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Showing posts with label Janae Marks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Janae Marks. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Top Ten Tuesday: Bright, New Up-and-Comers (Part One)
Today's TTT prompt is: Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR List. Seasonal TBR lists are my favorite. I always get excited when I spy these prompts coming up! It's fun for me to not just plan out what I want to read in the upcoming season but also to see what everyone else has in their queues. Since I just posted about the books I'm planning to read for the 20 Books of Summer Challenge, though, I feel like I've already covered this topic. Luckily, I've got more than enough titles to fit next week's prompt—Top Ten Most Anticipated Books Releasing During the Second Half of 2024—so I'm going to skip ahead a bit and make this Part One of Two for that topic. Confused yet? Ha ha.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Ten Most Anticipated Books Releasing During the Second Half of 2024 (Part One)
1. 49 Miles Alone by Natalie D. Richards (available July 2)—In this YA thriller, two cousins head into the Utah backcountry for a four-day hiking/camping trip. After several mishaps leave them shaken, injured, and low on supplies, they're thrilled to come upon a couple who offers their help. The pair seems friendly enough until some late night confessions cast suspicion on one of them. When they both disappear one morning, the cousins are left confused and alone in the unforgiving desert. What is going on? How are they going to get help? And what kind of threats await them as they try to find their way out of the wilderness?
2. When the World Fell Silent by Donna Jones Alward (available July 19)—It's 1917 and the world is engulfed in war. Wanting to do her part, Nora Crowell of Halifax, Nova Scotia, enlists in the Canadian Army Nursing Corp. Newly widowed, Charlotte Campbell is living with her soldier husband's dismissive relatives, finding joy and solace only in her baby daughter. As the war rages on, the two women's lives collide in a surprising way, bringing both heartache and hope to both.
3. Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp by Michelle Moran (available July 30)—With World War II still very much fresh on everyone's minds, Oscar Hammerstein is asked to help produce a musical based on the life of Maria von Trapp, an Austrian nun who becomes a governess and then the wife of her wealthy employer. When Austria is overtaken by Nazis, the von Trapp family risked their lives to flee the country. The story has dramatic potential, even if Rogers and Hammerstein will have to romanticize Maria's tale a bit. When the real Maria reads the script, she's furious. Determined to set the record straight, she tells her true story to Hammerstein's secretary since the man Himself is not available.
4. Return to Wyldcliffe Heights by Carol Goodman (available July 30)—Agnes Corey, a junior editor at an indie publishing company, gets the enviable assignment to transcribe the sequel to a blockbuster novel that was published thirty years ago. After that phenom, the author was blinded and scarred in a mysterious fire, then became a recluse, hiding away in her estate, which was once a psychiatric hospital. The more time Agnes spends there with the enigmatic author, the more intrigued she becomes with the story she's transcribing, which seems to be more than just fiction...
5. My Salty Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows (available August 20)—I adore the Jane/Mary books with their playful alternate history/fantasy plots, upbeat narration, and colorful characters. They're never dull! The newest installment combines The Little Mermaid fairy tale with the life of real-life lady pirate Mary Read. Our Mary is a mermaid who's rescued by the crew of a pirate ship captained by Blackbeard himself. When he dies, she sees her opportunity to became the Pirate Queen. Anyone who tries to stand in her way or tell her a girl can't be a pirate can just walk the plank already. Nothing and no one will stop Mary from getting what she wants.
6. Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty (available September 10)—On an ordinary day aboard an ordinary plane flight, a group of passengers is given an extraordinary gift—they learn how and when they are going to die. Although it seems like a silly party trick, people soon begin perishing exactly as "The Death Lady" said they would. How will this knowledge change how the remaining passengers live their lives? What will they do with this illuminating information? What would you do knowing the same?
7. A Split Second by Janae Marks (available October 1)—In this middle-grade mystery, Elise goes to sleep on her birthday and, somehow, wakes up six months later. Although no one else seems to notice anything is awry, everything has changed. Her friends aren't talking to her, she's somehow been signed up for photography club, and her former BFF is acting all chummy again. Elise has no idea what is going on. How can she fix things for her future self? Can she ever go back to the way things were?
Marks is also a contributor to a middle-grade short story anthology called Black Girl Power which comes out on November 12. I'm in for that one as well, especially since I'm the adoptive mother of a mixed-race daughter who very much embraces her Black girl power!
8. The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin (available October 8)—It's 1940 and two puzzle-loving siblings are hard at work trying to solve the mysteries surrounding them. While Jakob Novis joins other codebreakers at Bletchley Park who are trying to crack the Nazis' Enigma cipher, his younger sister, Lizzie, is determines to figure out the truth behind their mother's disappearance. The more the siblings study both, the more they begin to think the two might be linked somehow. With time running out, they need to solve both puzzles, and fast.
9. Misery Hates Company by Elizabeth Hobbs (available November 5)—Marigold Manners is a strong, independent woman, even if she no longer has a penny to her name. With her parents dead and her academic ambitions dashed, she has little choice but to answer a summons from a mysterious relative. Arriving at a crumbling pile full of reclusive relations, she determines to modernize their lives. Marigold's efforts end in murder, mayhem, and a police investigation with her at its center. It's up to the accused to find out what really happened before she winds up behind bars.
10. Heist Royale by Kayvion Lewis (available November 12)—I thoroughly enjoyed Thieves' Gambit, the first book in Lewis' new series about a teen from Barbados who comes from a notorious family of thieves. Although she would like to get out of the game and attend college like a normal person, Ross finds herself embroiled in the biggest gamble of her life. With her family's future hanging in the balance, she must rely on the one person she knows she can't trust to help her save them—no matter the cost.
There you go, ten upcoming releases I can't wait to read. Which new titles are you eagerly anticipating? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books By Black Authors On My TBR Mountain Chain
Today's TTT topic is all about our favorite fictional heroines (Top Ten Favorite Heroines [Or Heroes, If You Like]). Since my aging brain is pretty much rubbish at remembering specifics about characters and would likely revert to leading ladies I've already talked about a million times, I'm going to go in a different direction today. February is almost over and I've yet to talk about Black History Month at all. So, today, I'm going to dish about books on my TBR list by Black authors.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Click on over there and give her some love, won't you? If you want to join in the TTT fun, all the details are on her blog.
Top Ten Books By Black Authors On My TBR List Pile Mountain Mountain Chain
- in no particular order -
1. Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson—Woodson is one of my long-time favorite authors. She's a prolific writer who pens books in a variety of genres for readers of all ages. She's written dozens of books, so it's not surprising that I've yet to read all of them. Harbor Me is a middle-grade novel about a group of kids who are required to meet every week for a group therapy chat sans adults. As they create a safe space for each other, they are freed to talk about the things that are really bothering them—from fears of deportation and racial profiling to money worries to family drama and everything in between. Sharing their worries makes them feel not just seen but also brave enough to tackle whatever comes their way. Sounds like an uplifting, empowering read!
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2. The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray—This historical novel has been on my radar ever since I first heard about it. It tells the true story of Belle da Costa Greene, a powerful woman who was hired by J.P. Morgan to curate a collection of books and art for his newly-built library. Unbeknownst to most people, Greene had a closely-guarded secret. She was a light-skinned Black woman who passed as white—a risky business in America in the early 1900s.
This duo's forthcoming novel, The First Ladies, which publishes on June 7, also sounds like an excellent read.
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3. The Davenports by Krystal Marquis—I'm not much for romance novels, but this YA historical has been popping up all over the place and it does sound entertaining. Inspired by real people, the book revolves around a Black family whose formerly enslaved patriarch made a fortune through the carriage company he founded. By 1910, the Davenports are enjoying a glamorous lifestyle with all the glitzy trimmings. As various members of the family deal with love, loss, and life's daily dramas, they will learn and grow together.
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4. A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 by Claire Hartfield—Helen reviewed this middle-grade non-fiction book on her blog a few years ago and I knew it was one I needed to read. It recounts the true story of some young Black teen boys who accidentally swam too close to a "white" beach on Lake Michigan. A incensed white man began throwing rocks at one of them, causing the young man to drown. The police refused to arrest the man. Tensions stemming from the incident led to days of violent race riots in Chicago.
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5. Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson—A contemporary adult novel, this one concerns a matriach's death and the secrets she leaves in her wake. When Eleanor Bennett leaves her two children a strange inheritance—a black cake baked from a secret family recipe and a puzzling voice recording—they're left to grapple with secrets they never could have imagined. Will piecing together their family's true history bring them together or tear them apart forever?
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6. The Reformatory by Tananarive Due (available June 27, 2023)—This horror novel is getting mixed reviews so far, but it sounds intriguing to me. Set in 1950, it's about a Black boy named Robert Stephen Jones, Jr., who is sent to a reform school after he kicks a white boy's leg. Robert soon discovers that the Gracetown School for Boys is a segregated institution that is haunted by the ghosts of boys who have died there.
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7. Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds—I discovered Reynolds' impactful books last year and am working on reading them all. The winner of numerous awards, this YA novel-in-verse is about gun violence and the puzzling mystery that unexpectedly brings three teens together on one very tense elevator ride.
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8. My Lord, He Calls Me: Stories of Faith by Black American Latter-day Saints by Alice Faulkner Burch (editor)—A writer, entrepeneur, advocate, and faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Burch compiled this collection of essays by active Black Latter-day Saints. I just bought this book and can't wait to dive into these faith-filled stories by people whose experience with the Church has been unique to say the least. It promises to be an enlightening read.
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9. On Air With Zoe Washington by Janae Marks—I loved From the Desk of Zoe Washington, so I'm all in for this sequel. After Zoe's work in the first book, her birth father has finally been exonerated and released from prison. His dream now is to open his own restaurant, which is a goal baking-obsessed Zoe can definitely get behind. Turns out, it's not easy to turn a dream into a reality. Nor is it simple for an exoneree to reenter society. Zoe decides to start a podcast to bring light to the issue, but is anyone really listening?
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10. What Never Happened by Rachel Howzell Hall (available July 11, 2023)—Obituary writer Coco Weber has moved back to Catalina Island to start over. Her friend, the owner of a local newspaper, assures her she'll have plenty of work to do in a place so full of elderly residents. Turns out, a lot of people are dying on the island. And some of those deaths are downright suspicious. When Coco receives a sinister threat in the form of her own obituary, she knows she's on to something. Determined to find the truth, Coco finds herself tracking down a serial killer and researching her own tragedy for answers.
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There you go, ten books by Black authors that are on my TBR mountain chain. Have you read any of them? What did you think? Which literary heroines/heroes did you feature today? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Top Ten Tuesday: 2020 New-to-me Author Discoveries
As much as I love reading books by my favorite authors, I also enjoy discovering new writers, so I always try to mix it up. Case in point: in 2020, just over half of the 191 books I read were by authors whose work I had never tried before. Although not all of them turned out to be winners for me, I did find a number of new authors that I liked and definitely want to read more from. Since today's Top Ten Tuesday is all about those discoveries, I'll share ten of mine in just a sec.
Edit: After crafting this whole post, I realized I made a similar TTT list back in July that included several of these authors. Oops. I'm too lazy to change out the duplicates. Sorry!
First, though, I want to encourage you to join in the TTT fun. All you have to do is buzz on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, read some quick instruction, make your own list, then spend some happy hours clicking around the book blogosphere. It's a great way to spread the love around our fabulous community while getting great reading recommendations at the same time.
Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2020:
1. Riley Sager—creepy adult mysteries/thrillers
Book(s) read in 2020: The Last Time I Lied; Lock Every Door
2. Nic Stone—YA and middle-grade contemporary, featuring Black characters
Book(s) read in 2020: Clean Getaway
3. Julie Lee—middle-grade historical, featuring Korean characters
Book(s) read in 2020: Brother's Keeper (debut)
4. Alyssa Maxwell—adult historical mysteries
Book(s) read in 2020: Murder at the Breakers
Book(s) read since: Murder at Marble House
5. Janae Marks—middle-grade contemporary, featuring Black characters
Book(s) read in 2020: From the Desk of Zoe Washington (debut)
6. Aida Salazar—middle-grade contemporary and historical, featuring Latinx characters
Book(s) read in 2020: Land of the Cranes
7. Dusti Bowling—middle-grade contemporary and mystery
Book(s) read in 2020: The Canyon's Edge
Book(s) read since: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
8. Diane Chamberlain—adult historical and contemporary
9. Tea Cooper—adult historical and historical romance, set in Australia
Book(s) read in 2020: The Woman in the Green Dress
10. Ben Oliver—YA sci-fi and dystopian
Book(s) read in 2020: The Loop (debut)
There you have it, ten new authors I found in 2020. Have you read any of them? Which new authors did you discover in 2020? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Friday, November 06, 2020
Middle Grade Murder Mystery Upbeat and Hopeful
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Like always, Zoe Washington has baking on the brain. If she can convince her mom and stepdad to let her audition for Kids Bake Challenge, she knows she can sweep the competition with her mad skills. She could even end up as a star pastry chef with her own television show! Zoe just has to prove herself so her parents will take her seriously as a budding baker.
From the Desk of Zoe Washington, a middle-grade novel by debut author Janae Marks, is a quick but impactful read. With themes of racism and wrongful conviction, it's a timely read that's as thought-provoking as it is engaging. Although the book deals with heavy subjects, overall it tells an upbeat, hopeful story. Zoe is an easy-to-root-for heroine who's full of spunk and determination. As her eyes are opened to hard truths, she learns some important lessons about family, friendship, forgiveness, and fighting for what matters. Even if Zoe's particular situation is foreign to some readers, the lessons she learns will resonate. They certainly did for me. For all these reasons, I very much enjoyed From the Desk of Zoe Washington and will keep an eye out to see what the talented Marks does next.
(Readalikes: Um, nothing's really coming to mind. You?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for difficult subject matter and references to murder
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Top Ten Tuesday: Books I've Loved But Not Reviewed. Yet.
According to my mom, I taught myself to read before starting kindergarten and just never stopped. I've read thousands of books throughout my life; since I didn't create my blog until 2006, that means there are tons of titles that would work for today's Top Ten Tuesday topic: Top Ten Books I Loved But Never Reviewed. Could my aging memory come up with enough to make a decent list? Yeah, right! I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday (actually, I can't remember at all—did I even eat breakfast yesterday?). Thankfully, I am, as always, months behind on writing reviews for this year's reads, so I'm just going to chat about ten books I've read in 2020 that I loved but haven't reviewed. Yet.
You've probably got lots of books you loved but haven't reviewed, too, so why don't you join in the TTT fun? All you have to do is click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, scan a few quick instructions, make your own list, then spend some happy hours spreading the love across the book blogosphere. It's a great way to check in on favorite blogs, discover new ones, and of course, find awesome reading recs to add to the ole TBR mountain chain. It's a good time, I promise!
Top Ten Books I've Loved This Year But Haven't Reviewed Yet
1. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren—This enemies-to-lovers romance about a wedding reception that goes awry, leaving the best man and the maid of honor to take the newlyweds' honeymoon vacation, is just plain fun.
2. Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart—Based on the real-life experiences of a "lady cop" and her crime-fighting sisters in early 20th Century America, this mystery is the first in a series featuring the indomitable Constance Kopp. It's interesting and compelling.
3. The Split by Sharon Bolton—I love suspenseful stories set in remote places and Bolton's newest definitely fits the bill. It's a novel with a deceptively simple premise—a woman who has fled to remote South Georgia for an extended research trip is being pursued by an ex-con. Why? Will he find her? Like all of Bolton's mysteries, this one is taut, tense, and twisty. The Split might be my favorite of all her books.
4. The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate—This dual-timeline novel combines adventure, mystery, and history to create an intriguing tale that I very much enjoyed.
5. Beyond the Horizon by Lois Lowry—It might be a thin volume, but this memoir-in-verse that recounts the author's experiences as a young girl in Hawaii during World War II, packs a big punch. I found it profoundly moving, but in a way that snuck up on me, if that makes any sense.
6. Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain—This impactful novel is about a new social worker from a privileged background who begins her career in rural North Carolina during the turbulent 1960's. Her life and outlook are both changed when she meets a young girl who's carrying all the burdens of keeping her desperately impoverished family afloat.
7. The Imperfects by Amy Meyerson—It's hard to describe this Knives Out-ish novel, but it's an on-point exploration of what can happen when an estranged family unexpectedly inherits an exorbitant amount of wealth—and secrets.
8. Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams—True, there's nothing super original about this YA novel in which the members of a sheltered religious cult have to face the alarming effects of a terrifying pandemic, but it tells a thoughtful story that kept me engrossed. It asks some important questions about faith, blind obedience, family, etc. I also like that it features a character with Type 1 diabetes (in a cult that eschews medicine, no less). You don't see my disease featured in a lot of books, so I was glad for this important representation.
9. From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks—I enjoyed this middle-grade novel about a girl who intercepts a letter from the father she's never met, who's in prison for murder. She starts a secret correspondence with him that leads her to make some important discoveries about herself and her family. Despite its heavy-ish content, this is an upbeat, enjoyable book.
10. The Line Between by Tosca Lee—This YA novel is similar to Agnes at the End of the World and I liked it for a lot of the same reasons. It tells an exciting story, but it also offers up a lot of lots of food for thought on faith, works, and religion. For a doomsday novel, it's surprisingly clean and upbeat.
There you have it, ten books I enjoyed but haven't gotten around to reviewing yet. What do you think? Have you read any of them? Do any of them sound like reads you would enjoy? What books have you loved but not reviewed yet? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I'll gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
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