New Releases

New Releases

Posted onAuthorAudrey
Collage of the covers for When Haru Was Here, The Unfinished, and Celestial Monsters. All are described in more details in the post.

This month is starting off with a huge spread of books! There’s something for just about everyone here. Which books are on your TBR list?

Illustrated cover for Celestial Monsters. Two teenage boys with light brown skin are looking at each other. The one in the back has short, curly black hair and large, green feathered wings that are half open. In front of him is a boy with longer black hair tied back and shaved sides. They're looking at each other fondly, and the boy with wings is touching the other boy's raised arm and has positioned his other hand like he's about to cradle the other boy's head. They're both wearing similar black clothes, like uniforms, only the boy without wings has a crop top version and gold bracers on his arms.Celestial Monsters (The Sunbearer Duology #2) by Aiden Thomas
Feiwel & Friends

Teo never thought he could be a Hero. Now, he doesn’t have a choice.

The sun is gone, the Obsidian gods have been released from their prison, and now chaos and destruction are wreaking havoc on Reino del Sol. All because Teo refused to sacrifice a fellow semidiose during the Sunbearer Trials.

With the world plunged into perpetual night, Teo, Aurelio and Niya must journey to the dark wilderness of Los Restos, battling vicious monsters while dealing with guilt, trauma, and a (very distracting) burgeoning romance between Teo and Aurelio. Once more racing against the clock, the trio are determined to rescue the captured semidioses and retrieve the Sol Stone. With it, Sol and their protective light can return and order can be restored.

Now the future of the whole world is in their hands.

Illustrated cover for God Flare. The cover features a prominent yellow and blue sketch of a bald person with their head tilted back and mouth open as if they're shouting. Their eyes are a pure, blank white. The background is black and gray, and it frames the person's head almost like a halo.God Flare (The Reckoner Rises #3) written by David Alexander Robertson & illustrated by Scott B Henderson
HighWater Press

Cole and Eva are reunited once more. A new terror looms as Mihko Laboratories latest human experiments are about to be unleashed. Cole is on the long road to recovery, but he’s still struggling with survivor’s guilt. He must stay focused as he, Eva, and their friends prepare for the final showdown with Mihko.

After the events of Version Control, Brady’s mind is fractured, and he can’t distinguish between what really happened and what Mikho made him believe. Eva and Cole may have to face this terrifying threat without him. It’s a grim prospect, but a new discovery might just change everything: God Flare.

Will Brady recover enough to join the fight? Can Cole come to terms with his abilities in spite of his PTSD? And will God Flare help even the odds against Mihko?

God Flare is the latest volume in the Reckoner Rises series from best-selling author David A. Robertson.

Illustrated cover of Guava and Grudges. Two teenagers stand close together at a bakery counter, smiling at each other. The boy is wearing an open blue button up and white undershirt, and he has a black camera in his hands. The girl is wearing a white t-shirt and pink apron while she forms some pastries.Guava and Grudges by Alexis Castellanos
Bloomsbury

Ana Maria Ybarra dreams of becoming a world-famous pastry chef, but dreams have a cost. Her family can barely keep the family business running, let alone pay for culinary school. Ana Maria helps out at the family bakery, Café Y Mas, whenever she can, but they are struggling while the rival Cuban bakery across the street, Morales Bakery, is doing better than ever with their Instagram famous desserts. Ana Maria’s only hope is winning a recipe competition, which has a grand prize big enough to pay for culinary school. But then the ultimate distraction shows up in her small town: Miguel, a boy she spent one magical day with six months ago, and who she never thought she’d see again. Ana Maria thinks maybe fate has brought them together again for a reason– until she learns the horrible truth that Miguel is a Morales.

A Ybarra cannot be associated with a Morales-let alone fall for one. But when Miguel offers to help Ana Maria with the competition, she is so desperate to win she can’t turn him down. All she needs to do is keep Miguel at arm’s length and keep their deal a secret from their families. After all, teaming up with Miguel is just business, nothing more…right?

Illustrated cover of Immortal Dark. The cover is dominated by a dark brown hand that loosely holds what looks like an old-fashioned university building. The building and the hand are composed of a bunch of different colors of lines and scribbles when you look closely, giving them both an ephemeral appearance. There are a few red lines that are quite solid, though, and hang out of the front doors on the building like they are blood dripping down the wrist. Immortal Dark (Immortal Dark Trilogy #1) by Tigest Girma
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

The Cruel Prince meets Ninth House in this dangerously romantic dark academia fantasy, where a lost heiress must infiltrate an arcane society and live with the vampire she suspects killed her family and kidnapped her sister.

It began long before my time, but something has always hunted our family.

Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the arcane society she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the very vampire bound to their family, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.

To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires and inherit their family legacies. Kidan must survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything he can to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs.

When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat—and June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires.

Illustrated cover of Little Moons. An Ojibwe teenager follows small, multicolored lights into the forest. She is wearing a hoodie, jeans, and sneakers, and her long hair is pulled back into a single braid that goes her waist. The forest is dark, and the full moon hangs low overhead.Little Moons written by Jen Storm & illustrated by Ryan Howe
HighWater Press

In this moving graphic novel, thirteen-year-old Reanna grieves the loss of her older sister. Can she find comfort through her family’s Ojibwe traditions?

It’s been a year since Reanna’s sister, Chelsea, went missing on her way home from school. Without any idea of what happened, Reanna and her family struggle to find closure.

Driven from their home by memories, Reanna’s mom moves to the big city. Left behind on the reserve, Reanna and her little brother go to live with their dad.

Reanna is hurt and angry that her mom has run away. She feels lonely, abandoned… but she is not alone. Lights turn on in empty rooms, and objects move without being touched.

There are little moons everywhere.

Illustrated cover of One Last Chance to Live. The cover is a single sheet of lined notebook paper with the title scribbled in all caps block letters. One teal and one purple ball point pen have both had their caps removed and been snapped in half. Their ink spills across the page.One Last Chance to Live by Francisco X. Stork
Scholastic Press

What would you do if you had one last summer to live?

Nico has always believed in his dreams. Especially the dream he has of becoming a writer; it’s the reason why he started taking a creative writing class his senior year of high school. But then Nico has a dream about his own funeral. A dream that feels too real to ignore.

In it, Rosario is beckoning to him. Rosario was Nico’s neighbor, his best friend’s girlfriend, and his inspiration. She was also the girl that Nico was in love with. And Rosario died last year.

Nico becomes obsessed with figuring out what Rosario was trying to say to him, and how she died. Surely if he can make sense of her death, he can find a way to prevent his own?

But at the same time, Nico’s mom is sick, and his brother is falling down a bad path with a local gang. Nico knows it’s on him to step up and take care of his family — but how can he keep it together when, like Rosario, he sees how easy it might be to just let go of it all.

This searingly beautiful and hopeful novel is about the search for a life of meaning and creativity, while also accepting the flawed life that we’re given. It’s a love story between a teen boy and the girl who still haunts his dreams.

Illustrated cover of A Second Chance on Earth. A teenage boy with medium length brown hair lounges on the hood of a taxi, one knee drawn up and a green book lying next to him. The taxi driver is another teenage boy, wearing a sports jersey, and he has a buzz cut. They're both looking off to the distance. Along the left side and top of the cover are illustrations of brightly colored buildings. A Second Chance on Earth by Juan Vidal
Holiday House

Have you ever encountered a book that KO’d you, Iron Mike Tyson style? One that hit you square in the face and heart like some abracadabra casting a hex from an unknown planet?

For sixteen-year-old poet and b-baller Marcos Cadena, that book is the beat-up copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude he finds among his late father’s possessions after Papi is killed in an accident.

Marcos’ papi has always loomed large in his eyes. So, when Marcos travels to his parents’ childhood home of Cartagena, Colombia to spread Papi’s ashes, he brings his father’s book with him, convinced that Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece holds the key to understanding Papi’s life and accepting his death.

In Cartagena, Marcos befriends eighteen-year-old Camilo, a taxi driver and fellow García Márquez fan who appoints himself Marcos’ unofficial tour guide. Together, the two boys explore the landscape of Cartagena, from the picturesque streets of Old Town to the poor neighborhood where Camilo grew up. But when Camilo reveals a troubling secret from his past, Marcos must ask himself whether everyone deserves a second chance.

Woven through with themes of friendship, family, and forgiveness, this poignant novel in verse is also a love letter to Colombia and to the books of Gabriel García Márquez.

Illustrated cover of Shadows of Perl. An opulent gold crown dominates the cover. It is covered with gorgeous gemstones in an a wide range of colors. The crown appears to be set on a black laurel, and wisps of smoke are coming off the top of the crown.Shadows of Perl (House of Marionne #2) by J. Elle
Razorbill

Unleash the darkness. Claim your power.

Quell Marionne’s explosive final Rite of Induction to House Marionne sent shockwaves through the magical world, unearthing long buried secrets and her own deadly power. But she paid a steep price: her family and her love. Fleeing Chateau Soleil for House of Perl, for once Quell is celebrated instead of shunned. She has finally found somewhere to belong. But secrets lurk in every House, and Quell’s quest to find her mom threatens to lead her deeper into the shadows.

Assassin Jordan Wexton, second-in command of the Dragun brotherhood, must protect the source of all magic, the Sphere. Yet the biggest threat to the Sphere is Quell Marionne—the girl he loved, until she claimed the deadly, outlawed toushana. As the Sphere cracks and war brews among the Houses, can the only way to save the world be to kill his own heart?

Now, these two lovers-turned enemies must confront their competing ambitions and conflicting loyalties. Or die. The future of magic hangs on their decision.

Illustrated cover for The Unfinished. A teenage Kanien’kéha:ka (Mohawk) girl is waist deep in eerie black water. She appears to be in a forest around sunset. She has long, dark brown hair and is wearing a white tank top and a long necklace. Just over her shoulder is a tall, shadowy figure.The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs
Heartdrum

In this debut YA horror novel by Cheryl Isaacs (Mohawk), small-town athlete Avery is haunted by the black water and Unfinished beings of Kanyen’kehá:ka stories and must turn to the culture she hasn’t felt connected to in order to save her town.

The black water has been waiting. Watching. Hungry for the souls it needs to survive.

When small-town athlete Avery’s morning run leads her to a strange pond in the middle of the forest, she awakens a horror the townspeople of Crook’s Falls have long forgotten.

Avery can smell the water, see it flooding everywhere; she thinks she’s losing her mind. And as the black water haunts Avery—taking a new form each time—people in town begin to go missing.

Though Avery had heard whispers of monsters from her Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) relatives, she’s never really connected to her Indigenous culture or understood the stories. But the Elders she has distanced herself from now may have the answers she needs.

When Key, her best friend and longtime crush, is the next to disappear, Avery is faced with a choice: listen to the Kanyen’kehá:ka and save the town but lose her friend forever…or listen to her heart and risk everything to get Key back.

In her stunning debut, Cheryl Isaacs pulls the reader down into an unsettling tale of monsters, mystery, and secrets that refuse to stay submerged.

Cover for Wednesday: A Novelization of Season One. Wednesday Addams stands staring straight at the viewer with her arms crossed. She appears to be in a dark attic space, but there is a spideweb design circular window behind her with light streaming through it and backlighting her. She has her hair in two pigtail braids and is wearing a black dress with a large white collar. Wednesday: A Novelization of Season One by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Random House Books for Young Readers

Return to the hallowed halls of Nevermore Academy with Wednesday Addams in this delightfully dark novelization of season one of the hit show, Wednesday!

Wednesday is a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ time as a student at Nevermore Academy. Follow along with her as she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore Academy. Relive the excitement and intrigue in this amazing novelization of the phenomenal first season.

Based on the characters created by Charles Addams.

Illustrated cover of When Haru Was Here. A teenage boy sits sideways on a wooden park bench, with his head resting on the thigh of another teenage boy who is sitting on the back of the bench. That boy looks like is stroking the first boy's hair, but he is also semi-translucent. They are surrounded by blossoms, and petals are floating off in the wind. The sky makes it look like it is either approaching sunrise or sunset.When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao
Wednesday Books

We Are Okay meets Wandavision in this novel about loss, and learning to let go.

After the death of his best friend, Eric Ly creates imaginary scenarios in his head to deal with his grief. Until one of them becomes real when a boy he met last summer in Japan finds his way back into his life. When he least expects it, Haru Tanaka walks into the coffee shop and sits down next to him. The only thing is, nobody else can see him.

In a magical turn of events, Eric suddenly has someone to connect with, making him feel less alone in the world. But as they spend more and more time together, he begins to question what is real. When he starts losing control of the very thing that is holding him together, Eric must finally confront his reality. Even if it means losing Haru forever.