The YA Scavenger Hunt starts tomorrow. I hope you’ll join me for the chance to win all the books shown below, and more!
I’ll also be giving away a signed copy of The Smallest Thing.
See you tomorrow!

- Lisa Manterfield Leave a Comment
The YA Scavenger Hunt starts tomorrow. I hope you’ll join me for the chance to win all the books shown below, and more!
I’ll also be giving away a signed copy of The Smallest Thing.
See you tomorrow!
- Lisa Manterfield Leave a Comment
- Lisa Manterfield Leave a Comment
The Young Adult Scavenger Hunt (YASH) starts tomorrow. Are you ready? This year 120 of your favorite YA authors will be offering copies of their books as prizes, along with top secret bonus material, such as deleted scenes, related short stories, cover reveals, and more.
I’m on the GOLD Team, where I’ll be giving away copies of The Smallest Thing and offering up the very first look at the cover and first chapter of my forthcoming book, Thicker Than Water. You definitely won’t want to miss this.
If you’ve never hunted before, you can find out more about it on the YASH website, or check back here October 2nd at 12pm for all the details and the first clue in the GOLD team hunt.
See you then!
Lisa
- Lisa Manterfield 6 Comments
Is there anything more satisfying than reaching the end of a really great book? Okay, maybe a couple of things. Avocado toast, for example. But there’s a special glow that stays with you when a book hits all the marks.
I love books about complex human relationships and psychology. I enjoy reading authors who take risks with their writing and aren’t afraid to take their stories to the dark corners of the human psyche. I love books that make me think or that make me want to read them again to pick up what I missed on the first reading.
So, with that in mind, here are eight books I loved in 2017.
Celeste Ng’s debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, made my list of Fave Reads of 2016, so I was eager to read her latest offering. It didn’t disappoint.
Through the stories of a single mother who moves with her daughter into an upscale neighborhood of traditional families, a young woman fighting to regain custody of the child she gave up for adoption, and the mother of four determined to uphold traditional values, Ng explores the question of what it means to be a “good” mother.
Ng is a master of weaving together multiple points-of-view and crisscrossing storylines to force her characters—and her readers—to question their own beliefs.
From page one I loved this story of a socially awkward woman forced to find her way in the modern world. But underneath the humor and quirkiness of Eleanor, Honeyman digs without mercy into the topics of mental health, how we judge others from the outside, and the scars left by our pasts. This was an entertaining and well-told story that also got me thinking.
I read two of Lianne Moriarty’s novels last year and enjoyed them both. The Husband’s Secret, like What Alive Forget, weaves together the points-of-view of a cast of characters, intertwining their stories. There’s a moment in the book when the reader suddenly knows more than the characters and it makes for fascinating reading to watch them bumble into trouble still clutching their beliefs. Moriarty’s writing is infused with humor and a brilliant eye for the day-to-day details of life.
The Muse hops back and forth between the stories of a recent immigrant to 1960s London and a renegade and much sought-after artist in the Spanish Civil War. With vivid and unique characters and beautifully detailed settings, Burton tells an intriguing tale of identity, secrets, and creative inspiration. This one was a definite “Read Again” book.
This book came highly recommended by a trusted friend, but as I got deeper into the story, I wondered if she’d lost her mind. It reads like series of vignettes of “a day in the life” of a count on house arrest in a swanky hotel in Soviet-era Russia. The details are gorgeous and the writing exquisite, but for much of the book it seems like not very much is happening. That is, until all the tiny moving parts come together and every little detail fits into its place. It’s the kind of book I immediately want to read again to pick up all the delicious clues. If you’ve tried to read this book and given up, I urge you to try again. It’s worth it.
This is my “left field” book of 2017. Zombie apocalypse stories aren’t usually my thing, but I picked it up while sniffing out other virus stories in preparation for publishing The Smallest Thing. Trust me when I tell you that a deadly virus is the only thing the two books have in common!
Patient Zero is a tasty nugget of horror-thriller candy. It has an evil villain with an underground lair, a rugged hero with a killer sense of humor, a little romance, a lot of blood, and bodies piled waist-deep by the end of the book. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, but if the mood hits you, as it did me, it’s a rollicking good fun read.
I admit it. I have a huge crush on Neil Gaiman. He’s like that really cool rebel English teacher that all the students love, but who eventually gets fired for some sort of inappropriate behavior. Anyway…
I got the audio version of this book, narrated by Neil himself. For the first few chapters, I was convinced it was a memoir, Neil recounting a story of his childhood. Then things turned odd and Neil Gaiman-ish and I realized that all was right in the world after all. It’s dark, weird, and twisted, as well as heartbreaking and utterly believable. As with The Graveyard Book, I cried at the end of this story.
And finally…
This was my absolute favorite book of 2017. At its heart, it’s an unconventional love story between Wavy, the young daughter of a drug dealer, and Kellen, the older man who works for Wavy’s father. But this isn’t your typical romance. It’s a story of resilience, self-reliance, and a determination to overcome judgment and prejudice in the name of real love.
It’s not an always an easy read. Greenwood paints a gritty picture of drugs, sex, and violence. There were a couple of times I had to put the book down because I was afraid to find out what would happen next. But the characters are so compelling, it was never long before I started reading again. This book is daring writing at its best. I can’t wait to see what Bryn Greenwood gives us next.
- Lisa Manterfield Leave a Comment
You do know it’s Mother’s Day on Sunday, don’t you? And you did promise yourself you wouldn’t leave it until the last minute to get a gift this year, didn’t you? Okay. Good. Then, ditch the grocery store flowers and chocolates and check out these very cool book-related gifts for Mumsy.
I love these book pendants. Snoop around Etsy.com for crafters who will make a pendant in Mom’s style using the cover of her favorite book. You can also find simple or ornate gold and silver book pendants if that’s more her taste.
For reasons I’ll never understand, the whole “Scratch and Sniff” phenomenon never quite took off. Still, you can send Mom on a sensory trip into her favorite classic with these Literary Candles. Maybe she’d enjoy the scent of the gardens at Pemberley, or perhaps she’d prefer tea and books at 221B Baker Street. If your mom’s into zombie novels or medical thrillers, you might want to rethink this one.
Book crates have taken the subscription world by storm. Here’s one that is perfect for a long-lasting gift. Once Upon a Book Club delivers a box with a new release and three hand-wrapped story-related gifts to be opened at specific pages in the book.
Bookplates are so last century (or maybe the century before last), but a stylish desktop embosser could make Mom a bit more willing to lend out her favorites.
Due to a series of unfortunate events, I really need new plates. I’m so tempted to search out plate-sized versions of this book platter. Your mother would be the envy of her book club with this.