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Happy Tuesday, my little book squeezers! I’m not going to lie, I could do another whole megalist of new releases today, because there are so many amazing ones coming out. But I will go easy on your TBRs. (Also, you can totally check out the show notes for today’s new episode of All the Books! if you want to learn about more of this week’s new releases.) Today I am most excited to get my hands on Me, Elton John’s very first memoir. I’m also looking forward to getting Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden, The Rosewater Redemption by Tade Thompson, Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout, War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi, Medallion Status: True Stories from Secret Rooms by John Hodgman… okay, I’ll stop, because this list could go on and on!
So I have a few great books I enjoyed for you to check out today, and you can hear about more awesome reads on this week’s episode of the All the Books! María Cristina and I discussed Your House Will Pay, The Never Tilting World, Wild Game, and more great books!
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia
Rick Riordan tweeted a few weeks ago that after only a year, his imprint that focuses on #OwnVoices has a million copies in print. It’s because each addition is amazing, and Tristan Strong is no different. Seventh grader Tristan Strong is being sent to his grandmother’s to recover after a bus accident that claimed the life of his best friend, Eddie. But on his first night there, a creature breaks in and tries to steal all Tristan has left of Eddie: his notebook. In the ensuing chase, Tristan punches a tree open. Yep. That just happened. Inside the tree is a portal to a fantasy world, where black American folk heroes fight evil. Tristan and his new friends must convince Anansi to close the hole in the sky if he ever wants to get back home. This is a wildly fun and imaginative new middle grade fantasy, and I can’t wait to hear about more Tristan Strong adventures!
Backlist bump: The Storm Runner (Book 1) by J.C. Cervantes
Dead Girls by Abigail Tarttelin
Thera is an eleven-year-old in the sleepy rural town of Eastcastle, England in the late 1990s. Billie is Thera’s best, true forever friend, the prettiest one of their group who loves laughing and never tires of playing Thera’s pretend games. But then Billie goes missing, and Thera starts seeing ghosts. Thera is worried that what happened to Billie is her fault, because she wanted to pretend-spy on the stranger. And she thinks Billie’s ghost is trying to tell her something. The police have no clues about what happened, so Thera decides to investigate for herself. But a dangerous world where a murderer is on the loose is no place for a young girl, even one as smart as Thera. (TW: There is a small part where Thera wonders about sexual assault and what it means, and it is heartbreaking and tough to read.)
Backlist bump: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
America Is Immigrants by Sara Novic and Alison Kolesar
Novic has written short biographies for immigrants from every country in the world. They include war heroes and fashion designers, Supreme Court justices and pop stars, athletes and civil rights leaders, doctors, scientists, inventors, and more. And the book features full-color illustrations to go along with the stories of the many different people who truly help make America a great place.
Backlist bump: First Generation: 36 Trailblazing Immigrants and Refugees Who Make America Great by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace
Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o and Vashti Harrison
And this is Academy Award–winning actress Nyong’o’s first picture book. It’s a gorgeously illustrated story about colorism and self-esteem. It’s about a little girl named Sulwe. She has skin the color of midnight, but she wishes she had lighter skin like the rest of her family. But a magical journey through the night sky changes her mind.
Backlist bump: I Am Enough by Grace Byers and Keturah A. Bobo
Liberty
See you next week!