YA Fantasy 4/5

Yadriel accidentally summons a ghost who won’t go through the ritual to set his spirit free in the afterlife until he finds out why he was murdered. I really enjoyed this book: the characters, the Latinx culture, the exploration of trans gay romance, and the ever-deepening mystery and magic. So many reasons to recommend it! I did find the pacing a bit slow, though.

Attended When Words Collide this weekend. Saw friends, made some good industry connections, presented at some panels, and had fun. This was set to be the last year for the convention, but a local organization is taking it over,  and so we are all very excited.

Also, got halfway through my edits on Gathering of Ghosts.

Science Fiction 5+/5

When Mark Watney is accidentally marooned on Mars, he “sciences the hell out of” every resource at his command to survive until he can be rescued. This nail-biting thriller-esque novel had me at the edge of my seat, turning pages—I read it three times. Then I went to see the movie.

Pretty good week. Made 30,000 words on the current novel, but I’ll have to take a little pause: I got edits from the publisher for my next Addicted to Heaven book, A Gathering of Ghosts. He’s pretty happy with it, and says there’s not a lot to fix, so I’m hoping to get a quick turnaround and back to Shadow Spy’s Daughter.

Young adult 5+/5

When Starr witnesses the shooting of her unarmed friend by a white police officer, leading to national headlines and growing protests, she can no longer keep separate the poor neighborhood where she lives and her fancy prep school. This book was riveting from cover to cover. Starr was a believable teen caught in impossible situations, within a complex family dynamic and equally complex friendship culture—and the events that avalanched down on her made this novel a huge page-turner.