Top Ten Tuesday is an original meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme asks participants to list the authors we keep on auto-buy. As soon as we know there’s a new book coming out, we’re already planning when we’ll read it and requesting the galley or placing a pre-order.
Finding favorite books is always a treat, but finding an author who never fails to disappoint is a whole other kind of fun. When a new release hits shelves by these authors, I know I’m going to buy it. Here are my top ten auto-buy authors followed by snippets of some of their book covers. Enjoy!
(These are listed in no particular order.)
1. Markus Zusak
2. Jonathan Friesen
3. Stephanie Morrill
4. Laura L. Smith
5. Marissa Meyer
6. Leah Cypess
7. Jenny B. Jones
8. Lemony Snicket
9. Jacqueline Woodson
10. Jennifer Donnelly
How about you?
Do you have a list of authors whose books you automatically buy? Which authors would make your top ten list?
Embattled by grief over her brother’s murder, eighteen year-old Finley Sinclaire embarks on a journey, hoping to encounter the God he so powerfully sensed in the beautiful Irish countryside. Though God seems to elude her, she can’t seem to escape the attentions of teen heart-throb and actor Beckett Rush. With mounting pressure to perfect her audition composition for the New York Conservatory, win over her assigned adopted grouch – er, grandmother – and avoid being caught in the web of girls falling for Beckett, Finley’s life spirals out of her control. Only an encounter with God can right her, but where is He?
Fans of Jones’ earlier novels will not be disappointed in her latest book. With equal parts wit, fun, and spiritual depth, There You’ll Find Me brings readers on a journey through the lonely chill of grief to the warmth of budding love and the power of forgiveness, all set against a gorgeous Irish backdrop.
At first I was a little worried that the whole teen heartthrob thing would be a bit cliche. I think Jones’s expert writing and sense of humor kept the story interesting. I loved Finley right away – she’s so easy to identify with, and her spiritual journey felt so authentic to me.
Readers who enjoy Sarah Dessen, Nicole Quigley, or Laura Weiss will want to add this one to their reading lists.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content Finley is on a spiritual quest to follow her brother’s journal entries and revisit the places he wrote about in order to encounter God in those places and use the inspiration of the Irish countryside to finish a musical composition. She learns about forgiveness and about how sometimes grief, expectation, and busyness can distract and prevent us from hearing the voice of God in our times of need.
Sixteen year old Katie Parker is not too excited when she discovers she’s moving to a new foster home in In Between, Texas, home of the Chihuahuas. And to top that off, her new “dad” is the pastor of one of the local churches. Not exactly consistent with Katie’s formerly religion-less life. At her new school, she finds herself at home with the other outsiders. At least, so she thinks. When one late night stunt turns to trouble, Katie finds herself sentenced to time with her new nonGrandmother– Mad Maxine. Could things get any worse? And does the God thing really work?
Jenny B Jones tells Katie’s story with just the right mix of tenderness, humor, and sarcasm. It was an entertaining read, one I didn’t want to put down from the minute I read the first page. Katie is lovable and endearing– and even Mad Maxine really gets to your heart. She’s a trip.
There are three books in the Katie Parker Production series. So Not Happening, the first book in a new series by Jenny B. Jones, will be released in May 2009. Can’t wait to check it out!
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Sexual Content
None.
Spiritual Content Katie wrestles with finding her a place in her new family– and her new faith. The God thing is a unfamiliar and a little uncomfortable at first. Katie wrestles with doubts and a tenuous new hope. Her view as an outsider coming into a pastor’s family and her questions about faith seemed really authentic.
Violent Content One scene of vandalism pretty early on in the story. Pretty mild.
