January Book Flight: Fresh Starts

By JESSICA PACE

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
V.E. Schwab
Historical Fiction, Magical Realism

In 1714, Addie LaRue flees from a wedding she does not want, and makes a desperate deal with darkness for freedom from her small life. But she wakes to find that not only has she avoided the unwanted marriage, but she cannot be remembered, cannot leave a mark, cannot even say her own name. For 300 years the only person to say her name or recognize her face is not a person at all, but the dark god she made the deal with. Every meeting is a fresh start Addie does not want, every blank page a clean slate, no matter how many lines she makes with pencil, ink, or blood. But Addie’s resilient spirit and love for the beauty of the world sustain her, guiding her through the pages of history and the world of art and literature until she meets someone who doesn’t forget, and a new beginning unlike any she’s known takes shape. Our journey through history with Addie explores what it means to be alive, to love and be loved, and to leave your mark on the world.

“A secret kept. A record made. The first mark she left upon the world, long before she knew the truth, that ideas are so much wilder than memories, that they long and look for ways of taking root.”

The Hazel Wood
Melissa Albert
YA Fairytale/Fantasy

Alice Proserpine has grown up everyplace, running with her mother Ella from the mysterious bad luck that pursues them all over the country. When she turns 17 and Ella is taken, solitary Alice forges a bond with a new friend who helps her follow the kidnappers into a world that is made and powered by fairy tales running on an endless loop. Can Alice break the cycle of her own story and save herself, her mother, and the world she left behind? Full to the brim with fresh starts that quickly sour, Alice’s quest for one that will lead to a real life, a chosen life, keeps the pages turning to the very last.

Life After Life
Kate Atkinson
Historical Fiction

Ursula Todd is born on a cold, snowy night in 1910, and dies before she can take her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born and lives and grows up, dying and being born again and again on the same cold night, making slightly different choices each time that lead her down different paths as the world marches toward the inevitable World Wars. Each fresh start leads her to more life, new life, and each encounter with something that killed her before makes her stronger, smarter, until the ultimate challenges that meet her in the end. A mind-bending, heartbreaking, soul-stretching novel that asks us what it takes to reach our true destiny, or if destiny is only a myth after all.

Big Dreams, Daily Joys
Elise Blaha Cripe
Productivity and Motivation

“We set goals to learn, expand, and find the joy that comes from getting uncomfortable and pushing ourselves outside the daily routine.” Elise Cripe’s first book is a treasure trove of motivational, inspirational, realistic ways to set and achieve the goals that add joy to our lives. From creating the white space that a new pursuit requires, to abandoning things that don’t make us say “Hell, yes!” Elise guides us through creating our own fresh start in the new year (IT’S NOT TOO LATE), building a goal-setting process that fits our individual lives and dreams and leaves room for the little things that bring joy.

If you love Elise’s upbeat, realistic style, you can check out more of her awesome organizational tools and advice at her blog, elisejoy.com, her business website gettoworkbook.com, and follow her on Instagram at @elisejoy.

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