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2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

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My Progress:


9 / 30 books. 30% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama
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- California (3)
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- Idaho (2)
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- West Virginia
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- Washington, D.C.*

International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (5)
- France (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Scotland (1)
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My Progress:


12 / 51 states. 24% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


10 / 50 words. 20% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


15 / 50 books. 30% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

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32 / 50 books. 64% done!

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27 / 52 books. 52% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

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21 / 40 books. 53% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


13 / 40 books. 33% done!

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5 / 25 books. 20% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

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17 / 26.2 miles. 65% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

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15 / 100 books. 15% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

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34 / 104 books. 33% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

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31 / 52 books. 60% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

My Progress


32 / 165 books. 19% done!
Tuesday, December 08, 2020

Top Ten Tuesday: Excuse Me While I Engage in Some Shameless Self-Promotion

There are 23 days left in the year.  23!  Can you believe it?  Suddenly the year that has seemed eternal is coming to a close.  Crazy.  I've got a million things to do, offline and on, but I am trying to get all my 2020 reads reviewed before the year ends.  I was so busy working on that goal (Check out the two reviews I've already posted this morning—go me!) that I completely forgot about Top Ten Tuesday, my favorite weekly book meme.  Now that my senior moment has passed, I'm here with a TTT list.  I'm not going to do today's topic—Holiday/Seasonal Freebie—though.  Instead, I'm going to engage in a little shameless self-promotion today.  Sorry, not sorry. 

If you hang out here at BBB much, you know I love reading challenges.  Usually, in my exuberance I sign up for way too many and fail to finish any of them.  This year, however, I've been rocking them, which has made me even more excited about 2021 challenges.  Because the blog I've always used for challenge information is not currently being updated, impatient me decided to create my own:  Ready for a Reading Challenge.  After doing that, I decided to go completely crazy and host my own challenge.  I've never seen one focused on historical children's fiction, so I created my own.  The 2021 Children's Historical Fiction Challenge focuses on celebrating the genre while expanding our reading within it.  Because I love reading prompt challenges, I've decided to use this format.  If you enjoy them, too, I hope you'll join me for this challenge.  You can find all the details here.


My challenge includes all historical fiction, not just new releases, but it's always fun to look at what's up-and-coming.  So, my list today is:

Top Ten Children's Historical Fiction 2021 Releases I Want to Read  


1.  Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee (available May 4)—I've mentioned this YA novel in a previous list, but I'm highlighting it again because it's the 2021 historical fiction release I'm most looking forward to.  Even though it's morbid, I enjoy reading about Titanic's doomed plight.  I'm also a big Stacey Lee fan, so yeah, this one definitely tops my list.


2.  The Secret Life of Kitty Granger by G.D. Falksen (available March 2)—Set in 1967, this YA offering features an autistic English teen whose always tried to hide her oddities from others.  When her keen observation skills help her identify a Russian spy ring, however, she becomes an important agent for her country.  Sounds fun!


3.  Ophie's Ghosts by Justina Ireland (available May 18)—It's 1922 and Ophie, who has just discovered she can see ghosts, is working at a haunted mansion in Pittsburgh.  As she makes friends with the spirit of a young girl with a tragic story, Ophie tries to figure out how to help her.  I don't know about you, but I'm definitely intrigued.


4.  Ground Zero by Alan Gratz (available February 2)—No American who's old enough to remember it will ever forget the events of September 11, 2001.  I've read few books about the event, so I'm interested to see how Gratz handles the subject in his new one.  I've learned a lot from other historical novels by this author; I assume this one will have the same effect.


5.  Daughters of a Dead Empire by Carolyn T. O'Neil (available September 21)—In war-torn Russia, 17-year-old Anna is running for her life.  Needing someone to smuggle her across enemy territory, she latches on to another teen girl.  When Anna finds out her helper is a communist, she must keep her own identity a secret.  As danger increases, she has to decide just how far she can trust her new companion.  Sounds compelling, no?


6.  The Silver Blonde by Elizabeth Ross (available July 27)—In 1946, Clara Berg spends her days sorting film reels in Hollywood while dreaming of getting her own big break.  When she discovers the dead body of a famous starlet in the vaults, she finds herself caught-up in a whirlwind murder investigation with long-reaching consequences.  I'm definitely in for this one!


7.  Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca (available February 2)—This MG novel-in-verse concerns a young girl in the 1980's who is conflicted about her mixed identity as an Indian-American.  Her world becomes even more complex when she finds out that her mother, about whom she already has complicated feelings, has leukemia.  


8.  A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia (available May 25)—Set in 1860 Louisiana, this novel concerns all the residents of a plantation, both free and enslaved.  It brings to light stories, secrets, and troubling truths.  Sounds right up my reading alley.


9.  The List of Unspeakable Fears by J. Kasper Kramer (available Fall 2021)—There's not tons of info out there on this one, but it's set in 1910 New York City.  A 12-year-old girl is terrified when she moves to North Brother Island with her mother and her new stepfather, a mysterious physician.  Strange things begin to occur on the island of quarantined patients ...


10.  Stranger on the Home Front by Maya Chhabra (available Jan 1)—This middle-grade novel concerns a young Indian-American girl whose father is arrested in the wake of WWI suspicion against anyone who appears "un-American."  The book is part of the I Am America series, which sounds a lot like the Dear America series I love.  I'm definitely going to check it out.

There you go, ten historical children's novels I'm looking forward to reading.  How about you?  Do you like historical fiction?  Which are your favorites?  Which historical new releases are you looking forward to?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a message on this post and I will gladly return the favor on yours.

Happy TTT!        

45 comments:

  1. Red, White, and Whole sounds really interesting.

    My post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I always like books about identity, especially when someone is trying to balance two ethnicities/lifestyles. It's just an interesting theme for me.

      Thanks for coming by, Lydia!

      Delete
  2. Go you for taking the initiative to create your own! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm just super impatient sometimes. LOL.

      Thanks for stopping by, Tanya!

      Delete
  3. Wow! Great choices...I'm definitely intrigued by #1! I think it's great that you're participating in so many reading challenges, and starting your own too! Hope you are staying safe and even though 2020 was not what we expected, that something good to you happened through it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, JadeSky! You know, even though 2020 did not go down the way I thought it would, plenty of great things happened this year. In fact, overall, more good things than bad for me and my family. Keeping my fingers crossed that our luck continues :)

      Thanks for coming by!

      Delete
  4. Red, White, and Whole is calling to me, even though I don't really read historicals (but it could happen). Good with this challenge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, since I remember the 80s fairly clearly, I don't really think of them as HISTORY, you know? I'm not old enough for that!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Sam!

      Delete
  5. I can't believe this year is almost over either. I've got 4 books to go to meet my book a week goal, but list like yours already have me ready to plan my future reads!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are a lot of great books coming out next year. It's exciting! Of course, I still have a bunch to finish for THIS year, so we'll see how that goes ...

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Ethan!

      Delete
  6. I've read Alan Gratz before and really liked his writing, so that's one I really want to read next year, too. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same. The ones I've read are about WWII. It will be interesting to see how he tackles a different topic.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lark!

      Delete
  7. What a great challenge! I'm going to write some of these titles down for my daughter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, good! I hope she enjoys them. These were just some of the great-looking titles I found. Looks like 2021 is going to be a good one for hist fic.

      Thanks for stopping by, Deanna!

      Delete
  8. I love a good book challenge! Historical fiction isn't a genre I read often, but some of these look really good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me, too! I'm having trouble deciding which ones to do in 2021. There are a bunch that look really fun, but I don't want to take on too many. Choices, choices ...

      Thanks for coming by, Caroline!

      Delete
  9. A Sitting in St James sounds awesome! Great list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It does, doesn't it? I couldn't find a lot of plot information, but I like the idea of a book that concerns ALL the people on a plantation. It would be very interesting to see the same events through a bunch of different eyes.

      Thanks for stopping by, Ceridwen!

      Delete
  10. Thank you so much for taking over this role to share challenges and for offering this historical fiction challenge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Making a blog is easy - keeping up with it is the hard part! I'm enjoying it, though, and hopefully the blog is helpful to others.

      Thanks for coming by, Deb!

      Delete
  11. 23 days- wow. I hadn't actually thought of it like that, but you're right! That seems weird. Bye 2020 lol. Anyway- I like what you did with these. Kitty Granger sounds fun...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Doesn't it? I love the idea of autism being an advantage that allows someone on the spectrum to be a hero - especially in an era where autism wasn't understood at all.

      Thanks for stopping by, Greg!

      Delete
  12. Ain't nothing wrong with some self-promo :) This challenge sounds amazing and I look forward to your posts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha. If you can't promote yourself on your own blog, where can you promote yourself? LOL.

      I'm excited for my challenge, even if it ends up just being me doing it :)

      Thanks for coming by, Natalie!

      Delete
  13. I love historical fiction! I'll be adding a lot of these to my TBR!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay! Be sure and let me know what you think of the ones you read.

      Thanks for stopping by, Laura!

      Delete
  14. I definitely don't read enough historical fiction novels. Hope you enjoy all these!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love learning about history, but I prefer to do it through fiction :) I tend to read mostly about certain time periods, though, so I'm trying to branch out a little in 2021.

      Thanks for coming by, Alicia!

      Delete
  15. I've been wanting to read more historical fiction, and this list is going to keep me very busy next year! Seriously, how do all of these look so great?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right? And this was just a small sampling of all the interesting-sounding books I found. I can't wait for all the great historical novels coming out in 2021.

      Thanks for stopping by, Christopher!

      Delete
  16. I always look forward to your TTTs because they are that tad off the topic. Love this one.

    Thanks for visiting my TTT earlier.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha. I love TTT, but not all of the topics speak to me. I like the prompts for the next few weeks, though, so I'll be sticking to them for the next little while anyway.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Marianne!

      Delete
    2. Same here. Some topics have been used often in the past and then it's nice to twist them a little.

      I always enjoy your posts, so thank you for trhat.

      Delete
  17. Sign me up! An excuse to read those great Diary books or Dear America! Love it. Also some other good historical fiction

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay! I'm thrilled you'll be joining in the challenge. It's going to be fun and I'm with you, I love the Dear America books.

      Thanks for stopping by, Lisa!

      Delete
  18. These all look great, I like how different they all are, not just Victorians and WW2. I used to love The Roman Mysteries books when I was younger, I feel like kids books can get away with a lot more when there’s a historical setting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I tried to have some variety in the books for this post. I definitely find myself returning over and over to the same time period when I read historical fiction. I'm trying to branch out!

      Thanks for coming by, Catherine!

      Delete
  19. This is a really cool idea! I'm always so stumped at creating challenges or tags, so kudos to you! So many of these books look and sound so good. I hope that you enjoy them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same. I wanted to create one that was unique from the others out there, but also one that would be fun and a little bit challenging. We'll see how this first year goes ...

      Thanks for stopping by, Leslie!

      Delete
  20. I hadn't heard about most of these books before but they definitely sound intriguing especially Luck of the Titanic and The Silver Blonde.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm really excited for both of those titles. THE SILVER BLONDE sounds especially unique for a YA novel.

      Thanks for coming by, Kyla!

      Delete
  21. I hope you enjoy all these! Historical fiction is my favorite genre, so I read a lot of it too. I’m looking forward to Ophie’s Ghost and Ground Zero.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mystery/thriller is my favorite genre, but hist fic comes in a close second. I love learning about history through a compelling story!

      Thanks for stopping in, AJ!

      Delete
  22. I love that you created your own challenge. This sounds like a good one too. I love historical fiction but I've not read much of it that is geared toward younger readers. Your titles sound great too.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Every time I see a new reading challenge for 2021, my brain begins to spin. Can I take this one on, too? Am I doing too many, which ones do I want to do? Basically, I'm putting off deciding for a few more days. Sigh. Yours looks fun. I hosted the Middle East reading challenge for a few years and enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.

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