Categories
Giveaways

Win a Copy of SON OF A MIDNIGHT LAND by Atz Kilcher!

 

We have 10 copies of Son of a Midnight Land by Atz Kilcher to give away to 10 Riot readers!

Here’s what it’s all about:

A powerful new memoir about growing up with a hard father in a hard land, from the patriarch of Discovery Channel’s Emmy-shortlisted program Alaska: The Last Frontier.

Atz Kilcher’s reckoning with his unusual childhood builds with each chapter of Son of a Midnight Land, offering readers a realistic look at the emotional price he paid for his father’s dream to homestead in Alaska’s remote wilderness.

“Very seldom do we get windows into our parents’ private lives with such honesty…This book…proves anyone can find forgiveness, love, and even change at any age.” —Jewel, singer and daughter of Atz Kilcher

Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the cover image below. Good luck!

Categories
The Stack

020818-ComicBento-The-Stack

Today’s The Stack is sponsored by Comic Bento.

February is a cold, bleak and short month. Not to worry though! COMIC BENTO has you covered with a pile of SHORT STORIES that are really TALL TALES! Almost 20 different stories are jammed into four graphic novels, spanning dozens of different genres and universes! All lovingly packed inside one handy-dandy box and sent right to your door! But hurry! As mentioned, it’s a short month and SHORT STORIES/TALL TALES will only be available until Feb 28th, 2018! So visit www.comicbento.com now and reserve yours before it’s too late!

Categories
The Goods

Frederick Douglass tee launch

His wisdom is timeless, but this offer is not! Today’s your last chance to get a  limited-edition Frederick Douglass quote tee, available in 5 styles. Order now!

 

Categories
Today In Books

Diversity in UK Children’s Books To Be Examined: Today in Books

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Happiness Is a Choice You Make: Lessons from a Year Among the Oldest Old by John Leland, published by Sarah Crichton Books – FSG.


Diversity In UK Children’s Books Will Be Examined

Two Arts Council England-backed studies into representation in children’s literature will examine the dearth of diversity in UK children’s books. The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) will, for the first time, chart the extent and quality of ethnic representation among characters in UK children’s books, while BookTrust will evaluate the number of children’s books created by authors and illustrators of color. Look out for the study from CLPE in July, and the one from BookTrust in September. These studies may also become annual events.

Jesmyn Ward Announces 2 New Books

The National Book Award-winning author of Sing, Unburied, Sing announced that she’s working on a novel for adults set in antebellum New Orleans, following an enslaved woman from the Carolinas. Ward is also working on her first novel for middle graders about a magical adventure featuring a black Southern female protagonist with special powers. “I’ve wanted to write a middle grade book for years, a book that might reach the child I once was and expand that child’s sense of self,” said Ward. The publishers have yet to announce titles or release dates.

Bill Gates Has A New Favorite Book Of All Time

The Microsoft co-founder chose Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker. The book is described as one that “shows that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise, not just in the West, but worldwide.” Pinker said he and Gates met in 1995 via email, and that they have since bonded over their shared optimism about humanity.

Categories
Audiobooks

Audiobooks for Lovers

Happy Thursday, you beautiful audiophiles,

I know the whole month of February is annoying because you can’t go into a drugstore without being assaulted by glowing, plastic hearts and chocolate bears. It’s…a lot. But I always try to be up for the challenge of reading books that are outside my comfort zone and romance/love stories are pretty well outside my comfort zone. I don’t know why I never got into reading them, I think I was such an angsty kid that I gravitate more towards books where terrible things happen and hearts are broken and never repaired as opposed to people falling in love. And, as you may be able to tell if you’ve been reading this newsletter for awhile, I’m still pretty into books where terrible things happen and hearts are broken and no one falls in love.


Sponsored by Blackstone Publishing

A powerful new memoir about growing up with a hard father in a hard land, from the patriarch of Discovery Channel’s Emmy-shortlisted program Alaska: The Last Frontier.

Atz Kilcher’s reckoning with his unusual childhood builds with each chapter of Son of a Midnight Land, offering readers a realistic look at the emotional price he paid for his father’s dream to homestead in Alaska’s remote wilderness.

“Very seldom do we get windows into our parents’ private lives with such honesty…This book…proves anyone can find forgiveness, love, and even change at any age.”

— Jewel, singer and daughter of Atz Kilcher


So while I will continue to scoff at the hubbub around Valentine’s Day and brag about my cold, dead heart (just kidding, the love of my life is pictured on the left), I figured this is as good a time as any to listen to books I might not otherwise choose. So, I asked my Rioter pals, and came up with some titles that might be good for new readers of romance.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Sarah S. Davis says, “One reason why Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander has such a huge fanbase is the series appeals to many readers simply because of its unclassifiable genre. Before I picked up the first book, I seldom read historical fiction or romance or science fiction or adventure stories. But the TV show was about to be released and I was curious. Boom! I tore through that huge book in under three days. Outlander appeals to all kinds of readers because this riveting page-turner is driven by an addictive mix of adventure, suspense, love and historical intrigue.”

Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs by Molly Harper, read by Amanda Ronconi

Nikki Demarco says “If Audible didn’t have buy two get one free sales, I wouldn’t have ever discovered the hilarious voice acting of Amanda Ronconi. She narrates Molly Harper’s books. I discovered, and loved, the Jane Jameson series. Jane is a Kentucky librarian turned vampire who is trying to figure out her new life. Having studied linguistics and being from the South, I’m a stickler for southern dialects. People from Appalachia sound different than people from Savannah. Ronconi gets rural Kentucky just right. In fact, Harper writes a character from Texas living in Half Moon Hollow, the setting for the series, and Ronconi nails the subtle differences in dialect. She has introduced me to other series such as E.J. Cooperman’s Haunted Guesthouse series and Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamers.”

The next couple of suggestions are courtesy of Jessica Pryde, who is Book Riot’s resident Romance Books Expert and the author of the Kissing Books newsletter.

Destiny’s Captive by Beverly Jenkins, read by Thomas Penny

This fun listen is easy to follow even without the previous books in the series. Noah Yates is an Afro-Spanish merchant and shipowner from California who has a bit of a run in with a lady pirate in the Caribbean, who is also just a touch of a Cuban Revolutionary. The two butt heads (and swords) and have a heck of a good time.

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray, read by Tavia Gilbert

YA Dimensional Science Fiction at its most interesting. In a relatively quick pace, a girl jumps dimensions to find her father’s murderer… any maybe find true love. The prose is fantastic, but for me the audiobook narrator really makes this novel.

This next recommendation comes from the esteemed Rachel Smalter Hall who reigned supreme over this particular newsletter for years and is a totally kickass human being:

Landline by Rainbow Rowell, read by Rebecca Lowman

Georgie McCool has a deal to produce her dream TV show, but she’ll have to miss Christmas with her husband to meet her deadline. Her marriage is looking rocky when she discovers a time-traveling telephone that can dial the past. Bring on the 90s pop-culture references and a strong female lead who kicks ass and takes names.

Suddenly One Summer by Julie James, read by Karen White

Rioter Jessica Tripler says, “James is an auto-buy, and I know I can count on her audiobooks, which are performed flawlessly by Karen White. A divorce lawyer agrees to take on her neighbor’s sister case. He’s a cocky journalist and she’s skeptical about love. They share James’ trademark mutually denied attraction and irritation with each other. It’s terrific.”

Katie McClain, Rioter and librarian extraordinaire is like me in that she does not naturally gravitate towards the romance genre but Sarah Maclean had been so highly recommended by so many people that Katie decided to give A Rogue By Any Other Name a try. She says, “I’m still not sold on the alpha-male romance trope, but I love the heroine, and I’m really enjoying how skillfully Sarah MacLean crafts her story.” From the publisher, “The cold, ruthless the Marquess of Bourne may be a prince of London’s underworld, but he vows to keep his new bride, the perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury untouched by its wickedness. This proves to be a challenge indeed as the lady discovers her own desires, and her willingness to wager anything for them… even her heart.”

A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev, read by Priya Ayyar

Mili Rathod was promised to her husband when she was 4 years old, and now she just needs him to claim her. But while studying in America, Mili meets one of the most famous Bollywood directors, Samir Rathod, and now neither of their lives will be the same again. NPR says of the book, “An impressive debut…Vibrant and exuberantly romantic, Affair is chock full of details that reflect India’s social and cultural flux.”  Library Journal says, “This tasty Indian American confection will satisfy female readers of any age…A contemporary, transcontinental romance told with a light touch and lots of sizzle.”

Do y’all have any favorite romantic listens? Let me know at katie@riotnewmedia.org or on Twitter at msmacb. 

Until next week,

~Katie

Categories
Swords and Spaceships

Swords and Spaceships Feb 9

Happy Friday, necromancers and Neolutionists! Today’s installment includes reviews of The Other Lands and River of Teeth, a Hugo Awards spreadsheet, South Asian speculative fiction, and more.


This newsletter is sponsored by Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh.

Odessa is one of Karthia’s master necromancers, catering to the kingdom’s ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it’s Odessa’s job to raise them by retrieving their soul from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised: the Dead must remain shrouded. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, a grotesque transformation begins, turning the Dead into terrifying, bloodthirsty Shades. Odessa is forced to contemplate a terrifying question: What if her magic is the weapon that brings the kingdom to its knees?

Reign of the Fallen is a gutsy, unpredictable read with a surprising and breathtaking LGBT romance at its core.


Prepare your ears: The Audie Award finalists have been announced, and the SFF contenders include my personal favorites The Stone Sky and Provenance.

Calling all voters: The 2018 Hugo Awards are open for nomination by Worldcon members. If you’re a voting member OR if you just want to see what’s eligible, there’s an epic collabroative spreadsheet to track titles.

Get regional: This beautifully thorough first installment of the history of South Asian speculative fiction goes back to the 1800s, and considers both how to define the genre and its benchmark books.

Immortality for all: Netflix’s new adaptation Altered Carbon is playing with consciousness transfer, and so are actual scientists.

Dueling in a dress: This thread on the logistics of swordfighting in a ballgown made my … week? Possibly my month.

Need some spacey gifts, for yourself or another? Here are some excellent options (that Hitchhiker’s bag!).

Already read all of Le Guin’s work? Never fear: Danika rounded up 75+ books that Le Guin herself recommended over the course of her career.

In this week’s reviews, we’ve got an incredible Book 2 and some very angry (also hungry) hippos.

The Other Lands (Acacia #2) by David Anthony Durham

The Other Lands by David Anthony DurhamI wouldn’t normally review a Book 2 — either I’d do the first one, or wait til I’d read the entire series. But I just finished The Other Lands, and it’s in the top 10 second-in-trilogy books I’ve read, so you’re gonna hear about it.

The Acacia series is my go-to read-alike, alongside Kameron Hurley’s Worldbreaker Saga, for fans of Game of Thrones who are desperate for something to read in the long dry years of ASoIaF. The War With The Mein (Acacia #1) introduces us to the main players: the Akarans, a dynasty headed by the addicted widower king Leodan; the Mein, a violent tribe out to take over control of the empire and resurrect their dead ancestors; the League, who control trade and have a vested interest keeping up the status quo. When Leodan is assassinated, his four children are flung out into the world under the (occasionally dubious) protection of separate guardians. Through Leodan’s children, we get a varied and truly global view of the world Durham has created. The children grow up in very different circumstances and when they’re put back in touch years later, in a plot to overthrow the Mein, they must reinvent their relationships as well as take back their kingdom.

While there’s plenty of action in The War with the Mein, it’s also a deeply introductory book, and it ends on a fairly satisfying note. So it took me a bit of time to get to The Other Lands; I am here to tell you that you should get to it ASAP. After a helpful recap of the first book, it plunges into an intricate, complicated plot that had me almost missing my train stops. Here is a fantasy series that complicates Good and Bad, that includes swords and sorcery as well as diverse populations, that gives you many sides of the same story and lets you decide who to root for. And the ending? Pure cliffhanger. Happily, The Sacred Band (Acacia #3) is out and waiting for me at the library.

River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey

River of Teeth by Sarah GaileyThis novella packs a bigger punch than you might expect, and its premise is a delight. In Gailey’s alternate 1890s America, the US government has imported hippos for ranching. Which sounds great in theory, until they start to escape, turn feral, and murderously infest Louisiana. Enter Winslow Houndstooth, former hippo rancher and mercenary for hire. Houndstooth receives a contract to rid the bayou of its giant violent pests, and puts together a crew to get the job done. The crew includes, for reasons only Houndstooth knows at the beginning, the expert thief Regina “Archie” Archambault, knife expert Adelia Reyes, demolitions expert Hero, and requisite patsy Cal.

Of course, nothing goes to plan. Revenge, love, and bribery all complicate the situation. People get eaten by hippos, stabbed, blown up, you name it. This is a gloriously fun, inclusive, queer, “Weird West” frontier romp — and it’s just the first in the series.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Live long and prosper,
Jenn

Categories
Kissing Books

Love Notes and Black History

Well, it’s still February. It’s time for all the think pieces about romance and the Day Of Love. Let’s skip those this year, shall we? (Except this one. This one is great.)

News

The finalists have been announced for the Audies. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to an audiobook, but I’ve read some of the books in prose and can see how they would fare well in audio. Have you listened to any of them?


Sponsored by Kensington Publishing Corp

Award-winning author Michele Sinclair returns to the Scottish Highlands, the land of her fan favorite McTierney Clan full of fierce warriors and vibrant women. As the most sought-after bachelor in Scotland, the seventh McTiernay brother claims he cannot be caught and taken to the alter, not by seduction or love—until a roving Highland beauty lays siege to his heart.


Are you going to BookCon? It looks like they’re working to attract the romance crowd more, so that’ll be fun!

The first few novels in DARE, Harlequin’s newest imprint, have been released. Off Limits, one of the set, is free all month. Interested in submitting your own? You can do that!

The Governess Game! Look!

Also, this is super cool.

The New York Times has a romance column now. It’s neither brief nor worthy of disdain, so I’m interested to see how it continues. We’ll see. What was it that Trisha said? Bemusedly wary?

Deals

Alice Clayton’s Wallbanger is 1.99!

For the Sake of Love by Anamika Mishra is also 1.99!

Looking for a bad boy prince? Royally Bad by Nora Flite is 1.99. The second book, Royally Ruined, is too.

Love Will Always Remember by Tracey Livesay rounds out the plethora of 1.99 gifts this week.

Over on Book Riot

Do you watch The Good Place? If not, get on that. I’ll wait. Okay, now you can read this.

#riotgrams is back!

Deb Harkness has a new Clermont book coming out! Are we excited? (I…should probably finish the All Souls Trilogy, huh?)

Recs!

So there are two important things happening right now: Black History Month and the Olympics! The best way to celebrate is with books, of course.

Tempest
Beverly Jenkins

A great moment in black history that Beverly Jenkins does fantastically is the Reconstruction. The final installment of her Old West trilogy, Tempest takes us into the wilds of Wyoming, where Regan has agreed to be a mail-order bride to Dr. Colton Lee. Things go a little awry when crack shot Regan shoots her intended in the midst of a potential Stagecoach holdup. They start to get along, however, after some bedroom negotiations, and along with his young daughter, start to become a family. While Colton’s initial change of heart regarding Regan takes the reader by surprise, it isn’t completely unbelievable, and helps to develop quite the rapport between the little family and those around them. Showing us a world in which black people are not usually represented, but have been well-recorded, Beverly Jenkins also introduces us to some important figures and events in that time period, including Dr. Alexander T. Augusta (which Ms. Bev herself writes about in this article), one of the first black men commissioned into the Union Army and the first black member of the medical faculty at Howard University.

Looking for more love stories featuring prominent figures in black history?

The Preacher’s Promise by Piper Huguley

In the Morning Sun by Lena Hart

Through the Storm by Beverly Jenkins

Vivid by Beverly Jenkins

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

Let it Shine by Alyssa Cole

Be Not Afraid by Alyssa Cole

Let Us Dream by Alyssa Cole

Okay, so I’m predictable. I’m so sorry. But these are all fantastic.

Also, check out this Race and Romance resource guide from Love Between the Covers.

Medal Up
Nicole Flockton and Fiona Marsden

I’m going to start with this: I love figure skating, and I adore love stories that are somehow connected to figure skating. The Cutting Edge is a regular watch, and Yuri!!! On Ice is definitely the first anime I have ever managed to complete…over the course of an afternoon. Kiss and Cry is one of the Pride and Prejudice fics from the aughts (ots? zeros?) that I can pretty much remember in its entirety (there’s this part late in the story where she looks down and is like “wait, are we waltzing? On ice?”). So you’d think I’d have a whole repertoire of skating romances, right? Apparently not! These two are my first, and it’s a travesty. But they were totally fun!

The two stories in this duology are happening right now. Okay, not really, but if the couples and their friends existed, they’d be enjoying Pyeongchang this very moment.

The first novella, Fighting Their Attraction, follows Australian snowboarder Brady and Arielle, a Canadian figure skater, as they find love in the Olympic Village. (Side note: About five percent in, when I realized the hero was Australian, I had the happy experience of hearing Chris Hemsworth in my head when I read his POV. It made an adorable book even more delightful. It didn’t hurt that I had watched the Dundee trailer a couple times in as many days, just cause.) Brady has a bunch of baggage, including guilt over messing up Olympic dreams before, and just wants to get through and win Gold. Arielle’s baggage comes in the form of her coach/Mom, and the two of them are quite the pair. There’s less of a Big Misunderstanding and more of a Big Miscommunication before they can find their happy ending.

The second novella, Man of Ice, takes up the story of Maybelle Li and her pairs partner Bohdan Dovzhenko. Maybelle and Brady from Fighting Their Attraction were once pairs partners themselves, and can maybe rekindle the friendship that was broken years ago. Belle’s new partner is fantastic to work with on the ice, but a bit cold himself (thus the whole Man of Ice thing). Bohdan isn’t deliberately hateful, but he doesn’t really know how to open up to his partner; being friends is completely out of his comprehension. But when their dynamic changes suddenly one night, all bets are off.

Next up on my list is Tamsen Parker’s Snow and Ice Games. I’m gonna make it through everything Olympic by the times the Games are done.

(I know. Yeah, right.)

New and Upcoming Releases

Lovestruck by Nana Malone

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

Check Me Out by Becca Wilhite

Fire on the Ice by Tamsen Parker

Awaken Me by Farrah Rochon

Bingo Love by Tee Franklin and Jenn St-Onge (February 14)

That’s good for now, huh? By the time we meet again, Valentine’s Day will have passed (and we’ll have had a nice chat on Insiders, if you hang out over there). Have a chocolate filled day, and catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!

Categories
Today In Books

And the Oprah Book Club Pick Is: Today in Books

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Hey Harry, Hey Matilda by Rachel Hulin new in paperback from Anchor Books.


And The Oprah Book Club Pick Is…

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. Oprah announced her latest book club pick on CBS This Morning. Speaking on why she chose this particular book, Winfrey said, “It’s a love story that also has a huge layer of suspense.” She added that Jones’s novel is current and “now,” that she couldn’t put the book down and has already passed it on to many of her friends. She believes the story will resonate with many. Jones, who expressed excitement about receiving the call, discussed the surprising inspiration behind her book (a couple she overheard while at the mall) during her CBS This Morning interview.

YouTube Star Kian Lawley Fired From The Hate U Give Movie

Twentieth Century Fox fired cast member Kian Lawley from the upcoming film adaption of Angie Thomas’s YA novel The Hate U Give. The studio made the decision in response to a video that resurfaced showing Lawley, a YouTube celebrity, using racial slurs. Lawley was cast as the boyfriend of the film’s star, Amandla Stenberg, in a movie that centers on race and police brutality. Fox plans to recast the role and reshoot scenes as needed.

Scribd Returns To Unlimited Access

Scribd is returning to its original terms, which gave subscribers unlimited access to titles. Scribd abandoned its unlimited access model in 2016, but the company’s co-founder and CEO Trip Adler said current profitability and stability has made the original business model possible once more. That said, the company can detect whether “over-consumption” is occurring, and new controls will limit power readers’ access to the most expensive and popular titles.

Categories
Unusual Suspects

Natalie Wood’s 1981 Drowning Is Now Considered A Suspicious Death

Hi fellow mystery fans! I hope you’re drowning in holiday candy and books–solving mysteries to your hearts content. Here’s to another month packed with great reads!


Sponsored by Walking The Bones by Randall Silvis

The bones of seven young girls, picked clean and carefully preserved… that’s all Sergeant Ryan DeMarco knows about the unsolved crime he has unwittingly been roped into investigating during what is supposed to be a healing road trip with his new love, Jayme.

DeMarco is still reeling from the case that led to death of his best friend months ago and wants nothing more than to lay low. Unfortunately, the small southern town of Jayme’s idyllic youth is not exactly a place that lets strangers go unnoticed—especially strangers who have a history of solving violent crimes. And if there’s anything DeMarco knows, it’s that a killer always leaves clues behind just waiting for the right person to come along and put all the pieces together.


For Fans of Get Out! (Trigger Warning: rape/ suicide)

Forty Acres by Dwayne Alexander Smith, Andre Blake (Narrator): I honestly want to tell you nothing about this book so that you get hit by every level of this story like I did! I’ll say it’s a social thriller that very smartly places the reader in super uncomfortable territory as a black lawyer jumps at the opportunity to go on a trip with influential and wealthy black men. A secret society if you will… I enjoyed the narrator, Andrew Blake, on the audiobook and spent two days with headphones on ignoring everyone–and internally freaking out.

The Sequel to The Dry is Finally Here!! (Trigger Warning: eating disorder)

Force of Nature (Aaron Falk #2) by Jane Harper: Harper yet again delivers a very satisfying mystery from beginning to end, perfect to curl up with. This time around, Federal Police Agent Falk has left the desperately dry small town elements from the first in the series to find himself in the Giralang Ranges along with partner Carmen Cooper. They’ve been called because Alice Russell has gone missing in the forest while on a work retreat. Alice who was helping with a corruption case and is now missing on land a serial killer once lived on… A great story that gives you the detailed present investigation along with flashbacks of the time leading up to the disappearance. If you’re wondering if you want the audiobook, Stephen Shanahan does an excellent narration with his calm, deep, Australian accented voice–so yes! (AND if you need a refresher on what happened in The Dry, here’s a Previously On post.)

Links

Rincey and Katie discuss Edgar Awards nominees and books by black authors on Read or Dead!

Quiz: What Thriller Protagonist Are You?

Over on Wired:  7 True Crime Docs You Should Stream Right Now

Dennis Lehan’s Gone, Baby, Gone will get a second adaptation (the 1st being the 2017 film directed by Ben Affleck) as a television series.

The drowning death of Natalie Wood in 1981 is now considered a “suspicious death” after the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reopened the investigation. And Robert Wagner, her husband at the time, is a person of interest in the case.

The new thriller Need to Know by Karen Cleveland is being adapted and Charlize Theron is attached as producer and star. You can read the opening excerpt on EW.

Psychological Suspense (Trigger Warning: suicide/ molestation)

Girl Unknown cover image: a dark photograph of a young woman under waterGirl Unknown by Karen Perry: Told in alternating chapters from David and Caroline’s perspective, we watch as a family reacts to a stranger being dropped into the mix when Zoey, a college student, tells David she’s his daughter from a long ago relationship. David brings her into the family (she is his daughter after all) but Caroline is hesitant–she has questions. The kids are split: one begins to bond with his new sister while the other wants her gone. This is a page-turner that slowly builds suspense one brick at a time, but will the wall be the strength of a new family or is it all going to come crashing down?

Recent Releases:

The Unforgotten by Laura Powell (Currently reading: 1950s historical mystery.)

Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama, Jonathan Lloyd-Davies (Paperback) (review)

Resurrection Bay (Caleb Zelic #1) by Emma Viskic (Currently reading: so far a must-solve-mystery-while-being-a-suspect.)

The Storm King by Brendan Duffy (Past and present small town mystery. Jon Lindstrom does a good audiobook narration.) (Trigger Warnings: child abuse/ revenge porn/ sexual assault)

A False Report: A True Story of Rape in America by T. Christian Miller, Ken Armstrong (on my TBR and Rioter Liberty marked it as a book she loved in New Books newsletter.)

Kindle Deals:

A Negro and an Ofay by Danny Gardner is $2.99 (For fans of Walter Mosley and Attica Locke when it comes to dissecting racism.) (review)

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio is $3.99 (Especially for fans of Shakespeare.) (review)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And if you like to put a pin in things here’s an Unusual Suspects board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.

Categories
What's Up in YA

A Blast From The YA Past: YA Reads From 10, 20, 30, and 40 years ago

Hey YA Readers!

Let’s take a trip down memory lane this week.

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert.

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get…

____________________

I don’t know about you, but I always love a good look through the big, popular books from years past. They tell us a lot about reading culture, the ups and downs in trends, and simply how much a particular area of reading has grown.

Here’s a look at three big titles from the last 10, 20, 30, and 40 years. I know I’ve said it before, but it is worth repeating: you’re going to be feeling old at the first titles. And that’s okay.

Descriptions are pulled from Amazon, simply because I haven’t read all (or most!) of these titles. Titles were compiled from a range of sources, from my own memory (2008 wasn’t that long ago), the Best Books lists from YALSA, Goodreads, and more. I’ve stuck with books which were first in a series, so there are certainly some big titles not included below.

As might also be noted, some of these titles could easily be categorized as middle grade more than young adult, but because of the crossover appeal, I’ve included them. Likewise, this list is quite white. It is with no doubt, though, that in 10 years when readers look back at what 2018 held in YA books, top titles will be far more inclusive.

Popular YA in 2008

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games,” a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him — something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn’t she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd’s gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

Paper Towns by John Green

When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night—dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows her. Margo’s always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.

 

Popular YA in 1998

 

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson

Both Elisha (Ellie) and Jeremiah (Miah) attend Percy Academy, a private school where neither quite fits in. Ellie is wrestling with family demons, and Miah is one of the few African American students. The two of them find each other, and fall in love — but they are hesitant to share their newfound happiness with their friends and families, who will not understand. At the end, life makes the brutal choice for them.

Singing The Dogstar Blues by by Alison Goodman

Seventeen-year-old Joss is a rebel, and a student of time travel at the prestigious Centre for Neo-Historical Studies. This year, for the first time, the Centre has an alien student: Mavkel, from the planet Choria. And Mavkel has chosen Joss, of all people, as his roommate and study partner. Then Mavkel gets sick. Joss quickly realizes that his will to live is draining away. The only way she can help Mavkel is by breaking the Centre’s strictest rules – and that means going back in time to change history.

The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake

Miss Saunders, whose skin is blotched with a rare skin condition, serves as a mirror to Maleeka Madison’s struggle against the burden of low self-esteem that many black girls face when they’re darker skinned. Miss Saunders is tough and through this, Maleeka learns to stand up to tough-talking Charlese.

Popular YA in 1988

 

The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

Hannah is tired of holiday gatherings−all her family ever talks about is the past. In fact, it seems to her that’s what they do every Jewish holiday. But this year’s Passover Seder will be different−Hannah will be mysteriously transported into the past . . . and only she knows the unspeakable horrors that await.

On The Devil’s Court by Peter Deuker

What would you give to be your school’s superstar? After reading Dr. Faustus, Joe considers the merits of selling his soul to the devil. Suddenly, he finds himself changing from a lousy basketball player and a C student to the star athlete he always dreamed he could be. Even though he isn’t sure if he actually made a deal with the devil, he can’t help but enjoy the benefits that come with his newfound abilities. But is achieving his dreams worth what he may have given up?

Spellbound by Christopher Pike

In the wake of Karen Holly’s tragic death, many people believe that her boyfriend, Jason, is responsible, and when Jason takes a new girlfriend, newcomer Cindy, she and her friends must return to the scene of Karen’s murder.

 
 

Popular YA in 1978

Beauty by Robin McKinley

A strange imprisonment Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage. When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, “Cannot a Beast be tamed?” Robin McKinley’s beloved telling illuminates the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple: Beauty and the Beast.

Happy Endings Are All Alike by Sandra Scoppettone

It’s their last summer before college, and Jaret and Peggy have fallen deeply in love. They exchange love letters, have pet names, and spend hours alone in their special clearing in the woods. For once, life is perfect. But Jaret and Peggy live in Gardener’s Point, a small town a hundred miles from New York City, and a place where girls only date boys. In Gardener’s Point, being different isn’t easy—but nothing could prepare them for the danger that lies ahead.

Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

Mr. Griffin is the strictest teacher at Del Norte High, with a penchant for endless projects and humiliating his students. Even straight-A student Susan can’t believe how mean he is to the charismatic Mark Kinney. So when her crush asks Susan to help a group of students teach a lesson of their own, she goes along. After all, it’s a harmless prank, right?

But things don’t go according to plan. When one “accident” leads to another, people begin to die. Susan and her friends must face the awful truth: one of them is a killer.

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Thanks for hanging out and we’ll see you around here next week for even more YA talk and fun

–Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars