In My Mailbox #34

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren where you can talk about the books you bought or received this week.

It was my birthday this Friday, so I got a few bookish things:

Faking Faith by Josie Bloss

(Amazon / Goodreads)

After a humiliating "sexting" incident involving a hot and popular senior, seventeen-year-old Dylan has become a social outcast—harassed, ignored, and estranged from her two best friends. When Dylan discovers the blogs of homeschooled fundamentalist Christian girls, she's fascinated by their old-fashioned conversation themes, like practicing submission to one's future husband. Blogging as Faith, her devout alter ego, Dylan befriends Abigail, the group's queen bee. But growing closer to Abigail (and her intriguing older brother) forces Dylan to choose: keep living a lie or come clean and face the consequences.

I love books about alter-egos - there's just something about pretending to be someone you're not that fascinates me. And I'm interested in how the author will handle the religion-theme, so I'm excited to read this one!

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
(Amazon / Goodreads)

Esther Greenwood is brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. In her acclaimed and enduring masterwork, Sylvia Plath brilliantly draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes palpably real, even rational—as accessible an experience as going to the movies. A deep penetration into the darkest and most harrowing corners of the human psyche, The Bell Jar is an extraordinary accomplishment and a haunting American classic.

If I'm being honest, Arlaina Tibensky's And Then Things Fall Apart (review) convinced me to buy The Bell Jar - And Then Things Fall Apart is awesome, and The Bell Jar plays a really important role in it, so I figured I'd have to read this one too!

Mercy Lily by Lisa Albert

(Amazon / Goodreads)

Mama has slowly been losing herself to MS. After traditional treatment fails, she takes bee sting therapy, administered by Lily, to alleviate her pain. Lily is trained as a veterinary assistant, so she can easily handle the treatments. What she can't handle is what happens when the bee sting therapy fails and it becomes clear that Mama wants to die. One beautiful summer day, Lily's mother asks her for the most impossible thing of all—mercy. They live in Oregon, where the Death with Dignity Act allows a patient to make the decision to end their own life. While navigating first love, friendship, and the other normal worries faced by high school sophomores, Lily also has to choose: grant Mama's request, or cling to Mama's fading life for all it's worth.

I love the idea for this one, and it sounds like an emotional and powerful read!


The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
(Amazon / Goodreads)

With his first foray into teen literature, acclaimed author Sherman Alexie packs a punch in this absorbing novel about a Native American boy searching for a brighter future. At once humorous and stirring, Alexie's novel follows Junior, a resident of the Spokane reservation who transfers out of the reservation's school -- and into a nearby rich, all-white farm school -- in order to nurture his desire to become a cartoonist. Junior encounters resistance there, a backlash at home, and numerous family problems -- all the while relaying his thoughts and feelings via amusing descriptions and drawings. Having already garnered a National Book Award for Young Adult Literature, this moving look at race and growing up is definitely one to pick up.

I feel like everyone but me has read this one, and I've picked this one up at the book store countless times, so I decided it's time to finally buy a copy of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian!

Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez

(Amazon / Goodreads)

Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot...what if Jeremy is better? Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her--and riles her up--like he does. Still, she can't trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what's expected.

This one sounds right up my alley, and I'm really excited to read it! I have to say, though, I prefer the US cover to the UK one. What do you think?

One Day by David Nicholls
(Amazon / Goodreads)

Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows?

This one isn't YA, but it still sounds like an interesting read!








I also got a finished copy of Saving June by Hannah Harrington because I loved it so much. I'm not putting the cover and description in this post because I had it in an IMM post before when I got it on NetGalley, but you can read my review here.

And I got a new bookshelf for my birthday! My old bookshelf has been full for a while, and I have stacks of books all over my room, so it was definitely time for a bigger one. I haven't set it up yet, but I'll show you guys a picture when I get around to setting it up!

What did you get in your mailbox this week?