Favorite Recent Reads: Part Two

If you missed Part One, click here. I'm mainly convelescing in my bed with pnuemonia and while I do have two MS's I'm working on, my brain can't always revise, so I've been gorging on books.

Next up are two debuts I requested from Netgalley. These copies are given free for an honest review and I'm thrilled to be able to say that I LOVED these reads. I read each one in a single day and then danced around in happy book bliss (you know, like a runner's high, but instead that floating joy you feel after finishing a satisfying book). I will happily swoop up any and all future books by these authors (and get physical copies of these books as well, as I do for all my favorite reads.)

SKY JUMPERS by Peggy Eddleman is a satisfying middle grade read. Like Sanderson, Peggy created a detailed, believable (post WWIII) world. One that I want to experience. I don't know if I'll ever have the guts to sky dive, but I want to think I'd have the courage to take a deep breath and dive into the Bomb's Breath-especially if it was to save the people I love. Hope is a character I could relate to on a deep level. And even with all the serious, Peggy nailed the humor (a must for MG IMO), adding it just where it was needed while still keeping the tension rising. I'm giving this book to my kids and hope you'll share it with yours as well.

From Goodreads:
12-year-old Hope lives in White Rock, a town struggling to recover from the green bombs of World War III. The bombs destroyed almost everything that came before, so the skill that matters most in White Rock—sometimes it feels like the only thing that matters—is the ability to invent so that the world can regain some of what it’s lost.

But Hope is terrible at inventing and would much rather sneak off to cliff dive into the Bomb’s Breath—the deadly band of air that covers the crater the town lives in—than fail at yet another invention.

When bandits discover that White Rock has invented priceless antibiotics, they invade. The town must choose whether to hand over the medicine and die from disease in the coming months or to die fighting the bandits now. Hope and her friends, Aaren and Brock, might be the only ones who can escape through the Bomb’s Breath and make the dangerous trek over the snow-covered mountain to get help.

For once, inventing isn’t the answer, but the daring and risk-taking that usually gets Hope into trouble might just save them all.

RED by Alison Cherry is another book with an intricately created world. This book isn't science fiction, like the first two, but a contemporary tale with a made up, but real feeling town of Scarletville, Iowa. It's a haven for redheads, but not so much for any unfortunate brunettes, blondes, or heaven forbid, a strawbie.

From Goodreads: Felicity St. John has it all—loyal best friends, a hot guy, and artistic talent. And she’s right on track to win the Miss Scarlet pageant. Her perfect life is possible because of just one thing: her long, wavy, coppery red hair.

Having red hair is all that matters in Scarletville. Redheads hold all the power—and everybody knows it. That’s why Felicity is scared down to her roots when she receives an anonymous note:

I know your secret.

Because Felicity is a big fake. Her hair color comes straight out of a bottle. And if anyone discovered the truth, she’d be a social outcast faster than she could say "strawberry blond." Her mother would disown her, her friends would shun her, and her boyfriend would dump her. And forget about winning that pageant crown and the prize money that comes with it—money that would allow her to fulfill her dream of going to art school.

Felicity isn’t about to let someone blackmail her life away. But just how far is she willing to go to protect her red cred?

Felicity is a great MC and her supporting characters walked off the page-esp. Ivy (my fav.) and Jonathan. Alison set up a great premise for an amazingly fun read. I took my kindle with me everywhere, sneaking in a page here and there at school meetings and red lights. I'm not much for pageants or populars, but I was into this book and the dilemma of what Felicity would do. Also, I wanted to smack her mother a time or two. Any mom who says, "It's the face you present to the world that matters, not how you feel inside." is in trouble in my book.

It's funny, it's deep, and there are the sweetest moments and some of the most delicious fries eaten. You will be hungry, you will laugh, and you will definitely think about the redheads in your life and how they normally feel. Here's to not judging people by the color of their hair or their skin, but what's inside.

Have you read any of these beauties? What did you think? Any advise for my next MUST READ?

Also, my first page of GUTTER GIRL is up for First Impressions on Dianne K Salerni's In High Spirits and Marcy Hatch's Mainewords. I'd be grateful if you'd visit one of them and let me know what you think:D Thanks in advance!