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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Waiting On Wednesday: Penguin Summer 2016 Catalog

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking The Spine in which upcoming, eagerly anticipated releases are highlighted on the blog.

This week, I've chosen to feature a few picks from the Penguin Summer 2016 Catalog:

Thornghost by Tone Almjhell
Date: August 16, 2016
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Something strange is happening to the woods and water around Niklas Summerhill’s home: Animals are dying, Niklas’s grandmother doesn’t seem like herself, and his uncle is suddenly lost in grief over his sister, Niklas’s mother, who died seven years ago. When Niklas discovers an ancient key, he and his talking lynx companion, Secret, leave home behind to travel to a different realm. But this realm, populated by animals, is in danger as well: A tribe of evil trolls is wreaking havoc, a mysterious enemy called the Sparrow King is bringing his wrath down upon the animals, and the Rosa Toraquata, the root that connects this realm to Niklas’s own, has developed a dark twist that is infecting the land. Can Niklas and Secret save the animal realm—and their own?

I am always SUCH a sucker for any story featuring an animal companion. So when I heard about Thornghost, a story about a boy with a talking lynx companion?? YES PLEASE!!


Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi
Date: August 30, 2016
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There are only three things that matter to twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow: Mother, who wouldn’t miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and Father, who always loved her. The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him. But it’s been almost three years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she’s about to embark on one to find the other.
But bringing Father home is no small matter. In order to find him she’ll have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. Her only companion is a boy named Oliver whose own magical ability is based in lies and deceit—and with a liar by her side in land where nothing is as it seems, it will take all of Alice's wits (and every limb she's got) to find Father and return home to Ferenwood in one piece. On her quest to find Father Alice must first find herself—and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss.

So, the Shatter Me Trilogy didn't really work for me because of all the love triangle melodrama, but I think Tahereh Mafi does have quite a talent for writing. So I'm curious about her fantasy MG debut, Furthermore, which I hope is considerably less focused on the romance aspect.


The Reader by Traci Chee
Date: September 13, 2016
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Sefia knows what it means to survive. After her father is brutally murdered, she flees into the wilderness with her aunt Nin, who teaches her to hunt, track, and steal. But when Nin is kidnapped, leaving Sefia completely alone, none of her survival skills can help her discover where Nin’s been taken, or if she’s even alive. The only clue to both her aunt’s disappearance and her father’s murder is the odd rectangular object her father left behind, an object she comes to realize is a book—a marvelous item unheard of in her otherwise illiterate society. With the help of this book, and the aid of a mysterious stranger with dark secrets of his own, Sefia sets out to rescue her aunt and find out what really happened the day her father was killed—and punish the people responsible.

I think we can all appreciate a story about a marvellous book that saves the day! Throw in some assassins and pirates and we can be sure The Reader will be an intriguing read!


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Penguin Summer 2016 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Penguin Summer 2016 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?

18 comments :

  1. I've never read anything by Mafi, but I am also super excited for Furthermore. And seriously, just LOOK at that cover!

    -Lauren

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  2. I've never heard of the first one, but all three of these look so fantastic! I'm especially in love with Furthermore's cover--its so colorful!!

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  3. I liked Tone Almjhell's first book so looking forward to reading Thornghost, it looks like fun! Can't wait to get my hands on Furthermore, I didn't particularly like Shatter Me either so I'm intrigued to see what Mafi does with MG.

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    1. I remember seeing Tone Almjhlell's first book and liking the look of it - glad you liked it!

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  4. Goodness, the cover to Furthermore is soooo striking! It and Thornghost are what grab me in this lot! Here's mine: http://editingeverything.com/blog/2016/04/27/wow-will-lies/

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  5. ALL New-to-me titles here^^ YES to animal companions, ESPECIALLY of the feline variety ♥ The premise for Furthermore sounds wonderful and that cover is STUNNING. And The Reader sounds riveting! Thrilling + the addition of a wondrous book that saves the day. Gimme!

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  6. I love the cover from Thornghost :D It gives me some Sleeping beauty vibes, with those roses and vines on the bottom. Furthermore needs to get into my life as soon as possible <3

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  7. These covers look really really great! And they sound good, too! :)

    Here's my WoW @ Swissbookworm

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  8. I'm intrigued by the Mafi book. I didn't like the plot of her series, but I loved her writing. I'd like to try her again.

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  9. Ohh, pretty books :D Happy reading Aylee. <3 I hope you will end up loving them all :D Gosh, had not heard of Thornghost before. That cover is so pretty :D But unsure about the summary. Sigh. Same for the second book too.. gorgeous, but unsure about the story, lol :)

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  10. Thornghost looks amazing. I always like talking animals. I have a friend who's already read The Reader and said it's awesome. Good picks!

    Leeanna.me: WoW

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  11. I love the covers for all three books and think they sound interesting, but will wait for reviews before deciding to add them to my wishlist. The first two are MG right?

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  12. Thornghost and The Reader both sound really good. They are both new to me as well so extra bonus!

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  13. Thornghost and Furthermore both have such lovely covers, they instantly intrigue me. I actually follow Tahereh Mafi on Instagram, despite not having completed any of her novels, and have seen the progress of Furthermore as it's grown closer to being published. I've loved the cover and whimsical style of it from the very beginning, although... this was the first time I ever read the synopsis *laughs* Which is very like me, I think. I'm completely interested in it, but I hadn't actually read the synopsis. And now I have... I'm not sure if I'll actually enjoy it? Both those first two immediately intrigued me, but I wasn't entirely sold on their synopsis', so I think I'll wait and see what the reviews say about both.

    Lovely compilation, Aylee. I'm actually a little surprised that, this time around, I'd heard about one of the books. I think they tend to be completely new to me, unless there's a Rowling in there *laughs* x

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  14. I never did end up reading the Shatter Me trilogy, and I'm kind of glad that I haven't since reactions are really, really mixed...mostly on the more negative side those from the reactions I've seen, but I am super excited for FURTHERMORE! It sounds awesome, and that cover is so breathtaking!!!

    Great picks, Eilidh! :D

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