July/August Wrap-Up
Book News/Progress:
I’ve already completed my second round of edits! We’re mostly done at this point, but we’ll be doing one more round after a sensitivity read. The editing process has gone by much faster than I expected, so it’s all felt like a bit of a whirlwind!
A new title. That’s right. My book has a new title: THE SONG OF ORPHAN’S GARDEN
Other News:
I went to Spain and Italy! My mom, my husband, and I headed to Europe to join my younger daughter Danielle, who had just finished her study abroad. She’s now very fluent in Spanish, which came in very handy since we definitely encountered a decent number of people in Spain that didn’t speak English (luckily the same wasn’t true in Italy).
What I Read:
- I read The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Julie Morstad. I absolutely adore this lovely fairy tale! It’s coming out in October, so keep your eye out for it!
- I started reading Skandar and the Phantom Rider by A.F. Steadman. Very intrigued by this sequel so far!
- I listened to The Golden Frog Games by Claribel A. Ortega. I think I liked this sequel even better than the first book!
- Then I listened to The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. This is a fun mystery with a whole bunch of puzzles to figure out along the way!
- I started reading This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede. I’m not very far in, but I like it so far!
- I finished listening to The School for Whatnots by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This book went in a direction I wasn’t expecting. It was quite an engaging listen, and I definitely want to read more of Haddix now.
- Then I listened to Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega. Such a cute story that I jumped immediately into book 2, The Golden Frog Games!
- I finished reading Come See the Fair by Gavriel Savit, which I liked a lot. I was a little nervous, since I had read some not-so-great reviews that said it was too dark for middle grade, but I think MG is getting a bit darker of late, and it’s fine for the older MG reads it’s intended for.
- Then I read Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino. Loved this own-voices romance about a Deaf girl who spends her summer working at a summer camp where she hopes to learn more ASL and feel more a part of the Deaf community.
- And Year on Fire by Julie Buxbaum, a riveting YA contemporary that follows several teenagers through a school year of friendships (built and broken), romances, family issues, and the mounting pressures of the journey into adulthood.
- Next came Alysa Wishingrad’s marvelous Between Monsters and Marvels, a middle grade fantasy set in a world where dangerous monsters were said to have once existed – or perhaps they still do?
- I then read Jay’s Gay Agenda by Jason June, which ventured a little too close to cheating territory for me to truly love it (but that’s a me thing).
- Finally I read The Big Flush by Julie Buxbaum. Hey, I read two of her books since my last Sunday Post! This one is just a little different – a very goofy middle grade follow-up to The Area 51 Files. I recommend the first book to my younger MG readers at B&N all the time, and this one keeps the humor and excitement going!
- I finished listening to The Civil War of Amos Abernathy by Michael Leali, a book that highlights the mostly unknown history of LGBTQ+ Americans and features a sweet MG romance.
- Then I listened to You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao, which honestly felt a little slow to me, but I know everyone adores this book, so maybe I just wasn’t in the right headspace for it?
- Finally, I started listening to The School for Whatnots by Margaret Peterson Haddix, which is the Barnes & Noble monthly pick for August. I have been loving this one right from the very start – I didn’t want to stop listening when I got to work!
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