We have three releases on our radar for today! Which ones will you be taking a closer look at?
Heiress of Nowhere by Stacey Lee
Sarah Barley Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
1918. Orcas Island, Washington.
Lucy Nowhere has spent her eighteen years working on the vast estate of the eccentric shipbuilder who took her in after she washed ashore in a green canoe as a baby. But she has long wished for a life off the island, and in a matter of days, she is set to leave for college—and, for the first time, choose her own future.
Then she finds her employer’s severed head on the beach. Rumors swirl that a mischievous spirit and its minions, the sea wolves, have struck again. Lucy doesn’t believe in myths. She knows that a human—a human murderer—killed him. And when she is unexpectedly named heiress to the estate, she understands the next target is her.
Her closest friend, the estate’s vigilant young guard, begs her to escape while she can. But Lucy knows the only way she can discover who she is, and free the island of its curse, is to find the real killer—before she becomes the next victim.
One Word, Six Letters by Adib Khorram
Henry Holt & Company
Freshmen Dayton and Farshid couldn’t be more different—or so it seems.
When Dayton takes a dare and shouts the f-slur at a visiting author during a school event, it sets off a chain reaction that forces both boys to face parts of themselves they’d rather ignore.
Dayton, grappling with the fallout of his actions, faces rejection from his friends, disappointment from his parents, and a growing awareness of the harm he’s caused. Meanwhile, Farshid is left to untangle his own feelings—about himself and about the quiet struggle of coming to terms with his queerness in a world steeped in heteronormativity.
As their lives unexpectedly intersect, Dayton and Farshid must reckon with what kind of men they want to become and whether they have the courage to defy toxic masculinity and societal expectations.
Prodigal Tiger by Samantha Chong
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
For five years, Caroline Chua has lived in exile from her home and family in Malaysia at a magical academy in New York City–far enough away that she can’t hurt the people she loves. That is until she is abruptly summoned home in an emergency—her beloved older brother, Aaron, who is next in line to become the Protector of the Island, has vanished. And now back in Penang, she can’t help but notice that things don’t feel the same as they once did and it’s unclear if she’s changed, or the island.
Despite her family’s desire to keep her close and the Council’s explicit instructions to stay out of trouble, stubborn, self-sufficient Caroline is hell-bent on saving her brother with or without anyone’s help. But when it turns out that Aaron has been kidnapped by vengeful ghosts with a centuries-old grudge, even Caroline must admit she’s in over her head and will need the help of the friends she had abandoned, including her first love, J.J.
The ghosts’ goals are simple: break the barriers between the ghost and mortal realms during the Hungry Ghost Festival using Aaron to take the island’s magic, and cement their rightful place as the true—albeit dead—rulers of the island. With only seven days before the barrier weakens, Caroline is in a race against time to save her brother. But as enemies stack up, always one step ahead, Caroline can’t help but wonder if she’s strong enough for this battle. Or is she doomed to repeat the mistakes that sent her away all those years ago?
PRODIGAL TIGER is a rich, cinematic celebration of Malaysian magic and folklore, as well as an emotional exploration of never quite feeling like your whole self after living in the diaspora.