Waiting, Wanting, Wishing is a meme based off of The Story Siren’s Books To Pine For and other posts such as that one. There are so many books out there that I want to read and this is a good way to spotlight some of them. This weeks theme is contemporary books being published in 2012!
Click on the books title to be taken to the Goodreads page.
Title: Before You Go
Author: James Preller
Release date: July 17, 2012
The summer before his senior year, Jude (yes, he’s named after the Beatles song) gets his first job, falls in love for the first time, and starts to break away from his parents. Jude’s house is kept dark; no one talks much—it’s been that way since his little sister drowned in a swimming pool when Jude was supposed to be watching her.
He was watching her. He looked away for just a moment. He was only nine years old. And he’s never truly grieved for her, or for the emotional deaths of his parents, who refuse to talk about what happened. Seven years later, Jude is finally, finally starting to live. Really live. And then life spins out of control. Again.
Fifteen-year-old Isabelle Scott loves her life by the boardwalk on the supposed wrong side of the tracks in North Carolina. But when tragedy strikes, a social worker sends her to live with a long-lost uncle and his preppy privileged family. Isabelle is taken away from everything she’s ever known, and, unfortunately, inserting her into the glamorous lifestyle of Emerald Cove doesn’t go so well. Her cousin Mirabelle Monroe isn’t thrilled to share her life with an outsider, and, in addition to dealing with all the rumors and backstabbing that lurk beneath their classmates’ Southern charm, a secret is unfolding that will change both girls’ lives forever.
Title: Perfect Escape
Author: Jennifer Brown
Release date: July 10, 2012
Kendra has always felt overshadowed by her older brother, Grayson, whose OCD forces him to live a life of carefully coordinated routines. The only way Kendra can stand out next to Grayson is to be perfect, and she has perfection down to an art — until a cheating scandal threatens her flawless reputation.
Behind the wheel of her car, with Grayson asleep beside her, Kendra decides to drive away from it all — with enough distance, maybe she’ll be able to figure everything out. But eventually, Kendra must stop running and come to terms with herself, her brother, and her past.
With undeniable grace and humor, acclaimed author Jennifer Brown explores OCD, the pressure for perfection, and the emotional highs and lows of a complex sibling relationship.
Release date: June 5, 2012
Sixteen-year-old Dani is convinced she has nine lives. As a child she twice walked away from situations where she should have died. But Dani’s twin, Jena, isn’t so lucky. She has cancer and might not even be able to keep her one life. Dani’s father is in denial. Her mother is trying to hold it together and prove everything’s normal. And Jena is wasting away.
To cope, Dani sets out to rid herself of all her extra lives. Maybe they’ll be released into the universe and someone who wants to live more than she does will get one. Someone like Jena. But just when Dani finds herself at the breaking point, she’s faced with a startling realization. Maybe she doesn’t have nine lives after all. Maybe she really only ever had one.
Title: Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe
Author: Shelley Coriell
Release date: May 1, 2012
Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.
What are you waiting, wanting, wishing for this week?
I’ve never heard of Before You Go, but it sounds intense and I’m adding it to the list. Perfect Escape is on my list, too, and it sounds so good! I loved Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe! It was such an awesome, fun read :0) I love contemps, so I’m always excited to hear about new ones!
wow these all sound really interesting. This looks like it is going to be a great year for contemporary.
3 r new 2me/Perfect Escape, All These Lives,Belles
my bookradar has been notificated lol
i’m also looking 4ward 2 Before You Go
Pretty interesting. I think I’ll give Before You Go a shot, simply because the MC is named after a Beatles’s song…
OMG I cannot wait to read All These Lives–it sounds heartbreaking, but in an unforgettable way. Also looking forward to Perfect Escape and Before You Go. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for your reviews on these!
Smiles!
Lori
I’m dying to read Perfect Escape !! I loved Hate List and Bitter End and I’m sure this on will be awesome as well … Great list 🙂
Welcome Caller was super cute. I loved the family aspect and how she’s overly optimistic and happy and how she has to temper that without suppressing her personality.
Love the radio show parts!
🙂