What Are You Reading Wednesday (June 23, 2021)

It’s time again to ask ourselves the three W’s:
What if someone kidnapped your twin brother?
Would you try to get him back?
Would you travel to another world to do it?

Wait, no, that’s not right. We ask these three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
Which books will you read next?

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.

               

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

★★★★★ || Goodreads
This book was just breathtaking. I don’t even know how to describe it without spoilers. There’s just plot twist after plot twist, and I loved it. Never quite knew what was going to happen next. Cara is a fabulous protagonist, who came from a crappy background and is really just trying to make the best for herself. She’s an antihero and a gray character, struggling with the person she was (and is in some worlds) and who she wants to become. I’m honestly not sure what else to say about this other than it was splendid and everyone should read it immediately.

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

★★★★☆ || Goodreads
This was my first Truly Devious book, and I really enjoyed it! It was pitched as a standalone in the series, and I thought it did well at that. Of course, you’ll get more out of it having read the previous books, but I wasn’t lost or confused on any points. Stevie made for a super relatable protagonist, with her awkwardness and anxiety. Nate was definitely my favorite, though. He’s my spirit animal. We’re obviously kindred souls. I will say that while I didn’t guess the murderer, I think that was partly because it came out of nowhere and the mystery would have been unsolvable except for some really fortuitous finds at the last minute, which was a bit disappointing. I love slow builds in mysteries, clue by clue, rather than an unguessable conclusion. That’s just personal preference, though. All being said, I’m definitely going to go back and read the first three books in this series, because I had so much fun with this and really enjoyed the characters.

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

★★★★☆ || Goodreads
This book both hurt my heart and made me smile. Ugh. A caveat here that YA contemporary romance is just not my thing. However, romance between Black teens is a much-needed yes. Plus, so many people were talking about how fantastic this book is that I got caught up in the buzz. It happens to the best of us. I think the buzz around this one is well founded. The book is super sweet and also emotional, tugging at the heartstrings in all the right places. I don’t want to say too much, because my spot on the blog tour is coming up, so keep an eye out for my review!

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

★★★★☆ || Goodreads
Okay, so, this was my first Weir book … and I loved it! Definitely gonna go back and read The Martian now. This was a bit of a trek. The pacing felt wonky in a couple places, where it kind of slowed down to a crawl and I felt my attention waning. That being said, though, there were freaking plot twists and I absolutely loved it. The characters felt familiar and easy to root for, and they wormed their way into my heart. There’s a nice balance of science and math for the nerdy readers and explanations of the aforementioned for the less math-inclined (like myself). So it was pretty easy to follow along with, either way. I can’t recommend this one enough! It was fabulous.

The Wolf’s Curse by Jessica Vitalis

★★★★☆ || Goodreads
I sat down and read this in one go. Definitely made me tear up in several places. It’s maybe a bit on-the-nose for me right now, considering the protagonist loses his grandfather. Still, relatable books are some of the best! I love middle grade books that tackle grief, and this one definitely does that. It’s a little dark, so maybe not for the younger crowd, but in a way that I think 8+ will understand and really relate to. Gauge is trying to find his place in the world while also mourning the loss of his grandfather. The world is magical and slightly dark, but filled with beauty too, and Vitalis does a marvelous job balancing the two. This doesn’t come out until the end of this year, but I’m (hopefully) doing an interview with the author, so I wanted to get ahead on reading it, and I wasn’t disappointed. Keep an eye out for my review (and hopefully interview) in the coming months!

I’m still plugging away at Wanderers and I’m sitting right around 70%. The one scene sort of killed it for me, but it feels like it’s moving past that now, so I’m starting to build momentum in it again. Very curious about where this is headed! I will say that considering how long this book is, it’s been pretty fast-paced and easy to get into.

Rea and the Blood of the Nectar by Payal Doshi
Status: 160/369

A middle-grade fantasy about twelve-year-old Rea Chettri, who portals into an otherworldly realm to go on a secret quest to find her missing twin brother Rohan. The clock is ticking in this fast-paced, thrilling, and exciting adventure rife with evil creatures, a ruthless villain, and unforgettable friendships.

It all begins on the night Rea turns twelve. After a big fight with her twin brother Rohan on their birthday, Rea’s life in the small village of Darjeeling, India, gets turned on its head. It’s four in the morning and Rohan is nowhere to be found.

It hasn’t even been a day and Amma acts like Rohan’s gone forever. Her grandmother, too, is behaving strangely. Unwilling to give up on her brother, Rea and her friend Leela meet Mishti Daadi, a wrinkly old fortune-teller whose powers of divination set them off on a thrilling and secret quest. In the shade of night, they portal into an otherworldly realm and travel to Astranthia, a land full of magic and whimsy. There with the help of Xeranther, an Astranthian barrow boy, and Flula, a pari, Rea battles serpent-lilies and blood-sucking banshees, encounters a butterfly-faced woman and blue lizard-men, and learns that Rohan has been captured. Rea also discovers that she is a princess with magic. Only she has no idea how to use it.

Struggling with the truth her Amma has kept hidden from her, Rea must solve clues that lead to Rohan, find a way to rescue him and save Astranthia from a potentially deadly fate. But the clock is ticking. Can she rescue Rohan, save Astranthia, and live to see it all?

Rea and the Blood of the Nectar is Payal Doshi’s stunning middle-grade fantasy debut about understanding complex family dynamics, fighting for what is right, discovering oneself, and learning to make friends.

I used to live for portal fantasy as a tween and teen! Not gonna lie, it’s been a minute since I really read a lot of it, so it feels kind of nice to get back to my roots. Best of all, this is an adventure set in India and filled with Indian culture, which I’m super excited to see! I may have squeed just a teensy bit at the first mention of Diwali and saris and things that have become somewhat familiar to me, while discovering other wonderful things about Indian culture at the same time.

   

The Ice Lion

My library received its copy before I had a chance to read my eARC. Oops? So I’m going to try to squeeze this in next! I absolutely love apocalypse books, and I’m really curious to see this take on a post-apocalyptic future, where the Earth is a frozen wasteland and creatures are struggling to survive.

Questland

This sounds like a gloriously nerdy book, and I am soooo ready for this! Time to embrace my nerdy side. I’m a huge fan of the game-gone-wrong trope, so I’m looking forward to seeing this take on it. I’m also always down for Monty Python references. This sounds like it’s just going to be a heck of a fun read!

What are you reading this week? Share in the comments below!

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