Dear Book Friends,
I just realized I totally told everyone that I was going to talk to you again on Thursday, not remembering that Thursday was going to be the 4th of July and I would, in fact, not be talking to you. So sorry to ghost you like that. We’re back though, and that just means I’ve had extra time to gather all of the best book-related news to share with you. What a way to start out your week.
Book Deals and Reveals
If, like me, you were excited about a potential Moana 2 and Wicked double feature this November a la Barbenheimer, then this is sad news for you (and me). The release date of Wicked has been bumped up to November 22, meaning it will no longer be released on the same date as Moana 2 (November 27). Guess we’ll just have to spend two days at the movies.
It’s Christmas in July, everyone, because People is giving a first look at the upcoming film adaptation of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. The movie, based on Barbara Robinson’s book of the same name, is scheduled for a November 8 theatrical release.
More movie news! Here’s the first trailer for Hellboy: The Crooked Man. The superhero horror film will be out later this year.
Eric Geron, author of the A Tale of Two Princes, has a new book coming out next year! Leo Martino Steals Back His Heart is out from HarperCollins on January 14, 2025.
Electric Literature has shared a cover reveal for Paul Lisicky’s upcoming memoir Song So Wild and Blue: A Life with Joni Mitchell. It’s out from HarperOne on February 4, 2025.
And here’s the cover and an excerpt from Jessica Goodman’s murder mystery novel The Meadowbrook Murders. This one is also out on February 4, 2025.
Here’s another cover reveal and an excerpt. This one’s for the upcoming sapphic rom-com On Her Terms by Amy Spalding. It’s out February 25, 2025.
Sarah Michelle Gellar has joined the cast of the prequel series Dexter: Original Sin. Gellar will play Tanya Martin, the CSI chief at the Miami Metro Police Department and Dexter Morgan’s new boss.
Check out The Million’s great summer book preview, featuring 80 excellent books you’ll want on your TBR ASAP.
Book Riot Recommends
Hi, welcome to everyone’s favorite segment of Book Radar called Book Riot Recommends. This is where I’ll talk to you about all the books I’m reading, the books I’m loving, and the books I can’t wait to read and love in the near future. I think you’re going to love them too!
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Prepare Your Shelves!
So Witches We Became by Jill Baguchinsky (Little, Brown, July 23)
This witchy YA novel gives me nightmares just based on the cover illustration alone. It’s being marketed as a queer, feminist spin on Stephen King’s The Mist and the perfect new novel for fans of She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran. And, well, I am seated.
The story is set over a high school spring break. Senior Nell is heading to a private Florida island with some of her friends. It seems like the perfect vacation, but Nell’s secrets will follow her to the island. Secrets that have a deep connection to the island’s history. Secrets that will unlock dark magic hidden on the island, trapping them all in a mist that surrounds it, making it impossible for anyone to escape alive. Now, in order to save herself and her friends, Nell will be forced to confront her past and make sense of the horrors that have followed her since childhood. It turns out that confronting trauma is no easy task.
Making matters even more difficult, Nell discovers each of her friends who have accompanied her on the island are harboring secrets of their own. And unlocking these secrets might unleash a power that’s even more dangerous than the mist.
What I’m Reading This Week
Grim Root by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam
Portrait of a Shadow by Meriam Metoui
Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen
Here for the Wrong Reasons by Annabel Paulson and Lydia Wang
I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
Sociopath by Patric Gagne
Monday Memes
This summer, are you opting for sunny beach reads? Or are you bringing dark horror fiction filled with existential dread with you as you sit by the pool? You know which one I am.
And Here’s A Cat Picture!
The warm sunny weather is perfect if you’re a cat and all you have to do all day is lounge in a window in a sunbeam. Must be nice to lie around and watch tennis all day, right? I took this picture on July 4th before all the fireworks went off. Back when Murray didn’t have a care in the world.
And that’s it for today’s Book Radar! Thanks for hanging out with me on this Monday when you could be outside basking in sunbeams. I hope you have a wonderful week, and I’ll see you on Thursday!