New Release Tuesday: YA New Releases January 28th 2020
Join me in wishing all these new releases a happy book birthday!
Diamond City (Diamond City, #1)
by Francesca FloresPublished by: Wednesday Books
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Bookshop, IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
Good things don't happen to girls who come from nothing...unless they risk everything.
Fierce and ambitious, Aina Solís as sharp as her blade and as mysterious as the blood magic she protects. After the murder of her parents, Aina takes a job as an assassin to survive and finds a new family in those like her: the unwanted and forgotten.
Her boss is brutal and cold, with a questionable sense of morality, but he provides a place for people with nowhere else to go. And makes sure they stay there.
DIAMOND CITY: built by magic, ruled by tyrants, and in desperate need of saving. It is a world full of dark forces and hidden agendas, old rivalries and lethal new enemies.
To claim a future for herself in a world that doesn't want her to survive, Aina will have to win a game of murder and conspiracy—and risk losing everything.
Full of action, romance and dark magic, book one of Francesca Flores' breathtaking fantasy duology will leave readers eager for more!
Blood Countess
by Lana PopovićPublished by: Harry N. Abrams
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Horror
Bookshop, IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
A historical YA horror novel based on the infamous real-life inspiration for Countess Dracula
In 16th century Hungary, Anna Darvulia has just begun working as a scullery maid for the young and glamorous Countess Elizabeth Báthory. When Elizabeth takes a liking to Anna, she’s vaulted to the dream role of chambermaid, a far cry from the filthy servants’ quarters below. She receives wages generous enough to provide for her family, and the Countess begins to groom Anna as her friend and confidante. It’s not long before Anna falls completely under the Countess’s spell—and the Countess takes full advantage. Isolated from her former friends, family, and fiancé, Anna realizes she’s not a friend but a prisoner of the increasingly cruel Elizabeth. Then come the murders, and Anna knows it’s only a matter of time before the Blood Countess turns on her, too.
Don't Read the Comments
by Eric SmithPublished by: Inkyard Press
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Bookshop, IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
Divya Sharma is a queen. Or she is when she’s playing Reclaim the Sun, the year’s hottest online game. Divya—better known as popular streaming gamer D1V—regularly leads her #AngstArmada on quests through the game’s vast and gorgeous virtual universe. But for Divya, this is more than just a game. Out in the real world, she’s trading her rising-star status for sponsorships to help her struggling single mom pay the rent.
Gaming is basically Aaron Jericho’s entire life. Much to his mother’s frustration, Aaron has zero interest in becoming a doctor like her, and spends his free time writing games for a local developer. At least he can escape into Reclaim the Sun—and with a trillion worlds to explore, disappearing should be easy. But to his surprise, he somehow ends up on the same remote planet as celebrity gamer D1V.
At home, Divya and Aaron grapple with their problems alone, but in the game, they have each other to face infinite new worlds…and the growing legion of trolls populating them. Soon the virtual harassment seeps into reality when a group called the Vox Populi begin launching real-world doxxing campaigns, threatening Aaron’s dreams and Divya’s actual life. The online trolls think they can drive her out of the game, but everything and everyone Divya cares about is on the line…
And she isn’t going down without a fight.
A Castle in the Clouds
by Kerstin Gier, Romy FurslandPublished by: Henry Holt & Company
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Mystery
Bookshop, IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
A Castle in the Clouds follows a girl as she navigates secrets, romance, and danger in an aging grand hotel.
Way up in the Swiss mountains, there's an old grand hotel steeped in tradition and faded splendor. Once a year, when the famous New Year's Eve Ball takes place and guests from all over the world arrive, excitement returns to the vast hallways.
Sophie, who works at the hotel as an intern, is busy making sure that everything goes according to plan. But unexpected problems keep arising, and some of the guests are not who they pretend to be. Very soon, Sophie finds herself right in the middle of a perilous adventure--and at risk of losing not only her job, but also her heart.
The Storm of Life (The Brilliant Death, #2)
by Amy Rose CapettaPublished by: Viking Books for Young Readers
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Bookshop, IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
The sumptuous and powerful conclusion to the gender-fluid duet begun by The Brilliant Death, hailed by Kirkus as "a delicious and magical intrigue too tempting not to devour" (starred review).
Teodora diSangro and Cielo, the strega she loves, are on a mission to save their country of Vinalia from its manipulative leader, who wants to exploit streghe and use them as his weapons. But will marshaling a small but powerful band of streghe be enough to wrest power from a cunning dictator? And what if Teo's been setting her sights on the wrong enemy all along? This epic sequel to The Brilliant Death completes the Italian-inspired fantasy duology with shocking twists, steamy romance, and magic that will dazzle your imagination and make you wish Vinalia were a real place.
BRB I'm Going to Disneyland
by Courtney CarbonePublished by: Disney-Hyperion
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Bookshop
Goodreads
Abby has lived in California for a whole year, but still finds it hard to fit in. Her closest friend, Mia, already has a best friend-who isn't thrilled at the idea of their twosome becoming a threesome. To complicate matters, Abby has a crush on Mia's brother's best friend, but he doesn't seem to know she exists.
Over the course of the annual 8th grade trip to Disneyland-one epic day filled with misunderstandings, miscommunications, and mixed messages-the group of friends break up, make up, and ultimately end up stronger than ever.
With a magical mix of Disney moments and realistic tween friendship, this novel told entirely in texts, emails, and social media posts is perfect for reluctant readers.
Seven Deadly Shadows
by Courtney Alameda, Valynne E. MaetaniPublished by: HarperTeen
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Horror, Fantasy
Bookshop, IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
Seventeen-year-old Kira Fujikawa has never had it easy. She’s bullied by the popular girls in school. Her family ignores her. And she’s also plagued with a secret: She can see yokai, the ghosts and demons that haunt the streets of Japan. But things accelerate from bad to worse when she learns that Shuten-doji, the demon king, will rise at the next blood moon to hunt down an ancient relic and bring the world to a catastrophic end.
Not exactly skilled at fighting anything, much less the dead, Kira enlists the aid of seven powerful death gods to help her slay Shuten-doji. They include Shiro, a kitsune with boy-band looks who is more flirtatious than helpful, and O-bei, a regal demon courtesan with covert reasons of her own for getting involved.
As the confrontation with Shuten-doji draws nearer by the day, the fate of Japan hangs in the balance. Can Kira save humankind? Or will the demon king succeed in bringing eternal darkness upon the world?
Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir
by Robin HaPublished by: Balzer + Bray
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Graphic Novel, Non-Fiction
Bookshop, IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
A powerful and timely teen graphic novel memoir—perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Hey, Kiddo—about a Korean-born, non-English-speaking girl who is abruptly transplanted from Seoul to Huntsville, Alabama, and struggles with extreme culture shock and isolation, until she discovers her passion for comic arts.
For as long as she can remember, it’s been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up in the 1990s as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn’t always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together.
So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation—following her mother’s announcement that she’s getting married—Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn’t understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends at home and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn’t fit in with her new stepfamily. And worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to—her mother.
Then one day Robin’s mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined.
The Frost Eater (The Magic Eaters Trilogy, #1)
by Carol Beth AndersonPublished by: Eliana Press
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Bookshop, IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
Sink your teeth into The Frost Eater, a new novel reviewers call “a great read” that “sizzles along to an unexpected end” with “heavy-hitting action,” “magic and dragons,” and “a touch of romance.”
*****
A lonely princess.A flying teen.A kidnapped girl who only remembers what happens at night.
Seventeen-year-old Princess Nora is a frost eater who creates magical ice. Her royal life is luxurious but stifling.
Krey West has a rare magical talent: when he eats feathers, he can fly. His one goal is to find his missing girlfriend, Zeisha. He thinks someone in power abducted her.
Krey’s daring feats of magic earn him an invitation to the palace. Craving adventure and friendship, Nora offers to help him find Zeisha. He’s desperate enough to accept—though he hates the monarchy.
The truth is more terrible than they could imagine.
Every night, Zeisha wakes in a dark room full of sleeping people, unable to remember what she did in the light. Her dreams provide violent glimpses into her forgotten days.
If Krey and Nora can’t save her, Zeisha may lose herself forever.
The post-apocalyptic fantasy world of The Frost Eater will keep you compulsively turning the pages. Devour it today.
*****Quotes are from Goodreads reviewers Mike, Clarissa Gosling, and K. Law, and Booksprout reviewer Beth H.
How to Build a Heart
by Maria PadianPublished by: Algonquin Young Readers
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Bookshop, IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
One young woman’s journey to find her place in the world as the carefully separated strands of her life — family, money, school, and love — begin to overlap and tangle.
All sixteen-year-old Izzy Crawford wants is to feel like she really belongs somewhere. Her father, a marine, died in Iraq six years ago, and Izzy’s moved to a new town nearly every year since, far from the help of her extended family in North Carolina and Puerto Rico. When Izzy’s hardworking mom moves their small family to Virginia, all her dreams start clicking into place. She likes her new school—even if Izzy is careful to keep her scholarship-student status hidden from her well-to-do classmates and her new athletic and popular boyfriend. And best of all: Izzy’s family has been selected by Habitat for Humanity to build and move into a brand-new house. Izzy is this close to the community and permanence she’s been searching for, until all the secret pieces of her life begin to collide.
How to Build a Heart is the story of Izzy’s journey to find her place in the world and her discovery that the choices we make and the people we love ultimately define us and bring us home.
Wildfire
by Carrie MacPublished by: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Bookshop, IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
Into the Wild
meets
The Serpent King
in this story about Annie and Pete, two best friends on a dangerous and emotional trek through the woods.
Annie and Pete have been best friends since they were little. They know each other better than anyone, and they've been on more adventures than they can count--they even have a notebook filled with all the times they've almost died. But they always survive, because together, they're invincible.
And they've always been just friends. But lately, Annie has been thinking that maybe friendship is just the beginning, and she's been mentally replaying all the times they were almost something more.
Now they're heading out on their next great quest: a ten-day backpacking trip through the mountains of Washington State, ending at Fire Camp, where they'll learn to fight the area's growing wildfire problem. The woods spark with the promise of adventure, but a freak climbing accident interrupts their progress, and as the wildfires close in and smoke envelops them, Annie and Pete wander farther from the trail. Carrie Mac's gripping story of the power of unrequited love and the danger of the elements is harrowing, beautiful, and unforgettable.
Hostile Territory
by Paul GreciPublished by: Imprint
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Bookshop, IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
In Paul Greci’s Hostile Territory, a catastrophic earthquake strands four teens in the Alaskan wilderness—and leaves them without a civilization to return to.
Josh and three other campers at Simon Lake are high up on a mountain when an earthquake hits. The rest of the camp is wiped out in a moment—leaving Josh, Derrick, Brooke, and Shannon alone, hundreds of miles from the nearest town, with meager supplies, surrounded by dangerous Alaskan wildlife.
After a few days, it’s clear no rescue is coming, and distant military activity in the skies suggests this natural disaster has triggered a political one.
Josh and his fellow campers face a struggle for survival in their hike back home—to an America they might not recognize.
Spring Rain: A Graphic Memoir of Love, Madness, and Revolutions
by Andy WarnerPublished by: St. Martin's Griffin
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Graphic Novel
Bookshop, IndieBound
Goodreads
An intimate graphic memoir by a New York Times-bestselling writer about his semester abroad in Beirut as he grows close to a crowd of mostly LGBTQ students, and suffers a mental breakdown while the city erupts into revolution.
"An evocative memoir" --Joe Sacco
In 2005 Andy Warner travelled to Lebanon to study literature in Beirut, one of the world's most cosmopolitan and storied cities. Twenty-one years old and recently broken up from his girlfriend, Warner feels his life is both intense and directionless. Immersing himself in the vibrant and diverse city, he quickly befriends a group of LGBT students, many of whom are ex-pats straddling different cultures and embracing the freedoms of the multicultural city. Warner and his friends party, do drugs, and hook up, even as violence breaks out in the city--the scars of a fifteen-year civil war reopening with a series of political assassinations and bombings. As the city descends into chaos and violence, Warner feels his grasp on reality slowly begin to slip as he confronts traumas in his past and anxiety over his future.
Illustrated in beautiful and intricate detail, Spring Rain is an absorbing and poignant graphic memoir of a young man's attempt to gain control over his life as well as a portrait of a city and a nation's violent struggle to define its future.
Parable of the Sower
by Damian Duffy, Octavia E. Butler, John JenningsPublished by: Harry N. Abrams
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction
Bookshop, IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
The follow-up to Kindred, the #1 bestseller, comes Octavia E. Butler’s groundbreaking dystopian novel
In this graphic novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower, by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, the award-winning team behind the #1 bestseller Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, the author portrays a searing vision of America’s future. In the year 2024, the country is marred by unattended environmental and economic crises that lead to social chaos. Lauren Olamina, a preacher’s daughter living in Los Angeles, is protected from danger by the walls of her gated community. However, in a night of fire and death, what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny . . . and the birth of a new faith.
Adult Crossover:
Children of the Land
by Marcelo Hernandez CastilloPublished by: Harper
on January 28, 2020
Genres: Adult, Young Adult, Non-Fiction
Bookshop, IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
An Entertainment Weekly Most Anticipated Book of 2020
This unforgettable memoir from a prize-winning poet about growing up undocumented in the United States recounts the sorrows and joys of a family torn apart by draconian policies and chronicles one young man’s attempt to build a future in a nation that denies his existence.
“You were not a ghost even though an entire country was scared of you. No one in this story was a ghost. This was not a story.”
When Marcelo Hernandez Castillo was five years old and his family was preparing to cross the border between Mexico and the United States, he suffered temporary, stress-induced blindness. Castillo regained his vision, but quickly understood that he had to move into a threshold of invisibility before settling in California with his parents and siblings. Thus began a new life of hiding in plain sight and of paying extraordinarily careful attention at all times for fear of being truly seen. Before Castillo was one of the most celebrated poets of a generation, he was a boy who perfected his English in the hopes that he might never seem extraordinary.
With beauty, grace, and honesty, Castillo recounts his and his family’s encounters with a system that treats them as criminals for seeking safe, ordinary lives. He writes of the Sunday afternoon when he opened the door to an ICE officer who had one hand on his holster, of the hours he spent making a fake social security card so that he could work to support his family, of his father’s deportation and the decade that he spent waiting to return to his wife and children only to be denied reentry, and of his mother’s heartbreaking decision to leave her children and grandchildren so that she could be reunited with her estranged husband and retire from a life of hard labor.
Children of the Land distills the trauma of displacement, illuminates the human lives behind the headlines and serves as a stunning meditation on what it means to be a man and a citizen.
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Put some new books on my radar, thank you!