New Releases

Collage of three book covers: Journey to the Heart of the Abyss by London Shah, Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong, and How Do You Live? by Yoshino Genzaburo

We have six books to wrap up October. Which of these are on your TBR list?

The book cover shows a street lined with houses. There is a pickup truck in front of one and there is also a saguaro up close.Rest Easy by Warona Jolomba
Wattpad Books

“We’re not friends. We’re just volunteer partners.
Once our shift is over, we don’t know each other.”

“I hate you sometimes.”

“What about the rest of the time?”
” . . . the opposite, I guess.”

Heartsick from the death of his mother and heartsore from breaking up with his girlfriend, Dee Warrington is barely getting by.

Eccentric with mad style, Naya’s had straight As since the seventh grade, and when she makes a pinky promise, she means it.

Both find themselves at Salvation Hill Nursing Home, volunteering during their summer break. There they meet Marie Delden—a former aspiring poet with a mysterious backstory. As Dee and Naya read through Marie’s poems, they begin to unravel Marie’s past . . . and discover their own future.

Inspired by a true story, Warona Jolomba shares a tale of love and loss, and a bond that forms in the unlikeliest of places. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Young boy riding a bicycle who is looking up at the sky. He's on a road lined with green trees and bushes. There is a river and hills behind him. There is a blue sky with some puffy clouds. It is daylight but the moon is also also up behind the boy.How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino translated by Bruno Navasky
Algonquin Young Readers

How Do You Live? is narrated in two voices. The first belongs to Copper, fifteen, who after the death of his father must confront inevitable and enormous change, including his own betrayal of his best friend. In between episodes of Copper’s emerging story, his uncle writes to him in a journal, sharing knowledge and offering advice on life’s big questions as Copper begins to encounter them. Over the course of the story, Copper, like his namesake Copernicus, looks to the stars, and uses his discoveries about the heavens, earth, and human nature to answer the question of how he will live.

This first-ever English-language translation of a Japanese classic about finding one’s place in a world both infinitely large and unimaginably small is perfect for readers of philosophical fiction like The Alchemist and The Little Prince, as well as Miyazaki fans eager to understand one of his most important influences. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

The Grimrose Girls (Grimrose Girls #1) by Laura Pohl
Sourcebooks Fire

After the mysterious death of their best friend, Ella, Yuki, and Rory are the talk of their elite school, Grimrose Académie. The police ruled it a suicide, but the trio are determined to find out what really happened.

When Nani Eszes arrives as their newest roommate, it sets into motion a series of events they couldn’t have imagined. As the girls retrace their friend’s last steps, they uncover dark secrets about themselves and their destinies, discovering they’re all cursed to repeat the brutal and gruesome endings to their stories until they can break the cycle.

This contemporary take on classic fairytales reimagines heroines as friends attending the same school. While investigating the murder of their best friend, they uncover connections to their ancient fairytale curses and attempt to forge their own fate before it’s too late. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Three young people are featured on this book coverWe Light Up the Sky by Lilliam Rivera
Bloomsbury YA

Pedro, Luna, and Rafa may attend Fairfax High School together in Los Angeles, but they run in separate spheres. Pedro is often told that he’s “too much” and seeks refuge from his home life in a local drag bar. Luna is pretending to go along with the popular crowd but is still grieving the unexpected passing of her beloved cousin Tasha. Then there’s Rafa, the quiet new kid who is hiding the fact that his family is homeless.

But Pedro, Luna, and Rafa find themselves thrown together when an extraterrestrial visitor lands in their city and takes the form of Luna’s cousin Tasha. As the Visitor causes destruction wherever it goes, the three teens struggle to survive and warn others of what’s coming–because this Visitor is only the first of many. But who is their true enemy–this alien, or their fellow humans? Can Pedro, Luna, and Rafa find a way to save a world that has repeatedly proven it doesn’t want to save them? — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

The book cover is an underwater scene with a young woman at the top and at the bottom of the image is a city with a whale swimming by it. Journey to the Heart of the Abyss (Light the Abyss #2) by London Shah
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Leyla McQueen has finally reunited with her father after breaking him out of Broadmoor, the illegal government prison—but his freedom comes at a terrible cost. As Leyla celebrates his return, she must grapple with the pain of losing Ari. Now separated from the boy who has her heart and labeled the nation’s number one enemy, Leyla must risk illegal travel through unchartered waters in her quest for the truth behind her father’s arrest.

Across Britain, the fallout from Leyla’s actions has escalated tensions between Anthropoid and non-Anthropoid communities, bringing them to an all-time high. And, as Leyla and her friends fight to uncover the startling truths about their world, she discovers her own shocking past—and the horrifying secrets behind her father’s abduction and arrest. But as these long-buried truths finally begin to surface, so, too, do the authorities’ terrible future plans. And if the ever-pervasive fear prevents the people from taking a stand now, the abyss could stay in the dark forever. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

The book cover features the title in all capital letters with a background of several large geometric shapes in bright colors.Disability Visibility (Adapted for Young Adults): 17 First-Person Stories for Today edited by Alice Wong
Delacorte Press

The seventeen eye-opening essays in Disability Visibility, all written by disabled people, offer keen insight into the complex and rich disability experience, examining life’s ableism and inequality, its challenges and losses, and celebrating its wisdom, passion, and joy.

The accounts in this collection ask readers to think about disabled people not as individuals who need to be “fixed,” but as members of a community with its own history, culture, and movements. They offer diverse perspectives that speak to past, present, and future generations. It is essential reading for all. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads