Precommendations: Volume 2, Issue 8

8/11/2018

Hello, August! A new month brings the start of the "Back to School" season, cooler weather, and (of course) a new issue of Precommendations! This post is, admittedly, a little late this month, but I filled last week to the brim with BookTube-A-Thon. So, unfortunately, this post is coming to you this weekend instead of last weekend. I am so excited to share all of the new books that are coming out this month. Since there are so many coming out this month, I couldn't make myself choose any one book over another; they all sound so good! Make sure you let me know what books you are looking forward to this month in the comments.

Click Here to Read More

The Other Side of Lost, by: Jessi Kirby

August 7th
Mari Turner’s life is perfect. That is, at least to her thousands of followers who have helped her become an internet starlet. But when she breaks down and posts a video confessing she’s been living a lie—that she isn’t the happy, in-love, inspirational online personality she’s been trying so hard to portray—it goes viral and she receives major backlash. To get away from it all, she makes an impulsive decision: to hike the entire John Muir trail. Mari and her late cousin, Bri, were supposed to do it together, to celebrate their shared eighteenth birthday. But that was before Mari got so wrapped up in her online world that she shut anyone out who questioned its worth—like Bri.
With Bri’s boots and trail diary, a heart full of

regret, and a group of strangers that she meets along the way, Mari tries to navigate the difficult terrain of the hike. But the true challenge lies within, as she searches for the way back to the girl she fears may be too lost to find: herself.

After reading Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett, I have been craving another outdoorsy book this summer. It was such a fun and unique read, and it led me to the niche of camping/hiking stories. I know that in my experience, a walk can do wonders for thinking, and I this story has taken this idea to the extreme. Our main character is going on a very literal journey to find herself, and I think the result will be fantastic

Let Me List the Ways, by: Sarah White

August 7th
Mackenzie Clark has been best friends with Nolan Walker for as long as she can remember. She’s shared everything with him, from adventures with their families and days lounging at the beach, to long talks about their friends and her journey with type 1 diabetes. The only thing she hasn’t shared is the fact that she is in love with him.
Now in their senior year of high school, Mackenzie and Nolan know that in a few short months everything will change as they head off to different colleges. Determined to make the most of the time they still have left, they come up with a list of things they want to do together before graduation. But as they make their way through everything from toilet papering the school

bully’s house to having a backyard camp-out like the ones they had when they were kids, Mackenzie can’t help feeling that she’s left the most important thing off the list: telling Nolan how she feels. But when confessing her love could jeopardize the incredible relationship they already have, is honesty really the best policy?

AHHH ANOTHER LIST BOOK!!!!! If you're new here, you might not be aware that I love books with bucket lists in the plot (I know, it's oddly specific. Just go with it.). I’m always creating lists, whether they’re to-do lists for my day, or things I want to do before I die. I think that since I want to complete all these different tasks, I gravitate towards stories that are in line with that idea. This book sounds like it is going to be filled with fun and adorable moments; I can’t wait to read it!

The Looking Glass, by: Janet McNally

August 14th
GIRLS IN TROUBLE.
That’s what Sylvie Blake’s older sister Julia renamed their favorite fairy tale book, way back when they were just girls themselves. Now, Julia has disappeared—and no one knows if she’s in trouble.
Sylvie is trying to carry on Julia’s impressive legacy at the prestigious National Ballet Theatre Academy, but Julia, ever the star of the show, can’t stay hidden forever. And when she sends Sylvie a copy of their old storybook with a mysterious list inside, Sylvie begins to see signs of her sister everywhere she goes. She may be losing her grip on reality, but Sylvie has to find out if the strange, almost magical things she’s been seeing have anything to do with Julia’s whereabouts.

With the help of her best friend’s enigmatic brother and his beat-up car, Sylvie sets out to the beat of a Fleetwood Mac playlist, determined to return to New York with her sister in tow. But what Sylvie doesn’t expect to learn is that trouble comes in lots of forms—and that the damsel in distress is often the only one who can save herself.

Fairy tales seeping into the real world? Count me in! At first glance, this book reminds me a tiny bit of the musical Into the Woods. (If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.) This story sounds like it is going to be full of whimsy, from disappearances and ballet to fairy tales and quests. I can’t wait to see how the author incorporates the book of fairy tales into the story. Will she pluck the characters straight out of the stories, or will she modernize them? I can’t wait to find out!

We Regret to Inform You, by: A.E. Kaplan

August 21st
Mischa Abramavicius is a walking, talking, top-scoring, perfectly well-rounded college application in human form. So when she's rejected not only by the Ivies, but her loathsome safety school, she is shocked and devastated. All the sacrifices her mother made to send her to prep school, the late nights cramming for tests, the blatantly resume-padding extracurriculars (read: Students for Sober Driving) ... all that for nothing.
As Mischa grapples with the prospect of an increasingly uncertain future, she questions how this could have happened in the first place. Is it possible that her transcript was hacked? With the help of her best friend and sometimes crush, Nate, and a group of eccentric techies known as "The Ophelia Syndicate,"

Mischa launches an investigation that will shake the quiet community of Blanchard Prep to its stately brick foundations.

Going into my senior year of high school this month without a clue as to where I’m going to go to college, this book is going to be the perfect mystery novel. I’m getting a Nancy Drew vibe with a bit of hacking and romance sprinkled in; I hope that it turns out to have some comedy too. Mischa and I are a lot alike, and that’s not something I can say about many protagonists. I can’t wait to see what kind of shenanigans unfold throughout this story.

The Second Life of Ava Rivers, by: Faith Gardner

August 28th
Ava's disappearance was the crack in the Rivers family glacier. I wish I could explain to you how we were before, but I can't, because the before is so filmy and shadowed with the after.
The after is all Vera remembers. When her twin sister, Ava, disappeared one Halloween night, her childhood became a blur of theories, tips, and leads, but never any answers. The case made headlines, shocked Vera's Northern California community, and turned her family into tragic celebrities.
Now, at eighteen, Vera is counting down the days until she starts her new life at college in Portland, Oregon, far away from the dark cloud she and family have lived under for twelve years. But all that changes

when a girl shows up at the local hospital.
Her name is Ava Rivers and she wants to go home.
Ava's return begins to mend the fractures in the Rivers family. Vera and Ava's estranged older brother returns. Vera reconnects with Max, the sweet, artistic boy from her childhood. Their parents smile again. But the questions remain: Where was Ava all these years? And who is she now?

I’ve recently been drawn to more mystery-based contemporaries, and this book falls right in the center of that genre. Ava Rivers has come back from her disappearance, but her family has no idea where she went. After reading Leaving Time this past month, this book seems to be a YA book with a similar story (Leaving Time is an adult novel, but follows a teenage girl for much of the story). I have a feeling this book will feature flashbacks to before her disappearance, which I think is an excellent addition to mystery stories. I guess time will tell on that one. :)

Mirage, by: Somaiya Daud

August 28th
In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon.
But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.

As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection...because one wrong move could lead to her death.

This book sounds like an epic space adventure, but the only thing I could think of when I read the synopsis was Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. You know, the scene where Keira Knightley is dressed up as Natalie Portman so she can stay undercover? Yeah, that scene. In spite of this similarity (see what I did there?), I think that this story has a chance to be absolutely epic. Intertwining the political drama with a space setting is sure to result in a truly unique tale.

Are you looking forward to reading any of these books? Be sure to let me know so we can discuss in the comments!

Your fellow fangirl,
Ashton

Everyone deserves a standing ovation because we all overcometh the world.

— R.J. Palacio, Wonder

0 Comments