Author: Tirzah Price

The Booker Prize Shortlist is Here and More Book Radar!

Post author By Tirzah Price
Post date September 16, 2020

Sponsored by Fly on the Wall by Remy Lai.

“Bright, funny storytelling . . . in this sharp, sweet story there is much to connect with.” —The New York Times. In Fly on the Wall, a moving and hilarious diary-style illustrated novel from the award-winning author of Pie in the Sky, a twelve-year-old boy goes on a (forbidden) solo adventure halfway around the world to prove his independence to his overprotective family. Filled with humor, heart, and hijinks, Fly on the Wall is a sure bet for fans of Jerry Craft, Terri Libenson, and Shannon Hale!

Hey there, book nerds! I can’t believe we’re halfway through September already. I hope you’re enjoying cooler temps and all the trappings of fall, including the explosion of new releases and all the exciting book news! I’m already having trouble keeping up with all the books I want to read this month! Let’s dive in, shall we?

Trivia question: In honor of her birthday on Tuesday, what was Agatha Christie’s debut novel?

Deals and Squeals

Furia by Yamile Saied Mendez, which just came out this week, has been chosen as Reese Witherspoon’s next YA book club pick!

Two bits of exciting news: We are getting a new Persuasion adaptation, and Anne Elliot has been cast!

Plan accordingly: Barack Obama’s memoir will be dropping sometime in November!

The Booker Prize shortlist is here and it’s the most diverse shortlist ever! We love to see it.

Ibram X. Kendi revealed the cover of his next book, Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America 1619-2019.

Ken Liu’s The Dandelion Dynasty has just grown from a trilogy to a quartet!

The hashtag #RIPJKRowling was trending on Twitter–not because the author died, but because a review of her new detective novel (written under the name Robert Galbraith) has been revealed to have a highly transphobic subplot.

Riot Recommendations

At Book Riot, I’m a cohost with Liberty on All the Books!, plus I write a handful of newsletters including the weekly Read This Book newsletter, cohost the Insiders Read Harder podcast, and write content for the site. I’m always drowning in books, so here’s what’s on my radar this week!

Excited to read: Furia by Yamile Saied Mendez

I am so darn excited for this book, especially since it’s been named a YA book club pick by Reese Witherspoon! It follows Camila, an Argentinian teen who plays soccer and keeps it from her parents, and dreams of one day qualifying for a scholarship to a North American college. When her team advances to an important tournament and someone from her past returns, Camila will have to figure out how to balance her dreams with her obligations.

Books I Acquired:

The Nesting by C.J. Cooke

Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

Recommended for You by Laura Silverman

Trivia answer: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

That’s it for me, book nerds! I leave you with a photo of the kitten, who has grown even more curious and now climbs everything. Here he is, having discovered the TV. (As an aside, anyone else watching The Vow on HBO? It’s absolutely BONKERS and a bit scary.)

Happy reading!
Tirzah

The Kids Are All Right

Kidlit Deals for September 16, 2020

Post author By Tirzah Price
Post date September 16, 2020

Hooray, It’s Time for New Books!

Post author By Tirzah Price
Post date September 14, 2020

Maggie O’Farrell Takes Home the Women’s Prize and More Book Radar!

Post author By Tirzah Price
Post date September 14, 2020

The Kane Chronicles is Coming to Netflix: Today in Books

Post author By Tirzah Price
Post date September 13, 2020

Sponsored by Dog Mom: A Love Story by Isabel Serna, published by Workman.

Kane In Development

Great news, Rick Riordan fans! The Kane Chronicles, which are Riordan’s middle grade fantasy adventure take on Egyptian mythology, are being adapted into feature length films over at Netflix! We don’t have much news beyond that yet, but it’s exciting to know that more Riordan work will be headed to a screen near you soon! In the meantime, pick up the first book, The Red Pyramid.

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé: Yhe 21-Year-Old British Student With A Million-Dollar Book Deal

How exciting is this? Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé has written a thriller called Ace of Spades, starring two Black students at an elite high school who must combat rumors to fight for their reputation, and then for their lives, in the vein of Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl. The author says that she wrote the book because she wanted to see people who looked like her in these stories, and writing her own take helped her feel less lonely during her first year of university. The book has been under contract with an editor in the UK for the last two years, but it was just snatched up by Macmillan here in the U.S. recently. It’ll release in summer 2021.

Celebrate Star Wars Reads This October

For the month of October, Star Wars is celebrating reading with Star Wars Reads month! This is an event for all ages, and will include virtual events and activities, giveaways, and special offers on the official Star Wars website. You can head to the website for a reading challenge, activities guide, and more, available for download now!

Read This Book

Read This Book: From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

Post author By Tirzah Price
Post date September 10, 2020

Sponsored by Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas with Swoon Reads.

Determined to prove his true gender to his traditional Latinx family, Yadriel tries to summon the ghost of his dead cousin to help set it free. Instead, Yadriel summons Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy. And Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He needs to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian. . . but the longer they’re together, the less Yadriel wants to let him leave. Don’t miss the paranormal debut Entertainment Weekly calls “groundbreaking” and Paste calls “wildly memorable.”

Welcome to Read This Book, a weekly newsletter where I recommend one book that I think you absolutely must read. The books will vary across genre and age category to include new releases, backlist titles, and classics. If you’re ready to explode your TBR, buckle up!

This week’s pick is an incredible middle grade novel–From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks.

I picked up this book on a whim because I’d seen the title and cover a lot, and I really love the audiobook narrator, the incredible Bahni Turpin. This novel follow Zoe, who turns 12 at the start of the book and has a great birthday, except that she’s on the outs with her best friend. And then she receives an odd piece of mail–a birthday card from her biological dad, Marcus. Zoe has never before had contact with him, although she knows that he’s been in prison since before she was born. They strike up a pen pal relationship, which she reveals to her grandma but keeps from her mom. As Zoe gets to know Marcus, she finds that he’s caring and funny and she gets some of her traits from him. She also learns that Marcus has always maintained that he’s innocent of the murder he was accused of. Zoe becomes determined to clear his name by finding his alibi witness, which his lawyer never bothered to do.

This book reminded me a lot of Front Desk by Kelly Yang, which is another middle grade novel I absolutely adored. Both books take very complicated and serious issues, such as immigration, exploitation, and wrongful imprisonment, and explore them with a deft hand, via plots and situations that are age-appropriate for young readers. Marks balances out the seriousness of Zoe’s dad’s situation with her aspirations to become a baker, her experimentations with various recipes, and a junior internship at a local bakery. Zoe also is dealing with her first real conflict with her next door neighbor and best friend, which is certainly relatable to young readers. Marks also gives Zoe an excellent support system to help her navigate her dad’s situations: a grandmother who supervises her correspondence with Marcus, a loving mom who’s trying to do her best, and a fantastic step-dad who has been there for her when Marcus couldn’t.

This is a great novel for kids who might be developing an awareness of racial injustice but aren’t ready for history books or aren’t interested nonfiction titles. The reader can learn alongside Zoe about the Innocence Project and how racism affects our social structures, and while Marks doesn’t offer any easy answers, she gives space for Zoe and the reader to grapple with the injustice. The book is also genuinely funny at times, making it an engaging and enjoyable pick for anyone who wants to indulge in a fantastic middle grade novel, or for anyone looking for their next great family read aloud!

Happy reading!
Tirzah

Find me on Book Riot, the Insiders Read Harder podcast, All the Books, and Twitter.

If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, click here to subscribe.

Book Radar

The REBECCA Trailer is Here and More Book Radar!

Post author By Tirzah Price
Post date September 9, 2020

Sponsored by Kingdom of Sea and Stone by Mara Rutherford, published by Inkyard Press.

Ever since Nor was forced to go to a nearby kingdom in her sister’s place, she’s wanted nothing more than to return to the place and people she loves. But when her wish comes true, she soon finds herself cast out from both worlds, with a war on the horizon. As an old enemy resurfaces more powerful than ever, Nor will have to keep the kingdom from falling apart. There are forces within the world more mysterious than Nor ever guessed—can she stay alive long enough to conquer them?

Hey there, book nerds! I hope you had a fantastic long weekend and were able to squeeze in some good reading! I read, listened to audiobooks, and baked with the last of the season’s peaches, so it was wonderful.

I’ve got tons of news and excitement for you this week, but remember—keep wearing your masks, washing your hands, and stay hydrated!

Trivia question: Who is the only author whose work was adapted twice by Alfred Hitchcock?

Deals and Squeals

Fourteen years after her death, The Parable of the Sower finally makes Octavia Butler a New York Times bestselling author. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

The trailer for the Netflix adaptation of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is here and it is everything!

Ready to throw it back to the early 2000’s? Meg Cabot’s Mediator series is being made into a Netflix movie!

Three of your YA faves are teaming up for a spooky YA novel called Three Kisses, One Midnight! Sandhya Menon, Roshani Chokshi, and Evelyn Skye will each write an interconnected novella—think Let It Snow, but Halloween!

We’re super excited to see that Steph Cha, author of Your House Will Pay, will be the new Best American Mystery Stories editor! Starting in 2021, she’ll edit the anthology, which will be renamed Best American Mystery and Suspense.

Want to know what people are reading during the pandemic? Here you go!

Riot Recommendations

Current read: Bent Heavens by Daniel Krause

The minute September is here, I want to read all the creepy and spooky books. I picked up this novel because a fellow Rioter said it was the single most unsettling book she’s read all year long and friends, I started it last night and stayed up way past my bedtime, unable to set it down. It’s about Liv, an Iowa teen whose father disappeared three years ago. He returned, but he wasn’t quite right—he claimed aliens experimented on him, and he set a series of deadly traps in the woods behind their house before vanishing for good. Now a senior in high school, Liv is looking forward to moving on and she resents that her friend Doug insists they check the traps each week. But just as Liv has decided to destroy the traps, she finds something in the woods. And she learns that her father might have been telling the truth all along. I’m not finished yet, but please know that the suspense is excellent. I’ve been thinking about this book all day long, and I would like to go back to reading now!

What I’m reading this week:

Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour (out next week, but I started it and it’s fantastic)

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Trivia answer: Daphne du Maurier! Her novel Rebecca and short story “The Birds” became Hitchcock films.

I shall leave you with this photo of my new kitten, Jin! Yes, we might have adopted him in part because he’s orange and therefore matches our big cat (they haven’t met yet). He’s very cuddly and I anticipate lots of good kitten snuggles in our future!

Happy reading!

Tirzah

The Kids Are All Right

Kidlit Deals for September 9, 2020

Post author By Tirzah Price
Post date September 9, 2020

Sponsored by The Invisible Boy by Alyssa Hollingsworth, illustrated by Deborah Lee

Nadia looks for adventure in the pages of her Superman comic books, until a mysterious boy saves her dog from drowning during a storm—and then suddenly disappears. Now she finds herself in the role of Lois Lane, hunting down the scoop of the Invisible Boy. Suddenly she’s in a real-life adventure that’s far more dangerous than anything in her comic books. Perfect for fans of Katherine Applegate, The Invisible Boy excels at taking a difficult subject matter about child labor trafficking and makes it approachable for middle-grade readers.

Hey there, kidlit pals! I hope you enjoyed a nice, relaxing holiday weekend and that your shorter work/school week is going well. I’ve got a great list of book deals for your today–award-winning middle grade novels, fun series starters, picture books, and more, all under $5! Here we go!

As always, prices may change–so snag these deals while they’re hot!

How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long and illustrated by David Shannon is just $3–grab it ahead of Talk Like a Pirate Day, which is September 19!

National Book Award finalist Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt is $3.

Snag Renee Watson’s Some Place More Than Others for just under $5!

Start a new Warriors series! The Broken Code book one, Lost Stars by Erin Hunter is $2.

Grab Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai for $3.

Lety Out Loud by Angela Cervantes is under $5! I love her middle grade books!

Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn is also under $5.

Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate and illustrated by G. Brian Karas is $3!

Jacqueline Woodson is a master storyteller and her novel Harbor Me is just $3.

Snag Daring Darleen, Queen of the Screen by Anne Nesbit for just $1!

And just a reminder that Front Desk by Kelly Yang, one of my favorite MG books, is still on sale for $5. Grab it before the sequel Three Keys hits shelves next week!

Happy reading!

Tirzah

New Books

Hooray, It’s Time for New Books!

Post author By Tirzah Price
Post date September 8, 2020

Sponsored by Scout Press, an Imprint of Gallery Books

Master of locked-door thrillers, Ruth Ware, is back with a fast-paced game of cat and mouse set in a luxurious ski chalet high in the French Alps. When the cofounder of Snoop, a trendy London-based tech startup, organizes a weeklong trip in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other. But when a devastating avalanche leaves the group cut off from all access to the outside world, survival trumps synergy. As each hour passes without any sign of rescue, panic mounts, the chalet grows colder, and the group dwindles further…one by one.

Happy Tuesday! I hope you all had a fantastic (and socially distant) holiday weekend, and that you’re ready to dive into the week with new book releases! I’m extra excited about this bunch of new books! I especially can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe and The Dare Sisters by Jess Rinker!

Don’t forget to catch Liberty and Vanessa on this week’s episode of All the Books, where they discuss some of their most anticipated releases of the week!

And without further ado, here we go!

What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez

In this new novel from National Book Award winner Sigrid Nunez, a woman recounts six times she encountered other people–strangers, people from her past, casual acquaintances–and how her interaction with them prompted them to pour their hearts out to her. This is a novel about human connection and the need to share our stories with other people, and it sounds like the perfect follow up for readers who loved The Friend.

The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess

Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian genocide in 1992, this is the story of Amra’s family and how their lives change drastically and seemingly overnight when the Serbs take control of the army and her hometown is surrounded by bigotry and hate. Soon her family faces danger and starvation on all sides, but through it all a stray cat appears and acts as a guardian to the family.

Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney

As a kid, I inhaled Caroline B. Cooney’s mysteries and thrillers for kids and teens (who here also read and was horrified by The Face on the Milk Carton?), so it’s exciting to see that her newest book is a mystery for adults! Clemmie is checking up on a neighbor when she stumbles across something remarkable—and so she takes a photo on her phone and sends it to a few people. When the photo goes viral, and it turns out that her neighbor’s house is a crime scene, Clemmie is suddenly facing intense scrutiny—which is bad for her, because she’s got some big secrets that are nearly half a century old that she doesn’t want getting out.

Happy reading!
Tirzah

Today In Books

See Where Ursula K. Le Guin Lived: Today in Books

Post author By Tirzah Price
Post date September 6, 2020

Sponsored by Jane Austen: Writing, Society, Politics by Tom Keymer

Inspirational Home Where Ursula Le Guin Lived For Sale At $4.1 Million

Anyone have a spare $4 million? Because sci-fi and fantasy author Ursula K. Le Guin’s Berkeley, CA home is on the market, and it’s gorgeous! Somehow it’s just what I would have imagined from this author–all clean lines, beautiful wood, and an enchanting garden. Take us there!

A Celebration of Audre Lorde

To celebrate the publication of The Selected Works of Audre Lorde, compilation editor Roxane Gay will be joined with Mahogany L. Browne, Saeed Jones and Porsha Olayiwola for readings and discussion on 92y.org! You can buy tickets for the readings, which are happening Thursday, September 10, on the event page. The Selected Works of Audre Lord will be out on Tuesday, September 8.

Nickelodeon Pulls ‘Made By Maddie’ Over ‘Hair Love’ Controversy

Nickelodeon has announced they are pulling a new TV show, Made by Maddie, from an upcoming line-up of programming after accusations that the show plagiarized the art from Hair Love, an Oscar-winning animated short that is based off of the picture book Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry and illustrated by Vashti Harrison. Nickelodeon says they’re listening to all sides of the issue, and have not yet made a decision about what to do next.