Young Adult
The Grimoire of Grave Fates edited by Hanna Alkaf and Margaret Owen
Professor of Magical History Septimius Dropwort has just been murdered, and now everyone at the Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is a suspect.
A prestigious school for young magicians, the Galileo Academy has recently undergone a comprehensive overhaul, reinventing itself as a roaming academy in which students of all cultures and identities are celebrated. In this new Galileo, every pupil is welcome--but there are some who aren't so happy with the recent changes. That includes everyone's least favorite professor, Septimius Dropwort, a stodgy old man known for his harsh rules and harsher punishments. But when the professor's body is discovered on school grounds with a mysterious note clenched in his lifeless hand, the Academy's students must solve the murder themselves, because everyone's a suspect.
Told from more than a dozen alternating and diverse perspectives, The Grimoire of Grave Fates follows Galileo's best and brightest young magicians as they race to discover the truth behind Dropwort's mysterious death. Each one of them is confident that only they have the skills needed to unravel the web of secrets hidden within Galileo's halls. But they're about to discover that even for straight-A students, magic doesn't always play by the rules. . . .
Contributors include: Cam Montgomery, Darcie Little Badger, Hafsah Faizal, Jessica Lewis, Julian Winters, Karuna Riazi, Kat Cho, Kayla Whaley, Kwame Mbalia, L. L. McKinney, Marieke Nijkamp, Mason Deaver, Natasha Díaz, Preeti Chhibber, Randy Ribay, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Victoria Lee, and Yamile Saied Méndez
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Always Isn't Forever by J.C. Cervantes
Best friends and soul mates since they were kids, Hart Augusto and Ruby Armenta were poised to take on senior year together when Hart tragically drowns in a boating accident. Absolutely shattered, Ruby struggles to move on from the person she knows was her forever love.
Hart can't let go of Ruby either.... Due to some divine intervention, he's offered a second chance. Only it won't be as simple as bringing him back to life--instead, Hart's soul is transferred to the body of local bad boy.
When Hart returns to town as Jameson, he realizes that winning Ruby back will be more challenging than he'd imagined. For one, he's forbidden from telling Ruby the truth. And with each day he spends as Jameson, memories of his life as Hart begin to fade away.
Though Ruby still mourns Hart, she can't deny that something is drawing her to Jameson. As much as she doesn't understand the sudden pull, it can't be ignored. And why does he remind her so much of Hart? Desperate to see if the connection she feels is real, Ruby begins to open her heart to Jameson--but will their love be enough to bridge the distance between them?
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The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar
“Welcome to the first ever Junior Irish Baking Show!”
Shireen Malik is still reeling from the breakup with her ex-girlfriend, Chris, when she receives news that she’s been accepted as a contestant on a new televised baking competition show. This is Shireen’s dream come true! Because winning will not only mean prize money, but it will also bring some much-needed attention to You Drive Me Glazy, her parents’ beloved donut shop.
Things get complicated, though, because Chris is also a contestant on the show. Then there’s the very outgoing Niamh, a fellow contestant who is becoming fast friends with Shireen. Things are heating up between them, and not just in the kitchen.
As the competition intensifies , Shireen will have to ignore all these factors and more― including potential sabotage―if she wants a sweet victory!
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Some Shall Break by Ellie Marney
After a harrowingly close contact with juvenile sociopath Simon Gutmunsson, junior FBI consultants Emma Lewis and Travis Bell went their separate ways: Emma rejected her Quantico offer and Travis stayed to train within a new unit of the FBI Behavioral Science division. But the unit's latest case is feeling eerily familiar and Kristin Gutmunsson--Simon Gutmunsson's eccentric twin--reaches out to Travis to send a warning: Emma is in peril.
When Travis and Kristin turn up evidence that points back to Daniel Huxton, the serial killer that Emma had escaped, things become more complicated. With a copycat on the loose, Emma returns to Quantico and is thrown back into her past traumas. Compelled to prevent more tragedy--even if it means putting herself in danger--Emma turns to Simon for help once again. But Simon is keeping secrets that could impact their entire investigation. Will the team be able to stop the Huxton copycat before time runs out for his next victims?
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Ruling Destiny by Alyson Noël
Now my life is caught in the secrets of everyone around me. Arthur, the eccentric billionaire who rules this school. Killian, who could be the only honest person here…or the biggest liar. And Braxton, magnetic, gorgeous, and unfathomable. The only thing I trust about him is our electric connection.
Whether we’re Tripping through Renaissance Italy or thieving from a ball in Regency England, my life’s become a web of lies and strange truths. And beneath the surface is an elaborate puzzle, filled with cryptic symbols and priceless treasures scattered across history—all somehow connected to my strange ability to see through time.
But Arthur has a dangerously ambitious agenda. And if what my dad taught me is true, I’m not just a threat to everyone at Gray Wolf.
…I’m a threat to time itself.
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Things I'll Never Say by Cassandra Newbould
Ten years ago, the Scar Squad promised each other nothing would tear them apart. Even when Casey Jones Caruso lost her twin brother Sammy to an overdose, and their foursome became a threesome, the squad picked each other up. But when Casey's feeling for the remaining members--Francesca and Benjamin--develop into romantic attraction, she worries the truth will dissolve them.
Casey tries to ignore her heart, until Ben kisses her at a summer party, and Frankie kisses another girl. Now Casey must confront all the complicated feelings she's buried--for her friends and for the brother she's totally pissed at for dying. Since Sammy's death, Casey has spilled all the things she can no longer say to him in journals, and now more than ever, she wishes he were here to help her decide whether she should guard her heart or bet it all on love, before someone else decides for her.
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Saint Juniper's Folly by Alex Crespo
For Jaime, returning to the Vermont town of Saint Juniper means returning to a past he's spent eight years trying to forget. After shuttling between foster homes, he hopes to make something out of this fresh start. But every gossip in town already knows his business, and with reminders of his past everywhere, he seeks out solitude into the nearby woods--Saint Juniper's Folly--and does not return.
For Theo, Saint Juniper means being stuck. He knows there's more out there, but he's scared to go find it. His senior year is going to be like all the rest, dull and claustrophobic. That is until he wanders into the Folly and stumbles on a haunted house with an acerbic yet handsome boy trapped--as in physically trapped--inside.
For Taylor, Saint Juniper is a mystery. She tries to practice the magic her dad banned from the house after her mom, an accomplished witch, suddenly died. But without someone to guide her, she's floundering. Then a wide-eyed teenager barges into her life, rambling about a haunted house and a trapped boy. He needs a witch.
The Folly and its ghosts will draw these three teenagers together. But can they each face their demons to forge a bond strong enough to escape the Folly's shadows?
Alex Crespo's queer haunted house mystery is equal parts spine-tingling thrills, a celebration of found family, and must-read for paranormal romance fans.
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At the Speed of Lies by Cindy L. Otis
Quinn Calvet was supposed to be having an epic year. She had all kinds of plans with her best friend, Ximena, and sister, Ava, and to grow her following as an influencer on The Whine. Instead, Quinn finds herself third wheel to Ximena and her new boyfriend or getting ditched by Ava who has turned into an overachiever, obsessed with studying and joining every school club. It brings up Quinn's old feelings that her disability has her left behind. She tries to talk to Ava about it, but she's too busy with the newest club at school, Defend Kids, which is working frantically to help find two kids who were recently kidnapped from a nearby town.
Suddenly, Defend Kids is all anyone is talking about, and whenever Quinn posts about them on The Whine, she gains tons of new followers and her posts go viral. As the club works to get the message out, more kids in the surrounding area go missing, but it seems like the police and the media aren't doing much about it. When two of Quinn's classmates are kidnapped, the dangers that Defend Kids is trying to fight become all too real.
As Quinn and her friends search for the missing kids, tensions escalate at school, there's an uptick in bullying, and conspiracy theories abound. Before she knows it, Quinn and The Whine are at the center of it all, trying to find out what's really happening. Only the truth might be more deadly than anyone knows...
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Love Letters for Joy by Melissa See
Less than a year away from graduation, seventeen-year-old Joy is too busy overachieving to be worried about relationships. She’s determined to be Caldwell Prep’s first disabled valedictorian. And she only has one person to beat, her academic rival Nathaniel.
But it’s senior year and everyone seems to be obsessed with pairing up. One of her best friends may be developing feelings for her and the other uses Caldwell’s anonymous love-letter writer to snag the girl of her dreams. Joy starts to wonder if she has missed out on a quintessential high school experience. She is asexual, but that’s no reason she can’t experience first love, right?
She writes to Caldwell Cupid to help her sort out these new feelings and, over time, finds herself falling for the mysterious voice behind the letters. But falling in love might mean risking what she wants most, especially when the letter-writer turns out to be the last person she would ever expect.
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Something More by Jackie Khalilieh
Fifteen-year-old Jessie, a quirky loner obsessed with the nineties, is diagnosed as autistic just weeks before starting high school. Determined to make a fresh start and keep her diagnosis a secret, Jessie creates a list of goals that range from acquiring two distinct eyebrows to getting a magical first kiss and landing a spot in the school play. Within the halls of Holy Trinity High, she finds a world where things are no longer black and white and quickly learns that living in color is much more fun. But Jessie gets more than she bargained for when two very different boys steal her heart, forcing her to go off-script.
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Pedro & Daniel by Federico Erebia and Julie Kwon (illustrator)
Pedro & Daniel is a sweeping and deeply personal novel - illustrated with beautiful linework throughout by Julie Kwon - that spans from childhood to teenage years to adulthood, all the while tracing the lives of two brothers who are there for each other when no one else is. Together the brothers manage an abusive home life, school, coming out, first loves, first jobs, and the AIDS epidemic, in a coming-of-age story unlike any other.
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The Chaperone by M. Hendrix
Deflect attention.
Abstain from sin.
Navigate the world with care.
Give obedience.
Embrace purity.
Respect your chaperone.
Girls in New America must have a chaperone with them at all times. Because of this, Stella is never alone. She can't go out by herself or learn about the world. She can't even spend time with boys except at formal Visitations. Still, Stella feels lucky that her chaperone, Sister Helen, is like a friend to her.
And then the unthinkable happens. Sister Helen dies suddenly, and Stella feels lost. Especially when she's assigned a new chaperone just days later.
Sister Laura is... different. She has radical ideas about what Stella should be doing. She leaves Stella alone in public and even knows how to get into the "Hush Hush" parties where all kinds of forbidden things happen. As Stella spends more time with Sister Laura, she begins to question everything she's been taught. What if the Constables' rules don't actually protect girls? What if they were never meant to keep them safe?
Once Stella glimpses both real freedom and the dark truths behind New America, she has no choice but to fight back against the world she knows, risking everything to set out on a dangerous journey across what used to be the United States.
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The Secret Summer of Promise by Keah Brown
1. Blueberries
2. Art show in ShoeHorn
3. Lizzo concert
4. Thrift shop pop-up
5. Skinny Dipping at the lake house
6. Amusement Park Day!
7. Drew Barrymarathon
8. Paintball day
Oh, and ....
9. Fall out of love with Hailee.
Andrea Williams has got this. The Best Summer Ever. Last summer, she spent all her time in bed, recovering from the latest surgery for her cerebral palsy. She's waited too long for adventure and thrills to enter her life. Together with her crew of ride-or-die friends, and the best parents anyone could ask for (just don't tell them that), she's going to live it up.
There's just one thing that could ruin it: Her best friend, Hailee, finding out Andrea's true feelings. So Andrea WILL fall out of love with Hailee - even if it means dating the cute boy George who keeps showing up everywhere with a smile.
Do we want Andrea to succeed? No! Does she? We're not telling!
Keah Brown is a journalist, screenwriter, and author who has written for Teen Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, and The New York Times. She is also the creator of #DisabledAndCute. Now, in her YA debut of nerdy queer love, Keah gives us the perfect summer read and cast of characters to fall in love with.
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The Queens of New York by E.L. Shen
Best friends Jia Lee, Ariel Kim, and Everett Hoang are inseparable. But this summer, they won't be together.
Everett, aspiring Broadway star, hopes to nab the lead role in an Ohio theater production, but soon realizes that talent and drive can only get her so far. Brainy Ariel is flying to San Francisco for a prestigious STEM scholarship, even though her heart is in South Korea, where her sister died last year. And stable, solid Jia will be home in Flushing, juggling her parents' Chinatown restaurant, a cute new neighbor, and dreams for an uncertain future.
As the girls navigate heartbreaking surprises and shocking self-discoveries, they find that even though they're physically apart, they are still mighty together.
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Good as Gold by Candace Buford
The past can't stay buried for long . . .
Casey's life in Langston has been charmed. She's the queen bee of her prep school, a shoe-in for prom queen, and on her way to the Ivy League come fall. She can't wait to leave the whole town of Langston behind her. That is until her father loses his job and she finds herself on the brink of losing her ticket out of town.
The town of Langston is known for its picturesque lake and robust summer tourism. Everyone who lives in town has heard the rumors at some point-- there is a treasure buried deep below the surface that no one has ever been able to find. Few people actually believe in the treasure, and even fewer have searched for it. But some have tried . . .
Suddenly an outcast from her popular squad, Casey falls in with a new group of friends who are exactly the opposite of her usual crowd, but are more accepting. Together they devise a plan to find the elusive treasure, in a quest to get the money and save Casey's family and her future. But what they find is much more complicated than just a pile of gold. With thrilling twists and turns and high stakes adventure, fans of Outer Banks will devour this summer adventure.
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A Spark in the Cinders by Jenny Elder Moke
Aralyn has lost everything – the coveted glass slipper, the prince’s hand in marriage, and her only chance to save her mother and sister from destitution. Now she spends her days sweeping the cinders and washing dresses as her stepsister Ellarose once did, plotting her revenge against the girl who robbed her of her future.
But when Ellarose, now the princess, comes to beg her help with saving the kingdom from ruin, Aralyn sees the opportunity to seize everything she’s ever wanted. She discovers a prophecy, an ancient blade from the original fairy godfather of the kingdom of Novador that could restore the kingdom to its former prosperity. She’s determined to find the missing pieces of the blade and use its power for her own gain, even if it means dragging her bumbling fairy godmother and an annoying lady knight along with her.
But as Aralyn has to put her trust in others to survive the challenges of retrieving each lost piece of the blade, she begins to question everything her mother has taught her about surviving in life. Maybe the prince was never the key to her future, and maybe she’ll have to fight to find her own happily ever after.
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Ride or Die by Gail-Agnes Musikavanhu
Best friends Loli Crawford and Ryan Pope have earned their nickname, the "Bonnie and Clyde of Woolridge High." From illegal snack swapping in kindergarten to reckless car surfing in high school, they have been causing trouble in their uptight California town forever. But everyone knows that the mischief starts with Loli; when it comes to chasing thrills, drama, and adventure, no one is on her level.
At least until Loli throws the wildest party Woolridge High has ever seen and meets X, a strange, unidentified boy in the coat closet, who challenges her to a game she can't refuse--one that promises to put her love of danger to the ultimate test.
Loli and X begin an anonymous correspondence, exchanging increasingly risky missions. Loli's fun has always been free and easy, but things spin out of control as she attempts to one-up X's every move. As Loli risks losing everything--including her oldest friend--she'll face the most dangerous thing of all: falling for someone she shouldn't.
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Take by Jennifer Bradbury
Cara is on the cusp of adventure. Unlike her best friends, she doesn’t want to go to college, she wants different kinds of challenges. And anyway, home just doesn’t fit anymore. She is growing distant from her friends and hasn’t spoken to her father in eons. To make matters worse, her ex-boyfriend and fellow climber, Nat, has popped back into town after breaking up with her over text. So it’s the perfect time to leave, and she has big plans for a gap year to rock-climb in Patagonia.
But when Cara hears that her father is actually missing, things change. While trying to track him down, she discovers a trail of clues centering around the history and life of the legendary mountaineer, outdoorsman, author, and all around dirtbag, Beckett Friedrichs. And unfortunately, the only person who knows enough about Friedrichs to make sense of any of this is Nat.
Their search for Cara’s father will lead into the Cascade Mountains, up a harrowing rock face, and navigating through time as Nat and Cara explore the history of World War II with the impact of Pearl Harbor and its Japanese Incarceration Camps, Cara’s family, and each other.
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The Warning by Kristy Acevedo
Like most high school seniors, Alexandra Lucas is caught between living in the moment and an unknown future. Her anxiety disorder doesn't make that any easier. But she's coping--until her train stops on the way home from a concert with her boyfriend. At first, she's worried about breaking curfew. Then terror echoes through their train car.
A mysterious doorway has appeared beside the tracks, and a hologram claiming to be a human from the future shares a sinister warning. A comet is on a collision course with earth. All life there will end in six months' time. To survive, people must step through one of the many portals that have opened around the world.
The holograms claim to offer safety. But how can anyone be sure? Stay or go--everyone must make their own choice. Alex's family, her friends, her boyfriend all have different ideas. Alex is only sure of one thing: she wants to decide for herself. But every decision comes at a price.
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The Broken Hearts Club by Susan Bishop Crispell
Imogen Finch has never been in love... despite being the daughter of a matchmaker. Her only relationship to date was a fake one with a near stranger named August Tate that she made up to stop people from asking about her love life. To fill the void, she’s channeled her obsession with love into her passion for photography, using her ability to literally see the rose-gold glow of a person in love to capture stunning portraits.
But when her adviser says her photography portfolio is “one note”, she’s desperate to diversify. After hearing her forever crush, Ren, was recently dumped, she decides to photograph the broken-hearted, starting with him. Imogen is hopeful she’ll finally find love and get the right photos. So, the last thing she expects is for the real-life version of her fake boyfriend to show up in town asking why they “broke up”. Before she knows it she’s juggling August and Ren and falling for the first time in her life.
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Darkhearts by James L. Sutter
When David quit his band, he missed his shot at fame, trapped in an ordinary high school life while his ex–best friend, Chance, became the hottest teen pop star in America.
Then tragedy throws David and Chance back into contact. As old wounds break open, the boys find themselves trading frenemy status for a confusing, secret romance―one that could be David’s ticket back into the band and the spotlight.
As the mixture of business and pleasure becomes a powder keg, David will have to choose: Is this his second chance at glory? Or his second chance at Chance?
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Secret of the Moon Conch by David Bowles and Guadalupe Garcia McCall
In modern-day Mexico, Sitlali has no family left and has caught the attention of a dangerous gang leader. She has no choice but to make the perilous trip to the US border and track down her long-absent father. The night before her journey, she finds a beautiful conch shell detailed with ancient markings.
In 1521, Calizto is an Aztec young warrior in Tenochtitlan, fighting desperately to save his city from Spanish imperialists. With his family dead and the horrors of war surrounding him, Calizto asks a sacred moon conch for guidance.
Connected by the magical conch, Sitlali and Calizto can communicate across centuries, finding comfort in each other as they fight to survive. With each conversation, they fall deeper in love, but will they be able to find a way to each other?
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Graphic Novels
Northranger by Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo
Cade has always loved to escape into the world of a good horror movie. After all, horror movies are scary--but to Cade, a closeted queer Latino teen growing up in rural Texas--real life can be way scarier.
When Cade is sent to spend the summer working as a ranch hand to help earn extra money for his family, he is horrified. Cade hates everything about the ranch, from the early mornings to the mountains of horse poop he has to clean up. The only silver lining is the company of the two teens who live there--in particular, the ruggedly handsome and enigmatic Henry.
But as unexpected sparks begin to fly between Cade and Henry, things get... complicated. Henry is reluctant to share the details of his mother's death, and Cade begins to wonder what else he might be hiding. Inspired by the gothic romance of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Bloom comes a modern love story so romantic it's scary.
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Romance
We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian
Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to a reporting job at one of the city's biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can't let anyone into his life. He just never counted on meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy.
Andy Fleming's newspaper-tycoon father wants him to take over the family business. Andy, though, has no intention of running the paper. He's barely able to run his life--he's never paid a bill on time, routinely gets lost on the way to work, and would rather gouge out his own eyes than deal with office politics. Andy agrees to work for a year in the newsroom, knowing he'll make an ass of himself and hate every second of it.
Except, Nick Russo keeps rescuing Andy: showing him the ropes, tracking down his keys, freeing his tie when it gets stuck in the ancient filing cabinets. Their unlikely friendship soon sharpens into feelings they can't deny. But what feels possible in secret--this fragile, tender thing between them--seems doomed in the light of day. Now Nick and Andy have to decide if, for the first time, they're willing to fight.
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Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall
It is the year 1814, and life for a young lady of good breeding has many difficulties. There are balls to attend, fashions to follow, marriages to consider, and, of course, the tiny complication of existing in a world swarming with fairy spirits, interfering deities, and actual straight-up sorcerers.
Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds her entry into high society hindered by an irritating curse. It begins innocuously enough with her dress slowly unmaking itself over the course of an evening at a high-profile ball, a scandal she narrowly manages to escape.
However, as the curse progresses to more fatal proportions, Miss Mitchelmore must seek out aid, even if that means mixing with undesirable company. And there are few less desirable than Lady Georgiana Landrake--a brooding, alluring young woman sardonically nicknamed "the Duke of Annadale"--who may or may not have murdered her own father and brothers to inherit their fortune. If one is to believe the gossip, she might be some kind of malign enchantress. Then again, a malign enchantress might be exactly what Miss Mitchelmore needs.
With the Duke's help, Miss Mitchelmore delves into a world of angry gods and vindictive magic, keen to unmask the perpetrator of these otherworldly attacks. But Miss Mitchelmore's reputation is not the only thing at risk in spending time with her new ally. For the reputed witch has her own secrets that may prove dangerous to Miss Mitchelmore's heart--not to mention her life.
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Middle Grade
Greenwald by Pari Thomson
Open the door to a spellbinding world where the wilderness is alive and a deep magic rises from the earth itself . . .
Eleven-year-old Daisy Thistledown is on the run. Her mother has been keeping big, glittering secrets, and now she has vanished. Daisy knows it's up to her to find Ma--but someone is hunting her across London. Someone determined to stop her from discovering the truth.
So when Daisy flees to safety through a mysterious hidden doorway, she can barely believe her eyes--she has stepped out of the city and into another world.
This is the Greenwild. Bursting with magic and full of amazing natural wonders, it seems too astonishing to be true. But not only is this land of green magic real, it holds the key to finding Daisy's mother.
And someone wants to destroy it.
Daisy must band together with a botanical genius, a boy who can talk with animals, and a cat with an attitude to uncover the truth about who she really is. Only then can she channel the power that will change her whole world . . . and save the Greenwild itself.
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Lei and the Fire Goddess by Malia Maunakea
At least, that's what twelve-year-old, part-Hawaiian Anna Leilani Kamaʻehu thinks when she listens to her grandmother's folktales about sacred flowers and family guardians. Anna's friends back home in Colorado don't believe in legends, either. They're more interested in science and sports--real, tangible things that stand in total contrast to Anna's family's embarrassing stories.
So when Anna goes back to Hawaiʻi to visit her Tūtū, she has no interest in becoming the heir to her family's history; she's set on having a touristy, fun vacation. But when Anna accidentally insults Pele the fire goddess by destroying her lehua blossom, a giant hawk swoops in and kidnaps her best friend, and she quickly learns just how real these moʻolelo are. In order to save her friends and family, Anna must now battle mythical creatures, team up with demigods and talking bats, and evade the traps Pele hurls her way.
For if Anna hopes to undo the curse, she will have to dig deep into her Hawaiian roots and learn to embrace all of who she is.
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The Last Fallen Realm by Graci Kim
Riley Oh wasn’t born into her family. Instead, as she recently discovered, she tumbled down to the earth many years ago as the last fallen star. Riley Oh also wasn’t born to be a witch. Like, at all—even her status as a divine celestial being comes with zilch in the magical powers department. And Riley Oh definitely wasn’t born to be a leader. But now the entire magical community thinks she and her soul-twin, Dahl, are meant to lead the world into the Age of the Final Eclipse (or whatever it is that the Haetae keeps saying they’re “destined” to do). Greeeat.
But ever since Riley killed the Cave Bear Goddess, she’s been a bit pre-occupied with one thing: waiting for the goddess’s sisters to get their revenge. And it looks like her wait is finally over—because as witches from around the world prepare for war, it seems as though the goddesses are preparing for something much worse. Something that will lure Riley and her friends deep into the realm of the gods. Into a world of humongous, talking moon bunnies; life-or-death mini-golf competitions; and…magical gummy candies?
And in order to save the world, Riley must do the one thing she was born to do: believe in herself.
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The Ruby Code by Jessica Khoury
Bullied at school and home, Ash finds respite from his unhappy life in virtual reality games. One night, he spends his meager savings to help a stranger, who thanks him with a copy of an old fantasy game called The Glass Realm.
While exploring the game, Ash meets a seemingly humble shopkeeper named Ruby. But from the start, Ruby seems different than the other townsfolk--especially when she and Ash stumble across an in-game quest designed not for the player, but for Ruby to solve. When Ruby begins developing powerful abilities that can rewrite the very code of the game, they realize she is far more than a pre-programmed side character.
Following the quest left for her in The Glass Realm, the pair discover that Ruby is actually a sentient AI who's been hidden inside the game. Originally built as a weapon, her developer stole her from his employers and hid her away, hoping to keep her safe.
That safety vanishes when Ash and Ruby are targeted by the powerful shadow organization who funded Ruby's development, and who would use her to spark a world war to rack up huge profits. Caught in a deadly game that blurs the lines between real and virtual, Ash and Ruby must flee for their lives. If they lose this game--they might just doom the world.
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I'm ready to pass out, that was a lot. Almost 30 books out in one day, and that's just the ones I know about! If I included more adult fiction, I think I'd be six feet under. And fitting with Pride month, we've got a number of queer books to choose from! I'm excited for several of the books featured today, including The Grimoire of Grave Fates, The Chaperone, Mortal Follies, and At the Speed of Lies. What will you be reading this week?
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