What's New? Stacking the Shelves - ALAMW Edition Part 3 Young Adult

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga of Tynga Reviews. Pop on over there to share you new books and ogle what other bloggers got.

I am still working through the arcs I found at Midwinter and so am resolved not to buy any books until I make a serious dent in those. I had pre-ordered some items though, and they came this week.

Arcs:

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith. 402 p. Poppy/ Little, Brown and Company, April, 2013. 9780316212823.

Publisher synopsis: If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

I read and enjoyed The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight in spite of myself. It was fluffy fun that definitely required parking logic at the door. This sound like fun.

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff. 337 p. Little, Brown and Company, June 11, 2013. 9780316199681.

Publisher synopsis: They needed the perfect soldier: one who could function in every situation without fear, sympathy or anger; who could assassinate strangers and then walk away emotionally unscathed. So they made Boy Nobody-a teen with no name or history. The perfect soldier.

Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school, in a new town, under a new name, makes few friends and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend's family to die — of "natural causes." Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, and moves on to the next target.

But when he's assigned to the mayor of New York City, things change. The daughter seems so much like him; the mayor smells like his father. And when memories and questions surface, the Program is watching. Because somewhere, deep inside Boy Nobody, is somebody: the kid he once was, the teen who wants normal things like a real home and parents, a young man who wants out. And who just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program's mission.

I've only read My Life, the Theater and Other Tragedies by this author. Alas, Food Girls and Other Things I Can't Have is languishing on TOM, the tar. This one sounds like a complete departure for the author and this tickles me.

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr. 304 p. Little Brown and Company, May 7, 2013. 9780516229708.

Publisher synopsis: Lucy Beck-Moreau once had a promising future as a concert pianist. The right people knew her name, her performances were booked months in advance, and her future seemed certain.

That was all before she turned fourteen.

Now, at sixteen, it's over. A death, and a betrayal, led her to walk away. That leaves her talented ten-year-old brother, Gus, to shoulder the full weight of the Beck-Moreau family expectations. Then Gus gets a new piano teacher who is young, kind, and interested in helping Lucy rekindle her love of piano — on her own terms. But when you're used to performing for sold-out audiences and world-famous critics, can you ever learn to play just for yourself?

National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr takes readers inside the exclusive world of privileged San Francisco families, top junior music competitions, and intense mentorships. The Lucy Variations is a story of one girl's struggle to reclaim her love of music and herself. It's about finding joy again, even when things don't go according to plan. Because life isn't a performance, and everyone deserves the chance to make a few mistakes along the way.

I had a "cover coincidence" moment when I saw the cover of this one. When I researched it, turns out the coincidence goes beyond the cover. Still, it's Sara Zarr and everything I've read of hers is consistently top-notch.

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey. 457 p. G.P. Putnam's Sons/ Penguin Young Readers Group, May 7, 2013. 978-39962411. 

Publisher synopsis: The Passage meets Ender's Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Yancey is one of my go-to authors for my reluctant readers. I adored his Alfred Kropp trilogy and the Monstrumologist books not only caused me to lose my lunch but also scared the pants off me. 

Second Impact by David Klass and Perri Klass. 279 p. Farrar Straus Giroux, August 6, 2013. 97803749964. 

Publisher synopsis: Kendall is football town, and Jerry Downing is the high school's star quarterback, working to redeem himself after he nearly killed a girl in a drunk driving accident last year. Carla Jenson, lead reporter for the school newspaper's sports section, has recruited Jerry to co-author a blog chronicling the season from each of their perspectives. When Jerry's best friend on the team takes a hit too hard and gets hurt, Carla wonders publicly if injury in the game comes at too high a cost in a player's life—but not everyone in Kendall wants to hear it...

This action-packed story will resonate with readers who have been following recent news stories are football injuries.

Of Triton by Anna Banks. 246 p. Feiwel and Friends/ Macmillan, May 28, 2013. 978125000331. 

Publisher synopsis: Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm. Syrena law states all Half-Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance in the Syrena world turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?

Once again, Anna Banks infuses Emma and Galen’s points of view with humor, intrigue, and waves of romance.

I loaded Of Poseidon into my iPad last June for my trip to Annual and read it on the plane. I didn't review it, but liked it enough to pick up the arc to see where the story was headed. Good beach/ vacation reading.

That's all I have time for right now. Been working on this all morning during breaks from shoveling out 8 inches of snow. Heading down to my mom's house soon to shovel out the dumpster and load it up with the last of the "junk" accumulated over 51 years by a lovely woman who never threw a thing away.

Happy Reading! What's new with you?