Apparently lots of great books are going to published in May, and my bookstore has been overflowing with new advance readers copies for us booksellers to snatch up. I grabbed The Honey Farm after a glance at the gorgeous cover and a quick skim of the advance praise on the back cover, with many lauding this debut book as “unnerving,” “mesmerizing,” and “chills-inducing.” All these statements are true and then some.
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Lucky me recently snatched up an advance reader’s copy of Danielle Teller’s new upcoming novel All the Ever Afters, the story of Cinderella as told by Cinderella’s “evil” stepmother, Agnes. This book is in a similar vein to Wicked, in that it deeply expands on, reinvents, and complicates the original fairytale in a way that feels very relevant and necessary, minus all the “bippity boppity boo.”
Opening up a newly-released book by Tamora Pierce felt a little bit like breathing in sunlight. Okay, my inner poet likes being a little dramatic, but when I finally got around to reading Tempests and Slaughter, I was a little worried that returning to Pierce’s work after seven+ years would be disappointing. I still remember so vividly the magic and wonder of her Circle of Magic series, and the vivacity of the Alanna books, and the intensity of the Beka Cooper series. I was afraid that Tempests and Slaughter might reveal to me that I’d outgrown Pierce’s writing, or that it wasn’t as good as I remember it being, or that I simply wouldn’t like this new story.
I needn’t have worried. I’d been waiting eagerly for Tomi Adeyemi’s debut novel Children of Blood and Bone as soon as I heard the buzz about it in the months before it hit the shelves. A magical YA fantasy set in a West African-inspired land? I was so excited, but none of the hype could prepare me for the payoff. This book is my new favorite.
I was shelving books in the teen section at my bookstore job, as I do almost every night at work now, and I spotted among the nonfiction books a thick book whose cover was rendered in soft pastels, with the image of two lines of young girls figure skating, and the word “Spinning” in thick, purple cursive.
For years, I resisted the pull of reading fanfiction.
“I am way too picky about my reading content!” I would cry as my friends tried to show me novel-length, multi-chapter fanfiction featuring their favorite characters. “I don’t have time to sort through millions of fics just to find one that doesn’t have abysmal grammar!” I would wail. “I have enough reading to do just for class!” To conclude my “Forays into Fairyland” themed month, I will be reviewing an exciting new bestseller by Holly Black.
When I saw that there was a new fairy-themed book out by Holly Black, beloved author of the Modern Faerie Tales series that I adored as a wee teen, I nearly jumped up and down. I don’t follow Black on Twitter, so I had no idea that she was cooking up another faerie series. I brought the book home a few days later, practically vibrating with excitement. As I was cleaning up the kids’ section of the bookstore I work at the other night, smiling at a few beloved, familiar novels, something that’s been on my mind a lot struck me.
Most people who know my reading habits and my writing tendencies could probably tell you that I have a certain preferred…aesthetic. You can probably sum up my personality by listening to Florence and Machine’s entire discography. I’m drawn to magic, myths, fairytales, and glitter. Always have been. It really shouldn’t have surprised me that somehow, I ended up unintentionally choosing to read three different books in the last two months that all transported me into worlds infused with magic, faeries, and darkness.
Man, it was fun. The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, is a story about a black teenaged girl named Starr who grows up in the projects, and she witnesses firsthand her childhood friend Khalil, who is unarmed, be shot and killed by a white police officer. This happens within the first chapter of the book, and the rest of the story covers the fallout as Starr tries to navigate her own trauma and the reactions of her community as the story gains national attention.
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AuthorWriter, reviewer, bookseller, book nerd extraordinaire. Fiction reader at Waxwing Magazine. Archives
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