Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

Title: A Mad, Wicked Folly
Author: Sharon Biggs Waller (Twitter)
Publisher: Viking
Publish Date: January 23, 2014
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction
Pages: 304

Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl.

After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams?

For those who have been following my blog for a while now, you know I have a penchant for historical fiction. Add to the glamour and glitz of the times a sort of caste struggle and you'd better believe I'm sold on a historical book like A Mad, Wicked Folly. I like the sound of an older protagonist struggling to find her place in the world, following traditions, while still trying to carve her own path. And hey, it doesn't hurt that the cover is pretty awesome (in a non-traditional sort of way). What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

Title: Try Not to Breathe
Author: Jennifer R. Hubbard (Twitter)
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Publish Date: January 19, 2012
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 272

Ryan spends most of his time alone at the local waterfall because it’s the only thing that makes him feel alive. He’s sixteen, post-suicidal, and trying to figure out what to do with himself after a stint in a mental hospital.

Then Nicki barges into his world, brimming with life and energy, and asking questions about Ryan’s depression that no one else has ever been brave enough—or cared enough—to ask. Ryan isn’t sure why he trusts Nicki with his darkest secrets, but that trust turns out to be the catalyst that he desperately needs to start living again.

You know me and issue books. We're like peanut butter and jelly...we just go together. Try Not to Breathe sounds like a deeply emotional read, and I love the potential it has to make the reader feel the inner pain of the character. It's almost cathartic to read such stories. Plus, the fact that the MC finds peace by water speaks to me in and of itself. Oh, and the serenity of the cover is stunning. Frankly, this one just sounds like a win all around. What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

Title: Displacement
Author: Thalia Chaltas
Publisher: Viking Children's
Published: June 9, 2011
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 364

Home is supposed to be a place you belong. It's supposed to be parents who are there and siblings who bug you and a life that feels comfortable. It’s not supposed to be an absentee mother or a drowned sister. But that's Vera's reality, and she can’t stand it anymore.

So she runs. She ends up in an old mining town in the middle of the California desert. It's hot, it's dusty, and it's as isolated as Vera feels. As she goes about setting up her life, she also unwittingly starts the process of healing and–eventually– figuring out what home might really mean for her.

I'm not a fan of yellow, but I'm in LOVE with this cover...especially because of the water. Displacement is right on track with my contemps goal for this year, and I think what I love most about the premise is that it sounds downright gritty. I love the idea of a main character healing from within - not just externally - and I think that could really set this book apart. So, yes. I would like to get my paws on this. Preferably stat. What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?