Reading on the Train

As many of you know, I'm in New York this week at Book Expo America, a huge publishing industry event. Here's what I took to read on the train.

Hexed by Michelle Krys is a YA book (Delacorte Press, ISBN-13 9780385743372) that will be available in stores on June 10. Of the three books I'm taking with me, this is the only one I've already started. Instead of carting the hardcover with me to New York, though, I've switched to the audiobook. So far, I'm enjoying the story of Indigo Blackwood, who at age sixteen learns that members of her family were witches. She won't know if she's inherited the witch gene until her 200th full moon, coming up in just a couple of days. The time period is now; the city is Los Angeles. There is a cute guy, but Indigo isn't even sure she likes him. And don't let the fact that she's on the cheerleading squad get in the way; she's quick to point out that she has the third highest GPA in her high school. Can't wait to see how it all plays out.

Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf is an adult book (Mira Books, ISBN-13 9780778316336) that hits the stores on June 24. I haven't started it yet, but I'm taking the paperback with me on the train. Here's part of the publisher's summary; doesn't it sound great?

Veteran social worker Ellen Moore has seen the worst side of humanity--the vilest acts one person can commit against another. She is a fiercely dedicated children's advocate and a devoted mother and wife. But one blistering summer day, a simple moment of distraction will have repercussions that Ellen could never have imagined. . . .

Meanwhile, ten-year-old Jenny Briard has been living with her well-meaning but irresponsible father since her mother left them, sleeping on friends' couches and moving in and out of cheap motels. When Jenny suddenly finds herself on her own . . . the last thing she wants is a social worker. . . .

A powerful and emotionally charged tale about motherhood and justice, Little Mercies is a searing portrait of the tenuous grasp we have on the things we love the most, and of the ties that unexpectedly bring us together.

Finally, Karen Harrington's Sure Signs of Crazy is a middle grade book (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, ISBN-13 9780316210492) that's just out in paperback and audiobook. I've had this one on my reading list for almost a year, and for some reason I just didn't get around to it. I have the audio edition loaded up on my phone for the train ride home. Again, I haven't started this yet, so I'll leave you with the publisher's summary; you gotta love a character who collects words:

You've never met anyone exactly like twelve-year-old Sarah Nelson. While most of her friends obsess over Harry Potter, she spends her time writing letters to Atticus Finch. She collects trouble words in her diary. Her best friend is a plant. And she's never known her mother, who left when Sarah was two.

Since then, Sarah and her dad have moved from one small Texas town to another, and not one has felt like home. Everything changes when Sarah launches an investigation into her family's Big Secret. She makes unexpected new friends and has her first real crush, and instead of a "typical boring Sarah Nelson summer," this one might just turn out to be extraordinary. 

I'll let you know what I think after I finish reading or listening. What are you reading this week?