Ramblings and the Week to Come 19MAY13

Comment of the Week:
I am so lucky to get to read your thoughts every day (also I am all caught up on replying to comments!) and I really appreciate every one who takes the time to stop by and say hi to me. This week, I got this insightful comment from the ladies at We Heart YA on my review of the much-discussed novel September Girls by Bennett Madison:

This book... is an interesting case study, we think. As you say, it's more literary than commercial, but the marketing hasn't really explained it well, so readers go in with different expectations. Furthermore, what is the target audience for a book like this? Not the typical YA readers, it would seem. And yet so many YA authors have praised it, so... where's the disconnect? We don't necessarily have the answers, but we feel like someone should. And perhaps the fact that no one seems to be really clear on it is the reason it's such a polarizing read.

I originally requested the book because I saw that Maggie Stiefvater praised it. The book also got starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. But it has been largely eviscerated by the YA book blogging community. What is going on here? Personally this was a great lesson to me to trust my instincts and to wait on the opinions of people I trust more because the bloggers who did write about this are ones who I have a connection with and whose views on books I implicitly trust.

Received:
I've stopped requesting so many books as I'm trying to cut back on that but I do have two to mention this week. First up is The Sword Dancer by Jeannie Lin, received for review from the author actually a while ago but I forgot to spotlight it. Review is coming in June. I really enjoy Lin's writing so I have high expectations for this one.

The other is Tumble and Fall by Alexandra Coutts. I'm so surprised to have been approved for this on Netgalley! This is one I've seen on a ton of WOW posts and while I have serious love for the cover, I'm not entirely sure it matches the plot summary; we'll see. This is scheduled to release September 17 so a review will be posted closer to the release date.

Reading:
I hit a bit of a wall this week and responded by reading non-review books: Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg (the facebook COO), Mr. Monk Gets Even by Lee Goldberg (the fifteenth and the last one he will write), and Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist. None of these books are YA and I don't feel like I have much to write about them but I can tell you that I enjoyed reading them immensely. I think I gave them all 5 stars and I've talked about them with people in real life actually. If you have any thoughts or would like to know more, leave me a comment. I have two more books I plan to read without necessarily reviewing: Quiet by Susan Cain about introverts and Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal, the third book in her fantasy series that draws a bit from Jane Austen but is also increasingly standing on its own. I believe I reviewed the first two books but I may or may not review this third.

Week to Come:
Dare You To by Katie McGarry-although Pushing the Limits wasn't a fave of mine, I was still invested enough to check out this second book; did I like it more?
The Flame in the Mist by Kit Grindstaff appears to be a standalone fantasy-worth checking out just for that!
The Tell-Tale Start by Gordon McAlpine is the first book in a new MG series featuring a brilliant set of twins
Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck features a killer concept about an ordinary American falling in love with a prince-how could I resist?
The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross is the third book in the Steampunk Chronicles-I have been eagerly anticipating it!
The S Word by Chelsea Pitcher or Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal-not sure which I'll have the motivation to read and blog about