Stephanie Kuehn | There's a Book for That

Considering how much I love books (the reading, the talking about and the book loving community) and how often I make lists of books, I thought it was time to begin participating in Top Ten Tuesday, a meme created by The Broke and Bookish.

This week’s theme? Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For the Rest of 2015

Listed by date of release.

Survival Strategies of the Almost Brave by Jen White (June 2015)

This is an unknown author for me but I am seeing some positive reviews from my Goodreads friends and I have a thing about resilient kids . . .

Delicate Monsters by Stephanie Kuehn (June 2015)

I have read two other titles from Kuehn. They were dark, serious and very well written – looking forward to more.

The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (July 2015)

I read the first Calpurnia Tate title to my children on a family holiday in Hawaii. We were smitten with the character, the time and the science. Sign me up for more.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (August 2015)

A Monster Calls was a wow title for me. This one looks like a wild ride.

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead (August 2015)

Rebecca Stead. Rebecca Stead. Rebecca Stead!

I Crawl Through It by A.S. King (September 2015)

Okay so who is with me in being thrilled that A.S. King is so brilliant and so prolific?

Stand Off (Winger #2) by Andrew Smith (September 2015)

Loved, loved Winger. Love Andrew Smith.

The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell (September 2015)

So if one were to judge a book by its cover . . . this is pretty gorgeous. But I have also read two titles by Rundell this year and am ready for more.

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate (September 2015)

Yes, that Katherine. Oh so very excited.

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt (October 2015)

Okay for Now by Schmidt is one of my all time favourite MG titles. The man is brilliant.

What 2015 titles are you looking forward to reading?

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers and share all of the reading you have done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. Follow the links to read about all of the amazing books the #IMWAYR community has read. You are guaranteed to find something new to add to your list.

I just had a wonderful week long holiday with family on Protection Island – just across from Nanaimo B.C. I had big plans for big reading. I ended up making my way partway through my book stack. While I got lots of reading done, I also did a few other things like . . .

Beach Walking

Crumble baking (there was an abundance of blackberries everywhere we walked)

Garden Wandering (and some bee spotting)

Wildlife visiting (my daughter’s close proximity didn’t phase this guy at all)

I did start my trip reading – opening my first novel while the ferry was just pulling out of Horseshoe Bay.

It was all novels this week. We were walk on passengers so no room for extra books.

I finished:

The Secret Hum of a Daisy by Tracy Holczer

I will start by saying that I cried through the last third of this book. Tears because of the beautiful writing and imagery. Tears because of being right in the middle of the grief. But also tears because healing arrives. The characters are fantastic. The setting unique. Just a beautifully done story.

The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel

What a fun read! I read this to my children – a signed copy to our family that my husband and I picked up when we went to hear Kenneth Oppel talk about this novel at Vancouver Kidsbooks this spring. This would be an ideal classroom read aloud for upper intermediate classes. There is so much in this book: Canadian history of the railway, magic and mystery, huge amounts of adventure, an onboard circus, definite bad guys and teenage heroes! What more could kids ask for? How about some sasquatches? Avalanches? Tight rope walking? This book has all that too!

A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

A really great middle grade novel. Not only does this book touch on important themes of friendship, family and grieving but the reader has the opportunity to be invited into the world of synesthesia via the character of Mia. Mia has the most common form of synesthesia – coloured letters and numbers but it impacts her in many ways. As Mia learns about her “diagnosis” she is able to embrace the things she loves about how she interprets the world.

Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn

This young adult novel was dark and complex – holding secrets just out of reach until its final pages. I had read Charm and Strange earlier in the year and knew Kuehn would be an author I would read again. What can I tell you here that won’t give away the plot? Not a lot. This is a thriller – lots of mystery, psychological drama, flashbacks and sorrow. I couldn’t put it down.

Next up? I am almost through A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd and then plan to read Revolution by Deborah Wiles. I think my children and I are going to start The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman. And after a week without, I plan on diving into a large pile of picture books so stay tuned . . .