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.   

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 

Book(s) read in 2020:  Big Lies in a Small Town; Necessary Lies; and The Stolen Marriage

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.

William "Scoob" Lamar is on house arrest after an incident at school for which he was wrongfully blamed.  No one will listen to his side of the story, not even his father.  Feeling resentful, the 11-year-old is only too happy to go along when his 76-year-old grandmother decides to whisk him away on an impromptu road trip.  G'ma explains that they'll be retracing the route through the South that she and Scoob's grandfather took back in 1963.  As an interracial couple, they were rarely well received and had to travel using the Negro Travelers' Green Book to know which establishments would allow them entry.  Scoob can hardly believe such a guide was necessary, but as he—a bi-racial child who presents as Black—and his white grandmother travel through the South, he notices the odd, even threatening, looks they're getting from some people.  It seems to him that maybe things haven't changed much at all in the last 50+ years.

G'ma has always been a spitfire, but as they travel, Scoob starts to notice behavior that's strange even for her.  Is there a reason she's constantly ducking Dad's phone calls?  Is her spur-of-the-moment road trip really about teaching Scoob about the Civil Rights Movement and his own history?  Or is G'ma up to something a little more ... criminal?  

Clean Getaway by Nic Stone is a warm, enjoyable novel that asks readers to consider a serious question—how far has America really progressed when it comes to race relations?  Through the experiences of Scoob and G'ma, which mirror those of G'ma and G'pa in 1963, we can come to our own conclusions.  It's an unsettling but important question that all of us, regardless of ethnicity, would do well to ponder.  Despite its weighty subject matter, Clean Getaway is a funny book as well as a surprising one.  There's plenty of humor as well as mystery and adventure to keep it interesting and appealing.  Of course, it's got thoughtful, poignant moments as well, all of which combine to create an engrossing, moving read.  In addition to powerful lessons about racism, the book also teaches kids about the importance of knowing your own history and learning from grandparents while acknowledging the messiness of family life as well as the fact that there is always more to a person than what we think we know about them.  It's an illuminating book in many ways and one I very much enjoyed.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of When I Hit the Road by Nancy J. Cavanaugh)