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Kid't Catalogue

Click here to peruse our catalogue, which contains a number of Books Inc.'s Book Fair Bestsellers as well as new titles and staff recommendations. We also put together a few suggestions for learning at home and a section of upcoming Summer titles. To add books to your cart, simply click on the title in bold just below the book's cover image. 

Intro to Shakespeare: Queer Edition

Get to know Classic Shakespeare stories re-told:

Giph of Shakespeare

1. Twelfth Night--

The Last True Poets of the Sea:

The Last True Poets of the Sea Book Cover

 
From a new voice in YA literature comes an epic, utterly unforgettable contemporary novel about a lost shipwreck, a missing piece of family history, and weathering the storms of life. Fans of Far from the Tree, We Are Okay, and Emergency Contact will love this stunning debut.
"Profound and page-turning." --Madeline Miller, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Circe

 
The Larkin family isn't just lucky-they persevere. At least that's what Violet and her younger brother, Sam, were always told. When the Lyric sank off the coast of Maine, their great-great-great-grandmother didn't drown like the rest of the passengers. No, Fidelia swam to shore, fell in love, and founded Lyric, Maine, the town Violet and Sam returned to every summer.
But wrecks seem to run in the family: Tall, funny, musical Violet can't stop partying with the wrong people. And, one beautiful summer day, brilliant, sensitive Sam attempts to take his own life.
Shipped back to Lyric while Sam is in treatment, Violet is haunted by her family's missing piece-the lost shipwreck she and Sam dreamed of discovering when they were children. Desperate to make amends, Violet embarks on a wildly ambitious mission: locate the Lyric, lain hidden in a watery grave for over a century.
She finds a fellow wreck hunter in Liv Stone, an amateur local historian whose sparkling intelligence and guarded gray eyes make Violet ache in an exhilarating new way. Whether or not they find the Lyric, the journey Violet takes-and the bridges she builds along the way-may be the start of something like survival.
Epic, funny, and sweepingly romantic, The Last True Poets of the Sea is an astonishing debut about the strength it takes to swim up from a wreck.

 

Suck it up, Be a Man, Rub Some dirt in It Gif

 

2. Much Ado about Nothing--

Nothing Happened

Nothng Happened, Molly Booth Book Cover

 

IT'S MUCH ADO . . . ABOUT EVERYTHING.
 
This modern-day retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing takes place at the idyllic Camp Dogberry, where sisters Bee and Hana Leonato have lived their whole lives. Their parents own the place, and every summer they look forward to leading little campers in crafts, swimming in the lake, playing capture the flag and Sproutball, and of course, throwing legendary counselor parties.
 
This year, the camp drama isn't just on the improv stage.
 
Bee and longtime counselor Ben have a will-they-or-won't-they romance that's complicated by events that happened-or didn't happen-last summer. Meanwhile, Hana is falling hard for the kind but insecure Claudia, putting them both in the crosshairs of resident troublemaker John, who spreads a vicious rumor that could tear them apart.
 
As the counselors juggle their camp responsibilities with simmering drama that comes to a head at the Fourth of July sparkler party, they'll have to swallow their pride and find the courage to untangle the truth, whether it leads to heartbreak or happily ever after.
 
 
Gif from Taming of the shrew
 
 
3. Hamlet--
 
Death Prefers Blondes
 
Death Prefers Blondes book ocer

 

Teenage socialite Margo Manning leads a dangerous double life. By day, she dodges the paparazzi while soaking up California sunshine. By night, however, she dodges security cameras and armed guards, pulling off high-stakes cat burglaries with a team of flamboyant young men. In and out of disguise, she's in all the headlines.

But then Margo's personal life takes a sudden, dark turn, and a job to end all jobs lands her crew in deadly peril. Overnight, everything she's ever counted on is put at risk. Backs against the wall, the resourceful thieves must draw on their special skills to survive. But can one rebel heiress and four kickboxing drag queens withstand the slings and arrows of truly outrageous fortune? Or will a mounting sea of troubles end them--for good?

 


 

BONUS: For Films-Lovers:
10 Things I Hate About You (Taming of the Shrew)
Much Ado About Nohting (Joss Whedon + friends)
Rome + Juliet (Leonardo DiCaprio + Claire Danes)
She's the Man (Twelfth Night-- Amanda Bynes + Channing Tatum)
The Tempest (by Julie Taymor dir. of Across the Universe)
Hamlet (David Tennant + Patrick Stewart -2009)
BBC Shakespeare Re-Told (various plays + actors i.e. James Macavoy as Macbeth in a kitchen)
 
 
 
 
The Last True Poets of the Sea By Julia Drake Cover Image
$17.99
Unavailable, Out of Stock, or Out of Print
ISBN: 9781368048088
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - October 1st, 2019

Nothing Happened By Molly Booth Cover Image
$9.99
Unavailable, Out of Stock, or Out of Print
ISBN: 9781484758427
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - May 14th, 2019

Death Prefers Blondes By Caleb Roehrig Cover Image
This Book Is Not Sold Online - Inquire In Store
ISBN: 9781250155825
Availability: Out of Print
Published: Feiwel & Friends - January 29th, 2019

Hamlet (Folger Shakespeare Library) By William Shakespeare, Dr. Barbara A. Mowat (Editor), Paul Werstine, Ph.D. (Editor) Cover Image
$6.99
ISBN: 9780743477123
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: Simon & Schuster - July 1st, 2003

Much Ado About Nothing (Folger Shakespeare Library) By William Shakespeare, Dr. Barbara A. Mowat (Editor), Paul Werstine, Ph.D. (Editor) Cover Image
$9.99
ISBN: 9781501146305
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Simon & Schuster - November 27th, 2018

Twelfth Night (Folger Shakespeare Library) By William Shakespeare, Dr. Barbara A. Mowat (Editor), Paul Werstine, Ph.D. (Editor) Cover Image
$6.99
ISBN: 9780743482776
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: Simon & Schuster - July 1st, 2004

Sleep is Good!

Sleep is Good

Nothing is better for you than a good night's sleep! Snuggle up with these cozy reads and get ready for a Zzzzzz-filled night.


 

How to Put an Octopus to Bed: (Going to Bed Book, Read-Aloud Bedtime Book for Kids) By Sherri Duskey Rinker, Viviane Schwarz (Illustrator) Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781452140100
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Chronicle Books - March 31st, 2020

Everyone's Awake: (Read-Aloud Bedtime Book, Goodnight Book for Kids) By Colin Meloy, Shawn Harris (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Colin Meloy, Shawn Harris (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781452178059
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Chronicle Books - March 3rd, 2020

Hurry Up!: A Book About Slowing Down By Kate Dopirak, Christopher Silas Neal (Illustrator) Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781534424975
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Beach Lane Books - May 19th, 2020

The Yawns Are Coming! By Christopher Eliopoulos, Christopher Eliopoulos (Illustrator) Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781984816306
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Rocky Pond Books - April 28th, 2020

Bedtime Bonnet By Nancy Redd, Nneka Myers (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Nancy Redd, Nneka Myers (Illustrator)
$18.99
ISBN: 9781984895240
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Random House Books for Young Readers - April 7th, 2020

Fourteen books that remind us of the WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? Tracklist by Billie Eilish

By: Amanda Kay and Ava Lee
We stan Billie Eilish and her awesome, incredible, mind-blowing songs off WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? While she’s touring the world, take some time to read these books to cure that post-concert depression. 
*(BTW, MSL=Most Suitable Lyric)*
 
1.We are THE BEHOLDER(s); it’s the start of a new age!!!!!!!
 
The Beholder Book Cover
 
Selah has waited her whole life for a happily ever after. As the only daughter of the leader of Potomac, she knows her duty is to find the perfect match, a partner who will help secure the future of her people. Now that day has finally come.
But after an excruciatingly public rejection from her closest childhood friend, Selah’s stepmother suggests an unthinkable solution: Selah must set sail across the Atlantic, where a series of potential suitors awaits—and if she doesn’t come home engaged, she shouldn’t come home at all.
From English castle gardens to the fjords of Norge, and under the eye of the dreaded Imperiya Yotne, Selah’s quest will be the journey of a lifetime. But her stepmother’s schemes aren’t the only secrets hiding belowdecks…and the stakes of her voyage may be higher than any happy ending.
It’s the start of an era for Billie and for Selah from THE BEHOLDER, with Selah’s life being completely upheaved after an event she hadn’t even considered. Fasten your seatbelts—because both are sure to get exciting. 
MSL: I have taken out my Invisalign, and this is the album
By Anna Bright
 
2. The Catalog Killer bad guy strongly suggests KEEPing THIS TO YOURSELF
 
Keep This To Yourself Book Cover
 
It's been a year since the Catalog Killer terrorized the sleepy seaside town of Camera Cove, killing four people before disappearing without a trace. Like everyone else in town, eighteen-year-old Mac Bell is trying to put that horrible summer behind him—easier said than done since Mac's best friend Connor was the murderer's final victim. But when he finds a cryptic message from Connor, he's drawn back into the search for the killer—who might not have been a random drifter after all. Now nobody—friends, neighbors, or even the sexy stranger with his own connection to the case—is beyond suspicion. Sensing that someone is following his every move, Mac struggles to come to terms with his true feelings towards Connor while scrambling to uncover the truth. 
The Catalog Killer is Camera Cove’s bad guy—and (s)he knows it.
MSL: I do what I want when I'm wanting to/My soul? So cynical
By Tom Ryan
 
3. There’s no need for xanny: Jenna’s head is already SPIN(ning)
 
Spin Book Cover
 
Sixteen-year-old Jenna Kemp is a typical high school girl, complete with a loyal group of friends and a seemingly understanding boyfriend. But when the demons from Jenna's childhood resurface, she's suddenly spinning out of control–drinking, partying–anything to numb the pain of the past. After distancing herself from her friends and befriending an outcast, her friends and family start questioning and judging her choices. 
But when Jenna doesn't come home one night, her friends and family realize it's more than just adolescent rebellion. Jenna's mysterious disappearance proves that there's more on the line than they realized. As they sift through a series of her personal diaries, the truth becomes terrifying. Will Jenna's final diary entry reveal the greatest mystery of all–her whereabouts?
Like xanny, this emotionally taut book perfectly describes the party scene, and how everything inevitably spirals out of control. A definite must-read, it’ll keep you on the edge!
MSL: They're awfully bad at learning (Learning)/Make the same mistakes, blame circumstance
By K.J. Farnham
 
4. Brynna’s like you should see me in a crown, because she’ll be the ruler of THE CITY OF VEILS
 
the City of Veils Book Cover
 
For the past three years, Brynna has been patrolling the streets of Forcadel as a masked vigilante, protecting the innocent and beating up bad guys. Her current target is Lord Beswick, a slumlord businessman who keeps the townsfolk in a vicious poverty cycle. But one fateful evening, she's captured by Felix, the captain of the king's guard, and told a shocking truth: her father and brother are dead, and she needs to hang up her mask and become queen. 
Before long, she negotiates a deal with Felix: attend to her royal duties during the day and continue her vigilante mission to take out Lord Beswick at night - at least until her coronation. But the politics of Forcadel are as volatile as the streets, and Brynna isn't sure whom she can trust in the castle. With two royals dead in less than a month, she must use all her wits to make sure she isn't the third
When the crown is thrust upon her, Brynna doesn’t falter, rather it just makes her more emblazoned to do the right thing. Truly, you should see her in a crown—because she owns it. 
MSL: You should see me in a crown/I'm gonna run this nothing town
By S. Usher Evans
 
5.all the good girls go to hell… so where does THE EVIL QUEEN go?
 
The Evil Queen Book Cover
 
Welcome to the Forest of Good and Evil. A dream come true, and a living nightmare.
Evil isn’t born, it’s made. One thought and action at a time. Take a good look at what you’ve made.
Far, far away, in the realm of Enchantia, creatures of legend still exist, magic is the norm and fairy tales are real. Except, fairy tales aren’t based on myths and legends of the past—they are prophecies of the future.
Raised in the mortal realm, Everly Morrow has no idea she’s a real life fairy tale princess—until she manifests an ability to commune with mirrors.
Look. See… What will one peek hurt?
Soon, a horrifying truth is revealed. She is fated to be Snow White’s greatest enemy, the Evil Queen.
With powers beyond her imagination or control—and determined to change Fate itself—Everly returns to the land of her birth. There, she meets Roth Charmaine, the supposed Prince Charming. Their attraction is undeniable, but their relationship is doomed.
As bits and pieces of the prophecy unfold, Everly faces one betrayal after another, and giving in to her dark side proves more tempting every day. Can she resist, or will she become the queen—and villain—she was born to be?
Everly knows that she should try to stay good, but if all the good girls go to hell, then where’s the fun in that. A fairytale retelling of Snow White, this book is interesting and will leave you yearning for more.
MSL: Can't commit to anything but a crime
By Gena Showalter
 
6. IT’S NOT LIKE IT’S A SECRET that Caleb wish(es) you (Sana) were gay
 
It's Not Like a Secret Book Cover, Misa Sugiura
 
Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don’t invite her to parties. Some are big, like that fact that her father may be having an affair. And then there’s the one that she can barely even admit to herself—the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend.
When Sana and her family move to California she begins to wonder if it’s finally time for some honesty, especially after she meets Jamie Ramirez. Jamie is beautiful and smart and unlike anyone Sana’s ever known. There are just a few problems: Sana’s new friends don’t trust Jamie’s crowd; Jamie’s friends clearly don’t want her around anyway; and a sweet guy named Caleb seems to have more-than-friendly feelings for her. Meanwhile, her dad’s affair is becoming too obvious to ignore anymore
Sana always figured that the hardest thing would be to tell people that she wants to date a girl, but as she quickly learns, telling the truth is easy… what comes after it, though, is a whole lot more complicated.
IF Caleb was Billie Eilish in some alternate universe… Caleb needs a reason as to why Sana won’t date him, wishing she was gay to justify her rejection. Will he get his wish?
MSL: To spare my pride/To give your lack of interest an explanation/Don't say I'm not your type/Just say that I'm not your preferred sexual orientation
By Misa Sugiura
 
7. when the party's over, give your strife to THE GRIEF KEEPER
the Grief Keeper Book Cover, Alexandra Villasante
Seventeen-year-old Marisol has always dreamed of being American, learning what Americans and the US are like from television and Mrs. Rosen, an elderly expat who had employed Marisol's mother as a maid. When she pictured an American life for herself, she dreamed of a life like Aimee and Amber's, the title characters of her favorite American TV show. She never pictured fleeing her home in El Salvador under threat of death and stealing across the US border as "an illegal", but after her brother is murdered and her younger sister, Gabi's, life is also placed in equal jeopardy, she has no choice, especially because she knows everything is her fault. If she had never fallen for the charms of a beautiful girl named Liliana, Pablo might still be alive, her mother wouldn't be in hiding and she and Gabi wouldn't have been caught crossing the border.
But they have been caught and their asylum request will most certainly be denied. With truly no options remaining, Marisol jumps at an unusual opportunity to stay in the United States. She's asked to become a grief keeper, taking the grief of another into her own body to save a life. It's a risky, experimental study, but if it means Marisol can keep her sister safe, she will risk anything. She just never imagined one of the risks would be falling in love, a love that may even be powerful enough to finally help her face her own crushing grief.
when the party’s over, Marisol can take your grief to save your life, but in doing so, may ruin her own life.
MSL: Don't you know too much already?/I'll only hurt you if you let me
By Alexandra Villasante

 
8. SINCE WE LAST SPOKE between the (8 ÷ 4) of us
 
Since We Last Spoke Book Cover, Brenda Rufnew
 
When Aggi Frank and Max Granger finally admitted their feelings for each other last December, it felt like love was beautiful and endless... until it wasn’t.
A fatal car accident involving their older siblings throws their lives into sudden chaos. And with a restraining order now in place between the two bitter households, Aggi and Max’s love runs cold. Being together again seems like a distant fantasy, even though they share the same driveway.
Still, Plum Lake is a small town, and staying apart can’t last forever. Aggi and Max eventually reunite at a lake-house party hosted by a mutual friend and break the ice after a year of silence. But just as they begin to rebuild their relationship, the unthinkable happens when Aggi’s little sister, Grace, flees from home after their father spirals into a fit of rage. With a support system of friends close by, Aggi and Max must confront each other and their families in the hopes of mending all the broken pieces.
Aggi and Max look at each like they’re see-through, but is it possible to make amends?
MSL: I know you don't care/But can you listen?/I came committed, guess I overdid it
By Brenda Rufener
 
9. my strange addiction with the TEETH IN THE MIST
 
 
Before the birth of time, a monk uncovers the Devil's Tongue and dares to speak it. The repercussions will be felt for generations...
Sixteen-year-old photography enthusiast Zoey has been fascinated by the haunted, burnt-out ruins of Medwyn Mill House for as long as she can remember--so she and her best friend, Poulton, run away from home to explore them. But are they really alone in the house? And who will know if something goes wrong?
In 1851, seventeen-year-old Roan arrives at the Mill House as a ward--one of three, all with something to hide from their new guardian. When Roan learns that she is connected to an ancient secret, she must escape the house before she is trapped forever.
1583. Hermione, a new young bride, accompanies her husband to the wilds of North Wales where he plans to build the largest water mill and mansion in the area. But rumors of unholy rituals lead to a tragic occurrence and she will need all her strength to defeat it.
Three women, centuries apart, drawn together by one Unholy Pact. A pact made by a man who, more than a thousand years later, may still be watching... 
Zoey sure has a strange addiction to the Medwyn Mill House...will that be her downfall?
MSL: My doctors can't explain/My symptoms or my pain/But you are my strange addiction
By Dawn Kurtagich
 
10. When you bury a friend, you’ll have to learn HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE DARK
 
How to Make Friends With the Dark, Kathleen Glasgow Book Cover
 
Here is what happens when your mother dies.
It’s the brightest day of summer and it’s dark outside. It’s dark in your house, dark in your room, and dark in your heart. You feel like the darkness is going to split you apart.
That’s how it feels for Tiger. It’s always been Tiger and her mother against the world. Then, on a day like any other, Tiger’s mother dies. And now it’s Tiger, alone.
Here is how you learn to make friends with the dark.
Honestly, I’m 100% sure HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE DARK and Bury A Friend were destined for each other. Saying they’re similar is an understatement: Fear, loneliness, and grief both make their fair share of appearances within both.
MSL: Step on the glass, staple your tongue (Ahh)/Bury a friend, try to wake up (Ah-ahh)
By Kathleen Glasgow
 
11. It’s ALL WE COULD HAVE BEEN, a lost game of ilomilo
 
All We Could Have Been Cook Cover
Five years ago, Lexie walked home from school after her older brother failed to pick her up. When she entered her house, her brother sat calmly, waiting for the police to come arrest him for the heinous crime he had just committed.
Treated like a criminal herself, Lexie now moves from school to school hiding who she is—who she's related to. She struggles with loving her brother, the PTSD she now suffers from, and wanting to just live a normal life. But how can she be normal when she can’t even figure out how to just live? 
This is a powerful look at the assumptions we make about people. Lexie's emotional journey to separate her brother's horrific act from herself is stunning and heartbreaking. This is Lexie’s story and journey—not her brother's—and it will stay with you long after you turn the last page. 
This book is absolutely heartbreaking, just like the quiet softness of Billie’s voice in ilomilo. It’s a story of what could have been and what it means to love even when it will cost you everything.
MSL: Said I couldn't love someone/'Cause I might break
By T.E. Carter
 
12 .Vicky wanted them to listen before i go; now all she has is THE MEMORY OF LIGHT
 
the Memory of Light, Francisco X. Stork Book Cover
 
16-year-old Vicky Cruz wakes up in a hospital's mental ward after a failed suicide attempt. Now she must find a path to recovery - and perhaps rescue some others along the way.
When Vicky Cruz wakes up in the Lakeview Hospital Mental Disorders ward, she knows one thing: After her suicide attempt, she shouldn't be alive. But then she meets Mona, the live wire; Gabriel, the saint; E.M., always angry; and Dr. Desai, a quiet force. With stories and honesty, kindness and hard work, they push her to reconsider her life before Lakeview, and offer her an acceptance she's never had. 
But Vicky's newfound peace is as fragile as the roses that grow around the hospital. And when a crisis forces the group to split up, sending Vick back to the life that drove her to suicide, she must try to find her own courage and strength. She may not have them. She doesn't know. 
Inspired in part by the author's own experience with depression, The Memory of Light is the rare young adult novel that focuses not on the events leading up to a suicide attempt, but the recovery from one - about living when life doesn't seem worth it, and how we go on anyway.
listen before i go leads up to Vicky’s suicide attempt, THE MEMORY OF LIGHT is the aftermath.
MSL: That's what a year-long headache does to you/I'm not okay, I feel so scattered
By Francisco X. Stork
 
13. Miyoung, as the WICKED FOX, doesn’t want to say i love you to Jihoon, but it’s the truth
 
Wicked Fox, Kat Cho Book Cover
 
A fresh and addictive fantasy-romance set in modern-day Seoul.
Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret--she's a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt.
But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead--her gumiho soul--in the process.
Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl--he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to humans. He's drawn to her anyway. 
With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon's.
Honestly, this has to be one of my favorite songs on this album. It’s softly devastating and matches perfectly with the forbidden romance of WICKED FOX. With its adventure, excitement, and romance, WICKED FOX is a book you have to read!  
MSL: You didn't mean to say "I love you"/I love you and I don't want to, ooh
By Kat Cho
 
14. THE WISE AND THE WICKED are foolish to say “goodbye” to their fates
 
the Wise and the Wicked, Rebecca Podos Book Cover
 
Ruby Chernyavsky has been told the stories since she was a child: The women in her family, once possessed of great magical abilities to remake lives and stave off death itself, were forced to flee their Russian home for America in order to escape the fearful men who sought to destroy them. Such has it always been, Ruby’s been told, for powerful women. Today, these stories seem no more real to Ruby than folktales, except for the smallest bit of power left in their blood: when each of them comes of age, she will have a vision of who she will be when she dies—a destiny as inescapable as it is inevitable. Ruby is no exception, and neither is her mother, although she ran from her fate years ago, abandoning Ruby and her sisters. It’s a fool’s errand, because they all know the truth: there is no escaping one’s Time.
Until Ruby’s great-aunt Polina passes away, and, for the first time, a Chernyavsky’s death does not match her vision. Suddenly, things Ruby never thought she’d be allowed to hope for—life, love, time—seem possible. But as she and her cousin Cece begin to dig into the family’s history to find out whether they, too, can change their fates, they learn that nothing comes without a cost. Especially not hope.
Ruby and Cece learn it’s possible to say “goodbye” to their fates, but does the goodbye come at a cost?
MSL: And all the good girls go to Hell/Bite my tongue, bide my time
By Rebecca Podos

 

New Review! - Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

 

Teen Advisory Board Banner

 


Teen Advisory Board Member Tiffany Reviews Stepsister

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

by Jennifer Donnelly

“Isabelle should be blissfully happy – she’s about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn’t the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince’s heart. She’s the ugly stepsister who’s cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella’s shoe ... which is now filling with blood.

When the prince discovers Isabelle’s deception, she is turned away in shame. It’s no more than she deserves: she is a plain girl in a world that values beauty; a feisty girl in a world that wants her to be pliant.

Isabelle has tried to fit in. To live up to her mother’s expectations. To be like her stepsister. To be sweet. To be pretty. One by one, she has cut away pieces of herself in order to survive a world that doesn’t appreciate a girl like her. And that has made her mean, jealous, and hollow.

Until she gets a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known: it takes more than heartache to break a girl.”

In her unapologetically feminist novel, Donnelly confronts demand for females to be beautiful, the way society belittles those who are “ugly,” the history of how women weren’t allowed to get an education, the concept of pitting girls against each other, the power of courage and bravery, and the right to make our own destiny rather than relying on fate or chance.  The representation of these principles is skillfully done, provoking empowering thought and leaving an impact on the reader.

Isabelle is both a complex character and a powerful female lead who may not be perfect and sweet, but is defiant and heroic in her own way.  Not only is she a character readers can look up to, but one who has struggles and insecurities many can find relatable. Isabelle isn’t the only complex character either-nearly everyone in Stepsister is comprised of a multitude of layers-both beautiful and ugly ones-beneath who they appear to be upon first impression.

If you like dark, twisted retellings or just an empowering read, pick up Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly.

Stepsister is available in stores now! 

These 10 YA Characters (or books) would slay Kerry Washington’s nail polish collection!

By Amanda, Tiffany, & Ava
We absolutely adored the GORGEOUS shades of the Kerry Washington nail polish collection (collab with OPI). Next time you snap a bookstagram for the following ten novels, be sure to paint your nails these colors in order to match the book covers!
 
1.  Artistic Isobel from AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS would say CIA=Color Is Awesome.

By Margaret Rogerson

An Enchantment of Ravens Book Cover
 
O.P.I. Nail Lacquer
A skilled painter must stand up to the ancient power of the faerie courts—even as she falls in love with a faerie prince—in this gorgeous debut novel.
 
Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes—a weakness that could cost him his life.
 
Furious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt’s ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love—and that love violates the fair folks’ ruthless laws. Now both of their lives are forfeit, unless Isobel can use her skill as an artist to fight the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.
 
2. Exploring the morality and stories of villains, BECAUSE YOU LOVE TO HATE ME “Liv” in the Grey.
By Amerie

Authors: Renée Ahdieh, Ameriie, Soman Chainani, Susan Dennard, Sarah Enni, Marissa Meyer, Cindy Pon, Victoria Schwab, Samantha Shannon, Adam Silvera, Andrew Smith, April Genevieve Tucholke, and Nicola Yoon

-and-

BookTubers: Benjamin Alderson (Benjaminoftomes), Sasha Alsberg (abookutopia), Whitney Atkinson (WhittyNovels), Tina Burke (ChristinaReadsYA blog and TheLushables), Catriona Feeney (LittleBookOwl), Jesse George (JessetheReader), Zoë Herdt (readbyzoe), Samantha Lane (Thoughts on Tomes), Sophia Lee (thebookbasement), Raeleen Lemay (padfootandprongs07), Regan Perusse (PeruseProject), Christine Riccio (polandbananasBOOKS), and Steph Sinclair & Kat Kennedy (Cuddlebuggery blog and channel)

Because You Love to Hate Me book CoverO.P.I Nail Lacquer

“In this unique YA anthology, thirteen acclaimed, bestselling authors team up with thirteen influential BookTubers to reimagine fairy tales from the oft-misunderstood villains' points of view.


These fractured, unconventional spins on classics like "Medusa," Sherlock Holmes, and "Jack and the Beanstalk" provide a behind-the-curtain look at villains' acts of vengeance, defiance, and rage--and the pain, heartbreak, and sorrow that spurned them on. No fairy tale will ever seem quite the same again!”

 

3. Showing the joys of female friendship and perseverance, OUTRUN THE MOON proves the power of We the Female.

By Stacey Lee

Outrun the Moon Book CoverO.P.I Nail Lacquer

“San Francisco, 1906: Fifteen-year-old Mercy Wong is determined to break from the poverty in Chinatown, and an education at St. Clare’s School for Girls is her best hope. Although St. Clare’s is off-limits to all but the wealthiest white girls, Mercy gains admittance through a mix of cunning and a little bribery, only to discover that getting in was the easiest part. Not to be undone by a bunch of spoiled heiresses, Mercy stands strong—until disaster strikes.

On April 18, a historic earthquake rocks San Francisco, destroying Mercy’s home and school. With martial law in effect, she is forced to wait with her classmates for their families in a temporary park encampment. Though fires might rage, and the city may be in shambles, Mercy can’t sit by while they wait for the army to bring help—she still has the “bossy” cheeks that mark her as someone who gets things done. But what can one teenage girl do to heal so many suffering in her broken city?”

 

4. Action-packed and exciting, there is Never a Dulles Moment in SIX OF CROWS.

By Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows Book Cover

“Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.”

 

5. Standing up for her rights, Layla from INTERMENT promotes Freedom of Peach.

By Samira Ahmed

 

Internment Book CoverO.P.I Nail Lacquer

“Rebellions are built on hope.

Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.

With the help of newly made friends also trapped within the internment camp, her boyfriend on the outside, and an unexpected alliance, Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the internment camp's Director and his guards.

Heart-racing and emotional, Internment challenges readers to fight complicit silence that exists in our society today.”

 

6. Shh...It’s Top Secret, because we are the WICKED SAINTS

By Emily A. Duncan

Wicked Saints Book Cover O.P.I Nail Lacquer

An instant New York Times bestseller!

A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.

A prince in danger must decide who to trust.

A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings.

Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy.

 

7. Hesina from DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE is more than just a princess: She’s Madam President

By Joan He

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Tyrants cut out hearts. Rulers sacrifice their own. Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death... because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago. Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high? In this shimmering Chinese-inspired fantasy, debut author Joan He introduces a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception.

 

8. Having a bad summer? (Like Lou from HOT DOG GIRL) Then please, Stay Off the Lawn

By Jennifer Dugan

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Elouise (Lou) Parker is determined to have the absolute best, most impossibly epic summer of her life. There are just a few things standing in her way:

* She's landed a job at Magic Castle Playland . . . as a giant dancing hot dog.

* Her crush, the dreamy Diving Pirate Nick, already has a girlfriend, who is literally the Princess of the park. But Lou's never liked anyone, guy or otherwise, this much before, and now she wants a chance at her own happily ever after.

* Her best friend, Seeley, the carousel operator, who's always been up for anything, suddenly isn't when it comes to Lou's quest to set her up with the perfect girl or Lou's scheme to get close to Nick.

* And it turns out that this will be their last summer at Magic Castle Playland--ever--unless she can find a way to stop it from closing.

Jennifer Dugan's sparkling debut coming-of-age queer romance stars a princess, a pirate, a hot dog, and a carousel operator who find love--and themselves--in unexpected people and unforgettable places.

 

9. Pale to the Chief, because we’re DEALING IN DREAMS

By Lilliam Rivera

O.P.I Nail Lacquer

At night, Las Mal Criadas own these streets.

Nalah leads the fiercest all-girl crew in Mega City. That roles brings with it violent throw downs and access to the hottest boydega clubs, but the sixteen-year-old grows weary of the life. Her dream is to get off the streets and make a home in the exclusive Mega Towers, in which only a chosen few get to live. To make it to the Mega towers, Nalah must prove her loyalty to the city's benevolent founder and cross the border in a search for a mysterious gang the Ashé Ryders. Led by a reluctant guide, Nalah battles other crews and her own doubts, but the closer she gets to her goal, the more she loses sight of everything—and everyone— she cares about.
 

Nalah must do the unspeakable to get what she wants—a place to call home. But is a home just where you live? Or who you choose to protect?

 

10. Listen to Bri from ON THE COME UP: She’s the Squeaker Of The House

By Angie Thomas

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Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it—she has to make it.

On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be; and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families.

 

Zodiac Signs as Characters from YA Books! (Pt.1)

Zodiak Calendar
By Amanda & Ava
Here are six characters that totally represent the first half of the Zodiac!
*Disclaimers—This is not according to the characters’ birthdays, but rather to their personalities.
 
1. Maia from SPIN THE DAWN is an Aries!
 
By: Elizabeth Lim

Spin the Dawn Aries

Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she'll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There's just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.
 
Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia's task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.
 
And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor's reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.
 
Firey and passionate, Maia fully embodies the characteristics of an Aries. Both take rein of their lives and refuse to let anything stop them from reaching their goals, being from the fire element.

2.Mercy from OUTRUN THE MOON is Taurus!

By Stacey Lee

Outrun the Moon Book CoverTaurus

San Francisco, 1906: Fifteen-year-old Mercy Wong is determined to break from the poverty in Chinatown, and an education at St. Clare’s School for Girls is her best hope. Although St. Clare’s is off-limits to all but the wealthiest white girls, Mercy gains admittance through a mix of cunning and a little bribery, only to discover that getting in was the easiest part. Not to be undone by a bunch of spoiled heiresses, Mercy stands strong—until disaster strikes.
 
On April 18, a historic earthquake rocks San Francisco, destroying Mercy’s home and school. With martial law in effect, she is forced to wait with her classmates for their families in a temporary park encampment. Though fires might rage, and the city may be in shambles, Mercy can’t sit by while they wait for the army to bring help—she still has the “bossy” cheeks that mark her as someone who gets things done. But what can one teenage girl do to heal so many suffering in her broken city?
 
Mercy, a definite Taurus, knows exactly what she wants, but she must learn to sometimes compromise with others.
 
3.Elle from MY ALMOST FLAWLESS TOKYO DREAM LIFE is Gemini!
 
By Rachel Cohn
 
Tokyo Dream Life Book CoverGemini giph
 
In the Land of the Rising Sun, where high culture meets high kitsch, and fashion and technology are at the forefront of the First World's future, the foreign-born teen elite attend ICS-the International Collegiate School of Tokyo. Their accents are fluid. Their homes are ridiculously posh. Their sports games often involve a (private) plane trip to another country. They miss school because of jet lag and visa issues. When they get in trouble, they seek diplomatic immunity.
 
Enter foster-kid-out-of-water Elle Zoellner, who, on her sixteenth birthday discovers that her long-lost father, Kenji Takahari, is actually a Japanese hotel mogul and wants her to come live with him. Um, yes, please! Elle jets off first class from Washington D.C. to Tokyo, which seems like a dream come true. Until she meets her enigmatic father, her way-too-fab aunt, and her hyper-critical grandmother, who seems to wish Elle didn't exist. In an effort to please her new family, Elle falls in with the Ex-Brats, a troupe of uber-cool international kids who spend money like it's air. But when she starts to crush on a boy named Ryuu, who's frozen out by the Brats and despised by her new family, her already tenuous living situation just might implode.
 
My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life is about learning what it is to be a family, and finding the inner strength to be yourself, even in the most extreme circumstances.
 
Elle is curious to try new things in her Tokyo dream life, but will her Gemini’s typical anxiety hold her back?
 

4.Esther from A SELF-DEFINITIVE LIST OF WORST NIGHTMARES is Cancer!

By Krystal Sutherland

 

A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares Book CoverCancer Gif

Ever since Esther Solar’s grandfather met Death, her entire family has been doomed to suffer one great fear in their lifetime—a fear that will eventually lead each and every one of them to their graves. Take Esther’s father, for instance: He’s an agoraphobe who hasn’t left the basement in six years. Then there’s her twin brother, Eugene, whose fear of the dark goes far beyond the things that go bump in the night. And her mother, Rosemary, is absolutely terrified of bad luck.
 
As for Esther, she’s managed to escape the curse…so far. She doesn’t yet have a great fear because she avoids pretty much everything. Elevators, small spaces, crowds—anything that might trigger a phobia is off-limits and is meticulously recorded in her semi-definitive list of worst nightmares. 
 
Esther thinks she has it all figured out, until she’s reunited with an old elementary school classmate—and first crush—Jonah Smallwood. The encounter leaves her stranded at a bus stop and swindled out of her phone, all her cash, a Fruit Roll-Up she’d been saving, and her list—not to mention her dignity. But the theft is also the beginning of an unexpected friendship between the two, one that sends the pair on a journey of self-discovery as they try to break the curse that’s consumed Esther’s family. Together they face their greatest fears, one debilitating phobia at a time, only to discover the one fear they hadn’t counted on: love.
 
Esther, like any other Cancer, has a wild imagination that can conjure an infinite number of what-ifs, but her what-ifs also prevent her from living her life to the fullest.
 
5.Hetty from WILDER GIRLS is a Leo!
 
By Rory Power
 
Wilder Girls Book CoverLeo Gif
 
It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her.
 
It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.
 
But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.
Hetty would totally be a Leo, dazzling and protective as they are. She’s firey, dynamic, and would stop at nothing to save her friends.
 

6. Princess Anthia from THE STORM CROW is a Virgo!

By: Kalyn Josephson

the Storm Crow Book CoverVirgo gif

In the tropical kingdom of Rhodaire, magical, elemental Crows are part of every aspect of life...until the Illucian empire invades, destroying everything.
That terrible night has thrown Princess Anthia into a deep depression. Her sister Caliza is busy running the kingdom after their mother's death, but all Thia can do is think of all she has lost.
But when Caliza is forced to agree to a marriage between Thia and the crown prince of Illucia, Thia is finally spurred into action. And after stumbling upon a hidden Crow egg in the rubble of a rookery, she and her sister devise a dangerous plan to hatch the egg in secret and get back what was taken from them.
Princess Anthia is loyal and logical, just like a Virgo. Although she is calm and collected, she is fierce when it comes to her family.

 

Famous Art Pieces + YA Books

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By Evgenia, Alannah, Tiffany, & Ava 

The best of both worlds: literature and art. (O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo.) Here are six YA books that remind us of our favorite art pieces!

BONUS: A piece of modern art, titled “Famoose” and brought to you by Amanda, awaits at the end of the list.

1. An air of mystery connects MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN and the Mona Lisa

  Miss Peregrines home for Peculiar Children Book Cover

By: Ransom Riggs

Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is easily one of the most popular and well-known works of Renaissance art, and it’s easy to see why. There’s a certain mysterious allure to its famous subject, in the clever glint of her eye and subtle curve of her smile. This air of mystery is reflected in Jacob Portman’s tale in MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN. Jacob leads a perfectly normal - and dull, even - life, working at a shop in his uncle’s enormous drug store chain and taking care of his increasingly delusional grandfather in whose wonderous stories of the children’s home where he grew up Jacob used to delight. That is, until the day he finds said grandfather dead. Still reeling in shock, Jacob travels with his father to Cairnholm, a small island off of Wales where all of his grandfather’s most fantastical stories were set. At first glance, he finds this island to be little more than perpetual rain and an abnormally large population of sheep. But Cairnholm, as Jacob soon realizes, has secrets of its own to reveal; least of all that his grandfather’s stories were real.

2. Karou from DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE would just love to see this Cafe Terrace at Night

By Laini Taylor
Daughters of Smoke & Bone Book Cover

Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war. Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out. When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

 

3. ILLUMINAE and Starry Night both have space as their backdrop

By Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Illuminae, the Illuminae files_01 Book Cover

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

4. Dark and sinister, Katherine and Toby from AN ASSASSIN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND TREASON may meet during The Night Watch.

By Virginia Boecker

An Assasin's Guide to Love & Treason

When Lady Katherine's father is killed for being an illegally practicing Catholic, she discovers treason wasn't the only secret he's been hiding: he was also involved in a murder plot against the reigning Queen Elizabeth I. With nothing left to lose, Katherine disguises herself as a boy and travels to London to fulfill her father's mission, and to take it one step further--kill the queen herself.

Katherine's opportunity comes in the form of William Shakespeare's newest play, which is to be performed in front of Her Majesty. But what she doesn't know is that the play is not just a play--it's a plot to root out insurrectionists and destroy the rebellion once and for all.

The mastermind behind this ruse is Toby Ellis, a young spy for the queen with secrets of his own. When Toby and Katherine are cast opposite each other as the play's leads, they find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another. But the closer they grow, the more precarious their positions become. And soon they learn that star-crossed love, mistaken identity, and betrayal are far more dangerous off the stage than on.” 

5. As she faces the storm within, Nym from STORM SIREN may make The Great Wave of Kanagawa.

By Mary Weber

 

In a world at war, a slave girl’s lethal curse could become one kingdom’s weapon of salvation. If the curse—and the girl—can be controlled.

As a slave in the war-weary kingdom of Faelen, seventeen-year-old Nym isn’t merely devoid of rights, her Elemental kind are only born male and always killed at birth — meaning, she shouldn’t even exist.

Standing on the auction block beneath smoke-drenched mountains, Nym faces her fifteenth sell. But when her hood is removed and her storm-summoning killing curse revealed, Nym is snatched up by a court advisor and given a choice: be trained as the weapon Faelen needs to win the war, or be killed.

Choosing the former, Nym is unleashed into a world of politics, bizarre parties, and rumors of an evil more sinister than she’s being prepared to fight . . . not to mention the handsome trainer whose dark secrets lie behind a mysterious ability to calm every lightning strike she summons.

But what if she doesn’t want to be the weapon they’ve all been waiting for?

Set in a beautifully eclectic world of suspicion, super abilities, and monsters, Storm Siren is a story of power. And whoever controls that power will win.

6. From The Birth of Venus arises LOVELY WAR

By Julie Berry

It's 1917, and World War I is at its zenith when Hazel and James first catch sight of each other at a London party. She's a shy and talented pianist; he's a newly minted soldier with dreams of becoming an architect. When they fall in love, it's immediate and deep—and cut short when James is shipped off to the killing fields.

Aubrey Edwards is also headed toward the trenches. A gifted musician who's played Carnegie Hall, he's a member of the 15th New York Infantry, an all-African-American regiment being sent to Europe to help end the Great War. Love is the last thing on his mind. But that's before he meets Colette Fournier, a Belgian chanteuse who's already survived unspeakable tragedy at the hands of the Germans.

Thirty years after these four lovers' fates collide, the Greek goddess Aphrodite tells their stories to her husband, Hephaestus, and her lover, Ares, in a luxe Manhattan hotel room at the height of World War II. She seeks to answer the age-old question: Why are Love and War eternally drawn to one another? But her quest for a conclusion that will satisfy her jealous husband uncovers a multi-threaded tale of prejudice, trauma, and music and reveals that War is no match for the power of Love.

Congratulations, reader! Now for the BONUS:

modern art - “Famoose”

 

Eight YA Books You’ll Enjoy if You <3 BBC Shows

By Ava Lee, Amanda Kay, Alannah Blumstein, and Evgenia Anastasakos
 
Face it. Unless you're stuck in the 18th-century, we all want to be British (that accent makes us swoon). The closest we can get is by watching BBC shows. Here are YA books for eight of your favorite BBC shows! Bonus points for reading this in a British accent.
 
1. Killing Eve with I HUNT KILLERS
I Hunt Killers Book Cover
By Barry Lyga
 
Jasper “Jazz” Dent is the son of the notorious serial killer, gifted with the ability to see every crime from a killer’s point of view. When corpses begin appearing at every corner, Jazz must join forces with the cops to find this mysterious murderer to clear his name from the list of suspects.
 
One may ask, what do these things have in common? Well, the answer is… a lot. Just like Eve and her desk-bound beginnings, Jazz is recognized for his talent for hunting killers, and must stop the murders before its too late. Fans of Killing Eve will love I HUNT KILLERS!
 
 
2.Doctor Who with THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE
Girl From Everywhere Book Cover
By Heidi Heilig
 
On her father’s time traveling ship, Nix has been able to see the world. With just a map, they can sail anywhere, even to places only in myths and stories. Her father, however, obsesses over finding a specific map, to take him back to Nix’s mother. If he were to find that map, it could stop her from ever existing at all. 
 
Time travel, time travel, and time travel describe both of these things perfectly, but they share a more profound bond than that. Both have a lust for adventure that will leave you wanting more!
Gurrrrul Meme
 
3. House of Cards with THE FIXER
the Fixer Book Cover
By Jennifer Lynn Barnes
House of Cards is a captivating political thriller in which the Chief Whip of the Conservative Party thirsts after the Prime Minister spot after Margaret Thatcher’s reign, his ambition allowing him to do whatever it takes. Fans of this Macbeth-esque television show will love THE FIXER, a YA political thriller. Sixteen-year-old Tess goes to Washington D.C after her sister calls for her and gets wrapped up in a plot of murder, espionage, and secrets.
 
 
4. Broadchurch with THE CELLAR
The Cellar Book Cover
By: Natasha Preston
 
Broadchurch is a beautifully written crime drama where detective Alex Hardy and his partner Ellie Miller have to investigate the murder of a young boy in a small town where everyone has secrets. Similarly, THE CELLAR takes place called Long Thorpe, a town where nothing happens, until Summer Robinson disappears. Locked in a cellar with several other girls, she learns of Colin’s abusive past and must protect his family in time.
 
5. Planet Earth with THE SCORPIO RACES
the Scorpio Races Book Cover
By Maggie Stiefvater
 
November signals the start of the Scorpio Races, a race in which the person who rides their untamable water horse to the finish line first wins—that is, if they’re still alive. Puck Connolly, the first ever girl to enter this competition, is determined to win, though the temper of her dangerous water horse grows each day. Admittedly, Planet Earth is a far cry from racing dangerous water horses but rest assured that they both share some very unique characteristics (if it can be called that). Nevertheless, this book is definitely a must-read!
Planet Earth Meme
 
6.Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell with A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC
V.E. Schwab, A Darker Shade of Magic Book Cover
By V.E. Schwab
 
Kell, the adopted son of the king of Red London, has a special ability: he can use his rare magic to travel between alternate Londons. When he travels to the magic-less Grey London, he crosses paths with the mysterious pickpocket, Delilah Bard. Chaos ensues when they are pursued by a magician from the violent White London. This book and the series, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, share their vivid magic and both partially take place in nineteenth-century London. Both are exciting and adventurous, perfect for readers and views of all kinds.
A Party? I wish to go home and read a book, meme
 
7.Victoria with VICTORIA
Victoria Book Cover

By: Daisy Goodwin (who as it so happens also wrote the screenplay for the BBC show…)
 
Victoria’s position is far from simple. Next in line for the throne, she’s grown up knowing that someday she will be Queen of England, and when her uncle the king becomes ill with no sign of getting better, she knows it can’t be long. But even once she’s crowned, there are still a few complications. People doubt that the young Victoria can rule England, and some try to manipulate her every move. How can she prove herself worthy of the right to rule?
 
It’s pretty self-explanatory why these two are similar, but both deal with the life of Queen Victoria. If you love one, you are sure to love the other!
 
8. Downton Abbey with THE CRUEL PRINCE
the Cruel Prince Book Cover
By: Holly Black
 
Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. As betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself. Both Downtown Abbey and THE CRUEL PRINCE are drama-intense and will leave you wanting more. The sly politics of the High Court will surely make you reminisce about the TV show.
 

 

 

Great news for lovers of of Ada Twist, Iggie Peck, and Rosie Revere!

Sofia Valdez, Future Prez

NEW RELEASE: The newest picture book from the creators of Iggy Peck, Architect; Rosie Revere, Engineer; and Ada Twist, Scientist stars Sofia Valdez, a community leader who stands up for what she believes in!

Sofia Valdez, Future Prez Book Cover

Every morning, Abuelo walks Sofia to school . . . until one day, when Abuelo hurts his ankle at a local landfill and he can no longer do so. Sofia misses her Abuelo and wonders what she can do about the dangerous Mount Trashmore. Then she gets an idea--the town can turn the slimy mess into a park! She brainstorms and plans and finally works up the courage to go to City Hall--only to be told by a clerk that she can't build a park because she's just a kid! Sofia is down but not out, and she sets out to prove what one kid can do.

 

Sofia Valdez, Future Prez: A Picture Book (The Questioneers) By Andrea Beaty, David Roberts (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Andrea Beaty, David Roberts (Illustrator)
$19.99
ISBN: 9781419737046
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: Abrams Books for Young Readers - November 5th, 2019

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