Wrapping Up 2017 and Looking Forward to 2018
It is with great pleasure to announce that we are in the final stretches of holiday celebrations for 2017. With a few nights of Hanukkah under our belts, Christmas right around the corner and this incredibly eventful year coming to a close, we have a lot to look forward to in the new year, like Meghan Markle and Prince Harry tying the knot. The royal wedding, to be held in May, will be flanked by two momentous sporting events: the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February and the World Cup in Russia from June to July. Polio will be eradicated in 2018, women in Saudi Arabia will be able to drive come June 24th, the universal flu vaccine will be available to the public, the Crossrail will open in London and Beyoncé will finally play Coachella (praise be)! But even before all of this casual hoopla, it will be the best and surely the most glamorous time of all year --- awards season.
For a media junkie like me, awards season is not a small series of events. Rather, it is the culmination of a year-long commitment to laborious TV binging and movie watching. The first of the season will be the 75th Golden Globes on Sunday, January 7th at 8pm ET. Seth Meyers will be hosting this year, and with the nominations recently announced, it seems like there will be a lot to celebrate. You’re probably already familiar with many of the movies taking the top slots: Lady Bird, The Shape of Water, Dunkirk, The Post, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and I, Tonya, just to name a few. The top contenders for TV shows include, but are not limited to, "Game of Thrones,” "The Handmaid's Tale,” "Stranger Things" and “Big Little Lies." With the outpouring of support and overwhelmingly positive critics’ response to Lady Bird (it’s the highest rated movie on RottenTomatoes.com), it will no doubt take away a couple of awards...as it should. I saw it just the other day, and it was excellent. It exceeded my already elevated expectations and brought me back to my awkward high school days. I also had the chance to catch The Shape of Water, and the sci-fi thriller meets love story was a real cinematic delight. (In a twist here, the book comes out February 27th; watch the movie, then read the book.)
As far as TV goes, it’s undeniable that the competition is super steep as it has been for the past couple of years and will continue to be in the coming ones. While "GOT" is on its way out, we’re just in the beginning of the heart-wrenching “The Handmaid’s Tale” and with “Big Little Lies” recently confirming a second season (with the possibility for a third and more!), it’s no doubt that we’re in for many, many more TV treats. “The Crown” has also stolen some of the spotlight alongside “This Is Us,” “Insecure” and “13 Reasons Why.” Women are dominating television at the moment, and I’m here for it. That’s especially the case with the hotly anticipated return of “Jessica Jones” on March 8th. Netflix finally released the second season trailer of the triumphant action series, and it’s giving me life. (Also, our kind of superwoman, Krysten Ritter just put out her first book, BONFIRE. Scroll down to read more, and check out the review.) Now, if only we could get “Good Girls Revolt” totally up and running again, we could right a few wrongs.
Speaking of movies, Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters today. Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, it’s going to be one of the biggest releases of the year. Early reviews are saying it’s better than The Force Awakens. Oh my! Get out there and watch!
The Holiday Bundle of Cheer contest is in its final days, so ENTER NOW through Wednesday, December 20th at noon ET. We’re giving away five great reads for the holidays and beyond. Scroll down to learn more about the included titles, and be sure to share with your friends and family.
Bookreporter.com’s End-of-the-Year 2017 celebration is now live! This very special contest highlights Carol’s 40 favorite books of the year, including BENEATH A SCARLET SKY by Mark Sullivan, LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng, THE GIRL BEFORE by JP Delaney, THE LAST MRS. PARRISH by Liv Constantine and THE LYING GAME by Ruth Ware. One grand prize winner will receive a copy of each title (that’s 40 books, friends!), and eight second prize winners will receive a selections of five titles. Head over here to see the full list of the included titles and enter the contest by Monday, January 8th at noon ET.
If you're looking for something to pick up during the holidays, look no further. Here are a few suggestions:
Krysten Ritter’s authorial debut with BONFIRE should not be missed. It has been 10 years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small-town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night stands. But when a new case takes her back home to Barrens, Indiana, the life she painstakingly created starts to crack. Tasked with investigating Optimal Plastics, the town’s most high-profile company and economic heart, Abby begins to find strange connections to Barrens’s biggest scandal from more than a decade ago, involving the popular Kaycee Mitchell and her closest friends --- just before Kaycee disappeared for good.
Joe Biden’s PROMISE ME, DAD: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose recounts the harrowing story of losing his son Beau to a brain tumor in 2015. In November 2014, 13 members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the past 40 years. It was the one constant in what had become a hectic, scrutinized and overscheduled life. The Thanksgiving holiday was a much-needed respite, a time to connect, a time to reflect on what the year had brought, and what the future might hold. But this year felt different from all those that had come before. Joe and Jill Biden's eldest son, Beau, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor 15 months earlier, and his survival was uncertain. PROMISE ME, DAD chronicles the year that followed, which would be the most momentous and challenging in Joe Biden’s life and career. There was not a dry eye in the house when Biden comforted Meghan McCain about her father’s illness on the morning news show “The View” earlier this week.
A SELFIE AS BIG AS THE RITZ: Stories is Lara Williams’ debut short story collection, which focuses on women navigating the tumultuous interval between early 20s and middle age. In the title story, a relationship implodes against the romantic backdrop of Paris. In “One of Those Life Things,” a young woman struggles to say the right thing at her best friend’s abortion. In “Penguins,” a girlfriend tries to accept her boyfriend’s bizarre sexual fantasy. As Williams’ characters attempt to lean in, fall in love, hold together a family, fend off loneliness, and build a meaningful life, we see them alternating between expectation and resignation, giddiness and melancholy, the rollercoaster we all find ourselves on.
Happy holidays and happy reading!
5 Things To Obsess About This Very Moment, in no particular order:
1. The "GOT" final season and "Stranger Things" season 3 won't air until 2019
2. Vine might be coming back
3. There's going to be a live-action Mulan remake
4. Will we ever hear the Jay Z + B joint album?
5. "Outlander" season 4 casting news
--- Nicole Sherman
Holiday Bundle of Cheer 2017 Feature + Contest
The holidays are right around the corner, and as our gift to you, we are spotlighting some amazing books. The deadline to enter the Holiday Bundle of Cheer Feature/Contest is Wednesday, December 20th at noon ET. Enter for your chance to be one of five lucky readers who will win a copy of each of the featured titles below:
BEAU DEATH: A Peter Diamond Investigation by Peter Lovesey (Mystery)
Audiobook available, narrated by Steven Crossley
A wrecking crew is demolishing a row of townhouses when they uncover a skeleton in one of the attics. The dead man is wearing authentic 1760s garb, and on the floor next to it is a white tricorn hat --- the ostentatious signature accessory of Beau Nash, a fashion icon who some say ended up in a pauper’s grave. Or did the Beau actually end up in a townhouse attic? Chief Inspector Peter Diamond, who has been assigned to identify the remains, begins to fantasize about turning Nash scholarship on its ear. But one of his constables is stubbornly insisting the corpse can’t be Nash’s and threatens to spoil Diamond’s favorite theory, especially when he offers some pretty irrefutable evidence. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
BLOOD TRUTH: A Rick Cahill Novel by Matt Coyle (Hard-boiled Mystery/Thriller)
Rick Cahill has long feared the truth about his own blood --- the blood of his father coursing through his veins. When a long-hidden safe unlocks clues about why his father was kicked off the police force 27 years ago and then spiraled into an early drunken death, Rick determines to find the truth even if it proves the one thing he's always feared. But as he grapples with his father's past, the woman he still loves pleads with him to find out if her husband is having an affair --- or is involved in something much more sinister. Could the truth send her back into Rick’s arms? Would he have a last shot at happiness? He may never get the chance to find out, as killers who will do anything to protect their secrets lurk in the shadows. Reviewed by Dean Murphy.
BONFIRE by Krysten Ritter (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Karissa Vacker
It has been 10 years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small-town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night stands. But when a new case takes her back home to Barrens, Indiana, the life she painstakingly created starts to crack. Tasked with investigating Optimal Plastics, the town’s most high-profile company and economic heart, Abby begins to find strange connections to Barrens’s biggest scandal from more than a decade ago, involving the popular Kaycee Mitchell and her closest friends --- just before Kaycee disappeared for good. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.
THE LIBRARY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD by Felicity Hayes-McCoy (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Emma Lowe
As she drives her mobile library van between villages of Ireland’s West Coast, Hanna Casey tries not to think about a lot of things. Like the sophisticated lifestyle she abandoned after finding her English barrister husband in bed with another woman. Or her nagging fear that, as the local librarian and a prominent figure in the community, her failed marriage and ignominious return have made her a focus of gossip. Hanna is determined to reclaim her independence by restoring a derelict cottage left to her by her great-aunt. But when the threatened closure of the Lissbeg Library puts her personal plans in jeopardy, Hanna finds herself leading a battle to restore the heart and soul of the Finfarran Peninsula’s fragmented community. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
THE MAN IN THE CROOKED HAT by Harry Dolan (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Joel Richards
Private investigator Jack Pellum has spent two years searching for the man who he believes murdered his wife --- a man he last saw wearing a peacoat and a fedora. When a local writer commits suicide, he leaves a bewildering message that may be the first breadcrumb in a winding trail of unsolved murders. Michael Underhill has a sweet and beautiful girlfriend, and together they're building their future home. Nothing will go wrong, not if Underhill has anything to say about it. The problem is, Underhill has a dark and secret past, and it's coming back to haunt him. These two men are inexorably drawn together in a mystery where there is far more than meets the eye, and nothing can be taken for granted. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
MR. DICKENS AND HIS CAROL by Samantha Silva (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Euan Morton
Charles Dickens is not feeling the Christmas spirit. His newest book is an utter flop, the critics have turned against him, and relatives near and far hound him for money. While his wife plans a lavish holiday party for their ever-expanding family and circle of friends, Dickens has visions of the poor house. But when his publishers try to blackmail him into writing a Christmas book to save them all from financial ruin, he refuses. And a serious bout of writer’s block sets in. Frazzled and filled with self-doubt, Dickens seeks solace in his great palace of thinking, the city of London itself. On one of his long night walks, in a once-beloved square, he meets the mysterious Eleanor Lovejoy, who might be just the muse he needs. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
NOT SAFE AFTER DARK: And Other Stories by Peter Robinson (Thriller/Short Stories)
Audiobook available; performed by Simon Prebble, James Patrick Cronin, Faye Adele and James Langton
NOT SAFE AFTER DARK is a collection of 20 stories that explores the darkest edges of humanity in which everyday people must commit desperate acts as they face fear, temptation and impulses too irresistible to control. In “Going Back,” Inspector Banks’ trip to celebrate his parents’ Golden Anniversary reveals how evil can wear many disguises. In the Edgar Award-winning “Missing in Action,” the disappearance of a young boy in the early days of WWII sparks a mob mentality with chilling results. “Innocence” captures the desperate plight of a man trapped by a set of coincidences that derail his life and lead him down a path he was destined to travel. The title story is an exhilarating tale with a sudden conclusion that will leave readers’ hearts pounding. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
PEN 33 by Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Saul Reichlin
Bernt Lund is a monster, an unrepentant child molester and serial killer. In the mind of society, in the minds of his nine-year-old victims' parents, and in the minds of his fellow inmates, he is a waking nightmare. And now he has escaped from custody. Detective Superintendent Ewert Grens is about to encounter the most profoundly appalling case in his career, and perhaps in Stockholm's history. During the course of one long, hot summer, Sweden will face an explosive series of events that spread across the country like wildfire, events that call into question the very nature of humanity, duty, forgiveness and self-defense. And justice. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
PRAIRIE FIRES: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser (Biography)
Audiobook available, narrated by Christina Moore
Millions of readers of Little House on the Prairie believe they know Laura Ingalls --- the pioneer girl who survived blizzards and near-starvation on the Great Plains, and the woman who wrote the famous autobiographical books. But the true saga of her life has never been fully told. Now, drawing on unpublished manuscripts, letters, diaries, and land and financial records, Caroline Fraser fills in the gaps in Wilder’s biography. Revealing the grown-up story behind the most influential childhood epic of pioneer life, she also chronicles Wilder's tumultuous relationship with her journalist daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, setting the record straight regarding charges of ghostwriting that have swirled around the books. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
PROMISE ME, DAD: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose by Joe Biden (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Joe Biden
In November 2014, 13 members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the past 40 years. It was the one constant in what had become a hectic, scrutinized and overscheduled life. The Thanksgiving holiday was a much-needed respite, a time to connect, a time to reflect on what the year had brought, and what the future might hold. But this year felt different from all those that had come before. Joe and Jill Biden's eldest son, Beau, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor 15 months earlier, and his survival was uncertain. PROMISE ME, DAD chronicles the year that followed, which would be the most momentous and challenging in Joe Biden’s life and career. Reviewed by Carole Turner.
PROTECTED BY THE SHADOWS: An Irene Huss Investigation written by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Suzanne Toren
In this final installment of the Irene Huss investigations, the gang warfare that has been brewing in Göteborg is about to explode. A member of a notorious biker gang has been set on fire --- alive. Even in a culture where ritual killings are common, this brutal assault attracts the attention of both Irene’s unit and the Organized Crimes Unit. Anticipating a counterattack, the two units team up to patrol the lavish party of a rival gang, but that doesn’t stop another murder from occurring just outside the event hall. Furthermore, someone has planted a bomb under Irene’s husband’s car. Somehow, the gangs are always one step ahead of the police. Someone is leaking information. But who? Irene’s life depends on discovering the answer. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
A SELFIE AS BIG AS THE RITZ: Stories by Lara Williams (Fiction/Short Stories)
Audiobook available, read by Imogen Church
The women in Lara Williams’ debut story collection navigate the tumultuous interval between early 20s and middle age. In the title story, a relationship implodes against the romantic backdrop of Paris. In “One of Those Life Things,” a young woman struggles to say the right thing at her best friend’s abortion. In “Penguins,” a girlfriend tries to accept her boyfriend’s bizarre sexual fantasy. As Williams’ characters attempt to lean in, fall in love, hold together a family, fend off loneliness, and build a meaningful life, we see them alternating between expectation and resignation, giddiness and melancholy, the rollercoaster we all find ourselves on. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
STRONG TO THE BONE: A Caitlin Strong Novel by Jon Land (Thriller)
1944: Texas Ranger Earl Strong investigates a triple murder inside a Nazi POW camp in Texas. The Present: His daughter, fifth generation Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong, finds herself pursuing the killer her father never caught in the most personal case of her career --- a conspiracy stretching from that Nazi POW camp to a modern-day neo-Nazi gang. A sinister movement has emerged from the shadows of history, determined to undermine the American way of life. Its leader, Armand Fisker, has an army at his disposal, a deadly bio-weapon, and a reputation for being unbeatable. To prevent an unspeakable cataclysm, Caitlin and her outlaw lover, Cort Wesley Masters, must win a war the world thought was over. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
THREE DAYS AND A LIFE written by Pierre Lemaitre, translated by Frank Wynne(Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Peter Noble
In 1999, 12-year-old Antoine Courtin accidentally kills a young neighbor boy. Panicked, he conceals the body and is never suspected of any connection to the child's disappearance. But the boy's death continues to haunt him, shaping his life in unseen ways. More than a decade later, Antoine is a young doctor with a fiancée and a promising future. On a rare trip home, Antoine thoughtlessly sleeps with a young woman from his past. She shows up pregnant at his doorstep a few months later, insisting that they marry, but Antoine refuses. Meanwhile, the newly discovered body of Antoine's childhood victim means that the case has been reopened. Then the young woman's father threatens Antoine with a paternity test --- which almost certainly would match the DNA found on the dead child's body. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
TWIN PEAKS: THE FINAL DOSSIER by Mark Frost (Supernatural Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Annie Wersching
The return of “Twin Peaks” is one of the most anticipated events in the history of television. Featuring all the characters we know and love from the first series, as well as a list of high-powered actors in new roles, the show will be endlessly debated, discussed and dissected. While THE SECRET HISTORY OF TWIN PEAKS served to expand the mysteries of the town and place the unexplained phenomena that unfolded there into a vastly layered, wide-ranging history, TWIN PEAKS: THE FINAL DOSSIER tells us what happened to key characters in the 25 years in between the events of the first series and the second, offering details and insights fans will be clamoring for. Reviewed by Matthew Burbridge.
THE VANISHING SEASON by Joanna Schaffhausen (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Lauren Fortgang
Ellery Hathaway knows a thing or two about serial killers, but not through her police training. She's an officer in sleepy Woodbury, MA, where a bicycle theft still makes the newspapers. No one there knows she was once victim #17 in the grisly story of serial killer Francis Michael Coben --- the only one who lived. When three people disappear from her town in three years, all around her birthday, Ellery fears someone knows her secret --- someone very dangerous. Her superiors dismiss her concerns, but Ellery knows the vanishing season is coming and anyone could be next. She contacts the one man she knows will believe her: the FBI agent who saved her from a killer all those years ago. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.
THE 57 BUS: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater (Nonfiction/True Crime)
Audiobook available, narrated by Robin Miles
If it weren’t for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight. Reviewed by Ryan H., Teen Board Member.
ALONE by Cyn Balog (Thriller)
When her mom inherits an old, crumbling mansion, Seda's almost excited to spend the summer there. The grounds are beautiful and it's fun to explore the sprawling house with its creepy rooms and secret passages. Except now her mom wants to renovate, rather than sell the estate --- which means they're not going back to the city...or Seda's friends and school. As the days grow shorter, Seda is filled with dread. They're about to be cut off from the outside world, and she's not sure she can handle the solitude or the darkness it brings out in her. Reviewed by Jeanna Michel.
THE BECOMING OF NOAH SHAW (The Shaw Confessions) by Michelle Hodkin (Supernatural Mystery)
Audiobook available, narrated by Joe Jameson
In the first book of the Shaw Confessions, the companion series to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer novels, old skeletons are laid bare and new promises prove deadly. This is what happens after happily ever after. Everyone thinks 17-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string. They’re wrong. Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future. He shouldn’t. And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart. They’re right. Reviewed by Abigail D., Teen Board Member.
THE BIG LIE by Julie Mayhew (Speculative Fiction)
Audiobook available, narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden
Nazi England, 2014. Jessika Keller is a good girl --- a champion ice skater, model student of the Bund Deutscher Mädel and dutiful daughter of the Greater German Reich. Her best friend, Clementine, is not so submissive. Passionately different, Clem is outspoken, dangerous and radical. And the regime has noticed. Jess cannot keep both her perfect life and her dearest friend, her first love. But which can she live without? Reviewed by Ashley D., Teen Board Member.
I NEVER by Laura Hopper (Contemporary Romance)
Janey King’s priorities used to be clear: track, school, friends and family. But when 17-year-old Janey learns that her seemingly happy parents are getting divorced, her world starts to shift. Back at school, Luke Hallstrom, an adorable senior, pursues Janey, and she realizes that she has two new priorities to consider: love and sex. Reviewed by Anna Kate L., Teen Board Member.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND MISTLETOE by Melissa de la Cruz (Retelling)
The beautiful and successful Darcy Fitzwilliam dates hedge funders and basketball stars. She has never fallen in love, never has time for anyone else’s drama, and never goes home for Christmas if she can help it. But when her mother falls ill, she comes home to Pemberley, Ohio, to spend the season with her family. Her parents throw their annual Christmas bash, where she meets Luke Bennet, the smart, sardonic slacker son of their neighbor. When Darcy and Luke fall into bed after too many eggnogs, Darcy thinks it’s just another one-night stand. But why can’t she stop thinking of Luke? Can she fall in love, or will her pride and his prejudice against big-city girls stand in their way? Reviewed by Flor H., Teen Board Member.
THAT INEVITABLE VICTORIAN THING by E.K. Johnston (Historical Romance)
Audiobook available, narrated by Katherine Kellgren
Victoria-Margaret is the crown princess of the empire, a direct descendant of Victoria I, the queen who changed the course of history. The imperial tradition of genetically arranged matchmaking will soon guide Margaret into a politically advantageous marriage. But before she does her duty, she'll have one summer of freedom in a far corner of empire. Posing as a commoner in Toronto, she meets Helena, daughter of one of the empire's greatest geneticists, and August, the heir to a powerful shipping firm currently besieged by American pirates. In a summer of high-society debutante balls, politically charged tea parties and romantic country dances, Margaret, Helena and August discover they share an extraordinary bond and maybe a one-in-a-million chance to have what they want and to change the world in the process. Reviewed by Lauren C., Teen Board Member.
THE WICKER KING by K. Ancrum (Thriller/Suspense)
August is a misfit with a pyro streak and Jack is a golden boy on the varsity rugby team but their intense friendship goes way back. Jack begins to see increasingly vivid hallucinations that take the form of an elaborate fantasy kingdom creeping into the edges of the real world. August accepts the visions as reality, even when Jack leads them on a quest to fulfill a dark prophecy. August and Jack alienate everyone around them as they struggle with their sanity, free falling into the surreal fantasy world that feels made for them. In the end, each one must choose his own truth. Reviewed by Taylor F., Teen Board Member.
YOU IN FIVE ACTS by Una LaMarche (Contemporary Fiction)
At a prestigious New York City performing arts school, five friends connect over one dream of stardom. But for Joy, Diego, Liv, Ethan and Dave, that dream falters under the pressure of second-semester, senior year. Ambitions shift and change, new emotions rush to the surface, and a sense of urgency pulses between them: Their time together is running out. Diego hopes to get out of the friend zone. Liv wants to escape. Ethan conspires to turn his muse into his girlfriend. Dave pines for the drama queen. And if Joy doesn’t open her eyes, she could lose the love that’s been in front of her all along. Reviewed by Gabby D., Teen Board Member.
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