U is for…upcoming books! January 15, 2008
Colleen Mondor asked bloggers about the books we’re looking forward to, so I thought it would be fun to create a list of the 2008 books I most want to read, categorized from A to Z. Unfortunately, I got stuck on letters like Q and X. Oh, and K and L and Y and a lot more. So here’s my not quite A-to-Z list.
Asian-American Protagonists
Besides Good Enough and She’s So Money, I am also looking forward to Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley. And I’ll be reading my first Kimani Tru book, How to Salsa in a Sari by Dona Sarkar, about a part Indian, part African-American girl. Not sure about The Fold, though, because the subject matter is not exactly of interest to me. But I’ll probably give it a try (because the cover rocks! Look at it, it totally does) and see if it’ll be the first An Na book I actually finish.
Boarding School
Yes, I am a sucker for books set at boarding schools. Except for Kate Brian’s Private series. (I couldn’t even get through the first book, the girls were so mean.) Hence, E. Lockhart’s The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks.
Covers
Besides the aforementioned The Fold, here are some of my favorite covers.
And is it just me, or does the Ivy cover model look like a redheaded version of the girl on Hearn’s The Minister’s Daughter?
Debut Authors
I’m looking forward to these books by debut authors.
Hey There Delilah I mean, Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway. Bonus: Meg Cabot likes it.
A la Carte by Tanita S. Davis (a.k.a. TadMack!)
Not Anything by Carmen Rodrigues
The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholt
For more books by debut authors, check out the Class of 2k8.
Feiwel & Friends
Between Carpe Diem, Get Well Soon, Long May She Reign, and The Poison Apples, I am automatically reading every YA book they publish, like The Compound by S.A. Bodeen and Zombie Blondes by Brian James. Or republish, in the case of Ellen Emerson White (The President’s Daughter, White House Autumn, and Long Live the Queen).
Here’s the Feiwel and Friends website, or visit the Macmillan site to view their catalog.
Geniuses, Boy
Apparently I’m on the immature side, because I happen to find flatulent dwarves absolutely hilarious. Especially when read by Nathaniel Parker. I’ve already done D and F, so I couldn’t put this with one of those letters, but since I also find ex-criminal mastermind boy geniuses intriguing, I think this works just as well as a category. Anyway, THE 2008 book I’m most looking forward to is Artemis Fowl #6, The Time Paradox.
Historical Fiction
Primavera by Mary Jane Beaufrand (Italian Renaissance)
Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher (1940s Chicago)
Sovay — ooh, Celia Rees! And, c’mon, with a description like this, how can I resist?
It’s England, 1783. When the rich and beautiful Sovay isn’t sitting for portraits, she’s donning a man’s cloak and robbing travelers—in broad daylight. But in a time when political allegiances between France and England are strained, a rogue bandit is not the only thing travelers fear. Spies abound, and rumors of sedition can quickly lead to disappearances. So when Sovay lifts the wallet of one of England’s most powerful and dangerous men, it’s not just her own identity she must hide, but that of her father.
New Year’s Reading Resolutions
These are more general resolutions, not solely YA-focused, but I’ve got two reading resolutions for 2008.
1. With this in mind, read at least one non-fiction book a month. At least four books must be YA non-fiction. Alas, I can’t think of any upcoming YA non-fiction I want to read, but I’ve got 3 YA non-fiction and 2 adult non-fiction books checked out right now, which I hope means I’ll be on track with this goal.
2. Read at least one book in translation a month. A book originally written in a foreign language and translated into English, I mean. And since I know I could do this entirely with books from the mystery aisle (and probably one year’s worth in one month, too), I’ll say that at least four books must be non-mysteries, and a couple, whether mysteries or not, must be written for children or teens. Like Guardian of the Spirit by Nahoko Uehashi. And manga doesn’t count. First up: The Redbreast by Jo Nesbø, which is not a YA book but is over 500 pages long and due back at the library in a little over a week.
Princesses
I would never want to be a princess, but for some reason I like to read about them.
Forever Princess (Princess Diaries #10) by Meg Cabot, especially since this is the last in the series
Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Aurelia by Anne Osterlund
Retellings, Fairy Tale
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Rumplestiltskin; see Miss Erin’s review)
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George (East of the Sun and West of the Moon; for another retelling, try East by Edith Pattou)
The Swan Kingdom by Zoë Marriott (doesn’t sound exactly like a retelling, but inspired by The Wild Swans)
Scarletts
In any given year, you can find multiple characters with the same name. Still, I thought it interesting that there will be at least two books about girls named Scarlett. And, yes, I want to read both Kiss Me Kill Me by Lauren Henderson and Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson.
Plus, it looks like there’s a Scarlet in ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley, which makes this list mostly because of two words: gummy bear.
Sequels (okay, I’m cheating with two S’s)
I might not have loooooved The Luxe, but I’m still dying to find out what happens next, so I’ve got to read Rumors by Anna Godbersen.
Also Hell Week by Rosemary Clement-Moore, Kitty Kitty by Michele Jaffe, and Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg.
I had Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce on this list, until I checked Amazon again, and saw that it was postponed (again) to May 2009. Is this book ever going to come out? Although I would much prefer a delayed but excellent book to an on time but blah book, so I’ll stop complaining.
And in the it’s-a-companion-novel-not-a-sequel-but-I’m-sticking-it-here-anyway category: the dead & the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Titles
Titles totally matter, and I love these titles.
Band Geek Love by Josie Bloss
Debbie Harry Sings in French by Meagan Brothers
The Explosionist by Jenny Davidson. And the story sounds good, too:
[I]t is the story of a 15-year-old girl growing up in an alternate version of 1930s Edinburgh, one where the legacy of Napoleon’s victory a century earlier at Waterloo is a standoff between a totalitarian Federation of European States and a group of independent northern countries called the New Hanseatic League. This world is preoccupied with technology (everything from electric cookers to high explosives) but also with spiritualism, a movement our world largely abandoned in the early twentieth century; Sigmund Freud is a radio talk-show crank, cars run on hydrogen and the most prominent scientists experiment with new ways of contacting the dead.
Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman
Fat Hoochie Prom Queen by Nico Medina
La Petite Four by Regina Scott
Crimes of the Sarahs by Kristen Tracy (Ooh, website. Yay!)
Vampire-less Paranormal Fiction
A.k.a., the “I need a category that doesn’t start with a letter I’ve already used” category. The vampire books don’t seem to be slowing down, so I’m trying to do my part to encourage people to read more non-vampire books.
Wake by Lisa McMann, about a girl who can see into other people’s dreams. Which sounds like exactly the kind of paranormal fiction I want to read more of.
