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Bookreporter.com Bets On...

With thousands of books published each year and much attention paid to the works of bestselling and well-known authors, it is inevitable that some titles worthy of praise and discussion may not get the attention we think they deserve. Thus throughout the year, we will continue this feature that we started in 2009, to spotlight books that immediately struck a chord with us and made us say “just read this.” We will alert our readers about these titles as soon as they’re released so you can discover them for yourselves and recommend them to your family and friends.

Below are all of our selections thus far. For future "Bets On" titles that we will announce shortly after their release dates, please visit this page.

Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig

May 2017

GINNY MOON by Benjamin Ludwig is a book that is going to grab at your heartstrings and not let them go. Ginny is a feisty 14-year-old girl, who, after some time in a series of foster homes, has been adopted by a loving couple. She has a great life, enjoying school, basketball and her friends. And her Forever Mom and her Forever Dad are there to keep her safe, as well as happy.

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I Found You by Lisa Jewell

May 2017

There are times when I find a new author and wonder how I never read his or her books before. That is what happened when I picked up Lisa Jewell’s I FOUND YOU. I read a very early manuscript last summer, before we awarded it to a group of our early readers in the fall (I just reread their comments; they loved it). I still can remember exactly where I was when I read it --- floating in the pool, for hours --- completely immersed in the story.

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The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

April 2017

I have often wondered what life was like in Germany after World War II. We know of the Nazis and those who joined the resistance, but what happened when those descriptive words no longer defined the day-to-day lives of people? In THE WOMEN IN THE CASTLE, Jessica Shattuck tells the stories of three of these women, as they picked up their lives after the war.

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The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

March 2017

Years ago, I read Lisa See’s SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN and remember racing to my computer to google the Chinese art of foot binding. As I read THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE, I found myself doing a search about tea trees and tea leaves, particularly those of the Pu’erh tea, which is explored in this book. Confession: I have never given much thought to tea leaves. Seriously. I never thought about how they were grown or harvested. And I had no idea that there are tea auctions where these leaves are sold for wild sums of money. There is something wonderful about a book that not only makes you enjoy the story, but that you walk away from having learned something new.

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The Devil and Webster by Jean Hanff Korelitz

March 2017

In THE DEVIL AND WEBSTER by Jean Hanff Korelitz, Naomi Roth is the first female president of Webster College. Webster prides itself on students who are progressive and passionate. In the fall, students assert themselves to protest a popular professor’s denial of tenure; he’s African American and, yes, there are cries of racial prejudice. But rules of confidentiality means that the true reason for this judgment cannot be disclosed, though it is a very valid one.

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Never Let You Go by Chevy Stevens

March 2017

In NEVER LET YOU GO, Chevy Stevens shows how she has matured the writing chops for which I came to know her in STILL MISSING, which was her debut novel. The protagonist, Lindsey Nash, was the victim of an abusive relationship. Eleven years ago, she fled one night with her young daughter, Sophie. Her ex-husband, Andrew, was sent to prison for something that happened that evening that was not related to her flight. Flash forward and he’s set free, and while she thinks she has covered her tracks very carefully, she gets the feeling she is being watched. Her home has been broken into. She goes through her days consumed with unease, knowing something is not right.

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Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito

March 2017

I had heard about QUICKSAND by Malin Persson Giolito at a publisher preview and could not wait to get my hands on it. The opening pages drew me in quickly and laid the facts out succinctly. A mass school shooting has happened at a prep school in a wealthy Stockholm suburb. Maja Norberg is on trial for her role in the attack, which killed her boyfriend, as well as her best friend. What happened is pretty clear, until it is not.

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A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline

March 2017

Back when I read ORPHAN TRAIN (a 2013 Bets On selection), I found myself thinking: Now what does Christina Baker Kline write after this? Happily she has surprised me with a wonderful story about yet another slice of American life. In A PIECE OF THE WORLD, she shares the story of Christina Olson, who was depicted in Andrew Wyeth’s famous painting, Christina’s World, which is on permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art.

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The Mother's Promise by Sally Hepworth

March 2017

Sally Hepworth writes books with characters that push you outside of your emotional comfort zone. In THE MOTHER’S PROMISE, Alice Stanhope has spent her life protecting and raising her daughter, Zoe. Without a dad on the scene, they have made themselves a family à deux. Zoe is troubled by social anxiety, but with Alice by her side, she has an anchor.

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I See You by Clare Mackintosh

March 2017

Clare Mackintosh’s last book, I LET YOU GO, was a 2016 Bets On selection and one of my go-to recommends as it had one of the best twists in a thriller that I have read. Thus I was anxious to get my hands on I SEE YOU, to see what she would do this time around. Once again she has written a twist into her tale, and again it is brilliant.

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