Sponsored by Tor Teen.
In the tradition of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, Mary Cecilia Jackson’s devastating but hopeful YA debut is about a ballerina who finds the courage to confront the abuse that haunts her past and threatens her future. Though Sparrow is a gifted ballerina, her real talent is keeping secrets. Schooled in silence by her long-dead mother, Sparrow has always believed herself to be “not the kind of girl who tells.” But in the aftermath of a brutal assault by her seemingly perfect boyfriend Tristan, Sparrow must finally find the courage to confront the ghosts of her past, or lose herself forever….
Welcome to Check Your Shelf, which is being brought to you from my quarantine bunker. This marks my first week of officially working from home…we’ll see how I’m doing on Friday. (Also, who told Chicago that now would be a great time for snow?!?!)
As a general note, Book Riot has an ongoing list of COVID articles that they’re updating regularly, and I’ll link back to this list at the beginning of every newsletter. I hope this is a helpful resource – it certainly saves me a lot of time and mental agony. And it frees up space for more book list links, which are infinitely more enjoyable.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
- BookExpo and BookCon have been postponed until July.
- Amazon de-prioritizes book sales amid COVID-19 crisis.
- Meanwhile, Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt makes the push that books should be considered essential during the pandemic.
- 9 ways to support your indie bookstore during COVID-19.
New & Upcoming Titles
- Yusef Salaam (who was one of the “Central Park Five”) and Ibi Zoboi are teaming up on an upcoming YA novel, Punching the Air, about wrongful imprisonment.
- Thomas Olde Heuvelt announced a new horror novel in 2021. If you’re a horror fan and you haven’t read his last novel, Hex, yet, you must do so ASAP!
- Christine Mangan (author of Tangerine) announces a new thriller.
- Ariel Lawhon is writing a historical mystery set in Maine, which is based on true events.
- David Lagercrantz announces a modern Sherlock Holmes series for 2021.
- Madeline Westerhout has a new book out in August about her time as a Trump staffer: Off the Record: Picking Up the Pieces after Losing My Dream Job at the White House.
- Best novels for March from Crime Reads (debuts & international crime novels) and Vogue.
- 25 of the best new books this spring.
- 13 new spring fantasy novels.
- 14 highly anticipated LGBTQ+ books this spring.
- 30 books by Latinx authors coming out in 2020.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
- The Mountains Sing – Nguyen Phan Que Mai (New York Times, NPR)
- Beheld – TaraShea Nesbit (New York Times, USA Today)
RA/Genre Resources
- LitHub has a new RA column called bookrecs.
- Five SFF subgenres for fans of true crime.
- What the heck is silkpunk?
- How YA literature is rewriting the Muslim-American experience.
On the Riot
- Indie press releases for March 2020.
- Best horror fiction podcasts.
All Things Comics
- Free Comic Day has been postponed until the summer.
- Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera is getting a graphic novel adaptation!
- She-Ra’s 5th season will be its last.
- 5 comics to read while social distancing.
On the Riot
- A list of some of the comic chroniclings of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Audiophilia
On the Riot
- 5 feel-good middle grade audiobooks.
- Here’s an older article on finding free audiobooks online.
- 7 authors that this reader only listens to on audio.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
- 9 boredom-busting activity books for kids.
- 23 YA novels with strong female characters.
Adults
- 13 fiction breakthroughs that live up to the hype.
- 5 creepy books once you’ve finished watching You.
- Readalikes if you love Little Fires Everywhere.
- 8 books if you’re obsessed with Love is Blind.
- 19 books to read when you have a lot of alone time.
- 20 happiness books to make you feel good with every page.
- 13 books guaranteed to put you in a good mood.
- Book suggestions when you need a laugh.
- 25 romance and erotica novels to keep you company during the quarantine.
- Meghan Markle picks some badass books for your reading list.
- 30 books that pass the Bechdel test.
- 87 books written by women that you won’t be able to put down.
- 10 new books for Womxn’s History Month.
- 12 backlist titles to dig into.
- 8 books if you’re suddenly nostalgic for inter-office drama.
- A booklist for all 50 states.
- 12 stress-relieving coloring books for adults.
On the Riot
- 31 of the top children’s books.
- 21 cat books for kids who love kittens.
- 8 books for fans of Looking for Alaska.
- (Nearly) 80 YA books set around the world.
- 12 of the best cookbooks for quarantine cooking and food prep.
- 20 must-read feel good fantasies.
- 10 mystery novels to prepare for the Woman in the Window adaptation.
Level Up (Library Reads)
Do you take part in LibraryReads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.
Sending virtual hugs to anyone who wants them. Stay safe, healthy, and relatively sane.
Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Zero Saints by Gabino Iglesias.