Waiting on Wednesday: A Girl Called Fearless, A Mad, Wicked Folly, and The Half Life of Molly Pierce

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and features books that we just can't wait to get our hands on!


I haven't done a Waiting on Wednesday post since... June! It has been far too long. Which is why I am joining in today and bringing you THREE books I'm looking forward to.

A Girl Called Fearless by Catherine Linka

"Avie Reveare has the normal life of a privileged teen growing up in L.A., at least as normal as any girl's life is these days.  After a synthetic hormone in beef killed 50 million American women ten years ago, only young girls, old women, men and boys are left to pick up the pieces. The death threat is past, but fathers still fear for their daughters’ safety, and the Paternalist Movement, which was begun to “protect” young women, is taking over all the choices they make.

Like all her friends, Avie still mourns the loss of her mother, but she's also dreaming about college and love and what she'll make of her life.  But when her dad contracts her to marry a rich, older man to raise the money to save his struggling company, her life suddenly narrows to two choices:  be trapped in a marriage with a controlling politician, or run.  Her lifelong friend, student revolutionary Yates, urges her to run to freedom over the border to Canada.  He's always believed she's fearless and will help her escape if she's willing.  As their friendship turns to passion, the decision to leave becomes harder and harder.  Running away is incredibly dangerous and it's possible she'll never see Yates again.  But staying could mean death.

Romantic, thought-provoking, and frighteningly real, A GIRL CALLED FEARLESS is a speculative thriller about fighting for the most important things in life--freedom and love."

Not sure how scientifically viable this world is — I hope the author's done her research — but it sounds different from most of the dystopian YA offerings out there! Also, props to the author for bringing Canada into it. Apparently we are the country everyone wants to flee to :D

A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller

"Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl.
           
After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams?"

I'm still waiting for a Downton Abbey-esque YA read to wow me (I didn't manage to get through Wentworth Hall — the writing really needed some more work, and at least another round of editing would have been helpful). Maybe this'll be the one!

The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno

"A mysterious and visceral page-turner about a seventeen-year-old girl who unravels the secrets of her alternate personality, reminiscent of the film Memento.

You live and you remember.
Me, I live and I forget.
But now-now I am remembering.

For all of her seventeen years, Molly feels like she's missed bits and pieces of her life. Molly suffers from dissociative identity disorder, and since she was a little girl, she's played host to Mabel, a completely separate and individual personality. When Mabel is in control, Molly experiences the blackouts she's been so scared of. But now Mabel is letting Molly in on her secrets; she's letting Molly remember. And in doing so, Molly uncovers the separate life she seems to have led...and the love that she can't let go.

The Half Life of Molly Pierce is a suspenseful, evocative psychological mystery about uncovering the secrets of our pasts, facing the unknowns of our futures, and accepting our whole selves."

I have high hopes for this one — dissociative identity disorder isn't touched upon all that much in YA (at least in comparison with other mental health issues like depression). DID is quite rare but it's also one of the most fascinating psychological disorders, at least in my opinion. I'm interested to see how the author presents it here. *crosses fingers that the psychological information is accurate*

What books are you waiting for?

Also, if you have a chance, please stop by my Help Me Get Back in the Loop post and share with me your bookish recommendations! :)