In no particular order (because I still haven't decided which to read when) my summer reading list thus far:
Title: Insurgent
Author: Veronica RothGenre: YA--Fantasy
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Series: 2nd in series
Publisher: HarperTeen
How I Got the Book: Bought
GoodReads Description: "One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so."
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Why It's On the List: Veronica Roth's debut book Divergent was one of my absolute favorite books of last year and boy did it end with a bang. I've recommended it to tons of friends who have also loved it (and then hated me for making them read it before the next book was out). So I've been so excited to read the sequel which came out last week during finals. Ever since it arrived on my doorstep I've been dying to open it up and now that final are done I finally have the chance.
Title: Zoe Letting Go
Author: Nora PriceGenre: YA--Fiction, Social
Release Date: June 28, 2012
Series: No
Publisher: Razorbill
How I Got the Book: ARC from Nora Price
GoodReads Description: "A girl's letters to her best friend reveal two lives derailed by anorexia in this haunting debut that's Wintergirls meets The Sixth Sense
It's not a hospital, a spa, or an institution. That's what they told me--that's what the brochures promised.
But no matter what the brochures promised, Zoe finds that Twin Birch is a place for girls with a penchant for harming themselves. Through journal entries and letters to her best friend, Elise, she tries to understand why she was brought there, and how she could possibly belong in a place like this. But Zoe's letters to Elise remain unanswered. She wonders why her best friend would cut her off without a word, reliving memory after memory of their beautiful, rocky, inescapable friendship. But everyone has secrets--including Zoe--and as her own fragile mental state hangs in the balance, she must finally learn to come to terms with what happened to Elise before she's able to let go."
Why It's On the List: I first heard about Zoe Letting Go on author Nova Ren Suma's blog as part of her 2012 YA Debut Interview Series and was immediately interested in reading the book. I tweeted author Nora Price to tell her how excited I was to read it and in a wonderful surprise she tweeted me asking if I'd like an ARC (Advance Reader's Copy). Of course I said yes and I'm so excited to get to read it even before it comes out this summer!
Title: City of Lost Souls
Author: Cassandra ClareGenre: YA--Fantasy
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Series: 5th in series
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
How I Got the Book: Bought
GoodReads Description: "The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.
No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?
Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.
And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?"
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Why It's On the List: I've loved this series since the first book and the last one ended at such a cliffhanger. I'm so excited this one is finally out--just in time for summer! I can't wait to read what happens next!
Title: Boy Meets Boy
Author: David LevithanGenre: YA Fiction--Romance
Release Date: September 9, 2003
Series: No
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
How I Got the Book: To-purchase
GoodReads Description: "This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: The cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene and is also the star quarterback), and the gay-straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to dance.
When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it. The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.
This is a happy-meaningful romantic comedy about finding love, losing love, and doing what it takes to get love back in a crazy-wonderful world."
Why It's On the List: Because there should be more books with gay main characters and I've been dying to read David Levithan so I figured I should start with his first book!
Title: Clockwork Prince
Author: Cassandra ClareGenre: YA--Fantasy
Release Date: December 6, 2011
Series: 2nd in spin-off series of The Mortal Instruments
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
How I Got the Book: Bought
GoodReads Description: "In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.
With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them.
Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?
As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart."
Media:Why It's On the List: Victorian London. British accents/people. ;) And because for those who love the Mortal Instruments series it's a cool look into the past to see what happened before the series. It's a really cool setting and is very well done. I've been looking forward to reading this ever since it came out and I don't know how I haven't already!
Katie, love the recommendations! I definitely have Insurgent/Divergent on my summer list too. Have you ever read the Fallen series? The last book pf the series I think comes out this summer? It's by Lauren Kate. I figured you might like it given all your YA - Fantasy choices! Good reading!
ReplyDelete-Ashley
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness is the first book in her All Souls Trilogy, and it's fantastic. The sequel comes out in July, and I can't wait!
ReplyDeleteI'm reading the sequel to the Booker Prize of 2009, Wolf Hall. Pretty much in thrall to Thomas Cromwell and Tudor history.
Suzanne Brockmann has a new series that I'm getting ready to start, and for a little YA, Aqsa Mahmud recommended Eon and Eona. Have you read those yet?
I read Ally Condie's Matched and its follow-up, Crossed. Liked them both and am awaiting the third in the series.
Happy reading!
Thanks Ashley! I read the first book in the Fallen series but haven't read the rest yet but I need to! Great recommendation :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the recommendations Jess! I actually haven't read any of those! I will definitely be checking them out!