With the long weekend and (a few hours in the car) ahead of me, I’m really excited about the extra reading time I’ll get to sneak in in the near future. I’ve been talking about how my reading this year has been slower than normal, but fortunately, it’s been getting better in the last couple of weeks. I’ve been able to get through two or three books a week, which is about my average. I’m finding that working with the slump, rather than trying to not acknowledge and respect it, has been really helpful. Perhaps that’s a future post in the making.
That said, here’s a peek at what I’ve got on my short list and what I’ve got bookmarks in right now.
The Girl From The Well by Rin Chupeco (August 5 from Sourcebooks)
This book! It’s been in my hands since it came as a bound manuscript last fall, and I’m finally sinking into it. It’s been called The Grudge meets Dexter in one description and The Ring meets The Exorcist in another. I think those are all pretty fair comparisons, and I’d say this is the kind of book fans of j-horror will eat up. There is a ghost spirit who is seeking revenge and we all know this isn’t going to end well for . . . well probably not for anyone. I’m only a bit into it at the time of this writing, but I am so looking forward to racing through, since the pacing is quick, the writing atmospheric and haunting, and the story absorbing. It hits all my sweet spots for good horror.
Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler
Butler’s novel has been recommended to me by multiple people, and since I’ve been on a really positive adult novel reading spree through this slump, I’m eager to pick this one up and dive in. It’s about four long-time friends who grew up in the same small Wisconsin town and explores how their lives have changed and shifted and how that plays out in their relationships.
Anatomy of a Boyfriend and Anatomy of a Single Girl by Daria Snadowsky
I haven’t read either of these books, but since I’ve been keeping an eye out for books tackling teen sexuality in some capacity, I know I want to read both of these. Boyfriend is a few years old, but Single Girl came out last year and when it came out, I put them both into my pile of titles to get to, and now they’re up. I’m eager for what should be some solid contemporary.
As a side note to this, if you know of any really solid contemporary realistic YA that explores female sexuality that maybe isn’t an obvious choice, I’d love to hear about it. I’m especially curious about books out in the last year or two — the usual suspects are ones I’ve read. But what may I have missed?
The Gospel of Winter by Brendan Kiely
I didn’t know if this was a book I wanted to read for a long time, especially because it does that thing that I find myself turned off by, which is being set in the late 90s/early 00s. But I’ve read so many great reviews of this and how it explores sexual assault and the way adults can take advantage of teenagers, so I’m going to give it a go.
The cover of Kiely’s book is really neat, too. It looks like a standard boy-in-the-shadow cover, but the silhouette is imprinted on the hardcover itself, and the designed white part with the title and author are the jacket — it might not be vellum proper, but that’s what the effect is like.
Kiss of Broken Glass by Madeleine Kuderick (September 9)
A verse novel about a 15-year-old girl who is mentally ill and put under a psychiatric watch for a short period of time. Sold.
Blind by Rachel DeWoskin (August 7)
It starts on the 4th of July when a wayward firework flies into Emma’s eyes, causing her to go blind. This is about what happens as she works through her life in a new way and how she navigates life in her new normal. DeWoskin wrote Big Girl Small, which was an Alex Award winner a few years back and has . . . also been sitting in a pile for me to get to reading since it also sounds like it’s up my alley. One thing I’m a little hesitant about with Blind is that it’s very long — over 400 pages. I’m not opposed to big books, but the last few I’ve read that have gotten that long would have been much stronger were they about 50-100 pages tighter. I’m hoping to be proven wrong this time.
What’s on your to-read for the week? What should be on my radar? And if you’ve read anything here, I’d love to know what you think.
The Girl From the Well sounds like exactly my kind of book! Can't wait to check it out. And I am definitely intrigued by Blind but I agree sometimes these big books need to be a bit more polished down.
I'm most of the way down with Girl From The Well and it holds up. It's perfect if you know anything about Japanese horror or are fascinated by it.
I will say the time period of The Gospel of Winter works for me, because it is set during that big wave of Catholic sexual abuse scandals. It has a reason to be set during that time, beyond "this is the time the author was familiar with high school" or "cell phones would make the story too complicated/simple."
That makes me feel way better to hear. I might be bumping it up even sooner.
You had me at "Girl from the Well." The cover and your description was just gilding the lily for me. Looking forward to your review on GR.
ANATOMY OF A SINGLE GIRL is actually on my TBR for this month. I found ANATOMY OF A BOYFRIEND to be a really refreshing look at a more authentic teen relationship with regard to both sexuality and emotions (though having read Judy Blume's FOREVER, I say "refreshing" with a grain of salt, as it was also extremely familiar), and I look forward to seeing what she does with the follow-up. I think that one and the Ruby Oliver books by E. Lockhart are probably my favorites that are about straight-up sexuality, vs., say, sexual violence.