What are we reading in 2024?

I started the year with ...And a Happy New Year? by Holly Bourne, which might not have been the best choice since it's a tie-in to a series I haven't read. It did make me interested to seek out the rest of the series, though.

I'm reading Five Survive by Holly Jackson, a US-set thriller/survival story by the author of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. Six friends travelling in an RV for spring break are trapped on a remote road at night by an unseen sniper. It soon emerges that the gunman knows exactly who they are, and wants at least one of them dead... but who is the target, and why? The main character, Red, has a form of ADHD, which seems to be linked to an earlier trauma.

>2 konallis: Are you enjoying? I liked the Good Girl's Guide series, but haven't read her more recent yet.

>3 Caramellunacy: It's a page-turner. Jackson is good not just at keeping the action moving but at complicating it, throwing in new problems and twists and layers. The characters are varied and have complex dynamics, making what happens inside the RV as important as the shooter outside. I don't think it's as subtle as A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, though. (There's a definite nod to all those 'teens get stranded in the woods without cellphone service' horror films.)

I haven't been reading a ton of YA this year, but here's my report so far:

- Illuminations by T. Kingfisher -- LOVED this one. Reminded me of The Magicians of Caprona in the best way.

- River Secrets and Forest Born by Shannon Hale -- solid end to the series. I liked both better than Enna Burning.

- Idol Gossip by Alexandra Leigh Young -- teen gets selected to be part of a K-Pop group. Fun, but no substance and doesn't stand up to much examination.

Planning on getting to The Cruel Prince and The Memory of Babel soon.

I'm reading The Supreme Lie by Geraldine McCaughrean. Fable about climate change, set in a fictional steampunk realm threatened by flooding, whose ruler lies about the seriousness of the disaster and then flees the country. The ruler's maid has to pretend that she's still in post and ends up running the government. So far, I'm finding it interesting but not that involving, but I'm only a few chapters in.

>5 curioussquared: The cruel prince! I love that one! Currently on The Stolen Heir!

Late to the party, but I'm reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. A post about the book on LT piqued my interest enough to finally get it from the library.

I'e read All out, a collection of LGBTQ+ themed stories with more-or-less historical settings (I refuse to accept that 2000 is historical!). Most were very good; a few felt too rushed; and two I actively disliked. That's not a bad ratio for a collection with 17 stories.

We all know what to think of spamming authors who give their own work 5 stars, but nobody else has entered it.

I read The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Steffan Ros, a short, spare, post-apocalyptic novel about a mother and son surviving alone in a remote part of Wales. The author wrote it in both Welsh and English versions.
There's a BBC radio adaptation that's lightly abridged and gives the flavour of the book, with appropriate Welsh voices: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/m001xzqn

I've just read and loved Vespertine. It's a fantasy with elements of Red sister, Sabriel and Penric. Highly recommended!

>13 Sakerfalcon: Thanks for the recommendation. I need a V for my alphabet challenge this year, and I see it's available in my local library, too!

>14 konallis: Great! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

>13 Sakerfalcon: I loved Vespertine, too! Sorcery of Thorns was more tailored to my specific loves in a book (magical library, etc.), but I think Vespertine was a slightly better novel overall.

Recently I've read and enjoyed Dragon's Bait, Didn't See That Coming, Solitaire, and Seafire/Steel Tide. I also reread An Abundance of Katherines and it held up for me.

I'm currently reading She is a haunting, which is set in Vietnam in a haunted house.