Book Recommendation for March 2018

I seem to have dropped the ball with this month's book recommendation! I did it, posted it to my Instagram (@lindseysfrantz), and then forgot to post it here or on my Facebook! It may be a tad late, but it's here! March's book recommendation is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle!

I thought this was an appropriate choice for March for two reasons. The first is I just finished re-reading it so it was fresh on my mind! The second is because of the movie (which dropped last weekend and which I cannot wait to see)!

A Wrinkle in Time is such a gorgeous book. The science fantasy premise is a wonderful blending of time and space bending with magical creatures and characters. When people ask me what my favorite genre is, I always say young adult (YA), but I never know whether to specify fantasy or science fiction, because I love them so much. This book (and others, like The Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey) blend the two in the best way. The overarching theme of good overcoming evil is heartwarming, and the prose itself is, obviously, stellar.

I read this book as a child, and when I re-read it, I fell in love with it all over again. In my opinion, this book is appropriate for tweens and up! It’s complex enough for an adult to enjoy while being extremely engaging for young adults, as well. The YA genre is so very popular because of how accessible and enjoyable it is for such a huge array of ages. A Wrinkle in Time is unique in this genre because it appeals to an even larger demographic (tweens, rather than just teens and up).

"It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract."

A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.

A Wrinkle in Time is the winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal. It is the first book in The Time Quintet, which consists of A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time.

A Wrinkle in Time is soon to be a movie from Disney, directed by Ava DuVernay, starring Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling."

source: Macmillan Publishers

Book Recommendation for February 2018

Under the Never Sky is the first in a trilogy by Veronica Rossi. (There are also two novellas, which I haven't read yet, set in the same world.) This book was from the same "cure your Hunger Games hangover" list as the first, and it did not disappoint. I sat down with this book at home one Saturday morning (before I had babies) and finished it that afternoon. I couldn't put it down. When I was done, I told my husband we needed to go to Lexington, about 45 minutes away, and when we got there, I told him it was because a bookstore there had the second and third books in the series and I needed them right that minute. This book was one of the main inspirations for the alternating perspectives in my own book. I saw that Rossi did it beautifully and just knew that adding a second perspective to my book (Finn's) was exactly what it was missing. It's a book I recommend to anyone and everyone who enjoys action, adventure, and love, all with the added stress of a dying world.

"Fighting to survive in a ravaged world, a Dweller and a Savage form an unlikely alliance in New York Timesbestselling author Veronica Rossi's "unforgettable dystopian masterpiece" (Examiner.com).

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive. A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption.

In alternating chapters told in Aria's and Perry's voices, Under the Never Sky subtly and powerfully captures the evolving relationship between these characters and sweeps readers away to a harsh but often beautiful world. Continuing with Through the Ever Night and concluding with Into the Still Blue, the Under the Never Sky trilogy has already been embraced by readers in twenty-six countries and been optioned for film by Warner Bros."

source: Harper Collins Publishers

Book Recommendation for January 2018

Incarnate, by Jodi Meadows, is the first in a three book series. I found a list of 25 books online titled something like "Books to Cure Your Hunger Games Hangover." So I sent the list to my mom, and she bought all of them. I was overwhelmed, and busy, so I just put them all on my shelf and decided to wait to read any until I had some free time. About three months later, my husband and I went to the beach (on our anniversary) with his band. I looked through my new books and the cover of this book (below) just called to me. I started it the first day we were there, when he was busy with his band all day, and finished it a few hours later. I couldn't put it down. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys young adult literature, musical prose, and lots of excitement, mystery, and the sweetest romance.

"NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life."