These books were mostly wins, and we like that, yes? OH and they are all fall books! Which led to this corny title. You’re all welcome to make fun of it. 

Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski
Freefall by Joshua David Bellin
Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield
Top Ten by Katie Cotugno

---

Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski
Series: Untitled Duology #1
Published by HarperTeen on October 10th 2017
Pages: 384
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Edelweiss

THE RULES ARE SIMPLE: You must be gifted. You must be younger than twenty-five. You must be willing to accept the dangers that you will face if you win.

Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Gupta’s entire life has been leading up to this—the opportunity to travel to space. But to secure a spot on this classified mission, she must first compete against the best and brightest people on the planet. People who are as determined as she to win a place on a journey to the farthest reaches of the universe.

Cassie is ready for the toll that the competition will take; the rigorous mental and physical tests designed to push her to the brink of her endurance. But nothing could have prepared her for the bonds she would form with the very people she hopes to beat. Or that with each passing day it would be more and more difficult to ignore the feeling that the true objective of the mission is being kept from her.

As the days until the launch tick down and the stakes rise higher than ever before, only one thing is clear to Cassie: she’ll never back down . . . even if it costs her everything.

This was so close to being a 5-star from me, and frankly, I could have used one. But alas. It was still incredibly strong and I am giddy excited for the sequel, so that’s good news.

Most of the book is about the competition that Cassie must compete in in order to go to space. Yes, I suppose this had the potential to be… not exciting? But no no, it was exciting! So much so! The author develops the plot and characters so well that it’s impossible to not be on the edge of your seat while reading. Because of the secretive nature of the story, there is always new information and twists coming into play. The cast of characters is quite diverse, too, which is great! There’s also some open discussion about sexuality, and it is a learning experience for the main character.

Speaking of, Cassie goes through a lot of growth during the book. And she’s by no means a perfect character at the start. She can be judgy and distant, and it’s nice that while she’s incredibly smart and driven, she also has flaws. Not only does Cassie grow, but we see other characters growing and changing a lot too.

Even though this first installment is light on the actual space adventuring, there was plenty of mention of space related stuff as well as interesting scientific technology and such. So if you’re here for the sci-fi aspects, it is there! The author even included some little nuggets about our current knowledge of space travel!

My one issue with this book? The end. It was… different. I don’t even know what else to say because obviously it’d be a big old spoiler. It was one of the most jarring endings I have read, and I still can’t quite decide on how I felt about it. I really don’t think I’ll be able to form an opinion until I see where the next book goes.

Will I read the Sequel? Oh hell yes. May I have it now, please and thank you?

Bottom Line: This was a huge win for me, and would have been five stars if not for my iffy feelings about the ending. If you like sci-fi, grab this book. Hell, even if you don’t, this is a good one to start with.

---

Freefall by Joshua David Bellin
Published by McElderry Books on September 26th 2017
Pages: 364
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

In the Upperworld, the privileged 1% are getting ready to abandon a devastated planet Earth. And Cam can’t wait to leave. After sleeping through a 1,000-year journey, he and his friends will have a pristine new planet to colonize. And no more worries about the Lowerworld and its 99% of rejects.

Then Cam sees a banned video feed of protesters in the Lowerworld who also want a chance at a new life. And he sees a girl with golden eyes who seems to be gazing straight though the feed directly at him. A girl he has to find. Sofie.

When Cam finds Sofie, she opens his eyes to the unfairness of what’s happening in their world, and Cam joins her cause for Lowerworld rights. He also falls hard for Sofie. But Sofie has her own battles to fight, and when it’s time to board the spaceships, Cam is alone.

Waking up 1,000 years in the future, Cam discovers that he and his shipmates are far off-course, trapped on an unknown and hostile planet. Who has sabotaged their ship? And does it have anything to do with Sofie, and the choices—and the enemies—he made in the past?

I so badly wanted to fall in love with this one. I have enjoyed the author’s other series, Survival Colony 9 and Scavengers of Souls. And I didn’t dislike this one. But it had some ups and downs for me. Let’s start with the good!

The good:

• The premise was pretty fabulous. I definitely needed to know how it was going to turn out. I mean, come on- dude is in cryosleep for a thousand years!?! It’s the the Gagarin premise on The 100, on crack. And I am here for it.
• Everything on the new planet was pretty intriguing. I wanted to know all the things! Because this is not the happy Earthlike planet they’d hoped for, and also, can you even imagine? It’s kind of a fun mind trip!
• A lot of the issues seemed quite timely. I’ll get into this more, but there’s a big focus on racial and socioeconomic issues. About people being forced to live in horrible conditions based on their ethnicity, their skin color, their social and economic status. They’re also being told they must stay on a dying planet. It’s awful, of course. And yes, the point is that this is a horrible thing to do to people. So that aspect was good. 

The not so good:

• I felt that the aforementioned racial and socioeconomic issues issues needed to be handled a bit more sensitively.  I get that it was a cautionary tale, but I didn’t feel like there was enough growth and remorse for some of the harshness toward the beginning. There are some things said by Cam, his friends, and their whole society at large that really rubbed me the wrong way. And again, I do understand that this is supposed to be seen from the perspective of “oh hey wait this is wrong and horrible”, and for some characters, it accomplishes that. But I never felt like they fully understood the weight of some of the words and phrases that were used. 
• Sometimes, it was info dumpy. While I liked the concept of the worldbuilding, a lot of times the delivery of the information felt tedious. Especially in the “thousand years earlier” chapters, I felt kind of bored with some of the more long-winded explanations. And then when my eyes would glaze over, I’d have to reread or I’d be confused. 
• I didn’t feel the romance.  It was pretty insta-lovey, and while I get why the love interest was special, I didn’t really feel the chemistry. I really liked Sofie as a character (much more than Cam, honestly) but his whole approach to their relationship bugged me. Did he really love her, or just admire her? I don’t know, but the insta-love wasn’t my fave. 

Bottom Line: Pretty cool from a sci-fi perspective, but lacking some of the elements that might have made it stand out.

---

Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield
Published by Carolrhoda Books on October 1st 2017
Pages: 272
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

June's life at home with her stepmother and stepsister is a dark one—and a secret one. She is trapped like a butterfly in a net.

But then June meets Blister, a boy in the woods. In him she recognizes the tiniest glimmer of hope that perhaps she can find a way to fly far, far away from her home and be free. Because every creature in this world deserves their freedom... But at what price?

.

.

This book made me cry so hard I almost threw up. This is not an exaggeration. It freaking gutted me. From start to finish. The story is not an easy read. I couldn’t put it down because I was so anxious about the outcome, but it isn’t the kind of book you’ll ever want to read again. I mean that in the best way possible- it’s because it will shatter your soul so much the first time around, you’d never need to.

There is a lot of abuse in this book, both emotional and physical, so if that is triggering to you, this may not be the book for you. But if you can handle it, this book has a ton to offer. Things like:

• A gorgeous friendship
• Some really important and heartbreaking messages that I can’t talk about because spoilers
• Fabulous writing
• A main character who will grab your heart from the start

Bottom Line: Me and this book in a GIF:

---

Top Ten by Katie Cotugno
Published by Balzer + Bray on October 3rd 2017
Pages: 368
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Edelweiss

Ryan McCullough and Gabby Hart are the unlikeliest of friends. Introverted, anxious Gabby would rather do literally anything than go to a party. Ryan is a star hockey player who can get any girl he wants—and does, frequently. But against all odds, they became not only friends, but each other’s favorite person. Now, as they face high school graduation, they can’t help but take a moment to reminisce and, in their signature tradition, make a top ten list—counting down the top ten moments of their friendship:

10. Where to begin? Maybe the night we met.
9. Then there was our awkward phase.
8. When you were in love with me but never told me…
7. Those five months we stopped talking were the hardest of my life.
6. Through terrible fights…
5. And emotional makeups.
4. You were there for me when I got my heart broken.
3. …but at times, you were also the one breaking it.
2. Above all, you helped me make sense of the world.
1. Now, as we head off to college—how am I possibly going to live without you?

I read this book in one day. In fact, I kept reading chapters on my phone every chance I got, because it was so good. So let us discuss!

The Things I Loved:

• Such a realistic portrayal of how different people anticipate the college situation. So many books present characters who all just want college to come ASAP, there’s no worry about it, it’s all positive. But hi, that isn’t life. I was freaking terrified about college. So it’s nice to see that portrayed so realistically in a main character.
• Also a realistic portrayal of anxiety. I could absolutely relate to some of Gabby’s anxieties, and even those that I couldn’t relate to seemed very well portrayed.
• Sex positive. I… don’t think this requires an explanation? But also, Gabby is bisexual and sex is handled positively across the board.
• Family is a big focus. Gabby’s family especially was so awesome. And the great thing is, her family’s closeness wasn’t something to be made fun of; Ryan liked their closeness too and wanted to be a part of it.
• I shipped the thing so damn much. I just adore the friends-to-lovers trope, okay? And they were just so damn cute together. As friends, certainly, and I wanted it to be more too.
• The timeline jumping format really worked for me. This probably isn’t true for everyone, but I loved that the story jumped around from time to time while still feeling very cohesive to me. Not all books can or should pull this off, but it really worked for this book.
• I just flat out loved the story. The characters were relatable, I enjoyed seeing the important, stand out moments of their high school lives, and I loved reading with the knowledge that soon they’d be moving on to their next life adventures.

The only downside:

• I wanted a little more from the ending.  I’m starting to think that’s just how the author rolls, but it’s still difficult for me as a reader.

Bottom Line: I loved the concept of looking back on high school highs and lows, and I adored the characters’ stories, both as their own people and their friendship together.

Have you read any of these books? Planning on it? Read other books by these authors? Let’s chat!