New Releases

New Releases

Posted onAuthorAudrey
Collage of the covers for Asking for a Friend, The Reckoning of Roku, and The Lost Souls of Benzaiten. All are described in more detail individually in the post.

We have three books on our list this week! Which ones are you going to pick up?

Illustrated cover of Asking for a Friend. Two teenagers are sitting on the floor next to each other, close enough that their shoulders arms brush. The girl has mid-back length black hair and is wearing a short sleeved yellow dress that goes down to about her knees. The boy has short brown hair and is wearing a dark green shirt, blue jeans, and green and white sneakers. They are both holding papers, and there are more papers and envelopes scattered around them, along with boba tea. Asking for a Friend by Kara H.L. Chen
Quill Tree Books

This charming YA rom-com follows a strong-willed, ambitious teen as she teams up with her childhood frenemy to start a dating-advice column, perfect for fans of Emma Lord and Gloria Chao.

Juliana Zhao is absolutely certain of a few things:

1. She is the world’s foremost expert on love.

2. She is going to win the nationally renowned Asian Americans in Business Competition.

When Juliana is unceremoniously dropped by her partner and she’s forced to pair with her nonconformist and annoying frenemy, Garrett Tsai, everything seems less clear. Their joint dating advice column must be good enough to win and secure bragging rights within her small Taiwanese American community, where her family’s reputation has been in the pits since her older sister was disowned a few years prior. Juliana always thought prestige mattered above all else. But as she argues with Garrett over how to best solve everyone else’s love problems and faces failure for the first time, she starts to see fractures in this privileged, sheltered worldview. With the competition heating up, Juliana must reckon with the sacrifices she’s made to be a perfect daughter—and whether winning is something she even wants anymore.

Illustrated cover of The Lost Souls of Benzaiten. A teenage girl with long brown hair, a long-sleeved pink shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes has fallen in front of a torii. She is looking back over her shoulder at the torii, which has a glowing light behind it. All around the torii is a swirl of wind or maybe water, which has picked up several objects, including a book, a pair of koi, some playing cards, a book, and a sword. A person floats above the torii and its swirling objects. Their dark hair is pulled back, and they're wearing a plain light blue dress and pink shoes.The Lost Souls of Benzaiten by Kelly Murashige
Soho Teen

A fantastical and heartfelt debut, quirky and transportive, that follows a young outcast on a journey of transformation . . . into a robot vacuum cleaner.

“I wish to become one of those round vacuum cleaner robots.” That’s what Machi writes while praying at the altar of Japanese goddess Benzaiten. She writes it because ever since her two best friends Angel and Sunny decided they want nothing to do with her, Machi hasn’t been able to speak. After months and months of online school and seeing different therapists, Machi still hasn’t uttered a word, and she can no longer see the point of being human. But she doesn’t expect Benzaiten to actually hear her prayer, much less offer a to show Machi all the beauty of humanity, ultimately restoring her voice.

Benzaiten is enamored with the human world—possibly a little too enamored—and, as she’s the goddess of love, humanity is enamored right back. Being second-best to another friend isn’t helping Machi move past her trauma, and with each adventure they share, Machi is reminded of everything she’s lost. It isn’t until Machi starts interacting with the souls of the dead—a phenomena of spending so much time around a goddess—that she starts to understand pain can serve a purpose. And when she really stops to take a look around her, she realizes the potential for happiness, and for closure, has been there all along.

Illustrated cover of The Reckoning of Roku. A young Avatar Roku appears to be in a bending stance as there are flames flowing across the foreground. He has long dark his hair half up, with the rest moving in counterpoint to the flames. Behind him you can barely make out mountains, clouds, and birds in flight.The Reckoning of Roku by Randy Ribay
Amulet Books

From National Book Award finalist Randy Ribay comes a gripping new chapter—starring Avatar Roku—in the New York Times bestselling Chronicles of the Avatar series, set in the world of Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.

A young Avatar Roku has only just commenced his training at the Southern Air Temple when his erstwhile friend, Prince Sozin, requests his aid in preventing the Earth Kingdom from claiming a remote Fire Nation island. Despite his inexperience, Avatar Roku slips away with the help of an irritating young Airbender named Gyatso. As the reluctant companions delve deeper into their wayward mission, they begin to realize that even greater threats lie ahead. Plagued by self-doubt but eager to prove himself, Roku fights for his life and the lives of others while ensuring that the hidden secret of the island doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

This searing fifth installment in the Chronicles of the Avatar series explores the beginning of Roku’s journey from privileged Fire Nation noble to the powerful but indecisive Avatar whose hesitancy may ultimately pave the way for the Hundred Year War.