Top Ten Tuesday: Highly Anticipating

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Highly Anticipating!

We are halfway through 2020. Can you believe it? With half the year behind us, it is time to think about our next batch of anticipated books. You all know I have an endless TBR, so I am going to focus on YA books, which I don't already have. Most of these are by authors I have grown to love, but a few are new-to-me, and I am very excited to get acquainted with their storytelling. 

Review: Tales of the Peculiar - Ransom Riggs

Tales of the Peculiar
Ransom Riggs
Series: Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, 0.5
Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

I've mentioned on more than a few occasions how invested I am in the world of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children so it should come as no shock that I preordered this new addition to the series forever ago.

Tales of the Peculiar is to the Miss Peregrine's universe what Grimms' Fairy Tales are to this one. The ten stories are a collection of folklore featuring peculiars, and they're all told a little bit differently -- a clear fairytale, a life lesson, a hidden message.

I didn't know a short, standalone story collection like this was something I wanted or needed until I read this but now that I have, I can't believe I lived without one for so long.

The writing is absolutely phenomenal. Each story has its own tone, but there is an overarching style that makes the book feel cohesive and not just like a few stories thrown together. It flowed super well and there was a cadence to the writing that made even the macabre parts of the stories seem compelling rather than shocking.

The stories themselves were captivating and I loved that Ransom Riggs took this opportunity to go somewhere new. In the series, he is bound by the rules of his own plot, but here, there are no rules. These are short, standalone stories. One of my favorite aspects of the series itself actually is just the concept of the peculiars and the writing of the books so combining both these things into a book that doesn't need to follow a plot or the rules of one was super exciting for me. There was a story about a princess and about a ghost (side note: I love ghosts (also princesses)) and about the origin of ymbrynes and they took place all over the world so it was a really cool experience reading all the stories. The book is really short too -- the ten stories take up 160 pages total and it's easy to read in one short sitting.

Als, the book is narrated by Millard Nullings (who you'll recognize if you've read the series) and his character offers annotations in the form of footnotes throughout the stories. I thought this was a really nice touch and added to the reading experience.

If you're a fan of the series already, I think you should definitely read this book. It has all the elegant writing of Miss Peregrine's but with fun, new one-off stories that I don't see how anyone could dislike. If you haven't read the series, I personally would read it before reading Tales of the Peculiar, if only for a little background info (also I just like reading things in order), but if you don't have that kinda time or inclination, you can definitely still read it on its own without feeling confused!

Basically, I love it and you should all read it. On an end note, the physical book itself is beautiful and whether you buy it or not, please go admire a copy right now. It's green with a gold leaf print embossed onto the hardcover (rather than a book jacket) and it's got beautiful pages and inside print and I just love everything about this book. If I wasn't on my computer I'd put several crying emojis here.

- Noor

What's your favorite fairytale/folktale?
Let us know in the comments!

Review: Furthermore - Tahereh Mafi

Furthermore
Tahereh Mafi
Series: N/A
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 30, 2016
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Thanks to Dutton Books for the ARC I received at BEA!

The best word to describe Furthermore is whimsical. From the start, the reader is thrown into a fantasy world called Ferenwood. In Ferenwood, color is everything - the more colorful, the more magical. However, poor Alice has no color at all, making her feel inadequate and out of place. On top of that, her mother seems to hate her and her father went missing three years ago. On her twelfth birthday, Oliver, a boy she once went to school with, says something that changes everything: he knows where her father is.

Furthermore follows this beloved duo as they journey into the land of Furthermore, which is far stranger than Ferenwood. In Furthermore, there are no rules - anything is possible - and that makes it so much more dangerous. Furthermore is absolutely not the kind of place you would want to vacation.

I couldn't help but be reminded of The Phantom Tollbooth (one of my favorite books) and Alice in Wonderland while reading Furthermore. There's something about the logic (or lack-there-of) in these three books - the fact that you never know what sort of backwards logic is actually normal in the world - that I absolutely love. I also thoroughly enjoyed the way the story was told. I kind of just imagined sitting on the floor, looking up at Tahereh Mafi reading this book to me with fun voices. It really does read so much like a fairytale, but it's more like a Grimms brothers fairytale than a Disney one.

More thoughts this way!

When it comes to the characters, I really loved the way Mafi built them. They were very far from perfect, and they had to learn how to get past things before they could truly work well together. There are so many themes explored in this book, from friendship and trust, to darker themes like prejudice and abandonment. There's even a bit with Alice's mother having an addiction to berries that make her less sad when father is away.

The plot of this book was so topsy turvy! The ending was a bit abrupt, but I kind of liked it because it was so Furthermore. Sometimes there's a big struggle to get where you're going, but other times you might just end up in the right place at the right time.

!!!!!!

Overall, Furthermore was such a fun, whimsical adventure. Even though this is middle grade (which is not a typical genre for me), it's such a fun fantasy that I think anyone can enjoy if they're in the mood for something lighter. Here's to hoping there will be a sequel!

- Kiersten

What's your favorite fantasy world?

Let us know in the comments!

Waiting on Wednesday: Furthermore - Tahereh Mafi

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi!

Furthermore
Tahereh Mafi
Release Date: August 30th, 2016
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Waited on by: Noor
Goodreads

There are only three things that matter to twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow: Mother, who wouldn't miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and Father, who always loved her. The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him. But it's been almost three years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she's about to embark on one to find the other. 

But bringing Father home is no small matter. In order to find him she'll have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. Her only companion is a boy named Oliver whose own magical ability is based in lies and deceit--and with a liar by her side in a land where nothing is as it seems, it will take all of Alice's wits (and every limb she's got) to find Father and return home to Ferenwood in one piece. On her quest to find Father, Alice must first find herself--and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss. 

You might have seen Kiersten's last Stuffed Animal Saturday talking about this book and I'm sorry to be repetitive but I am just so. freaking. excited for it. This may or may not be a good time to admit I actually haven't read Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me series yet (I think I own them though??? maybe). I of course do plan on reading them in the near future but after God knows how long of stalking her Instagram and obsessing over her existence as a person, I feel like this is the perfect book to start off my Tahereh Mafi reading journey with -- it's only one book so it's not daunting and it has the perfect premise. There's only like two weeks left until it comes out and I am counting down every last second.

- Noor

What are you waiting on?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: The Smaller Evil - Stephanie Kuehn

The Smaller Evil
Stephanie Kuehn
Series: N/A
Genre: Mystery, Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Dutton Books
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Thanks to Dutton Books and First to Read for the eARC!

The Smaller Evil was definitely a strange book. Almost the entire time I was reading, I had no idea what was going on; but at the same time, I wanted to keep reading to try and figure it out. In the end, I ended up liking it a lot more than I expected to.

The book starts when Arman decides to go on a week long retreat to help cure his supposed "social sickness." In the middle of nowhere in the woods, attendees are expected to pay thousands of dollars to receive treatment, including activities called "Quarantine," "Vespers," and "Inoculation." If this doesn't scream cult, I don't know what does.

At first I was really annoyed by Arman's point of view - homeboy is always confused. He's got a whole slue of mental health problems going on (anxiety, self harm, possibly ADHD, and what seemed like disassociation), and he's really reliant on affirmation from other people, particularly Beau, the head of the camp. Reading from Arman's perspective made me very uneasy; his anxiety really showed through the writing. At the beginning, I really did not like that about he writing, but as I kept going, I realized how the voice was actually brilliant - Stephanie Kuehn makes the reader feel uneasy, anxious, and confused because Arman is all those things. It wasn't an empathetic feeling in relation to the character like reading other books; it was a feeling forced by the way it was written.

There were also moments in the book that were told from unknown perspectives. I enjoyed the shift to these because they were the parts that really gave the clues for understanding what was going to happen.

I wouldn't say this is a traditional mystery, but it definitely is one. And it is seriously thrilling near the end. This is through and through a psychological thriller - throwing your mind on an adventure of ups and downs. I'm no expert on this genre, but I feel like it was done really well - I never would have expected what was going on.

I've seen a lot of reviews were people didn't understand what happened at the end of the book. While I did understand the end of the mystery, I do feel like the ending was abrupt. I would have liked a little more resolution because where Arman ends up in the end is very vague.

Overall, The Smaller Evil was a strange book that I don't think everyone will enjoy. While Arman is a teenager, I don't feel like the story is really Young Adult. Yes, Arman has a bit of a coming of age story in this book, but it's way more complicated than that. If you're looking for something that will mess with your mind and make you question everything that also has culty vibes, this is definitely the book for you.

- Kiersten

Have you read any psychological thrillers?

Let us know in the comments!

Waiting on Wednesday: Spontaneous - Aaron Starmer

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on Spontaneous by Aaron Starmer!

Spontaneous
Aaron Starmer
Release Date: August 23, 2016
Publisher: Dutton Books
Waited on by: Amrutha
Goodreads

“Katelyn Ogden was a lot of things, but she wasn’t particularly explosive, in any sense of the word.”

 Mara Carlyle’s senior year at Covington High in suburban New Jersey is going on as normally as could be expected, until the day—wa-bam!—fellow senior Katelyn Ogden explodes during third period pre-calc. Katelyn is the first, but she won’t be the last senior to spontaneously combust without warning or explanation. The body count grows and the search is on for a reason—Terrorism! Drugs! Homosexuality! Government conspiracy!—while the seniors continue to pop like balloons.

Mara narrates the end of their world as she knows it with tell-it-like-it-is insight as she tries to make it to graduation in one piece through an explosive year punctuated by romance, quarantine, lifelong friendship, hallucinogenic mushrooms, bloggers, ice cream trucks, “Snooze Button™,” Bon Jovi, and the filthiest language you’ve ever heard the President of the United States use over Skype.

I'm so hyped about this? This book won the Most Unique Premise of August 2016 award -- I'm sure because the plot sounds absolutely wild. This book hasn't even been released yet and there are already rumors that this will get made into a movie. I'm always ready to read about girls from suburban New Jersey because I am one, but I'm even more ready to read about people who blow up unexpectedly. Can't wait for this one!

- Amrutha

What are you waiting on?

Let us know in the comments!