Most Wanted Books of 2007

Most Wanted of 2007

What titles of 2007 are you most looking forward to as a reader? Are there any of your ‘favorite’ authors that are finally releasing another book? Have you anxiously been awaiting a sequel to a favorite book? Which books have you got marked on your calendar? Do you have any your dying to preorder? Share your ‘most wanted’ list in the comments if you like. Here is my list of most-wanted books.

Releasing June 1, 2007, from Harcourt Duchessina: A Novel of Catherine de Medici by Carolyn Meyer. Why am I excited? I absolutely love Carolyn Meyer. I love everything she's ever written. I love historical fiction. I can't wait to read this book. Here is the book description from Amazon: Young Catherine de' Medici is the sole heiress to the entire fortune of the wealthy Medici family. But her life is far from luxurious. After a childhood spent locked away behind the walls of a convent, she joins the household of the pope, where at last she can be united with her true love. But, all too soon, that love is replaced with an engagement to a boy who is cold and aloof. It soon becomes clear that Catherine will need all the cunning she can muster to command the respect she deserves as one of France's most powerful queens.
http://www.readcarolyn.com/

Releasing April 17, 2007, from Henry Holt Wildly Romantic: The English Romantic Poets: The Mad, the Bad, and the Dangerous by Catherine M. Andronik. Why am I excited about his book? I have a masters degree in English literature. One of my favorite classes was on the Romantic poets. And just read this description from Amazon: Rock stars may think they invented sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but the Romantic poets truly created the mold. In the early 1800s, poetry could land a person in jail. Those who tried to change the world through their poems risked notoriety—or courted it. Among the most subversive were a group of young writers known as the Romantics: Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Samuel Taylor Cole-ridge, William Wordsworth, and John Keats. These rebels believed poetry should express strong feelings in ordinary language, and their words changed literature forever. Wildly Romantic is a smart, sexy, and fascinating look at these original bad boys—and girls.

Releasing May 21, 2007, from Clarion The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt. Why am I excited about this book? I want to read this book for several reasons. a) I loved Lizzie Bright and The Buckminster Boy b) I've been hearing a lot of wonderful buzz about this book on Adbooks calling it one of the BEST books of the year c) I became really curious after reading the brief description on Amazon. Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero in "THE WEDNESDAY WARS"—a wonderfully witty and compelling novel about a teenage boy's mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967–68 school year. Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn't like Holling—he's sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation—the Big M—in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.

Releasing May 1, 2007, from Eos (aka HarperCollins) The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison. Why am I excited about this book? Two reasons. First, I really loved the Mira, Mirror. Loved it. Second, Orson Scott Card told me to. Not a good enough reason for you??? What??? You don't read what your FAVORITE author recommends? Well, I do. He reviewed it several months ago. You can read it here. Unfortunately, the title of The Princess and the Hound might lead young male readers to think it's a "girl's book" -- but it simply is not so. The hero of the story is the prince who is expected to marry the princess of the title. They live in a culture where people with a magical connection to animals are persecuted and often killed. Thus the prince has grown up trying to conceal his own magical gifts. A dutiful son, he will marry a foreign princess in order to keep the peace. But when he meets her, she is a strange girl indeed, who is regularly abused, not just by her father, but also by practically everyone else in the court. Why is she treated this way? When Mette Ivie Harrison takes us into a magical world, she is really taking us deeper into our own reality, where teenagers struggle to find some balance between the demands of the adult world, which insists that they fit in with established roles, and the demands of their own hearts, which yearn for freedom, for greatness, for something that is uniquely themselves. The result is a book that, on the surface, seems to be an extraordinarily edgy YA fantasy, but which is in fact as telling a novel of adolescence as A Separate Peace or Catcher in the Rye. Harrison is no longer merely a "promising" author, she is an accomplished one, and The Princess and the Hound is a classic. It defies rules and formulas. It does nothing in the way that other fantasies have taught us to expect. Yet every rule-defying decision by Harrison is exactly right, leading to a breathtakingly right ending.

Releasing April 3, 2007, from Henry Holt In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Ellsworth. Why am I excited about this book? I'm intrigued by the premise. It sounds like it would make for a great book. Here's the book description from Amazon: Sometimes the things that need to be discovered aren’t so easily found at home. Erin is certain that this is true in her case. A book is all that connects Erin to her mother, who died when she was a baby. But how much can Erin really learn about her mother from a tattered copy of To Kill a Mockingbird? On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Erin decides it’s finally time to find out. And so begins her bus journey from Minnesota to Alabama in search of Harper Lee, the reclusive author of Mockingbird. In a novel full of quirky characters, strange coincidences, and on-the-road adventures, Loretta Ellsworth deftly traces a unique voyage of self-discovery. If that isn't enough to convince you...maybe you'll be persuaded by this interview.

Releasing April 23, 2007, from Houghton Mifflin, Lemonade Wars by Jacqueline Davies. Why am I excited about this book? Besides the fact that the cover makes me thirsty...I really love the marketing campaign for this book. Have you seen the trailer??? Watch it here. Here is the book description: Evan Treski is people-smart. He is good at talking with people, even grownups. His younger sister, Jessie, on the other hand, is math-smart—but not especially good at understanding people. She knows that feelings are her weakest subject. So when their lemonade war begins, there really is no telling who will win—and even more important, if their fight will ever end. Here is a clever blend of humor and math fun. As it captures the one-of-a-kind bond between brother and sister, this poignant novel subtly explores how arguments can escalate beyond anyone’s intent. (Little known fact: my first piece of fiction--written when I was in third or fourth grade--was a story about a little girl who started a lemonade stand so she could save money and go on a nice vacation.)
http://www.jacquelinedavies.net/

Releasing October 2, 2007, Extras by Scott Westerfeld. Why am I excited about this book? I LOVE everything Scott Westerfeld. Love the Uglies trilogy. Loved Peeps and Last Days. Loved So Yesterday. Loved the Midnighters trilogy. I don't know precisely what this book will be about other than the fact that it's set in Tally world but told by a different world. But at this point, I trust Westerfeld to deliver a great book each and every time. So believe me, I want this book!!! To keep up with all things Westerfeld, visit his blogregularly.

Releasing August 21, 2007, Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor. Why am I excited about this book? I absolutely LOVED (enthusiastically loved) The Looking Glass Wars. I can't wait to read this sequel. Here is the great website for the series.
http://www.lookingglasswars.com/

Releasing May 1, 2007, Sisters Grimm: Once Upon A Crime by Michael Buckley. Why am I excited about this book? I love the Sisters Grimm series. Loved it. Can't praise it highly enough. They are the funnest books I've read. Books which I wish I had when I was a child. I would have devoured them then. I am still devouring them though. It is books like these that make reviewing such a pleasurable experience. Here is the book description: In the long-awaited fourth book in the New York Times bestselling series, the Grimms take on New York City! Surprises abound for Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, fairy-tale detectives extraordinaire. When they venture into the big city, they stumble upon a murder, face betrayal by a friend, and discover an amazing secret about their mother, Veronica. Sabrina just wants to be normal—no detecting, no dangerous escapes, and especially no Everafters. Unfortunately, New York City is a hiding spot for many famous fairy-tale folk. And there’s a murderer in their midst! The girls and their friends must figure out who killed Puck’s father, King Oberon, while coming to terms with their mother’s secret life. Will they stop the murderer before he or she can strike again? And will Sabrina ever accept her family’s destiny? The colorful world of the Grimms expands in new and hilarious directions in Once upon a Crime. Critics and readers alike have embraced the Sisters Grimm series and its independent, quick-thinking heroines.
http://www.sistersgrimm.com/newsite/index.html

While the first chapter of Eclipse will be available to read May 5, 2007, fans will have to wait until August 7, 2007, for the release of the much-anticipated ECLIPSE by Stephenie Meyer. Here is what Meyer's website says about the book: As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob—knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which? It is silly to ask why I am excited about this book. Stephenie Meyer is only the BEST OF THE BEST in YA circles. Twilight is beyond amazing...and New Moon is great. I'm not the only one anxiously waiting to see what will happen next to Bella and Edward. (It would be like birthday-christmas-easter all wrapped up in one to get an advanced copy of this one!!!)
http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/eclipse.html

Releasing May 1, 2007, Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz. Why am I excited about this book? I loved Blue Bloods. It was such a great vampire book. One that I recommend to fans of Twilight, by the way. Other than the fact that it continues the story and has a fun cover...I know little about this book. But I can't wait to read it.

Releasing in October 2007, Cross My Heart and Hope To Spy by Ally Carter. The sequel to I'd Tell You I Love, But Then I'd Have To Kill You. It's too soon, apparently, to have a book cover out yet on the web. And no book description either. But regardless, know that I am eagerly waiting for this sequel!!!
http://www.allycarter.com/index_ya.html

Releasing September 25, 2007, The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray. The sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels. Love the series, can't wait to read this sequel!!! Here's the book description: IT HAS BEEN A YEAR OF CHANGE since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Her mother murdered, her father a laudanum addict, Gemma has relied on an unsuspected strength and has discovered an ability to travel to an enchanted world called the realms, where dark magic runs wild. Despite certain peril, Gemma has bound the magic to herself and forged unlikely new alliances. Now, as Gemma approaches her London debut, the time has come to test these bonds. The Order - the mysterious group her mother was once part of - is grappling for control of the realms, as is the Rakshana. Spence's burned East Wing is being rebuilt, but why now? Gemma and her friends see Pippa, but she is not the same. And their friendship faces its gravest trial as Gemma must decide once and for all what role she is meant for.

I am exhausted but happy from starting this list. To find my complete WISH LIST, just look to the column on the right. I update this list regularly. Many are upcoming releases, a few are titles that are technically released but not yet available at my local library. They'll remain on my 'wish list' until I get my hands on a copy.