 | We have lots of new releases this week--35 in total! To me, the YA choices look the best (but I love YA, so they always look best to me!). Expect to see a huge hit in The Hate U Give by debut author Angie Thomas. For adventure, I'm excited to read Daughter of a Pirate King. And The Beast is an Animal sounds a lot like the movie The Village. For younger readers, we have two series that I think could be readalikes for students who love Junie B. Jones. |
YOUNG ADULT (GRADES 8+)
  | The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas) I LOVED this super-important book, and I see a very bright future for debut author Angie Thomas. Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Contemporary fiction, racism. |
  | The Beast is an Animal (Peternelle van Arsdale) Ooh, this remind me of M. Night Shyamalan's creepy movie The Village! Alys was seven when the soul eaters, twin sisters that devour human souls, came to her village. Alys, and all the other children, were spared and sent to live in a neighboring village. There the devout people created a strict world where good and evil are as fundamental as the nursery rhymes children sing. Retelling, dark fairytale. |
  | Sad Perfect (Stephanie Elliot) Sixteen-year-old Pea looks normal, but she has a secret: she has Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). It is like having a monster inside of her, one that not only dictates what she can eat, but also causes anxiety, depression, and thoughts that she doesn’t want to have. When she falls crazy-mad in love with Ben, she hides her disorder from him, pretending that she’s fine. Pair this one with Nicola Yoon's Everything, Everything.Contemporary fiction, mental health. |
  | Stranger Than Fanfiction (Chris Colfer) Cash Carter is the young, world famous lead actor of the hit television Wiz Kids. When four fans jokingly invite him on a cross-country road trip, they are shocked that he actually takes them up on it. Chased by paparazzi and hounded by reporters, this unlikely crew takes off on a journey of a lifetime. Along the way they discover that the star they love has deep secrets he's been keeping. Contemporary fiction. |
  | Daughter of the Pirate King (Tricia Levenseller) Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map--the key to a legendary treasure trove--seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship. More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. Adventure, pirates. |
  | Lifeblood (Gena Showalter) Sequel to: Firstlife. "My Firstlife is over, but my Everlife is only now beginning." With her last living breath, Tenley "Ten" Lockwood made her choice and picked her realm in the Everlife. Now, as the war between Troika and Myriad rages, she must face the consequences. Because Ten possesses a rare supernatural ability to absorb and share light, the Powers That Be have the highest expectations for her future—and the enemy wants her neutralized. Fantasy, dystopia, paranormal. |
  | The Ship Beyond Time (Heidi Heilig) Sequel to: The Girl From Everywhere. Nix has spent her whole life journeying to places both real and imagined aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. Now, it’s finally time for her to take the helm. Her father has given up his obsession to save her mother--and possibly erase Nix’s existence--and Nix’s future lies bright before her. Fantasy, time travel, historical fiction. |
  | A Good Idea (Cristina Moracho) Fin and Betty’s close friendship survived Fin’s ninth-grade move from their coastal Maine town to Manhattan. Calls, letters, and summer visits continued to bind them together, and in the fall of their senior year, they both applied to NYU, planning to reunite for good as roommates. Then Betty disappears. Her ex-boyfriend Calder admits to drowning her, but his confession is thrown out, and soon the entire town believes he was coerced and Betty has simply run away. Fin knows the truth, and she returns to Williston for one final summer, determined to get justice for her friend, even if it means putting her loved ones—and herself—at risk. Mystery, thriller. |
  | Camp So-and-So (Mary McCoy) Twenty-five campers. Five cabins. One very dangerous summer camp. Cabin 1 must face off against their ultimate rivals, the posh campers across the lake — who may be more than they seem. Cabin 2 is being stalked by a murderous former camper. Cabin 3 sets off on a quest to break an age-old curse. Cabin 4 will meet their soulmates — who also pose a deadly threat. And Cabin 5...well, it might already be too late for Cabin 5. Thriller. |
  | Future Threat (Elizabeth Briggs) Sequel to: Future Shock. Six months ago Aether Corporation sent Elena, Adam, and three other recruits on a trip to the future where they brought back secret information--but not everyone made it back to the present alive. Now Elena's dealing with her survivor's guilt and trying to make her relationship with Adam work. All she knows for sure is that she's done with time travel and Aether Corporation. Science fiction, time travel. |
  | Ten Things I Can See From Here (Carrie Mac) This title is featured in Podcast #10: "Dealing With Teen Anxiety." Maeve has heard it all before. She’s been struggling with severe anxiety for a long time, and as much as she wishes it was something she could just talk herself out of, it’s not. She constantly imagines the worst, composes obituaries in her head, and is always ready for things to fall apart. To add to her troubles, her mom--the only one who really gets what Maeve goes through--is leaving for six months, so Maeve will be sent to live with her dad in Vancouver. Contemporary fiction, mental health. |
ALSO RELEASING THIS WEEK:
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MIDDLE SCHOOL (GRADES 5-8)
  | Making Bombs for Hitler (Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch) Sequel to: Stolen Child. In Stolen Child, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch introduced readers to Larissa, a victim of Hitler’s largely unknown Lebensborn program. In this companion novel, readers will learn the fate of Lida, her sister, who was also kidnapped by the Germans and forced into slave labour — an Osterbeiter. Historical fiction, WWII. |
  | Well That Was Awkward (Rachel Vail) Middle school retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac. Gracie has never felt like this before. One day, she suddenly can't breathe, can't walk, can't anything and the reason is standing right there in front of her, all tall and weirdly good-looking: A.J. It turns out A.J. doesn't like Gracie; he likes Gracie's beautiful best friend, Sienna. Obviously Gracie is happy for Sienna. Super happy! She helps Sienna compose the best texts, responding to A.J. s surprisingly funny and appealing texts, just as if she were Sienna. Retelling, romance. |
  | See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan (Jack Cheng) Eleven-year-old Alex Petroski loves space and rockets, his mom, his brother, and his dog Carl Sagan—named for his hero. All he wants is to launch his golden iPod into space the way Carl Sagan launched his Golden Record on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. From Colorado to New Mexico, Las Vegas to L.A., Alex records a journey on his iPod to show other lifeforms what life on earth, his earth, is like. Realistic fiction, space. |
  | I Survived: Tornado Terror (Lauren Tarshis) The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 was the deadliest tornado strike in American history, tearing through three states and killing 700 people. The Joplin Tornado of 2011 was a mile-wide monster that destroyed heart of a vibrant city. The true stories of these two events plus fascinating facts, profiles of tornado scientists and storm chasers create a unique and thrilling nonfiction read, by the author of the New York Times bestselling I Survived series. |
  | Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights (Deborah Cops) This is the true story of women's activist Alice Paul from suffrage to demanding full equality with men. Narrative nonfiction. |
  | A Rambler Steals Home (Carter Higgins) Garland, Derby, and Triple Clark spend each season traveling highways and byways in their Rambler--until summer, when small-town Ridge Creek, Virginia, calls them back. There they settle in, selling burgers and fries out of Garland's Grill after each game the Rockskippers play in their battered minor-league baseball stadium. Derby's summer traditions bring her closer than she's ever been to a real home that isn't on wheels, but this time, her return to Ridge Creek reveals unwelcome news. Now the person Derby loves most in town needs her help--and yet finding a way to do so may uncover deeply held stories and secrets. |
  | The Width of the World (David Baldacci) Vega Jane, book 3. This is it. Vega Jane’s time. She’s been lied to her whole life, so she breaks away from Wormwood, the only home she’s ever known, in search of the truth. She battles horrors to fight her way across the Quag with her best friend, Delph, and her mysterious canine, Harry Two. Against all odds, they survive unimaginable dangers and make it through. |
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (GRADES K-5)
  | The Family Fiasco (Anna Wilson) Ever since Sky Green's mum started dating "the man next door," AKA Rob, Skye's life has been turned UPSIDE-DOWN. Not only is Rob spending far too much time at Skye's house (and forgetting to do really important things like LOCKING the bathroom door when he is on the loo—CRINGE!), his ANNOYING son, Finn, is always hanging around, too. Realistic fiction. |
  | The Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming (J. Anderson Coats) High-spirited young Jane is excited to be part of Mr. Mercer’s plan to bring Civil War widows and orphans to Washington Territory—but life out west isn’t at all what she expected. Washington Territory is just the place for men of broad mind and sturdy constitution—and girls too, Jane figures, or Mr. Mercer wouldn’t have allowed her to come on his expedition to bring unmarried girls and Civil War widows out west. Historical fiction, westward expansion. |
  | Mutant Rat Attack (Jay Cooper) The Spy Next Door, book 1. Looking to move your students beyond Junie B. Jones and Captain Underpants? Try this one! Nothing exciting ever happens to boring Dex at his boring home or at boring school. He oversleeps (again!), he daydreams while his science teacher babbles on about his lab rat, he gets harassed by neighborhood mean-girl Millicent. So boring! Then one day, a mystery man convinces the science teacher to feed his lab rat radioactive gamma broccoli, which turns the rat into a rabid rodent the size of a hippo. Humor. |
  | Trudy's Big Swim: How Gertrude Ederle Swam the English Channel and Took the World by Storm (Sue Macy, Matt Collins) On the morning of August 6, 1926, Gertrude Ederle stood in her bathing suit on the beach at Cape Gris-Nez, France, and faced the churning waves of the English Channel. Twenty-one miles across the perilous waterway, the English coastline beckoned. Biography. |
  | Hazy Bloom and the Tomorrow Power (Jennifer Hamburg, Jenn Harney) Another alternative to Junie B.! One perfectly ordinary afternoon, a vision flashes through third-grader Hazel Bloom’s mind--a vision of of flying peas. The next day in the school cafeteria, a food fight erupts that involves the very same airborne veggie. After one or two more seemingly silly visions come true in unexpected ways, Hazy realizes she has a strange new power to foresee a visual clue about trouble that’s on its way within twenty-four hours. Humor. |
  | Today I Feel...An Alphabet of Emotions (Madalena Moniz) Great for elementary school counselors! Follows a child through a whole range of emotions, from adored to curious to strong. Not all of the emotions are positive and not all of them are simple, but they are all honest and worthy of discussion with a young child. Emotions. |
ALSO RELEASING THIS WEEK:
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PICTURE BOOKS (ALL AGES)
  | Dorothea Lange: The Photographer Who Found the Faces of the Depression (Carole Boston Weatherford, Sarah Greene) Before she raised her lens to take her most iconic photo, Dorothea Lange took photos of the downtrodden from bankers in once-fine suits waiting in breadlines, to former slaves, to the homeless sleeping on sidewalks. A case of polio had left her with a limp and sympathetic to those less fortunate. Traveling across the United States, documenting with her camera and her fieldbook those most affected by the stock market crash, she found the face of the Great Depression. Picture book biography, photography. |
  | If I Had a Dinosaur (Gabby Dawnay, Alex Barrow) A little girl dreams of having her very own pet. But what kind of animal would make the best companion? A mouse is too small, a cat is too ordinary, and a fish is too...wet! As she plays with her toy dinosaur, inspiration strikes. |