Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly linkup of book bloggers hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! This week, my least-favorite biannual topic: upcoming releases! Like I mentioned in my December monthly wrap-up post, I read over 80% backlist, and like to chose books that have stood the test of time. But I do have 2020 releases that have made my list to read, so here are the ones coming out before the end of June, all of which I am fortunate enough to have review copies of!
Followers: This one will be my first 2020 release of the year. It’s a speculative fiction about women getting wrapped up in the world of influncers and social media and seems like a thought-provoking, engaging read.
The Holdout: As a former lawyer, I’ve always been interested in stories about trials and juries, and so this seems right up my alley. After a holdout juror swings the verdict towards not-guilty in a high profile trial, the jurors come back together for a true crime documentary years later. And then one of them ends up dead. I’m usually a person who prefers character over plot, but this seems like the kind of twisty I could get into.
The Magical Language of Others: A memoir in letters from a mother who leaves her teenage daughter behind in America to return to her native South Korea, this seems like it will be heart-tugging.
Every Reason We Shouldn’t: Contemporary romance not usually my genre, but I can never resist a skating angle, so this story about two teenagers who connect at the rink is on my list!
Hidden Valley Road: I was a psychology major, so a book about mental illness research will always grab my attention. This book examines the story of one seemingly-average family who had 12 children, half of whom were eventually diagnosed as schizophrenic, and the role they played in scientific investigation into the causes of this disease.
The Body Double: Another subject area that will almost always catch my eye is the nature of celebrity and fame, so this fictional tale of a young woman hired to impersonate a reclusive Hollywood star who had a nervous breakdown is intriguing.
My Dark Vanessa: This has already gotten a good amount of pre-publication buzz, and promises to tell a compelling story about a woman who finds herself re-evaluating the relationship she had with a teacher when she was in high school, that she felt in control of at the time but is no longer sure about.
Run Me To Earth: I enjoy reading fiction about areas of the world I’d like to learn more about, and southeast Asia is a region I’m definitely under-educated in. This book is about three orphans in Laos in the 1960s, who grow close and then are split across the world when they’re evacuated from their homeland, and sounds really interesting!
The Companions: I’ve always had a soft spot for dystopias, but they have to have a good concept. This one, about a world where one’s conciousness can be uploaded before death into various robots to either continue on with one’s family (for the lucky) or just rented out for anyone by the company that controls the technology, has caught my eye!
Lakewood: Another dystopian novel, this looks at the history of medical experimentation on people of color by telling a story about a young black woman looking to help her family who finds a job that seems too good to be true. There’s a great salary, free housing, and more…she just has to volunteer to be a secret lab rat. Definitely sounds like something that I’d appreciate reading!