Category: Books

Visitations written and illustrated by Corey Egbert

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Inspired by true events, Visitations, written and illustrated by Corey Egbert, dives into a formative part of Corey’s childhood that starts him on a path to change his life forever. This young adult graphic novel has strong themes of religion, mental illness, and family dynamics. To me, Visitations was an insight into a young child’s upbringing in the Mormon church and how he was influenced by those around him.

Growing up, Corey was closer to his mom than his dad. His mom always made him feel safe, while he felt further away from his dad. Something happened in the family when Corey’s sister was young that caused his parents to divorce which led to visitations with his dad. He dreaded the visitations, especially as he grew older because his mother’s accusations against his dad and his dad’s side of the family became more erratic. She insisted that Corey be his sister’s protector against their father as she believed he was the devil and trying to turn them against her.

Corey’s mother relied strongly on the Lord through all of their troubles. One day, she received a message that Corey and his sister were to stop the visitations with their father. She took Corey and his sister away from their home and traveled deep into the Nevada desert. With seemingly no directions except to believe that the Heavenly Father had a plan for them, the three traveled with little food, living in their car, while running from the police. Tensions quickly grew to a breaking point. Corey was consistently visited by a flickering ghost who urged him to look outside of what his mother had been telling him for years. This graphic novel deals with heavy topics: mental illness, religion, and ever-changing family dynamics. I appreciated the author’s examination of religion and belief systems, how those are so intertwined into every aspect of life, and how hard finding the line between imagination and memory, the truth and lies can be. This was a four star read for me, but could be triggering for others.

Resources for adoptive parents

- Beth Leave a comment

November is National Adoption Awareness Month, a time to celebrate families created through adoption. There is even a National Adoption Day that takes place on the Saturday before Thanksgiving to finalize adoptions from foster care into permanent families. This year that day is November 22.

The Literacy & Learning Collection contains materials that are not easily confined in either the adult, young adult, or juvenile collections. You can find guidance here on many topics including the unique challenges that come with parenting an adopted child. Adoptee-centered stories are changing the narrative around how adoption is talked about by all sides of the adoption community — birth parents, adoptive parents, adoption professionals, and of course, adoptees themselves. Here are some newer books in our Literacy & Learning Collection or interfiled with the pictures books, available at the Davenport Public Library, as of the publication of this post. Descriptions from the publishers.

“You should be grateful”: Stories of Race, Identity, and Transracial Adoption by Angela Tucker. Tucker is grateful for many aspects of her life, but being a Black woman adopted into a white family involved layers of rejection, loss, and complexity that cannot be summed up easily. She now serves as a mentor to other transracially adopted children and, in this book, draws from her experiences with mentees to invite a profound exploration of a complicated system. Tucker offers practical tools for nurturing identity, unlearning white saviorism, and addressing the mistakes many adoptive parents don’t even know they’re making. She flips the script on ‘traditional’ adoption books written by adoptive parents or professionals to center the experience of adoptees themselves. These perspectives challenge the fairy-tale narrative of adoption, giving way to a fuller story that explores the impacts of racism, classism, family, love, and belonging.

The Adoptee’s Journey: From Loss and Trauma to Healing and Empowerment by Cameron Lee Small. Adoption is often framed by happy narratives, but the reality is that many adoptees struggle with unaddressed trauma and issues of identity and belonging. Adoptees often spend the majority of their youth without the language to explore the grief related to adoption or the permission to legitimize their conflicting emotions. Adoptee and counselor Cameron Lee Small names the realities of the adoptee’s journey, narrating his own and other adoptees’ stories in all their complexity. He unpacks the history of how adoption has worked and names how the church influenced adoption practices with unintended negative impacts on adoptees’ faith. Small’s own tumultuous search for and reunion with his mother in Korea inspired him to help other adoptees navigate what it means to carry multiple stories.

Adoption Memoirs: Inside Stories by Marianne Novy. Adoption Memoirs tells inside stories of adoption that popular media miss. Marianne Novy shows how adoption memoirs and films recount not only happy moments, but also the lasting pain of relinquishing a child, the racism and trauma that adoptees experienced, and the unexpected complexities of child-rearing adoptive parents encountered. Novy considers 45 memoirs, mostly from the twenty-first century, by birthmothers, adoptees, and adoptive parents, about same-race and transracial adoption. These adoptees, she recounts, wanted to learn about their ancestry and appreciated adoptive parents who helped. Adoption Memoirs will enlighten readers who lack experience with adoption and help those looking for a shared experience to also understand adoption from a different standpoint

Eyes that Weave the World’s Wonders by Joanna Ho. From New York Times bestselling Joanna Ho, of Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, and award-winning educator Liz Kleinrock comes a powerful companion picture book about adoption and family. A young girl who is a transracial adoptee learns to love her Asian eyes and finds familial connection and meaning through them, even though they look different from her parents’. Her family bond is deep and their connection is filled with love. She wonders about her birth mom and comes to appreciate both her birth culture and her adopted family’s culture, for even though they may seem very different, they are both a part of her, and that is what makes her beautiful. She learns to appreciate the differences in her family and celebrate them.

I Have Two Families: A Children’s Book About Adoption by Kendra Smith. I Have Two Families is for children aged 5 to 9 who have been through adoption or who are going to be adopted. Written with love by a licensed marriage and family therapist who has both professional and personal experience with adoption, I Have Two Families offers kids a relatable look at open adoption. Parents and caregivers can use the book to help start conversations about what it means to be adopted and how to process all the big questions and feelings that kids may have about their own adoption.

 

One Year at Ellsmere written by Faith Erin Hicks, color by Shelli Paroline

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Growing up, I was intrigued by books about boarding schools. As an adult, it’s easy for me to look back and see that I was searching for stories about people different than me going to school somewhere that couldn’t be more opposite than the Midwest public school that I attended. While walking the shelves, I found One Year at Ellsmere by Faith Erin Hicks and instantly knew my younger self would have loved this one.

One Year at Ellsmere tells the story of Juniper and her first year at Ellsmere, a prestigious boarding school she was only able to attend because of the scholarship she won. Showing up on her first day, Juniper is worried, but she knows that she excels at academics, so this shouldn’t be too hard. After meeting her roommate, Cassie, Juniper realizes that the friendship part may be more difficult than she thought. Hopeful that academics will make up for her awkwardness, Juniper is ready for school to begin. At orientation, Juniper and Cassie’s bound strengthens when the queen bee of the school, Emily, picks on Cassie and Juniper jumps in to defend her. This unfortunately draws Juniper into Emily’s sights, leading Emily down a path to make her life at school difficult. Labeling Juniper the school’s special ‘project,’ Emily and her friends are determined to get Juniper expelled. While the school year progresses, the girls continue to clash while Cassie shares stories with Juniper about the school, its history, and the students who attend. One particular rumor of interest involves the Ellsmere sons, the forest, and a mythical beast that is rumored to roam in said forest. This intrigues Juniper, but with Emily out to get her, she focuses on how to outsmart Emily at her own game.

My younger self would have loved this story, but my older self felt like the story was fairly predictable. The characters of Juniper and Cassie made up for this though as they were easy to like and believable. Juniper was independent and headstrong, while Cassie started as mousy and meek, but grew more confident and fierce as the story progressed. The mean girls were a tad one-dimensional, but that wasn’t a dealbreaker for me. I hope that the author writes more in this world as the ending sets up perfectly for more!

Sci-Fi Novellas

- Paige Leave a comment

The genre of science fiction (aka sci-fi) can sometimes be a little daunting to start reading.  From dystopias to space operas to time travel, it’s hard to know where to start. That’s where novellas can come in! Novellas are works that are longer than a short story, but shorter than a typical novel, so a perfect entry point into any genre.  Also, November is National Science Fiction Month so it’s the perfect time to start! Here are some sci-fi novellas that will let you dip your toe into the genre before fully diving in. All descriptions are provided by the publisher.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk and Robot #1) by Becky Chambers

Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.

Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of “what do people need?” is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers’ series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter? — Tordotcom

The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle #1) by Nghi Vo

A young royal from the far north is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully.

Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor’s lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.

At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She’s a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece. — Tordotcom

Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children #1) by Seanan Mcguire

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced… they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost. — Tordotcom

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark

Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins―resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories―have only three unbreakable vows.

First, the contract must be just. That’s above Eveen’s pay grade.

Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Eveen’s a professional. She’s never missed her mark.

The third and the simplest: once you accept a job, you must carry it out. And if you stray? A final death would be a mercy. When the Festival of the Clockwork King turns the city upside down, Eveen’s newest mission brings her face-to-face with a past she isn’t supposed to remember and a vow she can’t forget. — Tordotcom

In the Shadow of the Fall (Guardians of the Gods #1) by Tobi Ogundiran

Ashâke is an acolyte in the temple of Ifa, yearning for the day she is made a priest and sent out into the world to serve the orisha. But of all the acolytes, she is the only one the orisha refuse to speak to. For years she has watched from the sidelines as peer after peer passes her by and ascends to full priesthood.

Desperate, Ashâke attempts to summon and trap an orisha―any orisha. Instead, she experiences a vision so terrible it draws the attention of a powerful enemy sect and thrusts Ashâke into the center of a centuries-old war that will shatter the very foundations of her world. — Tordotcom

These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein

In a queer, noir technothriller of fractured identity and corporate intrigue, a trans woman faces her fear of losing her community as her past chases after her. This bold, thought-provoking debut science-fiction novella from a Lambda Award finalist is an exciting and unpredictable look at the fluid nature of our former and present selves.

In mid-21st-century Kansas City, Dora hasn’t been back to her old commune in years. But when Dora’s ex-girlfriend Kay is killed, and everyone at the commune is a potential suspect, Dora knows she’s the only person who can solve the murder.

As Dora is dragged back into her old community and begins her investigations, she discovers that Kay’s death is only one of several terrible incidents. A strange new drug is circulating. People are disappearing. And Dora is being attacked by assailants from her pre-transition past.

Meanwhile, It seems like a war between two nefarious corporations is looming, and Dora’s old neighborhood is their battleground. Now she must uncover a twisted conspiracy, all while navigating a deeply meaningful new relationship. — Tachyon Publications

Made Things (Made Things #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky

She was good at making friends.

Coppelia is a street thief, a trickster, a low-level con artist. But she has something other thieves don’t… tiny puppet-like friends: some made of wood, some of metal. They don’t entirely trust her, and she doesn’t entirely understand them, but their partnership mostly works.

After a surprising discovery shakes their world to the core, Coppelia and her friends must reexamine everything they thought they knew about their world, while attempting to save their city from a seemingly impossible new threat. — Tordotcom

 

She Who Knows (She Who Knows #1) by Nnedi Okorafor

When there is a call, there is often a response.

Najeeba knows.

She has had The Call. But how can a 13-year-old girl have the Call? Only men and boys experience the annual call to the Salt Roads. What’s just happened to Najeeba has never happened in the history of her village. But it’s not a terrible thing, just strange. So when she leaves with her father and brothers to mine salt at the Dead Lake, there’s neither fanfare nor protest. For Najeeba, it’s a dream come true: travel by camel, open skies, and a chance to see a spectacular place she’s only heard about. However, there must have been something to the rule, because Najeeba’s presence on the road changes everything and her family will never be the same.

Small, intimate, up close, and deceptively quiet, this is the beginning of the Kponyungo Sorceress. — DAW

Ready to dive in deeper for National Science Fiction Month? Here are some of our Sci-fi related blog posts for more recommendations!

Have any recommendations for us and fellow readers? Leave them in the comments below!

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“I feel special. Like maybe I deserve to be here.”
― Freida McFadden, The Housemaid

Is there an author you have seen everywhere that you have been reluctant to read? For me, this author is Freida McFadden. Her books are flying off the shelves at the library with her new ones having long holds lists. In an effort to figure out her popularity, I decided to listen to The Housemaid, the first book in her Housemaid series. Before I get into the book, let me share something: I love psychological thrillers and the twists, turns, and brutal endings they can have. Because of this, I am a bit picky about what psychological thrillers I read, but I still wanted to give Freida McFadden a try.

Here’s a brief synopsis: Millie is looking for a fresh start. She has been let go from her last job and is sleeping in her car, so when she scores an interview to be a live-in housekeeper for a wealthy family, she is surprised. Given her previous work history and her past, Millie knows she probably won’t get the job, but surprise, she is offered the job! She is tasked with cleaning the house from top to bottom, picking up the Winchesters’ daughter from school, making their meals, and a myriad of other tasks. The lady of the house, Nina, at first seems like a dream, but soon turns into a nightmare. She rips up the house, making messes and blaming Millie. She repeatedly tells lies and gaslights Millie. The constant whiplash between nice and angry pushes Millie close to Nina’s husband, Andrew. Millie doesn’t see how the two could have ended up together. Andrew is extremely attractive, while Nina doesn’t take pride in her appearance and has let herself go. As Nina continues to deteriorate, Andrew grows more broken. Soon Millie believes that Andrew deserves better and that she appreciates him more than Nina does. When Andrew and Millie are given the opportunity to act out their desires, Millie feels like her dreams have come true. She doesn’t realize it’s a trap until it’s too late, but unfortunately for the Winchesters, they have underestimated Millie.

My thoughts: While I enjoyed the twists and the ending, there were other parts I found repetitive. Some scenes also felt tedious and at times I felt this book could have benefitted from another editing round. The Housemaid was a good thriller, but honestly I was hit with dejavu many times, like I had read this book or plot before. This was a solid three star read because of its predictability.

The Housemaid series

Meesh the Bad Demon by Michelle Lam

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Michelle Lam’s juvenile graphic novel debut, Meesh the Bad Demon, is the story of unlikely heroes, bad guys, and the stereotypes and myths that surround them. Meesh, a bad demon, tries to find her place, but instead discovers that she doesn’t quite fit in with her peers. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though!

Twelve-year-old Meesh would rather read magazines from Plumeria City (the fairy realm), watch fairy television shows, and talk to flowers instead of doing typical demon things. She spends her days seeing the good in people and the world around her. That, unfortunately makes Meesh a ‘bad’ demon in the eyes of her peers. Meesh struggles with fire breathing, acid-puking, horn-sharpening, lava-molding, and many other skills that her school in Mount Magma works to teach young demons to prepare them for the world. Luckily for Meesh, her grandma is there to listen and to try to understand her problems.

When disaster strikes Mount Magma, Meesh is at first confused and scared. Running to her grandma for help, Meesh discovers that her grandma is in danger. All of demon-kind is in trouble and Meesh must find help. Escaping from Mount Magma, Meesh is on the lookout for other worlds. Stumbling upon the fairy realm, Meesh is convinced that the fairies will be able to help her save the other demons. Just when she thinks her problems are solved, Meesh realizes that something is not quite right in the fairy realm. They aren’t the perfect creatures she always thought, but Meesh is determined to solve her problem and ends up making new friends along the way. Meesh and her group of outcast friends all learn that there’s more to themselves than the stereotypical things others think about them. Learning to love yourself and knowing your own strengths while being able to ask for help are just some of the important lessons that readers will learn in this book.

Meesh the Bad Demon was absolutely adorable. While I am definitely not the target audience of this juvenile graphic novel, I appreciated the author’s clear determination to teach readers about the importance of understanding and accepting others’ differences. Highly recommend.

Online Reading Challenge – November

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Welcome Readers!

This month the Online Reading Challenge is focusing on detective/crime fiction. Our main title for November is The Beekeeper’s Apprentice or, On the Segregation of the Queen by Laurie R. King. Here’s a quick summary from the publisher:

In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees in Sussex when a young woman literally stumbles onto him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern, twentieth-century woman proves a deft protégée and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective. They are soon called to Wales to help Scotland Yard find the kidnapped daughter of an American senator, a case of international significance with clues that dip deep into Holmes’s past. Full of brilliant deduction, disguises, and danger, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, the first book of the Mary Russell–Sherlock Holmes mysteries, is “remarkably beguiling” (The Boston Globe). (Picador)

Looking for some other detective/crime fiction titles? Try any of the following.

As always, check each of our locations for displays with lots more titles to choose from!

Online Reading Challenge – October Wrap-Up

- Stephanie Leave a comment

How did your reading go this month? Did you read a fantasy title for October? Share in the comments!

I read our main title: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker Chan. I honestly had no idea what I was expecting, but this was a pleasant read.

Growing up in a famine-stricken village in 1345 China, a girl and a boy are dealt two vastly different fates. The boy is destined for greatness, while the girl, nothingness. Under harsh Mongol rule, starving peasants dream of greatness through stories passed down through generations. When the boy is told that he is destined for greatness, those around him wonder how that will ever be true, but the girl’s fate of nothingness is to be expected in a time of great famine when girls are considered wasteful. The girl refuses to be nothing. When bandits attack her family leaving the boy and their father dead, the girl steps into her brother’s identity and enters a monastery as a young male novice. While there, the girl learns her limits and what she is willing to do to stay hidden from the heavens and her own fate. When the monastery is destroyed, the girl must find the courage to claim her brother’s fate and reach for greatness.

She Who Became the Sun was a wild ride. I chose this book because it was billed as a reimagining of the ride to power of the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor. It also won a wide variety of awards and was the finalist for even more. If I hadn’t chosen this book for the Online Reading Challenge, I don’t think I would have picked it up on my own, but I’m glad I decided to give it a try. This is the first in the duology with the second called He Who Drowned the World.

Next month, we will be reading detective or crime fiction!

In addition to following the Online Reading Challenge here on our Info Cafe blog, you can join our Online Reading Challenge group on Goodreads and discuss your reads!

Stealing Home written by J. Torres with illustrations by David Namisato

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Written by J. Torres and illustrated by David Namisato, Stealing Home tells the story of how baseball helped a young boy through hard times. While I have read many books about the Japanese American experience during World War II, Stealing Home was my first read about Japanese Canadians. Highly recommend this juvenile graphic novel told from the perspective of Sandy Saito as he looks back to his childhood in 1940s Vancouver.

Growing up in Vancouver in the 1940s, Sandy was an eight year old whose biggest worry was when he could watch the Asahi baseball team play. He spent his time reading comic books, going to school, and cheering on the Asahi, the pride of the Japanese Canadian community. At home, Sandy spent time with his younger brother, his mother, and his father, a doctor with his own office in the community. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the lives of all North Americans of Japanese descent changed. First the changes were small, but eventually his family was sent to a remote internment camp without his father. His father was at a camp far away, where they spent months separated. Sandy, his brother, and his mother found ways to cope with the harshness of the camp. Eventually baseball made its way to the camp. This proves to be fortuitous for Sandy as it helps him deal with the big emotions he has been facing and the circumstances he has been dealt.

Stealing Home was incredibly emotional, but seeing this story through the eyes of an eight-year-old definitely softened some of the harshness of that period. Although this is a fictional story, the author clearly thoroughly researched this subject. There are also notes with more background information and other important topics central to the story at the end of the book. I recommend this graphic novel for those looking for a book that deals with the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II with sensitivity and a unique perspective.

Young Adult Books with Multiple Narrators

- Stephanie Leave a comment

How do you feel about books with multiple narrators? Similar to books with dual timelines, books with multiple narrators or multiple perspectives are a hot topic.  Single narrative stories provide readers with one point of view, but typically go more in depth into the actions and the mind of that singular character. Multiple narrator novels add more dimension to the story. Readers learn more about each characters’ thoughts as well as showcasing multiple experiences. One of my favorite aspects of multiple narrator novels is that you learn more about the story, be it the actual truth or each narrators’ perceived truth. Which do you prefer: single narrators or multiple narrators? To help you decide, below you will find a list of young adult books with multiple narrators. As of this writing, all of these titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions are provided by the publishers.

6 Times We Almost Kissed (and One Time We Did) by Tess Sharpe

After years of bickering, Penny and Tate have called a truce: they’ll play nice. They have to. Their mothers (life-long best friends) need them to be perfect, drama-free daughters when Penny’s mother becomes a living liver donor to Tate’s mom. Forced to live together as their moms recover, the girls’ truce is essential in keeping everything—their jobs, the house, the finances, the Moms’ healing—running smoothly. They’ve got to let this thing between them go.

There’s one little hitch: Penny and Tate keep almost kissing.

It’s just this confusing thing that keeps happening. You know, from time to time. For basically their entire teenaged existence.

They’ve never talked about it. They’ve always ignored it in the aftermath. But now they’re living across the hall from each other.

And some things—like their kisses—can’t be almosts forever.

Told through the two girls’ present and six moments from their past, this dynamic love story shows that sometimes the person you need the most has been there for you all along. – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

After Life by Gayle Forman

One spring afternoon after school, Amber arrives home on her bike. It’s just another perfectly normal day. But when Amber’s mom sees her, she screams.

Because Amber died seven years ago, hit by a car while on the very same bicycle she’s inexplicably riding now.

This return doesn’t only impact Amber. Her sister, Melissa, now seven years older, must be a new kind of sibling to Amber. Amber’s estranged parents are battling over her. And the changes ripple farther and farther out: Amber’s friends, boyfriend, and even people she met only once have been deeply affected by her life and death. In the midst of everyone’s turmoil, Amber is struggling with herself. What kind of person was she? How and why was she given this second chance?

This magnificent tour de force by acclaimed author Gayle Forman brilliantly explores the porous veil between life and death, examines the impact that one person can have on the world, and celebrates life in all its beautiful complexity. – Quill Tree Books

Darker by Four by June CL Tan

A vengeful girl. A hollow boy. A missing god.

Rui has one goal in mind—honing her magic to avenge her mother’s death.

Yiran is the black sheep of an illustrious family. The world would be at his feet—had he been born with magic.

Nikai is a Reaper, serving the Fourth King of Hell. When his master disappears, the underworld begins to crumble…and the human world will be next if the King is not found.

When an accident causes Rui’s power to transfer to Yiran, everything turns upside down. Without her magic, Rui has no tool for vengeance. With it, Yiran finally feels like he belongs. That is, until Rui discovers she might hold the key to the missing death god and strikes a dangerous bargain with another King.

As darkness takes over, three paths intersect in the shadows. And three lives bound by fate must rise against destiny before the barrier between worlds falls and all Hell breaks loose—literally. – Storytide

Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar

When Said Hossain’s favorite hometown librarian dies, he must return from boarding school for her funeral and for the summer. Too bad being home makes it a lot harder to avoid facing his ex–best friend, Tiwa Olatunji, or facing the daunting task of telling his Bangladeshi parents that he would rather be an artist than a doctor.

Tiwa doesn’t understand what made Said start ignoring her, but it’s probably that fancy boarding school of his. Though he’s unexpectedly home for the summer, she’s determined to take a page from him and pretend he doesn’t exist. Besides, she has more than enough going on, between grieving her favorite librarian and her broken family while helping her mother throw the upcoming Eid celebration at the Islamic Center—a place that means so much to Tiwa.

But when the center accidentally catches fire, the mayor plans to demolish it entirely. Tiwa and Said will need to put their feelings aside if they’re going to get the mayor to change his mind. Will all their efforts be enough to save the Islamic Center, save Eid, and maybe even save their relationship? – Feiwel & Friends

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.

Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption—yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that’s how Celine sees it.)

These days, there’s nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she’s surprised to find Brad right beside her.

Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship? – Joy Revolution

Lulu and Milagro’s Search for Clarity by Angela Velez

Overachiever Luz “Lulu” Zavala has straight As, perfect attendance, and a solid ten-year plan. First up: nail her interview for a dream internship at Stanford, the last stop on her school’s cross-country college road trip. The only flaw in her plan is Clara, her oldest sister, who went off to college and sparked a massive fight with their overprotective Peruvian mom, who is now convinced that out-of-state-college will destroy their family. If Lulu can’t fix whatever went wrong between them, the whole trip—and her future—will be a waste.

Middle sister Milagro wants nothing to do with college or a nerdy class field trip. Then a spot opens up on the trip just as her own spring break plans (Operation Don’t Die a Virgin) are thwarted, and she hops on the bus with her glittery lipsticks, more concerned about getting back at her ex than she is about schools or any family drama. But the trip opens her eyes about possibilities she’d never imagined for herself. Maybe she is more than the boy-crazy girl everyone seems to think she is.

On a journey from Baltimore all the way to San Francisco, Lulu and Milagro will become begrudging partners as they unpack weighty family expectations, uncover Clara’s secrets, and maybe even discover the true meaning of sisterhood. – HarperCollins

Those Pink Mountain Nights by Jenny Ferguson

Overachievement isn’t a bad word—for Berlin, it’s the goal. She’s securing excellent grades, planning her future, and working a part-time job at Pink Mountain Pizza, a legendary local business. Who says she needs a best friend by her side?

Dropping out of high school wasn’t smart—but it was necessary for Cameron. Since his cousin Kiki’s disappearance, it’s hard enough to find the funny side of life, especially when the whole town has forgotten Kiki. To them, she’s just another missing Native girl.

People at school label Jessie a tease, a rich girl—and honestly, she’s both. But Jessie knows she contains multitudes. Maybe her new job crafting pizzas will give her the high-energy outlet she desperately wants.

When the weekend at Pink Mountain Pizza takes several unexpected turns, all three teens will have to acknowledge the various ways they’ve been hurt—and how much they need each other to hold it all together. – Heartdrum

The Queens of New York by E.L. Shen

Best friends Jia Lee, Ariel Kim, and Everett Hoang are inseparable. But this summer, they won’t be together.

Everett, aspiring Broadway star, hopes to nab the lead role in an Ohio theater production, but soon realizes that talent and drive can only get her so far. Brainy Ariel is flying to San Francisco for a prestigious STEM scholarship, even though her heart is in South Korea, where her sister died last year. And stable, solid Jia will be home in Flushing, juggling her parents’ Chinatown restaurant, a cute new neighbor, and dreams for an uncertain future.

As the girls navigate heartbreaking surprises and shocking self-discoveries, they find that even though they’re physically apart, they are still mighty together. – Quill Tree Books

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi

To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight.

 

The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can’t put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom—and the world. – Storytide

A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass

“Love has a sound. It sounds like a thousand heartbeats happening at the same time.”

Princess Annika has lived a life of comfort—but no amount of luxuries can change the fact that her life isn’t her own to control. The king, once her loving father, has gone cold, and Annika will soon be forced into a loveless marriage for political gain.

Miles away, small comforts are few and far between for Lennox. He has devoted his life to the Dahrainian army, hoping to one day help them reclaim the throne that was stolen from them. For Lennox, the idea of love is merely a distraction—nothing will stand in the way of fighting for his people.

But when love, against all odds, finds them both, they are bound by its call. They can’t possibly be together—but the irresistible thrum of a thousand heartbeats won’t let them stay apart.

Kiera Cass brings her signature sparkling romance to this beautiful story of star-crossed lovers and long-held secrets. – HarperCollins