Can't Wait Wednesday!

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I am combining CWW with Books From the Backlog hosted by Carole at Carole's Random Life in Books. This will allow me to feature some newly "rediscovered" books, which I plan on reading, alongside a new release.

This week I can't wait for:

American Betiya
Anuradha D. Rajurkar
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Knopf
Release Date: March 9, 2021
Goodreads

Fans of Sandhya Menon, Erika Sanchez and Jandy Nelson will identify with this powerful story of a young artist grappling with first love, family boundaries, and the complications of a cross-cultural relationship.

Rani Kelkar has never lied to her parents, until she meets Oliver. The same qualities that draw her in--his tattoos, his charisma, his passion for art--make him her mother's worst nightmare.

They begin dating in secret, but when Oliver's troubled home life unravels, he starts to ask more of Rani than she knows how to give, desperately trying to fit into her world, no matter how high the cost. When a twist of fate leads Rani from Evanston, Illinois to Pune, India for a summer, she has a reckoning with herself--and what's really brewing beneath the surface of her first love.

Winner of the SCBWI Emerging Voices award, Anuradha Rajurkar takes an honest look at the ways cultures can clash in an interracial relationship. Braiding together themes of sexuality, artistic expression, and appropriation, she gives voice to a girl claiming ownership of her identity, one shattered stereotype at a time.

Why I want to read this book

Name dropping goes a long way with me, and I have really been missing Jandy Nelson's writing. Therefore, comping a book to one of her's is a draw for me. I also gravitate towards these emotional coming-of-age stories. I am looking forward to getting to know Rani and am THRILLED that the story will bring me to India. This one seems to promise something really powerful. 

 

Where the Stars Still Shine
Trish Doller
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: September 24, 2013
Goodreads

Stolen as a child from her large and loving family, and on the run with her mom for more than ten years, Callie has only the barest idea of what normal life might be like. She's never had a home, never gone to school, and has gotten most of her meals from laundromat vending machines. Her dreams are haunted by memories she’d like to forget completely. But when Callie’s mom is finally arrested for kidnapping her, and Callie’s real dad whisks her back to what would have been her life, in a small town in Florida, Callie must find a way to leave the past behind. She must learn to be part of a family. And she must believe that love--even with someone who seems an improbable choice--is more than just a possibility.

Trish Doller writes incredibly real teens, and this searing story of love, betrayal, and how not to lose your mind will resonate with readers who want their stories gritty and utterly true.

Why I want to read this book

I had had all of Doller's books on my TBR for a long while, and then finally I read one! I read Something Like Normal last year, and I ran out and bought a few more books in her backlist. With her adult debut coming out soon, I thought it was be nice to read one of those backlist books. I selected this one, because I seem to really like stories like these. The idea of someone being taken from their family, and then returning after many years later stirs my emotions. It's like being a stranger in your own life, and you have to find a way to fit back into it. Stories such as these never fail to work for me, and I have no doubt Doller will do a fantastic job with it. 

What are you waiting on?
Any backlog books you want to read soon? 
Let us know in the comments!