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2026 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

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27 / 30 books. 90% done!

2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

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39 / 50 books. 78% done!

2026 Literary Escapes Challenge

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34 / 51 states. 67% done!

2026 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

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2026 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

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Booklist Queen's 2026 Reading Challenge

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2026 Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge

2026 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

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2026 Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

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44 / 52 books. 85% done!

Shelf Reflection Candy Reading Challenge for Kids (and Adults)

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54 / 65 books. 83% done!

2026 Countdown Reading Challenge

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2026 Series Reading Challenge


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Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo

Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo

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70 / 125 books. 56% done!

2026 Southern Literary Reading Challenge

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2026 Reading Challenge (by Linz the Bookworm)

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2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge

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European Reading Challenge 2026

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2017 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge (retired challenge - doing old boards for fun)

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67 / 125 books. 54% done!

2026 Reading Challenge Addict Reading Challenge

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The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

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The Life Skills Reading Challenge

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Showing posts with label Elizabeth Wein. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elizabeth Wein. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 04, 2020

Top Ten Tuesday: A Rainbow of TBR Books


At first blush, today's Top Ten Tuesday topic sounds easy:  Top Ten Books With Colors in the Title.  I racked my brain to come up with colorful books I've read and ... nuthin'.  When I scanned my TBR lists, though, a number of titles popped up.  So, I've amended today's prompt just a tad.

Before we get to that, though, be sure to stop by That Artsy Reader Girl and give our TTT host, Jana, some love.  All the details about this fun meme are on her blog.  Join in, won't you?

Top Ten Books On My TBR List With Colors in the Title 


1.  Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain MurphyI've talked about my excitement for this YA novel before.  I loved Murphy's debut novel, The Disappearances, and have been waiting anxiously for her to release another.  An e-ARC of this one is waiting on my Kindle; I just need to get to it.


2.  Butterfly Yellow by Thanhhá Lai—This YA novel concerns two Vietnamese children desperately trying to escape their war-torn country and find refuge in America.  When her younger brother is ripped from her arms at the airport, Hang is left behind.  Years later, Hang finally makes it to the U.S., but where is her brother?  How will she ever find him again? 


3.  Planet Earth is Blue by Nicole Panteleakos—Another historical, this MG offering centers around the launch of the Challenger and a young foster kid who can't wait for the big event.  Not only does Nova love space, but her beloved missing sister has promised she'll be there to watch the launch with Nova.


4.  White Rose by Kip Wilson—This WWII novel in verse is based on the true story of a young woman's determination to resist the Nazi regime in Germany.


5.  Black Dove White Raven by Elizabeth WeinA fiery explosion brings down a stunt plane holding the mothers of two children, killing one.  The surviving woman vows to raise the dead woman's son, a Black boy, along with her own white daughter.  Determined to find somewhere their unusual family can live in peace (1930's America is not that place), they move to Ethiopia, where they find the acceptance they're looking for.  When the threat of war causes turmoil, the family's lives change once again ...


6.  The Blue Cotton Gown by Patricia Harman—This memoir about a midwife who practiced in Appalachia for many years sounds fascinating.


7.  The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffiths—I love the Ruth Galloway mystery series, so this one—#8 in the series—is definitely one I want to read.


8.  Greenglass House by Kate Milford—Winter is hardly the busy season at this smuggler's inn, so when the guest bell goes off unexpectedly, the innkeepers' adopted son is surprised.  He's even more shocked when the place fills with a strange mix of mysterious lodgers and odd things start to happen.  It's up to him and the cook's daughter to figure out what in the world is going on.


9.  The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman—This MG historical is about two mortal enemies brought together when the Chernobyl plant explodes.  As the two girls are bustled off to Leningrad toward an unknown new life, they must rely on each other to face the past and forge a new future.


10.  Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes—Sawyer Taft, an 18-year-old auto mechanic, wants nothing to do with the frilly, fake-y debutante season.  But, when her grandmother offers her a very large sum to participate, she can't say no (even though she really, really wants to), especially since it will give her the opportunity to ask questions about the biggest mystery of her life—her father's identity. 

There you have it, ten books with colorful titles that I want to read.  Have you read any of them?  What did you think?  What colorful books are on your list today?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I will return the favor on yours.

Happy TTT!
Tuesday, September 17, 2013

TTT: What I'm FALLing For This Autumn


It's Tuesday again and, although I'm feeling a little under the weather, I'm excited for this week's TTT.  Especially since we've got a nice, easy topic this time around.  Sometimes, I can't think of one item that fits the weekly prompt, let alone ten, but when it comes to books I'm planning to read, that's easy as pie (although I don't even attempt to make pie because it's way too hard, so that's probably a crap analogy ... whatever).  So, without further ado (Wait! One quick ado—Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish), I give you Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR List:


1.  Monsters by Ilsa J. BickThis is the final book in Bick's dystopian Ashes trilogy.  I adored the first installment in the series, was a little less impressed by the second, and can't wait for the third.  If you like zombie novels, definitely give these a try.


2.  More Than This by Patrick Ness—Ness' Chaos Walking series is one of my very favorites, so I was excited to learn that the author published TWO new books this year.  While The Crane Wife, an adult magical realism novel, sounds interesting, it's the YA novel that really interests me.  In it, a boy who's pretty sure he drowned wakes up in a strange, alternative world that vaguely resembles the place he lived as a child.  It's up to him to figure out what in the world is going on.  Sounds good, right?


3.  Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein—Like lots of other readers, I found Code Name Verity a unique and compelling read.  The author's much-anticipated new book is another WWII thriller that's supposed to be just as amazing as her debut novel.


4.  A Spark Unseen by Sharon Cameron—I just finished The Dark Unwinding, the first novel in Cameron's YA steampunk series about a girl who discovers the strange, but intriguing world her eccentric grandfather inhabits.  The next installment sounds just as entrancing.  I can't wait to read it!


5.  Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson—I enjoyed Donaldson's debut novel, Edenbrooke, and am glad to see that her newest is getting rave reviews.  Good, clean reads are difficult to find, so I'm excited about this one.


6.  SYLO by D.J. MacHale—This one's been out for a little while now, but I haven't gotten a chance to dive into it just yet.  It's about a boy living on an isolated island who witnesses several cold-blooded murders that lead him to try to escape.  It's supposed to be a "high-octane," apocalyptic thriller—how could I not be drawn to this one?


7.  The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason—Bram Stoker's sister and Sherlock Holmes' niece team up to solve the mystery of disappearing debutantes in this YA mystery/steampunk/romance.  Sounds fun, no?


8.  Frozen by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston—I just received an invitation to be on the blog tour for this one.  This dystopian thriller is about a young blackjack dealer who risks it all to flee post-apocalyptic Las Vegas for the mythical "Blue," a place where beauty still exists—if only she can survive to see it.  Sounds a little cliché, but still intriguing.                                                  


9.  Dead Girls Don't Lie by Jennifer Shaw Wolf—I love novels about the terrible secrets that tear people apart (I'm just sadistic like that), so this one, about a girl who's trying to figure out how her friend really died, sounds like it will be right up my alley.


10.  Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller—Stories about kids raised in unique situations (cults, remote villages, etc.) trying to integrate into the "normal" world always intrigue me.  This one, about a girl who's been raised off-the-grid by the mother who kidnapped her and is released to her father after her mom is arrested, sounds super compelling.

What do you think?  Any of these sound good to you, too?  What's on your Fall TBR list?

* Book images from Barnes & Noble
Saturday, June 16, 2012

YA WWII Novel Unique—In A Good Way

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

There are two things books about World War II usually aren't:  snarky and upbeat.  Code Name Verity, a YA novel by Elizabeth Wein, happens to be both.  Maybe that's why it's such a different kind of read, one that's affecting and grim, but still almost funny.  You don't see that a lot—actually, you never see that—in stories about this time period.  Code Name Verity is unique and that's why I liked it.

The first half of the story is narrated by a young Scottish woman, whose ability to speak German makes her a perfect spy for England.  When the novel opens "Verity" has been captured by the Gestapo and is being held for questioning in Ormaie, France.  The Nazis have made it clear that if she does not reveal the nature of her mission, she will be executed.  After she's beaten and tortured, of course.  Given scraps of paper on which to write out her confession, Verity takes her time, spinning out tales like Scheherazade.  Since the SS officer in charge appreciates a good story, she gives him one.  As she writes about espionage, friendship, courage and cowardice, Verity fights for her life, one word at a time.   

Margaret "Maddie" Brodatt tells the second part of the story.  An English pilot, Maddie is used to making secret flights into enemy territory.  She's flown her friend Verity several times, always without incident.  Until now.  Now, Verity has been captured and Maddie's hiding out in a leaky barn in Nazi-held France.  Scribbling her own notes, Maddie talks about her childhood, her lifelong desire to fly airplanes, her friendship with Verity, her fears of being courtmartialed—or, even worse, being captured like Verity.  Although she doesn't practice her religion, Maddie's Jewish ancestry could still land her in a Nazi death camp.

As the two women write their histories, a remarkable story emerges—one of adventure, one of bravery, one of hope and one of friendship that transcends the horrors of war.

Although Code Name Verity is being promoted as a YA book, I don't see it appealing to teens really.  Not that it lacks action or intriguing characters or even a sarcastic, foul-mouthed narrator—it has all that.  But it's still kind of an old-fashioned book.  Action-packed and absorbing and entertaining, for sure, just in a vintage kind of way.  Does that make any sense?  Probably not.  No matter.  Suffice it to say, I enjoyed this unique and powerful WWII novel.  It's different—in the very best kind of way.  

(Readalikes:  Reminded me a bit of Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith)

Grade:  B

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  R for language (a handful of F-bombs, plus milder invectives), violence/scenes of peril, and sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Code Name Verity from the generous folks at Hyperion.  Thank you!

       
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