Waiting on Wednesday (19)

Two this week because A) I missed last week, and B) holy cow, I've been discovering some wonderful-sounding books recently!

Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma

Zoom in on thirteen-year-old Dani Callanzano. The summer before eighth grade, Dani is stuck in her nothing-ever-happens town with only her favorite noir mysteries at the Little Art movie theatre to keep her company. But one day a real-life mystery begins to unravel—at the Little Art! And it all has something to do with a girl in polka-dot tights... Armed with a vivid imagination, a flair for the dramatic, and a knowledge of all things Rita Hayworth, Dani sets out to solve the mystery and learns more about herself than she ever thought she would.

From the synopsis, this doesn't seem like the kind of story that would immediately grab my attention. But after seeing a number of praising reviews, especially Courtney Summers' on Goodreads, I'm definitely intrigued. Middle-grade fiction is kind of hit-or-miss with me, but I definitely want to read this one now that one of my most admired authors has given it her support!

(Also, cover wow. Love the purple accents in the other black-and-white scene.)

Dani Noir will be published in hardcover by Scholastic on September 22, 2009.

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

When Cassie was a little girl, her grandmother told her a fairytale about her mother, who made a deal with the Polar Bear King and was swept away to the ends of the earth to become a prisoner of the trolls. Now that Cassie is older, she knows that this was a nice way of saying her mother had died. Cassie lives with her father at an Arctic research station, she is determined to become a scientist, and she has no time for make believe.

Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie comes face to face with a polar bear who speaks to her. He tells her that her mother is alive, imprisoned in the troll castle. And that he can bring her back--if Cassie will agree to be his bride.

That is the beginning of Cassie's own real-life fairytale, one that sends her on an unbelievable journey across the brutal Arctic, through the Canadian boreal forest, and on the back of the North Wind to the land east of the sun and west of the moon. Before it is over, the world she knew will be swept away, and everything she holds dear will be taken from her--until she discovers the true meaning of love and family in the magical realm of Ice.

Ice is a retelling of a fairy tale / legend that's been told by authors such as Edith Pattou before, in her book, East. (Er, at least I'm pretty sure this is the story...if I'm not, Sarah, help me out please? *smiles*) I've never read the story of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, but I am a huge fan of retellings, and Sarah's previous books, Into the Wild and Out of the Wild, have gotten rave reviews. (ItW is patiently sitting on my bookshelf, waiting to be read.)

Plus, have you taken a look at that cover?? Wow! The blue tones, the title treatment... it's gorgeous. An eye-catcher for sure.

Ice will be published by Margaret K. McElderry on October 6, 2009.

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What are YOU waiting on today? :)