ARC (sort of) Book Haul
Last weekend I was lucky to be able to go to New York City all day Saturday. While I was there I was able to be able to meet up with Casey, a design assistant from Penguin Random House. I was able to ask her questions, get advice, and even visit the Penguin Random House lobby (photo below). I was also lucky enough to be able to be given ARC or advanced reader copies of books. Though these books had already been published the copies I was given were paperbacks and advanced reader copies of the books that had been given out probably at conventions or to reviewers earlier in the year before their publication date.
The books I was given were all published in last few months (September 2016, October 2016, etc. ) and were different genres.
A Shadow Bright & Burning by Jessica Cluess is a fantasy novel and first in a new series. It follows a girl named Henrietta Howel whom is the first female sorcerer in a long time and invited to London to be able to train to not only control her powers but be part of the Queens army to defeat an evil group called The Ancients. The story so far is pretty good and interesting. I am very picky about the kind of fantasy I read and this one had me hooked right away. I am only a few chapters in and do not have a huge amount of time at the moment, but am very much looking forward to reading more of the book and continuing the series once the next book comes out. This is Jessica Cluess's debut novel and so far I think it is going to be a fantasy novel I really can see myself loving and wanting to re-read eventually.
Holding Up The Universe by Jenniver Niven. I had read Niven's book All The Bright Places before and really enjoyed it. If I had to make a top 20 list of my favorite books I would actually probably put it at number 11. However, this book is similar to it but not quite. The story follows a girl named Libby whom used to be overweight. Currently she is dealing with her mother's recent passing and her father's grief, as well as wanting a new start in high school. The story also follows the life of a boy named Jack whom may seem like a cool kid, but has a secret in the fact that he has a disorder in which he is not able to recognize people's faces. After Libby and Jack get into some trouble at school causing them to end up doing community service and group counseling together, they begin to get to know each other and help each other to feel "less alone" in the world. I really enjoyed Niven's last book so I am very hopeful with this one. While All the Bright Places had a SOMEWHAT SPOILER ALERT:
Sad ending
SPOILER OVER
I am really hoping that this has a ending that will not cause me to cry. I am hopeful that this book will be just as great, if not better than
The next book I received was Going Geek by Charlotte Huang. This book follows the story of a girl named Skylar whom thinks that her senior year at her prestigious boarding school will be the best ever. She has a great boyfriend, awesome friends, and a cool dorm, what could go wrong? Things change and force Skylar to go out of her comfort zone after she is put in a undesirable dorm with strangers. Skylar also has lied about how she spent her summer, causing her boyfriend to break up with her. Skylar soon discovers she can not even trust her own best friend. This book sounds like a cute contemporary novel that will be a fast read, but fun one. I do like the stories about people having to go against what they are usually comfortable with and meeting new and unique characters which this book sounds like it will be. This book actually reminds me of the movie House Bunny or Monsters University even though I know that those both take place in college and this story takes place in a boarding school setting. Anyway, I do think it will be an enjoyable read. I have never read a book by Charlotte Huang, though after some research I did see that she has published one other book before this one that looks pretty interesting. I may want to look into it after I finish reading her latest novel. Going Geek though seems like a relaxing and pleasurable read that I can't wait to get to, though I may actually be reading this book last as I do have a few books in this group that I want to read before I read this one.
The Weight of Zero by Karen Fortunati is a book that I will probably want to start next or at latest after I finish Holding Up the Universe. This book sounds extremely interesting and similar to a book I enjoyed in the past called Wintergirls by Laurie Hales Anderson. The Weight of Zero is the story of a 17 year old girl named Cath whom is haunted by Zero, which is what she calls the depression that manifested from Cath's bipolar disorder and caused her to try to commit suicide the first time. Cath is considering taking her life again, but soon starts to see some good things in her life such as her new psychiatrist, new friends, a boy, etc. The question is though is that all going to be enough to rid of Zero? Like I said this book reminds me a lot of Wintergirl in which the main female character,Lia, is suffering with the loss of her best friend and her eating disorder and sees her best friend Cassie as a "ghost," though many can see it as Cassie being a metaphor and representation for Lia's eating disorder. This books seems to be more along the lines of the metaphor and personification of Cath's depression, but I can still see the two similarities. This book not only has good Good Reads reviews (4.45 out of 5), but also was a manuscript that won various awards such as the 2014 SCBWI Work-in-Progress Grant (Contemporary YA category), a 2015 Tassey-Walden Awards finalist, and winner of the 2013 Serendipity Literary Agency YA First Page/Novel Discover Contest. With all the praise I am seeing for this book on and off line, I am definitely adding this too the top of my TBR list.
The last book I received was Everyone We've Been by Sarah Everett. This book seems to be more on the urban fantasy side or possibly similar to Weight of Zero where her illness becomes personified. The story is of a girl named Addison Sullivan whom has been in an accident. After the accident she starts to talk to to a boy that no one else can see. When Addison ends up in a strange mental facility that has told her that they will help her with her memories Addison is even more confused and concerned. She soon finds out that this is not her first at the hospital, she has had some of her memories taken, and that she "erased" a boy. Addison has so many questions now. Who was the boy? What happened that was so awful she wanted to forget it? And is it better to know the truth at all? This book sounds a very interesting book that could go in more of a mental health direction, a sci-fi/mystery/urban fantasy type direction with her memories being erased and the boy disappearing, or even a little of both. I honestly do not know much about this book, but I do think right before I read Going Geek I may pick this up to find out more.
Those are all the books I got last week. I am very excited to read all of them and while I do not know if I will do a review for everyone of these books, I will probably review at least 2 or 3 of these 5 books. I want to thank Casey & Random House for giving me all of these books as well as showing me the Penguin Random House office lobby. I am very grateful and thankful for this experience and who knows?Maybe one day I will be going there again not just as a guest, but as an intern or better yet, employee. Only time will tell. In the mean time however, I can not wait to read all of these books, especially with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up.
That is all for now readers, i hope you enjoyed this and I am sorry for the lack of updates. I may not be updating as much during this week as I will be home for Thanksgiving. I do hope that everyone whom celebrates the holiday has a safe and happy one and just to say that I am thankful for my blog, books, and all the readers of this blog.
Happy Thanksgiving and Have a Happy and Safe Week!
- Jessica
