Joanna Rowland has a way of writing the exact kinds of books that children need. Her latest, BIG BEAR WAS NOT THE SAME is especially poignant amid this year’s fire season: This picture book follows Little Bear and his best friend Big Bear, and what happened after a traumatic fire in the woods. […]
When the premise of HEARTBREAK FOR HIRE by Sonia Hartl reached my radar, I had to feature it. I’m always a sucker for an enemies-to-lovers trope, and the book also includes some delightful feminist vibes. Plus her upcoming YA book, THE LOST GIRLS, sounds great too! Brinkley Saunders has a secret. To everyone in […]
I’ve always been delighted to feature Jessica Brody, whether it’s her fiction, or her nonfiction. The third book in her System Divine trilogy (co-written with Joanne Rendell), SUNS WILL RISE, just debuted on August 3, 2021: AN HEIR. A RENEGADE A CONVICT. A CYBORG A DÉFECTEUR FIVE REBELS. ONE REVOLUTION. It’s been three months since […]
When I featured Jessica Khoury back in March, she mentioned that she had another MG Fantasy series coming out from Scholastic. The first book in the series, SPARROW RISING, is finally here: In the Clandoms, everyone is born with wings, with tight-knit communities formed around bird types: Jay, Falcon, Crow. Ellie Meadows dreams of […]
I stumbled across this book on Facebook, and when I saw the cover, I knew I had to feature it. THE VERDIGRIS PAWN is a middle grade fantasy that offers a richly built world and unforgettable characters: A boy who underestimates his power . . . A girl with a gift long thought lost […]
I’m a fan of science fiction books with bad-ass female characters, so when I saw the premise for FIRST LIGHT by Casey E. Berger, I had to reach out to her for an interview. FIRST LIGHT will officially debut on September 14, 2021: When Jaya Mill’s parents were killed and her brother was kidnapped […]
I’m a huge fan of Rosalyn Eves’ YA Fantasy series Blood Rose Rebellion, which I first featured back in 2017. Her newest book, BEYOND THE MAPPED STARS, offers a historical fiction adventure set in the 19th Century and is due out on August 24, 2021: Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Bertelsen dreams of becoming an astronomer, but […]
I featured Breeana Shields back in 2019 and her book THE BONE CHARMER was one of my favorite reads that year. The sequel, THE BONE THIEF, came out last year. Her newest book, THE SPLENDOR, is a new series set in a deceptively glamourous hotel, and comes out on September 7, 2021: The Splendor isn’t […]
I first heard about Jared Reck when his book A Short History of the Girl Next Door came out. His most recent book, DONUTS AND OTHER PROCLAMATIONS OF LOVE is a must for any library shelf: It’s easy to look at high school senior Oscar Olsson and think: lost. He hates school, struggles to read, […]
I’ve been a fan of Newbery Honor winner Gennifer Choldenko for quite a few years now. She writes interesting historical fiction that young people (and adults) can really get into. I was honored to feature her book Chasing Secrets back in 2017, and her newest book, ORPHAN ELEVEN, offers yet another set of engaging characters […]