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On Ocean Boulevard
by Mary Alice MonroeThe New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Guests returns at long last to her beloved Isle of Palms in this breathtaking novel about one family’s summer of forging new beginnings against the enduring beauty and resilience of the natural world.
It&’s been sixteen years since Caretta “Cara” Rutledge has returned home to the beautiful shores of Charleston, South Carolina. Over those years, she has weathered the tides of deaths and births, struggles and joys. And now, as Cara prepares for her second wedding, her life is about to change yet again.
Meanwhile, the rest of the storied Rutledge family is also in flux. Cara’s niece Linnea returns to Sullivan’s Island to begin a new career and an unexpected relationship. Linnea’s parents, having survived bankruptcy, pin their hopes and futures on the construction of a new home on Ocean Boulevard. But as excitement over the house and wedding builds, a devastating illness strikes the family and brings plans to a screeching halt.
It is under these trying circumstances that the Rutledge family must come together yet again to discover the enduring strength in love, tradition, and legacy from mother to daughter to granddaughter. Like the sea turtles that come ashore annually on these windswept islands, three generations of the Rutledge family experience a season of return, rebirth, and growth.
A New York Times Bestseller
Blackout
by Candace OwensIt’s time for a black exit. Political activist and social media star Candace Owens addresses the many ways that Democrat Party policies hurt, rather than help, the African American community, and why she and many others are turning right.
Black Americans have long been shackled to the Democrats. Seeing no viable alternative, they have watched liberal politicians take the black vote for granted without pledging anything in return.
In Blackout, Owens argues that this automatic allegiance is both illogical and unearned. She contends that the Democrat Party has a long history of racism and exposes the ideals that hinder the black community’s ability to rise above poverty, live independent and successful lives, and be an active part of the American Dream. Instead, Owens offers up a different ideology by issuing a challenge: It’s time for a major black exodus. From dependency, from victimhood, from miseducation—and the Democrat Party, which perpetuates all three.
Owens explains that government assistance is a double-edged sword, that the Left dismisses the faith so important to the black community, that Democrat permissiveness toward abortion disproportionately affects black babies, that the #MeToo movement hurts black men, and much more.
Weaving in her personal story, which ushered her from a roach-infested low-income apartment to1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, she demonstrates how she overcame her setbacks and challenges despite the cultural expectation that she should embrace a victim mentality. Well-researched and intelligently argued, Blackout lays bare the myth that all black people should vote Democrat—and shows why turning to the right will leave them happier, more successful, and more self-sufficient.
A New York Times Bestseller
Piece of My Heart
by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair BurkeIn the latest thrilling collaboration from #1 New York Times bestselling author and &“Queen of Suspense&” Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, television producer Laurie Moran must solve the kidnapping of her fiancée&’s nephew—just days before her wedding.Television producer Laurie Moran and her fiancée, Alex Buckley, the former host of her investigative television show, are just days away from their mid-summer wedding, when things take a dark turn. Alex&’s seven-year-old nephew, Johnny, vanishes from the beach, triggering a search party. Witnesses recall Johnny playing in the water and collecting shells behind the beach shack, but no one remembers seeing him in the afternoon. As the sun sets, Johnny&’s skim board washes up to shore, and everyone realizes that he could be anywhere, even under the water. A ticking clock, a sinister stalker, and a fresh romance combine in this exhilarating follow up to the bestselling You Don&’t Own Me—another riveting page-turner from the &“Queen of Suspense&” Mary Higgins Clark and her dazzling partner-in-crime Alafair Burke.
The Book of Lost Names
by Kristin Harmel&“A fascinating, heartrending page-turner that, like the real-life forgers who inspired the novel, should never be forgotten.&” —Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday Inspired by an astonishing true story from World War II, a young woman with a talent for forgery helps hundreds of Jewish children flee the Nazis in this &“sweeping and magnificent&” (Fiona Davis, bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue) historical novel from the #1 international bestselling author of The Winemaker&’s Wife.Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving books when her eyes lock on a photograph in the New York Times. She freezes; it&’s an image of a book she hasn&’t seen in more than sixty years—a book she recognizes as The Book of Lost Names. The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II—an experience Eva remembers well—and the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an eighteenth-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin&’s Zentral- und Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don&’t know where it came from—or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer, but does she have the strength to revisit old memories? As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris and find refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, where she began forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and Rémy disappears. An engaging and evocative novel reminiscent of The Lost Girls of Paris and The Alice Network, The Book of Lost Names is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of bravery and love in the face of evil.
The Book Of Lost Names
by Kristin HarmelEva Traube Abrams, a Florida librarian, is at the returns desk one morning when her eyes lock onto a photograph in a nearby newspaper. She freezes; it’s an image of a book she hasn’t seen in sixty-five years — a book she recognizes as The Book of Lost Names. The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II — an experience Eva remembers well — and the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an eighteenth-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin’s Zentral- und Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don’t know where it came from — or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer — but will she have the strength to revisit old memories and help reunite those lost during the war? As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and Rémy disappears.
Fox Creek
by William Kent KruegerThe New York Times bestselling Cork O&’Connor Mystery Series returns with this &“genuinely thrilling and atmospheric novel&” (The New York Times Book Review) as Cork races against time to save his wife, a mysterious stranger, and an Ojibwe healer from bloodthirsty mercenaries.The ancient Ojibwe healer Henry Meloux has had a vision of his death. As he walks the Northwoods in solitude, he tries to prepare himself peacefully for the end of his long life. But peace is destined to elude him as hunters fill the woods seeking a woman named Dolores Morriseau, a stranger who had come to the healer for shelter and the gift of his wisdom. Meloux guides this stranger and his great niece, Cork O&’Connor&’s wife, to safety deep into the Boundary Waters, his home for more than a century. On the last journey he may ever take into this beloved land, Meloux must do his best to outwit the deadly mercenaries who follow. Meanwhile, in Aurora, Cork works feverishly to identify the hunters and the reason for their relentless pursuit, but he has little to go on. Desperate, Cork begins tracking the killers but his own skills as a hunter are severely tested by nightfall and a late season snowstorm. He knows only too well that with each passing hour time is running out. But his fiercest enemy in this deadly game of cat and mouse may well be his own deep self-doubt about his ability to save those he loves. New and longtime &“fans will be enthralled&” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) by this gripping and richly told addition to a masterful series.
In a Holidaze
by Christina LaurenThis instant New York Times bestseller from Christina Lauren will wrap you &“in its cozy, jolly embrace like a beloved holiday sweater&” (Entertainment Weekly) as Maelyn Jones discovers what happens when Christmas wishes comes true.It&’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She&’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions. But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will spend at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy. The next thing she knows, tires screech, metal collides, and everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she&’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe. &“Take one lovably flawed heroine, add a doting boy-next-door hero, and sprinkle in a cozy family holiday, and you have the recipe for a delicious time-looping romantic comedy&” (Library Journal, starred review) that will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.
Rap Capital
by Joe CoscarelliAn &“impassioned tribute&” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) to the most influential music culture today, Atlanta rap—a masterful, street-level story of art, money, race, class, and salvation from acclaimed New York Times reporter Joe Coscarelli.From mansions to trap houses, office buildings to strip clubs, Atlanta is defined by its rap music. But this flashy and fast-paced world is rarely seen below surface level as a collection not of superheroes and villains, cartoons and caricatures, but of flawed and inspired individuals all trying to get a piece of what everyone else seems to have. In artistic, commercial, and human terms, Atlanta rap represents the most consequential musical ecosystem of this century. Rap Capital tells the dramatic stories of the people who make it tick and the city that made them that way. The lives of the artists driving the culture, from megastars like Lil Baby and Migos to lesser-known local strivers like Lil Reek and Marlo, represent the modern American dream but also an American nightmare, as young Black men and women wrestle generational curses, crippled school systems, incarceration, and racism on the way to an improbably destination atop art and commerce. Across Atlanta, rap dreams power countless overlapping economies, but they&’re also a gamble, one that could make a poor man rich or a poor man poorer, land someone in jail or keep them out of it. Drawing on years of reporting, more than a hundred interviews, dozens of hours in recording studios and on immersive ride-alongs, acclaimed New York Times reporter Joe Coscarelli weaves a cinematic tapestry of this singular American culture as it took over in the last decade, from the big names to the lesser-seen prospects, managers, grunt-workers, mothers, DJs, lawyers, and dealers that are equally important to the industry. The result is a deeply human, era-defining book that is &“required reading for anyone who has ever wondered how, exactly, Atlanta hip-hop took over the world&” (Kelefa Sanneh, author of Major Labels). Entertaining and profound, Rap Capital is an epic of art, money, race, class, and sometimes, salvation.
Elevation
by Stephen KingFrom legendary master storyteller Stephen King, a riveting story about &“an ordinary man in an extraordinary condition rising above hatred&” (The Washington Post) and bringing the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine together—a &“joyful, uplifting&” (Entertainment Weekly) tale about finding common ground despite deep-rooted differences, &“the sign of a master elevating his own legendary game yet again&” (USA TODAY).Although Scott Carey doesn&’t look any different, he&’s been steadily losing weight. There are a couple of other odd things, too. He weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. Scott doesn&’t want to be poked and prodded. He mostly just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis. In the small town of Castle Rock, the setting of many of King&’s most iconic stories, Scott is engaged in a low grade—but escalating—battle with the lesbians next door whose dog regularly drops his business on Scott&’s lawn. One of the women is friendly; the other, cold as ice. Both are trying to launch a new restaurant, but the people of Castle Rock want no part of a gay married couple, and the place is in trouble. When Scott finally understands the prejudices they face—including his own—he tries to help. Unlikely alliances, the annual foot race, and the mystery of Scott&’s affliction bring out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others. &“Written in masterly Stephen King&’s signature translucent…this uncharacteristically glimmering fairy tale calls unabashedly for us to rise above our differences&” (Booklist, starred review). Elevation is an antidote to our divisive culture, an &“elegant whisper of a story&” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), &“perfect for any fan of small towns, magic, and the joys and challenges of doing the right thing&” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
One More Mountain
by Deborah EllisIt’s 2021, and the Taliban have regained power in Afghanistan. Parvana and Shauzia, the brave protagonists of The Breadwinner, must now flee to escape new dangers from an old enemy. In Kabul, 15-year-old Damsa runs away to avoid being forced into marriage by her family. She is found by a police officer named Shauzia, who takes her to Green Valley, a shelter and school for women and girls run by Parvana. It has been 20 years since Parvana and Shauzia had to disguise themselves as boys to support themselves and their families. But when the Taliban were defeated in 2001, it looked as if Afghans could finally rebuild their country. Many things have changed for Parvana since then. She has married Asif, who she met in the desert as she searched for her family when she was a child. She runs a school for girls. She has a son, Rafi, who is about to fly to New York, where he will train to become a dancer. But Shauzia is still Parvana’s best friend. And Parvana is still headstrong, bringing her in conflict with her spoiled sister Maryam. While Asif tries to get Maryam and Rafi on one of the last flights out of Kabul, the Taliban come to the school, and Parvana must lead the girls out of Green Valley and into the mountains. All royalties will be donated to Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan. Key Text Features dialogue literary references multiple POV alternating narrative Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3 Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6 Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.
Huff & Stitch
by Cliff CardinalIn huff, brothers Wind, Huff, and Charles are trying to cope with their father’s abusive whims and their mother’s recent suicide. In a brutal reality of death and addiction, they huff gas and pull destructive pranks. Preyed upon by Trickster and his own fragile psyche, Wind looks for a way out, one that might lead him into his mother’s shadow. In Stitch, Kylie Grandview is a single mom struggling to make a living as a porn star while dreaming of being on the big screen. She’s painfully aware that she is among the many nameless faces on the Internet, the ones that blip across cyberspace, as her yeast infection, Itchia, reminds her at every turn. But when Kylie is offered the chance at a big break, a series of twisted events lead her down a destructive path, revealing a face no one will forget.
The Last Wife
by Kate HennigKate Parr is smart, confident, and passionate: a rising star in a world of intense competition. But her obligatory marriage to Henry is rife with the threat of violence and the lure of deceit; her secret liaisons with Thom, her husband’s former brother-in-law, could send her to an early grave; and her devotion to the education and equal rights of Henry’s daughters is putting an even bigger strain on her marriage. Does Kate risk her life to gain authority in both her relationship and her political career? Which love will she be led to if she follows her heart? And what kind of future is there for her children if she makes a crucial mistake?
Medicine Shows
by Yvette NolanContemporary Indigenous theatre in Canada is only thirty-three years old, if one begins counting from the premiere of Maria Campbell’s Jessica in Saskatoon and the establishment of Native Earth Performing Arts in Toronto. Since those contemporaneous events in 1982, the Canadian community of Indigenous theatre artists has grown and inspired one another.Medicine Shows: Indigenous Performance Culture traces the work of a host of these artists over the past three decades, illuminating the connections, the artistic genealogy, and the development of a contemporary Indigenous theatre practice. Neither a history nor a chronicle,Medicine Shows examines how theatre has been used to make medicine, reconnecting individuals and communities, giving voice to the silenced and disappeared, staging ceremony, and honouring the ancestors.
Road to Nowhere
by Christopher PikeFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Midnight Club—soon to be an original Netflix series!Teresa Chafey is running away from home. Driving north along the California coast, she picks up two mysterious hitchhikers: Poppy Corn and Freedom Jack. Together the three of them tell stories: Teresa of her devastating relationship with her boyfriend, Poppy of a sad young woman she once knew, and Freedom of a talented young man with a violent temper. Yet as they talk, a darker story unfolds around them. A story of life and death, of redemption and damnation. It will be the longest night of Teresa&’s life. And maybe the last night of her life.
Three Strike Summer
by Skyler Schrempp&“Told in a voice that is so real it reeks of filched peaches, this book is a home run.&” —Amy Sarig King, Printz Award–winning author of Dig and The Year We Fell from Space Sandlot meets Esperanza Rising in this lyrical middle grade novel set in the 1930s about a strong-willed girl who finds her voice in a tale of moxie, peaches, and determination to thrive despite the odds.When the skies dried up, Gloria thought it was temporary. When the dust storms rolled in, she thought they would pass. But now the bank man&’s come to take the family farm, and Pa&’s decided to up and move to California in search of work. They&’ll pick fruit, he says, until they can save up enough money to buy land of their own again. There are only three rules at the Santa Ana Holdsten Peach Orchard: No stealing product. No drunkenness or gambling. And absolutely no organizing. Well, Gloria Mae Willard isn&’t about to organize any peaches, no ma&’am. She&’s got more on her mind than that. Like the secret, all-boys baseball team she&’s desperate to play for, if only they&’d give her a chance. Or the way that wages keep going down. The way their company lodgings are dirty and smelly, and everyone seems intent on leaving her out of everything. But Gloria has never been the type to wait around for permission. If the boys won&’t let her play, she&’ll find a way to make them. If the people around her are keeping secrets, then she&’ll keep a few of her own. And if the boss men at the Santa Ana Holdsten Peach Orchard say she can&’t organize peaches, then by golly she&’ll organize a whole ball game.
Field Guide to the Supernatural Universe
by Alyson NoëlStranger Things meets Sideways Stories from Wayside School in this quirky supernatural middle grade novel about a boy on an unlikely quest to uncover an enchanted book to defeat an unearthly nemesis—from New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël.When he first started seeing ghosts, Max mistakenly assumed everyone else could see them, too. Now, after years of being blamed for the pranks of mischievous spirits, Max is determined to do whatever it takes to make himself normal. But when he&’s sent to spend the summer with his eccentric grandfather, Ramhart, being normal becomes impossible. Here in Glimmerville, bakeries sell enchanted pies, the lake is infested with mermaids, the town&’s beloved ghosts roam free, and Ramhart himself is celebrated as the world&’s most famous monster hunter. At first, all Max wants is to survive the summer, but the more time he spends in Glimmerville, the more he starts to wonder if he&’s finally found a place where he can truly be himself. But when a supernatural attack steals Ramhart&’s soul, Max—with the help of a few new friends—must go on a quest to find his grandfather&’s renowned Field Guide, an enchanted book that contains all the knowledge Ramhart has gathered about defeating unearthly nemeses. And if they don&’t find the book fast, Glimmerville will crumble into chaos, and Max will lose the only person who&’s ever made him feel at home.
The Mirrorwood
by Deva FaganPerfect for fans of the Twisted Tales series and Doll Bones, this thrilling middle grade fantasy follows a girl without a face as she battles a deadly enchanted forest and learns the truth behind her world&’s fairy tales.Appearances are always deceiving… Fable has been cursed by what the people in her village call the Blight, a twisted enchantment that leaves her without a face of her own. To stay alive, Fable has to steal the faces of others, making her an outcast that no one trusts. When the fierce Blighthunter Vycorax comes to kill Fable to stop her curse from spreading, Fable narrowly escapes by fleeing into the thorny woods surrounding her small village. The treacherous forest has been ruled by a demon-prince for centuries, a deadly place trapped in time. Fable—and her opinionated feline companion, Moth—is the first to dare enter in a very long time. There, she encounters a tediously chatty skull, dangerously meddlesome deities, and a beast so powerful it tears at the fabric of reality, leaving nothingness in its horrible wake. Fable will soon discover that, in the Mirrorwood, nothing is quite like the stories say, and the perilous realm may be the only chance she has to break her curse and find her true self.
So This Is Ever After
by F.T. LukensAn instant New York Time bestseller! Carry On meets Arthurian legend in this subversive, &“delightfully original and whimsical&” (Kirkus Reviews) young adult fantasy about what happens after the chosen one wins the kingdom and has to get married to keep it…and to stay alive.Arek hadn&’t thought much about what would happen after he completed the prophecy that said he was destined to save the Kingdom of Ere from its evil ruler. So now that he&’s finally managed to (somewhat clumsily) behead the evil king (turns out magical swords yanked from bogs don&’t come pre-sharpened), he and his rag-tag group of quest companions are at a bit of a loss for what to do next. As a temporary safeguard, Arek&’s best friend and mage, Matt, convinces him to assume the throne until the true heir can be rescued from her tower. Except that she&’s dead. Now Arek is stuck as king, a role that comes with a magical catch: choose a spouse by your eighteenth birthday, or wither away into nothing. With his eighteenth birthday only three months away, and only Matt in on the secret, Arek embarks on a desperate bid to find a spouse to save his life—starting with his quest companions. But his attempts at wooing his friends go painfully and hilariously wrong…until he discovers that love might have been in front of him all along.
Best Friends, Bikinis, and Other Summer Catastrophes
by Kristi WientgeFor fans of Barbara Dee and Shannon Hale, this poignant coming-of-age middle grade novel explores the ups and down of best friends, crushes, and backyard projects during a summer full of changes and possibilities.Alex has always known her best friend and next-door neighbor, Will, will be there for her. That&’s just how it&’s always been. Until a girl from the pool named Rebekah comes over to them and says hi. Suddenly, Will is changing his clothes, restyling his hair, and breaking all of their summer plans and Alex is not happy about it. Every summer, she and Will come up with a new challenge. This year, it&’s a treehouse. Now Alex is wrangling up summer jobs and keeping tabs on the new girl, hoping that in completing their treehouse, she can keep from losing her best friend and her summer from falling apart.
Tu corazón, mi cielo (Your Heart, My Sky)
by Margarita EngleInspirada por las dificultades de sus propios parientes durante un período oscuro de la historia de Cuba, la aclamada autora Margarita Engle cuenta &“un doloroso y conmovedor&” (la revista Horn Book) relato de amor en los tiempos del hambre. Verano de 1991 El pueblo de Cuba está en medio del &“Período Especial en tiempos de paz&”. Así es como insiste el gobierno que sea llamada esta era, pero la realidad detrás de estas palabras es la hambruna. Liana está en aprietos en su empeño de encontrar suficiente para comer. Y, aun así, el hambre también la ha hecho valiente. Encuentra el coraje para no asistir durante el verano al presunto campamento de trabajo voluntario, aunque sabe que se arriesga a las represalias del gobierno. Cerca de ella, Amado, un tranquilo y apuesto muchacho, también se resiste a obedecer y deambula solo mientras intenta encontrar raras fuentes de comida. Un encuentro casual con un perro enigmático reúne a Liana y Amado. Unidos en la esperanza y el hambre, pronto descubren que sus sentimientos mutuos son profundos. El amor puede alimentar sus almas y sus corazones, ¿pero será lo suficiente como para soportar el Período Especial?
Violets Are Blue
by Barbara DeeFrom the author of the acclaimed My Life in the Fish Tank and Maybe He Just Likes You comes a moving and relatable middle grade novel about secrets, family, and the power of forgiveness.Twelve-year-old Wren loves makeup—special effect makeup, to be exact. When she is experimenting with new looks, Wren can create a different version of herself. A girl who isn&’t in a sort-of-best friendship with someone who seems like she hates her. A girl whose parents aren&’t divorced and doesn&’t have to learn to like her new stepmom. So, when Wren and her mom move to a new town for a fresh start, she is cautiously optimistic. And things seem to fall into place when Wren meets potential friends and gets selected as the makeup artist for her school&’s upcoming production of Wicked. Only, Wren&’s mom isn&’t doing so well. She&’s taking a lot of naps, starts snapping at Wren for no reason, and always seems to be sick. And what&’s worse, Wren keeps getting hints that things aren&’t going well at her new job at the hospital, where her mom is a nurse. And after an opening night disaster leads to a heartbreaking discovery, Wren realizes that her mother has a serious problem—a problem that can&’t be wiped away or covered up. After all the progress she&’s made, can Wren start over again with her devastating new normal? And will she ever be able to heal the broken trust with her mom?
Boulevard of Dreams
by Mandy GonzalezBetter Nate than Ever meets Love Sugar Magic in this spooky second novel in the Fearless middle grade series from Hamilton and Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez about a group of young thespians who time travel back to 1950s Broadway.Twelve-year-old Relly can&’t wait for his beloved grandfather to finally see him on stage! Along with the rest of the Fearless Squad, Relly has just opened Our Time, a brand-new musical at the infamous Ethel Merman Theater. Though his grandfather would prefer his grandson pursue something more &“practical,&” Relly just knows when he sees the show, he will change his mind and come around on Relly&’s love of theater and dance. But right before their night show, a member of the Squad loses their phone down an open manhole. When the entire Squad goes down to help retrieve it, they find themselves in 1950s Manhattan. A big problem, considering the curtain goes up in about two hours—and over sixty years in the future! With a series of clues, Relly discovers that his grandfather was a popular tap dancer, working the nightclub circuit and pursuing his dream of performing—something he&’s been discouraging Relly from doing lately. Perhaps this accidental fall into a different time wasn&’t so accidental after all. Can Relly help his grandfather and make it back in time for places in the show?
Maybe He Just Likes You
by Barbara DeeBarbara Dee explores the subject of #MeToo for the middle grade audience in this heart-wrenching—and ultimately uplifting—novel about experiencing harassment and unwanted attention from classmates.
For seventh-grader Mila, it starts with some boys giving her an unwanted hug on the school blacktop. A few days later, at recess, one of the boys (and fellow trumpet player) Callum tells Mila it’s his birthday, and asks her for a “birthday hug.” He’s just being friendly, isn’t he? And how can she say no? But Callum’s hug lasts a few seconds too long, and feels…weird. According to her friend, Zara, Mila is being immature and overreacting. Doesn’t she know what flirting looks like? But the boys don’t leave Mila alone. On the bus. In the halls. During band practice—the one place Mila could always escape. It doesn’t feel like flirting—so what is it? Thanks to a chance meeting, Mila begins to find solace in a new place: karate class. Slowly, with the help of a fellow classmate, Mila learns how to stand her ground and how to respect others—and herself.
From the author of Everything I Know About You, Halfway Normal, and Star-Crossed comes this timely story of a middle school girl standing up and finding her voice.”
Our Stories, Our Voices
by Ellen Hopkins and Hannah Moskowitz and Stephanie Kuehnert and Amy Reed and Jenny Torres Sanchez and Martha Brockenbrough and Maurene Goo and Julie Murphy and Alexandra Duncan and Brandy Colbert and Aisha Saeed and Jaye Robin Brown and Sona Charaipotra and Amber Smith and Sandhya Menon and Nina LaCour and Christine Day and Anna-Marie McLemore and Ilene I. W. Gregorio and Tracy Deonn Walker and Somaiya DaudFrom Amy Reed, Ellen Hopkins, Amber Smith, Sandhya Menon, and more of your favorite YA authors comes an anthology of essays that explore the diverse experiences of injustice, empowerment, and growing up female in America.This collection of twenty-one essays from major YA authors—including award-winning and bestselling writers—touches on a powerful range of topics related to growing up female in today’s America, and the intersection with race, religion, and ethnicity. Sure to inspire hope and solidarity to anyone who reads it, Our Stories, Our Voices belongs on every young woman’s shelf. This anthology features essays from Martha Brockenbrough, Jaye Robin Brown, Sona Charaipotra, Brandy Colbert, Somaiya Daud, Christine Day, Alexandra Duncan, Ilene Wong (I.W.) Gregorio, Maurene Goo. Ellen Hopkins, Stephanie Kuehnert, Nina LaCour, Anna-Marie LcLemore, Sandhya Menon, Hannah Moskowitz, Julie Murphy, Aisha Saeed, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Amber Smith, and Tracy Walker.
The Tomorrow Game
by Sudhir VenkateshA New York Times bestselling author&’s gripping account of a Chicago community coming together to save a group of teenagers from gun violence.In the tradition of works like Random Family and Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Sudhir Venkatesh&’s The Tomorrow Game is a deeply reported chronicle of families surviving in a Southside Chicago community. At the heart of the story are two teenagers: Marshall Mariot, an introverted video gamer and bike rider, and Frankie Paul, who leaves foster care to direct his cousin&’s drug business while he&’s in prison. Frankie devises a plan to attack Marshall and his friends—it is his best chance to showcase his toughness and win respect for his crew. Catching wind of the plan, Marshall and his friends decide they must preemptively go after Frankie&’s crew to defend their honor. The pressure mounts as both groups of teens race to find a gun and strike first. All the while, the community at large—a cast that includes the teens&’ families, black market gun dealers, local pastors, a bodega owner, and a veteran beat cop—try their best to defuse the conflict and keep the kids alive. Based on Venkatesh&’s three decades of immersion in Chicago&’s Southside, and as propulsive as a novel, The Tomorrow Game is a nuanced, timely look at the toll that poverty and gun violence take on families and their communities.