Happy June! Here are some of the new books releasing this week:
Books for Kids
I Am Curious AND I Am Strong (Board Books) – Board book adaptations of picture book biographies by Brad Meltzer.
Best Day Ever – A high strung boy wants to have the “best day ever” before his summer break ends, but his flighty next door neighbor keeps interrupting his plans with crazy suggestions.
I’m Trying to Love Rocks – A girl who loves rocks tries to help a skeptical reader see that geology is cool. The format of this is fantastic. Other titles in the series address bees, spiders and math.
What If You Could Sniff Like a Shark? – A spin-off of the What If You Had series. In this book readers explore the superpowers of ocean animals.
Barney – Book 57 in the Puppy Place series. The kids try to re-home a boisterous puppy for an overwhelmed family.
Craftily Ever After: Best Buds Forever – Book 7 in the Craftily Ever After series. The kids learn about community activism when they try to resurrect a community garden. This sounds fantastic!
Dragon Masters: Call of the Sound Dragon – Book 16 in the Dragon Masters series. The Dragon Masters have to stop a wizards’ battle which is destroying a nearby city.
Take a Hike! – Book 2 in the new Scholastic ACORN series Moby Shinobi and Toby Too! Moby tries to use his ninja skills on a camping trip, but Toby helps him see that teamwork is the key to a great outing.
Thea Stilton and the Race for the Gold – Book 31 in the Thea Stilton series, this one focused on the Summer Olympics.
Books for Older Kids/Teens
Agatha Oddly and the Silver Serpent (Middle Grade and Older) – Book 3 in the Agatha Oddly mystery series. This time Agatha is investigating a missing employee from the National Gallery. This series looks so fun.
Brave Like That – A boy expected to follow in his father’s footsteps of greatness doesn’t think he is brave enough. But with the help of a stray dog and some new friends he might realize he is more brave than he realized.
Dactyl Hill Squad: Thunder Run – Book 3 in the Dactyl Hill Squad alternate history series. The kids try to help the Union Army when the Confederates join forces with Imperial troops in Mexico to fight for a spread of slavery. Dinosaur fans should not miss this series!
The Great Pet Heist – “Ocean’s Eleven meets The Secret Life of Pets.” What a great description! Sign me up. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
The Gryphon’s Lair (Older Middle Grade) – Book 2 in the Royal Guide to Monster Slaying series. Rowan is now the Royal Monster Hunter and one of her first tasks in the role is to return a baby gryphon to the wild. The journey is hard and makes Rowan wonder if she really has what it takes to be the Royal Monster Hunter for her kingdom.
I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916 (Graphic Novel) – A graphic novel adaptation of the story. This is the second graphic novel in this series.
Klawde: Target Earth – Book 4 in the Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat series. (Book 1: ♥♥♥♥♥, Book 2 – Enemies: ♥♥♥♥) Klawde is ready to conquer earth, and all he needs to do it are an army of zombie squirrels and a ton of cash.
Once Upon a Space-Time (Graphic Novel) – From the author of the original Jedi Academy books comes this new series launch about two kids chosen to go on a research mission to Mars. This looks terrific!
Rescue Dogs: Dusty – Book 2 in the Rescue Dogs series. When Dusty is rescued from the side of the road, he is cared for at the Sterling Center where search and rescue dogs are trained. Dusty thinks he has the determination to do SAR, but his trainers are afraid he might be too small. When disaster strikes, Dusty will have a chance to prove himself.
The School for Good and Evil: One True King – The sixth and final book in the School for Good and Evil series.
Treasure Hunters: Plunder Down Under – The Treasure Hunters are on a race across Australia to find the pirate who framed their parents and got them arrested and get the proof to clear their names.
Warriors: A Shadow in Riverclan (Graphic Novel) – An original full-color graphic novel from the Warriors universe. Feathertail tries to find forgiveness – and compassion for some newcomers – after the events of the past with her clan.
Who Was Ida B. Wells? – Biography of the most famous female Black journalist of the American nineteenth century.
Books for Teens/Young Adults
Again Again – The latest from the author of We Were Liars (♥♥♥♥) about a summer of love for a teen who survives a near-fatal family catastrophe.
Burn – Only the poorest people have to hire dragons to help on their farms. And that is the position where Sarah and her father find themselves. But the dragon who arrives is there for more than just the job. He carries a prophecy about assassins, dragon-worshipers, the FBI – and Sarah.
The Court of Miracles – A re-imagined Les Miserables where the French Revolution fails and nine underworld criminal guilds develop. Eponine, a member of the Thieves guild, watches over her adopted sister, Cosette, who has caught the eye of the head of the Guild of Flesh.
Jo & Laurie – A “romantic re-telling of Little Women” by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz. After the success of her first novel Jo, and her best friend and neighbor, Laurie, head to New York for inspiration for her next one. Laurie has romance on his mind, but Jo turns down his proposal to protect her independence. When he shows up later with a new girlfriend, Jo has to wonder if she has made a big mistake.
My Calamity Jane – Book 3 in the Lady Janies series. Calamity Jane is a werewolf hunter. After a hunt goes bad and she finds a suspicious bite on her arm, Jane heads to Deadwood where there’s rumor of a cure. I have this whole series on my TBR list.
A Song Below Water – Best friends negotiate junior year of high school as well as demons from the past and hidden siren powers.
Star Wars: Queen’s Peril – Companion novel to Queen’s Shadow (♥♥♥♥). This book will focus on Queen Amidala and her handmaidens when the Trade Federation attacks Naboo. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Wonder Woman Tempest Tossed (Graphic Novel) – On Diana’s 16th birthday, the day she expects to be finally accepted into the warrior tribe, the boundary of Themyscira is crossed by boats full of refugees. When Diana goes to help them, she is swept out to sea. I’ll be reviewing this one soon as well.
You Should See Me in a Crown (LGBTQ+) – When a young woman’s college scholarship falls through, she sees her dreams of getting out of her small town going up in smoke. Until she remembers that her high school has a scholarship for the Prom King and Queen. As her campaign for queen progresses, though, Liz realizes she is falling for her rival, the new girl in school. Which would be better – winning Prom Queen or winning the girl?
Books for Adults
Broken Genius (Hardcover) – Book 1 in the new Will Parker Thriller series. In 2011, a coding error by young revolutionary CEO Will Parker cost a college student her life. His self-directed penance was joining the FBI Cyber Division. Years later, Will is on a case at a Midwest comic convention when he discovers the case involves tech from his pre-FBI life. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
A Cottage Wedding (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Heart’s Landing series from Hallmark Publishing. A journalist is in town, charged by her boss to “de-bunk” the romantic reputation of Heart’s Landing. This could destroy the economy of the town and all the people who live there. The townspeople ask the descendant of the town’s founder to wine and dine the reporter to save their community.
Deadly Sweet Tooth (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Vintage Sweets Mystery series. Tally finally has her sweet shop on the road to success and feels she can afford to take a day off to throw an event for her parents, travelling performers. It will give her an opportunity to share her sweets with a new audience, which could be great for her shop. But a dead body at the party is not going to help much at all.
The Grim Reader (Hardcover) – Book 14 in Kate Carlisle’s Bibliophile Mystery series. Brooklyn and her new husband are eager to enjoy a new book fair. Her mom is spearheading the whole event, including having her own booth for palm readings and tarot cards. But things quickly turn ugly at the quaint event – a nasty local businessman stirs up trouble, a member of the planning committee is murdered, and the proceeds from the fair go missing. (I haven’t kept up on this series, so I can’t say if the occult pieces are there for novelty or if there really is an occult component.)
Lady Rights a Wrong (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Manor Cat Mystery series. Lady Cecilia is captivated by the idea of Women’s Suffrage, but when the movement’s local leader is found dead, Cecilia trades marching for investigating.
The Lies that Bind (Hardcover) – Cecily takes the advice of a stranger in a bar and instead of calling her ex she strikes up a conversation with the stranger. Months later, after their relationship has continued to develop, she loses track of him in the aftermath of 9/11. When she sees his face on a poster of those who have gone missing, Cecily uses her investigative reporter skills to dig into the man she loved who might have been more of a stranger to her than she thought.
Where the Road Bends (Hardcover) – Fifteen years after college graduation, four friends set off on a camping trip in the Australian Outback. Just as they are realizing how much each of them has changed since college, a storm drives the four of them into desert where each finds a guide that helps them set out on a path to find what they are looking for.
The Easy Baked Donut Cookbook: 60 Sweet and Savory Recipes for Your Oven and Mini Donut Maker (Paperback) – Simple sweet and savory donut recipes. I had NO idea there was such a thing as a “mini donut maker.” How fun!
Game Changers: The Story of Pictionary and How I Turned a Simple Idea Into the Bestselling Board Game in the World (Hardcover) – The history behind the board game Pictionary.
What If Jesus Was Serious?: A Visual Guide to the Teachings of Jesus We Love to Ignore (Trade Paperback) – A devotional with charts and doodles. This is on my list for this week.