Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Best Backlist Middle Grade and YA Books I Originally Discovered Through Netgalley and Edelweiss

Today's Top Ten Tuesday theme is supposed to be Backlist Books I Want to Read, but I'm giving it a little twist. These are backlist middle grade and YA books that I have read, which were published between 2011 and 2017, and which I first read via NetGalley or Edelweiss back when they were new. If you missed them on the frontlist, now's the time to make up for lost time, especially since a lot of these are really affordable on Kindle. (Note: My Goodreads shelves show that I have read 281 Netgalley titles and 190 Edelweiss titles. If they make this list, they are beating out a lot of other books!)

Edelweiss

 

  • Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas (2014)
    Set during a shift at a grocery store on Christmas Eve, this YA novel follows Chloe, a type I diabetic, as she reports to work and attempts to fulfill the resolutions she has set for herself regarding her coworkers and her crush, Tyson. Though the cover doesn't make it clear enough, this is a great holiday read! Read my review.
  • Moonpenny Island by Tricia Springstubb (2014)
    Flor loves her home on Moonpenny Island, but she goes through a tough time when both her best friend and her mom leave the island simultaneously, forcing her to seek new connections. Tricia Springstubb's writing is so beautiful; I'll read anything she publishes! Read my review. 
  • Murder is Bad Manners (2014)
    This series from the UK is among my very favorites. This book, in which Hazel Wong and her best friend, Daisy Wells, discover their first body and solve their first murder case, introduces the 1930s boarding school that the girls attend as well as the dramatic tension in Hazel and Daisy's friendship that drives the series as a whole. Adult cozy mystery lovers can enjoy this book as well as kids. Read my review. (Note: In the UK, the title of this book is Murder Most Unladylike.)
  • Mission Mumbai: A Novel of Sacred Cows, Snakes, and Stolen Toilets by Mahtab Narsimhan (2016)
    When Dylan accompanies Rohit to visit family in Mumbai, he is glad to have a reason to be away from his parents and to pursue his photography hobby, but worried that Rohit's relatives will make good on their promise to move him to India permanently. This is a great buddy adventure, and a highly underrated novel. Read my review.
  • The Courage Test by James Preller (2016)
    In this funny father/son wilderness adventure, Will and his historian dad take a trip to retrace the steps of Lewis and Clark and explore a deeper relationship with one another. Read my review.


NetGalley

 

  • Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo (2012)
    Originally published in Australia as Good Oil, this is another YA novel set in a grocery store. Fifteen-year-old Amelia enjoys working side-by-side with her older crush, Chris, who is 21. What she does not realize, however, is everything else Chris has going on in his life away from their job. This is possibly the best YA book I have read in the last ten years. Read my review. 
  • The Golden Day by Ursula Dubosarsky (2013)
    This book was also originally published in Australia. It's the story of an afternoon in the 1960s on which a group of Sydney schoolgirls follow their teacher Miss Renshaw on a walk to a nearby garden and return to school unaccompanied later on, as Miss Renshaw has gone missing. With echoes of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, this is a beautifully written - and chilling - story. Read my review.
  • A Song for Bijou by Josh Farrar (2013)
    Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Bijou Doucet moves to Brooklyn to live with her aunt and uncle. Alex Schrader, a boy at a school neighboring hers, takes an interest in Bijou but must carefully navigate the rules dictated by Bijou's family and culture about her spending time with a boy. Read my review.
  • Steering Toward Normal by Rebecca Petruck (2014)
    This agricultural-themed family story stars Diggy Lawson who spends a year raising a steer and coming to terms with the discovery that his father has another son he never knew about. Read my review.
  • Anything You Want by Geoff Herbach (2016)
    Geoff Herbach writes YA novels that are both funny and heartbreaking. This tale of an immature young man named Taco who suddenly finds himself on the verge of parenthood is a positive take on a topic that is often treated as a tragedy. There is something endearing about Taco's excitement for his unborn child to enter the world. Read my review.
Have you read any of these? Which other backlist MG and YA titles would you recommend? 

3 comments:

  1. I really like what you did with the theme this week! That's a great way to put a positive spin on some backlist titles. :)

    My Top Ten Tuesday Post!

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  2. I think Top 10 Clues You're Clueless sounds like fun! I haven't read any of these. I've only heard of Love and other Perishable Items, I think. The others don't look that familiar except for that one and possibly Song for Bijou.

    I recommend the Mother Daughter Book Club Series by Heather Vogel Frederick. I've only read the first 2, but definitely want to reread the first two and binge the whole series. I need to get the other books first though.

    https://happilyreadingeverafter.blogspot.com/2018/11/top-ten-tuesday-backlist-books-i-want.html

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  3. Murder is Bad Manners looks like a MG that I would love! What a great selection you've got here!

    ReplyDelete