Fall Releases I'm Dying to Read

Falling Over Sideways, by:​ Jordan Sonnenblick

       It's not easy being Claire. (Really.)
       Claire's life is a joke . . . but she's not laughing. While her friends seem to be leaping forward, she's dancing in the same place. The mean girls at school are living up to their mean name, and there's a boy, Ryder, who's just as bad, if not worse. And at home, nobody's really listening to her -- if anything, they seem to be more in on the joke than she is.
       Then into all of this (not-very-funny-to-Claire) comedy comes something intense and tragic -- while her dad is talking to her at the kitchen table, he falls over with a medical emergency. Suddenly the joke has become very serious -- and the only way Claire, her family, and her friends are going to get through it is if they can find a way to make it funny again.

       I think this sounds like a very interesting concept. On one hand, you have a very sarcastic and funny tone of a synopsis. On the other, you have a very serious event. It will be interesting to see how the narration and writing style makes the events in this book feel, whether it's sarcastic or serious.

The Female of the Species, by: Mindy McGinnis

       Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. When her older sister, Anna, was murdered three years ago and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best. The language of violence.
       While her crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people, even in her small hometown. She relegates herself to the shadows, a girl who goes unseen in plain sight, unremarkable in the high school hallways.
       But Jack Fisher sees her. He’s the guy all other guys want to be: the star athlete gunning for valedictorian with the prom queen on his arm. Guilt over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered hasn’t let him forget Alex over the years, and now her green eyes amid a constellation of freckles have his attention. He doesn’t want to only see Alex Craft; he wants to know her.
       So does Peekay, the preacher’s kid, a girl whose identity is entangled with her dad’s job, though that does not stop her from knowing the taste of beer or missing the touch of her ex-boyfriend. When Peekay and Alex start working together at the animal shelter, a friendship forms and Alex’s protective nature extends to more than just the dogs and cats they care for.
       Circumstances bring Alex, Jack, and Peekay together as their senior year unfolds. While partying one night, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting the teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.

       While this book is not something I would normally read, it has definitely piqued my interest. This reminds me of my younger reading days, when I loved the Sammy Keyes books (Although, let it be known that this book sounds way darker than Sammy Keyes, but you get the idea.). I think this will be a perfect book for Halloween this year.

Gamescape: Overworld, by: Emma Trevayne

       The planet is dying. Centuries of abuse have damaged the earth beyond repair, and now all the authorities can do is polish the surface, make the landscape look pretty to hide the disease within. Two prominent yet mysterious businessmen couldn’t fix it, either, but they did something even better. Together, they invented Chimera, the most complex and immersive virtual reality video game the world has ever known. The Cubes in which Chimera is played quickly became a fixture of this landscape: part distraction, part hospital, and almost wholly responsible for holding up the failing world economy.
       Miguel Anderson is also dying. He isn’t the only one who plays the game–everybody does–but Miguel has more reason than most: When players leave their Cubes for the day, the upgrades and enhancements they’ve earned for their virtual characters leave with them. New lungs to breathe poisoned air, skin that won’t burn under the sun are great and everything… but Miguel, born as broken as the earth, needs a new heart–and soon–if he wants any hope of surviving just a little longer.
       Then the two Gamerunners announce a competition, with greater rewards and faster progression than ever before, and Miguel thinks his prayers have been answered. All he needs to do is get picked to lead a team, play the game he’s spent years getting good at, and ask for his prize when he wins. Simple, really.
       At first, things seem to go according to plan. Mostly, anyway. Inside his Cube, with his new team–including his best friend–at his back, Miguel begins his quest. He plays recklessly, even dangerously, for someone whose most vital organ could give up at any moment, but his desperation makes him play better than ever. The eyes of the world are on him, watching through status updates and live feeds, betting on his chances. With greater rewards, though, come greater risks, and the Gamerunners seem to delight at surprising the competitors at every turn. As he ventures deeper into a world that blends the virtual and the real to an unsettling degree, Miguel begins to wonder just why the game was invented at all, and whether its stakes could be even higher than life and death.

       I have to say, I'm a sucker for both a good dystopian and a virtual reality story. Anything to do with gaming in a story, is a definite yes from me. This definitely gets some Ready Player One vibes, but after being let down with Armada, I don't really get my hopes up too high.

Side Note: If you're really into gaming novels, I highly recommend Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde. It's the book that got me into the genre in the first place. There are also two companion books with it if you enjoy it, too.

The Last True Love Story, by: Brendan Kiely

       The point of living is learning how to love.
       That’s what Gpa says. To Hendrix and Corrina, both seventeen but otherwise alike only in their loneliness, that sounds like another line from a pop song that tries to promise kids that life doesn’t actually suck. Okay, so: love. Sure.
       The thing about Corrina—her adoptive parents are suffocating, trying to mold her into someone acceptable, predictable, like them. She’s a musician, itching for any chance to escape, become the person she really wants to be. Whoever that is.
       And Hendrix, he’s cool. Kind of a poet. But also kind of lost. His dad is dead and his mom is married to her job. Gpa is his only real family, but he’s fading fast from Alzheimer’s. Looking for any way to help the man who raised him, Hendrix has made Gpa an impossible promise—that he’ll get him back east to the hill where he first kissed his wife, before his illness wipes away all memory of her.
       One hot July night, Hendrix and Corrina decide to risk everything. They steal a car, spring Gpa from his assisted living facility, stuff Old Humper the dog into the back seat, and take off on a cross-country odyssey from LA to NY. With their parents, Gpa’s doctors, and the police all hot on their heels, Hendrix and Corrina set off to discover for themselves if what Gpa says is true—that the only stories that last are love stories.

       I think this book sounds like so much fun. There's some romance,  adventure, and a tad bit of suspense to get me interested. It gives me the vibes of a contemporary romance/road trip novel, but it's seems like something with a very different meaning. I'm excited where this story leads!

Three Dark Crowns, by: Kendare Blake

       Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.
       But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.
       If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest…but she may be the darkest.

       Royalty, magic, possible anti-hero(es)? Yes please! If Red Queen and Half Bad had a love child book, it sounds like this would be it. Every once in a while I get in the mood to read a book like this, and I think this book is the one. I haven't read a book like this in a long time, so maybe this will be the one.

The Sun Is Also a Star, by: Nicola Yoon

       Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
       Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
       The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

       Just with a synopsis, I can already relate to these characters. We are all very school, good kids, although I'm a little bit more of a dreamer, but that's okay. This does sound like a really neat romance, read though. I also have a feeling that this story might be narrated by "The Universe", which would be very interesting. 

The Fever Code, by: James Dashner

       Once there was a world’s end.
       The forests burned, the lakes and rivers dried up, and the oceans swelled.
       Then came a plague, and fever spread across the globe. Families died, violence reigned, and man killed man.
       Next came WICKED, who were looking for an answer. And then they found the perfect boy.
       The boy’s name was Thomas, and Thomas built a maze.
       Now there are secrets.
       There are lies.
       And there are loyalties history could never have foreseen. 
       This is the story of that boy, Thomas, and how he built a maze that only he could tear down.
       All will be revealed.
       A prequel to the worldwide Maze Runner phenomenon, The Fever Code is the book that holds all the answers. How did WICKED find the Gladers? Who are Group B? And what side are Thomas and Teresa really on? Lies will be exposed. Secrets will be uncovered. Loyalties will be proven. Fans will never see the truth coming.

       Here's my thing with this new TMR book. I know they're stretching out this series for all it's worth. I also know that The Kill Order was downright awful and, quite frankly, pointless. (I won't even go there.) But, I also know that this prequel is (hopefully) about the main characters, and there is no way on Earth that is worse than The Kill Order. Even though my expectations are lower than low, I would like to know more about what happened to Thomas, and friends, before the maze.

       What's your most anticipated fall release? Let me know in the comments!

While she waits patiently,
Ashton

Once I got home, though, and saw several packages on my front porch, all the crap from the day disappeared. A few had smiley faces on them. Squealing, I grabbed the boxes. Books were inside-- new release books I'd preordered weeks ago." 
— Jennifer L. Armentrout, Obsidian