Top 5 Wednesday... 1/11
Welcome back to Top 5 Wednesday, a segment that I very
inconsistently participate in; this week’s topic is 5 Debuts in 2017.
Welcome, welcome to Caraval―Stephanie
Garber’s sweeping tale of two sisters who escape their ruthless father when
they enter the dangerous intrigue of a legendary game.
Scarlett has never left the tiny island where
she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father.
Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her
dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the
audience participates in the show, are over.
But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of
invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks
Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by
Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval
revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.
Scarlett has been told that everything that
happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless
becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other
players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella
before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of
consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.
Sounds like it could be a fast-paced, dark, paranormal. Seems
very mystical and magical. Can’t wait!
Today, he’s a high school dropout with no
future.
Tomorrow, he’s a soldier in World War II.
Kale Jackson has spent years trying to
control his time-traveling ability but hasn’t had much luck. One day he lives
in 1945, fighting in the war as a sharpshooter and helplessly watching
soldiers—friends—die. Then the next day, he’s back in the present, where WWII
has bled into his modern life in the form of PTSD, straining his relationship
with his father and the few friends he has left. Every day it becomes harder to
hide his battle wounds, both physical and mental, from the past.
When the ex-girl-next-door, Harper, moves
back to town, thoughts of what could be if only he had a normal life begin to
haunt him. Harper reminds him of the person he was before the PTSD, which helps
anchor him to the present. With practice, maybe Kale could remain in the
present permanently and never step foot on a battlefield again. Maybe he can
have the normal life he craves.
But then Harper finds Kale’s name in a
historical article—and he’s listed as a casualty of the war. Kale knows now
that he must learn to control his time-traveling ability to save himself and
his chance at a life with Harper. Otherwise, he’ll be killed in a time where he
doesn’t belong by a bullet that was never meant for him.
GOTTA LOVE TIME TRAVEL! It also sounds like maybe some
contemporary elements mixed in with balancing time travel responsibilities.
After her father goes missing in the woods
that they protect, Winter tries to seek the truth in what happened, why the
wood is changing, and what it all has to do with the arrival of a mysterious
stranger in this thrilling YA debut.
When Winter’s dad goes missing during his nightly
patrol of the wood, it falls to her to patrol the time portals and protect the
travelers who slip through them. Winter can't help but think there's more to
her dad's disappearance than she's being told.
She soon finds a young man traveling in the
wood named Henry who knows more than he should. He believes if they can work
together to find his missing parents, they could discover the truth about
Winter’s dad.
The wood is poisoned, changing into something
sinister—torturing travelers lost it. Winter must put her trust in Henry in
order to find the truth and those they’ve lost.
I’m in for any YA mystery!
I’ll Give You the Sun meets True Detective in
this brilliant YA debut about saints, sisters, and learning to let go.
Tess da Costa is a saint—a hand-to-god,
miracle-producing saint. At least that’s what the people in her hometown of New
Avon, Massachusetts, seem to believe. And when Tess suddenly and tragically
passes away, her small city begins feverishly petitioning the Pope to make
Tess’s sainthood official. Tess’s mother is ecstatic over the fervor, while her
sister Callie, the one who knew Tess best, is disgusted—overcome with the
feeling that her sister is being stolen from her all over again.
The fervor for Tess’s sainthood only grows
when Ana Langone, a local girl who’s been missing for six months, is found
alive at the foot of one of Tess’s shrines. It’s the final straw for Callie.
With the help of Tess’s secret boyfriend Danny, Callie’s determined to prove
that Tess was something far more important than a saint; she was her sister,
her best friend and a girl in love with a boy. But Callie’s investigation
uncovers much more than she bargained for—a hidden diary, old family secrets,
and even the disturbing truth behind Ana’s kidnapping. Told in alternating
perspectives, A Psalm for Lost Girls is at once funny, creepy and soulful—an
impressive debut from a rising literary star.
This sounds like it was written specifically for me: a contemporary
that breaks down unrealistic ideas about someone, bringing them to a human
level rather than idealizing them as a “saint”… COUNT ME IN!
Last summer, Lucy’s and Ben’s lives changed
in an instant. One moment, they were shyly flirting on a lake raft, finally
about to admit their feelings to each other after years of yearning. In the
next, Trixie—Lucy’s best friend and Ben’s sister—was gone, her heart giving out
during a routine swim. And just like that, the idyllic world they knew turned
upside down, and the would-be couple drifted apart, swallowed up by their
grief. Now it’s a year later in their small lake town, and as the anniversary
of Trixie’s death looms, Lucy and Ben’s undeniable connection pulls them back
together. They can’t change what happened the day they lost Trixie, but the
summer might finally bring them closer to healing—and to each other.
Contemporary with a hint of realism and recovering from tragedy…
Sounds great!
What YA debuts are you looking forward to in 2017? Tell me
below!
Keep Reading…
Elise
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