So many amazing reads in January…

[image error]Stealing Home by Becky Wallace (July, 2019)

This YA romance encompasses everything I love about the genre — savvy heroine, dreamy love interest, snappy dialogue, butterfly-inducing chemistry — while feeling unexpected and fresh. I was rooting for Ryan and Sawyer (and the Buckley Beavers!) from the first pitch. If you’re into contemporary YA, or baseball, or characters you’ll wish you could befriend, check this delightful story out when it releases this summer. It’ll make a fantastic beach/pool/park read.

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I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

I’ve read a lot of true crime, and this is one of the best. It’s an armchair detective’s chronicle of her hunt for one of California’s most notorious serial rapists/murderers, and it is riveting. This book’s strongest attribute is that it never feels as though it’s taking advantage of the Golden State Killer’s victims, even while it reads like page-turning fiction. Its pace is quick, its “characters” are gripping, and it’s so full of atmosphere and tension, I had a hard time stepping away. I recommend it if you’re a true crime fan.

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A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

Somehow I never read a Tahereh Mafi novel before this one? But now I’m all about burning through her catalogue, because A Very Large Expanse of Sea is beautiful. It’s about Shirin, a Muslim girl living in the US after 9/11. She faces horrifying micro-aggressions, as well as a lot of overt racism. In the midst of all this, though, she learns to breakdance, and she falls in love with the sweetest boy, Ocean. This book is important and topical and gorgeously written, but its romance was (of course) my favorite part. Shirin and Ocean are perfection.