2026 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)
2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)
2026 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
2026 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
Booklist Queen's 2026 Reading Challenge
2026 52 Club Reading Challenge
2026 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge
2026 Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge
2026 Mount TBR Reading Challenge
2026 Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge
Shelf Reflection Candy Reading Challenge for Kids (and Adults)
2026 Countdown Reading Challenge
Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo
2026 Southern Literary Reading Challenge
2026 Reading Challenge (by Linz the Bookworm)
2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge
European Reading Challenge 2026
2017 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge (retired challenge - doing old boards for fun)
2026 Reading Challenge Addict Reading Challenge
The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge
The Life Skills Reading Challenge
Showing posts with label Ying Chang Compestine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ying Chang Compestine. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Author Discoveries in 2024
Like every other reader, I have my favorite, go-to authors whose books I always look forward to reading. I also enjoy discovering new authors to love. In fact, out of the 230 titles I read in 2024, 127 of them—almost half—were penned by new-to-me writers. That made it really easy to create a list to fit this week's Top Ten Tuesday prompt: Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024. As always, this fun weekly link-up is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024
1. Benjamin Stevenson—Everyone knows I love me a good mystery/thriller, especially when it's both clever and funny. Stevenson's Ernest Cunningham series is exactly that. You can tell just by the titles of the books—Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone; Everyone On This Train is a Suspect; and Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret—that they're hilarious. I read all three in 2024 and loved each one.. This Australian author has a couple other mystery/thriller series that I need to check out.
2. Sally Hepworth—Another Aussie, Hepworth writes absorbing domestic thrillers. I read three of them in 2024, of which The Good Sister was my favorite. I definitely plan to continue exploring Hepworth's backlist this year.
3. Raquel V. Reyes—Cozy mysteries make nice palate cleansers for me between heavier reads, so I'm always on the lookout for entertaining ones. Reyes' series starring a Cuban American food anthropologist and amateur sleuth in Miami is a fun one. I read the first two books last year and have already read #3 this year.
4. Erin Lindsey—I'm a big historical mystery fan, so I get excited when I find new series in this genre to enjoy. I discovered Lindsey's Rose Gallagher series in 2024. It stars an Irish American housemaid in Gilded Age New York City who can see ghosts. She becomes part of the Pinkerton Detective Agency's secret paranormal division, which deals with supernatural disturbances. With lots of interesting historical details, cameos by famous people of the past, and quirky characters, it's an enjoyable series. I read the first book in 2024 and the second last week.
5. Marthe Jocelyn—Speaking of historical mysteries, I found Jocelyn's Aggie Morton series last year. The series, which is aimed at middle grade readers, features a young Agatha Christie and her new friend, Hercules Poirot. The youngsters team up to do what else, but solve mysteries. I read the first installment, The Body Under the Piano, in 2024 and plan to continue the series this year.
6. Gabrielle Meyer—Meyer is a popular author of Christian and inspirational fiction. Her publisher, Bethany House, has kindly sent me all the books in her Timeless series as they have come out. It took me until last year to finally read the first installment, When the Day Comes, which I enjoyed. The book is about a woman who has the unique ability to time travel between two lives—one in Gilded Age New York City, one in 1774 Colonial Williamsburg. When she turns 21, she will have to choose which life to inhabit permanently.
7. Ying Chang Compestine—Compestine is a Chinese American food expert and writer who grew up in Wuhan, China, a city that became famous in 2020 because of the Covid outbreak there. Morning Sun in Wuhan, a middle grade novel, was one of my favorite reads of 2024 because of its authenticity and hopeful vibe. I'm interested in reading Compestine's other middle grade novels as well as her memoir, Growing Up Under a Red Flag.
8. Naomi Stephens—Although she only has a few books under her belt, this Christian historical fiction writer impressed me with The Burning of Rosemont Abbey. I hear that she is planning to write more mysteries and I am here for them!
9. Melanie Crowder—Crowder writes books for children in several different genres. I read her YA novel, An Uninterrupted View of the Sky, last year. It's set in 1999 Bolivia and concerns an Indigenous boy whose father is unfairly targeted by a corrupt government and sent to prison. Unable to cope, his mother abandons the family, leaving the boy and his younger sister no choice but to live with their father in prison. It's a beautiful novel about keeping hope alive even in the most dire circumstances. I enjoyed it, so I want to read more by Crowder.
10. Lesa Cline-Ransome—Cline-Ransome pens biographies and novels featuring important events and people in Black history. I loved One Big Open Sky, her middle-grade verse novel about Black homesteaders on the American frontier. Not only does it tell a unique story, but it's also poetic, poignant, and powerful. I'm definitely up for reading more by this author.
There you are, ten new-to-me authors I discovered in 2024. Are they new to you, too? Which writers did you find last year? 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, November 26, 2024
Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Children's Books of 2024
Here in the U.S., we will be celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday. Although I realize the holiday's history is problematic, I love that we set aside a day to focus on gratitude. We celebrate our blessings, the big and the small, and we do it while eating yummy food, gathering with family and friends, and just enjoying time together. It's a day to reflect on all the good in our lives, to give thanks for what we have, in spite of whatever nastiness may be going on around us. Gratitude is good for the soul. Counting my blessings always gives me perspective, soothes my anxieties, and fills my heart with gladness.
Given the upcoming holiday, it's no surprise that today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is a Thankful/Thanksgiving Freebie. (TTT is hosted, as always, by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.) Despite what I just said about gratitude, I'm actually going to go rogue with my list today. Before I get to that, though, I want to say thank you to YOU for being a supporter of my blog. It's been such a joy to talk books with you over the years. I appreciate all your visits, your comments, your reading recommendations, and your kind words. Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!
Last week, I posted Part One of my list of favorite reads from 2024. That list focused on books for adults; this one will feature children's titles.
Top Ten Favorite Children's Books of 2024
- in no particular order -
Side note: I only watched the first ten minutes or so of the Netflix version of My Plain Jane, but that's all it took to show me that the television show is much raunchier than the book, which is PG-rated (at least as far as I remember).
2. Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity by Elizabeth C. Bunce—This installment is the latest in another of my favorite children's series. It stars Myrtle Hardcastle, a brilliant young woman in Victorian England who has an "unnatural" obsession with murder and forensics. She solves crimes with the help of her governess and assorted others. This particular book is set on a Scottish island, where Myrtle's governess has just inherited a crumbling castle. It doesn't take long for our heroine to find herself on the hunt for a missing brooch and a murderer.
3. Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson—Even though I like Sanderson, I likely wouldn't have read this YA fantasy if it hadn't been for book club. That would have been a shame, too, because this novel is a gem. It's an action/adventure/pirate story about a young woman who sets sail in search of her missing best friend and finds herself along the way.
4. The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly—This YA novel stars Michael, a 12-year-old boy with severe anxiety, especially with the threat of Y2K looming before him. When he meets Ridge, a confident teen who seems to have no worries at all, Michael is fascinated—and that's before Ridge announces that he's the world's first time traveler. Ridge even has a special book all about the future, a book that could assuage all of Michael's worries, if only he could get his hands on it.
The plot sounds kind of weird, I know, but this book features some warm, wonderful characters and imparts important lessons about being present in the now instead of obsessing over what the future might bring.
5. Artifice by Sharon Cameron—Isa de Smit was raised in her father's Amsterdam art gallery, a home filled with life, color, and vibrancy. Now that the Nazis have taken over the city, everything has changed. Isa's struggling to hold on to her beloved gallery while her best friend is risking his life by working with the Dutch resistance to smuggle Jewish babies out of the city. He needs money for his important work and Isa has a way to get it. By selling the Nazis the forgeries her father made of famous paintings, she can help the resistance and save her gallery. If she gets caught? She will lose everything, including her life.
If you like historical fiction, I also highly recommend Cameron's Bluebird. I liked it even better than Artifice.
6. One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome—This middle grade verse novel takes on a unique subject: the Black homesteader movement. It features three women pioneers headed for an unknown future in the Nebraska wilderness. The story is poignant and powerful.
7. Dust by Dusti Bowling—Another MG read, this one is about a girl with severe asthma who becomes obsessed with the mysterious new boy at her school. Adam is sullen and angry, with no desire to interact with anyone. Considering that dust devils seem to swarm around the kid, Avalyn really should stay away from him. But she can't. She's determined to get to the bottom of Adam's heavy emotions, whether he likes it or not—and whether it's safe for her or not.
8. The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier—When I volunteered at my daughter's elementary school library a few years back, this graphic novel series was wildly popular. I finally picked up this series opener and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a quick read that's chock full of action, humor, and heart. I can't wait to read the sequels.
9. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett—I don't remember if I read this classic as a child or not, but I loved it as an adult. It's a sweet, wholesome riches-to-rags story about the importance of kindness, humility, and fortitude.
10. Morning Sun in Wuhan by Ying Chang Compestine—Even though it deals with the still-raw subject of COVID, I enjoyed this hopeful MG novel about working together to get through hard times. The author grew up in Wuhan, so the setting feels especially authentic.
There you go, ten of my favorite children's books that I read in 2024. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What are you grateful for 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, October 01, 2024
Top Ten Tuesday: My Fall TBR List, Part Two
What are you like when it comes to hype surrounding new books? Do you give into it for fear of missing out on a title "everyone" seems to be loving? Or are you leery about following the crowd, maybe because you've been burned before? Today's TTT prompt is all about that: Top Ten Books You Read/Avoided Because of the Hype (and did you make the right choice?). I'm more likely to do the latter, but occasionally, I do get caught up in the hype. I can think of a few books I've read or bought because of it, just not enough for much of a list. However, I have no trouble at all coming up with more books that are on my Fall TBR list, so I decided to make an addendum to last week's list.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Ten (More) Books On My Fall TBR List
I'm just about done with this novel. Although it deals with a dark time, it tells a hopeful, empowering story about how we can help each other through hardships. Compestine lives in California, but she grew up in Wuhan, which makes the tale feel especially authentic.
2. The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong—In this second installment in the Haven's Rock series, Casey and Eric have accepted a family into their hidden Yukon town for the first time. No one is used to having kids in their midst, so when 10-year-old Max claims to see a strange bear-man prowling the woods, no one takes him very seriously. Then, the boy disappears. As Casey and Eric comb the forest for the child, they come across ominous clues that indicate a killer is in their midst. While they search frantically for answers, they face another unexpected challenge: Casey is pregnant. Can the two of them find Max before it's too late? Are they ready to be parents when they can't even keep track of one small boy? What does a baby mean for their future and that of their town?
Haven's Rock is a spinoff series of Armstrong's popular Rockton series. I've loved all the books, especially on audio, so I'm enjoying this one in that format as well. Thérèse Plummer is an excellent narrator. She performs Casey and Eric so well!
3. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico—I've heard good things about this heartwarming novel and it fits a reading challenge prompt I need to check off, so I'll be reading it soon. It's about a humble English charwoman who falls in love—with a sumptuous Dior dress. Finding the elegant garment sets her on a quest that has her saving every pound she makes until she's got enough to go on a life-changing journey to Paris, where she changes her life and those of plenty others along the way. Sounds like a delightful read!
4. Dead Tired by Kat Ailes—The Expectant Detectives kept me royally entertained, so I'm excited to read this sequel. It's about a group of pregnant women who meet at a class for expectant mothers and, unexpectedly, became amateur sleuths who successfully solve a murder together. One year later, the moms are exhausted, desperate for some much-needed rest. An eco-protest provides a convenient escape, but when one of their fellow protesters is killed, the sleepy parents find themselves channeling their inner Nancy Drews once again...
5. A Cruel Light by Cindy MacMillan—When a young woman is brutally murdered, it rocks her small town to its core. Just when memories of the slaying are starting to fade, an eerie painting of the victim is discovered during the renovation of the local parsonage. An art expert is hired to clean the portrait while a local detective hunts for clues in its depths. The pair soon realize that the killer will do whatever it takes to cover their tracks. Can they find answers before they become murder victims themselves?
6. All Better Now by Neal Shusterman—This YA thriller concerns a virus that is running rampant. Although it starts with a fever, its long-term effects include personal peace, contentment, and happiness. Not everyone is thrilled with these results, especially those who make big money off people with depression, stress, and worry. Soon, they are trying to convince the populace that too much happiness is not a good thing. Two teens who are confused by the mixed messages determine to find the truth behind the virus and its effects. Can an overabundance of happiness in the world truly be a bad thing?
7. The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose—I loved both The Maid and The Mystery Guest, so I'm all in for this holiday-themed Maid novella. Molly Gray has always loved Christmas. She's looking forward to celebrating the special season with her beloved boyfriend, Juan Manuel. When a gift exchange at the Regency Grand Hotel goes wrong, however, it leaves her questioning the people she thought loved her most. Molly has always had trouble reading people and knowing whom to trust. Has she made a critical mistake once again?
8. Homeless Bird by Gloria Whalen—This National Book Award winning YA novel sounds interesting. I'm not sure exactly when it takes place, but it's about a 13-year-old girl who's being married off by her parents. When she realizes they've been horribly deceived about the situation, the brave young woman vows to take charge of her own future.
9. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens—I read or listen to this holiday classic every year to get me into the Christmas spirit. The audiobook narrated by Tim Curry has become my go-to version lately. It's fantastic!
10. Gone to Hot Pot by Vivien Chien—Thanks to a reading challenge prompt (what else?), I need to read a book sold only in digital format. This novella, #9.5 in one of my favorite cozy mystery series, fits the bill. Lana Lee, the main character and usual narrator in the Noodle Shop Mystery books, is away at a restaurant convention. Megan, Lana's roommate, is left in charge of her dog, Kikkoman. When Megan decides to drop by Asia Village with the pup in tow, she never dreams the pooch will run away and become hopelessly lost. Even with everyone in the community helping, Kikko is nowhere to be found. Where in the world is Lana's beloved pet and can they find him before she returns?
There you are, ten more books that I'm eager to enjoy this Fall. Have you read any of them? What's on your Fall TBR list? And what titles have you read or avoided because of hype? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also reply to comments left here.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, August 08, 2023
Top Ten Tuesday: And the Award Goes To...
Good Tuesday morning from rainy Arizona! I don't get to say that very often, but I woke up to loud thunder rumbles and now we've got rain. Yay! We need the moisture, plus the cooling effect. (It's ONLY 88 degrees outside right now.) Let's hope the stormy weather sticks around all day.* It's a nice change from the unrelenting sun and heat. Channeling my inner Al Roker, I just have to ask, "How's the weather in your neck of the woods?"
Today's TTT prompt is a great one: Top Ten Books I've Read/Want to Read Because of Top Ten Tuesday. I've added dozens, probably hundreds, of books to my TBR list over the many years that I've been participating in this fun meme. Unfortunately, though, I am absolute rubbish at remembering who recommended waht or even where I first heard about a certain title. I need to be better at this because I know there's nothing more satisfying than someone telling me they read a book I recommended and loved it.
Since today's topic (wonderful as it is) would overtax my aging memory way too much, I'm going to go rogue. Book awards time is fast approaching. In past years, I've been involved in the CYBILS Awards as well as two different award programs for books produced by members of my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints): the Whitney Awards and the Association for Mormon Letters (AML) Awards. I'm not sure yet which I'll be a part of this year or in what capacity, but I will at least be nominating titles. Middle grade fiction is my favorite genre to read for awards season, so I'm going to give you eleven that I'm planning to read because they seem like worthy contenders for these book awards.
Please consider nominating books for both the CYBILS and the Whitneys. (The AML Awards doesn't accept nominations—all titles published by Latter-day Saints that fit the contest parameters are considered nominees.) The CYBILS public nomination period runs from October 1 to October 15, after which author/publisher nominations open. Nominations are already open for the Whitney Awards. If you've read a novel by a Latter-day Saint author that was (or will be) published between November 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023, nominate it here. You may not think you know of any authors who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but you do: Brandon Sanderson, Shannon Hale, Kasie West, Julie Berry, Amy Harmon, Brandon Mull, Jennifer A. Nielsen, Stephenie Meyer, James Dashner, Sarah M. Eden, Ally Condie, and many more.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Click on over to her blog and give her some love.
Top Ten Eleven Middle Grade Books I'm Planning to Read in Anticipation of Book Awards Season
- in no particular order -
- Asterisks indicate books that are eligible for the Cybils Awards, the Whitneys, and the AML Awards -
1. Lasagna Means I Love You by Kate O'Shaughnessy—I just started this epistolary novel which is written in a series of letters from a grieving 11-year-old to her Nan, who has recently died. With no one else to care for her, Mo is thrust into the foster care system. She finds strength and healing in learning to cook and collecting family recipes from others, while secretly hoping one of her long-lost relatives will come out of the woodwork and share one from her family. Oh, and maybe adopt Mo while they're at it...
2. Morning Sun in Wuhan by Ying Chang Compestine—Written by a woman who grew up in Wuhan, this novel is about 13-year-old Mei, whose life in the city is turned upside down when COVID hits. As in the previous book, she's grieving the loss of a loved one and finds solace in cooking. Anxious to help with a situation that's fast growing desperate, Mei seeks to spread light in a dark situation.
3. 102 Days of Lying About Lauren by Maura Jortner—When 12-year-old Lauren "Mouse" Suszek is abandoned by her mother at an amusement park, she knows the key to avoiding being dumped in foster care is to stay hidden. Then, a stranger named "Cat" comes looking for Lauren. Mouse's happiness depends on her avoiding "rescue"—or does it?
4. No Matter the Distance by Cindy Baldwin*—Taking care of her cystic fibrosis dominates Penny Rooney's life, but she doesn't want the disease to define her. Struggling to find herself beyond her CF, Penny discovers new purpose and identity in helping a sick dolphin make its way from the creek where its stuck back to its ocean home.
5. Sincerely Sicily by Tamika Burgess—This debut novel stars Sicily Jordan, a proud Black Panamanian tween. When she starts attending a new school where no one knows her, she finds herself having to defend her dual ethnicity for the first time. Even some of the people close to her are questioning her seemingly divided loyalties. How can Sicily show them all that she's not one thing or another, but proud and happy to be both?
6. The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine by Katherine Marsh—With a deadly pandemic sweeping the world, Matthew's father is stuck overseas, and his 100-year-old grandmother has just moved in with him and his mom. The 13-year-old is miserable. When he discovers a mysterious old photo in his grandma's things, he becomes intrigued by her past and the shocking family secrets she's been hiding.
7. The Nightmare House by Sarah Allen*—This horror story is about a young girl who is crippled by nightmares about The Fear Maker, a red-eyed monster who lives in the woods, where he sucks out human souls and leaves his victims with hollow, empty eyes. When she starts seeing these hollow-eyed people in the real world, Penny Hope knows the only way to make it stop is to confront The Fear Maker. It's a terrifying prospect and she's a shaking ball of anxiety and terror. How can she possibly triumph against such a formiddable foe?
8. What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski—I always love a good mystery and this one sounds compelling. It stars Anna Hunt, the new girl at East Middle School. A podcast enthusiast, she immediately sniffs out an intriguing story right at her school and decides to make her own podcast about it. Last year, Rachel Riley was the most popular kid at East Middle; now she's Public Enemy #1. What happened? None of her classmates will talk, so Anna has to dig deep to find out the truth.
9. Burglars and Bluestockings by Julie Berry*—Sequels rarely (never?) seem to win awards, but I don't care. I love Berry's Wishes and Wellingtons series. It's about an orphan girl who finds a djinni in a sardine can, opening up possibilities for her life that she never dreamed of. Even still, there are still things girls just aren't allowed to do in 1897. In this third installment, Maeve takes a field trip to Oxford and sees women attending college, inspiring a whole new dream to take shape in her mind. Before her imagination can even start firing up, though, thieves come for her djinni. Can she stop them? Can magic help her realize her many dreams and ambitions, despite all the restrictions in her life?
10. The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt—Although he's named after a legendary hero, Hercules Beal is anything but. He's scrawny, lonely, and just not very...heroic. So, when he's tasked with replicating Hercules' Twelve Labors for a school assignment, he's not exactly enthusiastic. As he plugs away at it, though, he discovers that he's stronger and more capable than he ever realized.
11. Half Moon Summer by Elaine Vickers*—Two 7th graders embark on a grueling half-marathon that will test their grit, determination, and friendship. Along the way, it also just might be the thing that gives them both the hope they need to tackle the challenges they're facing in their individual lives.
There you are, eleven middle-grade books I'm excited to read in anticipation of the upcoming awards season. Have you read any of them? Which titles do you think will be contestants in the CYBILS and other upcoming book award programs? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
*Yeah, no such luck. It's bright and sunny again, although it's only 90 degrees outside, plus some humidity (which we only get during monsoon season).
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Top Ten Tuesday: Spring Forward and Read!
I'm a little late to the TTT party today, but never fear—I have a good, bookish reason for my tardiness. I mentioned that I'm going to be downsizing from my 5,000-square foot home into one that is half the size in the next few months (after our renters move out and we do some remodeling). Since I will no longer have the room to store all my many, many books, I need to get rid of about 75% of my collection. I was planning to organize a book sale with the proceeds going to charity since the majority of the volumes I need to unload are ones I got for free from authors and publishers. Then, I received an email announcing that a local high school would be holding a book sale this week to benefit their English Department. Huzzah! I contacted the ladies in charge, who generously came to my house and hauled away this mountain of books for their sale:
Although this represents only about 1/3 of the books I need to unload, it feels good to send even this many on their way to new homes. They will definitely get more love out in the world than they will gathering dust in my guest room closet. Bonus: guests can now open the closet door without risking death by book avalanche! Win-win.
Now that that's out of the way we can get down to business. The TTT topic du jour is: Top Ten Books on My Spring TBR List. I love these seasonal TBR lists because it's always fun to see what everyone is looking forward to reading and to get ideas of what I might want to check out. Since I'm a mood reader, I never really stick to these, but I still enjoy thinking about what I might read. I'm also going to *try* to feature books I haven't talked about yet. We'll see how that goes...
As always, be sure to click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our hostess, Jana, some love. While you're there, why don't you join in the fun? TTT really is a good ole time.
Top Ten Books on My Spring TBR List
- in no particular order -
1. Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation by Maud Newton (available March 29, 2022)—You all know by now that I'm a genealogy buff who lives for combing through census records, DNA matches, and old newspapers in search of forgotten family stories. It shouldn't surprise you, then, that I love books like this one, which is about the author's search for the truth behind her ancestors' colorful, controversial lives. Sounds like a great read!
2. Séances are for Suckers by Tamara Berry—Speaking of dead people...I'm all in for this cozy mystery series featuring a woman who pretends to hunt ghosts in order to pay the bills. I enjoyed Buried in a Good Book (available May 24, 2022), Berry's newest, so much that I want to read more from her.
3. The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan—As I was clearing off my bookshelves for the upcoming sale, I found my copy of this National Book Award winner that I've been meaning to read for years. Ever since I read The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, I've been eager to read more about the Dust Bowl and the brave souls who lived through it. This promises to be a fascinating read.
4. Morning Sun in Wuhan by Ying Chang Compestine (available November 8, 2022)—This MG novel doesn't come out until Fall, but I'm hoping to get an early copy from NetGalley. Written by a woman who grew up in Wuhan, the story is about a 13-year-old girl whose life changes when COVID breaks out in her hometown.
5. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune—How have I not read this book yet? I've had a copy ever since it came out. I think it's about time I actually read it!
6. Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal—Covered in birthmarks, young Nell is sold to the circus where she becomes a headlining act. As she deals with the narcissistic circus owner, falls in love with his kind brother, and learns to stand on her own two feet, she transforms from a shy, unloved child into a woman who knows her own worth and power.
7. A Lullaby For Witches by Hester Fox—I enjoy Fox's spooky books and this one, her newest, sounds like a compelling read. It's about a woman who starts working at the old Harlowe House and becomes obsessed with knowing more about the "witch" who once lived there.
8. Research Like a Pro With DNA by Diana Elder and Nicole Dyer—Diana and Nicole have been friends and mentors as I continue my journey down the road to becoming an accredited genealogist (COVID has turned it into a much longer process than expected). I'm eager to dip into their newest book since I have lots to learn about DNA and how to use it effectively in my family history research.
9. The Secret, Book, & Scone Society by Ellery Adams—I'm listening to this book, the first installment in a well-loved cozy mystery series set in a town full of healing magic. It's entertaining.
10. The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes—Remember last TTT when I talked about one of my favorite tropes, the surprise inheritance? This one fits that bill. It concerns a woman who learns that she has inherited her father's chocolate estate in Ecuador. Through a series of unfortunate events, she is forced to don men's clothing and impersonate her dead husband while trying to solve a mystery, get to the bottom of family secrets, and navigate a new romance.
There you have it, ten books I'm hoping to get to this Spring. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What's on your TBR list this season? 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!
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2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
2021 - Middle Grade Fiction
2020 - Middle Grade Fiction
