Happy April! Hope you had a wonderful Passover or Easter (if you celebrate). Here are some of the books kicking off the new month of reading:
Books for Kids
The Little Butterfly That Could – A companion picture book to The Very Impatient Caterpillar (♥♥♥♥). A butterfly learns to persevere through migration challenges.
Labstah Gahden – Two rival lobsters team up to protect their ocean homes when pollution impacts their gardens.
Summer Adventure for Groot! – Rocket and Groot work to incorporate as much fun into their summer vacation as possible.
Max Meow Cat Crusader: Donuts and Danger – Book 2 in the Max Meow series. When Max and Mindy’s evil doubles show up, they cause lots of trouble, but the real Max and Mindy take the blame.
The Secret Explorers and the Smoking Volcano – Book 6 in the Secret Explorers series. Readers get to join Cheng, the volcano expert on the team, in this book where the kids go to watch an eruption and end up on a rescue mission.
She Persisted: Virginia Apgar – An early chapter book biography of the woman who developed the Apgar test for newborn babies.
The Story of Jackie Robinson – An early chapter book biography of Jackie Robinson.
Books for Older Kids/Teens
Almost There and Almost Not (Older Middle Grade) – California has been dropped off with yet another unsuspecting relative, her great-aunt, Monica, who tries to keep California busy by having her research a somewhat-famous relative. A relative that is now a temperamental ghost.
Aru Shah and the City of Gold – Book 4 in the mythology-based Pandava series. Aru and her sisters are searching for their lost mentors in the City of Gold before war breaks out.
Avengers Assembly: Sinister Substitute – Doreen (Squirrel Girl) and her friends team up when a new group of teachers at their super school – including some that seem like super villains – makes it easy for some troublemakers to create chaos.
Buster – Buster is called into Dog Court for breaking their most sacred rule – showing humans how smart they are, including talking to one. But Buster is a therapy dog, and he’s willing to break the rules to help his boy, Tonio.
Dear DC Super-Villains – A companion to Dear Justice League. Kids ask DC villains questions about their lives.
Fearless – First in a new series. Monica has moved to Broadway for her big break, but the theater where she is understudy is in danger of closing. When problems start plaguing their production, Monica and her new friends start looking for a way to break the theater’s curse. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
The Great Peach Experiment: When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie – Now that they are millionaires, the Peach family is planning to travel the country in a food truck, selling pies. Except none of them knows how to bake. This is at the top of my wish list for this week!
The Last Kids on Earth: Tales from the Tree House (Graphic Novel) – A short story collection from the Last Kids on Earth series, in a graphic novel format. Includes 6 short stories from their monster/zombie adventures and a set up for book 7 releasing later this year.
The Messengers – Book 3 in the Greystone Secrets series. The Greystones’ friends in the alternate world send mysterious coins to signal that they need help.
Squad Goals – Magic heads to cheer camp hoping for some help in following in the footsteps of her family members who are legends in sports circles. But when it seems Magic didn’t inherit any of her family’s athletic talent, and a group of mean girls try to bring her down, she’ll need her new crew of misfits to make the most of Planet Pom Poms camp.
Switched – When Parker has to dog sit his sister’s chaotic goldendoodle, Boof, the dog does not exactly fit into the orderly life Parker is trying to arrange for himself. And then, when a game of tug-of-war goes awry, Boof and Parker switch bodies.
Thornwood – Book 1 in the Sisters Ever After series. Everyone knows the story of Sleeping Beauty. Briony has been watching her older sister, Rosalin, wait for the curse to kick in as they are powerless to stop it. But when Briony wakes up, it’s up to her to find out what is really going on and save her family and her kingdom. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Unicorn Famous (Graphic Novel/Comics Collection) – Book 13 in the fabulous Phoebe and her Unicorn series.
Whatever After: Good as Gold – Book 14 in the Whatever After series. Abby and Jonah find themselves in the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
History Smashers: Titanic – Book 4 in the History Smashers series from Kate Messner. Read the fascinating truths about the Titanic!
The Outdoor Scientist: The Wonder of Observing the Natural World – By Dr. Temple Grandin. Includes 40 projects for readers to try to learn about the world around us.
What Is the Story of Alice in Wonderland? – The history of Alice in Wonderland.
Books for Teens/Young Adults
The Cost of Knowing – A teen who has visions of the future sees something about his brother that sends him into a tailspin. I reviewed this last week. It’s one I highly recommend. You can read my review here.
The Flipside of Perfect – AJ is a controlled, high achieving student at a prestigious high school. Della spends her summers in Florida, footloose, fancy free, and wild. In reality, though, AJ and Della are the same girl, and when AJ’s sister crashes her summer in Florida, the dual life she lives gets a lot more complicated. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Go the Distance – A Twisted Tale, the 11th in the series, based on the Disney movie Hercules. By Jen Calonita. Once Hercules recovers his godship, Meg is told she can’t be with him because she is just a mortal. But Hera gives her a chance to become a goddess and get her happily ever after.
Hello Cruel Heart – The story of a teen Cruella de Vil. (There has been some negative buzz around the idea – not necessarily this book – of an origin story to humanize a villain like Cruella, so YMMV on this one.)
House of Hollow – Three sisters who disappeared for a month as children returned with no memory of their time away. And then they started to change. Now, 10 years later, when the youngest is trying to finish high school, one of her older sisters goes missing, leaving bizarre clues behind. The full description of this is SO intriguing! I have this one on hold at the library already.
The Infinity Courts – Nami has finished high school and has her whole future ahead of her, but she is murdered before she can explore any of it. Then she discovers that an Earth AI has taken over the afterlife as a queen, forcing the dead into servitude. This is on my list, too.
Kisses and Croissants – A girl who longs to be a professional ballerina encounters a ruthless rival, a cruel instructor, and love during her summer of study in Paris.
The Murder Game – Luke was only looking for a hook up in the woods that night, not finding a dead body and investigating whether his roommate might be a murderer. Fans of prep school stories might try this one out.
Pride and Premeditation – First in a new Jane Austen Murder Mystery series. Aspiring lawyer Lizzy Bennet goes looking for a murderer in order to prove herself to the doubters like that awful Fitzwilliam Darcy. I’m not an Austen fan, but the murder mystery element grabbed my attention. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
The Sky Blues (LGBTQ+) – A gay teen decides to go all out for his senior year and plans the perfect promposal for his crush. But when an anonymous hacker exposes the plan, the whole school chips in to expose the perpetrator. I have this one on hold at the library, too.
The Spy Who Raised Me (Graphic Novel) – A teen with gaps in her memory discovers she has been secretly trained to be a spy. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good – A serious girl with a serious boyfriend with serious plans for his life ducks out for a night of nerdy fun at Dragon Con. I am here for any fan convention story, so I will be tracking this one down.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask – A young readers edition of a book about Native Americans, including pieces about social activism and racism.
Books for Adults – Fiction
All that Really Matters (Trade Paperback) – A social media influencer who wants a new gig on a makeover show decides to pad her resumé with some service work with kids aging out of foster care. And the experience changes her perspective. This is on my list for this week, too.
Animal Instinct (Hardcover) – Book 2 in the K-Team series by David Rosenfelt. Corey and the K-Team investigate a murder that ties to a case Corey worked when he was with the police. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Big Little Spies (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 7 in the Paws & Claws mystery series. Holly is sleuthing when a pet detective is found dead while on the case of a missing pup.
Blackberry Beach (Trade Paperback) – Book 7 in the Hope Harbor series. A grieving coffee shop owner and his secretive new neighbor team up to rehab a home for foster children, and they find love.
Checking Out Crime (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 9 in the delightful Bookmobile Cat Mystery series. Minnie thinks she and Eddie have come across the victim of a hit and run, but when they start investigating, the case just gets more and more complicated.
Deadly Editions (Hardcover) – Book 6 in the Scottish Bookshop Mystery series. Delaney is drawn into a treasure hunt with a grand prize of a first edition of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But she didn’t count on a string of robberies, a kidnapping, or a murder being connected to the game.
The Duke Undone (Trade Paperback) – A young artist stumbles across an unconscious, naked man in an alley, so she calls for help. But when she can’t get him out of her mind, she paints him in all his glory. Then, when the rent comes due, she sells the painting. When the Duke of Weston gets word about the scandalous painting that could ruin him, he plans to buy it, burn it, and confront the painter. But when he meets Lucy, he is so captivated by her that he agrees to a scheme that could save them both.
The Intimacy Experiment (Trade Paperback) – The founder of a sex-positive start up and one of LA’s hottest bachelors – who happens to also be a rabbi of a struggling synagogue – team up to host a series on modern intimacy. She’s looking for a path to lecturing at the university level. He has three months to bring in enough congregants to save his synagogue. Neither of them expected to find love. This is such a quirky premise, I might have to check this one out!
Laid Out in Lavender (Trade Paperback) – Book 3 in the Garlic Farm Mystery series. An app developer turned farmer, Mabel is renting out the lavender field for weddings when one of the guests at a wedding is killed.
Life’s Too Short (Trade Paperback) – Book 3 in the Friend Zone series after The Friend Zone (♥♥♥♥½) and The Happy Ever After Playlist (♥♥♥♥½). Since her mother and sister never made it to 30, Vanessa is determined to live each day to the fullest. And she has millions of YouTube followers along for the ride. But Vanessa’s life philosophy never accounted for her half sister leaving Vanessa in charge of her baby daughter. I have absolutely adored the other two books in this series. I will definitely be picking those up for a re-read before diving into this one as soon as I can.
One Thing Leads to a Lover (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Love and Let Spy series after Who’s That Earl? which I have on my TBR pile. A widow looking for a little adventure comes into the possession of a mysterious book that puts her, and the spy who was supposed to receive it, in jeopardy. This is on my list, too.
Phantoms & Felonies (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Haunted Mansion Mystery series after Haunted Homicide (♥♥♥♥). Avery hopes to gain some new members for the Women’s Club by playing host to a local theater troupe, but when the lead is found dead, she and the Club’s ghost, Clemmie, are on the hunt for a murderer.
Star Wars: Skywalker, A Family at War (Hardcover) – A biography of the Skywalker family.
To Love and to Loathe (Trade Paperback) – Jeremy and Diana are so constantly at odds, no one is surprised when things escalate to a wager. Jeremy will wed within the year or Diana will owe him 100 pounds. But in private, Jeremy asks for a different sort of arrangement. His last mistress critiqued his skills in the bedroom. If Diana will help him out, he will improve and she can use the gossip to signal she is in the market for a lover. But they don’t count on this arrangement leading to real feelings between them.
Books for Adults – Nonfiction
Book of Hebrews Study (The Passion Translation – Paperback) – A study of the book of Hebrews.
Soundtracks (Hardcover) – The latest book from the fabulous Jon Acuff. Soundtracks are the messages we repeat to ourselves which can either lead to trouble or can be leveraged to help us achieve our goals. I am eager to read this one!
Woman Evolve: Breakup with Your Fears and Revolutionize Your Life (Hardcover) – Become the woman God intended through this look at Eve from the book of Genesis.