A junior in high school, Avery Grambs is living in her car when she gets astonishing news:  she's been named in the will of multi-billionaire Tobias Hawthorne.  Since she's never heard of the man, it's obviously a mistake.  Still, she's curious enough to travel to Texas for the reading of the will.  Not only is the summons not an error, but Avery learns she's about to inherit most of the man's huge fortune.  All she has to do is live in Tobias' luxurious home for a year—with his furious disinherited family members.  Avery's understandably confused, but she's also penniless.  She needs the money.

Avery meets Tobias' four grandsons—all handsome, entitled young men who believe the money should be theirs.  Having grown up playing their grandfather's beloved puzzles and games, they figure this is just another one of his grand amusements.  If they solve this one, they win.  Some no-account pauper like Avery is no match for them.  Or is she?  Avery intends to show the spoiled boys just what she's made of.  Not only can she outthink and out-solve them, but she's going to win their money fair and square.  She's in for the game of her life against some very keen (not to mention hot) competitors.  Can she keep her head and pull off the ultimate coup?  She has a year to prove herself while answering the most compelling question of all:  Why did Tobias choose her?

Have you seen Knives Out?  Did you love its intriguing premise and quirky execution as much as I did?  Then you've got to pick up The Inheritance Games, the newest YA novel by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.  It has a similar feel and is just as much fun.  I read the book in a day because it's clever, exciting, and just totally diverting.  Not all of the twists surprised me, but that's okay.  The story still kept me turning pages.  Avery is a likable narrator, although I can't say I loved Grayson or Jameson.  Love triangles bug anyway and this one is especially annoying since there's no chemistry between any of the players.  Those irritants aside, I thoroughly enjoyed The Inheritance Games.  It's an entertaining romp that made me smile.  Needless to say, I'm looking forward to the sequel.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Knives Out as well as the Truly Devious trilogy [Truly Devious; The Vanishing Stair; and The Hand on the Wall] by Maureen Johnson and the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series by Chris Grabenstein)

Fifteen years ago, three little girls were walking to school.  One of them was in a terrible accident that left her with a Traumatic Brain Injury that affects her memory and speech.  Living in an institution, Kitty James has trouble communicating, but that doesn't mean she doesn't remember the accident, at least on some level.  Alison Baker, Kitty's half-sister, has also never quite recovered from the trauma of that long-ago day.  She has no real life and relies on cutting herself in order to feel anything.  

With little money in the bank, Alison reluctantly decides to accept a job as an artist-in-residence at an open prison outside of London.  She's assigned to teach art to a select group of inmates.  Seems simple enough.  Then, she begins receiving threatening notes at work.  When her classroom erupts in violence, Alison becomes completely unsettled.  Someone is purposely tormenting her, someone who knows what really happened the day of Kitty's accident.  Alison's kept her secrets carefully guarded for over a decade, but now the truth will out ...

On its surface, Blood Sisters by Jane Corry seems like the kind of tense psychological thriller I enjoy.  Unfortunately, I had a big problem with the characters in this novel.  They're not at all likable.  Alison is cold, immature, and melodramatic, all of which made it difficult to feel connected to her.  The only cast member I felt anything for was Alison's poor mum.  Corry's prose is awkward as well.  As far as plot goes, Blood Sisters kept my attention, although I saw some of the twists coming.  Many of the situations seem contrived and the Big Reveals at the end drove me crazy, justifying my dislike and distrust of a certain character even more.  Not surprisingly, Blood Sisters is a sad, depressing story.  All of these elements combined to make the novel a rather unpleasant read.  So, while I liked the premise, I just didn't love this book.  Bummer.  

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other the-past-comes-calling psychological thrillers, although no specific titles are coming to mind)

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Blood Sisters with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

There are 23 days left in the year.  23!  Can you believe it?  Suddenly the year that has seemed eternal is coming to a close.  Crazy.  I've got a million things to do, offline and on, but I am trying to get all my 2020 reads reviewed before the year ends.  I was so busy working on that goal (Check out the two reviews I've already posted this morning—go me!) that I completely forgot about Top Ten Tuesday, my favorite weekly book meme.  Now that my senior moment has passed, I'm here with a TTT list.  I'm not going to do today's topic—Holiday/Seasonal Freebie—though.  Instead, I'm going to engage in a little shameless self-promotion today.  Sorry, not sorry. 

If you hang out here at BBB much, you know I love reading challenges.  Usually, in my exuberance I sign up for way too many and fail to finish any of them.  This year, however, I've been rocking them, which has made me even more excited about 2021 challenges.  Because the blog I've always used for challenge information is not currently being updated, impatient me decided to create my own:  Ready for a Reading Challenge.  After doing that, I decided to go completely crazy and host my own challenge.  I've never seen one focused on historical children's fiction, so I created my own.  The 2021 Children's Historical Fiction Challenge focuses on celebrating the genre while expanding our reading within it.  Because I love reading prompt challenges, I've decided to use this format.  If you enjoy them, too, I hope you'll join me for this challenge.  You can find all the details here.

My challenge includes all historical fiction, not just new releases, but it's always fun to look at what's up-and-coming.  So, my list today is:

Top Ten Children's Historical Fiction 2021 Releases I Want to Read  

1.  Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee (available May 4)—I've mentioned this YA novel in a previous list, but I'm highlighting it again because it's the 2021 historical fiction release I'm most looking forward to.  Even though it's morbid, I enjoy reading about Titanic's doomed plight.  I'm also a big Stacey Lee fan, so yeah, this one definitely tops my list.

2.  The Secret Life of Kitty Granger by G.D. Falksen (available March 2)—Set in 1967, this YA offering features an autistic English teen whose always tried to hide her oddities from others.  When her keen observation skills help her identify a Russian spy ring, however, she becomes an important agent for her country.  Sounds fun!

3.  Ophie's Ghosts by Justina Ireland (available May 18)—It's 1922 and Ophie, who has just discovered she can see ghosts, is working at a haunted mansion in Pittsburgh.  As she makes friends with the spirit of a young girl with a tragic story, Ophie tries to figure out how to help her.  I don't know about you, but I'm definitely intrigued.

4.  Ground Zero by Alan Gratz (available February 2)—No American who's old enough to remember it will ever forget the events of September 11, 2001.  I've read few books about the event, so I'm interested to see how Gratz handles the subject in his new one.  I've learned a lot from other historical novels by this author; I assume this one will have the same effect.

5.  Daughters of a Dead Empire by Carolyn T. O'Neil (available September 21)—In war-torn Russia, 17-year-old Anna is running for her life.  Needing someone to smuggle her across enemy territory, she latches on to another teen girl.  When Anna finds out her helper is a communist, she must keep her own identity a secret.  As danger increases, she has to decide just how far she can trust her new companion.  Sounds compelling, no?

6.  The Silver Blonde by Elizabeth Ross (available July 27)—In 1946, Clara Berg spends her days sorting film reels in Hollywood while dreaming of getting her own big break.  When she discovers the dead body of a famous starlet in the vaults, she finds herself caught-up in a whirlwind murder investigation with long-reaching consequences.  I'm definitely in for this one!

7.  Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca (available February 2)—This MG novel-in-verse concerns a young girl in the 1980's who is conflicted about her mixed identity as an Indian-American.  Her world becomes even more complex when she finds out that her mother, about whom she already has complicated feelings, has leukemia.  

8.  A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia (available May 25)—Set in 1860 Louisiana, this novel concerns all the residents of a plantation, both free and enslaved.  It brings to light stories, secrets, and troubling truths.  Sounds right up my reading alley.

9.  The List of Unspeakable Fears by J. Kasper Kramer (available Fall 2021)—There's not tons of info out there on this one, but it's set in 1910 New York City.  A 12-year-old girl is terrified when she moves to North Brother Island with her mother and her new stepfather, a mysterious physician.  Strange things begin to occur on the island of quarantined patients ...

10.  Stranger on the Home Front by Maya Chhabra (available Jan 1)—This middle-grade novel concerns a young Indian-American girl whose father is arrested in the wake of WWI suspicion against anyone who appears "un-American."  The book is part of the I Am America series, which sounds a lot like the Dear America series I love.  I'm definitely going to check it out.

There you go, ten historical children's novels I'm looking forward to reading.  How about you?  Do you like historical fiction?  Which are your favorites?  Which historical new releases are you looking forward to?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a message on this post and I will gladly return the favor on yours.

Happy TTT!        

Siblings Brigid and Seamus Reardon emigrate from Ireland in 1877 because it's easier for their parents' landlord to pay for the teens' passage to America than to continue feeding them.  Eager to seek better lives in the land of opportunity, Brigid finds work in Minnesota as a domestic servant while Seamus heads west in search of gold.  A few years later, Brigid receives word that her mother has died.  Grief-stricken and tired of dodging the wandering hands of her employer's lascivious son, she decides to reunite with Seamus in South Dakota.  

Brigid is shocked by what she finds in Deadwood, a bustling city that's dirty, violent, and lawless.  She's only just arrived when a popular prostitute is stabbed to death in the street.  Seamus, who claims to have loved the woman truly, becomes an immediate suspect.  Knowing her brother could not have done such a shameless deed, Brigid urges him to leave town while she tries to figure out who killed Lily.  Her amateur investigation does not go unnoticed and soon she finds herself caught in the glare of a cold-blooded murderer.  Can Brigid bring Lily's killer to justice?  Or will hers be the next body bleeding out on the mean streets of Deadwood? 

The Streel by Mary Logue is a fast-paced mystery that's compelling even though it's not super twisty.  The setting is atmospheric, the characters sympathetic, and the plot exciting.  I liked Brigid, who is hardworking, upright, compassionate, and brave.  It's easy to root for her as she works to prove her brother's innocence.  The Streel is barely over 200 pages, so it's a fast read and one that easily kept my attention.  I enjoyed it.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  You?)

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The Streel with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.