As I did back in February, I would like to share a quick list of a few of the books that have been released in March that I made note of. These are books that I have not had a chance to read yet, but which caught my attention when I was looking for ARCs to consider for work. They sound interesting and promising, and I will probably read them eventually.
- The Unbroken by C.L. Clark —
This debut novel is an epic North African-inspired military fantasy by a queer woman of color, and it sounds AMAZING. The publisher’s blurb reads:
“Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought.
Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet’s edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne.
Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren’t for sale.”
Fun fact: I actually know the author. I don’t know her WELL, but we worked together as instructors one summer at the Duke University Talent Identification Program (a summer program of college-level course work for high-achieving high schoolers), and we’re still “Friends” on Facebook. She probably doesn’t remember me much (I don’t really stand out) but I remember her and she was VERY cool. At the time, she was just out of her MFA program and working on a number of short stories, so I was so excited to see the news when she announced her publishing deal. I WILL be reading this book when I can find more free time.
2. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro —
of course, Kazuo Ishiguro is very famous. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature for cryin’ out loud! And this is his first new work SINCE winning the Nobel. What’s exciting is that while Ishiguro is most well-known for his works of realism, he has dipped his toes into speculative fiction a couple times, and this new novel is staunchly in the realm of science fiction. The publisher’s blurb for this one states:
“Klara and the Sun tells the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her.”
3. Lost in the Never Woods by Aidan Thomas —
I love a fun twisty retelling of a classic fairy tale or children’s story. Don’t even get me STARTED on Alice in Wonderland retellings! I’m OBSESSED. So of course this book caught my eye! The blurb reads:
“It’s been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town’s children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers’ mysterious circumstances are brought back into light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road, and gets pulled into the mystery haunting the town.
Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, claims that if they don’t do something, the missing children will meet the same fate as her brothers. In order to find them and rescue the missing kids, Wendy must confront what’s waiting for her in the woods.”
I mean: YES PLEASE AND THANK YOU! This sounds exciting and amazing, and I will definitely be picking this one up eventually!
4. In the Quick by Kate Hope Day —
Something else I am ALWAYS obsessed with is space and astronauts. The cover ALONE of this book had me like WOAH. I mean, LOOK AT THAT COVER! The blurb describes it as:
“June is a brilliant but difficult girl with a gift for mechanical invention, who leaves home to begin a grueling astronaut training program. Six years later, she has gained a coveted post as an engineer on a space station, but is haunted by the mystery of Inquiry, a revolutionary spacecraft powered by her beloved late uncle’s fuel cells. The spacecraft went missing when June was twelve years old, and while the rest of the world has forgotten them, June alone has evidence that makes her believe the crew is still alive.
She seeks out James, her uncle’s former protégée, also brilliant, also difficult, who has been trying to discover why Inquiry’s fuel cells failed. James and June forge an intense intellectual bond that becomes an electric attraction. But the love that develops between them as they work to solve the fuel cell’s fatal flaw threatens to destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to create–and any chance of bringing the Inquiry crew home alive.
Equal parts gripping narrative of scientific discovery and charged love story, In the Quick is an exploration of the strengths and limits of human ability in the face of hardship and the costs of human ingenuity. At its beating heart are June and James, whose love for each other is eclipsed only by their drive to conquer the challenges of space travel.”
I will absolutely 1000% be reading this one eventually. Women astronauts! Dangerous missions and space exploration! Yes! I am also slightly amused because June is my mother’s name, and she’s always saying it’s a pretty uncommon name that you don’t see in media or pop culture much and I’m like: well here ya go!
Amanda Haimoto Rudd 