Waiting to Read Wednesday: The Night Tiger/Daughter of Moloka'i/Inside Out & Back Again

The Old(er) 

I have an embarrassing number of unread books sitting on the shelves in my personal library. Carole of Carole's Random Life in Books has given me the perfect excuse to spotlight and discuss those neglected books in her Books from the Backlog feature. After all, even those older books need a bit of love! Not to mention it is reminding me what great books I have waiting for me under my own roof still to read!

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (Harper Collins, 2011)

For all the ten years of her life, Hà has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food . . . and the strength of her very own family. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: I bought a copy of this book on the recommendation of a fellow blogger, drawn to it because the tie in to the Vietnam War. It is written in verse, which appeals to me as well. I am hoping to feature this in one of my Poetry Corner posts.

Have you read this one? If so, what did you think? What book has been lingering on your shelf for a while that you want to read?

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The New

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by the marvelous Tressa at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss upcoming release we are excited about that we have yet to read.

The Night Tiger by by Yangsze Choo

Release Date: February 12, 2019 by Flatiron Press

A sweeping historical novel about a dancehall girl and an orphan boy whose fates entangle over an old Chinese superstition about men who turn into tigers.

When 11-year-old Ren’s master dies, he makes one last request of his Chinese houseboy: that Ren find his severed finger, lost years ago in an accident, and reunite it with his body. Ren has 49 days, or else his master’s soul will roam the earth, unable to rest in peace.

Ji Lin always wanted to be a doctor, but as a girl in 1930s Malaysia, apprentice dressmaker is a more suitable occupation. Secretly, though, Ji Lin also moonlights as a dancehall girl to help pay off her beloved mother’s Mahjong debts. One night, Ji Lin’s dance partner leaves her with a gruesome souvenir: a severed finger. Convinced the finger is bad luck, Ji Lin enlists the help of her erstwhile stepbrother to return it to its rightful owner.

As the 49 days tick down, and a prowling tiger wreaks havoc on the town, Ji Lin and Ren’s lives intertwine in ways they could never have imagined. Propulsive and lushly written, The Night Tiger explores colonialism and independence, ancient superstition and modern ambition, sibling rivalry and first love. Braided through with Chinese folklore and a tantalizing mystery, this novel is a page-turner of the highest order. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: I read and loved the author's  The Ghost Bride three years ago and am so excited to see the author has a new book coming out. She writes beautifully, and I am eager to dive into The Night Tiger.

Daughter of Moloka'i (Moloka'i #2) by Alan Brennert

Release Date: February 19, 2019 by St. Martin's Press

Daughter of Moloka'i is the highly anticipated sequel to Alan Brennert’s acclaimed book club favorite, and national bestseller, Moloka'i. It’s a companion tale that tells the story of Ruth, the daughter that Rachel Kalama—quarantined for most of her life at the isolated leprosy settlement of Kalaupapa—was forced to give up at birth.

The book follows young Ruth from her arrival at the Kapi'olani Home for Girls in Honolulu, to her adoption by a Japanese couple who raise her on a farm in California, her marriage and unjust internment at Manzanar Relocation Camp during World War II—and then, after the war, to the life-altering day when she receives a letter from a woman who says she is Ruth’s birth mother, Rachel.

Daughter of Moloka'i expands upon Ruth and Rachel’s 22-year relationship, only hinted at in Moloka'i. It’s a richly emotional tale of two women—different in some ways, similar in others—who never expected to meet, much less come to love, one another. And for Ruth it is a story of discovery, the unfolding of a past she knew nothing about. In prose that conjures up the beauty and history of both Hawaiian and Japanese cultures, it’s the powerful and poignant tale that readers of Moloka'i have been awaiting for fifteen years. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: One of my all-time favorite books is Alan Brennert's Moloka'i. I did a little dance when I heard he had written a sequel--and then again when I read the summary. Manzanar World War II. I cannot wait to read this one.

Do these interest you? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to getting your hands on and reading?

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