On Sunday April 30th , I had the pleasure of attending the Ottawa Blogger Meetup. I went last year, so I’d been looking forward to it since Kathy of A Glass of Wine announced it earlier this year. It was a lovely meetup. We had lunch while Kathy filled us in on upcoming titles from Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, Harper Collins, Penguin, Free Form Books, and Macmillan.
There were so many great sounding books and I’m so happy that I got to take some of them home with me!
Here are a few of the ones I’m looking forward to:
The Way Back Home by Allan Stratton
In this YA novel, a girl breaks her grandmother with Alzheimer’s out of a nursing home to go on a road trip to find her long-lost uncle. Does that not sound like a promising premise? I feel like I don’t often read books that explore relationships between grandchildren and grandparents, so I’m looking forward to this one, though I suspect it might cause some feels.
The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah
The plot of this one seems kind of timely. Michael, the son of anti-immigrant protestors, begins to question the beliefs he was raised with when Mina, a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan, comes to his school. Randa Abdel-Fattah is an expert on Islamaphobia in Australia, so I expect this to be a thoughtful and powerful look at fear and hate.
The Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh
I read Ahdieh’s other book The Wrath and the Dawn for book club and was pretty impressed with her world building skills. Set in feudal Japan, this novel follows Mariko as she sets out on a quest for vengeance only to find a place for herself among the assassins she was set on destroying.
Hold Back the Stars by Katie Khan
Described as “harkening to both One Day and Gravity,” this is a story of a man and woman revisiting memories of their love affair while trapped in space with limited oxygen sounds. It sounds both thrilling and emotional, so I’m hoping it plays out well.
No Good Deed by Goldy Moldavsky
This is a novel in which teen activists attend a summer program called Camp Save The World. But when the organizers announce a contest, the would-be do-gooders turn on one another. In today’s age of clicktivism, slacktivism, and voluntourism, I’m ready for a biting satire of well-intentioned but ill-advised activists.
Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terril
I don’t often read thrillers, and I’m not sure if I’ve ever read a YA thriller, so this could be a fun change for me. A con artist takes the place of a Daniel Tate, boy who went missing six years ago. But he might not be the only one in the Tate household with something to hide. And one family member might be ready to kill to keep the worst one secret. Sound kind of creepy, right?
Lucky in Love by Kasie West
If you read this blog, you probably know by now that I often have issues with romance. But, maybe I’ll give this one a try. It’s a contemporary romance about a girl who wins the lottery. She suddenly finds people treating her differently, except for her coworker at the zoo who seems unaware of her win. But will he stay that way if he finds out?
The Glass Town Game by Catherine M. Valente
So, a book about the Bronte siblings transported to a fantasy town of their own creation? I’m so on board with that. Add a war against Napoleon over a potion that raises the dead and I’m doubly so. This one sounds like Narnia meets literary heroes, and I’m just thrilled it exists.
I can’t wait to get reading! And of course, it wouldn’t have been such a successful blogger meetup if it weren’t for the hard work of Kathy and the publishers’ generosity.