Social Distance Book Fest Tag!

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I'm so excited to be a host and organizer for the Social Distance Book Fest, a virtual book fest created by my good friend Bethany over at Beautifully Bookish Bethany on YouTube! The fest will take place all throughout the day on Saturday, April 25th, and there will be tons of exciting panels, giveaways, and virtual signings! I am so excited to be hosting a panel titled Love, Loss, and Firsts: New Voices in YA Contemporary Fiction! I have a very exciting slate of authors lined up: Jenny Lee (Anna K.), Cameron Lund (The Best Laid Plans), Liz Lawson (The Lucky Ones), Rocky Callen (A Breath Too Late), and Laynie Bynum (Adeline's Aria). Bethany has created a tag inspired by some (not all, there's a lot of 'em!) of the different panels in the fest, and I figured I'd do it!

 1. Worldbuilding in Speculative Fiction & Historical Suspense: Share a book with great worldbuilding

For this one, I had to go with Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas! This book is a paranormal urban fantasy, and it takes place in a modern fantasy world that is vaguely reminiscent of the Roman Empire, if it had never fallen and made it to modern times. Combine that with modern technology, and every single paranormal creature you can think of (fae, angels, shape shifters, mer, witches, vampires, etc.) living alongside humans, and you've got the world of Crescent City. It's AWESOME.

 2. Tackling Consent, Gender, and Toxic Masculinity in Romance: Share a book with enthusiastic consent

I'm recommending Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner, who is participating in one of our panels! This is the first queer novel to be published by Berkley romance, and it takes place in Hollywood and draws heavily on the #MeToo movement. It also tackles consent in the workplace, and what it means and how consent works when it comes to romantic relationships within the workplace. This book comes out at the end of May, and I highly recommend it!

 3. So You Want to Start a Booktube Channel: Offer one piece of advice for aspiring booktubers 

 Just go for it!

 4. From Boys in Outer Space to Magical Girls & Guillotines: Queer Voices in Science Fiction & Fantasy: Share a favorite sci-fi or fantasy book with queer representation 

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan is one I highly recommend. I have yet to read the sequel (ooops) but this has a great female/female romance that also tackles consent and sexual assault, and it's written by a queer author!

 5.  Beyond Stephen King: New Frontiers in Horror: Share a creepy book written by a woman, a person of color, or someone from the LGBTQIA+ community 

Hmmm... I'm going to go with His Hideous Heart, which is an anthology edited by Dahlia Adler, and every story is inspired by an Edgar Allen Poe story/poem. I'm not an anthology person, but I loved this! I remember Stephanie Kuehn's story was my favorite, but I remember also loving the stories from Kendare Blake and Caleb Roehrig, among others!

 6. Fierce Femmes: Standing Your Ground: Share a book with a fierce female protagonist. 

There are SO MANY to choose from! I'd love to choose Bryce Quinlan, but I'll go with Daisy Jones from Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Daisy is super fierce, maybe even a little too fierce for her own good... this book is full of fierce women, though, and if you haven't read it, I highly recommend picking it up via audiobook!

 7. Navigating Latinx Identity in Fantasy: Share a fantasy book with Latinx representation

The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring is actually one of Bethany's favorite books! It's a very polarizing book that takes place in Argentina, and I'm not sure it's totally categorized as fantasy, but it's certainly something! It has a huge twist, and Bethany explains it better than anyone, but I'll try my best... you have to understand the context from where the twist is coming from, and if you don't have the background to understand the context, there's a good chance it will seem like a boatload of nonsense!

 8. Family, Friendship, & Determination in Middle Grade Fiction: Share a middle grade book with a great family or friend group 

The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer is one of my favorite series, period. I read the first book right when it came out when I was in 6th grade, and the final book came out when I was going into my senior year of high school (!!!) and they never got old, and each book got better and better. I'd describe this book as a better, more literary version of the TV show Once Upon a Time. Honestly, the way Chris Colfer weaves the fairy tales together and makes connections among the different stories (ex: why did Jack climb the beanstalk? It might have something to do with Goldilocks...) is so incredibly creative. If you have a middle grade reader at home, I highly recommend purchasing the box set during this difficult time!

 9. New Voices in YA Panels (SFF and contemporary): Share an upcoming release that you can’t wait to get your hands on! 

Need I say more? 

 10. From Sherlock Holmes to Veronica Mars: Variations in the Mystery/Thriller Genre: Share a favorite mystery or thriller! 


I read The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides just last month, and I can't stop thinking about it! It is definitely my favorite thriller of all time! I've seen mixed reviews for this book, and part of it seems to be that many people weren't shocked by the ending for a certain reason that's kind of spoilery... I listened to this via audio, and I think that helped keep me in the dark the way the author intended, so I highly recommend this book either way, but I think the audiobook helps keep the shock factor intact. I am planning on rereading this physically, though!

 11. Identity Formation & Deconstruction in Adult Fiction: Share a book that deals with identity in a positive or negative way. 

Another very recent read is Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano. This book was incredible. It follows a boy who boards a plane to LA with his family, but the plane crashed in Colorado and everyone on board except the boy, Eddie, who will now go by Edward, is killed. Edward moves to New Jersey to live with his aunt and uncle, where he struggles to figure out who he is in a world without his family. This book is also told in an interesting way; we alternate between Edward's life after the crash, and the flight itself, where we focus on a few specific characters in addition to Edward and his family, including an injured soldier returning from Afghanistan, a Wall Street wunderkind, and a woman coming to terms with an unplanned pregnancy, among others. Dear Edward is a book about identity if there ever was one, and it deals with it in a very positive way. 

12. Social Distance Book Fest: Share a bright spot from the past few weeks! A book you read, a moment of self-care, something that made you laugh etc.

I would say just being around my family has been a bright spot, though we do drive one another crazy! If all was right in the world, I would still be at school in NY, and I wish I were there, but having unexpected time to be with my family has been really nice.


XOXO,

Isabella 

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