Favorite Factor 2.0

Favorite Factor 2.0

• Feb 19, 2015

Back in December, Cassie and I mentioned that some changes were coming to Favorite Factor. It's finally time to tell you what we meant! We started the feature a year ago as a way to highlight adult fiction, and we've had a lot of fun doing it. But we realized we wanted to make a few adjustments...

We're still talking about our love for adult fiction, but in a new way! Every other month, we will be sharing four books with you: two recent favorites (and the factors that made us love them) and two upcoming reads (and the factors that have us interested). We hope you'll find the perfect adult fiction for you!

Walking on Trampolines by Frances Whiting

Release Date: February 10, 2015
Genre: Contemporary
Factor I Loved: Writing

Reason You Should Read:

Walking on Trampolines was originally published in Australia and only recently debuted in the US. Knowing its origins, I shouldn't be surprised at all that I fell in love with Whiting's writing style. There's just something about Australian authors and the way they write! They seem to all have this certain quality that completely wins me over. I've seen this book shelved as Young Adult by a lot of readers, but I definitely consider it Adult. It opens when the heroine is a young girl and spends some time during her teenage years, but it's really a story of the insecurity she carries into adulthood and the choices she makes because of it. Even when I found myself frustrated by her actions, I was still rooting for her. Walking on Trampolines focuses on the complicated nature of friendship and family - and the fight to find your way. Whiting has written a quirky read with memorable (though often unlikeable) characters that I quite enjoyed!

Before I Go by Colleen Oakley

Release Date: January 6, 2015
Genre: Contemporary
Factor I Loved: Relationships / Emotions

Reason You Should Read:

I absolutely fell in love with Before I Go the first time I read it, and it just got better the second time around. This is the story of a young woman with breast cancer who is determined to find her husband a new wife before she passes away. Though it sounds like a tearjerker, it was truly so much more! It could have easily become maudlin, but I thought Oakley nailed the tone. She delivered so many emotions in these pages, and I was absolutely invested in the relationships (between husband and wife, between mother and daughter, and between two best friends). Before I Go is heartbreaking and hopeful - a story I won't soon forget. And it absolutely earned its spot on my forever favorites shelf!

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Release Date: May 6, 2014
Genre: Historical Fiction
Factor of Interest: Setting

Reasons I Want to Read:

I hadn't heard anything about All the Light We Cannot See when I spotted in the bookstore one day. But the cover was striking, so I was intrigued. When I sat down to read a few pages, I knew I had to buy it. I'm a sucker for anything during WWII, so I couldn't resist this book based on the setting alone. I've seen a number of rave reviews since then, which makes me even more excited to read it. Although it's the setting that interested me, I have a feeling that it will be the writing that hooks me!

A Fireproof Home for the Bride by Amy Scheibe

Release Date: March 10, 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction
Factor of Interest: Plot

Reasons I Want to Read:

As with All the Light We Cannot See, it's really the cover that first drew me to A Fireproof Home for the Bride. While the cover caught my eye, it was the summary that earned this book a spot on my to be read pile. Set during the 1950s in southern Minnesota, this book follows a young woman as she tries to escape from her strict parents and troubling upbringing. It sounds like there's a love story, a possible mystery, a journey to self-discovery and an exploration of racism in the pages of this book. I can't wait to read A Fireproof Home for the Bride, and I hope it delivers on the promising premise.

Want more? Check out Cassie's post!