A Multitude of Dreams / Mara Rutherford

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A Multitude of Dreams
By: Mara Rutherford
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Number of Pages: 384
Published: August 29, 2023
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Dates Read: August 29, 2023 - September 2, 2023
Format: Hardcover

Trigger Warnings: plague, death, blood, racism, murder, self harm, genocide, survivors guilt

A Multitude of Dreams is a reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death. Four years ago, King Stuart gathered his royals, noblemen, and daughters and locked them into the safety of the castle walls. Every window was boarded up and every door sealed shut – all to protect those within of the horrible mori roja plague ravaging the land outside.

Told in third person, this novel follows Seraphina, a Jewish girl, who is also the (fake) Princess Imogene, and Nico, who once lived a comfortable life but now works for Lord Crane, the man who saved his life after he lost everything. When Lord Crane sends Nico and two others on the search for survivors, Nico meets a princess who wants out. But both are living in giant webs of lies and deception that they must unravel if they’re going to survive. 

I wanted this title because I read The Poison Season and I really enjoyed it. So, when I saw Mara Rutherford had another YA novel coming out, I immediately put it on my TBR list. It’s also listed as Fantasy Gothic and 

I was all about it and also the cover – like, I love it!

There were a few twists in here I didn’t quite see right away, which was nice. And, even some of the ones that I did see coming, I still enjoyed Rutherford’s storytelling and it kept me interested. And yes, there is some romance in this, but it wasn’t the main focus of the story – surviving and getting out of the castle was.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who’s in need of a good gothic fantasy with a hidden identity, Jewish representation, a masquerade, and the fight of survival.

*Thank you Inkyard Press and BookishFirst for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Stoked for This: September 2023

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Okay, nobody come at me for the fact that this (again) is not on the 1st. I got into a bit of a fender bender first thing in the morning a few days ago and after the adrenaline crash, I was spent for that whole day. So, I’m a little behind… Plus, it’s also Labor Day weekend and everyone’s a little behind, right?? I’m going to go with that ◡̈

This month is a big one for publishers, so there’s a lot of really awesome books coming out that I’m stoked for. So, strap in ladies, gents, and nonbinary lovelies, for some titles that you will for sure be wanting to read yourself.

RELEASE DATE: September 5, 2023

Fly With Me

by: Addie Burke

Why am I stoked for this release?

Lesbians.

I know it looks like I don’t read a lot of romances. I used to read a ton in high school (granted, they were mostly fan fiction, but it’s still reading and it counts).

I do get in a mood where I do want romance, it’s just not one I tend to gravitate towards very often. I’m stoked for this one because it’ll be opposites attract and fake dating, which are fun tropes for me.

While You Were Out

by: Meg Kissinger

Why am I stoked for this release?

As someone who deals with mental illness on a daily basis, I’m always interested in reading about others. I read my first memoir about mental illness last month and this one is about a whole family and their battles.

I’m also interested in the history of mental illness medicine and how it was treated in the past. This memoir talks about the 60’s, which was a time people still didn’t talked about their mental struggles. My generation talks pretty constantly about it now, with dark humor, but that wasn’t a thing even 20 years ago.

This will be nonfiction I’m stoked to read so I can get a better understanding about an older generation.

Others Were Emeralds

by: Lang Leav

Why am I stoked for this release?

I’ve been reading a lot of historical fiction of Asian-Americans lately. This title caught my eye because it’s about an Asian immigrant in Australia in the 90’s. Ai tries to overcome a traumatic racist event while also battling a mental health crisis.

I’m obviously familiar with the treatment of immigrants here in America. I’m not so much educated in their treatment in Australia, so I’m stoked for this title to help broaden my perspective on this subject.

What You Are Looking For Is In the Library

by: Michiko Aoyama

Why am I stoked for this release?

Firstly, we’re going to just look at this cover. There’s a cat and a stack of books on it- if you didn’t think that didn’t catch my attention, then you don’t know my that well.

Secondly, the title, What You Are Looking For Is In the Library. I’m a librarian. Anything about libraries is always going to catch my attention.

Japanese literature knows how to capture the human experience and when I read it, it always makes me feel seen and understood.

This is marketed as a look at the magic of libraries, friendship and community and for fans of The Midnight Library so I’m all about this.

Hush Harbor

by: Anise Vance

Why am I stoked for this release?

This novel starts with something we all know too well: an unarmed black man is shot and killed by police. This causes an uprising from citizens.

This is set in a dystopian society but it sounds like this is going to be very close to our own reality. It’s also promises a pretty fast pace, compelling plot with the revolution fighting against white supremacists.

I’m sure it’s going to be an intense read, but I’m pretty stoked.

Mascot

by: Charles Waters & Traci Sorell

Why am I stoked for this release?

This is a middle grade, novel in verse, which I have been eating up and loving lately.

Mascot is about six middle schoolers who get involve in the issue of whether or not their school should change their mascot. The suburb gets turned upside down as arguments get ugly.

There are multiple viewpoints in this novel and I’m stoked to see how it is written. It’s a pretty well known topic as well and the author is of the Cherokee Nation (Traci Sorell) and I’m stoked to see how this is written.

RELEASE DATE: September 12, 2023

The Second Chance Hotel

by: Sierra Godfrey

Why am I stoked for this release?

Another romance, Alisha? Really?

Yes.

Just because I have to be in a very specific mood in order to want to read a romance, it doesn’t mean I’m against them completely.

This one is a trope of accidental husband in Greece and now you’ve got a hotel to run together. Classic.

The Vaster Wilds

by: Lauren Groff

Why am I stoked for this release?

This is another historical fiction that caught my eye.

What’s it about you ask?

A servant girl escapes an early colonial settlement in America after a famine strikes. She’s only got a few possessions and her wits to survive.

Guys, I’m all for this. Historical fiction in a time I haven’t read much of. A girl who’s probably going to turn into a badass while she runs around nature. And, though I haven’t read any of Lauren Groff’s previous novels, I’ve heard nothing but good things of their writing.

The Meadows

by: Stephanie Oakes

Why am I stoked for this release?

Okay, I got this one off of BookishFirst (a really awesome website where I first got started in reviewing book in exchange for a copy of the title). This is being marketed as “a queer, YA Handmaid’s Tale meets Never Let Me Go”.

It’s speculative fiction with lesbians.

Duh I’m in.

Eagle Drums

by: Nasugraq Rainy Hopson

Why am I stoked for this release?

This is a magical realism middle grade novel about the origin story of the Iñupiaq (Alaskan Native American Tribe) Messenger Feast, a Native Alaskan tradition.

I love reading Indigenous Voices and learning about their cultures and mythologies. This book is aimed at middle grade readers and though I’m obviously quite past that reading level, I love reading these stories in both what I wish I had as a kid and what I’m happy for kids to have now.

RELEASE DATE: September 19, 2023

Starter Villian

by: John Scalzi

Why am I stoked for this release?

Okay, but like, don’t tell me the cover of this did not just catch your attention.

The premise of this book is your dead uncle leaves you his supervillain business that comes with computer-savvy, managerial cats.

Cats could absolutely take over the world… if they wanted to.

I’m stoked to see them as villains.

Red Rabbit

by: Alex Grecian

Why am I stoked for this release?

So, this is to at least start in Kansas (which is where I grew up, so I do have a little soft spot for it), and it’s a horror western with a ragtag group of Witch Hunters.

Again, not my usual go to, but I’ve read some weirdly premised books with unique genres before, so let’s do this!

North Woods

by: Daniel Mason

Why am I stoked for this release?

I think I mentioned this last month, but I do like books where the setting never really changes: it’s a neighborhood throughout a decade, or a family house that’s had 7 generations through it. I don’t know, kind of makes it special.

This one is about a single house in the woods of New England and all of its inhabitants throughout the years.

It sounds like I’m going to fall in love with a cabin in the woods.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic

by: Breanne Randall

Why am I stoked for this release?

This is yet another romance, but it’s witchy!

This is said to be for fans of Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls – I’m not a crazy fan of either, but I have enjoyed both so I’m looking forward to it. Plus, it’s also saying it’s a “warm, witchy novel” and I think that’s going to get me right in the mood for fall.

RELEASE DATE: September 26, 2023

The Salvation Gambit

by: Emily Skrutskie

Why am I stoked for this release?

This is to be about a crew of con women whose last big con goes so terribly wrong, they end up as inmates in a prison run by a crazy AI.

Y’all – a group of con women!

That’s all that needed to be said to about this for me okay?

The author is also highly spoken of and this would be the first novel of theirs that I’ve read and I’m pretty stoked.

Time to Shine

by: Rachel Reid

Why am I stoked for this release?

I know. I know. Another romance?!

But this has gays! I absolutely love the gay romance of Red, White & Royal Blue and I hold a lot of gay romance up to that. But, I have pretty high hopes for this title.

It’s also hockey and that’s not a sport I see to much of (unless it’s Fredrick Backman).

I may not get to this one until closer to winter (I think it is more of a Christmas-y vibe to it), but that doesn’t make me less stoked for it’s release.

Alone / Megan E. Freeman

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Alone
By: Megan E. Freeman
Genre: Middle Grade, Novel in Verse
Number of Pages: 404
Published: January 12, 2021
Publisher: Aladdin
Dates Read: August 27, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Trigger Warnings: food and water scarcity, injury, animal death, mentions of dead animal bodies

After plans fall through for her secret sleepover with her best friends, Maddie still stays over at her grandparents’ empty apartment – but she wakes to a nightmare. Maddie’s alone. Everyone in Millerville, Colorado has been evacuated and the town has been completely abandoned.

With her only companion being a Rottweiler named George, Maddie slowly learns how to survive on her own with no power, no running water, no phone or internet access, and a town deserted. As months pass, Maddie and George survive natural disasters, ruthless looters, wild animals, and the elements of nature with stride. It’s the loneliness that is slowly getting to Maddie. Can her will to survive continue to get her through the most frightening experience of her life?

I love novels in verse stories as well as post-apocalyptic novels, and this has been a story I’ve been wanting to read for the longest time and I finally picked it up at my library. I read all of this in one setting. It was that captivating. The language is gorgeous and the breaking up of the verses really showcase and capture Maddie’s loneliness, heartache, and still – hope. 

I also loved George and the companionship he provided for Maddie <spoiler> there were TWO TIMES I thought George had passed away and BOTH TIMES I was ready to throw the book across the room in sorrow</spoiler>. Plus, you need to have a furry sidekick during the apocalypse, and a big Rottweiler named George is one of the best.

I can see audiences of middle grade readers and up enjoying this. Though, I will say there is a scene of animal cruelty <spoiler> specifically the death of a kitten</spoiler> that I do think should be taken into consideration for a younger reader. Otherwise, this was such a wonderful and captivating read (again, I read all 400+ pages in one setting). I am for sure keeping an eye out to purchase my own copy and will be giving this title out on plenty of recommendations.

In Limbo / Deb JJ Lee

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In Limbo
By: Deb JJ Lee
Genre: Graphic Novel, Memoir, Nonfiction
Number of Pages: 348
Published: March 7, 2023
Publisher: First Second
Dates Read: August 27, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Trigger Warning: suicide attempt(s), child abuse by parent

In Limbo is a graphic novel memoir about a Korean-American teenager, Deborah (Jung-Ji) Lee, as she navigates the struggles of high school while still feeling like an outsider. As the pressures of high school and the ever growing changing in her personal life, Deb doesn’t have anywhere to turn to – even home isn’t a safe place as the fights with her mom continue to worsen as time goes on. Her mental health falls fast.

But Deb’s a fighter. She soon discovers her real love is art. With that, along with self-care, Deb gradually begins her road to recovery. During a trip to South Korea, she realizes something that changes her perspective on everything.

The artwork in this graphic novel is beautiful. The topics and themes are hard. Being an immigrant is no doubt hard enough – but being an immigrant as a kid or teenager that’s stuck between two worlds is probably even harder. There are a lot of themes of not belonging and not being enough of one thing or the other. What was really hard for me was the abuse at the hands of her mother. The graphic novel made it very real for me as he captured the anger of her mother’s face.

I think the author’s note at the end of this is important – especially because the ending is almost kind of abrupt, but it works. Not everything is tied up in a nice bow and understood. It is a memoir afterall, but it does show the author and her journey through pain, anger, resentment (of herself and others), and forgiveness (both of herself and others).

Overall, I think a lot of people will be able to see themselves and possibly their experiences in this graphic novel memoir. For others, it will shine a light on someone else’s experiences growing up as an immigrant.

After You Vanished / E.A. Neeves

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After You Vanished by E.A. Neeves cover
4 star rating
After You Vanished
By: E.A. Neeves
Genre: YA, Mystery
Number of Pages: 336
Published: August 29, 2023
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Dates Read: August 24, 2023 - August 26, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Teddy’s favorite place is Bottomrock Lake, where she’s been a lifeguard every summer, even though it’s the last place her twin sister, Izzy was seen a year ago. Now, she can’t stop thinking of all the places her sister went – Izzy was on her way to become an Olympic swimmer, there’s no way she could have drowned. Plus, her passport is missing.

But when Toby, the boy who was with Izzy that fateful night she vanished, comes to Bottomrock to work as a lifeguard too, Teddy can’t help but want to ask 1,000 questions. How many secrets does Toby have of Izzy’s that she didn’t share with Teddy? And why does undercovering one always lead to ten more?

I picked this up because it mentioned Sadie by Courtney Summers as a read-a-like, and I absolutely love that book and am constantly recommending it, so to have another title that would get to be added to that list was what I was looking for. I had high expectations, and this one didn’t disappoint.

This is most definitely a slow burn mystery with low stakes (no one is coming after to kill Teddy or anyone else) mixed with a bit of romance. There was always something that made me turn the page, even when Teddy would eliminate something. I always had hope it would turn out one way. I will say I think it took me a bit longer to see a few of the curveballs that were thrown, but in the end it was fun to see it all connected.

Though a mystery, this book also focuses on Teddy and her grief of losing not only a sibling, but her twin. And how she uses it to grow out on her own for the first time. Her story in that regard was well written.

Needless to say, this will be on my recommendation list, alongside Sadie, for anyone who wants a good mystery with emotional layers to it.

*Thank you Disney-Hyperion and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

My Father, The Panda Killer / Jamie Jo Hoang

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My Father, The Panda Killer
By: Jamie Jo Hoang
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 384
Published: August 29, 2023
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: August 19, 2023 - August 24, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

**THIS DOESN’T LET ME DO SPOILERS – SO THE SPOILER IS IN THE BRACKET WITH THE BOLDED <SPOILER> </SPOILER>

Trigger Warnings: Generational trauma, physical abuse, violence

My Father, The Panda Killer is told through Jane, in San Jose, 1999, as she tries to explain to her 7-year-old brother why their dad can’t control his anger. It’s because back in his own country, in Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, 1975 Phúc (rhymes with Duke), is eleven the first time his mother through him through the minefields, fallen airplanes, and debris to a refugee boat. But, before the sun even rises, more than half the people aboard will perish. Fleeing the horrors of this homeland, Phúc’s difficult journey across the Pacific has just started as he fights to survive Thai pirates, starvation, hallucination, and the murder of a panda.

Told in alternating voices of Jane and Phúc, this novel tells the unflinching story of the Vietnam war, its impact on multiple generations, and how one American teenager battles along the path to accepting her heritage and herself.

This novel is definitely unflinching in the struggles and horrors Vietnamese boat people had to endure in order to survive. Jamie Jo Hoang brings to light how those experiences still trickle down generations and how, even in America, first generation children were raised in completely different worlds and conditions.

<spoiler> What got me was that after everything Phúc went through, when he meets Jane’s mom for the first time on the boat over to Guam from Hong Kong, he’s so dismissive of her and also so hard on her. Like – he wasn’t going to clean up after himself because she’s a woman and that’s what women do. And he gets mad at her for playing with a jump rope? We had gotten so much of his story and on that boat trip, it felt like Phúc flipped a switch and I didn’t get it. Maybe it’s because he was still trying to hold onto his Vietnamese culture, but still… </spoiler>

Overall, this is a beautiful novel that gives a wonderful insight on both the Vietnam War and what some first generation Americans (and others) have experienced as a result of the War. I would recommend this to those who want to read more about Vietnamese culture and the legacy of immigrant and refugee experiences.

*Thank you Crown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Everything/Nothing/Someone / Alice Carrière

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Everything/Nothing/Someone
By: Alice Carrière
Genre: Memoir
Number of Pages: 288
Published: August 29, 2023
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Dates Read: August 15, 2023 - August 19, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Trigger Warnings: sexual abuse, false memory, inherited trauma, mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction

In this memoir of Alice Carrière, she tells the story of her unconventional upbringing in Greenwich Village as the daughter of renowned artist Jennifer Bartlett and European actor Mathieu Carrière. Growing up in the bohemian 90’s, Alice must navigate her mother’s recovered memories of ritualized sexual abuse that she turns into art, and her father’s odd and confusing attentions. For the most part, Alice is left alone with little-to-no enforcement of boundaries or supervision.

When she enters adolescence, Alice begins to lose herself as a dissociative disorder begins to take over. She bounces in and out of mental hospitals and takes up various roles around town while bouncing from one experience to another in a medicated state. Eventually, she finds purpose in caring for her Alzheimer’-afflicted mother. With the help of a recovering addict who loves her, Alice also finds the courage to confront her father, whose words and actions splintered her. 

I haven’t read a lot of written memoirs (I’ve read a few graphic novel memoirs/biographies). But, this year I’m trying to make sure I branch out and read a different variety of genres. This one caught my eye because of the mental health aspect and growing up in the 90’s. Mental health and the stigma around it has drastically changed within the last few years. I grew up in the 90’s/00’s and I remember you didn’t talk about mental health – now I make jokes with my coworkers about our crippling depression/anxiety almost daily.

This memoir won’t be for everybody. Everything/Nothing/Someone deals with a lot of heavy subjects, but it is very thought-provoking and a look at how mental health was tackled and the stigma with it in the 90’s, early 2000’s. 

*Thank you Spiegel & Grau, Publishers Weekly, and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this memoir in exchange for an honest review

White Bird / R.J. Palacio

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White Bird
By: R.J. Palacio
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 224
Published: September 3, 2019
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: August 14, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Trigger Warnings: Holocaust 

In White Bird, readers are told Julian’s (who you meet in Wonder) Grandmère’s story as a young Jewish girl hidden away in the barn of a classmate’s in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.

I’ve been meaning to read this book for a while now and I needed something I knew I would enjoy before my next read. So, I grabbed this from my library.

There is a bit of a tie in to events in recent days. Which brings up the quote shared at the very beginning of the book,

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana.

I don’t think the author is pointing at comparing what’s happening at the US/Mexico border to the Holocaust as a whole, but more of what the beginning of it looked like. The main character, Sara even mentions the fact that even though she was limited to certain places, or stopped from going into others, that it didn’t really bother her at the beginning. Overall, there is no reason to be unjust to any specific group of people. 

I enjoyed the story and how it was told, especially for the middle grade age group it’s targeted for. Sara’s story is a page turner with many moments of tension. The author does an amazing job at still showing the horrors of war while still making it suitable for middle grade readers. There are also resources in the back few pages to expand the story as well as lists of organizations, biographies, and photos.

Bride of the Tornado / James Kennedy

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Bride of the Tornado
By: James Kennedy
Genre: Horror
Number of pages: 336
Published: August 15, 2023
Publisher: Quirk Books
Dates Read: August 11, 2023 - August 14, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

In a small, midwestern town, the adults whisper about “Tornado Day”, something a high school sophomore has never heard of. At the Tornado Day’s assembly, she sees the tornado killer for the first time. Drawn to boy, she begins to feel a connection between them. But the adults are hiding a secret about the tornados and she must escape before the secrets dig in and claim her.

So one of my goals this year (as with every year, really) is to try and branch out of my standard historical adult fiction and YA. I was born and raised in the Midwest and tornadoes were almost like a block party for us because we were the only ones of our friends and family in the immediate area that had a basement. I think that’s why I was kind of drawn to this book.

This story was a ride and it will definitely keep you guessing as to what in the world is going on <spoiler> though some questions you probably won’t get the answer to </spoiler>. 

The storytelling in this was vivid, and I could “see” what was happening, or what the narrator was talking about – though sometimes it jumped around from showing to just telling and that would throw me off. There was also a lot more gore than I was expecting in it, but it is horror, so I feel like I probably should have expected what there was.

The first ¾ of the book really held my interest, but the last quarter had me lost and I ended up having to reread a lot. I would get confused on the POVs as well as what was overall happening. It would also really switch up the way it is written (again, that telling vs showing).

Overall, it was a fun read. It was something different and I still enjoyed it (even the uncomfortable gorey parts). It’s a bit of a hard book to explain but, I can still see myself recommending it to those who like fast-paced creepy horror/thrillers. 

*Thank you Quick Books and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Warrior Girl Unearthed / Angeline Boulley

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Warrior Girl Unearthed
By: Angeline Boulley
Genre: YA, Mystery
Number of Pages: 400
Published: May 2, 2023
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Dates Read: August 6, 2023 - August 10, 2023
Format: Hardcover

After a bear and her cub cause Perry Firekeeper-Birch to get into a fender bender with a metal gate, she’s had to kiss her chilled out Summer of Slack goodbye in order to pay her Auntie Daunis back for the repairs. Now, she’s working in The Kinomage program, at the museum with Cooper Turtle. It’s not all bad though, she’s with the other outcasts in the group, Team Misfit Toys. Together they ace obstacle courses, plan vigils for missing women in the community, and make sure summer can still be fun.

While working with Cooper Turtle, Perry attends a meeting at a local university where she meets the “Warrior Girl”, an ancestor whose bones and knife are stored in the museum archives. After finding out how her ancestors are treated, Perry is determined to help return Warrior Girl to her tribe. She learns everything she can about NAGPRA, the federal law that allows tribes to request the return of ancestral remains and sacred items. The law was passed back in 1990 and museums all over the United States have found legal loopholes to hold onto remains like Warrior Girl and others. The college has twelve other Anishinaabe ancestors’ remains and Team Misfit Toys are determined to bring them home through a heist.

I absolutely adored Firekepper’s Daughter and am constantly recommending it. This book is no different. This is another powerful and beautifully written story that really focuses on the injustices that happen within the Indigenous Communities both here in the United States and around the world. I always learn so much reading these books. Like, I know America has a horrible relationship with Indigenous and Native tribes, but to hear just how badly and cruel museums are handling the NAGPRA is so horribly sad. This book is set in 2014 and talks about how long it was taking museums to do something that was issued into law 20 years ago – it’s over 30 now and it’s probably not any better.

Perry is a bit impulsive and immature, but so works so well for this story. She loves her community and culture so much and will do everything she can for them. Perry grows so much in this story and I adore her so much.

This book is a 10 year follow up to Firekeeper’s Daughter but could totally be a stand alone too. Though I would highly recommend reading both because you really get the depth to the community, history, characters, and practices mentioned.

*Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co for a digital advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review