New YA: March 22-31.
Still mega-super behind, but I find these round-ups so helpful, so please bear with me as I get caught up!
New hardbacks:
Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery, by Keren David
Life Is But a Dream, by Brian James:
Much of the writing is descriptively, beautifully visual, and James really conveys the pure joy and pure terror that come with Sabrina's condition: it's very easy to understand why she feels a sense of loss when she starts to see the world in the less-heightened way that most other people do. Reading her voice is a completely immersive experience—that she waits so long before talking about the most difficult parts of her experiences just before being admitted to the Center, that she gets more paranoid and confused as the book progresses, that she doesn't always see that some of her actions are likely to cause more harm than good—occasionally frustrating, but always believable.
Sisters of Glass, by Stephanie Hemphill
Slide, by Jill Hathaway
The Stalker Chronicles, by Carley Moore:
TL;DR: Social Outcast Learns A Lesson and Falls In Lurrrve.
After the Snow, by S. D. Crockett:
The pacing is good, the description strong, the characters believable, and the violence, while upsetting and gut-wrenching, isn't gratuitous. It's a vision of a post-apocalyptic future that touches on a lot of our current concerns—global warming, alternate energy, the oil crisis—while also taking a (pessimistic) stab at imagining what the global political landscape could look like in a few short decades.
Another Jekyll, Another Hyde, by Daniel and Dina Nayeri
Fair Coin, by E. C. Myers
Invisible Sun, by David Macinnis Gill
New paperbacks:
Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey:
Although the mystery itself is one of darkness and tragedy, and although the book deals with racism, death and multiple forms of abuse, Jasper Jones isn’t a depressing read. Charlie and Jeffrey’s constant banter lightens it up considerably, and there are shining moments in which people Stand Up And Do The Right Thing. With echoes of To Kill a Mockingbird and Stand by Me, Jasper
Jones is a must-read for anyone looking for a beautifully written piece of historical fiction, for a mystery that spins out slowly, or for a coming-of-age story that recognizes that becoming an adult is something that happens over the course of a long period of time, not in a single moment.
Entwined, by Heather Dixon:
There are all of the sisters, of course, who are wonderful and quirky and each have their own individual personalities. (Imagine!) There's the King, who is clearly broken-hearted and no, doesn't really appear to be a Shining Star of the Fathering Type at first—but give him time! There's the Big Bad, who is the most creepy-ass creepster who ever creeped. And there are the suitors, both suitable and not. I laughed at the unsuitable ones and fell in love with the suitable ones (yes, all of them), but especially with Lord Teddie, who apparently wandered in off the pages of a Wodehouse book.
A Breath of Eyre, by Eve Marie Mont:
Nutshell? I enjoyed the idea of the book more than I enjoyed actually reading it.