Five Just- or About-to-be-Published Books that I Want to Read . . .

1. The Host--Stephanie Meyer--This book appeals to me on so many levels. First of all, I loved the first book of the Twilight series (as did all of my kids) and so it will be nice to be able to talk about this with them as well. Also, the plot intrigues me. A romantic futuristic tale of a love triange between parasite mind, host body, and another man. I've never heard of anything like it. Meyer is just unbelievable at creating stories. One of the main thing that eludes me whenever I try to start writing an actual book (I know, a quite lofty goal) is that I never have a creative enough plot/premise/conflict for the characters to find themselves in. This woman is amazing at taking the known and twisting it into something new and amazing. Last, but not least, the character has my name (no, not Miss A). The last book I read with a main character's name as Melanie was Gone with the Wind. Hopefully this Melanie will have more spunk (although at least the last one got the guy).

2. Ever--Gail Carson Levine--I fell in love with this author after reading Ella Enchanted, a retelling of Cinderella. She was able to create a strong heroine in Cinderella (not that I don't love the Disney version, but, please) and give her motivation for following the orders of her evil step-clan. I loved Fairest almost more, (a retelling of Snow White using the same setting created in Ella) and this next book looks absolutely amazing. An immortal god and a frail heroine. Really, it seems like an updated version of Eros and Psyche. (One of my favorite stories, especially as it can be interpreted (at least by me) as a female version of the hero's journey. If you want to read another re-telling that's quite moving and almost unsettling, you might want to read Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. Each time I read it I come out with something new. As for this book, I really can't wait.



3. Chalice--Robin McKinley--The only thing I've seen about this is the book cover on Amazon. That's enough for me when it comes to Robin McKinley. I've loved almost every single one of her books. If you don't recognize her name, I would recommend her books such as The Blue Sword, The Hero and the Crown, Beauty, Deerskin, Spindle's End, and many more. I wasn't a fan of Dragonhaven. Sunshine was quite different, but not too bad if you like vampire books. All in all, though, she is one of my favorite authors ever.


4. House of Many Ways--Diana Wynne Jones--Another book cover/author's name book. I tend to follow specific authors if I like their first offering. I grew up reading these books like my students grew up reading Harry Potter. If you haven't read any of her work I would read Howl's Moving Castle (incredibly different from the movie and, in my mind, much superior), Charmed Life (and all of the Chrestomanci books), and Fire and Hemlock. All very different books, but all amazing. She also just came out with a book in March called The Game that I'm waiting for from the library. A lot of her books are also being re-released due to the popularity of other books with young wizards. Oh wait, who could that be?


5. Superior Saturday--Garth Nix--This is the second to last book of a series I've been following since high school (The Keys of the Kingdom). Garth Nix is also one of my favorite authors and so I'm that much more excited. This story follows Arthur Penhaligon as he continues his quest to save those in his own ordinary world and one of fantasy and adventure. If your interested in fantasy, you'll also love the Abhorsen series (beginning with Sabriel, then Lirael, then Abhorsen).

So, there's my list. I could add a couple more, but I'm picking up a pattern anyway. It seems that once an author hooks me, I'm theirs for life. Each of these authors has a book or two that I haven't been thrilled with, and yet I keep coming back for more. They are also by authors that have written YA literature, and although not all of these are consired YA books, I think I tend to gravitate towards that category. If anyone has any recommendations besides these, let me know. I'm also looking to read books that are of the regular adult variety, but apparently I don't often make it over to that side of the book store.

The only problem with this list, is that despite the amazing time of summer coming up with little bits of free time, most of these books don't come out until September.

Drat and botheration.