Mid-April Book Haul

So I says to myself earlier this year I says, "Meredith, quit buying so many books when you's on a readin' slump! How bout this, you're on a book-buyin' ban until you get outta ya slump and finish readin' some books for once." And for once I listened to my inner voice who is a grumpy New York City taxi driver apparently, and didn't buy books for a while. However, I have gotten out of my slump and have reaped the rewards by buying many, many awesome books and oh my goodness I cannot wait until to read all of these amazing finds!

And in my last book blurb (I have no idea what to call these things so blurb it is!) of this list, Fire with Fire, I also talk a little about my book signing experience with Jenny Han! I got there a little late, which is why I did not do a full post on the experience, but it was so much fun nonetheless and loved every minute of it. Well, I can barely contain myself so without further ado, let's get on to the haul! (all links lead to the books summary and their respective goodreads pages).

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Shopping at a used bookstore can be either hit or miss, but oh goodness did I get a hit this time.  Not only did I find this raved about spaceship dystopian, but I found the first edition that isn't sold anymore and it comes with a map of the spaceship on the reverse side of the book sleeve. I know. I know. I can't believe it either. I mean I can't tell you how much this makes me so incredibly happy. Not only is the cover gorgeous (look at that beautiful nebular thing), but I have heard nothing, and I mean nothing, but good things about this book series. This book is about a girl has woken from cryo-sleep when in transit to another planet and has to find out why essentially. It's such an original idea that completely blows my rocketship socks off. I'm not very familiar with space dystopia, but I'm looking to change that with this awesome looking novel.

Rebel Angels and A Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
Also a part of my used bookstore buying experience, I was so glad when I stumbled upon these books. I had read the first book of this series, the Gemma Doyle trilogy, titled A Great and Terrible Beauty, back in high school and fell in love with the Victorian feeling that the setting offered and the paranormal occurrences the surround Gemma Doyle at Spence Academy.  I can't wait to jump head first back into this beautifully written series. And let's get a round of applause for these beautiful book covers, too.  Can you tell I'm a sucker for a good book cover?

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
I am one of the very few people who never had to read this classic growing up.  I did, however, get to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn back in high school and found it highly entertaining. I am also a fan of Walt Disney World's Tom Sawyer island and now I'll finally understand the whimsy and adventure that Disney found in this book that drove him to build an entire island at my all time favorite theme park. Let's not forget that this is one of those heavily referenced cultural classics and at this point in my life I feel so behind because, like I said, I have yet to experience this darling read.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
This book has been out for a grand total of two days, and I have already heard so much hype about this novel.  And right when I was getting into a contemporary genre kick, this book could not have been released at a better time. It's pretty much about a girl who has written all her past crushes love letters, but never sent them. The thing is, someone sends them and she has to deal with the consequences. The back also describes the letters she writes as a sort of exorcism of love. She writes them when she gets over a love or crush, which makes the situation even more upsetting and dramatic, especially for the audience.  I'm so excited to read this book and I can already tell that it will probably end up as one of my favorites.

Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
I was enthralled by the first book of this trilogy, Burn for Burn, and immediately bought the next installment. Burn for Burn kind of blew my mind, so of course I recommended it to everyone who would listen and got my best friend hooked on it. She ended up reading both books in the span of three days, and I've been avoiding spoilers from her ever since. Which is why this book is either next or second on my to-be-read list because I need more of the revenge-iverse that is this wonderful series.  Oh, and I got to meet the amazing Jenny Han this week at a book discussion/signing she did with Sarah Dessen! She was so nice and we nerded out over booktubers, her book series, and what it was like co-authoring a book series with your best friend (the answer: lots of notes on chapters and lots of trust).  And I love the fact that it's authors that are as humble, kind, charming, and nice as Jenny Han or even Sarah Dessen that make me and everyone else so happy to read their books and excited for the future of young adult literature, too. Sappy, I know, but I'm honestly so proud of where the YA genre is going.

I hope y'all enjoyed my mid-April book haul, because that's a thing now, and I can't wait to talk about these books in later posts once I read them! Happy reading!