Best YA Reads of 2020 so Far!

Posted on 16 September 2020 by Jody

2020 might not have been the best year so far, but the positive side of things it has been a great year for Young Adult fiction.

I don’t know about most people but I enjoy reading YA fiction; in particular YA fantasy novels and this year there has been some great titles already released and more still to come.

So in the interest of spreading the word about great YA fantasy reads I thought I would share with you some of the new releases I have read and the ones I can’t wait to read and not forgetting my all-time-favourites!

I hope you discover something great to read!

Jody

2020 Releases

The Shadows Between Us by Trivia Levenseller

The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant

Sisters of the Sword by Rebecca Ross, paperback edition released October 2020.

The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Coming Soon

Lightbringer, book three in the Empirium series by Claire Legrand released November 2020. Book one – Furyborn and Book two – Kingsbane

Of Silver and Shadow by Jennifer Gruenke, released February 2021. I forget where I even came across this title but is sounds great. However thanks to the COVID the publishing date has been pushed back to February 2021.

The Silvered Serpents, book two in The Gilded Wolves series by Roshani Chokshi. Book one – The Gilded Wolves.

All Time Favourties

The Tiger at Midnight, book one Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala Look out for book two ‘The Archer at Dawn’.

La Belle Sauvage, book one of The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman. Book two – The Secret Commonwealth

The Red Queen, book one of The Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard. Book two – Glass Sword, book three – King’s Cage, book four War Storm.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

The Kiss of Deception, book one of the Ramnant series by Mary E. Pearson. Book two – The Heart of Betrayal, book three – The Beauty of Darkness

P.S

Just in case you missed it you, might want to back-track and listen to the Podcast we did on YA Reads to check out some more recommendations!

Book Club Reviews

Posted on 11 September 2020 by Jody

As most of our book clubs have started to meet again in some capacity, either online, in cafes or in their homes I thought it would be nice to share with you some of their book reviews.

The Cultcha Club book club recently read ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo‘ by Christy Lefteri and rated it a solid 6/10.

Our Dundas Readers just finished reading ‘The Umbrian Supper Club‘ by Marlena de Blasi which they rated 5/10.

You can read both clubs comments below.

Enjoy!

Jody

Cultcha Club – ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo‘ by Christy Lefteri

Nuri, a beekeeper, struggling to hold onto hope as he leaves war torn Syria, with his wife, Afra, blind from the horrors she has seen. We follow their journey as refugees as they attempt to make their way to England, seeking asylum, hoping to reunite with his cousin.

This book is beautifully written despite its tragedy. Hauntingly beautiful, at times blurring the lines of reality. While this book is fiction, it felt incredibly real and as if we were reading a personal account. We watch the couple not only struggle with the physical journey, but also their relationship and finding hope and happiness after all they have endured due to things beyond their control. While the writing is lovely, and the writer knows her subject well, we felt the story lost its way a little in the middle.

Dundas Readers – ‘The Umbrian Supper Club‘ by Marlena de Blasi

Our library book club choice. A small group of mainly elderly Italians meet each Thursday night for supper. Previously their leader Miranda has cooked for them but as she is aging they begin sharing the meal preparations. Food is the predominant obsession for these people and it is an inextricable element of their culture and everyday lives. Over food and wine, in seemingly endless quantities, five of the women in particular share intimate life stories.

The book is well written but the enormous amount of often repetitive details about food began to be quite nauseating. Nevertheless, if you’re interested in Italian food and culture I think you’d enjoy it and might even be tempted to try making one of the many recipes at the back of the book.

Parra Reads Book Club Wrap-Up & September Pick!

Posted on 1 September 2020 by Jody

I made it! Finally managed to finish one book club title for August just before we reach the end of the month. I am so happy with myself. I literally just finished reading ‘Six Minutes‘ by Petronella McGovern and thought to my self I had to hop straight onto Parra Reads and write about it.

If you haven’t already guessed by the tone of my writing, I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact there wasn’t one section through the whole flow of the book that I did not enjoy. Sometimes when I finish a book and even though I have enjoyed it there are often some characters or story lines that I am not interested in. This wasn’t the case with ‘Six Minutes’, every character and every story line interested me and was relevant to the whole story.

On the cover of ‘Six Minutes’ best selling author Liane Moriarty describes the book as, ‘Impossible to put down. Full of twists and turns you won’t see coming! I loved this fabulous debut novel.’ I would have to agree with that description but I also think it is also so much more.

The setting, characters and their lives felt so real, like you are a part of the story watching the news or browsing through your Facebook feed. I haven’t experienced that with a book in a long time. Halfway through ‘Six Minutes’, I jumped online and ordered a copy of Petronella’s new book ‘The Good Teacher’, don’t worry we have ordered library copies too.

I am still reading our second August title, ‘Stranger Country‘ by Monica Tan. So far I am finding it an interesting and enjoyable read. I especially like reading about the Australian landscape.

To read something totally different in September we have chosen ‘A Thousand Ships‘ by Natalie Hayes which is a retelling of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective. And this month to take the pressure off everyone we will only be reading one book.

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Coming Soon! Books I can’t Wait to Read

Posted on 28 August 2020 by Jody

One of my favourite duties is researching and staying up-to-date with all the new book releases that come out each month. After all it is our job to make sure we offer you, our community of readers a wide selection of the up-and-coming new releases!

While some deliveries and publications dates have been delayed & affected by the COVID pandemic, publishers and our amazing suppliers are working hard to ensure we don’t have to wait too long for all the amazing new books.

Below I have listed a few of the up-and-coming new releases I can’t wait to read. When I say can’t wait to read, it means I have pre-ordered my own personal copy so you our readers are first in line to reserve our ‘New Books’. And yes we have ordered copies for the library!

On order titles can be placed on hold via our online library Catalogue or by asking one of our super friendly librarians for assistance. A note to remember though any holds/reserves placed on ‘On Order’ titles may take a while to arrive and do count towards your five (5) holds/reserves limit.

Now to the important stuff, the books!

Hope you find something among my picks to read. Maybe you will discover an author you hadn’t heard of before and embark on a wonderful journey through all their titles.

Don’t forget you can also make a ‘Suggestion for Purchase’ for a any title you think our community of readers would like to read.

Happy Reading!

Jody

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