Our spring book giveaway
TWO debut novels I couldn't put down 🌱📚
Hi friend,
How is your relationship with reading right now? That’s a question I asked myself at the start of this year. At the time, I felt totally detached from it. I didn’t read much in the second half of 2024, and could hardly remember what I’d read in the first (other than a few personal finance books). I suppose I was preoccupied, and had other things on my mind. But I also couldn’t seem to find any stories I liked enough to get sucked in. In fact, one of the only novels I can remember reading and liking in 2024 was HELLO BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano. Outside of that? *shrugs* I started a lot and finished almost nothing.
I don’t like to track the number of books I read. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I hate the whole concept. I do not want to gamify my reading and rush through books to hit some arbitrary target, and I really don’t want to miss said arbitrary target and feel as though I’m not reading “enough”. The data also doesn’t mean anything! It doesn’t matter if I read 10 books in a year, or 20, or 50. And I don’t think being a fast reader or reading a lot of books makes you a better reader than anyone else. I’m a slow reader. And, I know I will always read some words and some books each year. That’s good enough for me.
I do, however, like tracking things when they feel off/out of alignment. And my relationship with reading felt very off in 2024. Detached, didn’t finish much, couldn’t remember what I had read, etc. So for 2025, I decided to start tracking the titles of books I finish. That might sound like the same thing as setting a reading goal, but it’s not. It’s more like tracking your spending, but not necessarily trying to stick to a specific budget. I don’t care how many books I read. I just want to know the titles of what I finish. Because I am happy to quit books, and do it all the time! So if I actually finish a book, that means I loved it. At the end of the year, I want to look at this list and remember what I loved.
As it turns out, I’ve loved a lot of books already. We’re only halfway through May and the list is longer than I could’ve imagined! I’d like to share two with you now and give you a chance to win them both. It’s been about a year since our last book giveaway (because I wasn’t reading much)… so let’s make it a good one!
Paying subscribers can enter this giveaway by leaving a comment answering the question at the bottom of this post. I’ll randomly select the winners on Saturday, May 31st! But first, let me tell you about the books…
First, a little disclaimer—because at first glance, you might look at these books and think Cait! These are so serious! And you don’t like reading scary books! And you would be correct. I don’t normally go for books that feel too serious (or too realistic and/or possible)—especially right now, when the world feels serious enough. These books are about catastrophic events. The protagonists are left alone and afraid. But they are also brave. They do things I’m not sure I could ever do myself. And the writing is incredible. Fast-paced. Emotional. Vivid. Poetic.
There are similar themes in both books. Like how people respond to devastating events. The relationships you think about most, when you’re alone and believe your life is in danger. And the relationships we have with our homes and the towns/cities we live in (and how those relationships change when your circumstances do). You will feel the locations in these books.
There’s no doubt that these are survivalist stories. If you’re not up for reading that right now, I totally understand! But there’s so much power and beauty in the writing. I couldn’t put either of them down. And one of my commitments is to share the books I can’t put down (and also can’t stop talking about). These are two of them. One middle grade, one adult, both for one of you.
ALONE by Megan E. Freeman
Middle grade fiction (suggested reading age on the back cover = 10+)
This book wasn’t on my radar. I kept coming across the author’s second book, AWAY, and I do want to read that one. But then I watched a video that said AWAY was sort of a parallel story to her first book, so I figured I should start there. I asked to order a copy of ALONE for me a couple months ago (actually, she ordered the second book I’m going to tell you about too!), and I immediately loved the writing. By page 32, I was hooked on the story.
This is a book about Maddie (age 12), who lies to her parents about where she will be sleeping one night, then wakes up and discovers her entire city (in Colorado) has been evacuated and she’s the only person left behind. Within a few days, the power gets shut off. Heat and water too. And there’s no cell signal, so no way to connect with her family or friends. She is alone and has to find ways to survive.
The story is intense, but the writing is present and beautiful. It’s written entirely in verse (poems). So there are no big paragraphs, no lengthy descriptions. Just short, action-packed lines—and ones that place you in her mind/body/soul. I haven’t read many books in verse. I think the last one I read was OTHER WORDS FOR HOME by Jasmine Warga, which I’d like to revisit. But I loved this book. It was the author’s debut novel (came out a few years ago) and is still on the NYT bestseller list today. If you read it, I think you’ll understand why.
One tiny spoiler: there were a few short scenes of animals dying/being killed (not by the protagonist) that hurt my tender heart to read. Outside of that, it’s not a violent book. Just an intense plot!
TILT by Emma Pattee
Adult fiction
Unlike the first book, TILT was on my radar, because it was written by an old friend from my personal finance blogging days. Emma was always so supportive of my own writing career. The last time I saw her was in Portland in January 2019 (which might have also been the last time I was in the US!?), when she came to my event at Powell’s Books to celebrate the paperback release of THE YEAR OF LESS. Portland also happens to be where her novel is set.
Novel feels like the keyword here. Emma didn’t stay in the personal finance world either. She’s now a climate journalist and fiction writer. When she sent an email to let friends know her debut novel was coming out, I already knew I would buy it to support her. Then I read the premise, which was just four sentences: “Annie is nine months pregnant. She’s shopping for a crib at IKEA. That’s when the massive earthquake hits. There’s nothing to do but walk.”
The “massive earthquake” she’s referring to here is the long-anticipated Cascadia Earthquake—something that hasn’t even happened yet, but everyone who grew up along the fault line running from Canada to California has been told is coming one day. Most of my teachers would say something along the lines of, “The big one will happen in the next 100 years.” It’s expected to be a 7+ magnitude earthquake that will cause devastating damage up and down the west coast.
Nobody really likes thinking about this, and for that reason I can see why some people might not be up for reading a fictional story about it. I would typically be one of those people! But Emma’s writing blew me away. The book follows Annie’s journey for the first 24 hours after the earthquake hits, so it’s present and fast-paced. It’s also raw and reflective and incredibly descriptive. The whole time I was reading, I felt like I was watching a movie in my head (and I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets optioned for a film or miniseries). I finished it thinking: omg, how do people write like this!?!? I don’t know, but she did it!
I’m proud of Emma (and a little bit in awe still) but mostly I feel excited for her. TILT has only been out for 7 weeks and it’s already gotten a TON of press and reviews. It’s been a USA Today bestseller, was chosen as a “best book of the week” by New York Magazine, and is an editor’s pick on various bookselling sites. It’s also been given 6,000+ ratings on Goodreads already. PEOPLE ARE READING TILT! I want you to be one of those people. ☺️
To enter to win this two-book bundle, simply leave a comment answering this question: what is one (1) book you have LOVED so far this year?
This giveaway is open to all paying subscribers of The Lighthouse. I’ll ship them anywhere in the world! (Even if it takes a while to get there!) It closes Friday, May 30th. I’ll choose a winner + notify them that weekend!