This year is my first year attending Book Expo, so of course I’ve spend an excessive amount of time looking up all of the book signings and arc giveaways that will be happening this upcoming week!

Since I’m actively trying to read from my own shelves, I actually don’t want to accumulate too many new books. Of course, I had that same intention last year at BookCon and still came home with a stack, so we’ll see how successful I am, but my goal is to really only take the books I’m most excited about. What books are those? Well, keep reading!

Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness

I really enjoyed discovering Deborah Harkness’ All Souls trilogy this past year and was really excited to learn she was writing a spinoff trilogy. So of course I freaked out a bit when I saw she was going to be at Book Expo signing arcs of Time’s Convert! Honestly, this is the one book on this list that I really, really want to get, and I will consider BookExpo a complete success if I’m able to bring this one home with me. Of course, BookExpo will be a success regardless, but you know what I mean.

Ogre Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Gail Carson Levine is going to be at BookExpo! Promoting a new book set in the world of Ella Enchanted!! I remember hearing something about this book, about how Levine was pushed to write books with “princess” in the title and how she decided to rebel and write Ogre Enchanted instead. And it sounds like it’s a bit of a Beauty and the Beast retelling, too, as a result of our favorite meddling fairy Lucinda. I love Gail Carson Levine and this book sounds adorable, so I definitely hope to get my hands on a copy.

The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes

While I’m really excited to try and snag an arc of The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes, an adventure story inspired by Mayan mythology, this entry really counts for Rick Riordan and his Rick Riordan Presents Imprint. I love that this imprint brings more mythology stories to young readers written by people from those cultures, so I’m planning to check out all of the events that Riordan has going on at BookExpo, including a panel about the launch of the imprint. Riordan himself is holding a signing for The Burning Maze, his newest release, and Roshani Chokshi will be there signing Aru Shah and the End of Time with Cervantes, who will be signing arcs of The Storm Runner. I can’t wait to read all of these books!

Run by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Afua Richardson

I’ve been really enjoying Congressman John Lewis’ graphic memoir trilogy, March, and was really excited to see that he’ll be publishing a sequel trilogy, Run, so of course I have to try and get an advanced copy at BookExpo. I saw at BookCon that they’ll just be handing out samplers of Run, which doesn’t interest me as much, but fingers crossed they have full arcs at BookExpo. Fortunately the first issue comes out in August, so the wait won’t be too long if they don’t have full arcs!

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

I’ve never seen Mad Max, so the initial buzz about this debut novel was kind of lost on me since it was described as “an indigenous Mad Max.” But I’ve since read the full jacket copy for Trail of Lightning, and it sounds so badass. It’s a apocalyptic fantasy in which the gods and monsters of Navajo legend walk the land and follows Maggie, a monster hunter. How can you not want to read that?! I know for sure they’re giving copies of this out at BookCon, but I’m actually hoping to grab it at BookExpo if I can. Though fortunately this one is out in only a few weeks if I can’t get a copy!

Honorable Mentions

So those are the books I’m most excited to get at BookExpo (and BookCon), but of course there are definitely a few more that I have my eye on. They’re just ones I have some reservations about or that I’m willing to fight massive lines for, so we’ll see what happens.

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera is definitely one of the books I’d love to get a copy of, but I’m not prepared to fight in a massive line to get one. Hopefully they’ll just have tons of copies to hand around, but if not, I’ll be able to wait until September.

Seafire by Natalie Parker is another book I’m interested in nabbing. It’s a YA fantasy about a female captain and her all-female crew, which sounds pretty neat. I’ve been a bit let down by YA fantasies lately, which is why I’m not quite as desperate to get a copy of this one, but I’d definitely love to come home with it.

Mirage by Somaiya Daud is another YA fantasy that I’m interested in but also a bit hesitant about. This one is set in a Moroccan-inspired world and follows a girl who is kidnapped and forced to serve as a body double for the oppressive regime’s princess, which again, sounds pretty awesome. We’ll see if I manage to grab a copy.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan is the last YA fantasy book on this list. The cover and title are definitely what first caught my eye, but it sounds like a pretty cool Asian-inspired fantasy that I’m excited to check out.

And last but not least, it’d be cool to get a copy of Pride by Ibi Zoboi. I’m super reluctant to pick up another Pride and Prejudice retelling because I’m almost always burned by them. They just never live up to the original! But this one is set in Brooklyn (specifically during the gentrification of Bushwick) and follows Afro-Latinza heroine Zuri Benitez, which sounds pretty awesome. So I’m definitely interested in this despite my reservations.

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Can I just reiterate how excited I am to attend BookExpo, and how unbelievably grateful I am for the opportunity? Even if I don’t get a single book on this list, I’ll be a totally happy camper just attending the event itself and meeting other book people and attending a few panels. Snagging any of the books on this list is just a bonus! And I want to be open to books I’ve never heard of, too, so who knows what I’ll ultimately walk out of the Javitz Center with. Just someone stop me from leaving with more than I can carry, because I really don’t need too many more books!

PSSST. Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for copies of The Rogue by Katharine Ashe, A Scandalous Deal by Joanna Shupe, and Disorderly Conduct by Tessa Bailey! Details here.