 | Happy Valentine's Day! This week has lots of new releases, but I'm only really excited about two, maybe three of them. Libraries looking to add diverse titles won't want to miss American Street and Piecing Me Together. Both are strong additions to literature featuring African-American girls. I also think Addie Bell's Shortcut to Growing Up looks cute, sort of like that Jennifer Garner movie 13 Going on 30. |
YOUNG ADULT (GRADES 8+)
  | The Last of August (Brittany Cavallaro) Sequel to: A Study in Charlotte. Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes are looking for a winter break reprieve in Sussex after a fall semester that almost got them killed. But nothing about their time off is proving simple, including Holmes and Watson’s growing feelings for each other. When Charlotte’s beloved uncle Leander goes missing from the Holmes estate—after being oddly private about his latest assignment in a German art forgery ring—the game is afoot once again, and Charlotte throws herself into a search for answers. Mystery. |
  | We Are Okay (Nina LaCour) In her first winter holidays away at college in New York, Marin opts to stay in her dorm, alone, rather than go home to California. Her reasons are unclear until her friend Mabel shows up at her door. Mabel is there to talk to Marin, to try to get her to come home, at least for a little while. Marin's previous summer unfolds slowly as the reader learns about Mabel and Marin's relationship beyond just friendship and Marin's deceased grandfather's horrible secrets. Contemporary fiction, GLBT. |
  | American Street (Ibi Zoboi) Debut author! Fabiola Toussaint, a young Haitian immigrant to the United States, must navigate her life, school and relationships, while dealing with her loud cousins after her mother is detained by the United States immigration department. Watch this title soar--I think this one will stick around long after 2017 comes and goes. Realistic fiction, immigration. |
  | The Valiant (Lesley Livingston) Seventeen-year-old Fallon, the daughter of a Celtic king whose other daughter was killed by the army of Julius Caesar, is captured and sold to a training school for female gladiators owned by Caesar and must overcome rivalries while trying to understand her feelings for Cai, a young Roman soldier. Historical fiction, gladiators. |
  | #famous (Jilly Gagnon) Girl likes boy. Girl snaps photo and posts it online. Boy becomes instafamous. And what starts out as an innocent photo turns into a whirlwind adventure that forces them both to question whether fame--and love--are worth the price. Contemporary romance. |
  | Piecing Me Together (Renée Watson) Limited budget? Don't miss this title, especially if you are looking to add diverse titles featuring strong girls. (And who isn't always looking for those?) Tired of being singled out at her mostly-white private school as someone who needs support, high school junior Jade would rather participate in the school's amazing Study Abroad program than join Women to Women, a mentorship program for at-risk girls. Contemporary fiction. |
  | A Season of Daring Greatly (Ellen Emerson White) Looking to increase titles featuring high school girls playing sports? This one would pair nicely with Karen Blumenthal's narrative nonfiction title Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX. Making history as the first woman to be signed by a major league baseball team, eighteen-year-old Jill is confronted by coaches, players, and fans who want to keep baseball an all-male sport while dealing with her own doubts about her choices. Sports, gender discrimination. |
  | Revenge of the Evil Librarian (Michelle Knudsen) Sequel to: Evil Librarian. Last fall, Cynthia Rothschild saved her best friend, as well as the entire student body, from the demon librarian, Mr. Gabriel, all while executing the most awesome set design for the school musical, Sweeney Todd. But now that all that demon stuff is behind her, Cyn is looking forward to the best summer ever at theater camp with her former-crush-and-now-boyfriend, Ryan Halsey. Once she gets to camp, though, Cyn realizes this summer might not be all she's been hoping for. Paranormal, fantasy. |
  | Ones and Zeroes (Dan Wells) Sequel to: Bluescreen. Set in 2050 Los Angeles. Overworld. It’s more than just the world’s most popular e-sport—for thousands of VR teams around the globe, Overworld is life. It means fame and fortune, or maybe it’s a ticket out of obscurity or poverty. If you have a connection to the internet and four friends you trust with your life, anything is possible. Science fiction, thriller. |
ALSO RELEASING THIS WEEK:
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MIDDLE SCHOOL (GRADES 5-8)
  | The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life (Kwame Alexander, Thai Neave) Illustrated with photographs by Thai Neave, The Playbook is intended to provide inspiration on the court of life. Each rule contains wisdom from inspiring athletes and role models such as Nelson Mandela, Serena Williams, LeBron James, Carli Lloyd, Steph Curry and Michelle Obama. Kwame Alexander also provides his own poetic and uplifting words, as he shares stories of overcoming obstacles and winning games in this motivational and inspirational book just right for graduates of any age and anyone needing a little encouragement. Nonfiction, poetry. |
  | Last Day on Mars (Kevin Emerson) While waiting to leave Mars before it burns up just like the Earth before it, Liam and his friend Phoebe discover some facts about time and space and realize that the human race is just one of the races trying to survive in space. Science fiction. |
  | Addie Bell's Shortcut to Growing Up (Jessica Brody) Seventh grader Addie Bell can't wait to grow up. Her parents won't let her have her own phone, she doesn't have any curves, and her best friend, Grace, isn't at all interested in makeup or boys. Then, on the night of her twelfth birthday, Addie makes a wish on a magic jewelry box to be sixteen...and wakes up to find her entire life has been fast-forwarded four years. Fantasy. |
  | The Science of Science Fiction (Matthew Brendon Wood, Tom Casteel) Explores the science behind classic and modern science fiction stories, including artificial intelligence, androids, and the search for alien life. Readers will learn how cutting edge concepts, including time dilation and genetic manipulation, influence today's fiction. Includes bibliographical references and index. Nonfiction. |
  | Innocent Heroes (Sigmund Brouwer) Eight connected fictional stories about a Canadian platoon in WW1. The Storming Normans have help from some very memorable animals: we meet a dog who warns soldiers in the trench of a gas attack, a donkey whose stubbornness saves the day, a cat who saves soldiers from rat bites, and many more. Each story is followed by nonfiction sections that tell the true story of these animals from around the world and of the Canadian soldiers who took Vimy Ridge. Through the friendship that grows between three of these soldiers in particular, we get a close-up look at life in the trenches, the taking of Vimy Ridge, the bonds between soldiers and their animals and what it meant to be Canadian in WW1. Historical fiction and nonfiction. |
ALSO RELEASING THIS WEEK:
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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (GRADES K-5)
  | Calico Girl (Jerdine Nolen) Twelve-year-old Callie Wilcomb and her family are slaves, but the Civil War is helping her believe freedom might be possible. On May 23, 1861, Virginia ratified their vote to secede from the Union. In Virginia, a window was opened where the laws of the land no longer applied. Because of the Contraband Law, slaves no longer had to be returned to their owners, granting them a measure of protection and safety. With the possibility of Callie and her family escaping their bonds forever, Callie is eager to learn and become educated and hopes to teach others one day. Historical fiction. |
  | Arthur and the Golden Rope (Joe Todd-Stanton) A young boy named Arthur saves his town from a giant wolf, with the help of Thor, the God of Storms. Fantasy. |
  | One Amazing Elephant (Linda Oatman High) Twelve-year-old Lily Pruitt loves her grandparents, but she doesn't love the circus--and the circus is their life. She's perfectly happy to stay with her father, away from her neglectful mother and her grandfather's beloved elephant, Queenie Grace. Then Grandpa Bill dies, and both Lily and Queenie Grace are devastated. When Lily travels to Florida for the funeral, she keeps her distance from the elephant. But the two are mourning the same man-and form a bond born of loss. Realistic fiction, animal abuse. |
  | Sam the Man & the Rutabaga Plan (Frances O'Roark Dowell, Amy June Bates) Sam the Man is back, and he needs a NEW plan. Sam has already solved a chicken problem, but this time, he's having rutabaga issues. You see, Sam thought he was quite clever, missing school while his classmates were picking out their vegetable for a two-week science project. But, instead of being able to skip the project, he gets stuck with the vegetable that no one else wanted: the rutabaga! |
  | You Throw Like a Girl (Rachele Alpine) Gabby's summer vacation isn't shaping up to be that great. Her dad was just deployed overseas, and Gabby is staying at her grandmother's house with her mom and baby sister until he returns. The one bright spot is that Gaby plans to sign up for the local softball league—her greatest love and a passion she shares with her Dad who was a pitcher in college. But when Gabby goes to sign up for the summer league, she discovers that there wasn't enough interest to justify a girl's team this year. Realistic fiction, sports. |
PICTURE BOOKS (ALL AGES)
  | Patrick and the President (Ryan Tubridy, P.J. Lynch) When the beloved president visited Ireland in 1963, he described it as the best four days of his life. And for a generation of Irish people, it was a trip they never forgot. |