaya has been held prisioner on a debtor ship for years with no hope for escape. But one day after rescuing a stranger from drowning, he frees her and offers Amaya a life of luxary. But all Amaya wants is revenge.

3. Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore

Expected Publication: January 14th, 2020

This historical fantasy book tells the story of a magical pair of red shoes that causes uncontrollable dancing. When Rosella is cursed by the shoes, she must find the truth about what happened back in 1518 the last time the magic shoes were worn.

4. Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

Expected Publication: January 21st, 2020

Pepper's family owns the fast food chain Big League Burger, and she steals a grilled cheese recipe from a nearby deli owned by Jack's family. Soon both companies are engaged in a huge twitter war. What's ironic is that in real life, these two are falling in love with each other while destroying each other anonymously online.

5. The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper

Expected Publication: February 4th, 2020

Cal is a senior in high school with plans to become a journalist and he finally landed his dream internship at BuzzFeed. But Cal's father just got selected to travel to Mars, meaning they have to move to Houston, plus take part in a silly reality TV show. The silver lining? He's falling in love with Leon, another astronaut's son. 

6. Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis

Expected Publication: March 3rd, 2020

From author of Heroine and The Female of the Species comes a survival story similar to Hatchet. One night Ashley goes out hiking with her friends in the Smoky Mountains to a party. When she gets drunk and catches her boyfriend cheating, she runs off and trips down a ravine. She must survive with nothing but her clothes and a nasty cut down her leg.

7. The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

Expected Publication: March 3rd, 2020

From author of Warcross, The Young Elites, and Legend comes a historical fantasy retelling the story of Wolfgang Mozart.

8. Harley in the Sky by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Expected Publication: March 10th, 2020
Harley Milano dreams of being a professional trapeze artist. After a fight with her parents who insist she stay in school, she runs away to join a traveling circus.


9. All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban
Expected Publication: March 17th, 2020
Six students who couldn't be more different are invited to a scholarship dinner, only to discover that it was all a trap, and become locked in a room with a bomb.

10. Loveless by Alice Oseman
Expected Publication: April 30th, 2020
Georgia is 18 years old and has never been in a relationship or had a crush on anyone. Now at university, coming to terms with being Aroace, she must try to find a source of happiness.


What books are you excited to read this year?