Feb 3, 2023
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We’re headed for the end of the year, but there are still so many books I want to read! Here are five books I want to tackle before 2019 comes to a close. What books are you hoping to squeeze in before the end of the year?
Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett Knopf Books for Young Readers
In a community that isn’t always understanding, an HIV-positive teen must navigate fear, disclosure, and radical self-acceptance when she falls in love–and lust–for the first time. Powerful and uplifting, Full Disclosure will speak to fans of Angie Thomas and Nicola Yoon.
Simone Garcia-Hampton is starting over at a new school, and this time things will be different. She’s making real friends, making a name for herself as student director of Rent, and making a play for Miles, the guy who makes her melt every time he walks into a room. The last thing she wants is for word to get out that she’s HIV-positive, because last time . . . well, last time things got ugly.
Keeping her viral load under control is easy, but keeping her diagnosis under wraps is not so simple. As Simone and Miles start going out for real–shy kisses escalating into much more–she feels an uneasiness that goes beyond butterflies. She knows she has to tell him that she’s positive, especially if sex is a possibility, but she’s terrified of how he’ll react! And then she finds an anonymous note in her locker: I know you have HIV. You have until Thanksgiving to stop hanging out with Miles. Or everyone else will know too.
Simone’s first instinct is to protect her secret at all costs, but as she gains a deeper understanding of the prejudice and fear in her community, she begins to wonder if the only way to rise above is to face the haters head-on…
I Hope You Get This Message by Farah Naz Rishi HarperTeen
Seven days. Seven days. The Earth might end in seven days.
When news stations start reporting that Earth has been contacted by a planet named Alma, the world is abuzz with rumors that the alien entity is giving mankind only few days to live before they hit the kill switch on civilization.
For high school truant Jesse Hewitt, though, nothing has ever felt permanent. Not the guys he hooks up with. Not the jobs his underpaid mom works so hard to hold down. Life has dealt him one bad blow after another — so what does it matter if it all ends now? Cate Collins, on the other hand, is desperate to use this time to find the father she’s never met, the man she grew up hearing wild stories about, most of which she didn’t believe. And then there’s Adeem Khan. While coding and computer programming have always come easily to him, forgiveness doesn’t. He can’t seem to forgive his sister for leaving, even though it’s his last chance.
With only seven days to face their truths and right their wrongs, Jesse, Cate, and Adeem’s paths collide even as their worlds are pulled apart.
The Never Tilting World (The Never Tilting World #1) by Rin Chupeco HarperTeen
Frozen meets Mad Max in this epic teen fantasy duology bursting with star-crossed romance, immortal heroines, and elemental magic, perfect for fans of Furyborn.
Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But seventeen years ago, one sister’s betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. The planet ceased to spin, and a Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in perpetual night, the other scorched by an unrelenting sun.
While one sister rules Aranth—a frozen city surrounded by a storm-wracked sea —her twin inhabits the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter, and each keeps her own secrets about her sister’s betrayal.
But when shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, back to the site of the Breaking, the two young goddesses —along with a powerful healer from Aranth, and a mouthy desert scavenger —set out on separate journeys across treacherous wastelands, desperate to heal their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.
A River of Royal Blood (A River of Royal Blood #1) by Amanda Joy Putnam
An enthralling debut perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone set in a North African-inspired fantasy world where two sisters must fight to the death to win the crown.
Sixteen-year-old Eva is a princess, born with the magick of marrow and blood–a dark and terrible magick that hasn’t been seen for generations in the vibrant but fractured country of Myre. Its last known practitioner was Queen Raina, who toppled the native khimaer royalty and massacred thousands, including her own sister, eight generations ago, thus beginning the Rival Heir tradition. Living in Raina’s long and dark shadow, Eva must now face her older sister, Isa, in a battle to the death if she hopes to ascend to the Ivory Throne–because in the Queendom of Myre only the strongest, most ruthless rulers survive.
When Eva is attacked by an assassin just weeks before the battle with her sister, she discovers there is more to the attempt on her life than meets the eye–and it isn’t just her sister who wants to see her dead. As tensions escalate, Eva is forced to turn to a fey instructor of mythic proportions and a mysterious and handsome khimaer prince for help in growing her magick into something to fear. Because despite the love she still has for her sister, Eva will have to choose: Isa’s death or her own.
A River of Royal Blood is an enthralling debut set in a lush North African inspired fantasy world that subtly but powerfully challenges our notions of power, history, and identity.
Rogue Heart (Rebel Seoul #2) by Axie Oh Tu Books
NEO BEIJING, 2201. Two years after the Battle of Neo Seoul, eighteen-year-old telepath Ama works by day in a cafe and moonlights as a lounge singer in a smoky bar at night. She’s anonymous, she’s safe from the seemingly never-ending war, and that’s how she’d like to stay. But then PHNX, a resistance group specializing in espionage and covert missions, approaches her with an offer to expose a government experiment exactly like the one she fled. Soon, Ama is traveling with PHNX on a series of dangerous assignments, using her telepathic powers to aid the rebellion against the authoritarian Alliance.
As the war ramps up, PHNX is given its most dangerous mission yet: to infiltrate the base of the Alliance’s new war commander, a young man rumored to have no fear of death. But when Ama sees the commander for the first time, she discovers his identity: Alex Kim, the boy she once loved and who betrayed her.
Now, Ama must use her telepathic abilities to pose as an officer in Alex’s elite guard, manipulating Alex’s mind so that he doesn’t recognize her. As the final battle approaches, Ama struggles with her mission and her feelings for Alex. Will she be able to carry out her task? Or will she give up everything for Alex again—only to be betrayed once more?
Part heist novel, part love story, Rogue Heart is perfect for fans of Marie Lu’s Warcross and Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series.
Book updates
Just finished Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan. Ngl, I started it based on @superheroesincolor recommendation without knowing much about it, and I bought the sequel before I finished the 1st book as I loved it that much.
Currently reading How Long 'Til Black Future Month by N.K. Jemison. It's a collection of short stories, so I read just a couple between reading novel length books. I bought it because I love her other novels and wanted to check out her other stuff.
Reading next: Rogue Heart by Axie Oh. This is a sequel to Rebel Seoul, which I read and very much enjoyed. Look into my tags for my review of the 1st book.
Will also read Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi (the sequel to Children of Blood and Bone which I read this past spring) and the 2nd book by Ngan I mentioned at the top of this post - Girls of Storm and Shadow.
I'm off work until January 6th & my spouse is taking our 4 yr old to another state to visit family for 5 days. I'll be able to knock out my reading list with no issues.
Title: Rogue Heart (Rebel Seoul #2) Author: Axie Oh Genres: Science Fiction Pages: 353 Publisher: Tu Books Review Copy: Purchased Availability: Available now
Summary: NEO BEIJING, 2201. Two years after the Battle of Neo Seoul, eighteen-year-old telepath Ama works by day in a cafe and moonlights as a lounge singer in a smoky bar at night. She’s anonymous, she’s safe from the seemingly never-ending war, and that’s how she’d like to stay. But then PHNX, a resistance group specializing in espionage and covert missions, approaches her with an offer to expose a government experiment exactly like the one she fled. Soon, Ama is traveling with PHNX on a series of dangerous assignments, using her telepathic powers to aid the rebellion against the authoritarian Alliance.
As the war ramps up, PHNX is given its most dangerous mission yet: to infiltrate the base of the Alliance’s new war commander, a young man rumored to have no fear of death. But when Ama sees the commander for the first time, she discovers his identity: Alex Kim, the boy she once loved and who betrayed her.
Now, Ama must use her telepathic abilities to pose as an officer in Alex’s elite guard, manipulating Alex’s mind so that he doesn’t recognize her. As the final battle approaches, Ama struggles with her mission and her feelings for Alex. Will she be able to carry out her task? Or will she give up everything for Alex again—only to be betrayed once more?
Part heist novel, part love story, Rogue Heart is perfect for fans of Marie Lu’s Warcross and Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series.
Review: I was looking forward to getting back into the world Axie Oh built in Rebel Seoul, and I am delighted to say it’s just as much fun as I remember. This time around, Ama is our narrator, with Jaewon and Tera only showing up as supporting characters in the second half. I’m happy to report that Ama is just as engaging a narrator as Jaewon was. Due to the mental powers granted to Ama by the Amaterasu project, Rogue Heart ends up being more of a spy novel compared to Rebel Seoul’s giant robot war novel (though the giant robots and the war are ever-present in the background). It’s a fun change of pace to see other facets of the rebellion against the Alliance, and it was exciting to follow Ama and the other PHNX members as they did their work from the shadows.
One of my favorite sub-plots in Rogue Heart was the confirmation that other Neo Cities besides Neo Seoul were also running their own versions of the Amaterasu program. That’s exactly the kind of world-expanding I love in companion novels/sequels, and the way Ama handled her Neo Beijing counterparts were some of my favorite scenes in the book. Tsuko also got a lot more fleshing out in Rogue Heart, and Ama’s scenes with him were equally great. How to make ethical, moral decisions in wartime is a theme I’m fond of, and Rogue Heart gave the characters plenty of opportunities to ask themselves and others that very question. Where is the border between what you’re willing to do and the step too far?
Like Ama’s decision to go undercover to spy on Alex. And by going undercover I mean using her telepathic abilities to change his perception of her, to take information from his mind, to make him forget things, and so on. Ama struggled with the way her relationship with and perception of Alex had changed prior to the start of the novel and how she got to know him in the course of her undercover work. It was messy and complicated and an interesting way to reintroduce characters who had known and (thought they) loved each other. I enjoyed the glimpses we got into Alex’s character and his grief, and the resolution of their joint plot was satisfying even though the very end of the book as a whole felt a bit rushed.
Recommendation: Get it soon. Rogue Heart is a worthy sequel/companion to Rebel Seoul. Ama’s turn as the narrator allowed us to explore this world in a new way, and her espionage plot with Alex was compelling. Overall, an entertaining return to a fun science-fiction world.
Extras Axie Oh’s ‘Rogue Heart’ on the Why We Write podcast For a wave of Korean American young adult novelists, Korean pop culture is a touchstone at NBCNews
More character design sketches, this time shirtless ones for what is perhaps my favorite story I've written in the past 3 years
Hey fellas is it gay to [REDACTED]
NEO BEIJING, 2201. Two years after the Battle of Neo Seoul, eighteen-year-old telepath Ama works by day in a cafe and moonlights as a lounge singer in a smoky bar at night. She’s anonymous, she’s safe from the seemingly never-ending war, and that’s how she’d like to stay. But then PHNX, a resistance group specializing in espionage and covert missions, approaches her with an offer to expose a government experiment exactly like the one she fled. Soon, Ama is traveling with PHNX on a series of dangerous assignments, using her telepathic powers to aid the rebellion against the authoritarian Alliance. As the war ramps up, PHNX is given its most dangerous mission yet: to infiltrate the base of the Alliance’s new war commander, a young man rumored to have no fear of death. But when Ama sees the commander for the first time, she discovers his identity: Alex Kim, the boy she once loved and who betrayed her. Now, Ama must use her telepathic abilities to pose as an officer in Alex's elite guard, manipulating Alex’s mind so that he doesn’t recognize her. As the final battle approaches, Ama struggles with her mission and her feelings for Alex. Will she be able to carry out her task? Or will she give up everything for Alex again—only to be betrayed once more?
☭ x
Battle Intro: Cytus - The Silence ‘Guns…I don’t want to fight you…’Victory: ‘I knew this would happen, are you okay? Did I hurt you?’Half HP: ‘Heh, you…bein serious or just playin, babe?’Low HP: ‘Fuck…whatever I did, I’m sorry. Calm down.’Defeat: ‘Ow…okay, you win. Can you just come here? I need to know you’re okay.’Death: ‘What…what did I do? Guns…why?’Assist: ‘I’m here and got your back, who we fuckin up?’Taunt: ‘Come on babe, I know you can go harder than that.’Reacting to Taunt: ‘Ouch, damn, straight to my glitched up soul.’Flee: ‘I ain’t fightin you if it risks dustin you, I ain’t doin that.’Reacting to Flee: ‘Wait, did I do somethin wrong? Why’d you hit and run?’Tie: ‘We’re both winners, how bout a victory kiss, babe?’Perfect Victory: ‘You’re not hurt right? Want me to kiss it better?’Low HP Victory: ‘Fuckin hurts, god damn…hey, come here and let me kiss you.’Finishing Move: Serious, he wouldn’t keep up the fight, he’d find a way to hold Guns down and rationalize with Guns. He doesn’t want to fight them. Playful, he’d toy with Guns by levitating and trying to hold Guns down with his threads, throwing teasing flirts the whole time.
@thescienceoflove
