Lisa’s Looking Forward To #82 – October 13th, 2020

Posted October 7, 2020 by Lisa Mandina in LLFT / 20 Comments

As I mentioned last week, I love October (because it’s my birthday month) and Halloween! Therefore I decided to update my little logo for this post to have fun this whole month. Once again I’ll be joining up with the Can’t Wait Wednesday posts hosted by Wishful Endings.  Second week of the month means a few less new releases.

From my ARC list for October 13th, 2020:

Sounds like it could be a very intense and emotional read set in a very intense setting!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

In a novel as riveting, irresistible, and heartbreaking as Into Thin Air, teen climbing prodigies Rose and Tate attempt to summit–and survive–Mount Everest.

Rose Keller and Tate Russo have been climbing for years, training in harsh weather and traveling all over the world. The goal that kept them going? Summiting Mount Everest, the highest point on earth. Accompanied by Tate’s dad, the two will finally make the ultimate climb at the end of their senior year. But neither Rose nor Tate are fully in the game–not only is there a simmering romance between them, but Rose can’t get her mind off her mother’s illness, while Tate constantly fails to live up to his ambitious father’s standards. 

Everyone on their expedition has something to prove, it seems. And not everyone is making the best decisions while short on oxygen and exhausted, body and mind. The farther up the mountain they go, the more their climbing plans unravel and the more isolated each team member becomes. Rose and Tate will have to dig deep within themselves to determine what–or who–they value above all else.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

Of course the title is the first thing that grabbed me, and the synopsis sounds like it could be cute as well!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

When Nephele has a terrible freshman year, she does the only logical thing for a math prodigy like herself: she invents a time travel app so she can go back and do it again (and again, and again) in this funny love story, Groundhog Day for the iPhone generation. 

Fourteen-year-old Nephele used to have friends. Well, she had friend. That friend made the adjustment to high school easily, leaving Nephele behind in the process. And as Nephele looks ahead, all she can see is three very lonely years.

Nephele is also a whip-smart lover of math and science, so she makes a plan. Step one: invent time travel. Step two: go back in time, have a do-over of 9th grade, crack the code on making friends and become beloved and popular.

Does it work? Sort of. Nephele does travel through time, but not the way she planned–she’s created a time loop, and she’s the only one looping. And she keeps looping, for ten years, always alone. Now, facing ninth grade for the tenth time, Nephele knows what to expect. Or so she thinks. She didn’t anticipate that her new teacher would be a boy from her long ago ninth grade class, now a grown man; that she would finally make a new friend, after ten years. And, she couldn’t have pictured someone like Jazz, with his deep violet eyes, goofy magic tricks and the quietly intense way he sees her. After ten freshman years, she still has a lot more to learn. But now that she’s finally figured out how to go back, has she found something worth staying for?

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

So the synopsis compares this to both Stranger Things and Inglourious Basterds, both of them are definitely something I enjoyed. So a World War II book like this sounds good!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Inglourious Basterds meets Stranger Things in this dark and thrilling tale of power, shadow, and revenge set during World War II.

World War II is raging, and five teens are looking to make a mark. Daniel and Rebeka seek revenge against the Nazis who slaughtered their family; Simone is determined to fight back against the oppressors who ruined her life and corrupted her girlfriend; Phillip aims to prove that he’s better than his worst mistakes; and Liam is searching for a way to control the portal to the shadow world he’s uncovered, and the monsters that live within it–before the Nazi regime can do the same. When the five meet, and begrudgingly team up, in the forests of Germany, none of them knows what their future might hold.

As they race against time, war, and enemies from both this world and another, Liam, Daniel, Rebeka, Phillip, and Simone know that all they can count on is their own determination and will to survive. With their world turned upside down, and the shadow realm looming ominously large–and threateningly close–the course of history and the very fate of humanity rest in their hands. Still, the most important question remains: Will they be able to save it?

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

Set in a bookstore, that means I will love it, and it also sounds like it has a lot of good topics to be covered in it.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Set over the course of one day, Aminah Mae Safi’s This Is All Your Fault is a smart and voice-driven YA novel that follows three young women determined to save their indie bookstore.

Rinn Olivera is finally going to tell her longtime crush AJ that she’s in love with him.

Daniella Korres writes poetry for her own account, but nobody knows it’s her.

Imogen Azar is just trying to make it through the day.

When Rinn, Daniella, and Imogen clock into work at Wild Nights Bookstore on the first day of summer, they’re expecting the hours to drift by the way they always do. Instead, they have to deal with the news that the bookstore is closing. Before the day is out, there’ll be shaved heads, a diva author, and a very large shipment of Air Jordans to contend with.

And it will take all three of them working together if they have any chance to save Wild Nights Bookstore.”

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

While I’m not from a small town myself, and I currently teach in a very urban setting, I have taught in two different small towns, my first three years of teaching, so I still have interest in reading about those places. And as a school librarian, I always look for things with different points of views from my students as well as what they know, because that is something that can only help them to be better human beings in the world after school.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Think you know what rural America is like? Discover a plurality of perspectives in this enlightening anthology of stories that turns preconceptions on their head.

Gracie sees a chance of fitting in at her South Carolina private school, until a “white trash”-themed Halloween party has her steering clear of the rich kids. Samuel’s Tejano family has both stood up to oppression and been a source of it, but now he’s ready to own his true sexual identity. A Puerto Rican teen in Utah discovers that being a rodeo queen means embracing her heritage, not shedding it. . . .

For most of America’s history, rural people and culture have been casually mocked, stereotyped, and, in general, deeply misunderstood. Now an array of short stories, poetry, graphic short stories, and personal essays, along with anecdotes from the authors’ real lives, dives deep into the complexity and diversity of rural America and the people who call it home. Fifteen extraordinary authors – diverse in ethnic background, sexual orientation, geographic location, and socioeconomic status – explore the challenges, beauty, and nuances of growing up in rural America. From a mountain town in New Mexico to the gorges of New York to the arctic tundra of Alaska, you’ll find yourself visiting parts of this country you might not know existed – and meet characters whose lives might be surprisingly similar to your own.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

Beautiful cover, and an intriguing synopsis.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

A teenage girl wonders if she’s inherited more than just a heart from her donor in this compulsively readable debut. 

Seventeen-year-old Chloe had a plan: work hard, get good grades, and attend a top-tier college. But after she collapses during cross-country practice and is told that she needs a new heart, all her careful preparations are laid to waste. 

Eight months after her transplant, everything is different. Stuck in summer school with the underachievers, all she wants to do now is grab her surfboard and hit the waves—which is strange, because she wasn’t interested in surfing before her transplant. (It doesn’t hurt that her instructor, Kai, is seriously good-looking.) 

And that’s not all that’s strange. There’s also the vivid recurring nightmare about crashing a motorcycle in a tunnel and memories of people and places she doesn’t recognize. 

Is there something wrong with her head now, too, or is there another explanation for what she’s experiencing? 

As she searches for answers, and as her attraction to Kai intensifies, what she learns will lead her to question everything she thought she knew—about life, death, love, identity, and the true nature of reality. 

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

It’s an anthology, which I don’t always do good with, but the topic is one I’m very interested in. I have an ARC of this and intend to read and leave a review this weekend.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

This exceptional and powerful anthology explores the joys, heartbreaks and triumphs of immigration, with stories by bestselling and beloved YA authors who are themselves immigrants and the children of immigrants.

WELCOME

From some of the most exciting bestselling and up-and-coming YA authors writing today…journey from Ecuador to New York City and Argentina to Utah, from Australia to Harlem and India to New Jersey, from Fiji, America, Mexico and more… Come On In.

With characters who face random traffic stops, TSA detention, customs anxiety, and the daunting and inspiring journey to new lands, who camp with their extended families, dance at weddings, keep diaries, teach ESL, give up their rooms for displaced family, decide their own answer to the question “where are you from?” and so much more, Come On In illuminates fifteen of the myriad facets of the immigrant experience.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

I haven’t read this author yet, even though I know she’s got a lot out there. But this one, wow, the synopsis is so right now! It’s kind of spooky!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

To Health.
To Life.
To the Future.

We are The Key.
‘No touching today for a healthy tomorrow.’

Elodie obeys The Key. Elodie obeys the rules. Elodie trusts in the system. At least, Elodie used to…

Aidan is a rebel. Aidan doesn’t do what he’s told. Aidan just wants to be free. Aidan is on his last chance…

After a pandemic wiped out most of the human race, The Key took power. The Key dictates the rules. They govern in order to keep people safe. But as Elodie and Aidan begin to discover there is another side to The Key, they realise not everything is as it seems.

Rather than playing protector, The Key are playing God.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

I love a good rom-com and this one sounds really cute!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

In this finger-licking good rom-com, two is the perfect number of cooks in the kitchen.

Nikki DiMarco knew life wouldn’t be all sunshine and coconuts when she quit her dream job to help her mom serve up mouthwatering Filipino dishes to hungry beach goers, but she didn’t expect the Maui food truck scene to be so eat-or-be-eaten—or the competition to be so smoking hot.

But Tiva’s Filipina Kusina has faced bigger road bumps than the arrival of Callum James. Nikki doesn’t care how delectable the British food truck owner is—he rudely set up shop next to her coveted beach parking spot. He’s stealing her customers and fanning the flames of a public feud that makes her see sparks. 

The solution? Let the upcoming Maui Food Festival decide their fate. Winner keeps the spot. Loser pounds sand. But the longer their rivalry simmers, the more Nikki starts to see a different side of Callum…a sweet, protective side. Is she brave enough to call a truce? Or will trusting Callum with her heart mean jumping from the frying pan into the fire?

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

Final Thoughts:

A total of 9 books this week, that’s only two less than last week! So many good ones too! Are any of these on your TBR, or have you already read them? If so, which do you recommend? Leave me a link to your post in your comment and I’ll be sure to return the visit!

Also, while you’re here, make sure to go enter my monthly giveaway HERE.

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20 responses to “Lisa’s Looking Forward To #82 – October 13th, 2020

    • Lisa Mandina

      I’m going to be starting Come On In today! Hopefully I will enjoy most if not all of the stories in it. Thanks for visiting!

  1. I’m super excited for The Key to Fear. It sounds so good and so current. Time Travel for Love and Profit is new to me and definitely going on my wishlist. I love a good time travel book. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

  2. I enjoyed both Everything I Thought I Knew and Simmer Down. The author put in a bit of twist I wasn’t expecting in EITIK, and I like books that highlight the importance of organ donation.

    • Lisa Mandina

      Hmm, interesting to know about The Key to Fear. Simmer Down is one that I hope to get to read at some point though! Thanks for stopping by!

  3. Verushka

    These are such great books! I don’t know any of these titles and they all sound incredibly unique-in particular Everything I thought I knew caught my attention right away. And that cover!!

    • Lisa Mandina

      I’ve been trying to pull a few more lesser known books to post about when I can! Thanks for stopping by!

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