Thursday, April 30, 2020

Books That Should Be On Your Radar

I've been meaning to post a lot of these sooner but moving had them in boxes but guess what? They are free from their dark cardboard dungeon! Let's talk about them!

Gotham High - Melissa de la Cruz
No surprise here that this is a great book, Melissa de la Cruz consistently brings us great stuff, and always with a little twist. In this one she partners with DC Comics and illustrator Thomas Pitilli and together they give us a young adult graphic novel. Now, I know some of you are rolling your eyes but this was actually really interesting and fun. Not to mention, its an incredibly fast read! It gives us the younger versions of Batman, Catwoman, and The Joker slogging their way through the doldrums of high school. If you are a fan of Riverdale or even Gossip Girl, you'll enjoy this one and your teen will, too!
Close Your Eyes - Darren O'Sullivan
I gave this one five stars because it was pretty great. We have a man who clearly is having memory loss issues (something I deal with daily) after waking up from a coma. Years later someone is demanding he find something that he apparently stole, except this guy has NO idea what they are talking about. I think this was compared to Gillian Flynn novels and that is pretty accurate, the twist at the end had me shrieking. 
The Sound of Stars - Alechia Dow
To be honest, I'm only half way through this but I really love it. I think my daughter is itching to get to this one herself. A really interesting dystopian/sci-fi young adult book has a teen girl named Ellie being helped by a lab created AI named Morris to basically save the world. It really reminds me of a modern version of Fahrenheit 451, where books are illegal and destroyed. In this one it is books and music, basically art in general. Its really interesting and strange but if you want something different from what you usually grab, this is the one to do that with. 
What I Want You To See - Catherine Linka
Easily one of the prettiest and coolest covers I've gotten this year so far. I read this one a few months ago, so did my daughter, and she really enjoyed it. This one centers around a high school graduate heading to art school who finds out higher education isn't like what the brochures sell you on. She realizes that it is competitive and nobody is really your friend, even the teachers who are meant to guide you along. She inadvertently finds herself in the middle of a crime and nobody to really help her. Again, this one is YA but adults will enjoyed this one a lot too. Definitely an interesting one if you have a teen interested in art. 
The Last Letter From Juliet - Melanie Hudson
I know I'm not the biggest historical fiction fan but sometimes on sounds so good I have to give it a try, and I am so glad I did. Yes, this is a WWII book and I don't know about you but it feels like there are SO many in the market right now. I'm not going to say much because this one had me misty eyed at the end and I think I read the last third in one sitting because it was beautiful. So far, this has been my favorite historical fiction of the year and it will likely make my top ten list for the year.
Little White Lies - Philippa East
Oh guys. One of my worst fears is for myself to be kidnapped, but also having one of my children abducted. In this one we have a young girl abducted but is found seven years later. By this time she's a teenager and not only do we find out exactly what happened to her during her time away, but her mom has some confessions of her own and basically she's trying to bond with her daughter again but also find out if her daughter really remembers all of the details from the day she disappeared. It started a little slow for me but once it got moving I really enjoyed this one.

Alright guys, I think that's all I have for right now. I have so many review books coming up (mostly romance) but I spent the last of my gift cards on books that were specifically NOT romance just to shake things up a bit.

Have you read any good ones I haven't read yet? Let me know because I have room for more books!

1 comment:

Eli@CoachDaddy said...

So I recently read Schooled, by Stephanie Jankowski. She's a blogger like us! I really enjoyed it, but it's a different kind of book. Short stories on being a teacher. Highly entertaining, endearing, and recommended. I dig the description of the first book on your list, about superheroes at young ages. I could get into something like that!