An incredible selection of samplers from some o the most anticipated titles in YA of this year.

Warcross

Pub: 9/12/17

The first five seconds into this one it was a hard no because of the main characters voice did not appeal to me. I’m not engaged by this one.

+Older heroine who lives a different lifestyle

-pacing (which probably is because (I read a couple of pages of this and knew I did like it.)

Continue? Nope


Jane Unlimited

Pub: 9/19/17

+different view of teens (dropout)

-voice of the characters it felt like they were trying hard to be quirky at times, it did not engage me

Continue? No


Someone Inside Your House

Pub: 9/26/17

I wanted this to do well because I do want more horror non-supernatural young adult to do well. It is readable. Emotionally I am just not into it.

+Main character is Hawaiian, it was readable (it did not feel heavy)

– It was not scary/suspenseful to me

Continue? No


Things I’m Seeing Without You

Pub: 10/3/17

+Short chapters, different lifestyle (high school boarding school dropout)

-voice of main character

Continue? No


Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

Pub: 10/10/17

I like the description of this the most so I thought I will actually like this one. I was right.

+I really liked the mythology, pace, that it showed early on it can be dark/gory (saying to me yes I can and will go there). The chapters were short which ties into the pacing and the overall good job she does with giving the world and mythology info.

Continue? Yes

Overall

It was an okay sampler, did not like 4 of 5 of the books. There was variety in terms of the characters lifestyles, and genre.

Favorite Cover: There’s Someone Inside Your House

Favorite Book: Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

I got to stop requesting short stories and samplers... hate reading them because they just get good and its over!

There are definetely some books i'm adding to my tbr, Warcross and There's someone in your house look awesome readings i'll be totally waiting to read asap.
To be honest, i didn't care much for all the rest of the books.

This is incredible! I am squealing with delight and I can't wait!!!

The struggle is real. This awesome sampler just made my anticipation of these books fly right through the roof!

WARCROSS By Marie Lu
I like this excerpt, it reminds me of ready player one. Adding this to my 'to read' list

JANE, UNLIMITED By Kristin Cashore
Where is this story going? It's really slow moving, didn't spark my interest.

THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE. By Stephanie Perkins
I like this excerpt also, reminds me of the movie scream. Adding to my 'to read' list

THINGS I'M SEEING WITHOUT YOU. By Peter Bognanni
Slow moving, didn't keep my interest

FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS. By Julie C. Dao
While reading I was curious to see where it was going but I'm not sure I'm curious enough to seek it out later.

Of the five books in this sampler, only 2 really stood out to me as must reads: 'Warcross' and 'Things I'm Seeing Without You.' They each intrigued me and I was instantly invested in the stories and I cannot wait to read them.

'Jane Unlimited' couldn't hold me attention and I didn't particularly care about any of the characters, so I will not be anticipating this release, unfortunately. The same happened with 'Forest of a Thousand Lanterns.' I kept finding my mind wandering and I didn't have any connection with the characters.

'There's Someone Inside Your House' gave me 90s slasher thriller vibes and definitely piqued my interest in chapter 1. However, chapter 2 lost me a bit when it turned into a typical YA novel. I'm not sure about whether I'll be picking this up when it's released, but I would like to see what happened.

This is a sampler of five upcoming books from Penguin.
Warcross is a gritty futuristic story about a a down-on-her-luck girl who seems teen-ish, but talks about the fact that she should be in college. She tells the reader she apparently fills her time and eases her self-pity with a string of random one-night stands, and owes lots of money to a scummy landlord who thinks she should go get a job as a "working girl". I'm assuming it's supposed to be futuristic due to the flying skateboard, but that seems to be about the only thing futuristic about the first couple chapters. The main character also references a rough childhood with an artist father who gambled all their money away and then her ensuing time in foster care. This book is not for me.
Jane, Unlimited seems promising, but for the f-word (it's not highly prevalent in the sample, but obviously the author has no qualms about it) and, again, possibly some casual teen sexual relationships (hinted at, not explicit). Jane is a college drop-out who recently lost her only close relative, her Aunt Magnolia, who was an underwater photographer and adventurer. Jane's life without her Aunt seems to have lost all luster, and the free tuition for professor's kids has gone with her. Kiran, a rich friend from her past suddenly resurfaces with an invitation to her family home and a Spring Gala. Oddly enough, the one promise Jane's Aunt requested that she keep was to never turn down an invitation to Kiran's family mansion. The writing and descriptions of the home paint elaborate pictures and draw the reader in. However, the story of an outsider suddenly pulled into a magical and privileged world seems like it leans heavily on the quirkiness of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and the convoluted relationships of a privileged family like the Cullens. I'd probably read the rest of this one.
There's Someone Inside Your House is the angsty-est sounding teen book I've sampled in a long time - the first two chapters do not suggest "fun... and quick-witted" as the blurb promises. I do enjoy plenty of teen fiction, I just don't like the cliche stuff. The first few pages follow Haley, and strange events going on in her house over the course of an afternoon. Haley is the first victim, and then the focus switches to a group of three friends, a goth girl and a transgender boy who have been lifelong friends, and the new girl they've adopted as part of their circle. Again, just from the first couple of chapters, there is some profanity, and plenty of references to casual teen hook-ups. I gather that the remainder of the book will be the three friends trying to find the killer.
Things I'm Seeing Without You seems to continue the theme of the sampler, teen hook-ups, recreational drug use, and dropping out of school. Again, not for me. Even as an adult reader of juvenile and young adult fiction, I'm pretty sure that there are plenty of teenagers who do not want to read angst all the time. Give me something original and imaginative.

Great previews! this helped me add a few items to my wishlist.

This is a great collection of samples for upcoming 2017 releases. Its definitely made me excited for these novels, and I *may* have preordered a bunch of them.

I loved Warcross and will definitely be buying it. I like the other ones but none of them really caught my interest all the way through. I did finish reading them and would recommend them to people that said they were interested in books similar. But I would not handsell the other ones. Thank you for letting me read these excerpts and I'm excited for the books to come out!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me a digital ARC of “Penguin Teen Game-Changers”. I am most excited about “Warcross” By Marie Lu. Of course, it is going to be amazing because it is by Marie Lu but I was surprised at how interested I was since video game as a topic does not typically interest me. “Forest of a Thousand Lanterns” By Julie C. Dao is going to be extremely popular. The villain as main character story is hard to do properly but as far as I have read Julie C. Dao has accomplished it.

I need to read each of these books. Their excerpts were gripping

I love seeing these pop up on my feed every month. There were a couple of authors I wasn't sure if I would like prior to reading this. Now I'm much more likely to give them a chance after reading these previews.

My favourite extract in the sampler was Peter Bognanni's "Things I'm Seeing Without You", which came across like a sequel to "The Fault in Our Stars" but where Hazel was perfectly healthy. The bereaved Tess juggles extreme grief with acerbic observations and I really wanted to read more of her story!
Next on my list was Marie Lu's "Warcross" - a Bladerunner-esque YA tale of life as a bounty hunter on the edges of a civilisation obsessed with VR gaming. Again, this one left me wanting to know more as the extract came to an end.
Stephanie Perkins' "There's Someone Inside Your House" set up a Scream-esque thriller, with a serial killer picking off teens in an Alaskan town. Horror is a genre that I struggle with, mainly as I get scared and start freaking out at home, when every slight noise is a nutter with an axe coming to attack me. That said, this pacy and fun tale focused more on the characters and less on the gore, so I was comfortable with it. Not sure if it escalates into a Cabin in the Woods bloodbath, but I felt I could read on and still sleep at nights.
Kristin Cashore's "Jane Unlimited" piqued my interest, blending a Dickensian poor unfortunate heroine with an OTT Austen-esque country pile filled with the idle rich.
Last on my list was Julie C Dao's "Forest of a Thousand Lanterns" which was slow to start, but which ended with a pretty night cliffhanger that left me wondering what would happen next. As more of a period fairy tale, this isn't a genre I'm particularly fond of, but it was well written and ended up hooking me.
All in all a great selection of exciting new YA fiction.

What an excellent selection of teasers...I can't wait until the following are available:
Warcross
A teen technology guru turned bounty hunter is trying to save herself from homelessness by coming up with the owed rent. Between chasing peeps and outrunning the law from a mistake she made and served time for, Emi finds time to escape with Warcross, a world wide video game phenomenon.

Jane, Unlimited. Kristen Cashore
A middle class college drop-out visits her older friend/former tutor at her island estate home. There are hints at mysteries unsolved, questionable characters and Jane is intrigued as she settles in.

There's Someone Inside your house Stephanie Perkins
Beginning with a murder scene straight out of a horror movie, Perkins begins her tale of teenage angst. A trio of friends come together the day after, and we are immersed even more in this high school drama. One I'd like to keep reading.

Things I'm Seeing Without You Peter Bognanni
A story of Tess, a high school dropout who's just lost the love of her life, whom she's only met once. The power of technology to hold two people together as they forge a relationship is astounding. As Tess and Jonah would describe what each other's lives were like, what one is seeing without the other, Tess becomes a better version of herself.
Bognanni has a great voice, and I can't wait to see what comes next in this game. Ganging novel. Well done.

Rise of the Empress 1. Julie C Dao
Chinese magic and fairy tales collide in this fateful story of Xifeng. Having endured her aunts scolding, beatings and magic for so long, Xifeng takes a step with her protector boyfriend to begin in the path of her fate.
Great beginning, I was so disappointed it stopped, and I will definitely be picking this one up again!

I have placed all of these titles on my to-read list!

Warcross – Maire Lu
This title has an interesting concept but was slow going in the beginning. From the few chapters available, the actual game was not seen which makes me leery as to the rules, play, and action that will follow in the novel. The world and character building is strong, but a little long winded and repetitive. I am anxious to see Lu’s take on the online/immersive game that has been proposed.

Jane, Unlimited – Kristin Cashore
I’m always up for a good mystery and Cashore appears to have stepped up to the challenge. Her characters were given an intriguing back story and small snippets of what may be to come. I enjoyed the private setting and suspicious characters lurking about the island. This will be at the top of my to-read list.

There’s Someone inside Your House – Stephanie Perkins
From these first couple of chapters, I became excited and put off. The quick suspense was well done and even surprised me when the character was killed off so quickly. I saw it as a pattern to later be followed and looked forward to the future danger. The second chapter was slightly less exciting. I felt that there were too many characters introduced too quickly which made it confusing to the reader. These characters all had their quirks (LBGT/male/female names) which were overwhelming when placed all together. The first chapter was very simple in its presentation and I can only hope that the rest of the novel falls back to that.

Things I’m Seeing without You – Peter Bognanni
This has never been my genre of choice but I read the title to see what it was all about. For me, the writing was well done and the character of Tess is given a brief background and a huge weight on her shoulders. This looks like a promising book for teens looking for more emotional walkthroughs or a book about the realities of life.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns – Julie C. Dao
The first couple of chapters in this novel were enticing and led up to what looks to be a great quest. Xifeng is a strong female character who, after a little provoking, makes her own decisions and can find her way in life. The names themselves could be a problem as they can be hard to wrap one’s tongue around, but, all in all, this title has action, adventure, and a foreign land ahead of it that many readers are clamoring for.

These books will be AMAZING, I FEEL IT.
They're is so many great books.
Although I anticipate Warcross on so many levels.