Categories
Giveaways

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We’re giving away 10 copies of Between the Bliss and Me by Lizzy Mason to 10 lucky Riot readers!

Enter here for a chance, or click the cover image below!

Here’s what it’s all about:

Sydney Holman’s decision to attend her dream school of NYU means dashing her mom’s hopes of keeping her close to home, but it also means she’ll be nearer to her crush, Julliard-bound guitarist Grayson.

But the dreams of her new life are interrupted when she discovers that her long-absent father suffers from schizophrenia and has been living on the streets of New York City. Fearing his diagnosis might someday soon be her own, Sydney is faced with a difficult decision: Stay close to home so her mom can watch over her, or follow her dreams despite the risks?

Categories
The Kids Are All Right

Kidlit Deals for April 7, 2021

Happy April, kidlit pals! I hope that wherever you are, it’s starting to feel more like spring! If you want to spring into some great reading this month (I’m sorry, I had to), then I’ve got a great list of amazing book deals–there’s something for everyone here! As always, snag them while you can because these deals won’t last long!

TBH, This is So Awkward by Lisa Greenwald is a great book for that tween age group about the highs and lows of middle school, and it’s a series starter! Pick it up for $2!

Cover of Spirt Hunters

Do you have a graphic novel fan on your hands? Becoming Brianna, the latest in Terri Libenson’s Emmie & Friends series, is $4.

For the kid who loves spooky stuff, Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh is $2.

The Newbery Honor book We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly is $2.

The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye is a moving novel about immigration, and it’s just $2.

For a picture book that celebrates poetry (April is Poetry Month, after all!), grab Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice by YA authors Mahogany L. Brone and Elizabeth Acevedo, and Olivia Gatwood Theodore Taylor III. It’s a steal at $3.

Cover of Out of Wonder

For another picture book celebration of poetry, Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander and Ekua Holmes is $3.

Speaking of gorgeous picture books, Where Are You from? by Yamile Saied Mendez and Jaime Kim is only $2!

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus is a read alike for fans of The War That Saved My Life, and it’s $3.

Brave Like That by Lindsey Stoddard is $2.

Happy reading!
Tirzah

Categories
Giveaways

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Book Riot is teaming up with The Current to give away a current affairs non-fiction book bundle featuring one of each title:
– Controlling Women: What We Must Do Now to Save Reproductive Freedom by Kathryn Kolbert & Julie F. Kay
– America for Americans by Erika Lee
– Better Not Bitter: Living on Purpose in the Pursuit of Racial Justice by Yusef Salaam
– How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
– Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment by Daniel Kahneman
– Plus a $100 Visa gift card!
Fill out the form here and subscribe to The Current newsletter for a chance to win!

Here’s a little more about The Current newsletter: Big authors, Big topics. A current events newsletter where America’s best nonfiction writers explain a nation in turmoil.

Categories
Riot Rundown

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Categories
Today In Books

Books By Ibram X. Kendi, Jason Reynolds, and Angie Thomas Among Most Objected to in 2020: Today in Books

Tessa Thompson to Produce Adaptations of Who Fears Death and The Secret Lives of Church Ladies with New Production Company

Tessa Thompson has launched her new production company Viva Maude. Now she’s moving into production with a first-look deal with HBO and HBO Max for adaptations of Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor and The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw. Thompson said, “I’m beyond thrilled to officially launch my production company, Viva Maude, which has been a real passion project and labour of love over the last few years. I’m elated to begin this partnership and to bring entertaining and impactful television projects to my friends and collaborators at HBO and HBO Max.  Together we are committed to developing interesting and inclusive stories with inventive creators and to discover new voices and visionaries.”

Books By Ibram X. Kendi, Jason Reynolds, and Angie Thomas Among Most Objected to in 2020

On Monday, the American Library Association reported more than 270 challenges to books in 2020. Topping the list was George by Alex Gino, a book that was under fire for its LGBTQ content and “not reflecting the values” of the community. Other books making the top ten included Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.

Anisfeld-Wolf Award Winners Announced

The Anisfeld-Wolf Award winners were announced Monday. The award honors books that, according to jury chair Henry Louis Gates Jr., “bring us fresh insights on race and the human condition.” Deacon King Kong by James McBride took the prize for fiction this year. For nonfiction, there were two co-winners: Natasha Trethewey’s Memorial Drive and Vincent Brown’s Tacky’s Revolt. Victoria Chang’s Obit was honored in poetry. The Anisfeld-Wolf Awards were established in 1935 and are managed by the nonprofit Cleveland Foundation.

Beginner Mistakes to Avoid During a 24 Hour Readathon

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon is coming up on April 24! Planning on joining in? Here are some beginner mistakes to avoid during a 24 hour readathon.

Categories
Unusual Suspects

Identity Mysteries

Hello mystery fans! From three characters in a fake family to an anonymous author, both these awesome reads are rooted in identity and its theft or hiding.

Spy x Family, Vol. 1 (SPY×FAMILY #1) by Tatsuya Endo, Casey Loe (Translator)

Baby read her first manga. And loved it! I am kind of mad at myself that this whole time I just assumed manga wasn’t for me and was totally wrong and I have been missing out. If a part of your brain just asked anything about manga, this may help.

This is the first volume in a series about a spy, which is more than enough to keep me interested. But this is so much more. Loid is a spy and for his next mission to be successful he must get close to his target, and the best way to do that is through their kids at a private school. Easy peasy. Except Loid doesn’t have any kids. The obvious solution for him is to randomly adopt a kid and find a wife to fake a family with him, as one does (?). Here is where this gets fun-fun: unbeknownst to Loid, the child he adopts, Anya, is able to read people’s thoughts, and the fake wife, Yor, is actually an assassin. I know!

It makes for a lot of fun that none of them know this about each other while they form this fake family to get Anya enrolled into an elite school, where they need to get her accepted first for Loid to have any chance at accomplishing his mission. Nothing is going to go right! I inhaled the first two volumes and the only thing that has slowed down my reading from already being caught up is they seem to randomly go out of print (in paperback), and you have to wait a little for a new printing. Totally worth the wait. So if you want a fun read with laughs, spies, assassins, and action here you go! If you’re hesitant about reading a manga, you can read the opening on Amazon with the “preview”.

Who Is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews

I recommend going into this with zero knowledge, as I did, to enjoy its unfolding. For readers who do not read that way, here you go: this is an unexpected crime story, with slow build suspense, and a bite. It’s about ambition, and identity, not being satisfied, and thinking why not take what you think is owed to you (as if the world owes anyone anything).

We start with Florence Darrow working in publishing who finds herself fired, rightfully so, but before long she has a dream job. A famously anonymous author is hiring an assistant. Not only will she get to work with her, but she’ll get to see her next book, and be one step closer to being an author herself. But after a voyage, and an accident, Florence starts to wonder if maybe it would just be easier if she herself became the anonymous author. I mean if only one other person really knows who she is how hard could it be…

I really enjoyed this and it was a total page-turner for me. It took a thing I’ve read before and made it feel fresh, which is something I always appreciate. (TW mentions story of man obsessed with teen girl, doesn’t give details)

From The Book Riot Crime Vault

Curl Up With These Cozy Cat Mystery Books

How to Find Free Mystery Books Online

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2021 releases. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations!

Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.

Categories
True Story

New Releases: Disney Love Lives + History!

April! So much warmer. So much rainier. Are you reading pretty steadily or are you experiencing a slump? Because I have been SLUMPING. As has my wife. We’re not sure why. Maybe the aforementioned warmer weather? Maybe our obsessive diving-into of HBO’s The Flight Attendant (SO GOOD)? But new books are always something to get excited about, so let’s go:

From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement by Paula Yoo

In 1982, a Chinese American man named Vincent Chin was beaten to death in a Detroit bar. The two men who killed him were given a $3,000 fine and three years’ probation. This is about the case “that took the Asian American community to the streets in protest, and the groundbreaking civil rights trial that followed.”

Love Lives: From Cinderella to Frozen by Carol Dyhouse

Do you remember that Facebook group called like “Disney gave me unrealistic expectations about relationships”? Ok, so this Oxford University Press book (that’s right, it’s acaDEMIC) by social historian Dyhouse is about “the reshaping of women’s lives, loves and dreams since 1950,” the year Disney’s Cinderella came out, and how that changed in the next 60 years (the book ends with 2013’s Frozen). How have women’s lives transformed since 1950? Check this out to get into it.

My Broken Language: A Memoir by Quiara Alegría Hudes

Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Hudes writes a coming of age memoir about growing up in a Philadelphia barrio with her Puerto Rican family. Yes, Lin-Manuel Miranda definitely blurbed this book, and he did so with his characteristic enthusiasm, saying, “Her sentences will take your breath away. How lucky we are to have her telling our stories.”

Killing Season: A Paramedic’s Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Opioid Epidemic by Peter Canning

tw: drug use

Canning has been a paramedic for 25 years, and went from seeing those who use drugs as “victims only of their own character flaws” to individuals with different stories and paths. He now fights against their stigmatization and advocates for harm reduction, which includes safe-injection sites and community naloxone. His book includes personal stories, his journey to empathy, and ways we can reduce the severity of the opioid epidemic.

For more nonfiction new releases, check out the For Real podcast which I co-host with the excellent Kim here at Book Riot. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

Categories
Read This Book

Read This Book: Green Rider by Kristen Britain

Welcome to Read This Book, the newsletter where I recommend one book for your TBR that I think you’re going to love! Genre fiction is my wheelhouse, and about 90% of my personal TBR, so if if you’re looking for recommendations in horror, fantasy, or romance, I’ve got you covered!

This last year has really impressed on me the need for comfort reads. So for my very first Read This Book I decided to call back to a fantasy series that I’ve been following since I was a kid, and which (despite its habit of causing me emotional pain) is a hands down, pre-ordering every book, languishing in the years between publications dates, favorite of mine that I think every high fantasy fan should add to their TBR.

Green Rider by Kristen Britain

To say that Karigan G’ladheon is having a bad day at the start of Green Rider is an understatement. Having been expelled from school after besting a bully with powerful parents, she’s doing the long walk of shame home to the coast and hoping she can beat the dean’s letter to her father’s house. Then she nearly gets run down in the lane by a rider in green, with arrows sticking out of his back. You know. Typical Tuesday.

The rider is one of the royal Green Riders, magically gifted legendary messengers to the king. The message the rider carries is life and death, and he makes Karigan swear that she will take his sword, his rider’s pin, and his horse and deliver the message to the King. What seems like a straightforward promise to a dying man throws Karigan’s whole world into chaos. Soon she’s riding hellbent for the capitol, pursued by assassins and an even deadlier man in grey whose purpose is far more sinister than she can guess and threatens the future of all of Sacoridia.

Like many fantasy series, Britain’s Green Rider series has been a long time in production. The titular novel originally came out in 1998, and the most recent novel, Winterlight, will be out this September. Each of the books clocks in at over 400 pages (the most recent installment was a whopping 800+ pages), so tackling the whole series can be a bit of a time commitment. But if you’ve been looking for a new fantasy series to tackle there are currently six books published, and if you are a fan of high fantasy series with detailed world building, an endearing cast of characters, plenty of action, and a splash of romance (so much pining – this series is defined by its romantic pining), there is no series I’d be happier to recommend!

Go forth and read! 

Jessica

Categories
The Stack

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Categories
Riot Rundown

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