Here’s a look at some of the books releasing this week!
Books for Kids
Cats Are a Liquid – Teaches about qualities of a liquid – and qualities of cats who can sometimes behave like a liquid. Includes instructions for making oobleck.
The Favorite Book – How do your favorite things become your favorites? I have fallen in love with this book just from the sample pages I have seen. I’ll be hunting this one down this week to see it all in person.
Jon Klassen’s Hat Box – All three Hat books (I Want My Hat Back, This Is Not My Hat, We Found a Hat) in one box set. If you have enjoyed the books but never purchased them for yourself, this is a great way to get all three.
Stretchy McHandsome – An orange stray leaves his large family to go on an adventure where he discovers something he’s been missing. This looks darling! – orange cats are my favorite.
Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom – Part of the People Who Shaped Our World series. A Chinese woman, born in an era when Chinese girls usually didn’t get to go to school, who went on to be called the “Queen of Physics.”
Frank and Bean – A hotdog named Frank is enjoying some alone time to experience nature and write. Then he meets the outgoing – and noisy – Bean.
Geeky F@b 5: DOGgone CATastrophe (Graphic Novel) – Volume 3 in the Geeky F@b 5 collection. The girls band together to help local animals when the shelter is damaged in a tornado.
Grumplets and Pests – Book 7 in the Zoey and Sassafras series. When Zoey notices that all of their magical friends are grumpy day after day, she decides to discover why.
Micah’s Super Vlog: To Sketch a Thief AND Just Chill – Books 3 and 4 in this series based on an animated web show. In one story, the kids are tempted to turn on one another when many of their possessions come up missing. In the other, a new kid at school seems to be hiding something.
Ra the Mighty: The Great Tomb Robbery – Book 2 in the Ra the Mighty series. Ra the cat and Khepri the dung beetle are sleuthing again when a tomb is robbed and a friend looks guilty. I got a HUGE kick out of the first book. You can read my review here.
Undersea Mystery Club: Problem at the Playground – First in a new series starring a mermaid and a narwhal who are out to solve the mystery of some broken equipment at the new playground.
Suffragette: The Battle for Equality – A nonfiction chapter book on the Suffrage movement.
Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults
The Best At It – A middle school boy who is struggling with anxiety and bullying gets advice to find one thing and become the best at it. He’s not sure what his one thing should be, but he’s willing to give it a try. If you are looking for middle grade fiction starring LGBTQ+ characters, check this one out.
The Class (Older Middle Grade) – One story told from the perspective of the 20 kids in the class. I’ll be reviewing this one later this week.
Friend or Fiction (Older Middle Grade) – When her dad gets sick, Jade starts writing stories in a notebook about herself and a perfect new best friend named Zoe. But after a classmate gets a hold of her notebook and does an experiment with it, fictional Zoe becomes Jade’s real-life neighbor and friend. I’ll be reviewing this later this week, too.
The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted – From Christian publisher Thomas Nelson. A regular kid prophesied to end an ancient war is swept away to the secret Hadley Academy even though he seems to have no extraordinary gifts.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Illustrated – The illustrated version of the fourth Harry Potter book has a whopping 464 pages – over 100 more than the last book.
Hazel’s Theory of Evolution – A teen who is struggling with questions about how her 8th grade year at school will go and who is worried about one of her mom’s pregnancy after two miscarriages finds her usual move of finding answers in old encyclopedias not sufficient for these kinds of questions.
How to Rob a Bank (Older Middle Grade) – When a boy trying to impress a girl ends up burning down her house instead, he thinks only the grandest gestures can make up for it – like robbing a bank to help pay for a new house. This sounds bizarre, which means it’s going to be a must read.
Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat: The Spacedog Cometh – Book 3 in the Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat series. While Klawde is dealing with a space dog that’s come to Earth to bring him to justice, Klawde’s human friend Raj is dealing with his own out of town guest whose plans may lead to endless embarrassment.
Lily’s Story – Book 7 in the Puppy Tale series. The runt of a litter – and the only girl – might find her size is an advantage in discovering her purpose.
Look Both Ways (Older Middle Grade) – The latest from the great Jason Reynolds. A story told in ten blocks on the trip home from school. The format for this sounds fascinating – I can’t wait to see it in person.
Marvel Rising: Heroes of the Round Table (Graphic Novel) – Collects the first five comics in the Marvel Rising line.
Rescue on the River – Book 24 in the Imagination Station series that’s like Magic Tree House with a faith-spin, from Focus on the Family. This is the final book in an arc about Civil War America.
Revenge of Magic: The Last Dragon – Book 2 in the series. An ancient evil is looking for the last dragon, and Fort and his mysterious new roommate are having dreams about it. I have book one on my TBR shelves.
The Unicorn Whisperer (Comics collection) – Book 10 in the fun Phoebe and her Unicorn series. The sample pages I have seen are a hoot!
Black Women in Science – History of Black women in science. This is available for free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription right now.
Harry Potter: Exploring Hogwarts: An Illustrated Guide – An illustrated guide to Hogwarts with movie photos and details from the movies.
Raina’s Mini Posters AND My Smile Diary – Two gift books from Raina Telgemeier, author of Smile and her latest graphic novel, Guts. Trust me, if you know a 10-12 year old girl (and many who are younger and older), she likely is very familiar with these books. The mini posters include things from the graphic novels that can be hung at home or in a locker (material from Guts is not included). The diary includes blank and bordered pages with a dot-grid for writing space.
The Who Was History of the World – A timeline of the world, referencing the various figures highlighted in the Who Was series.
The Athena Protocol – The Athena Protocol is an elite spy organization enacting justice around the world. When an operative is dismissed for going too far she starts investigating a trafficking ring on her own with no backup, while trying to avoid her former teammates who have been told to take her down. I already have this on hold at the library.
The Grace Year – A Lord of the Flies-like tale of teen girls released into the wild for their 16th year to rid them of the “magic” that drives men and boys to lust. Each of the girls know she is to be married at the end of the year – if she survives. A dark but interesting plot.
I Know You Remember – When Ruthie returns after three years away she discovers her best friend, Zahra, disappeared a few days before her return. Ruthie digs into Zahra’s life and all the ways she has changed over the last three years in search of clues to what happened.
In the Hall with the Knife – Book one in a new series based on the board game, Clue. A storm leaves a group of students and their headmaster trapped at their elite prep school. When the headmaster is killed, everyone there had a motive for the crime. Love the premise of this.
The Library of Lost Things – A teen hides from the realities of her life – like her mother’s compulsive shopping and hoarding – in books. But a new property manager for their apartment and a new boy she meets through her book store job could shake up her precariously perched life.
Rogue Heart – Book 2 in the Rebel Seoul series. In 2201 a telepath waitress/lounge singer stays under the radar just the way she likes it. But when she has the chance to expose those who experiment on others like what happened to her, she finds herself using her powers to aid a rebellion. This seems to center on different characters than in book one.
Enough Is Enough: How Students Can Join the Fight for Gun Safety – A young activists handbook. Includes look at the history of the Second Amendment, the NRA and guns in America.
Harry Potter Film Vault: Volume 3 Horcruxes and the Deathy Hallows AND Volume 4 Hogwarts Students – A collection of books about the Harry Potter films. CAUTION – Some readers have noted that this material has been released before in other Harry Potter Vault books. This may be more re-packaging than actual new content.
Books for Adults
Baking Me Crazy (Trade Paperback) – Book 1 in the Donner Bakery series. A nice guy who takes on the best friend role for a woman he loves because that’s what she needed at the time watches his chance at love start to slip away when she starts dating a new guy.
The Bodies in the Library (Hardcover) – First in the new First Edition Library Mystery series. A young woman lands the job as curator of Lady Georgiana Fowling’s First Edition Library in Bath, England. And one of her first events there – an Agatha Christie fan fiction writer’s group – ends in murder.
The Books of the Dead (Hardcover) – Book 2 in the Death in Paris mystery series. Two Americans are called in to sleuth again after one of them finds a body at the French national library.
Faker (Trade Paperback) – A sweet, easy-going woman has to fake being tough as nails to survive in her job at a power-tool company staffed mostly by men. When she has to do a charity project with one of the worst co-workers – a grouchy, hostile man – the two start to see each other in a new light.
How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse (Hardcover) – Book one in the new Thorne Chronicles science fiction series. A princess who expects to take her father’s throne some day finds her world turned upside down when her mother has a son at last, her father is assassinated, and she is betrothed to a prince from another world. This is described as “The Princess Bride meets Princess Leia” and I am here for it! I will be reviewing this one later this month.
Sharpest Sting (Trade Paperback) – Book 18 in the Elemental Assassin series. Gin, aka “the Spider,” is looking forward to her friend’s wedding when she learns an old enemy is back in town, and she is set on a quest that will leave her stung by betrayal. I read the first book in the series this summer and found it captivating. The author for this series writes the Crown of Shard series including my top book of 2018, Kill the Queen.
Star Trek: TNG – Collateral Damage (Trade Paperback) – The past returns to haunt Captain Jean-Luc Picard and he is called to earth to face charges of treason. With Worf left to command the Enterprise, he and the crew are drawn into a hunt for “pirates” whose motives may not be as evil as they have been led to believe. I have this on my list for this week.
The Widow of Rose House (Trade Paperback) – A woman who fled her abusive husband – and took harassment from the press for it – is now free to return to New York because the man is dead. She’s going to restore an old mansion, but rumors of ghosts and hauntings are not helping her quest for a new start. When a professor offers to help her dig into the secrets of the house, she is reluctant, but truly needs his help.
Wish List (How to Be the Best Da** Faery Godmother in the World (Or Die Trying)) (e-book) – Book 2 in the series, sequel to Wishful Thinking. Saffron is put in charge of a task force to bring down the trolls, and she sees it as a chance to make a name for herself. Available for free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.
Diagnosis Female: How Medical Bias Endangers Women’s Health (Hardcover) – Examines flaws in the medical field around serving women, including cases where symptoms are determined to be “all in her head” when causes cannot be quickly ascertained. Includes suggestions for women of how to get their needs met and also for the medical community to correct their biases.
Miracles and Other Reasonable Things (Hardcover) – The latest from Sarah Bessey, author of Jesus Feminist, which is on my TBR pile. A memoir of her faith journey before and after a devastating car accident that changed everything.