Last week I talked about my top 5 non-arcs that I read in 2015 and today I'm talking about my top 5 2016 debuts I read in 2015 as arcs.
It's not even close to a complete list, since I'm still reading 2016 arcs, and I've read so many great ones. I could literally do weeks and weeks of posts on the 2016 debuts I've read (and, hey! Who's to say I won't do more of these posts (I'm definitely doing more of these posts)) but I have to start somewhere.
So, here we go! (in no particular order)
Cure for the Common Universe - Christian McKay Heidecker (6/14/16)
When I saw this book was about a gamer who gets sent to gaming rehab, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Because I'm a gamer and this book feels like it was written for me.
It's full of wonderful little Easter eggs and jokes that are aimed at all the other gamers out there. But even if you don't know who Leroy Jenkins is, the book is still a wonderful look at what it takes, sometimes to get something you want, and what happens when it turns out it's not what you expected. And also what kind of person you choose to be.
Learning to Swear in America - Katie Kennedy (7/5/16)
Oh man, I loved this book so much. It's about a Russian boy, who's a genius and is brought to America to help solve a crisis. The crisis is, of course, an asteroid heading straight towards earth.
So right away I was invested because I love potential disaster stories and an asteroid heading towards earth is right in my wheelhouse. But then Yuri is so wonderful. And funny. And I rooted for him so hard right from page one. I've been talking up this book a lot and can't wait to get my own copy.
Enter Title Here - Rahul Kanakia (8/2/16)
I feel like I've been talking about this book for forever, but it doesn't come out until August (sad face). But there were so many things I loved about it. On the surface it's about a girl who, in a bid to get into Stanford, tries to write a YA novel for a literary agent, and has to change how she's living her life in order to inspire her book. And all of that's true. But it's so so SO SMART. There are layers of meta stuff going on in this book (the book is the book Reshma is writing) and more than once I laughed out loud at something that took me utterly by surprise. On top of that, Reshma is a hard character to "like" which I love because there's so much BS about how teen girls in YA novels have to be "likeable" but even though she does things which would be easy to dismiss her as someone terrible, I still rooted for her from page one.
I cannot wait till this one comes out so I can tell all my friends to read it.
Shallow Graves - Kali Wallace (1/26/16)
I love horror. I grew up reading Christopher Pike. I write horror short stories. I read adult horror when I can (see Bird Box). So when this arc arrived, I was so excited to dig in. And not only was I not disappointed, I was delighted and surprised on multiple levels.
Shallow Graves is about Breezy, a murdered girl who wakes up in a shallow dirt grave a year after her death. And she sets out on a path to try and find answers as to how she can be alive (sort of) again and what happened to her.
Another book I read in almost one entire sitting, there are monsters and creatures in this that are creepy and wonderful and twists and turns that kept me guessing.
Where Futures End - Parker Peevyhouse (2/9/16)
This was one of the first 2016 arcs I read, and at first, I wasn't sure I would like it. On the surface it's a novel that's actually 5 short stories that are semi-related. It isn't normally something I read, and therefore I thought I might not like it. But I was utterly wrong.
Each story is amazing. I literally could have read a full novel of each of them. And any time I finished one of them I told myself there was no way I would like the next one as much. But then I would. And I just kept turning the pages, unable to stop reading.
It's kind of a strange book, but strange in all the best ways in that it caught me off guard, surprised me, kept me guessing, which is a hard thing for a book to do. And I hope every takes a chance on it too.
How about you? Any books you've read that took you completely by surprise?
It's not even close to a complete list, since I'm still reading 2016 arcs, and I've read so many great ones. I could literally do weeks and weeks of posts on the 2016 debuts I've read (and, hey! Who's to say I won't do more of these posts (I'm definitely doing more of these posts)) but I have to start somewhere.
So, here we go! (in no particular order)
Cure for the Common Universe - Christian McKay Heidecker (6/14/16)
When I saw this book was about a gamer who gets sent to gaming rehab, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Because I'm a gamer and this book feels like it was written for me.
It's full of wonderful little Easter eggs and jokes that are aimed at all the other gamers out there. But even if you don't know who Leroy Jenkins is, the book is still a wonderful look at what it takes, sometimes to get something you want, and what happens when it turns out it's not what you expected. And also what kind of person you choose to be.
Learning to Swear in America - Katie Kennedy (7/5/16)
Oh man, I loved this book so much. It's about a Russian boy, who's a genius and is brought to America to help solve a crisis. The crisis is, of course, an asteroid heading straight towards earth.
So right away I was invested because I love potential disaster stories and an asteroid heading towards earth is right in my wheelhouse. But then Yuri is so wonderful. And funny. And I rooted for him so hard right from page one. I've been talking up this book a lot and can't wait to get my own copy.
Enter Title Here - Rahul Kanakia (8/2/16)
I feel like I've been talking about this book for forever, but it doesn't come out until August (sad face). But there were so many things I loved about it. On the surface it's about a girl who, in a bid to get into Stanford, tries to write a YA novel for a literary agent, and has to change how she's living her life in order to inspire her book. And all of that's true. But it's so so SO SMART. There are layers of meta stuff going on in this book (the book is the book Reshma is writing) and more than once I laughed out loud at something that took me utterly by surprise. On top of that, Reshma is a hard character to "like" which I love because there's so much BS about how teen girls in YA novels have to be "likeable" but even though she does things which would be easy to dismiss her as someone terrible, I still rooted for her from page one.
I cannot wait till this one comes out so I can tell all my friends to read it.
Shallow Graves - Kali Wallace (1/26/16)
I love horror. I grew up reading Christopher Pike. I write horror short stories. I read adult horror when I can (see Bird Box). So when this arc arrived, I was so excited to dig in. And not only was I not disappointed, I was delighted and surprised on multiple levels.
Shallow Graves is about Breezy, a murdered girl who wakes up in a shallow dirt grave a year after her death. And she sets out on a path to try and find answers as to how she can be alive (sort of) again and what happened to her.
Another book I read in almost one entire sitting, there are monsters and creatures in this that are creepy and wonderful and twists and turns that kept me guessing.
Where Futures End - Parker Peevyhouse (2/9/16)
This was one of the first 2016 arcs I read, and at first, I wasn't sure I would like it. On the surface it's a novel that's actually 5 short stories that are semi-related. It isn't normally something I read, and therefore I thought I might not like it. But I was utterly wrong.
Each story is amazing. I literally could have read a full novel of each of them. And any time I finished one of them I told myself there was no way I would like the next one as much. But then I would. And I just kept turning the pages, unable to stop reading.
It's kind of a strange book, but strange in all the best ways in that it caught me off guard, surprised me, kept me guessing, which is a hard thing for a book to do. And I hope every takes a chance on it too.
How about you? Any books you've read that took you completely by surprise?
1 comment:
That last one has a really cool cover.
I think I would relate to the gaming one as well.
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