I loved this extract of future titles and can't wait to read these books

This is an interesting way to get a sneak peek of several titles at once.

Brilliant teasers of upcoming books I'm looking forward to reading 4 of the 5 this Autumn!

In this young adult sampler, I found 5 samples of fiction titles. The stories are tempting me to buy all of them so I can finish reading them. I must admit that the first story was a little difficult for me to get into at first. I'm not sure why. However I do think this is one of the best ways to find new authors and books to read! This is a great book to read.

Four out of the five books are on my list to be bought. The fifth book is on my maybe list. Because of this sampler I have already bought Warcross and Jane, Unlimited and have the other 2 books are on pre-order.

These little excerpt books are great, and totally can be 'game-changers'. This features five highly-anticipated Fall 2017 Release YA books, and I read this, thanks to NetGalley. I would say it was a game-changer for me, as I changed my mind about some books I'd set my sights on from reading this...

- WARCROSS (this may be the most anticipated book of them all, and of the Fall!) - to be honest, I wasn't totally engaged by the character, and I'm not usually into dystopian/gamer books, BUT there was something about the idea of the hunt, AND just having a hint of 'Back of The Future' for me (I still want to believe there will be hoverboards one day), that made me want to read more. Truth be told, I have preordered this and will be going to Marie Lu's signing next week.

- JANE, UNLIMITED - this has one of those pretty good book setups, where there's a dead relative (I did like that the Aunt was a deep sea photographer!), so there's suddenly a new environment for the protagonist to explore and for the story to be set. But right away I didn't feel hooked by the characters. I think I would have to read more, but from the amount I read, it wasn't really enough.

- THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE - the title is the sort to grab me immediately so you had me there. As for the short excerpt I got to read here, I've worked on too many horror movies to be that gullible...I thought the opening story hook of the egg timer was a little on the obvious side but there you go. I was also then very disappointed in the teens' reaction to a schoolmate's murder; I'm getting a bit tired of this being the clichéd response for teens today. Maybe I need to read more and find out if the teens' reactions change and to find out about the other murders. Plus I DO like that cover, I have to admit.

- THINGS I'M SEEING WITHOUT YOU - the cover of this is absolutely beautiful, I have to say. Stunning. And the title made me think immediately of what I'd say to myself soon after someone close to me had died. I didn't realize when I first saw the title that the book directly is about how the main character Tess reacts to a boy's suicide. I can tell right away that this is probably an emotion-laden read, and is a book that you should probably carefully choose just the right time to hold in your hands and absorb.

- FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS - this excerpt took me the most by surprise, as this book was the lowest on my radar. I loved the setting, the mythology, the language, the interesting characters: right away I was drawn in. I grew up in Hong Kong and particularly love the idea of the setting being in East Asia, which seems to make a change for me. This was a surprise addition to my TBR list after reading the sampler and the one I wanted to continue on with most.

Overall, great sampler! I'll probably end up reading them all at some point but 'Warcross', 'Forest of a Thousand Lanterns', and 'Things I'm Seeing Without You' became definites.
**I was disappointed that two of these books have school dropouts; it seems to be too much of a trend with YA novels.

Cannot wait for each and every one of these! Jane Unlimited really intrigues me - can't wait to get my hands on a copy!

I recently had a chance read excerpts from 5 young adult novels being published by Penguin this month or next. They included: more gritty science fiction from Marie Lu (Legend) in WARCROSS; Kristin Cashore’s (Graceling - a personal favorite) new fantasy titled JANE, UNLIMITED; the start of a horror story called THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE by Stephanie Perkins (Anna and the French Kiss); plus THINGS I'M SEEING WITHOUT YOU by Peter Bognanni (The House of Tomorrow) and a fractured fairy-tale debut novel, FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS by Julie C. Dao. A variety of teen reads, but generally dark and a bit grim – the first and last titles especially are getting quite positive reviews; I will post more comments when I finish a full text.

For this book, because it is a sample, I will be splitting up my review into section. I am also posting the review on my blog.
Warcross by Marie Lu

While I am not usually too huge of a science fiction reader, I did enjoy this premise and I liked Marie Lu's writing style. The writing style felt very relatable and never felt like it was trying to be too technical or sophisticated. Lu made sure to write the story in a way that felt realistic in a potentially unrealistic setting, as well as keep the character lively and moving. Even when the narrator stops to just look at a magazine or check her phone, there is never a dull moment.
I think that the idea of a futuristic New York City and a virtual game is a really unique premise. I also found the bounty hunter angle interesting too because it is something I rarely ever see in YA books or at least the books I have read. Everything in this this world felt like a future that could happen, rather than something an author just made up. With so much online gaming, the angle of gambling or trading notes for actual cash (similar to people selling their game accounts on Amazon) is not too far off. I liked how the author mixed our modern day world with her futuristic world, helping again to make it more believable and relatable to the reader. I liked the main character of Emika Chen. I thought she was extremely cool and adventurous. On top of that I feel like I can relate to Emika and feel for her as she is dealing with being scared of eviction from her apartment or not having money or missing her father. Even the act of the Warcross game being used to make someone forget their troubles is something that a lot of people go through when it comes to online gaming. It is amazing how Lu was able to take a fictional futuristic world and combine it's struggles and hardships with today's reality so well.
I honestly really loved this sample and it definitely made me want to read this book when it comes out.

Jane, Unlimited by Kristen Cashore
This is a book I have had on my want to read list for a while. Sadly, when I started to read it I felt very bored. The conversations between Jane and Kiran and others just did not interest me and I felt myself scrolling through the pages and skimming a lot. There is a lot of uninteresting dialouge at the beginning of this story and I kept getting confused by even where the premise was going or if we were ever going to get somewhere interesting with this story. I know someone out there will enjoy this book, but for me I just was not invested in the story at all.

There's Someone in Your House by Stephanie Perkins
I am a fan of Stephanie Perkins and I have read many of her YA contemporary romance novels in the past and liked them. This is a new type of story and I am happy to say I feel Perkins did not disappoint when she decided to switch to a more horror/thriller type of book. Adding the backdrop of a musical about murder aka Sweeney Todd, on top of real life murders in a small town of Nebraska makes the story even creepier and more intriguing. To top it off the main character's feelings of spookiness and feeling unsettled can really resonate with the readers. I even felt like the mystery surrounding some of the characters like what happened on the beach with Makani to make her have to move to Nebraska had me extremely intrigued. I really like Perkins new book and this new genre, I am definitely going to want to read this when it comes out.

Things I'm Seeing Without You by: Peter Boganni
I actually did read this book before from a copy I got at Book Con. I enjoyed the book, though I felt some parts to be a little too unrealistic. For the most part though I though this story was a good in depth look about loss, grief, letting go, and moving on. There were a few things I felt I had to have more suspension of disbelief about like the friend pretending to be Tess's online boyfriend after his death and Tess forgiving him a little too quickly or being able to travel to Italy on a whim with barely any consequences. Overall, I did enjoy this book but felt it was a little unrealistic at some parts in the story.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao
This story took a while to pull me in. If I am not interested in a story after a few pages I usually do not like the book. Sadly, though I tried to give this story a chance, I just did not find it very interesting or intriguing. The conversations had in the story felt dull and the exposition and descriptions of character's past and lives felt just the same. However, I did like the struggle that Xifeng felt revolving about what she wanted and her life with her aunt, Guma and Guma's opinion about Xifeng's love life and desires. I also liked the character's work as a seamstress/tailor and thought that her desire to want to be with the emperor was relatable to the fairy tale esque story that the author was going for. So as I read, I do have to admit, the story picked up a little bit. Overall, I thought this was an okay sample, but I am not 100& sure if I will want to read this book once it is released in stores.

I enjoyed these chapter samples, for the most part. I feel some of these stories made me want to not read the book when it comes out or made me feel like I will only possibly want to read the stories. However, more books samples supplied in this sampler actually made me very excited for the books coming out. I was already planning on wanting to read the new Stephanie Perkin's novel, but this helped make me even more hype. I was not sure if I would like Warcross, but after reading the sample I am definitely going to want to buy the book or get it from my local library. I am very glad I read this chapter sampler and I hope that those who read this will be able to pick their next read, by viewing this sampler.

I had a love/hate relationship with this one. I loved getting to read some of the upcoming titles, especially Forest of a Thousand Lanterns and Jane Unlimited but at the same time, I want them now!

These were all good! I'm most interested in There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins and Things I'm Seeing Without You by Peter Bognanni. Excited to read those!

I love getting samplers because they're a fantastic way of being able to delve into a variety of stories and seeing which ones draw you in.

"Which will you read first?" Uhm...all of them, please? I need them now.

I'm so excited for all of these!!

➽ I've already read and LOVED the sampler to Warcross by Marie Lu. I can't wait to read the full copy!! Lu's

➽ I've also read and loved the entirety of Jane Unlimited. This book blew my mind, and I'd recommend it to anyone who liked Cashore's Bitterblue.

➽ I was not a fan of There's Someone Inside Your House. It feels very much like a cheesy horror flick, and I'm not a fan. Perhaps it's meant to be a subversion?

➽ I didn't actually finish the sampler of Things I'm Seeing Without You. It felt very much like some of my least favorite contemporaries - the ones that are more focused on quirks than personality traits. Perhaps I'm wrong, and it's hard to know from the sampler, but I am definitely not interested in this.

➽ The sampler of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns was AMAZING. Wow, I can't WAIT to read this!! The heroine feels like an appropriate antihero. Definitely check this out.

I just didn't find interest in the book after a few chapters.

A nice look at new YA books coming out this fall. I'm particularly excited for Warcross by Marie Lu!

I was so excited to get this sampler -- I've read all of Kristin Cashore's books and reading a chapter from Jane, Unlimited was fantastic. I was also interested in Marie Lu's Warcross novel, and this sampler has just added more books to my 'to read' list!

An incredible selection of samplers from some o the most anticipated titles in YA of this year.

Warcross

Pub: 9/12/17

The first five seconds into this one it was a hard no because of the main characters voice did not appeal to me. I’m not engaged by this one.

+Older heroine who lives a different lifestyle

-pacing (which probably is because (I read a couple of pages of this and knew I did like it.)

Continue? Nope


Jane Unlimited

Pub: 9/19/17

+different view of teens (dropout)

-voice of the characters it felt like they were trying hard to be quirky at times, it did not engage me

Continue? No


Someone Inside Your House

Pub: 9/26/17

I wanted this to do well because I do want more horror non-supernatural young adult to do well. It is readable. Emotionally I am just not into it.

+Main character is Hawaiian, it was readable (it did not feel heavy)

– It was not scary/suspenseful to me

Continue? No


Things I’m Seeing Without You

Pub: 10/3/17

+Short chapters, different lifestyle (high school boarding school dropout)

-voice of main character

Continue? No


Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

Pub: 10/10/17

I like the description of this the most so I thought I will actually like this one. I was right.

+I really liked the mythology, pace, that it showed early on it can be dark/gory (saying to me yes I can and will go there). The chapters were short which ties into the pacing and the overall good job she does with giving the world and mythology info.

Continue? Yes

Overall

It was an okay sampler, did not like 4 of 5 of the books. There was variety in terms of the characters lifestyles, and genre.

Favorite Cover: There’s Someone Inside Your House

Favorite Book: Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

I got to stop requesting short stories and samplers... hate reading them because they just get good and its over!