This month for Buy Indie Press, I’m putting the spotlight on Diversion Books, Medallion Press, and Sourcebooks with a list of the ten books from these publishers that I’ve read and enjoyed or am excited to read.
Here we go!
Diversion Books
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1. Gardenia by Kelsey Sutton
Release Date: February 28, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Speculative
ISBN: 978-1626818415
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Seventeen-year-old Ivy Erickson has one month, twenty-seven days, four hours, fifty-nine minutes, and two seconds to live.
Thoughtful and brooding, Ivy has been harboring a secret her entire life: she can see countdown clocks over everyone’s heads, watching their life grow closer and closer to the end with each passing second. She can’t do anything about anyone else’s clock, nor can she do anything about her own, approaching a zero hour before she even graduates high school. A life cut short is tragic, but Ivy tries to make the most of it.
She struggles emotionally with her deep love for on-again, off-again boyfriend Myers Patripski. She struggles financially, working outside of school to help her mom and her sister escape the realities of trailer park life. And she struggles to discover who murdered her best friend, another life she couldn’t save. Vanessa Donovan was murdered in the woods, and everyone in town believes it is Ivy who did it.
In what time she has left, Ivy must put her own life in order as she pieces together the truth of who ended Vanessa’s.
I’m actually reading an early version of this now (stay tuned for my spoiler free review later this month and spoiler review this February) and am loving it. I’ve loved all of Kelsey’s past work so I knew what I was in for and have been so excited turning the pages on this one. Can’t wait to talk about it!
2. Time Rep by Peter Ward
Release Date: July 2, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Sci-fi
ISBN: 978-1626810969
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Imagine you’ve just been told you’re the most insignificant person who’s ever lived.
A nobody.
Somebody less important to the world than certain types of mushroom.
Not very nice, is it?
That’s exactly what happens to Geoffrey Stamp after a man from the year 3050 asks him to become a “Time Rep” – a tour guide for the 21st Century, meeting people from the future who travel back through time for their vacations.
You see, Time Reps need to be insignificant. Otherwise, when you go back in time and interfere with their destiny, the space-time continuum has a bit of a fit.
And we wouldn’t want that.
But when Geoffrey uncovers a conspiracy to change the course of history, he is sent on a mind-bending adventure through time and space involving an imaginary lake, a talking seagull, dinosaurs, aliens, the Great Fire of London, and the discovery that he might not be as insignificant as people thought…
I’m a sucker for time travel so this didn’t take much to make it on the list. Love the cover. Love the emphasis on how ordinary the main character and how extraordinary his travels and experiences will be. Can’t wait to get to this one!
3. The Circuit: Executor Rising by Rhett C. Bruno
Release Date: May 19, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction
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“A hard-charging opener to a promising, if bloody, space-opera series.” —KIRKUS
Centuries after Earth was rendered an uninhabitable wasteland, humanity was forced from its homeworld and founded the Kepler Circuit, a string of colonies throughout the solar system. These settlements provide resources to the remnants of humankind, the most important resource being the newly discovered element—Gravitum—found only in the Earth’s unstable mantle.
But a powerful religious faction known as the New Earth Tribunal has risen to preside over most of the Circuit. Though there is barely a faction left to challenge them, a string of attacks on the Tribunal’s freighters causes them to suspect their mortal enemies, the Ceresians, of foul play.
Tasked with solving the problem is Sage Volus: Tribunal Executor. Spy.
Sage quickly infiltrates the ranks of a roguish, Ceresian mercenary named Talon Rayne, seeking to discover the truth behind the attacks, but the longer she works amidst Talon and his squad, the more she finds her faith in the Tribunal tested.
While her quest for answers only unearths more questions, a new threat is on the rise, and it plans to bring down the Tribune once and for all.
I hadn’t heard of this novel before creating this list but now I’m excited that it’s on my radar and am hoping that it delivers more than what I’m expecting here.
Medallion Press
4. Canary by Rachele Alpine
Release Date: August 1, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
ISBN: 978-1605425870
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Kate Franklin’s life changes for the better when her dad lands a job at Beacon Prep, an elite private school with one of the best basketball teams in the state. She begins to date a player on the team and quickly gets caught up in a world of idolatry and entitlement, learning that there are perks to being an athlete.
But those perks also come with a price. Another player takes his power too far and Kate is assaulted at a party. Although she knows she should speak out, her dad’s vehemently against it and so, like a canary sent into a mine to test toxicity levels and protect miners, Kate alone breathes the poisonous secrets to protect her dad and the team. The world that Kate was once welcomed into is now her worst enemy, and she must decide whether to stay silent or expose the corruption, destroying her father’s career and bringing down a town’s heroes.
Canary is told in a mix of prose and verse.
I was initially drawn to this book after discovering that it was told in verse, which I love. And I loved here. Though while I didn’t completely connect to this book, I do very much appreciate what this book had to say and I found the ending of the story resolved itself nicely. If this is on your list of books to read, bump it up your list because it’s a quick, engrossing read.
5. All In by Jerry Yang with Mark Tabb
Release Date: July 1, 2011
Genre: Nonfiction
ISBN: 978-1605421889
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Jerry Yang was flipping through the channels one evening in 2005 when he stumbled upon the World Series of Poker on ESPN. Having never seen or played the game before, he was instantly hooked. Two years later, Jerry won $8.2 million at the WSOP final table.
An amateur poker player winning the sport’s most prestigious event makes headlines, but Yang’s story placed him at the forefront of media attention. Having survived a childhood in the killing fields of Southeast Asia and a Thai refugee camp, Yang found academic and personal success in the slums of Nashville, Kansas City, and Fresno. When Jerry watched poker for the first time, he promised his wife when he won the WSOP championship he’d use the money for good—and he did just that, giving over $800,000 to charities benefitting children around the world.
All In dramatically intertwines poker champion Jerry Yang’s amazing life from his early days in a Hmong village to surviving the treacherous journey to Thai refugee camp to the key hands from the 2007 World Series of Poker. The two work together in this page-turning true story that will leave you cheering as Jerry overcomes impossible odds to become a champion in poker and in life.
I have no idea who this guy is but as I searched the Medallion Press website, this book caught my eye. Being a professional poker player for one. Then a champion. And getting to point B from point A (living for some time in a refugee camp). Wow. What a life. I’m very interested in this one.
6. Burnt Tongues Edited By Chuck Palahniuk, Richard Thomas, & Dennis Widmyer
Release Date: August 12, 2014
Genre: Horror Anthology
ISBN: 978-1605427348
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Transgressive fiction authors write stories some are afraid to tell. Stories with taboo subjects, unique voices, shocking images—nothing safe or dry.
Burnt Tongues is a collection of transgressive stories selected by a rigorous nomination and vetting process and hand-selected by Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, as the best of The Cult workshop, his official fan website.
These stories run the gamut from horrific and fantastic to humorous and touching, but each leaves a lasting impression.
Some may say even a scar.
Anthologies are hit or miss but with Chuck behind this one, I can’t say that I’m not intrigued here. While this isn’t high up on my list, it is worth having on my radar and checking out at some point.
Sourcebooks
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7. Wild Swans by Jessica Spotswood
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 978-1492622161
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The summer before Ivy’s senior year is going to be golden; all bonfires, barbeques, and spending time with her best friends. For once, she will just get to be. No summer classes, none of Granddad’s intense expectations to live up to the family name. For generations, the Milbourn women have lead extraordinary lives—and died young and tragically. Granddad calls it a legacy, but Ivy considers it a curse. Why else would her mother have run off and abandoned her as a child?
But when her mother unexpectedly returns home with two young daughters in tow, all of the stories Ivy wove to protect her heart start to unravel. The very people she once trusted now speak in lies. And all of Ivy’s ambition and determination cannot defend her against the secrets of the Milbourn past….
This is Jessica’s first published contemporary novel after her deliciously wicked witch trilogy so I’m excited to get to this one before the year is up!
8. The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco
Release Date: August 5, 2014
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal, Horror
ISBN: 978-1402292187
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A dead girl walks the streets.
She hunts murderers. Child killers, much like the man who threw her body down a well three hundred years ago.
And when a strange boy bearing stranger tattoos moves into the neighborhood so, she discovers, does something else. And soon both will be drawn into the world of eerie doll rituals and dark Shinto exorcisms that will take them from American suburbia to the remote valleys and shrines of Aomori, Japan.
Because the boy has a terrifying secret – one that would just killto get out.
The Girl from the Well is A YA Horror novel pitched as “Dexter” meets “The Grudge”, based on a well-loved Japanese ghost story.
If I wasn’t already on board to read this, I surely was after the Dexter meets The Grudge comparison. I loved Dexter and not only enjoyed but actually wasn’t too freaked out by The Grudge so I am definitely down for anything that meets in the middle of these two.
9. The Six by Mark Alpert
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Genre: Young Adult Sci-fi
ISBN: 978-1492615293
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To save humanity, they must give up their own.
Adam’s muscular dystrophy has stolen his mobility, his friends, and in a few short years, it will take his life. Virtual reality games are Adam’s only escape from his wheelchair. In his alternate world, he can defeat anyone. Running, jumping, scoring touchdowns: Adam is always the hero.
Then an artificial intelligence program, Sigma, hacks into Adam’s game. Created by Adam’s computer-genius father, Sigma has gone rogue, threatening Adam’s life-and world domination. Their one chance to stop Sigma is using technology Adam’s dad developed to digitally preserve the mind of his dying son.
Along with a select group of other terminally ill teens, Adam becomes one of the Six who have forfeited their bodies to inhabit weaponized robots. But with time running short, the Six must learn to manipulate their new mechanical forms and work together to train for epic combat…before Sigma destroys humanity.
This book has been on my list of books to read for awhile now and I actually would have read it earlier but took a break from books that sounded dystopian. Though I’m excited to get to this one soon. Hoping it stands out among the rest.
10. The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Córdova
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
ISBN: 978-1402265105
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For Tristan Hart, everything changes with one crashing wave.
He was gone for three days. Sucked out to sea in a tidal wave and spit back ashore at Coney Island with no memory of what happened. Now his dreams are haunted by a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth.
His best friend Layla is convinced something is wrong. But how can he explain he can sense emotion like never before? How can he explain he’s heir to a kingdom he never knew existed? That he’s suddenly a pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods.
Something happened to him in those three days. He was claimed by the sea…and now it wants him back.
This is embarrassing but I got this book at BEA years ago and still haven’t read it! I’ve never read a mermaid story and am maybe a little hesitant? I don’t know. Anyway, I need to move this one to the top of my TBR pile asap!
What books from these publishers have you read and loved or plan on reading?