It’s the last release week of June 2019. Let’s see what books are out this week.
Books for Kids
Bug Off! – When one girl keeps Maude from being able to join the Bug-of-the-Month Club, Maude is determined to deal with the girl’s rudeness – but not in the way anyone expects.
Can Cat and Bird Be Friends? – Can this traditional predator-and-prey pair really become friends?
Nugget & Fang Go to School – Sequel to the amazing Nugget & Fang: Friends Forever or Snack Time! This time the unlikely friends are off to school – but can a shark fit in at a minnow school? When I was teaching, the first book was always a hit with students. I can’t wait to see what happens with book 2.
Bruce’s Big Fun Day – Mother Bruce is back in a new Early Reader format. I can not wait to read this one!!
A Sea Otter to the Rescue (Tails from History) – In this non-fiction Early Reader, kids can read about the mother sea otter whose story led to protections for endangered species.
A Good Team – Book 2 in the Unicorn and Yeti series from Scholastic ACORN about two unusual friends.
Amelia Earhart and the Flying Chariot – Book 4 in the Time Twisters early chapter book series about historical figures. A time travel adventure with bits of history and a whole lot of crazy adventures. This time, Amelia Earhart lands in Ancient Greece, and the kids have to get her back on track for her flight across the Atlantic. This series sounds fantastic!
The Bad Guys in Big Bad Wolf – Book 9 in the Bad Guys series. The Big Bad Wolf has grown humongous and the Bad Guys have to deal with him AND an alien invasion. Such a FUN early chapter book series!
The Battle for Perodia – Book 6 in the Last Firehawk series from Scholastic BRANCHES.
The End of Orson Eerie? – Book 10 in the Eerie Elementary series from Scholastic BRANCHES has a Halloween/haunted house/ Fall Festival theme as Sam and his friends try to defeat Orson Eerie once and for all.
Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults
Artemis Fowl The Graphic Novel (New) – This is a NEW graphic novel adaptation of the series, launching in advance of the movie which releases in August.
Digging Deep – Book 4 in the Hoops series about a girl who gives up basketball in search of her passion.
Level 13 – Book 2 in the Slacker series from the fantastic Gordon Korman. An infamous slacker has found his calling – playing video games online in front of an audience. Too bad there are so many things getting in the way of his calling – like school and the club he never meant to start. This series is hard to describe – I haven’t even mentioned the beaver – but you cannot go wrong with a book by Gordon Korman.
The Problim Children: Carnival Catastrophe – Book 2 in the Problim Children series. The 7 Problim children are catching all the blame when a series of catastrophes strike the local carnival – and their mother has gone missing.
Harry Potter Origami – Fifteen projects including a dragon, an owl, a Howler and the castle. Includes specialty paper and notations of how difficult each pattern is to complete. On Amazon you can see a few of the patterns and see how the printed paper they provide will work to help you create each structure. This looks like great fun!
Better than the Best Plan – A teen who has been living on her own since her mom disappeared ends up in foster care when someone reports her living situation. She ends up back in the foster home where she was as a baby. She starts to wonder what her life would have been like if her mom hadn’t regained custody way back then. But now her old life and her new one are about to collide again.
Call It What You Want – The latest from the awesome Brigid Kemmerer! Two ostracized teens are thrown together for a class project and find in one another a person who understands them. I will be reviewing this one later this week.
The Evil Queen – First in the Forest of Good and Evil series. A teen raised in the mortal realm discovers she is a fairy tale princess – and fated to become Snow White’s nemesis, the Evil Queen. This is definitely on my wish list for this week!
The Virtue of Sin – A teen raised in New Jerusalem under the watchful eye of the founder and leader is obedient and quiet as expected. But when the life she expected to live in the community is not the path set before her, she finds her voice and starts to question everything she’s been told and everything she has believed.
Books for Adults
An American Duchess (Trade Paperback) – When a Duke marries a Colorado rancher, the new duchess has NO idea what she is doing in the English nobility. An unusual friendship with one of her maids gives both women a chance to open up about their hopes and dreams and help one another out with life’s ups and downs. This sounds lovely.
Andrew (Mass Market Paperback) – First in the new Petersheim Brothers series. A proper young Amish man is looking for the right woman to marry and settle down with. But the young woman who catches his attention wouldn’t be proper at all. Two years after leaving the community she is back, single and pregnant. As she refuses to hide in shame and ignores the whispers all around her, she stands out as a woman of grace and resilience. This is on my list for this week, too.
The Bookshop on the Shore (Hardcover) – A single mother takes a job in Scotland as a part time bookseller and an au pair for a widower’s three children who have become somewhat wild as they have been left to their own devices.
Clause & Effect (Hardcover) – Book 2 in the Deadly Edits mystery series. Mikki is working on a cold case that may be connected to the town’s bicentennial celebration 25 years ago.
Cross My Heart (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Legacy of Faith series. A couple discovers a lot of common ground between them from their upbringing to their love of horses. But his history of alcoholism and her experiences with her addicted brother could end up tearing them apart.
Decades: Marvel in the 90s – The Mutant X-plosion (Paperback Graphic Novel) – See how the X-Men franchise grew in the 1990s at Marvel.
Down in Flames (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 6 in the Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery series. This time Savannah is looking into a deadly hit and run that took place right outside her store.
Evvie Drake Starts Over (Hardcover) – A woman still holed up at home a year after her husband’s death allows a friend to invite a down-on-his-luck baseball player to stay in the apartment on her property and the two become friends – and then maybe something more.
Frugal Lissa Finds a Body (ebook – June 28) – First in a new series about a small town woman who stumbles across the body of a person she argued with recently. And the investigating officer is someone she teased in high school, and he seems to be holding a grudge. I pre-ordered this one the first time I heard about it. I can’t wait to read it.
Guilty as Charred (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 3 in the Cook Off Mystery series. While Sherry is supposed to be celebrating a big Cook-Off win on the radio, she instead finds out an acquaintance from the community garden has been killed. The food mentioned just in the blurb for this book will have me picking this one up to check the recipes – and to try out a new-to-me series.
Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody (Mass Market Paperback – exclusive to Barnes and Noble) – First in a new series. A retiree gets a reputation as a local “fixer.” A condo community hires her to come in and deal with some hostilities between residents. And then someone is murdered. I have already pre-ordered this one!
A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder (Hardcover) – Sequel to the outstanding A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder. Frances had such luck with finding a suitor for her younger sister, she is now playing host to one of Lily’s friends, and trying to find a spouse for her cousin as well. When the woman she matched with her cousin is murdered, Frances will be sleuthing again to keep him out of jail. I’ll be reviewing this one next week.
Left Fur Dead (Mass Market Paperback) – First in the new Jules & Bun Mystery series. A woman running a rabbit rescue, and a special “bun” who can communicate with her telepathically, find a body and look into the mysterious death. This sounds like a hoot!
Lost and Found (Hardcover) – After suffering a fall and injury, a mother of three adult children heads off on a road trip to reconnect with three men who might have been “the one” to see if the decisions she made in the past were the right ones. I can’t remember the last time I read a Danielle Steele novel, but this one really caught my attention. I love stories where characters go back to confront choices they made in the past. I am 49th on the hold list for this at the library – so it’s going to be awhile until I read it.
Murder’s No Votive Confidence (Mass Market Paperback) – First in the new Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series. When the candlemaker’s unity candle for a wedding is used to commit a murder, it leads to a loss of business for Stella. To help a friend who is under suspicion and to save her own business, she joins forces with a reporter to sniff out the killer. I’ll definitely be trying out this new series!
Once Upon a Bad Boy (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 3 in the Sometimes In Love Series. (I enjoyed book 2 – Smitten by the Brit.) An actress goes into training for the role of a lifetime and the person training her is the ex who broke her heart.
A Rainbow Above Us (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 8 in the Blessings, Georgia series. After Hurricane Franny, a woman who is the only surviving member of her family tries to put the pieces of her life back together. A young man who returns to Blessings to help his grandmother rebuild doesn’t plan to stay for long, but the lost young woman captures his attention.
Strangled Eggs and Ham (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 6 in the Country Store Mystery series. When a developer wants to put a luxury resort monstrosity at one of the prettiest parts of Brown County, Indiana, tempers run high and protesters are out in force. When one of the protesters is murdered, Robbie is on the case, if for no other reason than to keep her Aunt Adele, another vocal opponent, from winding up dead. I never realized that this series takes place in Indiana. How fun!
Tell Tail Heart (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 3 in the Cat Cafe Mystery series. A big-name writer is killed and an eccentric woman comes to town saying Maddie’s cat, JJ, is hers. Just when Maddie was hoping things would quiet down for awhile so she could work on her business – and a special relationship. But now she’s back to sleuthing.
Toxic Toffee (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 4 of the Amish Candy Shop Mystery series by Amanda Flower. This time Bailey is looking into the murder of a sweet old rabbit farmer with a twenty-year-old secret. I am on the hold list for this at the library, too. Looking forward to reading this addition to the series. There’s also a novella for this series (Criminally Cocoa) that I need to catch up on. And there will be a spin-off series – The Amish Matchmaker Mystery series – coming at the end of 2019/first of 2020.
Scoot Over and Make Some Room: Creating Space Where Everyone Belongs (Trade Paperback) – A mom to adopted and special needs children shares some of her family stories with the underlying message that there is room for every one at the table and it’s our job to watch for those who are left out and invite them in.