Waiting on Wednesday: Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin

There are some books I just can't wait for.  

Here's where I share! 

Due Out:  March 12th, 2019

Years ago, the house at the end of the lane burned down. The townspeople never learned what happened, but Rita Frost and her teenage ward, Bevan, were never seen again. Only Mae and her brother Rossa know the truth of what happened that summer—and they’ll never say a word. When they were told they’d be spending their summer with their great aunt, Mae and Rossa were anything but thrilled. But nothing at Rita’s is as it appears. Bevan is enthralled by a dangerous power lurking behind the walls of Rita’s home. The power—known as Sweet James—is hungry, and what he wants most is a taste of the twins. And Bevan wants the magic and escape that Sweet James is offering her. But Sweet James is never satisfied, no matter what Bevan brings him. Mae would give Bevan almost anything—she is in the grip of first love, both dying for Bevan’s attention and worried she’ll get it. But Rossa is learning some of the terrible secrets the house is hiding, secrets that paralyze him with fear. As the summer draws to a close, Bevan tries to free Sweet James from his prison within the walls, but is thwarted by Rita and her cat (who is more than a cat), Bobby Dear.

Why I'm waiting: 

This sounds like it's got a bit of everything - tension, maybe spooky.  Plus there is some mystery.  A great combination! 

Also - I LOVE this cover!!!!! It's so cool! 

Waiting (to read) on Wednesdays: Impostors by Scott Westerfeld

There are some books I just can't wait for - whether it's waiting for them to be published or for me to just get time to read them.  

Here's where I share! 

Today I'm waiting to read:

Frey and Rafi are inseparable . . . but very few people have ever seen them together. This is because Frey is Rafi’s double, raised in the shadows of their rich father’s fortress. While Rafi has been taught to charm, Frey has been taught to kill. Frey only exists to protect her sister. There is no other part of her life. Frey has never been out in the world on her own – until her father sends her in Rafi’s place to act as collateral for a dangerous deal. Everyone thinks she’s her sister – but Col, the son of a rival leader, is starting to get close enough to tell the difference. As the stakes grow higher and higher, Frey must decide whether she can trust him – or anyone in her life.

Why I'm waiting to read:

I loved the Uglies series.  REally loved them, so when I saw that he was coming out with a 5th book in the series I was so excited.  Now just to get it and get it read! With judging for the Cybils it will be awhile before I get to, but I will! 

Now if I could just get him to write a new book for The Midnighter's series!

Waiting on Wedneday: The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

There are some books I just can't wait for.  

Here's where I share! 

Due Out: January 8th, 2019

Five years.

That's how long Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have lived on the road in an old school bus, criss-crossing the nation.

Five years.

It's also how long ago Coyote lost her mom and two sisters in a car crash.

Coyote hasn’t been home in all that time, but when she learns that the park in her old neighborhood is being demolished—the very same park where she, her mom, and her sisters buried a treasured memory box—she knows she'll do whatever it takes to get back in time to save it. So she hatches a crazy plan to get her dad to drive 3,600 miles back to Washington state in four days...without him realizing it.

Along the way, they'll pick up a strange crew of misfit travelers. Lester has a lady love to meet. Salvador and his mom are looking to start over. Val needs a safe place to be herself. Over the course of thousands of miles, Coyote will learn that going home can sometimes be the hardest journey of all...but that with friends by her side, she just might be able to turn her “once upon a time” into a “happily ever after.”

Why I'm waiting:

This just sounds really good.  I know some people don't always like the "problem" books in middle grade, but I know there is a group of students that would benefit from reading this.  

Waiting on Wednesday: What Goes Up by Wen Jane Baragrey

There are some books I just can't wait for.  

Here's where I share! 

Due Out: October 30th

What goes up . . . comes down on Robyn Tinkerbell Goodfellow's roof! Will a rogue NASA satellite crush her house before Robyn can set things right?

Robyn Tinkerbell Goodfellow (yes, that's actually her name) has a target on her roof. Well, not a real one, but everything seems to land there: paper airplanes, lost kites, socks, cats, and once even a skydiver! In the town of Calliope, Robyn and her magnet roof are famous—for being weird. That wasn't such a big deal . . . until now! 

A rogue NASA satellite is falling out of orbit and is going to hit Earth. NASA says it will probably land in the ocean, but Robyn knows better—that satellite is headed for her roof. To make matters worse, Robyn discovers that she doesn't just have a fairy middle name. When her class reads A Midsummer Night's Dream, she learns that Robin Goodfellow is a fairy! Which means if the satellite flattens her, everyone will laugh at her name in the news stories. Robyn realizes what she needs to do: find her long-lost dad so he can help her change her name and protect her from the satellite! 

Both surprising and relatable, this middle-grade novel will have readers wishing they could move to the small town of Calliope, laugh with the larger-than-life characters, and race against the clock to save Robyn from NASA's mistake.

Why I'm waiting:

What kid likes their middle name?! Ok, so I did, but honestly, I've come across so many that don't want people knowing their middle name.  I think they could relate to going to extremes to change it! 

Waiting on Wednesday: The Collectors by Jacqueline West

There are some books I just can't wait for.  

Here's where I share! 

Due Out: October 9th

Van has always been an outsider. Most people don’t notice him. But he notices them. And he notices the small trinkets they drop, or lose, or throw away—that’s why his collection is full of treasures. Then one day, Van notices a girl stealing pennies from a fountain, and everything changes. He follows the girl, Pebble, and uncovers an underground world full of wishes and the people who collect them. Apparently not all wishes are good and even good wishes often have unintended consequences—and the Collectors have made it their duty to protect us. But they aren't the only ones who have their eyes on the world’s wishes—and they may not be the good guys, after all.  

Why I'm waiting:

I just love the concept of this! Haven't you always wondered about those coin wishes you make???

Waiting on Wednesday: The House in Poplar Woods by K.E. Ormsbee

There are some books I just can't wait for.  

Here's where I share! 

Taken from Goodreads

Due Out: August 28th

For as long as the Vickery twins can remember, they’ve only ever been able to leave the house together once a year, on Halloween. The rest of the year, Lee and his mother serve Memory, while Felix and his father assist Death. This is the Agreement.

But one Halloween, Gretchen Whipple smashes her way into their lives. Her bargain is simple: If the twins help her solve the murder of local girl Essie Hasting, she’ll help them break the Agreement. The more the three investigate, however, the more they realize that something’s gone terribly wrong in their town. Death is on the loose, and if history repeats itself, Essie’s might not be the last murder in Poplar Wood.

Why I'm waiting:

There is just something about this description.  It sounds very unique.  The idea of these twins never being together in intriguing.  Plus the Agreement sounds interesting too! Love the sound of the story as a whole! 

Waiting on Wednesday: Swing by Kwame Alexander

There are some books I just can't wait for.  

Here's where I share! 

Due Out: October 2nd

Things usually do not go as planned for seventeen-year-old Noah. He and his best friend Walt (aka Swing) have been cut from the high school baseball team for the third year in a row, and it looks like Noah’s love interest since fifth grade, Sam, will never take it past the “best friend” zone. Noah would love to retire his bat and accept the status quo, but Walt has got big plans for them both, which include making the best baseball comeback ever, getting the girl, and finally finding cool.

To go from lovelorn to ladies’ men, Walt introduces Noah to a relationship guru—his Dairy Queen-employed cousin, Floyd—and the always informative Woohoo Woman Podcast. Noah is reluctant, but decides fate may be intervening when he discovers more than just his mom’s birthday gift at the Thrift Shop. Inside the vintage Keepall is a gold mine of love letters from the 1950s. Walt is sure these letters and the podcasts are just what Noah needs to communicate his true feelings to Sam. To Noah, the letters are more: an initiation to the curious rhythms of love and jazz, as well as a way for him and Walt to embrace their own kind of cool. While Walt is hitting balls out of the park and catching the eye of the baseball coach, Noah composes anonymous love letters to Sam in an attempt to write his way into her heart. But as things are looking up, way up, for Noah and Walt, the letters set off a chain of events that change everything Noah knows to be true about love, friendship, sacrifice, and fate.

Why I'm waiting:

Basically - It's Kwami Alexander! Of course I want to read it! 

WoW: A Room Away From the Wolves

There are some books I just can't wait for.  Here's where I share! 

Due Out: September 4th

Bina has never forgotten the time she and her mother ran away from home. Her mother promised they would hitchhike to the city to escape Bina’s cruel father and start over. But before they could even leave town, Bina had a new stepfather and two new stepsisters, and a humming sense of betrayal pulling apart the bond with her mother—a bond Bina thought was unbreakable.

Eight years later, after too many lies and with trouble on her heels, Bina finds herself on the side of the road again, the city of her dreams calling for her. She has an old suitcase, a fresh black eye, and a room waiting for her at Catherine House, a young women’s residence in Greenwich Village with a tragic history, a vow of confidentiality, and dark, magical secrets. There, Bina is drawn to her enigmatic downstairs neighbor Monet, a girl who is equal parts intriguing and dangerous. As Bina’s lease begins to run out, and nightmare and memory get tangled, she will be forced to face the terrible truth of why she’s come to Catherine House and what it will take for her to leave . . .

Why I'm waiting:

I've enjoyed so many books by Nova Ren Suma that I know this one will be great too! 

WoW: What If It's Us

There are some books I just can't wait for.  

Here's where I share! 

What if It's Us

Becky Albertalli

Adam Silvera

Due Out: October 9th

ARTHUR is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

BEN thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.

But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them . . . ?

Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.

Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.

But what if they can’t nail a first date even after three do-overs?

What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?

What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?

But what if it is?

What if it’s us?

Why I'm waiting:

I saw Becky a few weeks back and she talked about this book.  Immediately I knew I had to read it!  AND it's written with Adam Silvera! 

Waiting on Wednesday: Puddin' by Julie Murphey

There are some books I just can't wait for.  

Here's where I share! 

Why I'm waiting:

I absolutley loved and adored Julie Murphey's book Dumplin', so the thought of going back into that world is very exciting!  Can.  Not. Wait! 

Due Out: May 8th

Millie Michalchuk has gone to fat camp every year since she was a girl. Not this year. This year she has new plans to chase her secret dream—and to kiss her crush. Callie Reyes is the pretty girl who is next in line for dance team captain and has the popular boyfriend. But when it comes to other girls, she’s more frenemy than friend. When circumstances bring the girls together over the course of a semester, they will surprise everyone (especially themselves) by realizing they might have more in common than they ever imagined.

HoW: 100 Days

This post is inspired by a meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

I see this post as a way to share what I'm waiting on but also a way to highlight a book I think looks good! So yes it's WoW but it's also HoW (Highlighting on Wednesday)

Today I'm Waiting On:

100 Days by Nicole McInnes

Release Date: August 23

Wow does this one sound good!!!! Unique concept! Very interested!

Agnes doesn't know it, but she only has one hundred days left to live. When she was just a baby, she was diagnosed with Progeria, a rare disease that causes her body to age at roughly ten times the normal rate. Now nearly sixteen years old, Agnes has already exceeded her life expectancy.

Moira has been Agnes’s best friend and protector since they were in elementary school. Due to her disorder, Agnes is still physically small, but Moira is big. Too big for her own liking. So big that people call her names. With her goth makeup and all-black clothes, Moira acts like she doesn’t care. But she does.

Boone was friends with both girls in the past, but that was a long time ago—before he did the thing that turned Agnes and Moira against him, before his dad died, before his mom got too sad to leave the house.

An unexpected event brings Agnes and Moira back together with Boone, but when romantic feelings start to develop, the trio’s friendship is put to the test.

HoW: Every Hidden Thing

This post is inspired by a meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

I see this post as a way to share what I'm waiting on but also a way to highlight a book I think looks good! So yes it's WoW but it's also HoW (Highlighting on Wednesday)

Today I'm Waiting On:

Every Hidden Thing by Kenneth Oppel

Release Date: October 11

This sounds fun and neat and I love that it's a take off of Romeo and Juliet.  Plus I grew up in North Dakota near the Badlands, so I love that.  Although I know they are referring to the South Dakota Badlands.

Somewhere in the Badlands, embedded deep in centuries-buried rock and sand, lies the skeleton of a massive dinosaur, larger than anything the late nineteenth-century world has ever seen. Some legends call it the Black Beauty, with its bones as black as ebony, but to seventeen-year-old Samuel Bolt, it’s the “rex,” the king dinosaur that could put him and his struggling, temperamental archaeologist father in the history books (and conveniently make his father forget he’s been kicked out of school), if they can just quarry it out.

But Samuel and his father aren’t the only ones after the rex. For Rachel Cartland this find could be her ticket to a different life, one where her loves of science and adventure aren’t just relegated to books and sitting rooms. And if she can’t prove herself on this expedition with her professor father, the only adventures she may have to look forward to are marriage or spinsterhood.

As their paths cross and the rivalry between their fathers becomes more intense, Samuel and Rachel are pushed closer together. Their flourishing romance is one that will never be allowed. And with both eyeing the same prize, it’s a romance that seems destined for failure. As their attraction deepens, danger looms on the other side of the hills, causing everyone’s secrets to come to light and forcing Samuel and Rachel to make a decision. Can they join forces to find their quarry, and with it a new life together, or will old enmities and prejudices keep them from both the rex and each other?

HoW: Flying - a New Carrie Jones Book!!!

This post is inspired by a meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

I see this post as a way to share what I'm waiting on but also a way to highlight a book I think looks good! So yes it's WoW but it's also HoW (Highlighting on Wednesday)

Today I'm Waiting On:

Flying by Carrie Jones

Release Date: July 19th

Ok I loved the Need series ways more than you know, and I've been waiting for more books by Carrie Jones.  When I saw this I was very excited! I think it looks fun!!!

People have always treated seventeen-year-old Mana as someone in need of protection. She's used to being coddled, being an only child, but it's hard to imagine anything could ever happen in her small-town, normal life. As her mother's babying gets more stifling than ever, she's looking forward to cheering at the big game and getting out of the house for a while.

But that night, Mana's life goes haywire.

First, the hot guy she's been crushing on at school randomly flips out and starts spitting acid during the game. Then they get into a knockdown, drag-out fight in the locker room, during which Mana finds herself leaping around like a kangaroo on steroids. As a flyer on the cheerleading squad, she's always been a good jumper, but this is a bit much. By the time she gets home and finds her house trashed and an alien in the garage, Mana starts to wonder if her mother had her reasons for being overprotective.

It turns out, Mana's frumpy, timid mom is actually an alien hunter, and now she's missing--taking a piece of technology with her that everyone wants their hands on, both human and alien. Now her supposed partner, a guy that Mana has never met or heard of (and who seems way too young and way too arrogant to be hunting aliens), has shown up, ordering Mana to come with him. Now, on her own for the first time, Mana will have to find a way to save her mother--and maybe the world--and hope she's up to the challenge.

WoW: How it Feels to Fly by Katheryn Holmes

This post is inspired by a meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

Today I'm Waiting On:

How it Feels to Fly by Katheryn Holmes

Release Date: June 14

The concept of this book sounds really good.  I'm very interested in it. 

The movement is all that matters.

For as long as Samantha can remember, she’s wanted to be a professional ballerina. She’s lived for perfect pirouettes, sky-high extensions, and soaring leaps across the stage. Then her body betrayed her.

The change was gradual. Stealthy.

Failed diets. Disapproving looks. Whispers behind her back. The result: crippling anxiety about her appearance, which threatens to crush her dancing dreams entirely. On her dance teacher’s recommendation, Sam is sent to a summer treatment camp for teen artists and athletes who are struggling with mental and emotional obstacles. If she can make progress, she’ll be allowed to attend a crucial ballet intensive. But when asked to open up about her deepest insecurities, secret behaviors, and paralyzing fears to complete strangers, Sam can’t cope.

What I really need is a whole new body.

Sam forms an unlikely bond with Andrew, a former college football player who’s one of her camp counselors. As they grow closer, Andrew helps Sam see herself as he does—beautiful. But just as she starts to believe that there’s more between them than friendship, disappointing news from home sends her into a tailspin. With her future uncertain and her body against her, will Sam give in to the anxiety that imprisons her? 

WoW: NIL on Fire

This post is inspired by a meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

Today I'm Waiting On:

Release Date: May 31, 2016

Despite Rives and Skye's attempt to destroy Nil, the island remains. And back in this world, Nil won't let Skye go. Haunted by a darkness she can't ignore, Skye wrestles with Nil nightmares that worsen by the day and threaten to tear her apart. As the island grows in power, Skye fights to keep her mind intact. Soon Skye realizes that to finally break free of Nil, she must end Nil's vicious cycle once and for all--and she can't do it alone.

Who will return to Nil, and in the end, who will survive? In this thrilling final installment of the Nil series, the stakes have never been higher: everyone's fate hangs in the balance, including Nil's own--and Nil will fight to the death. When the full force of the island is unleashed, Skye faces an impossible choice, a cruel one she'd never imagined she'd have to make. As the island's clock ticks away, one Nil truth becomes painfully clear: only one side can win.

Why?

I really enjoyed NIL, so I'm waiting for this one to come out, so I can read the rest of the series together.  I just hope the books got progressive better! I know they switch focus onto different characters some, and I like when books do that.   

WoW: The Safest Lies by Megan Miranda

This post is inspired by a meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

Today I'm Waiting On:

Release Date: May 24, 2016

Can fear be inherited?

Kelsey was raised to see danger everywhere. Her mother hasn’t set foot outside their front door in seventeen years, since she escaped from her kidnappers with Kelsey growing inside her.

Kelsey knows she’s supposed to keep a low profile for their own protection, but that plan is shattered when she drives off a cliff and is rescued by volunteer firefighter and classmate Ryan Baker.

A few days later, she arrives home to face her greatest fear: her mother is missing. She and her mother have drilled for all contingencies—except this one. Luckily, Ryan is as skilled at emergency rescues as Kelsey is at escape and evasion.

To have a chance at a future, Kelsey will have to face all her darkest fears. Because someone is coming for her.

And the truth about the past may end up being the most dangerous thing of all. 

Why?

I have loved other books by Megan Miranda, so when I saw this one it went straight on my list of needed books.  She has a way of making you think one way and then pulling that right out from under you! 

WoW: The Blood Between Us by Zac Brewer

This post is inspired by a meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

Today I'm Waiting On:

Release Date: May 3rd, 2016

Growing up, Adrien and his sister, Grace, competed viciously for everything. It wasn’t easy being the adopted sibling, but Adrien tried to get along; it was Grace who didn’t want anything to do with him. When their scientist parents died in a terrible lab fire, there was nothing left to hold them together.

Now, after years apart, Adrien and Grace are forced to reunite at the elite boarding school where their parents were teachers. Being back around everyone he used to know makes Adrien question the person he’s become, while being back around Grace makes him feel like someone he doesn’t want to be.

For as much as Adrien wants to move on, someone seems determined to reopen old wounds. And when Adrien starts to suspect that Grace knows more about their parents’ deaths than she let on, he realizes there are some wounds no amount of time can heal. If Adrien isn’t careful, they may even kill him. 

Why?

I loved the Vladimir Tod books from the first one and read every last one - from their I loved the rest of the books by this author.  So when I saw this one I knew I had to look into it.  And of course, it sounds great! 

Oh and a boarding school?! - count me in! 

WoW: A Clatter of Jars by Lisa Graff

This post is inspired by a meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

Today I'm Waiting On:

Release Date: May 24, 2016

In this magical companion to the National Book Award nominee A Tangle of Knots, it's summertime and everyone is heading off to camp. For Talented kids, the place to be is Camp Atropos, where they can sing songs by the campfire, practice for the Talent show, and take some nice long dips in the lake. But what the kids don't know is that they've been gathered for a reason--one that the camp's director wants to keep hidden at all costs.

Meanwhile, a Talent jar that has been dropped to the bottom of the lake has sprung a leak, and strange things have begun to happen. Dozens of seemingly empty jars have been washing up on the shoreline, Talents have been swapped, and memories have been ripped from one camper's head and placed into another. And no one knows why. 

With a camp full of kids, a lake full of magic, and a grown-up full of a secrets, A Clatter of Jars is story of summer, family, and the lengths we go to win back the people we love. 

Why?

This book just simply sounds magical and fun.  What else could you ask for! 

WoW: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

This post is inspired by a meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

Today I'm Waiting On:

Release Date: April 26, 2016

All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

Why?

I read the first book not thinking I would really enjoy it that much.  I figured I would like it but that's it.  The truth is - I LOVED it.  

I've been waiting for the rest to come out, so I can just sit down and read them all at once! 

Have you read this series??? Thoughts???

WoW: Dreamers Often Lie by Jacqueline West

This post is inspired by a meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

Today I'm Waiting On:

Release Date: April 5, 2016

Julia wakes up in the hospital, disoriented, and beset by a slippery morphing of reality into something else. She repeatedly sees a boy who she feels like she knows—but that’s impossible. Determined to get back to school and back to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which she’s starring, she lies to her sister, her mom, and her doctors—she’s fine, she says. She’s fine, she’s fine, she’s fine. But then on her first day back, she takes a seat in class . . . next to the mysterious boy. Queasy with anxiety (“I can’t see you,” she hisses at him, “because you’re not really here“), Julia realizes this boy is, in fact, real. And he has no idea what she’s talking about. Caught between this fascinating, empathetic new kid and her childhood friend turned recent love interest, Julia begins to notice unnerving similarities between her circumstances and those of some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. Secret kisses, tingling banter, and clandestine meet-ups give way to darker, muddier incidents. As things escalate to a frightening pitch, how much of what’s happening is real, how much is in Julia’s head, and how much does it matter as she’s hurtling toward a fateful end over which she seems to have no control?

Why?

I've loved Jacqueline West's middle grade books, so when I saw she had something out for young adult I was very interested.  
Then when I read the summary and saw references to Shakespeare I was even more interested!!!