Hey, hey! We are halfway through the month of September and, incidentally, halfway through the absolute busiest time of the year for the library’s basement dwellers, aka cataloging staff. If summer is known as the time when all the blockbuster movies come out, fall is known in the publishing world as the origin of some of the most incredible new bestsellers. So sit back, relax, and get ready to fall in love with my top picks of books being released this week!
The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen by Katherine Howe
Summary: It’s summertime in New York City, and aspiring filmmaker Wes Auckerman has just arrived to start his summer term at NYU. While shooting a séance at a psychic’s in the East Village, he meets a mysterious, intoxicatingly beautiful girl named Annie. As they start spending time together, Wes finds himself falling for her, drawn to her rose petal lips and her entrancing glow. But there’s something about her that he can’t put his finger on that makes him wonder about this intriguing hipster girl from the Village. Why does she use such strange slang? Why does she always seem so reserved and distant? And, most importantly, why does he only seem to run into her on one block near the Bowery? Annie’s hiding something, a dark secret from her past that may be the answer to all of Wes’s questions
Why I’m stoked: IS SHE A GHOST?! I need to know, and that need to know is going to drive me to reading this one quickly.
Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Willowdean Dixon wants to prove to everyone in her small Texas town that she is more than just a fat girl, so, while grappling with her feelings for a co-worker who is clearly attracted to her, Will and some other misfits prepare to compete in the beauty pageant her mother runs.
Why I’m stoked: Any book to come along with a larger-than-average and confident heroine who is comfortable in her skin, who thinks that it’s society that needs to wake up and smell the coffee…well, how can I say no? Ever since I read Jane Green’s Jemima J. 15 years ago (OMG 15 years?!) I’ve been drawn to books where the protagonist either works on acceptance of her body or works on dealing with how everyone else responds to her. Reading strong female characters act with grace and humor when faced with the same type of adversity I myself have sometimes faced just gives me that much more determination to be the best me I can be.
Lock &Mori by Heather W. Petty
Summary: In modern-day London, two brilliant high school students, one Sherlock Holmes and a Miss James “Mori” Moriarty, meet. A murder will bring them together. The truth very well might drive them apart. Someone has been murdered in London’s Regent’s Park. The police have no leads. Mori and Lock should be hitting the books on a school night. Instead, they are out crashing a crime scene. Lock has challenged Mori to solve the case before he does. Challenge accepted. Despite agreeing to Lock’s one rule—they must share every clue with each other—Mori is keeping secrets. Sometimes you can’t trust the people closest to you with matters of the heart. And after this case, Mori may never trust Lock again.
Why I’m stoked: Another series featuring the world’s greatest detective, and this one sounds absolutely thrilling. Like many Holmes fans I have been utterly SHERLOCKED by Bennedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of Mr. Holmes and so I have very high hopes for this modern-day tale. And series. Did I mention it’s a series? New series alert! *fangirl Kermit arms*
Tonight the Streets are Ours by Leila Sales
Summary: Seventeen-year-old Arden, of Cumberland, Maryland, finds solace in the blog of an aspiring writer who lives in New York City, but when she goes to meet him, she discovers that he is a very different person than she believes him to be.
Why I’m stoked: As someone who grew up in the dawn of online chatrooms, I sometimes found more camaraderie and acceptance with strangers through a computer than I did IRL. If there had been blogs then like there are now, I’m sure I would have had a really crazy one, stupidly confessing all to the world and hiding behind the faux security of “online anonymity.” My point is that I am a sucker for the whole mysterious protagonist trope, and I am super-curious how this story twists when the heroine meets the blogger.
The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie Mclemore
Summary: For twenty years, the Palomas and the Corbeaus have been rivals and enemies, locked in an escalating feud for over a generation. Both families make their living as traveling performers in competing shows—the Palomas swimming in mermaid exhibitions, the Corbeaus, former tightrope walkers, performing in the tallest trees they can find. Lace Paloma may be new to her family’s show, but she knows as well as anyone that the Corbeaus are pure magia negra, black magic from the devil himself. Simply touching one could mean death, and she’s been taught from birth to keep away. But when disaster strikes the small town where both families are performing, it’s a Corbeau boy, Cluck, who saves Lace’s life. And his touch immerses her in the world of the Corbeaus, where falling for him could turn his own family against him, and one misstep can be just as dangerous on the ground as it is in the trees.
Why I’m stoked: Family rivalries. Traveling shows. Star-crossed lovers. Magic! What’s not to love? This book is being billed as “magical realism,” something I’ve often heard but never truly understood. I can’t wait to get some first-hand experience with this genre.
How’s your TBR looking right now? Is it getting taller than you? Tell me what you’re reading now, and what you’re looking forward to reading. There’s always room for more books on my list!
Be sure to visit A Reading Life for more reviews and news of all things happening at the Everett Public Library.
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