¡Hola, leer amigos! I took a very long break from blogging last year, but I am feeling really ~inspired this month. To celebrate the end of the dumpster fire that was 2017, here are my most anticipated reads for the first half of 2018:

Jan. 9: Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke: After being expelled from high school, seventeen-year-old Jane signs up for a student-run reality show while attending a local community college. As the show grows from a low-budget web series to a local TV show with fans and shoddy T-shirts, Jane finally has the chance to let her cynical, competitive nature thrive. She’ll use her growing fan base, and whatever Intro to Psychology can teach her, to prove to the world that she has what it takes to win.

Jan. 16 Red Clocks by Leni Zumas: Five women – including a high school teacher, a biographer, a frustrated mom, a pregnant adopted teen, and a forest-dwelling homeopath – struggle with changes in a near-future America where abortion and assisted fertility have been outlawed and the homeopath is targeted by a modern-day witch hunt.

Jan. 30 This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America by Morgan Jenkins: An influential literary critic presents a highly anticipated collection of linked essays interweaving incisive commentaries on subjects ranging from pop culture and feminism to black history, misogyny, and racism to confront the challenges of being a black woman in today’s world.

Feb. 20: Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper: A leading young black feminist illuminates how organized anger, friendship, and faith can be powerful sources of positive feminist change, explaining how targeted rage has shaped the careers of such African-American notables as Serena Williams, Beyoncé, and Michelle Obama.

Feb. 28: Forget You, Ethan by Whitney G.: Rachel and Ethan grew up as next-door neighbors-turned-enemies but have to reexamine their animosity when Rachel needs a place to stay during their senior year of college.

May 1: Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay: Cultural critic and bestselling author Roxane Gay collects original and previously published pieces that address what it means to live in a world where women have to measure the harassment, violence, and aggression they face, and where they are punished for speaking out. Covering a wide range of topics and experiences, this collection is often deeply personal and is always unflinchingly honest.

May 8: What Should be Wild by Julia Fine: A highly unusual young woman must venture into the woods at the edge of her home to remove a curse that has plagued the women in her family for centuries.

Jun. 7: Motherhood by Sheila Heti: In her late thirties – at an age when most of her friends are asking themselves when they will become mothers – a woman considers, with the same urgency, the question of whether she will do so at all.