Top Ten Tuesday: 2020 Summer Releases I’m Excited For

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is “Books on My Summer 2020 TBR.” Sorry not sorry, but I had to make this list fifteen books long. I could not narrow it down anymore. Also want to note that I didn’t list books I have already read (**cough** Mexican Gothic **cough**) because I wanted these to be books I am personally looking forward to, even though I am personally looking forward to other people reading Mexican Gothic, haha. Also these should be in publication date order but with everything moving around, it was a losing battle to try to get it to be so. Covers are linked to Goodreads.

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1. Running by Natalia Sylvester

Publication Date: July 14, 2020

2. The Year of the Witchling by Alexis Henderson

Publication Date: July 21, 2020

3. 10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon

Publication Date: July 21, 2020

4. Court of Lions by Somaiya Daud

Publication Date: August 4, 2020

5. Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

Publication Date: September 1, 2020

6. You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria

Publication Date: August 4, 2020

7. Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Publication Date: August 4, 2020

8. Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Publication Date: August 25, 2020

9. Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, Sarah Moses (Translator)

 Publication Date: August 4, 2020

10. Wayward Witch by Zoraida Córdova

Publication Date: September 1, 2020

11. Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

Publication Date: September 1, 2020

12. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Publication Date: September 1, 2020

13. Prime Deceptions by Valerie Valdes

Publication Date: September 8, 2020

14. Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar

Publication Date: September 15, 2020

15. Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

Publication Date: September 15, 2020

Are you looking forward to any of these as well? Let me know in the comments and be sure to leave me a link to your own TTT post, so I can visit.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books You (and I) Should Pick Up This Summer

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is “Books I’ve Added to my TBR and Forgotten Why.” I actually forgot to do this week’s topic but since I didn’t post last week’s Books that Give Off Summer Vibes post, I will do so now. Reminder that as people begin to go back to their normal routines, there are still people protesting and fighting for justice. I encourage you to visit this site if you aren’t quite sure where to get started. There are so many resources out there and there is no excuse not to stay informed. For this topic, I am listing five contemporaries that are perfect to pick up this summer as well as five that I plan to pick up. Covers are linked to Goodreads.

Five Books You Should Pick Up:

1. Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno 

2. Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann

3. Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud

4. Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali

5. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Five Books I Should Pick Up:

6. Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

7. You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

8. The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park

9. The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa

10. If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann

Which contemporary book are you planning to pick up this summer? Let me know in the comments and be sure to leave me a link to your own TTT post, so I can visit.

Top Ten Tuesday: Opening Lines I Love From Books By Latinx Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is “Opening Lines (Best, favorite, funny, unique, shocking, gripping, lines that grabbed you immediately, etc.).” I actually did a Top Ten Tuesday post with my favorite opening lines, which you can read here, not too long ago. So for this week’s post I’m listing favorite opening lines from books by Latinx authors minus the ones I already mentioned in my previous post. I hope these are intriguing enough that they have you reaching for these books if you haven’t already. Covers are linked to Goodreads.

1. The Moon Within by Aida Salazar

“There is a locket in my heart
that holds all of the questions
that do cartwheels in my mind
and gurgle up to the top of my brain
like root beer fizz.”

2. Bruja Born by Zoraida Córdova

“This is a love story.

At least, it was, before my sister sent me to hell.”

3. The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You by Lily Anderson

“Ben West spent summer vacation growing a handlebar mustache.

Seriously.

Hovering over his upper lip–possibly glued there–was a bushy monstrosity that shouted, ‘Look out, senior class, I’m gonna tie some chicks to the train tracks and then go on safari with my good friend Teddy Roosevelt. Bully!‘”

4. The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante

“We believe in luck. The good kind and the cruel. The kind that graces and the kind that cripples. The kind that doesn’t care what you deserve.”

5. Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno

“The Santos women never go to the sea.

Once upon a time a lifetime ago a pregnant woman escaped Cuba with her husband by climbing into a boat he had built in secret with nothing but scrap and desperate hope. They left their entire life in the dead of night. They were still too late. The storm was sudden and violent, and the baby could not wait. As he fought the raging sea, she screamed into the angry winds and pulled her wailing daughter from her body.”

6. Citizen Illegal by José Olivarez

“Mexican woman (illegal) and Mexican man (illegal)
have a Mexican (illegal)-American (citizen).
is the baby in the arms of the mother (illegal).
if the mother holds the baby (citizen)
too long, does the baby become illegal?”

7. Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

“The problem with your best friend dying is that there’s no one to sit with you at funerals.”

8. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

“Some people are born under a lucky star, while others have their misfortune telegraphed by the position of the planets. Casiopea Tun, named after a constellation, was born under the most rotten star imaginable in the firmament”

9. Blanca y Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

“Everyone has their own way of telling our story.

Some say it began generations ago, with a girl lured by the white birds in the woods. The moment she reached out a small hand toward their wind-fluttered feathers, a swan bit her, poisoning her blood.”

10. American Street by Ibi Zoboi

“If only I could break the glass separating me and Manman with my thoughts alone. On one side of the glass doors are the long lines of people with their photos and papers that prove that they belong here in America, that they are allowed to taste a bit of this free air. On the other side is me, pressing my forehead against the thick see-through wall. My shoulder hurts from the weight of the carry-on bag I refuse to put down for fear that they will take it away, too.”

Any of these opening lines you are intrigued by? Let me know in the comments and be sure to leave me a link to your own TTT post, so I can visit.

Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons Why I Love Rereading Books

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is “Reasons Why I Love [insert your favorite book title, genre, author, etc. here].” Anyone else draw a blank for this week’s topic? I was going to go with several authors and maybe a book, but none of them felt right. Finally I settled on rereading because it’s something I’ve been doing more of in the last couple of years but it’s also something I don’t see a lot of bloggers really loving as well. So for this post I will be talking about why rereading is something I love. Covers are linked to Goodreads.

1. That affirming feeling – Yes, there are books that you may reread that aren’t as good as you remember. But then there are those books you love and when you visit them again, they fill you with the same kind of love and you know years and years from now you will continue to pick them up and treasure them.

2. Seeing your own growth – Sometimes rereads are a letdown, not because the book has changed but because you have. There are many many many books I loved in the past that I know are not as good as I remember. I am not afraid of this feeling, it’s something I embrace. I am okay with being a different person than I was five years ago. It’s actually a good feeling to me to know I have changed (and that I have better taste in books).

3. Love usually increases – When I pick up a favorite book and it is just as good the second time around, I fall even more in love with it. I will scream my head off about it more than I would books I loved reading once.

4. Finding something new to love – One of my favorite things about rereading is finding something in the story to appreciate more. Maybe it’s a character or a bit of world building, but I love having a better appreciation for these stories.

5. Following the author’s breadcrumbs – Kind of related to the previous point, this especially goes for books who have storylines that shock you. I love seeing how an author lays the trap for the reader when a book has a devious twist.

6. Comfort reads – You can’t have a comfort read unless you’ve read a book before and you know how it makes you feel. I love my comfort reads and in times when I just need something familiar and reliable, I reach for a reread.

7. Helps you out of a slump – I know for a lot of people rereading favorite books is a way to get themselves out of a slump.

8. Reminds me why I love reading – Sometimes I get stuck in that reading and blogging cycle where I am only reading to blog about a book and not stopping to really enjoy it. Rereads reminds me how much I love reading and sometimes I need this reminder when blogging gets a little stressful.

Since I only gave you eight reasons, here are a few books I have reread over the last year and continue to love. Do check them out if you haven’t already.

Do you like to reread books? What’s the last book you reread? Let me know in the comments and be sure to leave me a link to your own TTT post, so I can visit.