Happy August! Here are some of the new books releasing this week to kick off the back-to-school-somehow season.
Books for Kids
Quantum Physics for Smart Kids (Board Book) – A young scientist and her cat shrink down to discover the secrets of quantum physics.
The Best Worst Poet Ever – Cat and Pug get into a spat as they each try to have a poem-writing day.
Fussy Flamingo (August 7) – A young flamingo is eager for her pink feathers to come in, but she doesn’t want to eat shrimp.
LEGO A Not-So-Scary Monster – The mini-figure kid from I’m Fun, Too! is back with some LEGO monster friends.
No Fuzzball! – Fuzzball thinks her name is “No Fuzzball,” and when her family goes away for the weekend, she wonders if she should cause less trouble around the house. This looks darling!
Three Squeezes – A picture book about family
Eva in the Spotlight – Book 13 in the popular Owl Diaries series from Scholastic BRANCHES. Eva is disappointed when she isn’t chosen for the lead in the school play.
Grumpy Unicorn Hits the Road (Graphic Novel) – Book 2 in the Grumpy Unicorn series. When Grumpy Unicorn gets bored, he decides to go on a road trip to find adventure.
Itty Bitty Princess Kitty Star Showers – Book 4 in the series after The Puppy Prince (♥♥♥♥). A star shower is a once-in-a-lifetime event where people can wish on a star, but this time something goes wrong, and the wishes get mixed up.
Layla and the Bots Built for Speed – Book 2 in this new series from Scholastic BRANCHES. Layla and the bots help re-configure a go kart for a girl who uses a wheelchair.
The Snoring Princess – Book 4 in the Once Upon a Fairy Tale series from Scholastic BRANCHES. Kara and Zed have to find a missing princess before the 100 year old curse on her castle resets and starts over.
Sparks!: Double Dog Dare (Graphic Novel) – The sequel to Sparks! (♥♥♥♥½) The two cats who operate the robot superhero Sparks run into unexpected trouble when a look-alike dog starts making a bad name for Sparks.
Books for Older Kids/Teens
13 and 3/4 – Book 4 in the Friendship list series. Two friends create a bucket list for their first summer apart at different camps. This will be the final book in the series.
Avengers Assembly: Orientation – Ms Marvel, Spider-Man (Miles Morales), and Squirrel Girl team up in the first book of this new series from Marvel. Kamala is the new kid at the Avengers Institute and she’s eager to make her place by winning the academic decathlon with her new friends. This one is on my list for this week .
Cleopatra in Space: Queen of the Nile (Graphic Novel) – The 6th and final book in this great graphic novel series. It’s time for Cleo to fulfill her prophecy.
A Dog-Friendly Town – When a jewel-covered dog collar goes missing at his family’s bed and breakfast, Epic is on the case. This is on my list, too.
The Magic in Changing Your Stars – A special pair of tap shoes transports a boy to 1930s Harlem where he has a chance to help his own grandfather who is struggling in similar ways in his own time.
Paola Santiago and the River of Tears – New from Rick Riordan Presents. Ignoring her mother’s legends about a ghost woman prowling around the Gila River, Paola plans to meet friends at the river to do some star gazing, but one of her friends goes missing.
The Revenge of the Werepenguin – Sequel to The Curse of the Werepenguin. Adjusting to life as a werepenguin, Bolt is called on to help a friend defeat another werepenguin who has imprisoned his friend’s father.
Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure – Book 2 in Rowley’s spin off series from The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.
Teen Titans Go! to Camp – The Teen Titans are heading to summer camp. And their competition in the camp games are familiar foes.
That Time I Got Kidnapped (Older Middle Grade) – Sequel to How to Rob a Bank. Jacob has been chosen to be in the next Marvel movie, but on the bus across the country to his big break, he meets Jennifer who is on the run from a guy known as “the Cowboy” and is desperately guarding a mysterious package. This sounds fascinating!
Athletes Who Made a Difference: Colin Kaepernick – One of four books launching this graphic novel biography series this week. Other books focus on Serena Williams, Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson. These would be great classroom additions.
Who Was Celia Cruz? – The biography of a performer who was also a Cuban exile in America during Fidel Castro’s years in power.
Wonder Woman: The Way of the Amazons – An interactive history of Wonder Woman’s people, the Amazons.
Books for Teens/Young Adults
The Black Kids – As Ashley and her friends enjoy the final weeks of their senior year in the spring of 1992, four police officers are acquitted after beating Rodney King. The city of Los Angeles ignites while Ashely watches the ways it changes her community, her family, and her life as one of the “Black kids.” I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Bookish and the Beast – Book 3 in the Once Upon a Con series after the fantastic Geekerella and The Princess and the Fangirl (♥♥♥♥½). Vance Reigns, Hollywood royalty, is hiding from a tabloid scandal in a small town. Rosie lives in that small town, and when she and Vance cross paths and a rare book is accidentally destroyed, Rosie finds herself having to work off the debt. She also finds out that Vance is a jerk. Beauty and the Beast, anyone? This is at the top of my list for the week.
The Game – Described as a mash-up of Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders and Riverdale. The seniors at Lincoln High always play assassin. But this year, the deaths are all too real. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
The Good for Nothings – A ragtag group of prisoners sets off to find missing treasure rumored to grant immortality in order to expunge their leader’s criminal record. There’s definitely a Guardians of the Galaxy feel to this one, so obviously it’s on my list.
How to Live on the Edge – A young woman is living life on the edge in defiance of her family history of early death. She’s not even sure she wants to watch the videos her mother made for her before she died. But when her aunt, who has been a mother figure to her, has to prepare for a mastectomy, it raises questions about what it means to truly live. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
More Than Just a Pretty Face – As Danyal prepares for his school’s Renaissance Man competition, he wants to prove to his crush, and her family, that he is the right guy for her. But the more time he spends with Bisma, who is helping him prepare for the competition, he starts to wonder if love is actually closer than he thinks. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Salvation – The third and final book in the Sanctuary series about super-powered criminal teens who hold hostage a prison guard in training, but then have to partner with her when their space station is attacked by monstrous aliens with their sights set ultimately on Earth. This is definitely a series to read in order.
The Scam List – A new con novel from the author of Don’t Get Caught. A teen and his ex-girlfriend team up to save their parents’ business, one con at a time. I love con stories, so this is on my list.
Set Fire to the Gods – When Ash’s revenge plot pushes the fire and earth gods into a war that can only be resolved through gladiator games, Madoc’s ancient and unusual powers might be just what she needs, but he refuses to put his family in jeopardy by helping her.
Star Wars: Poe Dameron Free Fall – A novel about a young Poe Dameron, telling a story hinted at in The Rise of Skywalker. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
They Wish They Were Us – During Jill’s freshman year, her best friend was killed. The girl’s boyfriend confessed, and the case was closed. Three years later, when Jill is ready for the epic senior year she always dreamed of, she starts getting texts that her friend’s killer was not the boyfriend who confessed.
Books for Adults
Acceptable Risk (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Danger Never Sleeps series after Collateral Damage (which is on my TBR shelves). A military journalist and the Army Ranger who once saved her when she was taken hostage team up to get to the truth after her brother mysterious commits suicide. Yep, I would absolutely read that.
Chaos in Little Leaf Creek (e-book, August 6) – Book 1 in the Little Leaf Creek Mystery series. A grieving widow moves to find a fresh start and instead finds herself a murder suspect. At the time of this writing, this book is part of the Kindle Unlimited program which means subscribers can read it for free.
Deadly Drama (Trade Paperback) – Book 4 in the Britton Bay Mystery series. Molly is on the case again when the community theater director is murdered.
The Eighth Detective (Hardcover) – A math professor who once wrote a book of “perfect” detective stories is stunned to find an editor 30 years later who wants to re-publish his book. But as the editor digs into the stories to prepare them for republication, she notices inconsistencies that might be more than just mistakes. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
The Falcon Always Wings Twice (Hardcover) – Book 27 in the fabulous Meg Langslow Mystery series. This time, Meg’s grandmother is hosting a Renaissance Faire where Meg’s grandfather ends up a murder suspect when one of the actors – who mistreated a rare falcon her grandfather was protecting – is found dead. Meg Langslow PLUS a Renaissance Faire? Sign. Me. Up. I’ll be reviewing this one soon. There is also a Christmas book scheduled for later this year – The Gift of the Magpie – that is also on my reading list for 2020.
The Friendship List (Hardcover) – Two women who feel they might be “stuck” in life agree to check items off a bucket list that is supposed to help them live their best lives. I have this on my list for this week, too.
The Last Mrs. Summers (Hardcover) – Book 14 in the terrific Royal Spyness Mystery series. I’m way behind on this series, but I used to get these from the library all the time. This time, Georgiana is helping a friend inspect a cottage she inherited when there’s a murder at the estate where they are staying. This sounds like a twisty story!
The Lions of Fifth Avenue (Hardcover) – In 1913, a young wife and mother discovers a “radical” women’s group which leads her to question her life and the ways she assumed she had to fulfill her roles. In 1993, the young wife and mother’s granddaughter is struggling with her own questions as she stumbles across family secrets. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
The Love Scam (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Danger series after Danger, Sweetheart. A wealthy bachelor wakes up hungover, thousands of miles from home with no memory of how he got there, no wallet, and an empty bank account. What he does have is a stranger claiming to be his long-lost daughter. If only the gorgeous woman who brought this “daughter” his way would help him figure out what is going on. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Mockingbird’s Song (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Amish Greenhouse Mystery series. A grieving widow and her grieving mother struggle to recover from their tragic losses while their family greenhouse is under attack.
Murder in the East End (Trade Paperback) – Book 4 in the Below Stairs Mystery series which kicks off with Below Stairs (♥♥♥♥). Kat, a young cook, is sleuthing again when she learns that children from the local foundling hospital are disappearing and one of the nurses there has been murdered,
Penned In (e-book) – Book 5 in the Farm-to-Fork Mystery series. A team-building lock-in at a spooky old penitentiary turns into a real-life murder mystery for Angie and her friends.
Space Between Worlds (Hardcover) – It is possible to travel to a parallel universe as long as you don’t already exist in the place where you travel. A young woman whose other selves have a habit of dying young becomes the perfect multiverse traveler. But when another of her doubles dies on her world, this Cara is pulled into a plot that could put the entire multiverse in danger. This one is on my list for this week, too.
Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop (Trade Paperback) – A young woman who has the power to see the future in tea leaves jumps at the chance to flee from her gifts and find a change of scenery, but her move to Paris only takes her deeper into her gifts. This sounds fascinating.
The Vinyl Detective: Low Action (Trade Paperback) – Book 5 in the Vinyl Detective series. The Vinyl Detective is back, trying to figure out who wants the guitar player from a punk band dead. The suspect list is long and includes every person from the band’s past, except the bass player. Because she is already dead. I haven’t read any of these, but this one sounds spectacular!
You Had Me at Hola (Trade Paperback) – The new stars of a bilingual romantic comedy bring plenty of baggage to their onscreen – and off-screen – relationship. This sounds interesting, too.
Slow Cooker Soups: A Cookbook of Comforting Recipes You Can Prep and Forget (Paperback) – Just in time for fall soup season. “Prep and forget” are some of my favorite words when it comes to cooking. At the time of this writing, this book is part of the Kindle Unlimited program which means subscribers can read it for free.
What’s Your Enneatype? An Essential Guide to the Enneagram: Understanding the Nine Personality Types for Personal Growth and Strengthened Relationships (Paperback) – I loved this new Enneagram resource! You can see my full review here.