Meet the Newbies: Ashley Herring Blake

Meet the Newbies is a blog event dedicated to introducing you to the “newbie” published debut authors. In this event, expect to learn more about the authors, their books, and silly fun facts! Check out the full Meet the Newbies lineup here.

Ashley Herring Blake has been such a bright spot in the bookish community through her impactful statements on religion and sexuality and hilarious tweets in general. I connected with her through Twitter nearly from the beginning of my blogging career, and I've been anxiously waiting to read her debut novel, Suffer Love. Ashley is such an amazing person and a wonderful writer, and now you can get to know her too!

Author Most Likely to Organize Books by Color While You Sleep

Nickname: Curls

First Day of School: May 3rd, 2016

Homeroom: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt  

Grade: Contemporary

Extracurricular Activities: Organizing books by color, gazing at books organized by color, wondering which book organized by color I shall read next, convincing you to organize your books by color, dreaming of my next cup of coffee while looking at books organized by color, listening to gloomy girl music while organizing books by color, reading a book I have previously organized by color.

Favorite class: British Lit

Favorite Quote: “I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am." -Sylvia Plath

Meet the Newbies: Karen Hattrup

Meet the Newbies is a blog event dedicated to introducing you to the “newbie” published debut authors. In this event, expect to learn more about the authors, their books, and silly fun facts! Check out the full Meet the Newbies lineup here.

Karen's debut Frannie and Tru immediately snared my attention with its premise of a girl taken in by her charismatic cousin for an adventure-filled summer. And then the plot deepens and blossomed into something even more complex and lovely. Here is Karen Hattrup!

Author Most Likely to Have a Favorite Playlist Titled “Teenage Angst” Even When She’s in her Thirties

Nickname: The Over-thinker
First Day of School: May 31, 2016
Homeroom: HarperTeen
Grade: Contemporary YA
Extracurricular Activities: Fangirling around the YA sections of all the libraries and bookstores in Baltimore, hunching over my current writing project while cycling between joy and despair, counting the minutes until it’s reasonable to drink more coffee (And back when I was in high school: dance, yearbook, homecoming hall/float, and lots of nonrequired reading)
Favorite class: Mine was AP English senior year – where all the book nerds united. Frannie’s is biology – she’ll totally end up doing something super-rad and STEM-related.
Favorite Quote: “When we are green, still half-created, we believe that our dreams are rights, that the world is disposed to act in our best interests, and that falling and dying are for quitters. We live on the innocent and monstrous assurance that we alone, of all people ever born, have a special arrangement whereby we will be allowed to stay green forever. That assurance burns very bright at certain moments.” -Tobias Wolff

Meet the Newbies: Traci Chee

Meet the Newbies is a blog event dedicated to introducing you to the “newbie” published debut authors. In this event, expect to learn more about the authors, their books, and silly fun facts! Check out the full Meet the Newbies lineup here.

I am so excited to read Traci's debut. I love the premise, and there are PIRATES. I am sold! Here's Tracichee! ;)

Author Most Likely to Be Reincarnated as a Border Collie

Nickname: Tracichee! (Okay, yes, this is just my full name mushed together and spoken very quickly, but I find it remarkable because numerous people from different friend groups at different points in my life have all magically seized upon saying my name just this way [with just this exclamation!], and I think that’s a beautiful bit of kismet.)

First Day of School: September 13, 2016

Homeroom: Putnam/Penguin

Grade: Fantasy

Extracurricular Activities: Hiking, crafting, egg-painting, dog-walking

Favorite Class: English, of course! (Art is a close second.)

Favorite Quote/Motto: “I have always believed the great artists are the ones who dare to entitle to beauty things so natural that when they’re seen afterward people say: Why did I never realize before that this too was beautiful?” - André Gide

What Makes A "Good" Series?

Pretty much anyone who's in the book blogosphere and has an internet connection is aware of what happened last week Tuesday: Sarah J. Maas released her newest book, A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOMAF).  The book's Goodreads rating is off the charts.  Last I checked, it was 4.75/5!  So high of a rating is insane -- and almost unheard of.

The first moment my schedule freed up, I hurried over to the bookstore and picked up a copy.  I read the 600+ page monstrosity in just a couple of days, and thankfully, loved it.

So, ACOMAF was an amazing sequel, but other books in series aren't always so . . . fulfilling.  What makes a "good" sequel?  What makes a "good" series?

Let's discuss!

Meet the Newbies: Rebecca Podos

Meet the Newbies is a blog event dedicated to introducing you to the “newbie” published debut authors. In this event, expect to learn more about the authors, their books, and silly fun facts! Check out the full Meet the Newbies lineup here.

Rebecca's debut captured my attention because of the mystery component and the clear attention to family. This book is packed with layers upon layers of touching themes and sophisticated writing. I urge you all to check out The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos.

Nickname: Bextraterrestrial
First Day of School: 1/26/16
Homeroom: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
Grade: Mystery
Extracurricular Activities: Reading Sweet Valley High books hidden behind my textbook in math class
Favorite Class: Gym (no just kidding)
Favorite Quote/Motto: “I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done, of everything done-to-me. I am everyone everything whose being-in-the-world affected was affected by mine. I am anything that happens after I'm gone which would not have happened if I had not come.” –Salman Rushdie

Review: Outrun the Moon

Author: Stacey Lee
Series: No
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Page Length: 400 Pages
Publication Date: May 24th, 2016
Publisher: Putnam/Penguin
Source: ARC via Stacey + Penguin
Goodreads | Amazon

San Francisco, 1906: Fifteen-year-old Mercy Wong is determined to break from the poverty in Chinatown, and an education at St. Clare’s School for Girls is her best hope. Although St. Clare’s is off-limits to all but the wealthiest white girls, Mercy gains admittance through a mix of cunning and a little bribery, only to discover that getting in was the easiest part. Not to be undone by a bunch of spoiled heiresses, Mercy stands strong—until disaster strikes.

On April 18, an historic earthquake rocks San Francisco, destroying Mercy’s home and school. With martial law in effect, she is forced to wait with her classmates for their families in a temporary park encampment. Mercy can't sit by while they wait for the Army to bring help. Fires might rage, and the city may be in shambles, yet Mercy still has the 'bossy' cheeks that mark her as someone who gets things done. But what can one teenaged girl do to heal so many suffering in her broken city?