And in the latest round of looking at publisher catalogs, this time we're talking about Penguin and some of their titles that caught my eye. Here we go!
Circle of Stones by Catherine Fisher (August). We've got 3 separate narratives that all come together across time. This includes a teenage girl with an a lot of questions in her past who is on the run in Bath, England; a apprentice in 1740 dealing with a creepy boss and, in ancient England, a druid King because druids = mysterious. Fisher is called "the first lady of British fantasy" and never disappoints so this is certainly one to watch out for.
Like No Other by Una La Marche (July). A bit of a modern day Romeo & Juliet here: Devorah and Jaxon live in the same Brooklyn neighborhood but don't meet until stuck in an elevator. She has always followed the rules of her strict Hasidic upbringing while Jaxon "is a fun-loving nerd who has never had much luck with girls." Their families forbid any relationship (presumably after they emerge from the elevator) but the teens risk all to be together. HOW FAR WILL THEY GO TO BE TOGETHER???!!! Classic teen fare, interesting twist with the Hasidic upbringing, here's hoping it skates afternoon special melodrama and gives good story.
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour (May). Out now, Emi is a young set designer in LA who is loving (and succeeding) in the film scene by putting together believable teen decor but pining for some romance. Then she discovers a mysterious (our word of the day) letter at an estate sale and is off to follow the clues of a movie icon's "hidden life". Let's see if happiness and love are at the end of the trail along with, hopefully, some fun Hollywood bits.
Conversion by Katherine Howe (July). A combination of college prep and the Salem Witch Trials which sounds impossible to pull off, but also crazy appealing. From the catalog:
First Clara Rutherford starts having loud, uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. More students and stranger symptoms follow: seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. The media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find something, or someone to blame. Pollution? Vaccinations? Or are the girls faking? But Colleen—who is reading The Crucible for extra credit—realizes nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago....
Schizo: A Novel by Nic Sheff (September). Miles is recovering from a schizophrenic breakdown and thus clearly an unreliable narrator. He thinks he is getting better but apparently is really getting worse. He's trying to find his missing brother, is wrapped up a romance that might not be real and doing all he can to hold his life together. Catalog comparisons to John Green (of course of course), looking forward to seeing how Sheff pulls this one off.
Starbird Murphy and the World Outside by Karen Finneyfrock (June). Big blurb by Sherman Alexie ("amazing"), another comparison to John Green (of course of course), Starbird is a 16 year old who grew up on a commune in Washington state and gets a "Calling" (capital C) to become a waitress in Seattle. Once she gets to the World Outside (caps again) there is some flirting along with the working but more upsetting, some discovered truths that suggest her commune family might really be a cult. Hmmm......
No comments :
Post a Comment