Here are some of the new books releasing this week! The slate of new YA books is especially fantastic. Be sure to check them out!
Books for Kids
Alien Tomato – When a red orb lands in the garden, the vegetables believe it is an alien tomato, while Gopher thinks it’s just a ball. The cover art is calling to me. I can’t wait to read this one!
Poesy the Monster Slayer – A girl fights monsters in her room at night. This looks darling.
A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster – Book 4 in the Sparkle series. Lucy loves the scary parts of Halloween, but she takes things too far for Sparkle who does NOT like being scared.
Rocket and the Perfect Pumpkin – A new adventure for Rocket the dog (How Rocket Learned to Read – ♥♥♥♥♥, Rocket Writes a Story – ♥♥♥♥♥) when his perfect pumpkin rolls away from him.
Viola Desmond: A Hero for Us All – Part of the Fearless Girls series of Early Readers. A biography of Viola Desmond, a Canadian Civil Rights activist.
Mia Mayhem Steals the Show! – Book 8 in the Mia Mayhem early chapter book series. Mia gets to play a superhero in a school play.
Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults
Babymouse Tales from the Locker: Curtain Call – Book 4 in the Babymouse Tales from the Locker series. This time, Babymouse tries out for the school play.
Danny Constantino’s First (and Maybe Last) Date – The latest from Paul Acampora. When Danny asks a local celebrity to the school dance, and she says yes, his whole life becomes something for public commentary. I’m looking forward to reading this one!
DC Super Hero Girls: Weird Science – Everyone is excited about the science fair except Zee Zatana who thinks nothing is as exciting as magic. I’ll be reviewing this one soon. You can read my reviews of other Super Hero Girl stories here.
Diana and the Island of No Return – A boy sneaks onto Themyscira and convinces Diana and her best friend to come back with him to his island where a demon has taken over his people and wants to capture Diana. I’ll be reviewing this tomorrow.
Something to Say – From the author of A Good Kind of Trouble. A girl who likes to stay invisible gets paired with a new kid at school for a debate he desperately wants to win. Which would be worse – speaking in public, or losing the first real friend she’s ever had? This is on my list for this week.
The Do-Over – Six months after she picks the popular guy over the best friend who has feelings for her, Emelia wonders if she made the right decision. So she finds a magical solution that will let her have a second chance. This sounds great!
The Fell of Dark (LGBTQ+) – A boy who hates living in a town that seems to attract all sorts of paranormal drama seems to be the only one who can help when a hot vampire comes to town warning of a terrible evil on the move. I’m curious to see if this is going to be campy or serious. Campy could be a lot of fun.
He Must Like You – A high school senior has hit her limit of thoughtless, selfish men in her life from her brother to her father to her hook up. But the last straw is the handsy harasser at work. He gets a pitcher of sangria dumped on his head. But then Libby has to deal with the fall out because the guy is a home town hero – and her mom’s boss. This is on my list, too.
The Invention of Sophie Carter – From the author of The Last Word. Orphaned twins are at the whims of their various relatives in Victorian England. When an aunt says she can only take in one of them for the summer in London, they decide to travel together, but take turns pretending to be one girl. This sounds amazing! It’s at the top of my list.
Keep My Heart in San Francisco – A teen teams up with her ex-best friend to infiltrate the local bowling scene and try to save her family’s bowling alley.
Running – When Mariana’s father, a US Senator, runs for President, it exposes their family to a whole new level of scrutiny, and shows Mariana that her father’s politics don’t line up with her own. This is on my list, too.
The Unstoppable Wasp: Built on Hope – An original novel based on the comic book series. Nadia Van Dyne is trying to put her days in the Red Room behind her and to embrace her new life and her new family. She struggles to keep all of the balls in the air, so when she’s gifted a virtual assistant, it seems like the best thing ever. But things aren’t always what they appear.
Books for Adults
How Sweet It Is (Trade Paperback) – Book 3 in the Legacy of Faith series. Jed heads to Boise to try and reconcile with his brother, and he rents a room from Holly who is trying to hold onto the restaurant she inherited now that her fiancé has abandoned her.
How to Save a Life (Trade Paperback) – Dom runs into his ex-fiancée and feels like it’s a second chance for them. When she dies on their date, he wishes for a chance to change things. That pushes him into a time loop where no matter what he tries, she still dies. But Dom is committed to trying everything for one chance to save her. An interesting twist on Groundhog Day. At the time of this writing, this book was available to Kindle Unlimited Subscribers to read for free.
Just Make Believe (Trade Paperback) – Book 3 in the Lady Adelaide Mystery series where there’s a murder at a week-long house party – and that’s only the beginning of the trouble there. Sounds great!
Murder at the Falls (e-book) – Creature Comforts Mystery, book 3. Perri and Babette take their therapy dogs to an upscale senior living facility, but the troubles they find there, including murder, will need more than just therapy dogs to solve.
Star Trek Discovery: Die Standing (Trade Paperback) – Book 7 in the Star Trek Discovery collection of original stories. (#4 – The Way to the Stars, #6 – Dead Endless: ♥♥♥♥) Mirror Universe Georgiou, forced to take refuge in the Star Trek universe and working for Section 31, gets a chance at a super weapon that escaped her in her own universe when a young Trill, Emony Dax, discovers it. As soon as I read that this would include a Dax, it went on my wish list!
A Sweet Mess (Trade Paperback) – A baker and a food critic have a one-night stand, but her happy memories of their time together are tainted by his scathing review of her shop. In order to save her business, she agrees to his mea culpa offer of a spot on the cooking show he is producing.
Get Wisdom Bible Studies: Leading Wherever You Are (Joshua) AND Living For What Really Matters (Philippians) AND Saying Yes in the Darkness (Psalms) (Trade Paperback) – Each of these is a 7 week Bible study from Nav Press. There’s a nice introduction to each book giving some background on the author as well as answering questions and giving information about Bible translations, using commentaries, etc. The only key resources needed are a Bible in a translation you like, a couple smart phone apps and internet access, a writing utensil and a quiet place to work. The sample pages I have seen include a conversational tone, some historical background information (something I like in a study), and questions with space to write answers. I think these look great!
The Leader in You: Discovering Your Unexpected Path to Influence (Trade Paperback) – The author brings both organizational and church leadership experience into this discussion of leadership and encouragement to find your God-given gifts to lead and serve. This sounds terrific!
Weep With Me: How Lament Opens a Door for Racial Reconciliation (Trade Paperback) – A discussion of lament, specifically as it relates to racial injustice and reconciliation, including prayers of lament.