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Cheshire Crossing by Andy Weir and Sarah Andersen
Devils in Daylight by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
Dragonfell by Sarah Prineas
Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery
The Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standish
Gertie's Leap to Greatness by Kate Beasley
Gideon Falls, Volume 2: Original Sins by Jeff Lemire
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Great Shelby Holmes and the Haunted Hound by Elizabeth Eulberg
Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins
Internment by Samira Ahmed
A Killer Edition by Lorna Barrett
Midnight Radio by Iolanda Zanfardino
My Fate According to the Butterfly by Gail D. Villanueva
My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich by Ibi Zoboi
Past Due for Murder by Victoria Gilbert
A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying by Kelley Armstrong
Runaways, Volume 3: That Was Yesterday by Rainbow Rowell
Small Spaces by Katherine Arden
The Tale Teller by Anne Hillerman
Teen Titans: Raven by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
The Train to Impossible Places by P.G. Bell
The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden by Karina Yan Glaser
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser
The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum
What Elephants Know by Eric Dinerstein
When the Sky Fell on Splendor by Emily Henry
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman and Peter Sís
Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

Miscellaneous
August 2019 Sources
August 2019 Summary
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (September 02)
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (September 09)
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (September 16)
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (September 23)
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (September 30)

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Road Narrative Update for August 2019

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The Ethan I Was Before: 09/22/19

The Ethan I Was Before

The Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standish is set in Palm Knot, Georgia, a fictional coastal backwater. It's a town that's well past its prime but Ethan's grandfather lives there and needs help, although he doesn't want to admit it. Ethan's parents also see it as a way to restart after a recent tragedy.

The tragedy, events that are slowly revealed over the course of the novel, is what defines the Ethan before and after. So I'm going to leave out what happened to avoid spoilers.

In the present day the novel focuses on how Ethan is adjusting to his new life, his new school, and in making new friends. He ends up the target of the popular crowd and is invited into their circle if he too disses Coralee, a girl who is always telling stories, some which might be true and some which probably aren't.

Ethan, though, opts for one friend instead of the popular crowd. That leads him down a path of learning about the town and his own family history in the town. It also gives him a chance to come to terms with what happened before the move.

Four stars

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