Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. I thought this would be a fun way to share a condensed version of potential rambles and thoughts that I have.
This Week’s Theme:
Top Ten Books I’m
Looking Forward To In 2015
Initial Thoughts:
How does one even forecast future reads a year in advance when the struggle is real to attack the existing pile?
For those of you who have yet to start or are planning to catch up on Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle series, I’m giving away a signed hardcover copy of Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Book #03)! More details can be found here: [Blue Lily, Lily Blue INT’L giveaway] #plugplugplug
When – Victoria Laurie
(Side note: I guess I actually only want to check this out to see if the plot is remotely similar to Death Note’s concept…)
Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior, cursed with an eerie intuitive ability: she sees a series of unique digits hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters. Her earliest memories are marked by these numbers, but it takes her father’s premature death for Maddie and her family to realize that these mysterious digits are actually death dates, and just like birthdays, everyone has one.
Forced by her alcoholic mother to use her ability to make extra money, Maddie identifies the quickly approaching death date of one client’s young son, but because her ability only allows her to see the when and not thehow, she’s unable to offer any more insight. When the boy goes missing on that exact date, law enforcement turns to Maddie.
Soon, Maddie is entangled in a homicide investigation, and more young people disappear and are later found murdered. A suspect for the investigation, a target for the murderer, and attracting the attentions of a mysterious young admirer who may be connected to it all, Maddie’s whole existence is about to be turned upside down. Can she right things before it’s too late?
A Darker Shade of Magic – V.E. Schwab
Kell is one of the last Travelers—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes—as such, he can choose where he lands.
There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there’s Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne—a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London…but no one speaks of that now.
Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see—a dangerous hobby, and one that has set him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations, who first robs him, then saves him from a dangerous enemy, and then forces him to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—and that is proving trickier than they hoped.
Conviction – Kelly Loy Gilbert
Ten years ago, God gave Braden a sign, a promise that his family wouldn’t fall apart the way he feared.
But Braden got it wrong: his older brother, Trey, has been estranged from the family for almost as long, and his father, the only parent Braden has ever known, has been accused of murder. The arrest of Braden’s father, a well-known Christian radio host, has sparked national media attention. His fate lies in his son’s hands; Braden is the key witness in the upcoming trial.
Braden has always measured himself through baseball. He is the star pitcher in his small town of Ornette, and his ninety-four-mile-per-hour pitch al- ready has minor league scouts buzzing in his junior year. Now the rules of the sport that has always been Braden’s saving grace are blurred in ways he never realized, and the prospect of playing against Alex Reyes, the nephew of the police officer his father is accused of killing, is haunting his every pitch.
Braden faces an impossible choice, one that will define him for the rest of his life, in this brutally honest debut novel about family, faith, and the ultimate test of conviction
5 to 1 – Holly Bodger
In the year 2054, after decades of gender selection, India now has a ratio of five boys for every girl, making women an incredibly valuable commodity. Tired of marrying off their daughters to the highest bidder and determined to finally make marriage fair, the women who form the country of Koyanagar have instituted a series of tests so that every boy has the chance to win a wife.
Sudasa, though, doesn’t want to be a wife, and Kiran, a boy forced to compete in the test to become her husband, has other plans as well. As the tests advance, Sudasa and Kiran thwart each other at every turn until they slowly realize that they just might want the same thing.
This beautiful, unique novel is told from alternating points of view-Sudasa’s in verse and Kiran’s in prose-allowing readers to experience both characters’ pain and their brave struggle for hope.
All The Bright Places – Jennifer Niven
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
The Honest Truth – Dan Gemeinhart
In all the ways that matter, Mark is a normal kid. He’s got a dog named Beau and a best friend, Jessie. He likes to take photos and write haiku poems in his notebook. He dreams of climbing a mountain one day.
But in one important way, Mark is not like other kids at all. Mark is sick. The kind of sick that means hospitals. And treatments. The kind of sick some people never get better from.
So Mark runs away. He leaves home with his camera, his notebook, his dog, and a plan to reach the top of Mount Rainier–even if it’s the last thing he ever does.
The Honest Truth is a rare and extraordinary novel about big questions, small moments, and the incredible journey of the human spirit.
Armada – Ernest Cline
Zack Lightman is daydreaming through another dull math class when the high-tech dropship lands in his school’s courtyard-and when the men in the dark suits and sunglasses leap out of the ship and start calling his name, he’s sure he’s still dreaming.
But the dream is all too real; the people of Earth need him. As Zack soon discovers, the videogame he’s been playing obsessively for years isn’t just a game; it’s part of a massive, top-secret government training program, designed to teach gamers the skills they’ll need to defend Earth from a possible alien invasion. And now…that invasion is coming.
As he and his companions prepare to enter their ships and do battle, Zack learns that the father he thought was dead is actually a key player in this secret war. And together with his father, he’ll uncover the truth about the alien threat, race to prevent a genocide, and discover a mysterious third player in the interplanetary chess game he’s been thrown into.
The Merit Birds – Kelley Powell
Eighteen-year-old Cam Scott is angry. He’s angry about his absent dad, he’s angry about being angry, and he’s angry that he has had to give up his Ottawa basketball team to follow his mom to her new job in Vientiane, Laos. However, Cam’s anger begins to melt under the Southeast Asian sun as he finds friendship with his neighbour, Somchai, and gradually falls in love with Nok, who teaches him about building merit, or karma, by doing good deeds, such as purchasing caged “merit birds.” Tragedy strikes and Cam finds himself falsely accused of a crime. His freedom depends on a person he’s never met. A person who knows that the only way to restore his merit is to confess. “The Merit Birds” blends action and suspense and humour in a far-off land where things seem so different, yet deep down are so much the same.
The Rest Of Us Just Live Here – Patrick Ness
Here’s a little quote from it: “Not everyone has to be the Chosen One. Not everyone has to be the guy who saves the world. Most people just have to live their lives the best they can … All the while knowing that the world makes no sense but trying to find a way to be happy anyway.”
What if you lived in a world a lot like a YA novel? Where people you know have already battled vampires and zombies and soul-eating ghosts and whatever this new thing turns out to be? What if you just want to go to prom and graduate before someone goes and blows up the high school again?
Firefight – Brandon Sanderson
They told David it was impossible–that even the Reckoners had never killed a High Epic. Yet, Steelheart–invincible, immortal, unconquerable–is dead. And he died by David’s hand.
Eliminating Steelheart was supposed to make life more simple. Instead, it only made David realize he has questions. Big ones. And there’s no one in Newcago who can give him the answers he needs.
Babylon Restored, the old borough of Manhattan, has possibilities, though. Ruled by the mysterious High Epic, Regalia, David is sure Babylon Restored will lead him to what he needs to find. And while entering another city oppressed by a High Epic despot is a gamble, David’s willing to risk it. Because killing Steelheart left a hole in David’s heart. A hole where his thirst for vengeance once lived. Somehow, he filled that hole with another Epic–Firefight. And he’s willing to go on a quest darker, and more dangerous even, than the fight against Steelheart to find her, and to get his answers.
Afterthoughts:
So many of these will probably be repeats in the coming lists regarding 2015 debuts. Oh well :D! So remember to check out the giveaway I’m hosting and have a super day.
Also: how about that Goodreads awards? Did the books you voted for win?
Cheers,
Joey
AHHHH I didn’t even know about Armada! Also did someone say Death Note?
All of these look great, I might have to add on to my list.
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Call me negative nancy but I want to see how similar it is to Death Note just so I can shut down all those claims on how “original” the concept is. This is making out to be another Hunger Games/Battle Royale situation. (But alas, a rant is required if necessary lololololololol.)
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That’s the spirit, Nancy!
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Nice picks. I love the concept of 5 to 1. It’s like the tables have turned 😉
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While I don’t particularly enjoy the intent behind having to blatantly say that it’s of a diverse/POC-driven setting, I will acknowledge that it’ll be rad to read into that kind of dystopian concept.
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I agree 🙂
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Reblogged this on criticalbooks and commented:
kljjl
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I have no idea what kljjl means but thank you for the reblog!
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I’m really looking forward to Firefight as well! I did not know Ernest Cline was coming out with another book. That’ll be exciting!
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Almost less than a month before it gets released! I only discovered through list perusing that Cline was releasing another book–all hail these top ten lists!
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All The Bright Things has my attention. I added it to my list. I have certain favorite authors that I know I’ll read their 2015 releases but beyond that, it’s hard for me to promise reading anything when I can’t get a handle on my outrageous TBR list! Colleen Hoovers books coming out next year are my top 3 for sure, though.
Only one book I voted for won – Landline. Which is a fantastic book, btw. Colleen got second and fourth place, which is still pretty awesome.
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Oh definitely. The list I make today will not be the same list I make tomorrow, nor will it be the same I intend to follow. I think it’s more of a “hey I exist!” type of deal to keep my mind refreshed as to what’s to come!
Instabuys definitely separate itself from the TBRs because those are just written in the stars that they’ll be read!
Ha, I haven’t yet read anything of Rowell (despite knowing the community loves her writing and such and such).
Although winning is a great publicity stunt (because they get that “winner” image next to their book in the directory), having the title listed is still a great feat to have achieved as well. So it’s a win-win-win for everyone!
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All The Bright Places is on my list this week too. I can’t wait to read it. Great list!
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The reading community is definitely growing more resilient to these tougher-topic reads so it’ll be exciting to see how things are handled in All The Bright Places!
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1. Didn’t realize that the Goodreads awards were out. Time to go check
and 2. So excited about Armada. Bless you, Top Ten Tuesday. I didn’t know about that before today!
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Seriously: All hail the greatness that is this meme.
And some of those categories in GR Awards were stiff competition (like 400 votes separating King vs Rowling–intense!)
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I know, it’s impossible predict what I’ll read next year, so I just went with books that sounded good. haha that’s the same reaction to When I had. ‘I hope it’s like Death Note’ A Darker Shade made my list too! (Though I haven’t read Vicious yet.) The concept of 5 to 1 sounds interesting, but I think I’ll wait for reviews. The Rest of Us sounds good, I’m afraid because it’s Ness though. Yes to Sanderson and super powers!
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I’m not sure if I hope it’s like Death Note but I’m just curious as to a lot of comments regarding it’s originality when the concept is very reminiscent (at least to me) of Death Note.
I was enticed by 5-to-1 based on it’s undertone of diversity in the dystopia subgenre (not that I’m a believer in having to blatantly underscore diversity but it is in the concept itself so I guess that’s okay).
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I’ve never read a Brandon Sanderson book, but everyone seems to have read one book or another by him. I guess that means I got to give him a try.
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You should–I’m sure out of the thousands of books he’s written you’ll find something of interest!
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When sounds like an interesting read. I added that to my TBR. I didn’t do a TTT today because I feel like there’s been a lot of TBR ones lately and my answers would all be the same, but I’m finding good books to add to my list from other peoples lists.
Not one of my votes won on the Good Reads Awards, but I was ok with a couple of the winners. What about you?
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Yeah I think the next couple of 2015-based TBR book/pile/thing will be very similar.
If you’ve read my Think Aloud post regarding voter characteristics then you’ll know that I vote very willy nilly haha. I had a hunch on some of the eventual winners and I voted for them despite not having read them yet (i.e. All The Light We Cannot See, The Martian, We Were Liars, Red Rising). Some of the categories had extremely tight races (like King vs Rowling in Mystery/Thriller–400 vote difference basically).
I’m okay with some of the winners but I’m sad at some of the representation in the novels that might not have made it into the nomination pool at all.
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A few on here that I want – defo want the Cline!
Lynn 😀
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Great to hear! It was thanks to these lists that I was able to peruse it out of the 2015 lists on Goodreads–otherwise I would have never known!
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Amazing choices! I’m super excited for Armada as well Because Ready Player One is one of my favorite books. It was just so good!
Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian
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Haha, there was definitely a lot of nerd culture in that book to be appreciated and hopefully Armada will have that as well!
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Wow, these all sound amazing. I have to read Armada! And the Patrick Ness book! And… well, I think a lot of these are going straight onto my TBR list!
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Because it’s Ness, the blurb for that book probably won’t even be what ends up happening–and that’s exciting to think about!
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I was distraught CoHo didn’t win Romance, but 2nd and 4th is still pretty good. Was surprised JL Rowling didn’t win Mystery too.
R x
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Well Mystery/Thriller was a tight race and she did lose to King; which I could see happening.
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Nessssssssssssss! I just had to return the favour!
A lot of these are new to me and look great. Damn you!
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Favour acknowledged, favour returned: yerp!
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I’ve seen All The Bright Places on a few lists around and I definitely am hooked!
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The blurb certainly has me interested on how things play out and how Niven manages to handle the issues presented!
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I’m looking forward to Firefight, too. 5 to 1 has a beautiful cover, and sounds interesting.
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Definitely a point towards diversity!
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When sounds A LOT like Numbers by Rachel Ward….
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Well I guess that’s just another book to compare When with.(Because I’m baffled by some comments claiming it’s originality in concept when it has most certainly been done before haha.)
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Awesome choices as always ^_^
When By Victoria Laurie has the same concept of one Nickelback music video, “Saving Me”. The main protagonist of the music vid can see a timer counting down on the top of peoples heads indicating the time that they have left before they die but it doesn’t indicate how they’ll die… I can’t wait to see how this book plays out though! Oh and that Ernest Cline book!!! I can’t wait for that as well!!!
And as for the Goodreads awards, City of Heavenly Fire won sooooo I’m perfectly content with how the entire thing turned out LOL!
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Well that category was whatever. The choice I didn’t want to win didn’t, so my dreams came true.
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When and All the Bright Places were so good!
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Good to hear more positive acknowledge (and perhaps reinforcement) for books I’m considering delving into!
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Oh Brandon Sanderson! I’ve been meaning to read something of his in ages, but haven’t had the time yet. Having an enormous TBR doesn’t help, I suppose.
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