For awhile I’ve been way to busy to bother with these What’s In My Mailbox? posts, but this week I wanted to make some time for it because I’ve received some great books for review and because I think you might want to check out some of them, too. Whether you’re into edgy contemporary YA, paranormal fiction, or novels that re-imagine existing stories, there will be something to interest you here.
Since last January when I read Cynthia Hand‘s debut novel, Unearthly, I’ve been dying to see where she takes this paranormal story. The second novel in the series, Hallowed, comes out on January 17, 2012, but I have the chance to read it now, which is pretty exciting for me. Similarly, last year I read Paige Harbison‘s debut novel, Here Lies Bridget, then had the opportunity to interview the author and have her write a guest post for me. Because of the extra attention I gave her, I heard about the next book she was publishing, New Girl, which is a re-writing of Daphne DuMaurier‘s Rebecca. Rebecca is one of my fave Gothic novels, so I have to admit that I’d been anticipating this re-imagining for a really long time. New Girl follows the story of the girl only referred to as ‘New Girl’ by her classmates at Manderlay Academy after Becca goes missing and allows her to enroll in it’s hallowed halls. The only one who doesn’t seem to blame her is Max Holloway, Becca’s ex, which complicates things for the narrator a lot. Interested? Look for it on January 31, 2012. Are you looking forward to these books as much as I am?
Now, last year I didn’t have the chance to read Blythe Woolston‘s debut novel, which ended up winning the William C. Morris YA Debut Award. After that not only did I plan to read her first book, but I promised that when her next one came out, I’d find a way to read it, too. Catch and Release, which will be released on January 28, 2011, is about two teens – Polly and Odd – who are the only survivors of a MRSA (also known as flesh-eating bacteria) outbreak in their small town. Before Polly had planned to marry her high school sweetheart and do the whole kids thing, and Odd was leaving for football, but now those plans are gone. They only have each other and a shared love of trout fishing, so when Odd shows up in his grandmother’s Cadillac promising a day on the river, it’s the start of a remarkable journey.
The last two books I received, Hushed by Kelley York and Waiting To Forget by Sheila Kelly Welch are both already available for purchase, not just pre-order, and come from smaller publishers. These are two that I might have bypassed had I not stumbled upon their synopses, almost by accident. Hushed is about a boy named Archer who has saved, loved, and killed for Vivian after being unable to protect her from what happened to them when they were kids. Then Evan shows up – the only person who’s ever cared about Archer without a single string attached – and Vivian’s manipulative behavior reaches an all-time high. Waiting To Forget follows a boy named T.J. who has always done everything in his power to protect his younger sister, Angela. When Momma left them home alone, he’d lock the door, keep Angela entertained, and get milk and cereal for her. When Momma’s boyfriend got angry at them, he tried to protect her. Later at the foster home, he was the only one who could get her out of her bad moods and really understood her. Now, T.J. sits in a hospital waiting room, wondering if Angela will ever wake up after a fall and whether he’ll ever feel at home with their new parent’s house. Both of these novels have male POVs living through a difficult or impossible situation, and I’m looking forward to see how the authors use the concepts to their inevitable conclusions.
Have you read any of these books yet or are you looking forward to checking them out now, too? And of course, most importantly, which of them do you think I should read first?
