List

Category
Audience

Unplugged

Gordon Korman

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Unteachables, Gordon Korman, comes a hilarious middle grade novel about a group of kids forced to “unplug” at a wellness camp—where they instead find intrigue, adventure, and a whole lot of chaos. Perfect for fans of Korman’s Ungifted and the Masterminds series, as well as Carl Hiaasen’s eco mysteries. 

As the son of the world’s most famous tech billionaire, spoiled Jett Baranov has always gotten what he wanted. So when his father’s private jet drops him in the middle of the Arkansas wilderness, at a place called the Oasis, Jett can’t believe it. He’s forced to hand over his cell phone, eat grainy veggie patties, and participate in wholesome activities with the other kids, who he has absolutely no interest in hanging out with.

As the weeks go on, Jett starts to get used to the unplugged life and even bonds with the other kids over their discovery of a baby-lizard-turned-pet, Needles. But he can’t help noticing that the adults at the Oasis are acting really strange.

Jett is determined to get to the bottom of things, but can he convince everybody that he is no longer just a spoiled brat who is making trouble?

View Details >>

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega

Crystal Maldonado

Coming of age as a Fat brown girl in a white Connecticut suburb is hard.
Harder when your whole life is on fire, though.


Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat.

People sometimes have a problem with that last one. Especially her mom. Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it's hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight loss shakes on her dresser doesn't help. The world and everyone in it have ideas about what she should look like: thinner, lighter, slimmer-faced, straighter-haired. Be smaller. Be whiter. Be quieter.

But there's one person who's always in Charlie's corner: her best friend Amelia. Slim. Popular. Athletic. Totally dope. So when Charlie starts a tentative relationship with cute classmate Brian, the first worthwhile guy to notice her, everything is perfect until she learns one thing--he asked Amelia out first. So is she his second choice or what? Does he even really see her?

Because it's time people did.

A sensitive, funny, and painful coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves.

View Details >>

Into the Heartless Wood

Joanna Ruth Meyer

The forest is a dangerous place, where siren song lures men and women to their deaths.

Deep in the wood lives a witch queen and her eight tree siren daughters. For centuries, they have harvested souls to feed the heartless tree, using its power to grow their ever reaching kingdom of ash, birch, and oak.

Owen Merrick lives at the edge of the forest, mapping the stars for the king in his father’s observatory. For years, he has resisted venturing over the garden wall, until one day he must enter the woods to find his missing sister. But one of the witch’s tree siren daughters, Seren, decides to save his life instead of end it. Now, no matter how hard he tries, he can’t stop thinking about her — the birch-bright hue of her skin and the way violets bloom in her hair. Every night, he goes into the wood to meet her, and their love for each other grows.

But when the constellations shift, the stars foretell an inevitable war between the witch queen and the king. With Seren compelled to fight for her mother, and Owen forced to join the king’s army, they are plunged into the heart of a conflict that seemingly no one can win and that might destroy both their kingdoms forever.

View Details >>

Pride and Premeditation

Tirzah Price

Perfect for fans of the Lady Janies and Stalking Jack the Ripper, the first book in the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries series is a clever retelling of Pride and Prejudice that reimagines the iconic settings, characters, and romances in a thrilling and high-stakes whodunit.

When a scandalous murder shocks London high society, seventeen-year-old aspiring lawyer Lizzie Bennet seizes the opportunity to prove herself, despite the interference of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the stern young heir to the prestigious firm Pemberley Associates.

Convinced the authorities have imprisoned the wrong person, Lizzie vows to solve the murder on her own. But as the case—and her feelings for Darcy—become more complicated, Lizzie discovers that her dream job could make her happy, but it might also get her killed.

View Details >>

She Drives Me Crazy

Kelly Quindlen

“A little sweet, a little sharp.” —Booklist, starred review

High school nemeses fall in love in Kelly Quindlen's She Drives Me Crazy, a queer YA rom com perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Casey McQuisten.

After an embarrassing loss to her ex-girlfriend in their first basketball game of the season, seventeen-year-old Scottie Zajac gets into a fender bender with the worst possible person: her nemesis, Irene Abraham, head cheerleader for the Fighting Reindeer.

Irene is as mean as she is beautiful, so Scottie makes a point to keep her distance. When the accident sends Irene’s car to the shop for weeks’ worth of repairs and the girls are forced to carpool, their rocky start only gets bumpier.


But when an opportunity arises for Scottie to get back at her toxic ex—and climb her school’s social ladder—she bribes Irene into an elaborate fake- dating scheme that threatens to reveal some very real feelings.

From author Kelly Quindlen comes a new laugh-out-loud romp through the ups and downs of teen romance, perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli.

View Details >>

Things We Lost to the Water

Eric Nguyen

A stunning debut novel about an immigrant Vietnamese family who settles in New Orleans and struggles to remain connected to one another as their lives are inextricably reshaped.

When Huong arrives in New Orleans with her two young sons, she is jobless, homeless, and worried about her husband, Cong, who remains in Vietnam. As she and her boys begin to settle in to life in America, she continues to send letters and tapes back to Cong, hopeful that they will be reunited and her children will grow up with a father.

But with time, Huong realizes she will never see her husband again. While she attempts to come to terms with this loss, her sons, Tuan and Binh, grow up in their absent father's shadow, haunted by a man and a country trapped in their memories and imaginations. As they push forward, the three adapt to life in America in different ways: Huong gets involved with a Vietnamese car salesman who is also new in town; Tuan tries to connect with his heritage by joining a local Vietnamese gang; and Binh, now going by Ben, embraces his adopted homeland and his burgeoning sexuality. Their search for identity--as individuals and as a family--threatens to tear them apart, until disaster strikes the city they now call home and they are suddenly forced to find a new way to come together and honor the ties that bind them.

View Details >>

Olympus, Texas

Stacey Swann

*A GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick!*


"The Iliad meets Friday Night Lights in this muscular, captivating debut." --Oprah Daily

"Wildly entertaining." --Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls

A bighearted debut with technicolor characters, plenty of Texas swagger, and a powder keg of a plot in which marriages struggle, rivalries flare, and secrets explode, all with a clever wink toward classical mythology.


The Briscoe family is once again the talk of their small town when March returns to East Texas two years after he was caught having an affair with his brother's wife. His mother, June, hardly welcomes him back with open arms. Her husband's own past affairs have made her tired of being the long-suffering spouse. Is it, perhaps, time for a change? Within days of March's arrival, someone is dead, marriages are upended, and even the strongest of alliances are shattered. In the end, the ties that hold them together might be exactly what drag them all down.

An expansive tour de force, Olympus, Texas cleverly weaves elements of classical mythology into a thoroughly modern family saga, rich in drama and psychological complexity. After all, at some point, don't we all wonder: What good is this destructive force we call love?

View Details >>

Sam Can't Sleep

Davide Cali

When Sam can't sleep, he decides to ask all the other animals in the jungle if they know why. But Elephant, Snake, Monkey, Tiger and Crocodile aren't very happy about being woken up in the middle of the night. Will Sam ever find out why he can't sleep? With a colorful palette that is exciting yet impeccable for nighttime, Sam Can't Sleepis the perfect "can't-get-to-sleep" bedtime story.

View Details >>

Even Grouches Wear Masks!

Andrea Posner-Sanchez

Elmo and his Sesame Street friends know how important it is for everyone to wear a mask--even Oscar the Grouch--in this timely paperback with photos of everyone's favorite muppets!

Thanks to Elmo, Oscar, Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster, and their Sesame Street friends, young boys and girls will learn how and why to wear a face mask. Sesame Street fans will love the bright, colorful photos of the lovable muppets wearing masks throughout this paperback book. And they'll laugh while they're learning how to stay healthy--and keep their friends and family healthy, too.

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, aims to help kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder through its many unique domestic and international initiatives. These projects cover a wide array of topics for families around the world.

View Details >>

Full Moon

Camilla Pintonato

As the sun sets, the little gray rabbits are busy in their secret workshop, but what could they be making? Follow along as the rabbits prepare for the big event, inviting all of their forest friends to the celebration. The mice, foxes, porcupines, and other forest creatures gather as the full moon rises, and finally the big surprise is revealed. The little rabbits release beautiful paper lanterns into the sky, where they sparkle like stars in the light of the full moon.

Camilla Pintonato's endearing illustrations invite us into a secret world, where wonders take place while the humans are away and the animals play. Striking, full-spread images of the rising moon and sun illuminate the magical way the natural cycle of the sky unites us in wonder, giving children a connection to nature they can experience from anywhere in the world.

View Details >>

My book of dinosaurs and prehistoric life

Dean R. Lomax

Take a journey back in time to discover the incredible plants and animals of prehistoric Earth. It’s the ultimate first dinosaur book for young readers!

From the first living cells to fearsome dinosaurs and giant mammals, this children’s book brings your budding paleontologist face-to-face with these awe-inspiring creatures! 

Inside the pages of this dinosaur encyclopedia from DK Books, you’ll discover: 

   • Large pictures and clear, jargon-free text
   • A handy, pronunciation guide for each animal or plant
   • Visual index arranged chronologically, so species can be found quickly
   • Detailed profiles of each featured species with key information and fun facts such as size, time period, and location

Little dinosaur lovers will be captivated by the amazing range of prehistoric beasts on display! Detailed artworks bring the past to life, painting a spectacular portrait of the supersized, the scary, and the downright bizarre animals and plants that inhabited Earth in ancient times. 

Throughout the pages of this fascinating prehistoric book, you’ll discover how the Earth has changed over time, why fossils formed, and the arrival of early humans. A pronunciation guide helps kids with tricky names and encourages early learning and language development. The helpful visual index provides a quick overview of every species in the book.

Learn more about prehistoric animals and plants through detailed profiles of 50 key species. 
Your little one will love reading about famous favorites such as the mighty Tyrannosaurus and the huge Woolly Mammoths! They will also get to know lesser-known dinosaurs, including sail-backed Dimetrodon and airplane-sized pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus. These profiles are jargon-free and based on the latest science. 

The Prehistoric World Awaits! 

Packed with jaw-dropping images, fascinating facts, and straightforward explanations, it’s the perfect gift for children aged 5 to 8 with a love of prehistoric beasts and dinosaurs.

View Details >>

Fungarium

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

Illustrator Katie Scott returns to the Welcome to the Museum series with exquisite, detailed images of some of the most fascinating living organisms on this planet - fungi.

From the fungi we see on supermarket shelves to fungi like penicillium that have shaped human history, this is the definitive introduction to what fungi are and just how vital they are to the world's ecosystem.

Created in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

View Details >>

How to Talk to a Tiger ... and Other Animals

Jason Bittel

A quirky compendium of animal chatterboxes

Ever wanted to talk to a tiger? Or chatter with a cheetah? Or yak with a yak? This book brings together a babble of more than 100 beasties and explores the amazing ways they talk to each other. From fish that fart to alligators that dunk to fire worms that flash, you'll discover that wildlife have the strangest ways of sending a message . . .

View Details >>

My Tiny Life by Ruby T. Hummingbird

Paul Meisel

Tiny but mighty! A ruby throated hummingbird tells his own life story in this funny, bright, informative entry to the critically acclaimed Nature Diary science series.

May 15: Today I poked my way out of this tiny egg.

With Mom feeding him insects and nectar, Ruby T. Hummingbird is soon able to beat his wings and fly--up, down, backward, and forward--and forage for himself. But don't be fooled! This elegant creature can turn into a fierce fighter if another hummingbird tries to feed on his flower--or his hummingbird feeder.

June 21: This flower is MINE! No you don't.

A second test of his strength comes when he migrates to a warmer climate in the fall and a cooler climate in the spring.

March 1, 5 a.m.: I'm off! Wish me luck.

Children will love poring over the bright, highly detailed illustrations and pondering ideas about nature.

The book includes a glossary and further information in the back of the book. Both art and text have been vetted for accuracy by an expert.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Don't miss the other books in The Nature Diary Series!

Each one explores the life cycle of an animal in dated journal entries, showing young readers how they grow and change through the seasons-- and offering a few laughs, too! Brightly illustrated and vetted by experts, Paul Meisel's books are a perfect introduction to your backyard neighbors.
My Awesome Summer by P. Mantis CCBC Best-of-the-Year List, AAAS /Subaru Finalist, Leaping Lizards Top 10 Read-alouds, SCIENCE Best Books for Curious Kids, Virginia Readers' Choices
My Happy Year by E. Bluebird A Junior Library Guild Selection
My Stinky Summer by S. Bug A Junior Library Guild Selection

View Details >>

The Bare Naked Book

Kathy Stinson

Bodies, bodies! Big and small, short and tall, young and old--Every BODY is different!

The Bare Naked Book has been a beloved fixture in libraries, classrooms, and at-home story times since its original publication in 1986. Now, this revised edition is ready to meet a new generation of readers.

The text has been updated to reflect current understandings of gender and inclusion, which are also
showcased in the brand-new, vibrant illustrations by Melissa Cho.

Featuring a note from the author explaining the history of the book and the importance of this updated edition, readers will delight in this celebration of all kinds of bodies.

View Details >>

A Shot in the Arm

Don Brown

A Shot in the Arm! explores the history of vaccinations and the struggle to protect people from infectious diseases, from smallpox—perhaps humankind’s greatest affliction to date—to the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlighting deadly diseases such as measles, polio, rabies, cholera, and influenza, Brown tackles the science behind how our immune systems work, the discovery of bacteria, the anti-vaccination movement, and major achievements from Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who popularized inoculation in England, and from scientists like Louis Pasteur, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, and Edward Jenner, the "father of immunology." Timely and fascinating, A Shot in the Arm! is a reminder of vaccines’ contributions to public health so far, as well as the millions of lives they can still save.

 Big Ideas That Changed the World is a graphic novel series that celebrates the hard-won succession of ideas that ultimately changed the world. Humor, drama, and art unite to tell the story of events, discoveries, and ingenuity over time that led humans to come up with a big idea and then make it come true.

View Details >>

First Friend

Kersten Hamilton

With lyrical text by Kersten Hamilton and luminous illustrations by Jaime Kim, First Friend is an exploration of how the wild wolves became dogs, and how we learned to communicate and grow alongside the creatures we love.

Long, long ago, when the world was new. . .a girl met a pup.

In those days, everyone knew that wolves and children could not be friends. Still, they learned from each other—how to hunt, how to trade, how to survive, how to play. And years and years went by, and the world spun and changed. And then—a boy fished with a wolf, and a girl traded with a wild dog, and animal and human grew up side by side. . .into the best friends we are today.

View Details >>

Horse Power

Jennifer Thermes

From their earliest evolution to the invention of the "horseless carriage," this picture book captures how--for much of human history--horses powered the world

For thousands of years, horses and humans lived, worked, and played together, side by side. From the time they were first domesticated to the invention of the wheel, saddle, bit, and bridle; horses brought far-flung lands closer together at the speed of a gallop. Trade, agriculture, transportation, and more were expanded in new ways--all made possible by the power of the horse.
In dazzling spreads packed with maps, sidebars, and other hidden gems, explore the special connection between horses and humans. Discover how horses evolved and track their migration as they come to live on six continents. See the everyday jobs done by horses for centuries. And consider the profound changes that came about when gasoline-powered engines arrived on the scene.
An encyclopedic look at this magnificent animal, Horse Power offers a unique view of world history from the ancient past to today.

View Details >>

Secrets of the Sea

Evan Griffith

The curiosity, drive, and perseverance of the nineteenth-century woman scientist who pioneered the use of aquariums to study ocean life are celebrated in this gorgeous, empowering picture book.

How did a nineteenth-century dressmaker revolutionize science? Jeanne Power was creative: she wanted to learn about the creatures that swim beneath the ocean waves, so she built glass tanks and changed the way we study underwater life forever. Jeanne Power was groundbreaking: she solved mysteries of sea animals and published her findings at a time when few of women's contributions to science were acknowledged. Jeanne Power was persistent: when records of her research were lost, she set to work repeating her studies. And when men tried to take credit for her achievements, she stood firm and insisted on the recognition due to her.

Jeanne Power was inspiring, and the legacy of this pioneering marine scientist lives on in every aquarium.

View Details >>

In Deeper Waters

F.T. Lukens

A young prince must rely on a mysterious stranger to save him when he is kidnapped during his coming-of-age tour in this swoony adventure that is The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Pirates of the Caribbean.

Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his family’s kingdom for the first time. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their crew discovers a mysterious prisoner on a burning derelict vessel.

Tasked with watching over the prisoner, Tal is surprised to feel an intense connection with the roguish Athlen. So when Athlen leaps overboard and disappears, Tal feels responsible and heartbroken, knowing Athlen could not have survived in the open ocean.

That is, until Tal runs into Athlen days later on dry land, very much alive, and as charming—and secretive—as ever. But before they can pursue anything further, Tal is kidnapped by pirates and held ransom in a plot to reveal his rumored powers and instigate a war. Tal must escape if he hopes to save his family and the kingdom. And Athlen might just be his only hope…

View Details >>

Between Perfect and Real

Ray Stoeve

Dean Foster knows he’s a trans guy. He’s watched enough YouTube videos and done enough questioning to be sure. But everyone at his high school thinks he’s a lesbian—including his girlfriend Zoe, and his theater director, who just cast him as a “nontraditional” Romeo. He wonders if maybe it would be easier to wait until college to come out. But as he plays Romeo every day in rehearsals, Dean realizes he wants everyone to see him as he really is now––not just on the stage, but everywhere in his life. Dean knows what he needs to do. Can playing a role help Dean be his true self?

View Details >>

Witches Steeped in Gold

Ciannon Smart

This Jamaican-inspired fantasy debut about two enemy witches who must enter into a deadly alliance to take down a common enemy has the twisted cat-and-mouse of Killing Eve with the richly imagined fantasy world of Furyborn and Ember in the Ashes.

Divided by their order. United by their vengeance.

Iraya has spent her life in a cell, but every day brings her closer to freedom--and vengeance.

Jazmyne is the Queen's daughter, but unlike her sister before her, she has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother's power.

Sworn enemies, these two witches enter a precarious alliance to take down a mutual threat. But power is intoxicating, revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain--except the lengths they will go to win this game.

"A thundering waterfall of magic, vengeance and intrigue." --Samantha Shannon, New York Times & Sunday Times bestselling author of The Priory of the Orange Tree and The Bone Season.

View Details >>

These Feathered Flames

Alexandra Overy

"These Feathered Flames is a stunning debut as dark, lush, and captivating as the best fairy tales."--Nina Varela, author of the Crier's War duology

When twin heirs are born in Tourin, their fates are decided at a young age. While Izaveta remained at court to learn the skills she'd need as the future queen, Asya was taken away to train with her aunt, the mysterious Firebird, who ensured magic remained balanced in the realm.

But before Asya's training is completed, the ancient power blooms inside her, which can mean only one thing: the queen is dead, and a new ruler must be crowned.

As the princesses come to understand everything their roles entail, they'll discover who they can trust, who they can love--and who killed their mother.

Books in the These Feathered Flames duology:
These Feathered Flames
This Cursed Crown

View Details >>

The Forest of Stolen Girls

June Hur

Suspenseful and richly atmospheric, June Hur's The Forest of Stolen Girls is a haunting historical mystery sure to keep readers guessing until the last page.

1426, Joseon (Korea). Hwani's family has never been the same since she and her younger sister went missing and were later found unconscious in the forest near a gruesome crime scene.

Years later, Detective Min—Hwani's father—learns that thirteen girls have recently disappeared from the same forest that nearly stole his daughters. He travels to their hometown on the island of Jeju to investigate... only to vanish as well.

Determined to find her father and solve the case that tore their family apart, Hwani returns home to pick up the trail. As she digs into the secrets of the small village—and collides with her now estranged sister, Maewol—Hwani comes to realize that the answer could lie within her own buried memories of what happened in the forest all those years ago.

Praise for The Forest of Stolen Girls:

Junior Library Guild Selection

"The Forest of Stolen Girls is a haunting, breathtaking tale that will have readers on the edge of their seats. ... Hur is an absolute master of mystery, and I will be reading her gorgeous books for years to come." —Adalyn Grace, New York Times-bestselling author of All the Stars and Teeth

"Rich, exquisite, and deeply atmospheric, The Forest of Stolen Girls draws the reader in from the very first page and doesn't let go. A dark and utterly engrossing mystery, beautifully drawn from start to finish." —Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times-bestselling author of Girl in Pieces

"Haunting and lyrical. Beware, this tale will draw you deeper into the forest than you want to go." —Stacey Lee, award-winning author of The Downstairs Girl

"A brilliant historical fiction mystery that is suspenseful, gorgeous and absolutely riveting! Hur brings Jeju Island during the early Joseon period completely to life in a rich, evocative manner that reminds me of watching my favorite historical Kdrama.” —Ellen Oh, author of the Prophecy series

View Details >>

Kate in Waiting

Becky Albertalli

From #1 New York Times bestselling author and rom-com queen Becky Albertalli comes a buoyant new novel about daring to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight in love, life, and, yes, theater.

Contrary to popular belief, best friends Kate Garfield and Anderson Walker are not codependent. Carpooling to and from theater rehearsals? Environmentally sound and efficient. Consulting each other on every single life decision? Basic good judgment. Pining for the same guys from afar? Shared crushes are more fun anyway.

But when Kate and Andy's latest long-distance crush shows up at their school, everything goes off-script. Matt Olsson is talented and sweet, and Kate likes him. She really likes him. The only problem? So does Anderson.

Turns out, communal crushes aren't so fun when real feelings are involved. This one might even bring the curtains down on Kate and Anderson's friendship.

View Details >>

Everything You Need to Ace Biology in One Big Fat Notebook

Workman Publishing

This Big Fat Notebook covers everything you need to know during a year of high school BIOLOGY class, breaking down one big bad subject into accessible units. Including biological classification, cell theory, photosynthesis, bacteria, viruses, mold, fungi, the human body, plant and animal reproduction, DNA & RNA, evolution, genetic engineering, the ecosystem, and more.
Study better with mnemonic devices, definitions, diagrams, educational doodles, and quizzes to recap it all.

Millions and millions of BIG FAT NOTEBOOKS sold!

View Details >>

Kids on the March

Michael Long

From the March on Washington to March for Our Lives to Black Lives Matter, the powerful stories of kid-led protest in America. 
  
Kids have always been activists. They have even launched movements. Long before they could vote, kids have spoken up, walked out, gone on strike, and marched for racial justice, climate protection, gun control, world peace, and more.  
 
Kids on the March tells the stories of these protests, from the March of the Mill Children, who walked out of factories in 1903 for a shorter work week, to 1951’s Strike for a Better School, which helped build the case for Brown v. Board of Education, to the twenty-first century’s most iconic movements, including March for Our Lives, the Climate Strike, and the recent Black Lives Matter protests reshaping our nation. 
  
Powerfully told and inspiring, Kids on the March shows how standing up, speaking out, and marching for what you believe in can advance the causes of justice, and that no one is too small or too young to make a difference. 

View Details >>

The Rose of Versailles Volume 4

Ryoko Ikeda

France spirals towards a civil war, as nobles continue to ignore the people of France. Noblewoman Oscar François de Jarjayes is forced to reconsider her life as a soldier and a woman, her loyalties and her love. Marie Antoinette and the royal family seek escape, while Robespierre and the National Assembly take up arms and demand democracy.

This deluxe hardcover volume contains chapters 67-82 of Riyoko Ikeda's historical fiction masterwork, plus the side story "The Countess in Black".

View Details >>

Project Hail Mary

Andy Weir

A lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster in this incredible new science-based thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian.

“A novel that would have delighted Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov.”—George R. R. Martin, author of A Game of Thrones

“Weir’s finest work to date . . . the one book I read last year that I am certain I can recommend to anyone, no matter who, and know they’ll love it.”—Brandon Sanderson, author of the Stormlight Archive series


Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could deliver, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian—while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.

View Details >>

The Last Thing He Told Me

Laura Dave

Now a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Selection!

A gripping mystery about a woman who thinks she’s found the love of her life—until he disappears.

Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers—Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.

As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss, as a US marshal and federal agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.

Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they’re also building a new future—one neither of them could have anticipated.

With its breakneck pacing, dizzying plot twists, and evocative family drama, The Last Thing He Told Me is a riveting mystery, certain to shock you with its final, heartbreaking turn.

View Details >>

Killing the Mob

Bill O'Reilly

In the tenth book in the multimillion-selling Killing series, Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard take on their most controversial subject yet: The Mob.

Killing the Mob is the tenth book in Bill O'Reilly's #1 New York Times bestselling series of popular narrative histories, with sales of nearly 18 million copies worldwide, and over 320 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

O’Reilly and co-author Martin Dugard trace the brutal history of 20th Century organized crime in the United States, and expertly plumb the history of this nation’s most notorious serial robbers, conmen, murderers, and especially, mob family bosses. Covering the period from the 1930s to the 1980s, O’Reilly and Dugard trace the prohibition-busting bank robbers of the Depression Era, such as John Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby-Face Nelson. In addition, the authors highlight the creation of the Mafia Commission, the power struggles within the “Five Families,” the growth of the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover, the mob battles to control Cuba, Las Vegas and Hollywood, as well as the personal war between the U.S. Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and legendary Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa.

O’Reilly and Dugard turn these legendary criminals and their true-life escapades into a read that rivals the most riveting crime novel. With Killing the Mob, their hit series is primed for its greatest success yet.

View Details >>

Whereabouts

Jhumpa Lahiri

A marvelous new novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Lowland and Interpreter of Maladies—her first in nearly a decade—about a woman questioning her place in the world, wavering between stasis and movement, between the need to belong and the refusal to form lasting ties.
 
A Most Anticipated Novel of 2021 from 
 Buzzfeed  O, The Oprah Magazine  TIME  Vulture  Vogue  LitHub  Harper's Bazaar

Exuberance and dread, attachment and estrangement: in this novel, Jhumpa Lahiri stretches her themes to the limit. In the arc of one year, an unnamed narrator in an unnamed city, in the middle of her life’s journey, realizes that she’s lost her way. The city she calls home acts as a companion and interlocutor: traversing the streets around her house, and in parks, piazzas, museums, stores, and coffee bars, she feels less alone.

We follow her to the pool she frequents, and to the train station that leads to her mother, who is mired in her own solitude after her husband’s untimely death. Among those who appear on this woman’s path are colleagues with whom she feels ill at ease, casual acquaintances, and “him,” a shadow who both consoles and unsettles her. Until one day at the sea, both overwhelmed and replenished by the sun’s vital heat, her perspective will abruptly change.
 
This is the first novel Lahiri has written in Italian and translated into English. The reader will find the qualities that make Lahiri’s work so beloved: deep intelligence and feeling, richly textured physical and emotional landscapes, and a poetics of dislocation. But Whereabouts, brimming with the impulse to cross barriers, also signals a bold shift of style and sensibility. By grafting herself onto a new literary language, Lahiri has pushed herself to a new level of artistic achievement.

View Details >>

If I Had Your Face

Frances Cha

A riveting debut novel set in contemporary Seoul, Korea, about four young women making their way in a world defined by impossible standards of beauty, after-hours room salons catering to wealthy men, ruthless social hierarchies, and K-pop mania

"Powerful and provocative . . . a novel about female strength, spirit, resilience--and the solace that friendship can sometimes provide."--The Washington Post

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time - NPR - Esquire - Bustle - BBC - New York Post - InStyle

Kyuri is an achingly beautiful woman with a hard-won job at a Seoul "room salon," an exclusive underground bar where she entertains businessmen while they drink. Though she prides herself on her cold, clear-eyed approach to life, an impulsive mistake threatens her livelihood.

Kyuri's roommate, Miho, is a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage but won a scholarship to study art in New York. Returning to Korea after college, she finds herself in a precarious relationship with the heir to one of the country's biggest conglomerates.

Down the hall in their building lives Ara, a hairstylist whose two preoccupations sustain her: an obsession with a boy-band pop star, and a best friend who is saving up for the extreme plastic surgery that she hopes will change her life.

And Wonna, one floor below, is a newlywed trying to have a baby that she and her husband have no idea how they can afford to raise in Korea's brutal economy.

Together, their stories tell a gripping tale at once unfamiliar and unmistakably universal, in which their tentative friendships may turn out to be the thing that ultimately saves them.

View Details >>

Crying in H Mart

Michelle Zauner

 

 

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLERNamed a Best Book of April 2021 by • AV Club • Bustle • Entertainment Weekly • Good Morning America • Chicago Review of Books • Fortune • TIME • CNN Underscored • Apartment Therapy • Popsugar • Hello Giggles • Business Insider • The Millions • Wall Street Journal Magazine • Glamour

From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, and author of the viral 2018 New Yorker essay that shares the title of this book, an unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity.

In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.

As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.

Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner's voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.

 

 

View Details >>

Heart of Fire

Mazie K. Hirono

"[A] sparkling, revelatory memoir.” —Oprah Daily

"A beautiful book." --Trevor Noah, The Daily Show

The intimate and inspiring life story of Mazie Hirono, the first Asian-American woman and the only immigrant serving in the U.S. Senate


Mazie Hirono is one of the most fiercely outspoken Democrats in Congress, but her journey to the U.S. Senate was far from likely. Raised on a rice farm in rural Japan, she was seven years old when her mother, Laura, left her abusive husband and sailed with her two elder children to Hawaii, crossing the Pacific in steerage in search of a better life. Though the girl then known as "Keiko" did not speak or read English when she entered first grade, she would go on to serve as a state representative and as Hawaii's lieutenant governor before winning election to Congress in 2006. 

In this deeply personal memoir, Hirono traces her remarkable life from her earliest days in Hawaii, when the family lived in a single room in a Honolulu boarding house while her mother worked two jobs to keep them afloat, to her emergence as a highly effective legislator whose determination to help the most vulnerable was grounded in her own experiences of economic insecurity, lack of healthcare access, and family separation. Finally, it chronicles Hirono's recent transformation from dogged yet soft-spoken public servant into the frank and fiery advocate we know her as today.

For the vast majority of Mazie Hirono's five decades in public service, even as she fought for the causes she believed in, she strove to remain polite and reserved. Steeped in the nonconfrontational cultures of Japan and Hawaii, and aware of the expectations of women in politics--chiefly, that they should never show an excess of emotion--she had schooled herself to bite her tongue, even as her male colleagues continually underestimated her. After the 2016 election, however, she could moderate herself no longer. In the face of a dangerous administration--and amid crucial battles with lasting implications for our democracy, from the Kavanaugh hearings to the impeachment trial--Senator Hirono was called to give voice to the fire that had always been inside her.

The compelling and moving account of a woman coming into her own power over the course of a lifetime in public service, and of the mother whose courageous choices made her life possible, Heart of Fire is the story of a uniquely American journey, told by one of those fighting hardest to ensure that a story like hers is still possible in this country.

View Details >>

Days of Distraction

Alexandra Chang

"Startlingly original and deeply moving.... Chang here establishes herself as one of the most important of the new generation of American writers." -- George Saunders

A Recommended Book From
Buzzfeed * TIME * USA Today * NPR * Vanity Fair * The Washington Post * New York Magazine * O, the Oprah Magazine * Parade * Wired * Electric Literature * The Millions * San Antonio Express-News * Domino * Kirkus

A wry, tender portrait of a young woman--finally free to decide her own path, but unsure if she knows herself well enough to choose wisely--from a captivating new literary voice

The plan is to leave. As for how, when, to where, and even why--she doesn't know yet. So begins a journey for the twenty-four-year-old narrator of Days of Distraction. As a staff writer at a prestigious tech publication, she reports on the achievements of smug Silicon Valley billionaires and start-up bros while her own request for a raise gets bumped from manager to manager. And when her longtime boyfriend, J, decides to move to a quiet upstate New York town for grad school, she sees an excuse to cut and run.

Moving is supposed to be a grand gesture of her commitment to J and a way to reshape her sense of self. But in the process, she finds herself facing misgivings about her role in an interracial relationship. Captivated by the stories of her ancestors and other Asian Americans in history, she must confront a question at the core of her identity: What does it mean to exist in a society that does not notice or understand you?

Equal parts tender and humorous, and told in spare but powerful prose, Days of Distraction is an offbeat coming-of-adulthood tale, a touching family story, and a razor-sharp appraisal of our times.

View Details >>

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

Ocean Vuong

Named one of the most anticipated books of 2019 by Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, Buzzfeed, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Oprah.com, Huffington Post, The A.V. Club, Nylon, The Week, The Rumpus, The Millions, The Guardian, Publishers Weekly, and more.

"A lyrical work of self-discovery that's shockingly intimate and insistently universal...Not so much briefly gorgeous as permanently stunning." --Ron Charles, The Washington Post

Poet Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling


On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born -- a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam -- and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. Asking questions central to our American moment, immersed as we are in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one's own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being heard.

With stunning urgency and grace, Ocean Vuong writes of people caught between disparate worlds, and asks how we heal and rescue one another without forsaking who we are. The question of how to survive, and how to make of it a kind of joy, powers the most important debut novel of many years.

View Details >>

My Year Abroad

Chang-rae Lee

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER

"A manifesto to happiness--the one found when you stop running from who you are." -New York Times Book Review

"An extraordinary book, acrobatic on the level of the sentence, symphonic across its many movements--and this is a book that moves...My Year Abroad is a wild ride--a caper, a romance, a bildungsroman, and something of a satire of how to get filthy rich in rising Asia." - Vogue

From the award-winning author of Native Speaker and On Such a Full Sea, an exuberant, provocative story about a young American life transformed by an unusual Asian adventure - and about the human capacities for pleasure, pain, and connection.

Tiller is an average American college student with a good heart but minimal aspirations. Pong Lou is a larger-than-life, wildly creative Chinese American entrepreneur who sees something intriguing in Tiller beyond his bored exterior and takes him under his wing. When Pong brings him along on a boisterous trip across Asia, Tiller is catapulted from ordinary young man to talented protégé, and pulled into a series of ever more extreme and eye-opening experiences that transform his view of the world, of Pong, and of himself.

In the breathtaking, "precise, elliptical prose" that Chang-rae Lee is known for (The New York Times), the narrative alternates between Tiller's outlandish, mind-boggling year with Pong and the strange, riveting, emotionally complex domestic life that follows it, as Tiller processes what happened to him abroad and what it means for his future. Rich with commentary on Western attitudes, Eastern stereotypes, capitalism, global trade, mental health, parenthood, mentorship, and more, My Year Abroad is also an exploration of the surprising effects of cultural immersion--on a young American in Asia, on a Chinese man in America, and on an unlikely couple hiding out in the suburbs. Tinged at once with humor and darkness, electric with its accumulating surprises and suspense, My Year Abroad is a novel that only Chang-rae Lee could have written, and one that will be read and discussed for years to come.

View Details >>

Speak, Okinawa

Elizabeth Miki Brina

A searing, deeply candid memoir about a young woman's journey to understanding her complicated parents--her mother an Okinawan war bride, her father a Vietnam veteran--and her own, fraught cultural heritage.

Elizabeth's mother was working as a nightclub hostess on U.S.-occupied Okinawa when she met the American soldier who would become her husband. The language barrier and power imbalance that defined their early relationship followed them to the predominantly white, upstate New York suburb where they moved to raise their only daughter. There, Elizabeth grew up with the trappings of a typical American childhood and adolescence. Yet even though she felt almost no connection to her mother's distant home, she also felt out of place among her peers. Decades later, Elizabeth comes to recognize the shame and self-loathing that haunt both her and her mother, and attempts a form of reconciliation, not only to come to terms with the embattled dynamics of her family but also to reckon with the injustices that reverberate throughout the history of Okinawa and its people. Clear-eyed and profoundly humane, Speak, Okinawa is a startling accomplishment--a heartfelt exploration of identity, inheritance, forgiveness, and what it means to be an American.

View Details >>

Dear Girls

Ali Wong

Ali Wong's heartfelt and hilarious letters to her daughters (the two she put to work while they were still in utero) cover everything they need to know in life, like the unpleasant details of dating, how to be a working mom in a male-dominated profession, and how she trapped their dad.

In her hit Netflix comedy special Baby Cobra, an eight-month pregnant Ali Wong resonated so strongly that she even became a popular Halloween costume. Wong told the world her remarkably unfiltered thoughts on marriage, sex, Asian culture, working women, and why you never see new mom comics on stage but you sure see plenty of new dads.

The sharp insights and humor are even more personal in this completely original collection. She shares the wisdom she's learned from a life in comedy and reveals stories from her life off stage, including the brutal single life in New York (i.e. the inevitable confrontation with erectile dysfunction), reconnecting with her roots (and drinking snake blood) in Vietnam, tales of being a wild child growing up in San Francisco, and parenting war stories. Though addressed to her daughters, Ali Wong's letters are absurdly funny, surprisingly moving, and enlightening (and gross) for all.

View Details >>

The Sympathizer

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Winner of the 2016 Edgar Award for Best First Novel
Winner of the 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction

“[A] remarkable debut novel”—Philip Caputo, New York Times Book Review (cover review)

The winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as seven other awards, The Sympathizer is one of the most acclaimed books of the twenty-first century. With the pace and suspense of a thriller and prose that has been compared to Graham Greene and Vladimir Nabokov, The Sympathizer is a sweeping epic of love and betrayal. The narrator, a communist double agent, is a “man of two minds,” a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who comes to America after the Fall of Saigon, and while building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles is secretly reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam. The Sympathizer is a blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping spy novel, and a powerful story of love and friendship.

View Details >>

Minor Feelings

Cathy Park Hong

A ruthlessly honest, emotionally charged, and utterly original exploration of Asian American consciousness and the struggle to be human

"Brilliant . . . To read this book is to become more human." --Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen

Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong fearlessly and provocatively blends memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose fresh truths about racialized consciousness in America. Part memoir and part cultural criticism, this collection is vulnerable, humorous, and provocative--and its relentless and riveting pursuit of vital questions around family and friendship, art and politics, identity and individuality, will change the way you think about our world.

Binding these essays together is Hong's theory of "minor feelings." As the daughter of Korean immigrants, Cathy Park Hong grew up steeped in shame, suspicion, and melancholy. She would later understand that these "minor feelings" occur when American optimism contradicts your own reality--when you believe the lies you're told about your own racial identity. Minor feelings are not small, they're dissonant--and in their tension Hong finds the key to the questions that haunt her.

With sly humor and a poet's searching mind, Hong uses her own story as a portal into a deeper examination of racial consciousness in America today. This intimate and devastating book traces her relationship to the English language, to shame and depression, to poetry and female friendship. A radically honest work of art, Minor Feelings forms a portrait of one Asian American psyche--and of a writer's search to both uncover and speak the truth.

View Details >>

How Much of These Hills Is Gold

C Pam Zhang

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 BOOKER PRIZE
FINALIST FOR THE 2020 CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION 5 UNDER 35 HONOREE
A GOOP Book Club Pick

"A fully immersive epic drama packed with narrative riches and exquisitely crafted prose." --San Francisco Chronicle

"Belongs on a shelf all of its own." --NPR

"Outstanding." --The Washington Post

"Arresting, beautiful." --The New York Times

"Revolutionary . . . A visionary addition to American literature." --Star Tribune

An electric debut novel set against the twilight of the American gold rush, two siblings are on the run in an unforgiving landscape--trying not just to survive but to find a home.

Ba dies in the night; Ma is already gone. Newly orphaned children of immigrants, Lucy and Sam are suddenly alone in a land that refutes their existence. Fleeing the threats of their western mining town, they set off to bury their father in the only way that will set them free from their past. Along the way, they encounter giant buffalo bones, tiger paw prints, and the specters of a ravaged landscape as well as family secrets, sibling rivalry, and glimpses of a different kind of future.

Both epic and intimate, blending Chinese symbolism and reimagined history with fiercely original language and storytelling, How Much of These Hills Is Gold is a haunting adventure story, an unforgettable sibling story, and the announcement of a stunning new voice in literature. On a broad level, it explores race in an expanding country and the question of where immigrants are allowed to belong. But page by page, it's about the memories that bind and divide families, and the yearning for home.

View Details >>

Interior Chinatown

Charles Yu

2020 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER

One of the funniest books of the year. . . . A delicious, ambitious Hollywood satire. --The Washington Post

Soon to be a Hulu series: from the infinitely inventive author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, a deeply personal novel about race, pop culture, immigration, assimilation, and escaping the roles we are forced to play.

Willis Wu doesn't perceive himself as the protagonist in his own life: he's merely Generic Asian Man. Sometimes he gets to be Background Oriental Making a Weird Face or even Disgraced Son, but always he is relegated to a prop. Yet every day, he leaves his tiny room in a Chinatown SRO and enters the Golden Palace restaurant, where Black and White, a procedural cop show, is in perpetual production. He's a bit player here, too, but he dreams of being Kung Fu Guy--the most respected role that anyone who looks like him can attain. Or is it?

After stumbling into the spotlight, Willis finds himself launched into a wider world than he's ever known, discovering not only the secret history of Chinatown, but the buried legacy of his own family. Infinitely inventive and deeply personal, exploring the themes of pop culture, assimilation, and immigration--Interior Chinatown is Charles Yu's most moving, daring, and masterful novel yet.

Fresh and beautiful. . . . Interior Chinatown represents yet another stellar destination in the journey of a sui generis author of seemingly limitless skill and ambition." --The New York Times Book Review

View Details >>

Exhalation

Ted Chiang

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
A NATIONAL BESTSELLER


Nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories—two being published for the very first time—all from the mind of the incomparable Ted Chiang.

Tackling some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine, these stories will change the way you think, feel, and see the world. They are Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic, revelatory.

View Details >>

Home Remedies

Xuan Juliana Wang

A FINALIST FOR THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY YOUNG LIONS FICTION AWARD • SHORTLISTED FOR THE PEN/ROBERT W. BINGHAM PRIZE FOR DEBUT SHORT STORY COLLECTION • WINNER OF THE CALIFORNIA BOOK AWARDS GOLD MEDAL IN FIRST FICTION • WINNER OF THE JOHN ZACHARIS FIRST BOOK AWARD • LONGLISTED FOR THE STORY PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY LIBRARY JOURNAL 

“An urgent and necessary literary voice.”—Alexander Chee, Electric Literature   

“Tough, luminous stories.”—The New York Times Book Review 
“Spectacular.”—Vogue

Xuan Juliana Wang's remarkable debut introduces us to the new and changing face of Chinese youth. From fuerdai (second-generation rich kids) to a glass-swallowing qigong grandmaster, her dazzling, formally inventive stories upend the immigrant narrative to reveal a new experience of belonging: of young people testing the limits of who they are, in a world as vast and varied as their ambitions.
 
In stories of love, family, and friendship, here are the voices, faces and stories of a new generation never before captured between the pages in fiction. What sets them apart is Juliana Wang’s surprising imagination, able to capture the innermost thoughts of her characters with astonishing empathy, as well as the contradictions of the modern immigrant experience in a way that feels almost universal. Home Remedies is, in the words of Alexander Chee, “the arrival of an urgent and necessary literary voice we’ve been needing, waiting for maybe, without knowing.”
 
Praise for Home Remedies

“A radiant new talent.”—Lauren Groff
 
“These dazzling stories interrogate the fractures, collisions and glorious new alloys of what it means to be a Chinese millennial.”—Adam Johnson, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Orphan Master’s Son

Home Remedies doesn’t read like a first collection; like Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies, the twelve stories here announce the arrival of an exciting, electric new voice.”Financial Times

“Stylistically ambitious in a way rarely seen in prose fiction . . . Writing like this will never stop enlightening us. [Wang’s] voice comes to us from the edge of a new world.”Los Angeles Review of Books

View Details >>

A Place for Us

Fatima Farheen Mirza

 

 

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD “5 UNDER 35” NOMINEE • NEW YORK’S “ONE BOOK, ONE NEW YORK” PICK
 
Named One of the Best Books of the Year: Washington Post • NPR • People • Refinery29 • Parade • BuzzFeed
 
“Mirza writes with a mercy that encompasses all things.”Ron Charles, Washington Post
 
Hailed as “a book for our times” (Christiane Amanpour), A Place for Us is a deeply moving and resonant story of love, identity, and belonging.

 

 

As an Indian wedding gathers a family back together, parents Rafiq and Layla must reckon with the choices their children have made. There is Hadia: their headstrong, eldest daughter, whose marriage is a match of love and not tradition. Huda, the middle child, determined to follow in her sister’s footsteps. And lastly, their estranged son, Amar, who returns to the family fold for the first time in three years to take his place as brother of the bride. What secrets and betrayals have caused this close-knit family to fracture? Can Amar find his way back to the people who know and love him best?

A Place for Us takes us back to the beginning of this family’s life: from the bonds that bring them together, to the differences that pull them apart. All the joy and struggle of family life is here, from Rafiq and Layla’s own arrival in America from India, to the years in which their children—each in their own way—tread between two cultures, seeking to find their place in the world, as well as a path home.

A Place for Us is a book for our times: an astonishingly tender-hearted novel of identity and belonging, and a resonant portrait of what it means to be an American family today. It announces Fatima Farheen Mirza as a major new literary talent.

View Details >>

Gold Diggers

Sanjena Sathian

"A dizzyingly original, fiercely funny, deeply wise novel about the seductive powers--and dangers--of borrowed ambition." --Celeste Ng, #1 bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere

"Gold Diggers is so many things--truly funny, insightful, smart, and filled with wonderful characters. I loved reading this novel." --Ann Napolitano, bestselling author of Dear Edward

Named a Best Book of April by Bustle - PopSugar - Entertainment Weekly - Good Morning America - CNN... and more

How far would you go for a piece of the American dream?

A magical realist coming-of-age story, Gold Diggers skewers the model minority myth to tell a hilarious and moving story about immigrant identity, community, and the underside of ambition.

A floundering second-generation teenager growing up in the Bush-era Atlanta suburbs, Neil Narayan is funny and smart but struggles to bear the weight of expectations of his family and their Asian American enclave. He tries to want their version of success, but mostly, Neil just wants his neighbor across the cul-de-sac, Anita Dayal.

When he discovers that Anita is the beneficiary of an ancient, alchemical potion made from stolen gold--a "lemonade" that harnesses the ambition of the gold's original owner--Neil sees his chance to get ahead. But events spiral into a tragedy that rips their community apart. Years later in the Bay Area, Neil still bristles against his community's expectations--and finds he might need one more hit of that lemonade, no matter the cost.

Sanjena Sathian's astonishing debut offers a fine-grained, profoundly intelligent, and bitingly funny investigation into what's required to make it in America.

View Details >>

Good Talk

Mira Jacob

A "vibrant, inventive, and vulnerable" (Bustle) graphic memoir about American identity, interracial families, and our most difficult conversations, from the acclaimed author of The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing.

"By turns hilarious and heart-rending, it's exactly the book America needs at this moment."--Celeste Ng

"How brown is too brown?"
"Can Indians be racist?"
"What does real love between really different people look like?"

Like many six-year-olds, Mira Jacob's half-Jewish, half-Indian son, Z, has questions about everything. At first they are innocuous enough, but as tensions from the 2016 election spread from the media into his own family, they become much, much more complicated. Trying to answer him honestly, Mira has to think back to where she's gotten her own answers: her most formative conversations about race, color, sexuality, and, of course, love.

Written with humor and vulnerability, this deeply relatable graphic memoir is a love letter to the art of conversation--and to the hope that hovers in our most difficult questions.

Praise for Good Talk

"Emphasizes the complexities of being part of an interracial family and the struggles of parenting in the present moment."--Time

"Good Talk uses a masterful mix of pictures and words to speak on life's most uncomfortable conversations."--io9

"Mira Jacob just made me toss everything I thought was possible in a book-as-art-object into the garbage. Her new book changes everything."--Kiese Laymon, New York Times bestselling author of Heavy

View Details >>

The Joy Luck Club

Amy Tan

For readers of Amy Tan's bestselling novel, The Valley of Amazement, revisit her classic tale of mothers and daughters

Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue.

With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.

View Details >>

What We Carry

Maya Shanbhag Lang

"A gorgeous memoir about mothers, daughters, and the tenacity of the love that grows between what is said and what is left unspoken."--Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk

If our family stories shape us, what happens when we learn those stories were never true? Who do we become when we shed our illusions about the past?

Maya Shanbhag Lang grew up idolizing her brilliant mother, an accomplished physician who immigrated to the United States from India and completed her residency all while raising her children and keeping a traditional Indian home. Maya's mother had always been a source of support--until Maya became a mother herself. Then the parent who had once been so capable and attentive became suddenly and inexplicably unavailable. Struggling to understand this abrupt change while raising her own young child, Maya searches for answers and soon learns that her mother is living with Alzheimer's.

Unable to remember or keep track of the stories she once told her daughter--stories about her life in India, why she immigrated, and her experience of motherhood--Maya's mother divulges secrets about her past that force Maya to reexamine their relationship. It becomes clear that Maya never really knew her mother, despite their close bond. Absorbing, moving, and raw, What We Carry is a memoir about mothers and daughters, lies and truths, receiving and giving care, and how we cannot grow up until we fully understand the people who raised us. It is a beautiful examination of the weight we shoulder as women and an exploration of how to finally set our burdens down.

Praise for What We Carry

Part self-discovery, part family history. . . [Lang's] analysis of the shifting roles of mothers and daughters, particularly through the lens of immigration, help[s] to challenge her family's mythology. . . . Readers interested in examining their own family stories . . . will connect deeply with Lang's beautiful memoir.--Library Journal
(Starred Review)

"A stirring memoir exploring the fraught relationships between mothers and daughters . . . astutely written and intense . . . [What We Carry] will strike a chord with readers."--Publishers Weekly

"Lang is an immediately affable and honest narrator who offers an intriguing blend of revelatory personal history and touching insight."--BookPage

View Details >>

The Leavers (National Book Award Finalist)

Lisa Ko

FINALIST FOR THE 2017 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION

Named a Best Book of 2017 by NPR, Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed, Bustle, and Electric Literature

“There was a time I would have called Lisa Ko’s novel beautifully written, ambitious, and moving, and all of that is true, but it’s more than that now: if you want to understand a forgotten and essential part of the world we live in, The Leavers is required reading.” —Ann Patchett, author of Commonwealth


Lisa Ko’s powerful debut, The Leavers, is the winner of the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Fiction, awarded by Barbara Kingsolver for a novel that addresses issues of social justice.
 
One morning, Deming Guo’s mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to her job at a nail salon—and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her. 
With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left mystified and bereft. Eventually adopted by a pair of well-meaning white professors, Deming is moved from the Bronx to a small town upstate and renamed Daniel Wilkinson. But far from all he’s ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his adoptive parents’ desire that he assimilate with his memories of his mother and the community he left behind. 
Told from the perspective of both Daniel—as he grows into a directionless young man—and Polly, Ko’s novel gives us one of fiction’s most singular mothers. Loving and selfish, determined and frightened, Polly is forced to make one heartwrenching choice after another. 
Set in New York and China, The Leavers is a vivid examination of borders and belonging. It’s a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everything he loves is taken away, and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of the past. 
 
 
 

View Details >>

How to Pronounce Knife

Souvankham Thammavongsa

A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the PEN Open Book Award, and winner of the 2020 Giller Prize, this revelatory story collection honors characters struggling to find their bearings far from home, even as they do the necessary "grunt work of the world." A failed boxer painting nails at the local salon. A woman plucking feathers at a chicken processing plant. A housewife learning English from daytime soap operas. A mother teaching her daughter the art of worm harvesting. In her stunning debut story collection, O. Henry Award winner Souvankham Thammavongsa focuses on characters struggling to make a living, illuminating their hopes, disappointments, love affairs, acts of defiance, and above all their pursuit of a place to belong. In spare, intimate prose charged with emotional power and a sly wit, she paints an indelible portrait of watchful children, wounded men, and restless women caught between cultures, languages, and values. As one of Thammavongsa's characters says, "All we wanted was to live." And in these stories, they do—brightly, ferociously, unforgettably.

Unsentimental yet tender, taut and visceral, How to Pronounce Knife announces Souvankham Thammavongsa as one of the most striking voices of her generation. 

“As the daughter of refugees, I’m able to finally see myself in stories.” —Angela So, Electric Literature

View Details >>

A Tale for the Time Being

Ruth Ozeki

 

 

A brilliant, unforgettable novel from bestselling author Ruth Ozeki, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness

Finalist for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award
“A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be.”

In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao first plans to document the life of her great grandmother, a Buddhist nun who’s lived more than a century. A diary is Nao’s only solace—and will touch lives in ways she can scarcely imagine. Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox—possibly debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery of its contents unfolds, Ruth is pulled into the past, into Nao’s drama and her unknown fate, and forward into her own future.

Full of Ozeki’s signature humor and deeply engaged with the relationship between writer and reader, past and present, fact and fiction, quantum physics, history, and myth, A Tale for the Time Being is a brilliantly inventive, beguiling story of our shared humanity and the search for home.

 

 

View Details >>

Little Fires Everywhere

Celeste Ng

The #1 New York Times bestseller!

Now a Hulu original series starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.

"I read Little Fires Everywhere in a single, breathless sitting." --Jodi Picoult

"To say I love this book is an understatement. It's a deep psychological mystery about the power of motherhood, the intensity of teenage love, and the danger of perfection. It moved me to tears." --Reese Witherspoon

"Extraordinary . . . books like Little Fires Everywhere don't come along often." --John Green


From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You, a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned--from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren--an enigmatic artist and single mother--who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town--and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.

Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood--and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.

Named a Best Book of the Year by: People, The Washington Post, Bustle, Esquire, Southern Living, The Daily Beast, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, Goodreads, Library Reads, Book of the Month, Paste, Kirkus Reviews, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and many more...

Perfect for book clubs! Visit celesteng.com for discussion guides and more.

View Details >>

All You Can Ever Know

Nicole Chung

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER

This beloved memoir is an extraordinary, honest, nuanced and compassionate look at adoption, race in America and families in general (Jasmine Guillory, Code Switch, NPR)

What does it means to lose your roots--within your culture, within your family--and what happens when you find them?

Nicole Chung was born severely premature, placed for adoption by her Korean parents, and raised by a white family in a sheltered Oregon town. From childhood, she heard the story of her adoption as a comforting, prepackaged myth. She believed that her biological parents had made the ultimate sacrifice in the hope of giving her a better life, that forever feeling slightly out of place was her fate as a transracial adoptee. But as Nicole grew up--facing prejudice her adoptive family couldn't see, finding her identity as an Asian American and as a writer, becoming ever more curious about where she came from--she wondered if the story she'd been told was the whole truth.

With warmth, candor, and startling insight, Nicole Chung tells of her search for the people who gave her up, which coincided with the birth of her own child. All You Can Ever Know is a profound, moving chronicle of surprising connections and the repercussions of unearthing painful family secrets--vital reading for anyone who has ever struggled to figure out where they belong.

View Details >>

The People in the Trees

Hanya Yanagihara

Readers of exciting, challenging and visionary literary fiction—including admirers of Norman Rush's Mating, Ann Patchett's State of Wonder, Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, and Peter Matthiessen's At Play in the Fields of the Lord—will be drawn to this astonishingly gripping and accomplished first novel. A decade in the writing, this is an anthropological adventure story that combines the visceral allure of a thriller with a profound and tragic vision of what happens when cultures collide. It is a book that instantly catapults Hanya Yanagihara into the company of young novelists who really, really matter.

In 1950, a young doctor called Norton Perina signs on with the anthropologist Paul Tallent for an expedition to the remote Micronesian island of Ivu'ivu in search of a rumored lost tribe. They succeed, finding not only that tribe but also a group of forest dwellers they dub "The Dreamers," who turn out to be fantastically long-lived but progressively more senile. Perina suspects the source of their longevity is a hard-to-find turtle; unable to resist the possibility of eternal life, he kills one and smuggles some meat back to the States. He scientifically proves his thesis, earning worldwide fame and the Nobel Prize, but he soon discovers that its miraculous property comes at a terrible price. As things quickly spiral out of his control, his own demons take hold, with devastating personal consequences.

View Details >>

The Premonition: A Pandemic Story

Michael Lewis

For those who could read between the lines, the censored news out of China was terrifying. But the president insisted there was nothing to worry about.

Fortunately, we are still a nation of skeptics. Fortunately, there are those among us who study pandemics and are willing to look unflinchingly at worst-case scenarios. Michael Lewis’s taut and brilliant nonfiction thriller pits a band of medical visionaries against the wall of ignorance that was the official response of the Trump administration to the outbreak of COVID-19.

The characters you will meet in these pages are as fascinating as they are unexpected. A thirteen-year-old girl’s science project on transmission of an airborne pathogen develops into a very grown-up model of disease control. A local public-health officer uses her worm’s-eye view to see what the CDC misses, and reveals great truths about American society. A secret team of dissenting doctors, nicknamed the Wolverines, has everything necessary to fight the pandemic: brilliant backgrounds, world-class labs, prior experience with the pandemic scares of bird flu and swine flu…everything, that is, except official permission to implement their work.

Michael Lewis is not shy about calling these people heroes for their refusal to follow directives that they know to be based on misinformation and bad science. Even the internet, as crucial as it is to their exchange of ideas, poses a risk to them. They never know for sure who else might be listening in.

View Details >>

Whereabouts

Jhumpa Lahiri

A marvelous new novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Lowland and Interpreter of Maladies—her first in nearly a decade—about a woman questioning her place in the world, wavering between stasis and movement, between the need to belong and the refusal to form lasting ties.
 
A Most Anticipated Novel of 2021 from 
 Buzzfeed  O, The Oprah Magazine  TIME  Vulture  Vogue  LitHub  Harper's Bazaar

Exuberance and dread, attachment and estrangement: in this novel, Jhumpa Lahiri stretches her themes to the limit. In the arc of one year, an unnamed narrator in an unnamed city, in the middle of her life’s journey, realizes that she’s lost her way. The city she calls home acts as a companion and interlocutor: traversing the streets around her house, and in parks, piazzas, museums, stores, and coffee bars, she feels less alone.

We follow her to the pool she frequents, and to the train station that leads to her mother, who is mired in her own solitude after her husband’s untimely death. Among those who appear on this woman’s path are colleagues with whom she feels ill at ease, casual acquaintances, and “him,” a shadow who both consoles and unsettles her. Until one day at the sea, both overwhelmed and replenished by the sun’s vital heat, her perspective will abruptly change.
 
This is the first novel Lahiri has written in Italian and translated into English. The reader will find the qualities that make Lahiri’s work so beloved: deep intelligence and feeling, richly textured physical and emotional landscapes, and a poetics of dislocation. But Whereabouts, brimming with the impulse to cross barriers, also signals a bold shift of style and sensibility. By grafting herself onto a new literary language, Lahiri has pushed herself to a new level of artistic achievement.

View Details >>

Stronger

Cindy McCain

In Stronger, the widow of Senator John McCain opens up about her beloved husband, their thirty-eight-year marriage, and the trials and triumphs of a singular American life.
 
My husband, John McCain, never viewed himself as larger than life—but he was. He had more tenacity and resolve than anybody I ever met. Being with him didn’t hold me back—it gave me flight, a courage I never would have felt on my own.
 
Cindy Hensley was just out of college when she met and fell in love with the celebrated Navy hero John McCain. They embarked on a thrilling life together that put her at the center of American politics for over four decades. Stronger, her moving and inspiring memoir, tells the story of her adventurous life with John for the first time. 
 
Raising their four children in Arizona while John flourished as a six-term senator in Washington, D.C., Cindy McCain brought her own flair to the role of political wife. She eagerly supported John’s career even as she tried hard to stay out of the spotlight and maintain her own health and well-being. In Stronger, she is honest in revealing her own successes and missteps, discussing how she dealt with political attacks targeting her children, her battle with opioid addiction, and the wild whirl of campaigning for president.
 
As they built their life together, Cindy and John continued the multi-generation McCain tradition of service to country. With both immense pride and deep worry, she sent two sons off to active duty in the military. She describes her own brave efforts bringing medical support to countries in crisis and empowering women in Africa and around the world. And she reveals her feelings about the tumultuous effects of the Trump presidency on the military.
 
Most important, this book shares how John’s humor and strength helped Cindy grow into the confident woman she is now. More than a political story, Stronger is the unforgettable journey of one woman who believes in family, honor, and country—and is willing to stand up for all of them.

View Details >>

Aru Shah and the City of Gold

Roshani Chokshi

Aru Shah and her sisters--including one who also claims to be the Sleeper's daughter--must find their mentors Hanuman and Urvashi in Lanka, the city of gold, before war breaks out between the devas and asuras.
Aru has just made a wish on the tree of wishes, but she can't remember what it was. She's pretty sure she didn't wish for a new sister, one who looks strangely familiar and claims to be the Sleeper's daughter, like her.
Aru also isn't sure she still wants to fight on behalf of the devas in the war against the Sleeper and his demon army. The gods have been too devious up to now. Case in point: Kubera, ruler of the city of gold, promises to give the Pandavas two powerful weapons, but only if they win his trials. If they lose, they won't stand a chance against the Sleeper's troops, which will soon march on Lanka to take over the Otherworld.
Aru's biggest question, though, is why every adult she has loved and trusted so far has failed her. Will she come to peace with what they've done before she has to wage the battle of her life?

View Details >>

Ways to Grow Love

Renée Watson

Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Renée Watson continues her charming young middle grade series starring Ryan Hart, a girl who is pure spirit and sunshine.

Ryan Hart loves her family and friends. She's looking forward to summer vacation, spending time with loved ones, and her first trip to sleepaway camp! But when an unexpected camper shows up, Ryan finds it's hard to share your best friend and harder to be a friend to someone who isn't a good friend to you. She's also waiting for her new sister to be born -- and hoping the baby doesn't ruin everything. The Hart family is experiencing a lot of changes, and Ryan needs to grow her patience in many ways, find ways to share the love, meet new challenges, and grow into the leader her mom and dad named her to be. This summer and the start of fifth grade just might give Ryan the chance to show how she grows and glows!

Acclaim for Ways to Make Sunshine:
A New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year | A Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year | A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year | A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year | A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year | A WORLD Magazine Best Book of the Year | An Amazon Best Book of the Year

View Details >>

The Anti-Book

Raphael Simon

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Secret Series comes a darkly funny story about a boy who wants the world to disappear. This fantastical quest for comfort and belonging is perfect for fans of classics like The Phantom Tollbooth and Coraline.

Mickey is angry all the time: at his divorced parents, at his sister, and at his two new stepmoms, both named Charlie. And so he can't resist the ad inside his pack of gum: "Do you ever wish everyone would go away? Buy The Anti-Book! Satisfaction guaranteed." He orders the book, but when it arrives, it's blank--except for one line of instruction: To erase it, write it. He fills the pages with all the things and people he dislikes . . .

Next thing he knows, he's wandering an anti-world, one in which everything and everyone familiar is gone. Or are they? His sister soon reappears--but she's only four inches tall. A tiny talking house with wings looks strangely familiar, as does the mysterious half-invisible boy who seems to think that he and Mickey are best buds. The boy persuades Mickey to go find the Bubble Gum King--the king, who resides at the top of a mountain, is the only one who might be able help Mickey fix the mess he's made.

Full of humor and surprise, and slyly meaningful, this is a Wizard of Oz for today's generation--a fantastical quest for comfort and belonging that will resonate with many, many readers.

View Details >>

Breathing Underwater

Sarah Allen

A Junior Library Guild Selection

“In Breathing Underwater, Sarah Allen has created characters so alive and compelling that readers will root for them every mile of this moving, heartfelt journey.” —Dan Gemeinhart, author of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

A sparkly, moving middle grade novel from Sarah Allen, and a big-hearted exploration of sisterhood, dreams, and what it means to be there for someone you love.

Olivia is on the road trip of her dreams, with her trusty camera and her big sister Ruth by her side. Three years ago, before their family moved from California to Tennessee, Olivia and Ruth buried a time capsule on their favorite beach. Now, they’re taking an RV back across the country to uncover the memories they left behind. But Ruth’s depression has been getting worse, so Olivia has created a plan to help her remember how life used to be: a makeshift scavenger hunt across the country, like pirates hunting for treasure, taking pictures and making memories along the way.

All she wants is to take the picture that makes her sister smile. But what if things can never go back to how they used to be? What if they never find the treasure they’re seeking? Through all the questions, loving her sister, not changing her, is all Olivia can do—and maybe it’s enough.

View Details >>

The Chance to Fly

Ali Stroker

Thirteen-year-old Nat Beacon loves a lot of things: her dog Warbucks, her best friend Chloe, and competing on her wheelchair racing team, the Zoomers, to name a few. But there’s one thing she’s absolutely OBSESSED with: MUSICALS! From Hamilton to Les Mis, there’s not a cast album she hasn’t memorized and belted along to. She’s never actually been in a musical though, or even seen an actor who uses a wheelchair for mobility on stage. Would someone like Nat ever get cast?
But when Nat’s family moves from California to New Jersey, Nat stumbles upon auditions for a kids’ production of Wicked, one of her favorite musicals ever! And she gets into the ensemble! The other cast members are super cool and inclusive (well, most of them)— especially Malik, the male lead and cutest boy Nat’s ever seen. But when things go awry a week before opening night, will Nat be able to cast her fears and insecurities aside and “Defy Gravity” in every sense of the song title?

View Details >>

River Magic

Ellen Booraem

Magic moves in next door in this hilarious and heartfelt middle grade fantasy about a resourceful girl battling a temperamental thunder wizard.

Donna's always liked her life by the river--that is, until her beloved aunt Annabelle died in a tragic kayaking accident. Now money's tight, her mom works all the time, and her best friend, Rachel, would rather hang out with her basketball teammates than with Donna. When a strange old woman moves in next door and hires Donna to clean part-time, she figures this is the perfect chance to get over her friendship troubles and help her family out--especially since the woman pays in gold. Turns out, Donna's new neighbor is an ancient, ornery thunder mage, and it doesn't take much to make her angry. Before Donna knows it, Rachel is in danger and Donna's family is about to lose their home. To save the day, Donna will need the help of a quirky new friend and the basketball team . . . plus the mysterious, powerful creature lurking in the river.

View Details >>

Aster and the Mixed-Up Magic

Thom Pico

Aster is charming, resourceful, and fun." - Dana Simpson, author of Phoebe and Her Unicorn

Magic turned Aster's life upside-down -- and it's not over! Get ready for more family, more fun, and even more magic in this graphic novel adventure.


Moving to the middle of nowhere has been less of a disaster than Aster expected. Her mom's science experiments are actually pretty cool; her dad's cooking has gotten much better; her new dog is possibly the best canine companion anyone could ask for.

And she's gotten to save the day -- and her family -- and the whole valley she lives in -- from various magical calamities in what even she has to admit were extremely fun adventures. So now she can have a break, right?

Guess what?

Oh no; things get even more interesting.

View Details >>

The Way of the Hive

Jay Hosler

"A wonderful graphic novel."--Neil Gaiman

Experience the life of a honeybee in this coming-of-age story about a bee named Nyuki, in this full-color graphic novel by Jay Hosler, perfect for curious kids who are fans of the Science Comics series.

Nyuki is a brand-new honeybee--and she has a lot of questions. Like

  • When does a bee go through metamorphosis?
  • Why does a queen bee sometimes leave her hive?
  • And where does all this honey come from, anyway?!

But Nyuki's biggest question is, "What is this inner voice I hear, and why does it tell me to go forth to adventure?

Follow Nyuki on a lifelong journey as she annoys her sisters, avoids predators, and learns to trust her inner voice as she masters the way of the hive.

And if you still have questions at the end, the back of the book uncovers even more mysteries about the lives of these incredible insects!

Junior Library Guild Selection

View Details >>

I Need a New Bum

Dawn McMillan

 

Now a cute board book that's perfectly sized for small children!

The book that was made famous by "The Scottish Granny".

A young boy suddenly notices a big problem - his bum has a huge crack!

So he sets off to find a new one.

  • Will he choose an armor-plated bum?
  • A rocket bum?
  • A robot bum?

Find out in this silly tale with hilarious illustrations.


Children and parents will love this book - no ifs, ands, or butts about it!


"I can assure you right now that your kids will love this book. They will giggle, they will laugh, and they will want this book to be read over and over again because it is just plain silly and funny ... the perfect kid-combo." Storywraps

View Details >>

Marvel-Verse: Wanda and Vision

Chris Claremont

They are two of the mightiest Avengers, who shared one of the greatest romances in the entire Marvel-Verse! They are the synthezoid Vision and the reality-manipulating Scarlet Witch - and these are some of their most action-packed adventures! First, the Vision is unleashed on the Avengers by his father - the evil android, Ultron! Vision's control of his density makes him a formidable opponent, but his inner nobility soon sees him turn on his inhuman creator! Joining the team, Vision soon finds love with Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch - and their far-out wedding is one of the greatest Avengers stories ever told! Wanda and Vision make one heck of a team - but even with Spider-Man by their side, can they defeat the dark sorcerer Necrodamus?

COLLECTING: AVENGERS ORIGINS: VISION (2011) 1, GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS (1974) 4, MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) 129-130
 

View Details >>

Finding Ashley

Danielle Steel

In this blockbuster novel from Danielle Steel, two estranged sisters get the chance to connect again and right the wrongs of the past.

Melissa Henderson is leading a quiet life. Once a bestselling author, she now pours all her energy into renovating a Victorian house nestled in the foothills of rural New England. Six years ago, she lost her young son to cancer, and her marriage dissolved. She stopped writing. It was only when she bought the old house that Melissa found a purpose, and came alive as she made it beautiful again.

After a wildfire that threatens her home appears on the news, Melissa receives a call from her sister, Hattie. They were close once, but that was before Melissa withdrew from the world. Now Hattie, who became a nun at twenty-five, is determined to help Melissa turn a new page, even if it means reopening one of the most painful chapters of her life.

At sixteen, a pregnant Melissa was sent to a gloomy convent in Ireland to have— and give up—her baby, to spare the family shame. All these years later, Hattie feels compelled to embark on a journey that will change both their lives forever, and track down the child Melissa gave up.

Finding Ashley is a masterpiece of contemporary drama and tells a gripping story of the strength of the human spirit to chase an impossible dream. It is the story of two strong, brave women turning wrenching loss into reconnection, and a family reunited after bringing dark secrets into the light.

View Details >>

How Y'all Doing?

Leslie Jordan

Viral sensation and Emmy Award-winner Leslie Jordan regales fans with entertaining stories about the odd, funny, and unforgettable events in his life in this unmissable essay collection that echoes his droll, irreverent voice.

When actor Leslie Jordan learned he had “gone viral,” he had no idea what that meant or how much his life was about to change. On Instagram, his uproarious videos have entertained millions and have made him a global celebrity. Now, he brings his bon vivance to the page with this collection of intimate and sassy essays.

Bursting with color and life, dripping with his puckish Southern charm, How Y’all Doing? is Leslie doing what Leslie does best: telling stories that make us laugh and lift our spirits even in the darkest days. Whether he’s writing about his brush with a group of ruffians in a West Hollywood Starbucks, or an unexpected phone call from legendary Hollywood start Debbie Reynolds, Leslie infuses each story with his fresh and saucy humor and pure heart.

How Y’all Doing? is an authentic, warm, and joyful portrait of an American Sweetheart— a Southern Baptist celebutante, first-rate raconteur, and keen observer of the odd side of life whose quirky wit rivals the likes of Amy Sedaris, Jenny Lawson, David Rakoff, and Sarah Vowell.

View Details >>

What Happened to You?

Oprah Winfrey

Our earliest experiences shape our lives far down the road, and What Happened to You? provides powerful scientific and emotional insights into the behavioral patterns so many of us struggle to understand.

“Through this lens we can build a renewed sense of personal self-worth and ultimately recalibrate our responses to circumstances, situations, and relationships. It is, in other words, the key to reshaping our very lives.”—Oprah Winfrey

This book is going to change the way you see your life.

Have you ever wondered "Why did I do that?" or "Why can't I just control my behavior?" Others may judge our reactions and think, "What's wrong with that person?" When questioning our emotions, it's easy to place the blame on ourselves; holding ourselves and those around us to an impossible standard. It's time we started asking a different question.

Through deeply personal conversations, Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry offer a groundbreaking and profound shift from asking “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?”

Here, Winfrey shares stories from her own past, understanding through experience the vulnerability that comes from facing trauma and adversity at a young age. In conversation throughout the book, she and Dr. Perry focus on understanding people, behavior, and ourselves. It’s a subtle but profound shift in our approach to trauma, and it’s one that allows us to understand our pasts in order to clear a path to our future—opening the door to resilience and healing in a proven, powerful way.

View Details >>

The Music of Bees

Eileen Garvin

IndieNext Pick LibraryReads Pick Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by BookRiot ∙ Bookish ∙ Nerd Daily ∙ The Tempest ∙ Midwestnessand more!

"A hopeful, uplifting story about the power of chosen family and newfound home and beginning again...but it's the bees, with all their wonder and intricacy and intrigue, that make this story sing."
-Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is

A heartwarming debut novel for readers of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, following three lonely strangers in a rural Oregon town, each working through grief and life's curveballs, who are brought together by happenstance on a local honeybee farm where they find surprising friendship, healing--and maybe even a second chance--just when they least expect it.

Forty-four-year-old Alice Holtzman is stuck in a dead-end job, bereft of family, and now reeling from the unexpected death of her husband. Alice has begun having panic attacks whenever she thinks about how her life hasn't turned out the way she dreamed. Even the beloved honeybees she raises in her spare time aren't helping her feel better these days.

In the grip of a panic attack, she nearly collides with Jake--a troubled, paraplegic teenager with the tallest mohawk in Hood River County--while carrying 120,000 honeybees in the back of her pickup truck. Charmed by Jake's sincere interest in her bees and seeking to rescue him from his toxic home life, Alice surprises herself by inviting Jake to her farm.

And then there's Harry, a twenty-four-year-old with debilitating social anxiety who is desperate for work. When he applies to Alice's ad for part-time farm help, he's shocked to find himself hired. As an unexpected friendship blossoms among Alice, Jake, and Harry, a nefarious pesticide company moves to town, threatening the local honeybee population and illuminating deep-seated corruption in the community. The unlikely trio must unite for the sake of the bees--and in the process, they just might forge a new future for themselves.

Beautifully moving, warm, and uplifting, The Music of Bees is about the power of friendship, compassion in the face of loss, and finding the courage to start over (at any age) when things don't turn out the way you expect.

You'll love cheering for the likeable loners in this kind-hearted, hopeful, and beautifully detailed story. I adored THE MUSIC OF BEES.
-J. Ryan Stradal, bestselling author of The Lager Queen of Minnesota

"Fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine will enjoy this touching and uplifting novel about the healing power of friendship."
--BookRiot: 9 Mesmerising Debut Novels You Won't Want to Miss in 2021

"I laughed, I cried, and in the end I was left with a renewed belief that there's always hope for all of us, no matter how broken or stuck we may feel. This deft, compassionate story about the enduring power of friendship and the sparkling promise of a fresh start will stay with me for a long time."
-Abi Daré, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl with the Louding Voice

View Details >>

Sooley

John Grisham

 

New York Times bestselling author John Grisham takes you to a different kind of court in his first basketball novel. Samuel “Sooley” Sooleymon is a raw, young talent with big hoop dreams … and even bigger challenges off the court.
In the summer of his seventeenth year, Sam­uel Sooleymon gets the chance of a lifetime: a trip to the United States with his South Sudanese teammates to play in a showcase basket­ball tournament. He has never been away from home, nor has he ever been on an airplane. The opportunity to be scouted by dozens of college coaches is a dream come true.

Samuel is an amazing athlete, with speed, quick­ness, and an astonishing vertical leap. The rest of his game, though, needs work, and the American coaches are less than impressed.

During the tournament, Samuel receives dev­astating news from home: A civil war is raging across South Sudan, and rebel troops have ran­sacked his village. His father is dead, his sister is missing, and his mother and two younger brothers are in a refugee camp.

Samuel desperately wants to go home, but it’s just not possible. Partly out of sympathy, the coach of North Carolina Central offers him a scholar­ship. Samuel moves to Durham, enrolls in classes, joins the team, and prepares to sit out his freshman season. There is plenty of more mature talent and he isn’t immediately needed.

But Samuel has something no other player has: a fierce determination to succeed so he can bring his family to America. He works tirelessly on his game, shooting baskets every morning at dawn by himself in the gym, and soon he’s dominating everyone in practice. With the Central team los­ing and suffering injury after injury, Sooley, as he is nicknamed, is called off the bench. And the legend begins.

But how far can Sooley take his team? And will success allow him to save his family?

Gripping and moving, Sooley showcases John Grisham’s unparalleled storytelling powers in a whole new light. This is Grisham at the top of his game.

 

View Details >>

My Shadow Is Pink

Scott Stuart

My Shadow Is Pink is a beautifully written rhyming story that touches on the subjects of gender identity, self acceptance, equality and diversity. Inspired by the author's own little boy, the main character likes princesses, fairies and things "not for boys." He soon learns (through the support of his dad) that everyone has a shadow that they sometimes feel they need to hide.This is an important book for a new generation of children (and adults alike) which exemplifies the concepts of unconditional love, respect and positive parenting.

* An important and timely bookl Empowers LBGTQ children and the wider community with its strong and powerful message
* Encourages self love and acceptance
* Teaches children the concept of diversity, equality and inclusion
* Creates opportunity for open discussion and learning
* Highlights current themes of gender identity
* Bright and colorful illustrations by Scott Stuart

View Details >>

The Rock from the Sky

Jon Klassen

Look up! From the Caldecott Medal-winning creator of the Hat Trilogy comes a new deadpan gem.

Turtle really likes standing in his favorite spot. He likes it so much that he asks his friend Armadillo to come over and stand in it, too. But now that Armadillo is standing in that spot, he has a bad feeling about it . . .

Here comes The Rock from the Sky, a hilarious meditation on the workings of friendship, fate, shared futuristic visions, and that funny feeling you get that there's something off somewhere, but you just can't put your finger on it. Merging broad visual suspense with wry wit, celebrated picture book creator Jon Klassen gives us a wholly original comedy for the ages.

View Details >>

The Smile Shop

Satoshi Kitamura

Critically-acclaimed author-illustrator Satoshi Kitamura (Hat Tricks) celebrates the value of human connection in this hopeful picture book about the effect of a smile shared between people.

A small boy has saved all his pocket money and visits the market with high expectations. When disaster strikes and he loses his money, he feels very devastated. But wait, what?s that? A Smile Shop? He could really do with a smile. What will happen if he goes in?

Featuring charming, classic illustrations reminiscent of Maurice Sendak and Tomie dePaola, Satoshi Kitamura?s The Smile Shop is an absorbing setting for readers to explore themes of independence, self-worth, and the effect of a smile shared between people.

Activity sheets and discussion guide available!

View Details >>

We Became Jaguars

Dave Eggers

Revel in the breathtaking fantasticality of We Became Jaguars—a picture book from bestselling author Dave Eggers.

When Grandma comes to visit and a young boy's parents leave, the rules of the house—and the world—change: grandson and grandmother transform into jaguars!
Readers follow their journey into the undiscovered world of nature, experience true freedom, and lose themselves in an exhilarating adventure. After a day of playing, running, and climbing through sumptuous landscapes, the ending will leave you wondering what's real and what's imagined.

• A captivating, unusual story about a child and his grandmother
• Full of lush illustrations of the natural world
• Celebrates the power of love and storytelling

Breathtaking and bold, We Became Jaguars is sure to give readers beautiful dreams.

• Children's books for kids age 5–8
• Perfect for fans of Dave Eggers
• Great for environmentally conscious families

View Details >>

The Thingity-Jig

Kathleen Doherty

This jovial frolic through the city and woods celebrates ingenuity and teems with whimsical wordplay--a delightful read for any STEAM storytime.

Under the light of a silvery moon, Bear wanders into people town and discovers a springy thing, a bouncy thing--a sit-on-it, jump-on-it thing! This Thingity-Jig is too heavy to carry home by himself, so Bear runs back to the woods and asks for help. Too bad for Bear, his friends are sleepy and shoo him away. So Bear invents a Rolly-Rumpity to wheel the Thingity-Jig home, but then it all gets stuck in the mud! How will Bear tackle this bump in the road? With a Lifty-Uppity, of course!

Reading specialist and former educator Kathy Doherty perfectly blends inventive upcycling and STEAM elements with a delightful story in this wonderfully charismatic picture book. Illustrator Kristyna Litten brings the world to life with incredible settings and empathetic characters.

Teacher's guide and activities available!

View Details >>

Yes & No

Elisha Cooper

From Caldecott Honor author/illustrator Elisha Cooper comes Yes & No, a timeless tale of friendship, adjusting your perspective, and the joys (and trials) of siblinghood.

Good morning, good morning. It's time to wake up!

Join a cat and puppy pair through their day—the ups of being fed and romping through grass, and the downs of days that are too short and things that don't go as planned—as they realize that sometimes the very best thing that can happen is just being together.

View Details >>

Who is Jane Goodall?

Roberta Edwards

A life in the wild!

Jane Goodall, born in London, England, always loved animals and wanted to study them in their natural habitats. So at age twenty-six, off she went to Africa! Goodall's up-close observations of chimpanzees changed what we know about them and paved the way for many female scientists who came after her. Now her story comes to life in this biography with black-and-white illustrations throughout.

View Details >>

Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls

Kaela Rivera

When a powerful desert spirit kidnaps her sister, Cece Rios must learn forbidden magic to get her back, in this own voices middle grade fantasy perfect for fans of The Storm Runner and Aru Shah and the End of Time.

Living in the remote town of Tierra del Sol is dangerous, especially in the criatura months, when powerful spirits roam the desert and threaten humankind. But Cecelia Rios has always believed there was more to the criaturas, much to her family's disapproval. After all, only brujas--humans who capture and control criaturas--consort with the spirits, and brujeria is a terrible crime.

When her older sister, Juana, is kidnapped by El Sombrerón, a powerful dark criatura, Cece is determined to bring Juana back. To get into Devil's Alley, though, she'll have to become a bruja herself--while hiding her quest from her parents, her town, and the other brujas. Thankfully, the legendary criatura Coyote has a soft spot for humans and agrees to help her on her journey.

With him at her side, Cece sets out to reunite her family--and maybe even change what it means to be a bruja along the way.

View Details >>

Merci Suárez Can't Dance

Meg Medina

In Meg Medina’s follow-up to her Newbery Medal–winning novel, Merci takes on seventh grade, with all its travails of friendship, family, love—and finding your rhythm.

Seventh grade is going to be a real trial for Merci Suárez. For science she’s got no-nonsense Mr. Ellis, who expects her to be a smart as her brother, Roli. She’s been assigned to co-manage the tiny school store with Wilson Bellevue, a boy she barely knows, but whom she might actually like. And she’s tangling again with classmate Edna Santos, who is bossier and more obnoxious than ever now that she is in charge of the annual Heart Ball.

One thing is for sure, though: Merci Suárez can’t dance—not at the Heart Ball or anywhere else. Dancing makes her almost as queasy as love does, especially now that Tía Inés, her merengue-teaching aunt, has a new man in her life. Unfortunately, Merci can’t seem to avoid love or dance for very long. She used to talk about everything with her grandfather, Lolo, but with his Alzheimer’s getting worse each day, whom can she trust to help her make sense of all the new things happening in her life? The Suárez family is back in a touching, funny story about growing up and discovering love’s many forms, including how we learn to love and believe in ourselves.

View Details >>

Billy Miller Makes a Wish

Kevin Henkes

Billy Miller is back! The stand-alone companion to two-time Newbery Honor author Kevin Henkes's award-winning, acclaimed, and bestselling The Year of Billy Miller, Billy Miller Makes a Wish is a laugh-out-loud funny and accessible story about summer, family, and wishes that (almost) come true. A great choice for young middle grade readers.

Billy Miller Makes a Wish is illustrated in black-and-white throughout by the author, and is perfect for fans of the Ramona books and the Clementine series.

 

On his birthday, Billy Miller wishes for something exciting to happen. But he immediately regrets his wish when an ambulance rushes to his neighbor's house. Is Billy responsible? Award-winning author Kevin Henkes delivers a short, funny, and emotionally complex novel complete with misplaced love letters, surprising critters, art projects, misguided tattoos--and another surprise for Billy and his family, maybe the best one yet!

Illustrated throughout with black-and-white art by the author, this is a perfect novel for the early elementary grades and an essential choice for summer reading. A stand-alone companion to The Year of Billy Miller, a Newbery Honor Book.

View Details >>

Ghosts of Weirdwood

Christian McKay Heidicker

In this second action-packed and hilarious Weirdwood adventure, two thieves and their ghost friend wage a battle against a shadowy magical organization intent on opening a Rift between the worlds of the living and the dead.

"[W]ill delight and satiate those besotted with Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Artemis Fowl, Miss Peregrine, the Spiderwicks." ―New York Times Book Review on Thieves of Weirdwood

Fresh off of heroically saving their city from nightmarish monsters, 12-year-old reformed thieves Arthur and Wally are determined to join the Wardens of Weirdwood―defenders of the border between the Real and Imaginary worlds.

Their mission: defeat the Order of Eldar, a shadowy group that exploits the creatures of the Fae for their own gain. When the Order opens what seems to be a Rift between the worlds of the living and the dead, they set up a menagerie of ghosts to make money off those grieving for their lost loved ones.

As spirits begin to cross over into Kingsport, Arthur, Wally, and their ghost companion, Breeth, will have to return a fleet of dead souls to the other side of the Veil.

Perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky and Keeper of the Lost Cities.

View Details >>

The Accidental Apprentice

Amanda Foody

A boy who accidentally bonds with a magical Beast must set off on an adventure in the mysterious Woods in this whimsical and cheeky middle grade fantasy debut—perfect for fans of Nevermoor and How to Train Your Dragon.

The last thing Barclay Thorne ever wanted was an adventure.

Thankfully, as an apprentice to the town’s mushroom farmer, Barclay need only work hard and follow the rules to one day become the head mushroom farmer himself. No danger required. But then Barclay accidentally breaks his town’s most sacred rule: never ever EVER stray into the Woods, for within the Woods lurk vicious magical Beasts.

To Barclay’s horror, he faces a fate far worse than being eaten: he unwittingly bonds with a Beast and is run out of town by an angry mob. Determined to break this bond and return home, Barclay journeys to find the mysterious town of Lore Keepers, people who have also bonded with Beasts and share their powers.

But after making new friends, entering a dangerous apprenticeship exam, and even facing the legendary Beast of the Woods, Barclay must make a difficult choice: return to the home and rules he’s always known, or embrace the adventure awaiting him.

View Details >>

War and Millie Mcgonigle

Karen Cushman

The Newbery Award-winning author of Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice tells a heartfelt and humorous story of WWII on the homefront.

Millie McGonigle lives in sunny California, where her days are filled with beach and surf. It should be perfect--but times are tough. Hitler is attacking Europe and it looks like the United States may be going to war. Food is rationed and money is tight. And Millie's sickly little sister gets all the attention and couldn't be more of a pain if she tried. It's all Millie can do to stay calm and feel in control.

Still--there's sand beneath her feet. A new neighbor from the city, who has a lot to teach Millie. And surfer boy Rocky to admire--even if she doesn't have the guts to talk to him.

It's a time of sunshine, siblings, and stress. Will Millie be able to find her way in her family, and keep her balance as the the world around her loses its own?

View Details >>

Max Meow Book 2: Donuts and Danger

John Gallagher

Calling all GRAPHIC NOVEL FANS! Do you like DONUTS? Do you crave DANGER? Then Max Meow-the graphic novel series with CAT-ITUDE--is PURR-fect for you! Just right for fans of Dogman, Bad Guys, Hilo and anyone who LOVES TO LAUGH!

Meowza! Max was just getting used to being a SECRET SUPER HERO when his and his best friend Mindy's evil look-alikes show up in Kittyopolis! And what's worse, they're determined to take over the world's donut supply--and Max and Mindy are getting blamed! Can Max and Mindy work together to save the day--and the donuts?! Find out in Max Meow Book 2: Donuts and Danger! A deliciously funny, action-packed new series that's so good you'll want seconds! Bonus! Includes How to Draw Mindy AND Max Meow's SECRET Donut Scavenger hunt!

View Details >>

The Last Kids on Earth: Thrilling Tales from the Tree House

Max Brallier

Inside these pages lies unspeakable horror. Bloodsplattering, brain-impaling, flesh-devouring horror. You’ve probably read your fair share of zombie stories. But this time it’s different. No longer can you sit idle as a bunch of fools make all the wrong moves. All hell is about to break loose—and YOU have a say in humanity’s survival.

You have choices to make.

Moral dilemmas.

Strategic decisions.

Weapons. Vehicles.

Will you be a hero?

Or will you cover your own ass at all costs?

Can you withstand the coming hours, days, weeks, and months? Or will you die amidst the chaos and violence of a zombie uprising?

Or, worst of all, will you become one of them?

View Details >>

What Ollie Saw

Joukje Akveld

Ollie doesn't see things the same way everybody else does (and he certainly doesn't see things the same way his older sister does). Instead of cars in traffic, Ollie sees a circus parade. Instead of cows grazing in a field, Ollie sees deadly bison with sharp horns and hooves. And at school, instead of letters on the board, Ollie sees birds with pointy beaks, and fish with flapping tails in the big blue sea.

Ollie knows he doesn't need glasses, because he likes the world better the way he sees it. But will his parents and bossy sister see things his way?

View Details >>

Blue Flag, Vol. 6

KAITO

An unexpected love quadrangle with a dash of unrequited love as two classmates, a boy and a girl, begin to fall for each other when each of their best friends have already fallen for them.

Love is already hard enough, but it becomes an unnavigable maze for unassuming high school student Taichi Ichinose and his shy classmate Futaba Kuze when they begin to fall for each other after their same-sex best friends have already fallen for them.

The culture festival begins, and Toma and Taichi talk about their futures, but it ends with the two not quite seeing eye to eye. Shortly after, Toma sits down with Mami for a serious discussion, and in response to her earnest openness, he makes a big decision that could change everything. Time keeps moving forward, pushing everyone to the cusp of making critical life choices.

View Details >>

Fights

Joel Christian Gill

A New York Times Best Graphic Novel of 2020
YALSA 2021 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

Fights is the visceral and deeply affecting memoir of artist/author Joel Christian Gill, chronicling his youth and coming of age as a Black child in a chaotic landscape of rough city streets and foreboding backwoods.

Propelled into a world filled with uncertainty and desperation, young Joel is pushed toward using violence to solve his problems by everything and everyone around him. But fighting doesn’t always yield the best results for a confused and sensitive kid who yearns for a better, more fulfilling life than the one he was born into, as Joel learns in a series of brutal conflicts that eventually lead him to question everything he has learned about what it truly means to fight for one’s life.

"FIGHTS is somehow brutally raw, funny as hell, deeply sensitive and insightful in each panel." –– Nate Powell (March trilogy)

View Details >>

The Mirror Season

Anna-Marie McLemore

"An unforgettable story of trauma and healing, told in achingly beautiful prose with great tenderness and care." —#1 New York Times-bestselling author Karen M. McManus

When two teens discover that they were both sexually assaulted at the same party, they develop a cautious friendship through her family’s possibly-magical pastelería, his secret forest of otherworldly trees, and the swallows returning to their hometown, in Anna-Marie McLemore's The Mirror Season...

Graciela Cristales’ whole world changes after she and a boy she barely knows are assaulted at the same party. She loses her gift for making enchanted pan dulce. Neighborhood trees vanish overnight, while mirrored glass appears, bringing reckless magic with it. And Ciela is haunted by what happened to her, and what happened to the boy whose name she never learned.

But when the boy, Lock, shows up at Ciela’s school, he has no memory of that night, and no clue that a single piece of mirrored glass is taking his life apart. Ciela decides to help him, which means hiding the truth about that night. Because Ciela knows who assaulted her, and him. And she knows that her survival, and his, depend on no one finding out what really happened.

View Details >>

Bruised

Tanya Boteju

Whip It meets We Are Okay in this vibrant coming-of-age story about a teen girl navigating first love, identity, and grief as she immerses herself in the colorful, brutal, beautiful world of roller derby—from the acclaimed author of Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens.

To Daya Wijesinghe, a bruise is a mixture of comfort and control. Since her parents died in an accident she survived, bruises have become a way to keep her pain on the surface of her skin so she doesn’t need to deal with the ache deep in her heart.

So when chance and circumstances bring her to a roller derby bout, Daya is hooked. Yes, the rules are confusing and the sport seems to require the kind of teamwork and human interaction Daya generally avoids. But the opportunities to bruise are countless, and Daya realizes that if she’s going to keep her emotional pain at bay, she’ll need all the opportunities she can get.

The deeper Daya immerses herself into the world of roller derby, though, the more she realizes it’s not the simple physical pain-fest she was hoping for. Her rough-and-tumble teammates and their fans push her limits in ways she never imagined, bringing Daya to big truths about love, loss, strength, and healing.

View Details >>

The Enchanted Crown

Bethany Atazadeh

Arie is now the Queen of Hodafez.

Alone. Gift-less. Unwanted.

The pain from her Severance is suffocating. Struggling to find the will to go on, all that keeps Arie going is knowing her people need her protection. The Queen of Jinn is readying her attack.

Rena gave away the one item that could've given them leverage. Her newfound selflessness is put to the test as the human kingdom's need the help of the Mere more than ever.

Nesrin doesn't know that anyone is looking for the prince of Jinn. She's quickly learning how little she knows about him. Will she discover that she holds the answer everyone is looking for before it's too late?

The Enchanted Crown is a loose "Sleeping Beauty" retelling. Set in a world that humans share with mermaids, dragons, and the elusive Jinn, this is not the fairytale you remember...

 

PRAISE FOR THE STOLEN KINGDOM SERIES:

"A dainty princess and a friendly genie are replaced with a tough heroine who fights back and a magical race everyone fears in this addicting fairy tale twist on Aladdin."

- Vivien Reis, author of The Elysian Prophecy

"A beautifully whimsical story in a new fantasy retelling series, which pays lovely homage to its predecessor. The Stolen Kingdom is a creative take on a classic that is sure to enrapture readers."

- Jessi Elliott, author of Twisted Fate

"The Stolen Kingdom is a spellbinding story that pulled me in from the first page. Atazadeh has created a fantasy world that's both beautiful and frightening, and this Aladdin retelling will capture the hearts of readers who enjoy the beloved folktale."

- Natalia Leigh, author of Song of the Dryad

"The Stolen Kingdom takes a completely new direction to the classic fairy tale, one that is familiar, refreshing, and unlike anything in the current YA genre."

J. L. Willow, author of Missing Her

"The Stolen Kingdom series is a fresh breath of air into the fairy-tale retelling genre. Bethany has a unique way of intertwining her characters into one story that will leave you begging for the next book in the series."

- Mandi Lynn, author of She's Not Here

"The Stolen Kingdom is an immersive, heart-pounding suspenseful experience that will have you reading as fast as you can. Atazadeh delivers characters that you will fall in love with and root for until the very end."

- Bri R. Leclerc, author of Beaconfield

 

THE STOLEN KINGDOM SERIES READING ORDER:

1: The Stolen Kingdom: An Aladdin retelling

2: The Jinni Key: A Little Mermaid retelling

3: The Cursed Hunter: A Beauty and the Beast retelling

4: The Enchanted Crown: A Sleeping Beauty

View Details >>

House of Hollow

Krystal Sutherland

A dark, twisty modern fairytale where three sisters discover they are not exactly all that they seem and evil things really do go bump in the night.

Iris Hollow and her two older sisters are unquestionably strange. Ever since they disappeared on a suburban street in Scotland as children only to return a month a later with no memory of what happened to them, odd, eerie occurrences seem to follow in their wake. And they're changing. First, their dark hair turned white. Then, their blue eyes slowly turned black. They have insatiable appetites yet never gain weight. People find them disturbingly intoxicating, unbearably beautiful, and inexplicably dangerous.

But now, ten years later, seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow is doing all she can to fit in and graduate high school on time--something her two famously glamourous globe-trotting older sisters, Grey and Vivi, never managed to do. But when Grey goes missing without a trace, leaving behind bizarre clues as to what might have happened, Iris and Vivi are left to trace her last few days. They aren't the only ones looking for her though. As they brush against the supernatural they realize that the story they've been told about their past is unraveling and the world that returned them seemingly unharmed ten years ago, might just be calling them home.

View Details >>

Pride and Premeditation

Tirzah Price

Perfect for fans of the Lady Janies and Stalking Jack the Ripper, the first book in the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries series is a clever retelling of Pride and Prejudice that reimagines the iconic settings, characters, and romances in a thrilling and high-stakes whodunit.

When a scandalous murder shocks London high society, seventeen-year-old aspiring lawyer Lizzie Bennet seizes the opportunity to prove herself, despite the interference of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the stern young heir to the prestigious firm Pemberley Associates.

Convinced the authorities have imprisoned the wrong person, Lizzie vows to solve the murder on her own. But as the case—and her feelings for Darcy—become more complicated, Lizzie discovers that her dream job could make her happy, but it might also get her killed.

View Details >>

The Cost of Knowing

Brittney Morris

Dear Martin meets They Both Die at the End in this gripping, evocative novel about a Black teen who has the power to see into the future, whose life turns upside down when he foresees his younger brother’s imminent death, from the acclaimed author of SLAY.

Sixteen-year-old Alex Rufus is trying his best. He tries to be the best employee he can be at the local ice cream shop; the best boyfriend he can be to his amazing girlfriend, Talia; the best protector he can be over his little brother, Isaiah. But as much as Alex tries, he often comes up short.

It’s hard to for him to be present when every time he touches an object or person, Alex sees into its future. When he touches a scoop, he has a vision of him using it to scoop ice cream. When he touches his car, he sees it years from now, totaled and underwater. When he touches Talia, he sees them at the precipice of breaking up, and that terrifies him. Alex feels these visions are a curse, distracting him, making him anxious and unable to live an ordinary life.

And when Alex touches a photo that gives him a vision of his brother’s imminent death, everything changes.

With Alex now in a race against time, death, and circumstances, he and Isaiah must grapple with their past, their future, and what it means to be a young Black man in America in the present.

View Details >>

The Mary Shelley Club

Goldy Moldavsky

New York Times-bestselling author Goldy Moldavsky delivers a deliciously twisty YA thriller that's Scream meets Karen McManus about a mysterious club with an obsession for horror.

When it comes to horror movies, the rules are clear:

x Avoid abandoned buildings, warehouses, and cabins at all times.
x Stay together: don’t split up, not even just to “check something out.”
x If there’s a murderer on the loose, do not make out with anyone.

If only surviving in real life were this easy...

New girl Rachel Chavez turns to horror movies for comfort, preferring stabby serial killers and homicidal dolls to the bored rich kids of Manhattan Prep...and to certain memories she’d preferred to keep buried.

Then Rachel is recruited by the Mary Shelley Club, a mysterious society of students who orchestrate Fear Tests, elaborate pranks inspired by urban legends and movie tropes. At first, Rachel embraces the power that comes with reckless pranking. But as the Fear Tests escalate, the competition turns deadly, and it’s clear Rachel is playing a game she can’t afford to lose.

View Details >>