Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. This week I'll be talking about the debut authors whose second books I can't wait to read!

1. Sarah Ayoub




I really loved Hate Is Such A Strong Word, and so I was so excited to find out that The Yearbook Committee will be released next year! As a side note, that cover looks pretty awesome, I'm liking the vintage vibes.

2. Victoria Aveyard





Not everyone loved Red Queen, though personally I did end up enjoying it. That cliffhanger at the end makes reading the second book a must!

3. Amy Ewing





Another debut author, another dystopian series - I own The White Rose and can't wait to start it!

4. Kathryn Barker

This debut is one of my top reads of 2015 - seriously powerful and definitely in possession of some wow factor. I am so curious to see what Kathryn Barker will come up with next!

5. Fleur Ferris

There have been a few outstanding #LoveOzYA titles this year, and Risk is one of them. Chilling and yet so worth a read, this book has impressed me and so I can't wait to check out the next book from this author which will be released in July 2016!

6. Sandy Hall

For those cute, sweet romances, Sandy Hall nails it. I have Signs Point to Yes so will be checking it out soon! 

7. Maria Dahvana Headley

Magonia is a book that is as weird as it is wonderful. As the first book in a series, I am intrigued to see where on earth (or in the skies) the rest of the story will go. 

8. Thalia Kalkipsakis

Lifespan of Starlight tackled time travel in an Australian landscape, and from an angle which I haven't read before. Technically she's not exactly a debut author, but this is her debut series so I've put it on this list.

9. Stephanie Oakes

This book was another big hit for me, since it was so intense and thought provoking. As a debut it shines, and so I am eagerly awaiting the release of The Arsonist, a YA mystery novel by Stephanie Oakes coming out in 2016 .

10. Amy Zhang





Falling Into Place left me with SO MANY EMOTIONS, and I'm getting the feeling that This is Where the World Ends will be just as heartbreaking.

What debut authors have you anticipating their second novel? 

Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors in 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. This week I'm sharing the top ten authors that have been new to me in 2014. 

1. Gabrielle Tozer




I am so glad that I came across The Intern and now can't wait to read the sequel Faking It! 

2. Rachael Craw






Spark really impressed me and Rachael Craw is definitely now on my must-read author list.

3. Alyxandra Harvey



Alyxandra Harvey has introduced me to a world where magical realism, fantasy and historical elements combine! 

4. E. Lockhart 

We Were Liars blew me away and now I'm really looking forward to getting to The Disreputable History of Frankie-Landau Banks. 

5. Abigail Haas

I read Dangerous Girls and Dangerous Boys right after each other and loved them both! I'm really hoping that Abigail Haas writes more of these thrillers with surprising twists. 

6. Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Curse may not be her debut, but it's definitely sparked a lot of attention in the bookish world this year for all the right reasons. 

7. Leslye Walton

If Leslye Walton is able to pull of another whimsical tale with such lyrical prose as this one, I'll be reading it for sure. 

8. Amy Zhang

This stunning debut packed with emotion and beautifully written has put Amy Zhang right at the top of my contemporary to-read list with her next novels!

9. Katherine Longshore

I'm always on the lookout for new historical fiction reads, so now that I've come across Katherine Longshore I know of her other works too.

10. Megan Abbott

Megan Abbott's novels are as chilling as they are captivating, and now that I've read three of hers I can say that I'm a fan!

Over to you - what authors have you discovered this year?

Genie's Weekly News (1)

Hi everyone and welcome to my weekly blog feature to recap the week with bookish news and what to expect coming up! So without further ado...

*Reading Right Now*

*Previous Posts*

• I launched this blog into the world! (13/9/14)
• My first review and giveaway for State of Grace by Hilary Badger went up (14/9/14)
• I gave five stars to the very emotional Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang (15/9/14)
• Top Ten Tuesday where I talked about the authors I need to read more from (16/9/14)
• Waiting on Wednesday featured Remember Me by Romily Bernard (17/9/14)
• I reviewed Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant (18/9/14)
• Shared my thoughts on The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl (19/9/14)
• Discussion was turned towards 'Unlikable Main Characters' in novels (20/9/14)

*Sneak Peek at Next Week*

A dual review for books in the Flora series by Jessica L. Brooks, blog tour for 'The Jewel', and much more including a feature I'm doing with Stephanie from Chasm of Books!

*From The Interwebs*

• Cait @ Notebook Sisters shared another hilarious edition of 'Honest YA'
• Stephanie @ Chasm of Books posted A Secret is Discovered
• Cait @ Notebook Sisters discussed 28 Reasons Why Being A Bookworm Actually Sucks
• Emily @ The Loony Teen Writer revealed how to get involved in her new feature 'loony blurbs'
• Author Jessica Brooks @ Let Me Tell You A Story has some awesome giveaways on her blog for an annotated copy of If I Speak True and other bookish swag

*Book Haul*

• Malini by Robert Hillman - This looks like an interesting story based on true events 
• The Year It All Ended by Kirsty Murray - I am SO EXCITED for this one, plus I love Aussie historical fiction anyway which this book fits right into!
• Pandora Jones: Deception by Barry Jonsberg - I really enjoyed book one (and it ended on a massive cliffhanger) so I've got high hopes for the sequel
• The Giver by Lois Lowry - I'm interested in seeing the movie, but I do want to read the book first which I borrowed from the library, and it looks really short
• Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth - I've been wanting to read something by Kate Forsyth for ages, and this looks like the perfect mix between fairytale and historical fiction - I just got it from the library and I'm loving it so far!

It's been a big week since I've launched my own blog and I just wanted to again say a big THANK YOU to all of you lovely bookworms who have visited so far!

Review: Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang

Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang
Released: 9th September 2014
Published by: HarperCollins
Genre: YA Contemporary
Source: Publisher
Pages: 296
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Goodreads | Bookworld | Book Depository

On the day Liz Emerson tries to die, they had reviewed Newton’s laws of motion in physics class. Then, after school, she put them into practice by running her Mercedes off the road.

 Why? Why did Liz Emerson decide that the world would be better off without her? Why did she give up? Vividly told by an unexpected and surprising narrator, this heartbreaking and nonlinear novel pieces together the short and devastating life of Meridian High’s most popular junior girl.

Mass, acceleration, momentum, force—Liz didn’t understand it in physics, and even as her Mercedes hurtles toward the tree, she doesn’t understand it now. How do we impact one another? How do our actions reverberate? What does it mean to be a friend? To love someone? To be a daughter? Or a mother? Is life truly more than cause and effect?

Amy Zhang’s haunting and universal story will appeal to fans of Lauren Oliver, Gayle Forman, and Jay Asher.

Thank you to HarperCollins Australia for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Basically me throughout the whole book

From the very first page of 'Falling Into Place' I just had that feeling that it was going to be heartbreaking, but so well written. Emotionally powerful and utterly captivating, this debut is definitely one of my favourites of the year. Going into it, you know that something bad is going to happen, and with every passing chapter it becomes more apparent why Liz Emerson had continued on a downward spiral towards her own demise.

By the end, she was just another girl stuffed full of forgotten dreams, until she crashed her car and she wasn't even that.

From its premise I knew that this book was going to be dark and hard-hitting, but I don't think I was truly prepared for just how moving it turned out to be. Liz's story, the one where the most popular girl in Meridian High finds reason to end her life, is one that is just so sad. The whole novel itself is written in prose where each sentence is delicately constructed to give the most impact. Everything from the titles of the chapters to the little snapshots in between, to the memories of her life with her best friends Julia and Kennie is so expertly woven to create this story. I haven't read a book that is written so poignantly in a long time. 

She finally figured out that she, Liz Emerson, was the equal and opposite reaction. She was the consequence. She pushed down on the gas pedal. 

The science element with the laws of physics also came into play, which added those extra pieces of symbolism which brought the whole book together. All of the characters are complex and developed; each with their own challenges and ways in which Liz had interacted in their lives. Liz of course is perhaps the most enigmatic of all. The girl who supposedly had the social hierarchy as her oyster was the one who was the most broken. This books makes you appreciate the ones around you, and your closest friends who you care about. I found its message to be to look out for the ones we love, and always be there for them, even when things seem to be going well. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

'Falling Into Place' is an unforgettable and haunting contemporary debut from an author who I can't wait to read more from. This novel is devastating in its content, but beautifully written to express such profound emotions within its pages. With this piece, Amy Zhang has earned her place among the authors with the biggest reputations in this genre, and I dare say her talent surpasses even theirs.