by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books)
Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read!
Delia Ephron's Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Description from Publisher:
"The bestselling, beloved writer of romantic comedies like You've Got Mail tells her own late-in-life love story, complete with a tragic second act and joyous resolution.
"Delia Ephron had struggled through several years of heartbreak. She'd lost her sister, Nora, and then her husband, Jerry, both to cancer. Several months after Jerry's death, she decided to make one small change in her life--she shut down his landline, which crashed her internet. She ended up in Verizon hell.
"She channeled her grief the best way she knew: by writing a New York Times op-ed. The piece caught the attention of Peter, a Bay Area psychiatrist, who emailed her to commiserate. Recently widowed himself, he reminded her that they had shared a few dates fifty-four years before, set up by Nora. Delia did not remember him, but after several weeks of exchanging emails and sixties folk songs, he flew east to see her. They were crazy, utterly, in love.
"But this was not a rom-com: four months later she was diagnosed with AML, a fierce leukemia.
"In Left on Tenth, Delia Ephron enchants as she seesaws us between tears and laughter, navigating the suicidal lows of enduring cutting-edge treatment and the giddy highs of a second chance at love. With Peter and her close girlfriends by her side, with startling clarity, warmth, and honesty about facing death, Ephron invites us to join her team of warriors and become believers ourselves."
Why I want to read it:
So, I've already read this one thanks to Libro.fm (Ephron reads the book herself, so I highly recommend that format). I so appreciated her vulnerability, her strength, and her matter-of-fact humor. It's a gorgeous memoir.
Samantha Markum's This May End Badly (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Description from Publisher:
"Pranking mastermind Doe and her motley band of Weston girls are determined to win the century-long war against Winfield Academy before the clock ticks down on their senior year. But when their headmistress announces that The Weston School will merge with its rival the following year, their longtime feud spirals into chaos.
"To protect the school that has been her safe haven since her parents' divorce, Doe puts together a plan to prove once and for all that Winfield boys and Weston girls just don't mix, starting with a direct hit at Three, Winfield's boy king and her nemesis. In a desperate move to win, Doe strikes a bargain with Three's cousin, Wells: If he fake dates her to get under Three's skin, she'll help him get back his rightful family heirloom from Three.
"As the pranks escalate, so do her feelings for her fake boyfriend, and Doe spins lie after lie to keep up her end of the deal. But when a teacher long suspected of inappropriate behavior messes with a younger Weston girl, Doe has to decide what's more important: winning a rivalry, or joining forces to protect something far more critical than a prank war legacy.
"This May End Badly is a story about friendship, falling in love, and crossing pretty much every line presented to you--and how to atone when you do."
Why I want to read it:
All right, I must admit that I've also ready this one. (You can check out my review here.) This is a fabulous YA romance with a great fake dating trope that also builds a bridge between that romance and more serious content brilliantly.
Emily X. R. Pan's An Arrow to the Moon (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Description from Publisher:
"Romeo and Juliet meets Chinese mythology in this magical novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Astonishing Color of After.
"Hunter Yee has perfect aim with a bow and arrow, but all else in his life veers wrong. He's sick of being haunted by his family's past mistakes. The only things keeping him from running away are his little brother, a supernatural wind, and the bewitching girl at his new high school.
"Luna Chang dreads the future. Graduation looms ahead, and her parents' expectations are stifling. When she begins to break the rules, she finds her life upended by the strange new boy in her class, the arrival of unearthly fireflies, and an ominous crack spreading across the town of Fairbridge.
"As Hunter and Luna navigate their families' enmity and secrets, everything around them begins to fall apart. All they can depend on is their love...but time is running out, and fate will have its way.
"An Arrow to the Moon, Emily X.R. Pan's brilliant and ethereal follow-up to The Astonishing Color of After, is a story about family, love, and the magic and mystery of the moon that connects us all."
Why I want to read it:
The synopsis mentions The Astonishing Color of After (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm), and that gorgeous, gorgeous novel made Pan an auto-read author for me. It's a beautiful blend of magic and reality that deals in vivid detail with intense emotions. I'm hoping for more of the same here!
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