Blog

In case you didn't already know, October 18-24th is Teen Read Week! And what would be a more perfect way to kick off the festivities than with our latest roundup of new releases, which offers eight rich and thought-provoking titles that tackle some pretty heavy topics, like culture clashes in Katherine Patterson's THE DAY OF THE PELICAN; the difficulties of loss in Valerie O. Patterson's THE OTHER SIDE OF BLUE and HOLD STILL by Nina LaCour; coming-of-age angst in Barry Lyga's GOTH GIRL RISING, and matters of the heart in K. L. Madigan FLASH BURNOUT and Lauren Strasnick's NOTHING LIKE YOU. This week also marks the release of the last installment of the endearing Dairy Queen series, FRONT AND CENTER by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, as well as the third book in Nancy Farmer's The Sea of Trolls Trilogy, THE ISLANDS OF THE BLESSED.


New Releases for October 19th

Hardcover

THE DAY OF THE PELICAN by Katherine Paterson (Clarion Books)
Meli Lleshi is positive that her drawing of her teacher with his pelican nose started it all. The Lleshis are Albanians living in Kosovo, a country trying to fight off Serbian oppressors, and suddenly they are homeless refugees. Old and young alike, they find their courage tested by hunger, illness, the long, arduous journey, and danger on every side. Then, unexpectedly, they are brought to America by a church group and begin a new life in a small Vermont town. The events of 9/11 bring more challenges for this Muslim family --- but this country is their home now and there can be no turning back. A compassionate, powerful novel by a master storyteller.

FLASH BURNOUT by L. K. Madigan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Fifteen-year-old Blake has a girlfriend and a friend who’s a girl. One of them loves him; the other one needs him.

When he snapped a picture of a street person for his photography homework, Blake never dreamed that the woman in the photo was his friend Marissa’s long-lost meth-addicted mom. Blake’s participation in the ensuing drama opens up a world of trouble, both for him and for Marissa. He spends the next few months trying to reconcile the conflicting roles of Boyfriend and Friend. His experiences range from the comic (surviving his dad’s birth control talk) to the tragic (a harrowing after-hours visit to the morgue).

In a tangle of life and death, love and loyalty, Blake will emerge with a more sharply defined snapshot of himself.

FRONT AND CENTER by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
After five months of sheer absolute craziness I was going back to being plain old background D.J. In photographs of course I'm always in the background...

But it turns out other folks have big plans for D.J. Like her coach. College scouts. All the town hoops fans. A certain Red Bend High School junior who's keen for romance and karaoke. Not to mention Brian Nelson, who she should not be thinking about! Who she is done with, thank you very much. But who keeps showing up anyway...

GOTH GIRL RISING by Barry Lyga (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Time is a funny thing in the hospital. In the mental ward. You lose track of it easily.

After six months in the Maryland Mental Health Unit, Kyra Sellers, a.k.a. Goth Girl, is going home. Unfortunately, she's about to find out that while she was away, she lost track of more than time. Kyra is back in black, feeling good, and ready to make up with the only person who's ever appreciated her for who she really is. But then she sees him. Fanboy. Transcended from everything he was into someone she barely recognizes. And the anger and memories come rushing back.

There's so much to do to people when you're angry. Kyra's about to get very busy.

THE OTHER SIDE OF BLUE by Valerie O. Patterson (Clarion Books)
Cyan was named after a shade of blue, her artist mother's favorite color. The color of the sea. Since her father's death last year, she’s felt just as mercurial and dark as her namesake, and the distance between Cyan and her mother has grown as wide as an ocean. Now they're returning to the island of Curaçao in the Caribbean, where her father's mysterious accident occurred, and joining them will be Kammi --- who may soon become a stepsister. Haunted by the secrets of the past, Cyan will explore all the depths of her blueness this summer, discovering the light, the darkness, and the many shades in between that are within her --- and within us all.


New Releases for October 20th

Hardcover

HOLD STILL by Nina LaCour (Dutton Juvenile)
An arresting story about starting over after a friend’s suicide, from a breakthrough new voice in YA fiction.

dear caitlin, there are so many things that i want so badly to tell you but i just can’t.

Devastating, hopeful, hopeless, playful . . . in words and illustrations, Ingrid left behind a painful farewell in her journal for Caitlin. Now Caitlin is left alone, by loss and by choice, struggling to find renewed hope in the wake of her best friend’s suicide. With the help of family and newfound friends, Caitlin will encounter first love, broaden her horizons, and start to realize that true friendship didn’t die with Ingrid. And the journal which once seemed only to chronicle Ingrid’s descent into depression, becomes the tool by which Caitlin once again reaches out to all those who loved Ingrid --- and Caitlin herself.

NOTHING LIKE YOU by Lauren Strasnick (Simon Pulse)
When Holly loses her virginity to Paul, a guy she barely knows, she assumes their encounter is a one-night stand. After all, Paul is too popular to even be speaking to Holly...and he happens to have a long-term girlfriend, Saskia. But ever since Holly's mom died six months ago, Holly has been numb to the world, and she's getting desperate to feel something, anything --- so when Paul keeps pursuing her, Holly relents. Paul's kisses are a welcome diversion...and it's nice to feel like the kind of girl that a guy like Paul would choose.

But things aren't so simple with Saskia around. Paul's real girlfriend is willowy and perfect... and nothing like Holly. To make matters worse, she and Holly are becoming friends. Suddenly the consequences of Holly's choices are all too real, and Holly stands to lose more than she ever realized she had.
- Click here to read Lauren Strasnick's guest blog about the release of NOTHING LIKE YOU.

THE ISLANDS OF THE BLESSED by Nancy Farmer (Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books)
In this much-anticipated conclusion to the Sea of Trolls trilogy, Notland is no place to seek one's true calling. Or is it?