A good slew of books out this week. Excited for them all.
Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide by Pablo Leon
HarperAlley
In this moving intergenerational tale perfect for fans of Messy Roots and Illegal, Eisner-nominated creator Pablo Leon combines historical research of the Guatemalan Civil War with his own experiences as a Guatemalan immigrant to depict a powerful story of family, sacrifice, survival, and hope.
Langley Park, Maryland, 2013
Brothers Jose and Charlie know very little about their mother’s life in Guatemala, until Jose grows curious about the ongoing genocide trial of Efrain Rios Montt. At first his mother, Clara, shuts his questions down. But as the trial progresses, she begins to open up to her sons about a time in her life that she’s left buried for years.
Peten, Guatemala, 1982
Sisters Clara and Elena hear about the armed conflict every day, but the violence somehow seems far away from their small village. But the day the fight comes to their doorstep, the sisters are separated and are forced to flee through the mountains, leaving them to wonder…Have their paths diverged forever?
War Widow (Blood Scion #2) by Deborah Falaye
Harper Teen
SPREAD THE FLAME, FOLASHADÉ. LET THEM BURN.
Though Sloane escaped Avalon with Baba and the surviving members of the Blades, her journey to Ilé-Orisha – the Shadow Rebels’ hidden fortress – has just begun.
There, she plans to rally the Rebels in a war against her father, Theodus Sol, the new Seer King, before he begins the extermination of every Scion and Yoruba in Nagea. But instead of finding hope at Ilé-Orisha, Sloane stumbles into a massacre, ordered by Theodus himself.
To save her people, Sloane will have to join forces with the only beings capable of defeating the powerful king – the Orisha gods. Millenia after the deities were imprisoned by an ancient enemy, Sloane has just one chance to bring back the Orishas before Theodus succeeds in wiping out her people for good.
Livewire (Valiant Universe #1) by Sarah Raughley
Blackstone Publishing/Blackstone Audio Inc.
A brand-new Valiant origin story, Livewire is a fun, riveting sci-fi novel with a compelling romance at its core.
Amanda McKee is a psiot, an evolved subspecies of humanity with mysterious psychic powers. According to billionaire Toyo Harada and his secret research organization, the Harbinger Foundation, she has the ability to talk to machines, control technology, and even see into a secret parallel world that exists inside the Digital World. But Harada wants Amanda to keep that last bit under wraps—along with the fact that she’s his adopted daughter.
But when a man from the twenty-seventh century named Matsuoka Sho appears, intent on killing her to save his future, she realizes her days of hiding who she really is are over. Especially after Matsuoka gives her an ominous “One day, you and Toyo will destroy humankind.” At first, Amanda doesn’t want to believe it. But when techno-soldiers from the future kidnap her father and drag him into the Digital World, she has no choice but to follow. Going into the Digital World with her hot, time-traveling frenemy and fighting off mecha soldiers with her psiot powers? That’s one thing. But can she handle learning the truth about who Toyo Harada really is?
Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Ever since Lucy Smith’s father died five years ago, “home” has been more of an idea than a place. She knows being on the run is better than anything waiting for her as a “ward of the state”. But when the sharp-eyed and kind Mr. Jameson with an interest in her case comes looking for her, Lucy wonders if hiding from her past will ever truly keep her safe.
Five years in the foster system has taught her to be cautious and smart. But she wants to believe Mr. Jameson and his “friend-not-friend”, a tall and fierce-looking woman who say they want to look after her. They also tell Lucy the truth her father hid from her: She is Ojibwe; she has – had – a sister, and more siblings, a grandmother who’d look after her and a home where she would be loved.
But Lucy is being followed. The past has destroyed any chance at safety she had. Will the secrets she’s hiding swallow her whole and take away any hope for the future she always dreamed of?
When the past comes for revenge, it’s fight or flight.
Thorn Season #1 by Kiera Azar
Storytide
In the Kingdom of Daradon, a persecuted few are Wielders, in possession of a magical Spectre–a shimmering thread that can extend beyond their visible body to give a loving caress, pick a lock . . . even kill. Feared for this ability, Wielders have always been Hunted.
Alissa Paine, heiress and daughter of a Hunter family . . . is also a Wielder. At eighteen, Alissa knows she’s escaped execution thus far only due to painful self-control and the efforts of her beloved father.
Summoned to the harsh and glittering royal court for the debutante season, Alissa finds herself caught in a web of intrigue and betrayal—and caught between two equally dangerous men: one a brutal ruler with the handsome face of a fairy-tale prince, who would destroy her if he knew the truth—and the other a beguiling foreign ambassador with secret agendas of his own.
With the threat of discovery lurking around every corner—and romance becoming an increasingly dangerous temptation—Alissa will find that she has more to lose than her secrets. It’s Rose Season at the palace, but to survive she’ll need to become the most vicious of thorns. . . .
For the Rest of Us: 13 Festive Holiday Stories to Celebrate All Seasons edited by Dahlia Adler
Quill Tree Books
Fourteen acclaimed authors showcase the beautiful and diverse ways holidays are observed in this festive anthology. Keep the celebrations going all year long with this captivating and joyful read!
From Lunar New Year to Solstice, Día de Los Muertos to Juneteenth, and all the incredible days in between, it’s clear that Americans don’t just have one holiday. Edited by the esteemed Dahlia Adler and authored by creators who have lived these festive experiences firsthand, this joyful collection of stories shows that there isn’t one way to experience a holiday.
With stories by:
Dahlia Adler, Sydney Taylor Honor winner of Going Bicoastal
Candace Buford, author of Good as Gold
A. R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy, authors of the Once & Future series
Preeti Chhibber, author of Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot
Natasha Díaz, award-winning author of Color Me In
Kelly Loy Gilbert, Stonewall Book Award winning author of Picture Us in the Light
Kosoko Jackson, USA Today bestselling author of The Forest Demands Its Due
Aditi Khorana, award-winning author of Mirror in the Sky
Katherine Locke, award-winning author of This Rebel Heart
Abdi Nazemian, Stonewall Book Award-winning author of Only This Beautiful Moment
Laura Pohl, New York Times bestselling author of The Grimrose Girls
Sonora Reyes, Pura Belpré Honor winner of The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School
Karuna Riazi, contributor to The Grimoire of Grim Fates