I’ve been keeping a list of outcoming books, and these are the ones that I’m especially looking forward to:
Coming September 2011
1. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
As if The Invention of Hugo Cabret wasn’t awesome enough, Selznick’s next book further pushes the boundaries by telling two stories at once. Rose, a deaf girl in 1927 has her tale told entirely in pictures while Ben, a boy living in 1977 gets the traditional text approach. Their narratives weave in and out, of course, before intersecting at the end. The advance reviews have all been glowing, and at 600+ pages there’s sure to be plenty of art to be goggled at.
2. Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
A teenage protagonist named Jack Gantos who writes obituaries and suffers from chronic nosebleeds? It’s wacky enough to hook anyone in…
3. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
More monsters from Ness, and unlike the Chaos Walking trilogy this one seems to be of the non-human kind—physically, at least. It’s already out in England, but those of us on this side of the pond will have to wait another month. You can read the Guardian’s review here, written by none other than Frank Cottrell Boyce.
Coming in 2012
1. Pegasus II by Robin McKinley
For a book with slow pacing and languid descriptions, Pegasus sure ended on a killer cliffhanger…and McKinley isn’t known for writing books in series, so for one horrifying moment I thought that was it. Thank goodness for the internet, which quickly reassurred me that a sequel was already in the works.
2. Young Sherlock Holmes: Rebel Fire by Andrew Lane
Holmes seems to have faced every danger under the sun in Death Cloud, but I’m sure Lane can come up with more megalomaniacs to fight.
Coming in the too-distant future (no set publication date)
1. Children of Peace by Erin Bow
Ship Breaker, meet Never Let Me Go: global warming has split the world into hundreds of small nations battling over natural resources. So what’s to prevent all-out nuclear war? Only the children…here’s the description from Erin Bow’s website:
The Children of Peace – sons and daughters of kings and presidents and generals – are raised together in small, isolated schools called Prefectures. There, they learn history and political theory, and are taught to gracefully accept what may well be their fate: to die if their countries declare war.
It looks even more unsettling than Plain Kate. From the first chapter it’s clear that Children of Peace isn’t going for violent revolution à la The Hunger Games. The hostage kids seem preoccupied with honor and grace and dignity, so I’m curious to see how Bow will build a realistic world around this kind of psychology.
2. Lois Lowry is writing part four of The Giver series, and rumor has it it’s quite long…
3. Whatever Megan Whalen Turner writes next. She’s promised at least one more book set in the same world as A Conspiracy of Kings, though now that the main characters seem settled I suppose the next book will turn to the Medes, or perhaps jump into the future to focus on the next generation? (Gen as a father…that could be interesting. And scary).
4. Book four of The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
At this point I’ll read anything with the words Batty, Jane, Skye and Rosalind. Even if the plot consists of the family lounging on the front porch, it’ll still be more entertaining than many a book out there.
