Happy 2021! I hope these first few days of the new year are treating you well. Here are some of the books launching this new year of reading:
Books for Kids – Picture Books
Blanket: Journey to Extreme Coziness – Discover the power of the blanket!
Loki – A Little Golden Book starring Loki
Spring Stinks – Bruce is not impressed with the smells of spring.
Stella’s Stellar Hair – When Stella’s hair isn’t quite right for her big day, she travels the solar system to visit her aunties for some help. A celebration of hairstyles of the African diaspora.
Star Wars The High Republic: The Great Jedi Rescue – The Jedi of the High Republic are on a rescue mission. Set 200 years before The Phantom Menace.
The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall’s Life, Leadership, and Legacy – Picture book biography.
Prince (Little People, Big Dreams) – Picture book biography
What If You Could Spy Like a Narwhal!? – Part of the What If You Had series, this one focused on animal superpowers.
Books for Kids: Early Readers and Transitional Chapter Books
Libby Loves Science: Mix and Measure – Libby is hosting a party and accidentally leaves out an important ingredient for her cupcakes. She and her friends use science to solve the problem.
The Adventures of Allie and Amy: Stars of the Show – Book 3 in the series. Allie and Amy are supposed to perform together for a fundraiser, but Allie gets sick, leaving Amy to wonder if she will have to perform alone.
BunBun & BonBon: Hoppy Go Lucky (Graphic Novel) – Book 2 in the series. BunBun and BonBon have an epic adventure.
Geeger the Robot: Lost and Found – Book 2 in the series. When the class pet goes missing, Tillie helps Geeger prove he didn’t eat it.
Little Goddess Girls: Persephone and the Evil King – Book 6 in the series. Hephaestus has turned Athena and her dog into treasures and hidden them away. The girls only have 7 guesses to find their friends.
Pixie Tricks: The Greedy Gremlin – Book 2 in the series. A fairy traps Violet’s cousin in a video game.
Society of Substitutes: The Great Escape – First in a new series. When Milton finds out his classroom’s pet ferret is plotting for world domination, he’s grateful to know the Society of Substitutes – including his mom – is there to help. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Star Wars Galactic Storybook – Six illustrated stories.
She Persisted: Harriet Tubman – First in a new line of chapter book biographies of women. Part of Chelsea Clinton’s She Persisted line.
Books for Older Kids/Teens
The Lion of Mars – The latest from Jennifer L. Holm (Babymouse, Squish, and Sunny graphic novel series, The Fourteenth Goldfish – ♥♥♥♥♥). All the adults in Bell’s colony on Mars fall ill with a virus, leaving Bell and the rest of the kids to uncover the truth and save their families. This is going to be fantastic! I can’t wait to read it.
Meow or Never – Part of the WISH line from Scholastic. When Avery gets talked into singing in the school musical and her stage fright threatens to get the best of her, a stray cat tucked away backstage could be the help she needs – as long as no one finds it.
The Sea in Winter – Maisie struggles with her anxieties and dark mood when an injury keeps her from ballet training and auditions.
Star Wars The High Republic: A Test of Courage – One of three new books out today launching the new Star Wars High Republic line of stories that take place 200 years before The Phantom Menace. When the cruiser they are in is bombed, a new Jedi Knight, the young inventor she is supervising, a Padawan, and an ambassador’s son escape in a shuttle, but they have few supplies, and communications are down. I’ll be talking more about this one soon.
Star Wars The Mandalorian Junior Novel – A junior novel of season one of The Mandalorian.
Unplugged – The son of a tech billionaire dropped off at a device-free camp for the summer notices the adults acting strangely. But his reputation as a spoiled troublemaker makes it hard for him to get any of the other kids to take him seriously. In my opinion, you can never go wrong with a book from Gordon Korman!
The World Between Blinks – Two cousins following their late grandmother’s map find themselves in a magical world where lost things – and people – wind up, and where someone wants to keep them from getting back home.
Baseball’s Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues (Older Middle Grade) – The story of the first and only woman inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Fascinating!!
History Smashers: Pearl Harbor – Explore little-known truths behind the attack on Pearl Harbor and the aftermath.
Race Against Time: The Untold Story of Scipio Jones and the Battle to Save Twelve Innocent Men (Older Middle Grade) – A self-taught attorney who had been born enslaved steps up to defend twelve sharecroppers wrongfully sentenced to death. Sounds like an excellent addition to history collections.
Trailblazers: Lin-Manuel Miranda: Raising Theater to New Heights – A biography of the creator of Hamilton.
Books for Teens/Young Adults
The Awakening of Malcolm X – An historical novel about Malcolm X’s adolescence in jail written by his daughter in cooperation with Tiffany D. Jackson (Monday’s Not Coming – ♥♥♥♥½)
Court of Swans – Book 1 in a new Christian historical fiction series for teens and young adults. When her father, an earl, dies, Delia watches his wife accuse her seven brothers of treason and murder just as Richard II is executing anyone who could be a threat to the throne. Delia is their only hope, and a captain of the guard who finds the situation fishy agrees to help her.
Happily Ever Afters – A young writer who has rarely seen herself in a romance novel writes the characters she longs for into her own stories. But when she is accepted into a prestigious creative writing program, Tessa’s words dry up. Her best friend is convinced that the solution is Tessa finding a real life romance of her own.
House of El: The Shadow Threat (Graphic Novel) – First in a new graphic novel series about Superman’s home planet of Krypton. I’ll be reviewing this one soon!
Influence – From the author of Pretty Little Liars. Four young women enjoying their moments in the spotlight have no idea they are on the verge of watching everything fall apart.
Monsters Among Us – After one semester of college, Catherine is dealing with the fleeting memories of a night she’s not sure she wants to remember. Days later someone close to her is killed. Then a stranger shows up with clues to the night Catherine can’t quite remember – and to the murder. But what is his angle, and is he actually trying to help?
One of the Good Ones – When Happi’s sister, Kezi, is killed after a social justice rally, she becomes another icon in the fight against police brutality. But Happi and her other sister, Genny, want to remember the real Kezi, not the idealized version in the news. So they set off on a road trip to honor her in their own way.
The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss – By senior year, Evie has worked on her anxiety enough that she might just be ready to enter the national math and physics competition AND to flirt back with the new boy at school. She has no idea her best friend Caleb is in love with her, and he is devastated watching her meet cute with the new guy, so he uses an online forum to get her attention without revealing his identity. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Roman and Jewel – Roman and Jewel is the new hip-hop take on Romeo and Juliet, and Jerzie is desperate to play the lead. She will have to settle for being Cinny’s understudy. And falling in love with the male lead is definitely a no-no. Especially when Cinny has decided she wants him too.
Jesus for You: The Ultimate Answer to Your Deepest Needs (Teen Bible Study) – A Bible study over 8 sessions based on the author’s new book releasing next week.
Books for Adults – Fiction
Active Defense (Trade Paperback) – Book 3 in the Danger Never Sleeps series. A former field surgeon is on the run from a dangerous stalker while a security expert has been tailing her for weeks, watching her back.
Blood Heir (Trade Paperback, January 8) – First in the Kate Daniels World series, a spinoff of the Kate Daniels series. A woman with a new name, new face, and new magic returns to an Atlanta drifting towards apocalypse in order to save her adoptive mother, Kate Daniels.
City of Schemes (Hardcover) – Book 4 in the Counterfeit Lady series. Elizabeth and Gideon’s wedding is in jeopardy from Elizabeth’s past, but she’s also trying to help a wealthy friend who may be the target of a con.
A Double Dose of Love (Trade Paperback) – Book 1 in the Amish Mail-Order Bride series. Impulsive Darla travels to Birch Creek in search of a husband while her responsible twin, Amanda, promises to bring her back home. Darla meets reckless Zeke, and his twin, Zeb, teams up with Amanda to protect their siblings from one another. This sounds convoluted but fun!
Joint Custody (Trade Paperback) – A dog in the midst of a custody battle ups the ante to get his owners to see they still belong together. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Killer Comfort Food (Trade Paperback) – Book 5 in the Farm-to-Fork Mystery series. Angie is investigating the case of a missing woman with ties to the soybean processing plant that is trying to edge her out of her Nona’s farm.
Say I Do (Trade Paperback) – A collection of wedding stories from Rachel Hauck, Becky Wade, and Kate Ganshert. All three stories have previously been published in other collections, so be sure to check the titles carefully.
Star Trek Picard: The Dark Veil (Hardcover) – Following the novel The Last Best Hope comes this new Picard-era story starring Will and Deanna Riker and the crew of the Titan. This is at the top of my wish list for the month!
Star Wars The High Republic: Light of the Jedi (Hardcover) – The first adult novel of the High Republic era of Star Wars (taking place 200 years before The Phantom Menace). In the golden age of the Republic, the Jedi are called in to deal with a hyperspace disaster which signals something sinister in the works.
Books for Adults – Nonfiction
100 Days of Prayer (Devotional Journal) – A devotional with dot grid space on the facing page for journaling or art. Part of the series by Shanna Noel.
Book of Genesis Study Guide AND Book of Romans Study Guide (The Passion Translation – Trade Paperback) – Two new studies related to the Passion translation of the Bible.
Depression, Anxiety and Other Things We Don’t Want to Talk About (Trade Paperback) – A Christian exploration of mental health and mental illness.
Elijah: Faith and Fire (Paperback Study Guide) – A new Bible study from Priscilla Shirer.
Fighting Forward: Your Nitty-Gritty Guide to Beating the Lies that Hold You Back (Trade Paperback) – Essay collection of Christian thinking on stress management, empowerment, and pushing through hard times.
Healthy Keto Air Fryer Cookbook: 100 Delicious Low-Carb and Fat-Burning Recipes (Paperback) – Keto-friendly recipes for your air fryer.
How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice (Hardcover) – The latest from Jemar Tisby, the author of The Color of Compromise. Move beyond conversations about racism and into action against it. There is also a study guide that will be available in April.
Sacred Tears: Simple Reminders that God Sees You and Loves You (Hardcover) – Essay collection with art, photography, prayers, and scripture for weary souls.