Sequel Stack Challenge

I was tagged to do this six ages ago by @bibliophilecats and @appleinducedsleep. Thank you and sorry for being so late!

So as far as I’m aware the challenge is just to make a stack of sequels that you’ve read (or maybe not read--I don’t know, there weren’t any rules). But I decided to put my own little spin on it. This is the Unexpected Sequel Stack, meaning that when the author announced the sequel or when I became aware of their existence, I was surprised because I hadn’t expected a sequel.

Extras by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies #4)

Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones (Howl’s Moving Castle #2)

House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones (Howl’s Moving Castle #3)

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (The Shining #2, kinda)

Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones (Wintersong #2)

West by Edith Pattou (East #2)

I’m not tagging anyone, but if you want to do it, consider yourself tagged!

Books Series I Loved but can't Recall the Plot of

Sharing some book series that I remember loving at one point, but can't recall a single detail about them.

Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com I have read a lot of book series in my life, some of them I can recall in perfect detail, and others I couldn’t tell you the first thing about if you asked me to discuss the plot. So, I thought I would share some of those series today. As previously stated, I have no memory of any of the plots, so discussing them should be fascinating. House of Night by…

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The William Westerfeld house in San Francisco

Preview

・Title: Bad Boy

・Paring: Playboy! Yoongi x Namjoon’s little sister! Reader

・ Summary: Yoongi has been best friends with Namjoon since he was seven. He knew his little sister was always off limits but Yoongi never followed the rules.

・ Rating: Explicit (18+) 

・ Genre: Playboy! Yoongi, bad boy! Yoongi, best friend's little sister! reader, college! au, music major! Yoongi, Biology major! reader, fluff, romance, smut, and angst

“I guess sometimes you have to lie to find the truth...” – Scott Westerfeld....

He turned his head and saw Y/N standing there holding a tray of sweets. Y/N was three years younger than Namjoon and four years his junior. He saw her as a piece of glass. She was so sharp but one push and boom, shattered. They didn’t really talk that much because she was always busy with her friends or school. He also didn’t know what to say to her. Like at this moment. 

She gave him a small smile and glanced down at the tray, “I got some pastries for your study session. I also started the coffee machine, you should have some soon. Hopefully.”  

Yoongi nodded his head and put his hair in a small ponytail, “Thanks Y/N.” 

He glanced at her and saw that she was in a simple white loungewear set with matching slippers. Her hair was braided and out of her face giving him the perfect view of her eyes. When they were younger, her eyes were like a doe. So wide and filled with hope. Now that she was older they matured with the sparkle of hope that never truly left her. Hoping that life wouldn’t hurt her and everything would turn out right for her. She had all the tools to make that happen and Yoongi knew this. 

Y/N glanced over her shoulder and then back at him, “Namjoon is waiting. He’s grumpy today, be patient with him.”

“Is it because of his girl?” 

“Heejin-unnie? Did they get into a fight?”

Yoongi let out a small chuckle and realized that Y/N had no idea about her brother’s love life, “I guess you can say that.” 

Y/N tilted her head at him, “Should I be worried? I just want to make sure he’s alright.”

Yoongi shook his head at this and put his hands in his pant’s pocket, “He’s alright. He’s a big boy.” 

Y/N nodded her head and smiled at him, “Plus, he has you in his life. Come in before Namjoon gets angrier.” 

Yoongi wanted to ask her what she meant by that but she walked away from him. There were moments where Yoongi found himself wanting to talk to her but he always stopped himself. She was always there but instead of being a wallflower he saw her as the charming painting that could brighten up any house. Only a few can understand art and he was glad he could.

Round 1 Results

Poll 1: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

Poll 2: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

Poll 3: Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

Poll 4: Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson

Poll 5: Ever by Gail Carson Levine

Poll 6: American Girl by Various Authors

Poll 7: Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz

Poll 8: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Poll 9: Little House by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Poll 10: The Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce

Poll 11: Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol

Poll 12: The Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon

Poll 13: Ever After High by Shannon Hale

Poll 14: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Poll 15: Septimus Heap by Angie Sage

Poll 16: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The next round will be posted on Friday at 12 pm EST!

(We're not gonna talk about how these polls ended two weeks ago)

My Writing Journey

I'm still writing my NaNoWriMo Novel in late March, with April right around the corner. Almost 200,000 words now.

How did I get here?

I chose to be a writer when I was eleven. By the time I was eighteen, I had three incomplete novels, a thick packet of writing notes, and a long list of story ideas I wanted to write before I died. I also had a short attention span that I can blame on my ADHD and ASD, a declining love for reading due to required school reading, and competition with distractions like the internet/social media. I was able to devote a good deal of my spare time on my prize WIP, a unique fantasy titled The Keeper of Maralla. I didn't spend as much time writing as I should have. My writing confidence was low. After I earned my first bachelor's degree in Child Development, several amazing things happened. First, I worked briefly as a custodian (aka janitor or caretaker depending on what part of the world you're in) when I got the idea for my current primary WIP, The Blood Cleaners. At that time, I thought TBC would be an urban fantasy. A few years later, I realized the story worked best as a post-apocalyptic dystopia. I personally feel that you don’t find the stories; the stories find you. Such was the case with TBC. Then, in 2008, I won my first NaNoWriMo when I wrote the first draft of The Star House Club, an MG/YA urban fantasy. It meant the world to me when I finally had a complete novel in my hands, even if the writing was really bad. My next complete novel was finished in 2009, a Christian historical fiction novel called Miriam and Yosef. Then, from 2010 to 2011, I wrote my first really long novel, my sci-fi first contact story called Columbus Day. It was 170,000 words long! The best part was when I wrote my first complete second draft by rewriting Columbus Day. I saw how rewriting really can make things better, even if only a little better. It was also at this time that I earned my second bachelor's degree. I earned my post-baccalaureate degree in English. Then, things kind of shattered. I lost all of my confidence in my writing. I almost gave up completely. I also stopped reading. I've learned that the less you read, the worse your writing is. I went nearly a decade without reading and writing. There were some pluses that happened during that time, such as getting a technical writing job with my current employer. For the most part, I had little ambition and few goals. That was until early 2023, I experienced some epiphanies. I went through some religious/spiritual experiences that allowed me to realize I was meant to be a writer. I needed to get my ideas down on paper before I died or else the world would never know them. I opened up my old writing notes to get to work. I thought about which of my WIP's I would make my primary WIP. It was hard when I felt passionate about a half dozen of them, knowing I would regret failing to finish and publish either. I was hit hard with reality when insomnia hit me. I had been in denial about my need to read. Just as I had to get back to writing, I had to get back to reading. I wanted to say I had read enough and needed to spend time writing. When I discovered reading was the best medicine for insomnia, I realized what I needed to do for both my physical health and writing health. I read about 15 books in 2023. The more I read, the better my writing got. My best read was Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies, a book that reminded me of why I love the dystopia genre. By July, I made the decision to focus on The Blood Cleaners. I spent four months brainstorming and outlining. I began drafting in November for NaNoWriMo. I wrote 50,000 words in 30 days, but the story wasn't over. That brings me to where I am now. My manuscript is almost 200,000 words long. I hope to finish in the next few days. I can’t wait to rewrite and cut this thing. Writing is hard, but it's worth it. My journey isn't over, obviously. I can’t wait to see where this journey goes.

Huh, i think I forgot to post this when I did it, because it's still lurking in my drafts... Anyway, have it now.

Tag people to get to know them better. Tagged by @blackjackkent .

Tagging @invisible-goats , @sassyminnesotan , @solavillain , @fixomnia-scribble

Last Song: Angel's Punishment (XX version) by Lacuna Coil (because I'm back on teenage goth music, apparently)

Currently Watching: House MD. The chicken bet is now my favorite thing ever. Also re-listening to season 4(?) of the DnDnD podcast. Highly recommend.

3 Ships: Varric/Hawke form Dragon Age 2 (because chaos); Isobel/Aylin from BG3 (sure, bury your gays. Just make sure you dig them up again so they can live happily ever after); Jaheira/Rasaad from BG2 (@blackjackkent fine, you convinced me. You're not TOTALLY alone over there. Looking forward to the next chapter.)

Favorite Color: Orange. Also like dark blue (most of my gear) and dark or army green (most of my clothes).

Currently Consuming: DnDnD podcast, all things Baldur's Gate, The Magnus Protocol (which I'm behind on).

First Ship: y'all want me to remember that? It was a Long Time Ago. Melissa/Rex from Scott Westerfeld's Midnighters? Cloud/Tifa from Final Fantasy 7?

Place of Birth: Vancouver Island

Current Location: Northern British Columbia

Relationship Status: Single. Not opposed to the concept of dating, but I'm a) picky and b) not good at thinking or forming sentences around the handful of people I'm actually interested in.

Last Movie: Movies aren't my thing. They're usually too long for my attention to hold for a whole one, and hard to convince myself to go back to when I know there's only like 20 minutes left. Probably a very bad streaming service monster movie (wait, probably the latest Jeepers Creepers. Like I said, Bad.)

Currently Working On: theoretically Saints and Zealots, but I haven't done much on that lately. Some character writing for Skye (my half-elf druid) in BG3. And more practically painting and some renos on my house because it's spring and I live in a construction site.

kruskal-wallis said: What sort of books catch his attention? (Not preparing to offer suggestions – I don’t read I’m just a nosy bitch)

He's really an opportunistic scavenger (similarly he will turn on the TV and watch whatever is on) so I mostly have memories of him reading whatever MG/YA books my brother and I were reading when we lived in the house. He sure had opinions on the life choices of Scott Westerfeld characters. Turnabout is fair play though - I read his Clive Cussler books as a kid and pronounced them sexist despite being too young for gender theory. Weirdly enough I never got into his ancient fantasy Shannara paperbacks in the basement even though I had a big fantasy phase in my teens.

Currently attempting to tempt him with the Murderbot Diaries by essentially tossing them in the path of his grazing pattern

Love that you read The Risen Empire too. Finished it this winter, and its just so good. Not just how creative and real feeling the world and technology is, the characters. Oh my god the characters!

Rana/h_rd is OTP. It is as if they're specifically written for me, butch cyborg super soldier/mentally ill insecure bi mess, and its enemies to lovers, and captor/captive, damn yeah! Also so interesting how many hints for Special Tallys development are there in h_rds arc already.

Nara/Laurent also is the very rare example of an m/f ship that not just actually feels in character and isn't sexist, but even made me invested in them. The tenderness, and the respect, despite them being in different political factions at the beginning. And I love how Laurents disability is handled (and Naras, even if I am not sure if you can call that a disability, but damn, did I relate to her symptoms as an mentally ill autistic person. And Ranas disability!)

I am so obsessed with these characters and I drew so much fanart for them, and even wrote some small fics

It's one of my favorite books! In the wider context of scifi it's not very ambitious but every piece of the worldbuilding and every character in it is so cool, and I love what it has to say about politics and, yes, about the variety of disability and how it informs how you live in the world. Rana's brand of autism was the one that felt most like a distorted mirror to me, but I understand how compelling Nara's symptoms are for sure. She's such an interesting character and the book has so many good scenes where she gets to be badass or venerable about it and she's really treated so well with the narrative.

In general, I get it, it just had so many hyperspecific yet compelling elements that it feels like westerfeld is basically reading your mind and writing a book about it. I think I can link most of my hyperfixations to this book. It's scifi. It has cyborgs. It has a sentient house that grows itself! It has a mind blowing torture scene! Man, Laurent's torture scene is still the most chilling thing I've ever read. Everything else I seek I'm trying to reproduce the feeling of reading it.

Anyway, I want to see all the fanarts and fanfics you have btw. Link them to me any way you want but I want to see it all

Favorite 2010s book or series

YA Books about 🇦🇹 Austria

List of Austria books for the YA World Challenge.

It's been quite a while since I did a country-themed list. This one has been sitting in the drafts for a while.

I have discovered that YA books in English featuring Austria consist of only 3 categories:

WW2 (sometimes WW1)

Empress Sisi (interchangeable with Marie Antoinette or Nannerl Mozart)

Eva Ibbotson

And that's it. Well, I'm kidding, but it almost seems like it. Here's the little list I came up with. Feel free to suggest any I missed - I mostly search through Goodreads to find these so the list is prone to mistakes and omissions!

YA

I Don't Live Here Anymore by Gabi Kreslehner 💚 The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu ⌛🦋 Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville ⌛ When the World Was Ours by Liz Kessler ⌛ Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld ⌛🦋 A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson 💚 Magic Flutes by Eva Ibbotson 💚 The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson 💚 The Musician's Daughter by Susanne Dunlap ⌛ Bambi: A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten 💚 Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu ⌛🦋 Becoming Marie Antoinette: A Novel by Juliet Grey ⌛ European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman (#2) by Theodora Goss ⌛🦋 Wanderlost by Jen Malone 🏖️ Coronets and Steel by Sherwood Smith 🏖️🦋 The Empress by Gigi Griffis ⌛ The Secret Diary of a Princess by Melanie Clegg ⌛ The School at the Chalet by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer ⌛ In Mozart's Shadow: His Sister's Story by Carolyn Meyer ⌛ Apple's Song by Blake Ryan 🏖️

MG

Hedy and her Amazing Invention by Jan Wahl 🛩️ The Thing I'm Most Afraid Of by Kristin Levine 🏖️♿ The Language of Spells by Garret Weyr 🦋 Searching for Lottie by Susan Ross 🛩️ Moonlight on the Magic Flute by Mary Pope Osborne 🏖️⌛🦋 Marie Antoinette, Princess of Versailles by Kathryn Lasky ⌛ The Night Crossing by Karen Ackerman ⌛ Stolen Words by Amy Goldman Koss 🏖️ The Taste of Snow by Stephen V. Masse

Memoir

Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life by Ulli Lust GN 💚 How I Tried to Be a Good Person by Ulli Lust GN 💚 Fat by Regina Hofer 💚♿ Becoming Alice: A Memoir by Alice Rene 💚⌛

NA/Adult

The Accidental Empress by Allison Pataki ⌛ The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton ⌛ Exile Music: A Novel by Jennifer Steil ⌛🌈 The English Girl by Margaret Leroy ⌛🏖️ The Secret Society of Salzburg by Renee Ryan ⌛ The Edelweiss Sisters by Kate Hewitt ⌛ The Light After the War by Anita Abriel ⌛ The End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck ⌛ The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor ⌛ The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason ⌛ House of Gold by Natasha Solomons ⌛ Setting Free the Bears John Irving Stolen Beauty by Laurie Lico Albanese ⌛ The Girl with the Golden Scissors by Julia Drosten ⌛ Hidden Among the Stars by Melanie Dobson ⌛

💚 Native Author 🛩️ Immigrant or diaspora 🏖️ non-native characters in or about the country (ex. vacation/adventure) ⌛ Historical 🦋 Fantasy or Paranormal 🌈 LGBTQ+ ♿ Disability rep

🗞️📖 Bookish News - December Edition

🦇 Extra, extra. Read all about it! 📖 Good afternoon, bookish bats! A lot happened in the publishing industry last month, but here are a few highlights you may have missed!

Adaptations: 📖 Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms 🗞️ Teen Titans: Beast Boy by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Piccolo 📖 Uglies by Scott Westerfeld 🗞️ Brianna Peppin's Briarcliff Prep 📖 Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben 🗞️ Geek Girl by Holly Smale 📖 Paddington (musical theater) 🗞️ The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 📖 My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows 🗞️ Heartstopper Season 3 📖 A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts by Ying Chang Compestine 🗞️ My Life With the Walter Boys by Ali Novak 📖 Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me 🗞️ They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera 📖 Pretty Little Liars: Summer School 🗞️ Martha Wells’ The Murderbot Diaries

Cover Reveals: 📖 New Adventure in Space Opera by Jonathan Strahan 🗞️ Cally Fiedorek's Atta Boy has its cover 📖 Brandon Sanderson's The Sunlit Man - March 2024 🗞️ It's Elementary by Elise Bryant 📖 The Wilds by Sarah Pearse - July 16 🗞️ Nicola Yoon's first adult novel, One of Our Kind - June 11 📖 Sanctuary by Valentina Cano Repetto - April 2024 🗞️ Pretty by KB Brookins 📖 Jewel Me Twice by Charish Reid - July 2024 🗞️ The Big Day by Aliya Ali-Afzal - June 6

Other News: 📖 Dhonielle Clayton is starting a new book packaging company, Electric Postcard Entertainment, focused on diverse reads 🗞️ Cassandra Clare's Kickstarter set a record for YA projects on the platform 📖 The winners of the Goodreads Choice Awards were announced 🗞️ Penguin Random House, John Green, Jodi Picoult, and other novelists are challenging Iowa's book banning law 📖 The Books Save Lives Act has been introduced by US Congress

Whatever hasn't been answered/whatever ones you feel like answering of these (cuz it's a lot lol): 1-4, 6-7, 12-13, 16, 21-23, 25-28, 31-32, 35-36, 43-44, 47-49, 51-52, 54-56, 59-65, 68, 70, 73, 79, 81-82, 84-85, 87, 89-94, 97-100

Noddy you’re insane. But I also like a challenge. Here’s most of them.

1. What were your summers like as a kid? My grandma and grandpa lived right next door, they took care of us while my parents had to work. In the summer, I usually just played pretend outside with my two cousins and sister that also lived next door on the other side of us.

2. Do you enjoy thrilling rides like rollercoasters? Yes!

3. Who was your childhood hero? I looked up to the creators of atla a lot!

4. What is your favorite book? Probably still Behemoth, the second book in the Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld

6. What is your favorite outfit? Probably my cherry blossom tee with a pink skirt. Comfy and cute.

7. Does seeing people in love make you happy? Sad? Annoyed? Annoyed and jealous, if I’m being honest. I wish I could feel that way. At least as naturally as other people.

12. Iced drinks or hot drinks? Iced drinks. My favorite drinks are iced coffee and iced tea.

13. Bright colors or neutral tones? Hmm. Probably neutral. I’m a big fan of pastels, if that counts.

16. What’s your favorite feature of yours? As much as I complain, probably my squinty eyes. My Dad and Grandpa both have them too and I like that I inherited that feature from them. I think it’s endearing that our eyes disappear when we smile, lol.

21. What’s the stupidest fight you’ve ever gotten into? I remember arguing with a cousin over the phone when I was little on if it’s okay to run a red light if no one else is at the intersection. I insisted it was because my grandpa told me it was. She valiantly disagreed. That phone call lasted forever XD

23. What's your dream date? I don’t know. Maybe a movie or car ride so I don’t have to make eye contact LMAO

25. Do you like parties? Nope. Too loud.

26. Did you enjoy high school? Somehow, yes. I liked band and during lunch I got a break from everyone by eating lunch in a teacher’s room.

27. Who is the craziest person in your family and why? Pfft. Dear lord. Just one? My family has issues. Gonna skip over the mental illnesses and addictions and interpret this lightheartedly. My bisexual??? aunt is the life of any party. She can make friends anywhere. She lies all the time, over the dumbest things too. She is so fucking funny and problematic and I love her.

28. What's your favorite holiday tradition? 4th of July. My grandpa hosts the best party in the area at his house. My uncle and dad are usually the ones that organize it. Along with the help of most other family members who cook, clean, set up, etc. A lot of people come out and we eat barbecue, play games, light sprinklers, and watch the fireworks show.

31. What's a show that everyone loves that you didn't? Survivor. It’s so boring to me.

35. Who are your top 5 celebrity crushes? Only one I can think of is Robert Sheehan. I love his hair.

36. If you could learn one language fluently what would it be? Ugh this is hard. The weeb in me says Japanese. The “language I’ve studied but am not great at” in me says Chinese. And the practicality in me says Spanish.

44. Do you have a favorite quote? “And the universe said I love you because you are love” and “despite everything, it’s still you.”

47. Biggest pet peeve? Someone demanding me to do a task without 1. prior notice and/or 2. me even agreeing to it

48. Favorite personality trait about yourself? I care a lot about fairness.

49. Sum up your type in three words. Goofy. Kind. Introverted.

52. Hot or cold weather? Cold weather

56. Favorite dessert? Cookie cake

61. What's your guilty pleasure movie? The Spongebob Movie

62. What's your comfort movie? Also The SpongeBob Movie

63. Is there a genre of music you don't like? Not a huge fan of country. Or rap with a lot of bass in it. Sensory ick

64. What's an album that you think has no skips on it? Through the Tides by Fish in a Birdcage

65. What's your favorite thing to watch on youtube? Reaction videos and aviation/diving disaster documentaries

68. What are you craving right now? Indian food

70. What's something you haven't done that you think most people have? Been in a relationship.

73. What time of day do you like best? Night

79. Do you like surprises? Hell no

81. What books influenced you most as a child? The Leviathan series, also the Care and Keeping of You books

82. Do you like kids? Yes! They can just be overstimulating sometimes.

84. Any wild stories passed around in your family? Apparently one time my dad and (older) cousin were walking across the beach on their way back to us from the bar and my dad tripped on a cord. The cord came unplugged and he accidentally cut off the music to someone’s wedding. Oops.

85. Do you consider yourself an independent person? Socially and emotionally? For the most part. Financially? No.

87. What was your childhood dream? I wanted to be a counselor to do better for the mentally ill kids like me than any of the “professionals” that handled me did when I was at my worst

89. What's one thing you want to achieve this year? Get a job that doesn’t make me burn out (impossible challenge)

93. What's your craziest work related story? One time a kid bit me on my boob really hard and left a bruise for weeks. One time another kid bit my finger and made it bleed so hard I had to go to the urgent care. One time one of our kids somehow spelled out the word ‘sexy ❤️’ by placing random letter stickers

94. What's the best job you've had so far? Being a carhop. It had a lot of downsides too but it is the only one I haven’t gotten fired/nearly fired from due to my autism swag yet LMAO

97. Are you more of a planner or a spontaneous adventurer? Planner, for sure

98. Do you think you see yourself the way other people see you? No. Depending on the context, most people would either see me as pretty wise and smart for some reason (friends) or the dumbest and most immature person you’ve ever had the displeasure of working with (coworkers). It seems like there’s never any middle ground. I’d like to think I’m in the middle of those extremes.

99. What's the last show you binged? The Owl House

100. What's one of your fondest memories? Making shadow puppets for my sister as we snuggled up in her bed when we were little

OKAY I’M DONE

Preliminary Round Winners

Round 1: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

Eliminations: none

Round 2: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Eliminations: Legend by Marie Lu

Round 3: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Eliminations: none

Round 4: Little House by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Eliminations: Lux by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Round 5: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

Eliminations: none

Round 6: Septimus Heap by Angie Sage

Eliminations: Last Survivors by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Round 7: Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz

Eliminations: none

Round 8: The Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce

Eliminations: none

Round 9: Nevermoor by Jessica Townshend

Eliminations: none

Round 10: The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper

Eliminations: none

Round 11: American Girl by Various Authors

Eliminations: Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

Round 12: Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol

Eliminations: none

Round 13: Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson

Eliminations: none

Round 14: Tiebreaker ongoing

Eliminations: none

Round 15: Ever by Gail Carson Levine

Eliminations: none

Round 16: Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Eliminations: none

Round 17: The Hardy Boys by Franklin D. Dixon

Eliminations: none

Round 18: Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown

Eliminations: none

Round 19: Ever After High by Shannon Hale

Eliminations: none

Round 20: The Icemark Chronicles by Stuart Hill

Eliminations: none

Round 21: Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke

Eliminations: none

Round 22: My Teacher Is an Alien by Bruce Coville

Eliminations: none

Round 23: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Eliminations: Killer Unicorns by Diana Peterfreund

Round 24: Upside-Down Magic by Emily Jenkins, Sarah Miynowski, and Lauren Myracle

Eliminations: none

Round 25: Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Eliminations: none

Round 26: Fairy Wings by E. D. Baker

Eliminations: Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill

Round 27: The Puppy Place by Ellen Miles

Eliminations: none

Round 28: Animal Ark by Lucy Daniels

Eliminations: none

Round 29: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Eliminations: none

Round 30: Ten Kids, No Pets by Ann M. Martin

Eliminations: none

Round 31: Magic Puppy by Sue Bentley

Eliminations: none

Round 32: King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry

Eliminations: The Country Child by Alison Uttley, Corydon by Tobias Druitt

do u think the agent ("george" i think?) working in the kgb call center in the basement of that random house in the suburbs ever had to listen to clark westerfeld and martha have phone sex lol

My Personal F/F Book Rec List

being an entirely subjective collection of things I personally liked with reasons why I liked them and why you might like them as well!

Science fiction and fantasy

This is How You Lose The Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar

Science fiction, time travel, epistolary, novella -- very short in all. Tight, poetic language. If you like star-crossed lovers and households both alike in dignity, no one is more star-crossed than rival time war soldiers Red and Blue. It is very romantic.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Do you like your lesbianism as a spice that flavors a dense political drama examining the machineries of imperialism through the lens of space colonization? Did you have a Homestuck phase in your past? You'll like this one. The romance is not the focus of the story, but it's there, and it's f/f.

A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark

Honestly this book wasn't my favorite plotwise (a lot of situations where it seemed like the characters were less intelligent than the reader), but the main character is a lot of fun as a lesbian who wears suits in an alternate-history 1910s Cairo and has a cool catgirl girlfriend, and the worldbuilding and character dynamics were fun as well. Not that kind of catgirl. In a world where the discovery of djinn propelled Egypt to the top of the world stage about a hundred years ago, the guy who did that in the first place is suddenly back in town and murdering people. It's up to Fatma to get to the bottom of it!

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Beloved by Tumblr, it's Lesbian Necromancers In Space! Another book for the Homestuck phase havers. Very very lesbian, although Gideon and Harrow... well they get together in a way... anyway it's about a space empire composed of 9 Houses of necromancy, and the house's representatives have to complete a series of trials to become Lyctors. Ancient Rome inspired but also full of stealthy meme references, if you enjoy the juxtaposition of elevated, old-fashioned language and "Did you know your name contains the words 'Sex Pal'", you'll like this one. The characters are just so fun. Gideon Nav is Horny Butch Representation.

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Supernatural horror thriller this one is not fluffy or cute it is dark and scary and also pretty long. Girls on Sawkill Rock have been disappearing for decades, and it's up to the new girl, the outcast, and the queen bee to figure out how to end the cycle for good. Also I'm pretty sure all of the viewpoint characters are girls who like girls? Themes of grief and trauma and also a big scary monster! Oooh!

Contemporary and Historical Fiction

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

In 1920s Britain, a young woman and her mother take in a lovely young married couple as their lodgers. And then there's a murder. Recommended for fans of murder mysteries and thrillers.

Fingersmith also by Sarah Waters

Inspiration for the film the Handmaiden by Park Chan-Wook (which transplants the Victorian setting to Korea under Japanese occupation), this is a story of cons and crimes and lesbianism! A lot of plot, eventual happy ending.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

"Disaster bisexual" August just moved to New York to try going to college again, and she meets a hot girl in a leather jacket on the subway. The hot girl turns out to be from the 70s and trapped on the train forever for some reason... unless August can figure out how to help her! I like McQuiston's writing style, and I thought the descriptions of queer life in the city felt believable.

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Yes I had an Uglies phase in middle school that made me into an eternal Westerfeld stan leave me alone. Afterworlds is a pretty fun sendup of the YA publishing industry. Indian-American Darcy Patel wrote a YA book and got a book deal at 18, so she deferred college for a year to live in NYC and work on editing her first book and writing the second book. And then she gets writer's block, Manhattan is expensive, also, the fellow writer she eventually gets into a relationship with turns out to have her own dark and troubled past. It's really long because half of the book is the novel Darcy writes, but it works.

Pulp by Robin Talley

Part historical fiction about an imagined lesbian author of lesbian pulp novels from the 1950s, and part contemporary fiction about a teen activist researching said author for a project while still not over her ex. I like learning about queer history, and I thought this was a clever way to frame that kind of narrative and show why it's relevant today.

Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan

Iranian immigrant teenager is successfully dragging herself through high school without having to deal with liking girls until a hot new girl shows up and might be into her, maybe? Reviews saying said hot new girl is an over-the-top predatory bisexual caricature are I think somewhat valid, she didn't read as bisexual to me because I don't think she was actually interested in Leila at all besides as a source of attention but I can understand why that would be offputting to readers. Still, Iranian representation!