A lot of fun Top Ten Tuesday topics come up during any given year, but my hands-down favorites are the seasonal reading prompts.  It's always fun to think about what I want to read in the upcoming months and it's even more enjoyable to see what books other bloggers are excited about.  The more the merrier, guys, so why don't you join in the fun?  All you have to do is click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, read a few guidelines, make your own list, and then sit back and enjoy wandering around the book blogosphere checking out other people's posts.  Warning:  keep Goodreads open because you'll be adding a lot of great-sounding reads to your "I Need to Read it NOW" list.

I'm thrilled to have been selected as a YA fiction judge for the first round of The Cybils Awards.  I've never done this before, so I'm not exactly sure what it entails besides reading a lot of teen novels!  I assume that's what I'll be doing for most of the Fall, but since nominations don't open until November 1st, I don't have any specific titles to share.  In the meantime, then, here are the Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR List:

YA/Middle Grade


1. The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys (coming October 1, 2019)—I love Sepetys' historical fiction, so I've been eagerly waiting for this one to come out.  It's a love story set in Madrid after the country's Civil War.  I can't wait!


2.  Slay by Brittney Morris (out today, September 24, 2019)—When a conflict inside the Black Panther-inspired video game she secretly designed causes the death of a player, 17-year-old Kiera Johnson is thrust into a real-life battle that threatens the safe world she thought she had created for herself and other Black gamers.  Billed as Ready Player One meets The Hate U Give, this YA novel sounds intriguing and timely.


3.  The World Ends in April by Stacy McAnulty (out now)—As the granddaughter of a doomsday prepper, Eleanor knows she will survive the apocalypse just fine.  But what about her BFF, Mack?  Before she knows what's happening, Eleanor has become the president of an End of the World club at her school.  No matter what happens with the approaching apocalypse, her life is definitely changing.  This MG offering sounds fun.  Count me in, for sure!


4.  Color Me In by Natasha Diaz (out now)—I've always been intrigued by stories about struggles with racial identity, even before my husband and I adopted our bi-racial daughter ten years ago.  Now I'm especially drawn to them and this YA novel, about a bi-racial teen finding her way around her Black and Jewish roots, sounds exceptional.


5.  The Grey Sisters by Jo Treggiari (out today, September 24, 2019)—A trio of friends head to the mountains to visit the site of the plane crash that took their siblings' lives in order to find closure.  While they search for answers, they meet a mountain dweller searching for help.  Their meeting will change all of their lives.  I love a good survival tale; The Grey Sisters sounds like that and more.

Adult


6.  The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes (out October 8, 2019)—This historical novel, about an Englishwoman living in small-town Kentucky during the Depression who decides to become a book deliverer for Eleanor Roosevelt's traveling library campaign, sounds compelling.


7.  The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (out today, September 24, 2019)—This sweeping rags-to-riches family drama sounds like one I will really enjoy.

Of course, I can't make a TTT list without including a few mystery/thrillers:


8.  The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell (out November 5, 2019)—On the day she turns 25, Libby Jones finds out not just who her biological parents are, but also that she has inherited their posh home in London.  She soon discovers that the house has a dark, haunting history ... I love a ghostly story, especially around Halloween time.  This one sounds like it will fit the bill perfectly!


9.  One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski (out October 1, 2019)—When a woman is offered a house-sitting gig at a luxurious beach home, she jumps at the chance.  The more she learns about a 30-year-old mystery connected to the home, the more intrigued she becomes ... Another creepy house story - yaaassss!  I want them all!


10.  Before the Devil Fell by Neil Olson (out October 8, 2019)—This is another novel that sounds like a great spine-tingling Halloween read.  It concerns a man who returns to the hometown he fled in the wake of disturbing rumors about his mother and her "coven."  His assumption that his mother's interest in witchcraft was just a passing hippie phase is dissolved as he finds disturbing clues in his family history that hint at a much lengthier association with New England witchcraft.

There you have it, ten books I'm looking forward to reading this Fall.  How about you?  What's on your list?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on yours. 

Happy TTT!

Like the river itself, Ann Patchett's ode to the Amazon is a lush, meandering affair full of unexpected twists and intriguing surprises. Sometimes placid, sometimes alive with danger, State of Wonder mimics its exotic setting to perfection, ensuring an exciting, one-of-a-kind adventure.

The story begins with the delivery of an Aerogram from Brazil, announcing the passing of Dr. Anders Eckman. Details are sketchy, but the short letter attributes his demise to a raging fever, a malady not uncommon in the wilds of the Amazon jungle, where he was traveling on a work assignment. His lab partner, 42-year-old Marina Singh, receives the news with shock. She knew Anders' journey to South America could be dangerous, but she never expected him to perish in the wilderness, so far away from his wife and three sons in Minnesota. Shaken with grief over the death of her friend and colleague, Marina accompanies her boss (and lover) to the Eckman's home to deliver the news to his widow. Karen Eckman crumples at the news, insisting Anders can't possibly be dead. With such scant information and no body to confirm Anders' death, the widow refuses to accept the fact that he's really gone. Stricken with her own grief, Karen begs Marina for answers or, at the very least, for her husband's body.

To her surprise, Marina's boss, Mr. Fox, agrees that Marina's just the person to investigate Anders' mysterious death. He sends her to Brazil with two objectives: figure out what happened to Anders and scour the jungle for Dr. Annick Swenson, an elusive American researcher who's supposed to be developing a potent new fertility drug for Vogel, the pharmaceutical company for which they all work. Marina's not exactly the explorer type, but she is submissive and obedient and it's simply not in her nature to refuse. All her life, she's been "a very good student and a very good doctor and a very good employer and lover and friend and when someone asked her to do something she operated on the principle they had asked because it was important. She had succeeded in life because she had so rarely declined any request that was made of her" (47-48). Thus, she travels to the teeming port of Manaus, where she hopes she'll be able to quickly locate Dr. Swenson and just as quickly, return to her nice, safe lab job in Minnesota.

But this is chaotic, unpredictable Brazil, where very little proceeds in the orderly, efficient way to which Americans are accustomed. Instead, Marina's stuck in a strange land, being eaten alive by bugs while waiting around for information that's not exactly forthcoming. When she decides to take matters into her own hands, Marina's flung into a perilous Amazonian adventure that will change her life forever. The truth behind Anders' death is only the beginning of the strange, mind-boggling secrets she will uncover in the heart of the world's most intriguing rainforest. The most surprising revelations of all, however, come not from the Amazon's rare plants, animals and people, but from within the murky depths of Marina's own heart.

With vibrant characterization, meticulous plotting, and a vivid setting, State of Wonder truly does it all. It's a mystery, a meditation, a moral-twisting look at the miracles of science. Mostly, though, it's just a good, old-fashioned survival story. The tale moves at a steady pace, never plodding, always offering tantalizing glimpses of the mysteries squirming below the surface to keep things interesting. Like the jungle, it's bursting with life, death, and everything in between. I can't describe it adequately so, really, you're just going to have to read it yourself. Trust me, you won't be sorry.

(Readalikes: Hm, I can't really think of anything. Can you?)

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language (a few F-bombs, plus infrequent use of milder invectives), depiction of illegal drug use, some violence and a small amount of non-graphic sexual content

To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of State of Wonder from the generous folks at Harper Collins and TLC Book Tours, for whom this review was written. Thank you!