Friday Reads (on a Saturday..)

Due to some nice accidental scheduling on my part, I bring you Friday Reads! ... on Saturday!

Despite my lack of book reviews for a few weeks, I have indeed been reading. At this time, most of my reading is actually of ARCs supplied from either NetGalley or Edelweiss, so not all of them have been published when I'm reading them. In the case for the two most recent books I've read, both don't actually come out for a few months! But I still want to give you a heads up for some really cool book reviews coming your way...

Most recently, An Excess Male by Maggie Shen King: 

This novel dives into a dystopic China in 2030, where the One-Child-Policy has had detrimental side effects. There are simply so many men in China that women regularly marry two husbands. In the case of one of our protagonists, Wei-guo, he hopes to become the third husband to a woman named May-ling. As we follow Wei-guo's courtship with May-ling and her other two husbands, other social conflict in 2030 China come to light. Homosexuality is deemed as being 'willfully sterile' and, with the over-population of men in the country, mental illness can deem a man a 'Lost Boy,' someone who is not fit for producing children. Look out for my full review of this novel closer to it's September 12 release!

As for my Friday (Saturday) reads, The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin:

Yes! Indeed, this is the first novel in what is to be Hodkin's companion series to the Mara Dyer trilogy! (Some potential spoilers for that original series here). This is not a 'from his point of view' novel, but instead a continuation after the Mara Dyer series finale. Noah Shaw, a rather sarcastic, self-centered teen comes to New York City with his now official girlfriend, Mara. Seems pretty contemporary, right? Well, after the events of the previous series, the couple's mysterious powers seem to be somehow amplified. Noah is having visions of other teens with powers committing suicide, and being in NYC seems to only bring more visions. Noah and 'friends' (used loosely, because Noah is a bit of a sociopath at times) try to uncover the evolution of their powers and what this means for their future.

I'm really enjoying this ARC from Edelweiss so far, although I really don't like how Noah and Mara seem to have been.... changed. Mara is a bit over-sexualized so far, and Noah can't seem to crack the habit of keeping things from Mara. It seems like a bit of an over-hyped OTP for now, but I'm along for the ride because I really enjoyed the Mara Dyer series when I read it. Who knows? Maybe at the conclusion of this one I will stick along, or just drop it. I'm always open to putting down firsts in series if I'm not into it, so I definitely am not tied down *she says to herself, trying to convince herself*. I'll have my full review of this up closer to it's November 7th release.

What are you guys reading this weekend? Are you excited about either of these new releases?

#FridayReads: Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang

Oh, weekend. You creep up on me and surprise me with a beautiful Friday off to enjoy some light graphic novel reading. Well, let me rephrase that.. Maybe I didn't choose the lightest graphic novel duology that I could think of, but it's been actually rather educational, to say the least.

"Boxers & Saints" volumes 1 & 2 by Gene Luen Yang

Published September 2013

This graphic novel duo tells a fantastical version of China's Boxer Rebellion, the "violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising which took place in China ... between 1899-1901" (source: Wikipedia). To be totally honest with you guys, I honestly don't remember much about the Boxer Rebellion from school except the name, so I was actually pretty shocked that I decided to rent these from my local library. But I felt as if they were receiving a lot of good reviews and hype as of late, so I decided, what the heck?

Boxers follows a boy named Little Bao who has grown up in a small Chinese village. One day, a Christian man comes into Little Bao's town and causes absolute chaos. As a result, Little Bao and other member of his village decide that they will not put up with Christians destroying their culture, both in essence and in actual physical objects, and Little Bao begins to grow an army trained in Kung Fu to combat Christians, both foreign and Chinese alike.

Saints is the story of an unwanted fourth daughter who finds comfort and support in Christianity. Before her realization of faith, she is simply called Four-Girl, but she later comes to be known as Vibiana. As the Rebellion that Little Bao is fighting creeps farther throughout China, Vibiana must choose if her faith in Christianity or her country will win her support.

I'm not at all a history buff, but something about Yang's writing style and imagery really has me hooked in the first volume. He really mixes the historical event of the Boxer Rebellion with the fantastical idea of beautifully portrayed Chinese gods and goddesses to pull in the reader. I'm excited to see how these turn out and bring you guys a thorough review later down the line!