Happy President’s Day! Here are some of the new books out this week:
Books for Kids
Evolution for Smart Kids (Board Book) – Theories of evolution presented in story form.
Dream Big, Little Scientists – Introduces 11 branches of science in a bedtime story.
Friday Night Wrestlefest – A family gets ready for Friday night bedtime in the style of a televised wrestling match.
Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring – A boy and his dog on a walk notice the signs of spring. Part of a series.
The Music of Life – A composer with writer’s block is inspired by the sounds around him.
The Paper Kingdom – When the babysitter cancels, a boy has to go into work with his parents at night, but they turn the job into something magical and fun.
Tickled Pink: How Friendship Washes the World with Color – A flamingo is sad when a zebra and panda say they will only play with animals that are black and white. I’m eager to see this identity exploration in person.
Equality’s Call – Learn the history of voting rights.
God the Father and the Best Day Ever – A rhyming story about Easter and God’s love.
Frankie Sparks and the Lucky Charm – Book 4 in the awesome Frankie Sparks series. Frankie and her classmates build Leprechaun traps, but Frankie is having trouble with her designs.
Miss Blake Is a Flake! – My Weirder-est School, book 4. The kids learn survival from an odd scout leader.
Born Curious: 20 Girls Who Grew Up to Be Awesome Scientists – Brief biographies of female scientists and mathematicians.
Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults
The Fire in the Star – Book 3 in the Unicorn Quest series. Younger sister, Claire, finally gets a chance to lead in an adventure that might be their most important and dangerous yet.
Marvel Action: Spider-Man: Bad Luck (Graphic Novel) – Book 3 in the Marvel Action: Spider-Man series. Peter, Gwen and Miles are working together against a new villain and her bad luck powers.
Middle School: Master of Disaster – Book 12 in the Middle School series sees a team up between the stars of several Patterson series. Rafe and Jimmy are working on a huge celebration of books and reading when they team up with Jamie Grimm (I, Funny – ♥♥♥♥), Jacky Ha-Ha, the Kidd family (Treasure Hunters) and Max Einstein. I love the whole idea of this!
Star Wars Adventures: Defend the Republic (Graphic Novel) – A prequel adventure. Collects issues 18-20.
Taylor Before and After – A story told in journal entries in two timelines – before and after a tragedy as a girl negotiates changes at home and at school. This sounds really good.
Zatanna and the House of Secrets – The latest graphic novel for kids from the folks at DC. Zatanna discovers some mysteries about her family and her home in this fun, magical story. I’ll be reviewing this one tomorrow.
A Black Woman Did That – A celebration of women of color in history.
The Feminist Agenda of Jemima Kincaid – A self-identified feminist who thinks prom is a prime example of the gender-based issues in her school finds herself on the planning team for the event. So she convinces the team to change things up this year. I have already requested this one from the library.
Foul Is Fair – A group of teen girls who tend to “rule the school” – and any other environment they find themselves in – experience something new and unexpected when they crash a party for a local prep school. But these girls know their power, and when one of their own is assaulted, they fight back with a vengeance. A bloody, violent and dark Macbeth retelling about rape. Sensitive readers should approach this one with care, but the reviews for this are overwhelmingly positive.
Miss You Love You Hate You Bye – When her strong, leader best friend starts cracking under the strain of family issues and develops an eating disorder, the quiet, blend-into-the-background best friend has to find a way to speak up.
Of Curses and Kisses – From the author of When Dimple Met Rishi and There’s Something About Sweetie (♥♥♥♥½) and the upcoming 10 Things I Hate About Pinky (June 2020). A princess and a lord from feuding families meet at boarding school where she is determined to make him love her and then break his heart for what his family has put her family through, but where he is just waiting for his cursed future. This is at the top of my list for this week.
The Seventh Sun – First in a new series based on Aztec and Mayan legends. A young prince feels unprepared to take the throne after his father’s death, and his family’s connection to the sun seems to be fading. He is presented with six noble women from which to choose his bride, but the gods seem to be working against the prince and the young woman he would choose – and they both know any woman not chosen will be sacrificed.
The Upside of Falling – A YA fake-relationship story! I love these! Tired of being hassled for not having a boyfriend, a girl claims she already has one. A guy nearby steps into the role so he too can get people off his case. What starts as pretend starts to feel pretty real when the two teens realize how much they have in common. I already have this one on hold at the library!
Books for Adults
Dead to the Last Drop (e-book, February 21) – Book 8 in the Killer Coffee Mystery series. When Roxi’s Aunt Maxi gets involved in community theater, Roxi gets involved in another murder. This is free to read for subscribers to the Kindle Unlimited program at the time of this writing.
Ghost-Spider, Volume 1: Dog Days Are Over (Paperback Graphic Novel) – Gwen Stacey travels from Earth-65 to the Prime Marvel Universe to go to school. This looks fascinating! I have been interested in this characters since the Spider-verse movie came out in 2018.
Harley Quinn & the Gotham Girls (Paperback Graphic Novel) – Five issue mini series. Catwoman steals something thinking she is helping the lion preserve only to find out she is working for Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.
Highway to Hel (e-book) – Book 2 in the Vikings of Virginia Mystery series. When the goddess of the underworld shows up in Freya’s town, she figures she’s just there to check out the Asgardian retirees. But then Loki goes missing and it’s obvious Hel is up to something. I am SO intrigued by this series! I have book 1 waiting on my TBR. Both books are free to read for Kindle Unlimited subscribers at the time of this writing.
Isaiah’s Legacy (Trade Paperback) – A young girl tutoring the child-King Manasseh starts steering him away from obedience to Yahweh. The king’s road to ruin starts to take her with him and leads her to seek out Yahweh for herself and her people.
Lawless Litter (e-book, February 20) – Book 11 in the Pet Whisperer series. A litter of kittens is left on the porch, their paws covered in blood. This cozy mystery series looks so fun!
Queen of Raiders (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Nine Realms series. The exiled princess is compelled by spirits to join a group of rebel raiders.
Here for It: How to Save Your Soul in America (Hardcover) – A memoir-in-essays exploring identity as well as the current political landscape, asking the question, “Why should we bother when everything only gets worse?” (LGBTQ+)
I Still Believe (Trade Paperback) – A memoir by Jeremy Camp. Christian singer Jeremy Camp shares his journey of losing his first wife months after their wedding.
Loving Well in a Broken World: Discover the Hidden Power of Empathy (Trade Paperback) – Jesus said to love our neighbors, but that would be a lot easier if they thought and believed and acted just like us. Readers can learn to leverage their empathy to help us put Jesus’ words into practice.
Star Trek Voyager: 25th Anniversary Special Book (Hardcover) – A celebration of the 25th anniversary of the science fiction show.