Last week I managed to remove a couple of books from my TBR shelf and I miraculously have only added one this week, so let’s dive right into the task of clearing away. I’ve set my random number generator to 498 and we’ll see what we land on. First up…

338

Ageless by Paul Inman

Synopsis from goodreads: Imagine that you never aged that you would forever remain young and vital, impervious to the ravages of time. For Alessandra, a woman whose genetic code keeps her eternally young perhaps even making her immortal this fantasy is a reality. But it s not as idyllic as it seems. Her rare condition only leaves her feeling isolated and strange, fearful of what her circumstances really mean for her future. And Alessandra has every reason to be afraid. After many years in captivity as the subject of Nazi scientist experimentations in an underground lab, she s haunted by the memories of her exploitation and desperate to keep her identity a secret. This proves to be exceptionally difficult when impassioned CIA agent Mark Richards develops an unhealthy obsession with capturing her. Ageless is a thrilling journey that spans decades and asks the question: If you could live forever, would you want to?

Verdict: It would appear this is one that was added when I entered a goodreads giveaway. It’s an interesting premise, but reviews are kind of all over the place, and in an awkward twist there are some character assassination reviews of 1 star alluding to some nefarious things surrounding the author. Nothing I’ve verified but I think it’s best to let this one lie.

REMOVE

379

Frankenstein Diaries: The Romantics: The Secret Memoirs of Mary Shelley by Michael January

Synopsis from goodreads: “The inspiration for Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s most famous work, “Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus” has been debated for 200 years. In 1814, two years before the notorious “Gothic Summer” in Geneva, 16 year old Mary Godwin eloped to Paris with the 22 year old poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, inviting Mary’s 15 year old step-sister Claire Claremont to go with them. They would walk across war ravaged France to Switzerland and up the Rhine River to a castle called Frankenstein.

Three years later Mary would publish the diaries she kept of that journey of two teenage girls and the poet of “free love”. In the published version of “A History of a Six Week’s Tour” she would tell where they went and what they saw, but she never revealed the true secrets of that trip, from where a later inspiration arose. Here now, for the first time is revealed the secret portions of that tour and beyond.”

Verdict: Hmmm… interesting. I don’t remember adding this book, but I am extremely interested in anything Mary Shelley and even have my own writing project about her planned. I’m going to keep this one, as during my research phase I plan on reading anything and everything I can about her.

KEEP

461

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa

Synopsis from goodreads: “Julián Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate. Get into UCLA. And have the chance to move away from Corpus Christi, Texas, and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life.

Then in one reckless moment, with one impulsive tweet, his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown—literally—out the closet. The downside: the whole world knows, and Jules has to prepare for rejection. The upside: Jules now has the opportunity to be his real self.

Then Mat, a cute, empathetic Twitter crush from Los Angeles, slides into Jules’s DMs. Jules can tell him anything. Mat makes the world seem conquerable. But when Jules’s fears about coming out come true, the person he needs most is fifteen hundred miles away. Jules has to face them alone.

Jules accidentally propelled himself into the life he’s always dreamed of. And now that he’s in control of it, what he does next is up to him.”

Verdict: This is a new addition from a goodreads giveaway. It has such good ratings and is receiving a lot of praise, so I’m going to keep this for when I want a feel good YA book.

KEEP

271

Before My Eyes by Caroline Bock

Synopsis from goodreads: Dreamy, poetic Claire, seventeen, has spent the last few months taking care of her six-year-old sister, Izzy, as their mother lies in a hospital bed recovering from a stroke. Claire believes she has everything under control until she meets “Brent” online. Brent appears to be a kindred spirit, and Claire is initially flattered by his attention. But when she meets Max, the awkward state senator’s son, her feelings become complicated.

Max, also seventeen, has been working the worst summer job ever at the beachside Snack Shack. He’s also been popping painkillers. His parents—more involved in his father’s re-election than in their son’s life—fail to see what’s going on with him.

Working alongside Max is Barkley, twenty-one. Lonely and obsessive, Barkley has been hearing a voice in his head. No one—not his parents, not his co-workers—realizes that Barkley is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Until the voice in his head orders him to take out his gun.

Narrated in turns by Claire, Max, and Barkley, Before My Eyes captures a moment when possibilities should be opening up, but instead everything teeters on the brink of destruction.”

Verdict: This is another YA novel. And the synopsis looks extremely compelling and has a plot that’s extremely relevant in today’s political and social climate. I think in this case I’m going to chock it up to the average rating. at a 3.49 average. That doesn’t seem quite high enough to usually give me a lot of confidence. So, for now, I’m going to remove this one.

REMOVE

416

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Synopsis from goodreads: Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her — but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known.

So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the deep South to dangerously utopic movements in the North. Even as he’s enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, Hiram’s resolve to rescue the family he left behind endures.

Verdict: This is an easy one. I actually did have this book from the library once and had to turn it in because I’d bit off more than I could chew and hadn’t even started it before it was due, but I definitely want to read it. I plan on doing it this year. I’ve already completed more than half of my 52 books for my reading challenge, so I can start to be a little lax with my categories and fit in some I just want to read. So it’s a keeper…

KEEP

There you have it. Two removes and three keeps. I now have a grand total of 496. Until next time, happy reading!