Tag Archives: Maya MacGregor

My 2022 in Reading: Jo Needs a Nap

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I read 192 books this year in a split of: 54 ARCs (up from last year), 33 audiobooks (down from last year), 72 manga volumes (down from last year), 20 physical copies (up from last year), 8 light novels (up from last year), and 5 eBooks (down from last year). I want to share my favorites, so please enjoy my favorite 20 2022 books, favorite 10 books from before 2021, and my favorite 5 manga. I would have done a favorite 20 of backlist books, but, unfortunately, I did not prioritize this year, and I think that contributed to my exhaustion.

Overall, it’s not as many things as last year, and it did bring me dangerously close to burning out on reading. 2023 will be a year for resetting some of my priorities with regards to reading, which will focus on my backlog and reading a whole lot of light novels.

Note: Harper Collins book links have been replaced with the linktree for the Harper Collins Union until that publisher goes back to the bargaining table

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Author to Author with Maya MacGregor (The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester)

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Happy YA debut day to The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor. This book requires major tissues, as we watch the titular character move into a new school around people who get them all while haunted by personal trauma and the ghost of a teen murdered thirty years prior.

Join me in welcoming this book with an interview with the author. Like Sam, Maya MacGregor is non-binary and autistic, and they took the time to share with me the inspiration for the story and the back stories found within, a sneak peek at their next project, and what’s on their TBR.

Buy Links: Bookshop.org | Unabridged Books | Audiobook

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April 2022 Reading Recap

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Where did April go? This month seems to have blown by really fast, and I can’t even articulate exactly why. I didn’t do any traveling, taxes were an exciting, I turned around a short story in what-feels-like a short amount of time, and got a lot of work done on the revision. I’ve also gotten back to tri-weekly workouts which has been really good for my energy levels. A productive month, even if the productivity wasn’t exactly linear.

I did two blog interviews, which you can find here:

In May, I believe there is an author interview every week so get hype for those.

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ARC Review: THE MANY HALF-LIVED LIVES OF SAM SYLVESTER by Maya MacGregor (2022)

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Genre: Young Adult Thriller
Year Release: May 3, 2022
Buy Links: Bookshop.org | Unabridged Books | Audiobook

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Read an eARC from NetGalley
Content warning: hate crime, homophobia, misgendering (challenged), racism, stalking, murder, anaphylaxis, death of a child, PTSD, anxiety

Autistic, non-binary Sam Sylvester left Montana with their single dad, Junius, after nearly escaping a hate crime with their life. They move into the former home of Billy Clement, a teen who died of an allergic reaction thirty years prior. Sam collects half-lived lives, stories about teens who didn’t live to nineteen. They take the opportunity for not only a fresh start but also to solve the murder with their group of queer friends. But when they get closer to the truth, someone works really hard not to ensure they don’t reach it.

With an excellent, multi-dimensional cast and incredible exploration of chosen family, this mystery will tug at the heartstrings and frazzle the nerves until its very deserved happy-for-now ending.

I am so excited to have the author on my blog on May 3rd, release date.

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