Category: Uncategorized

YA fiction By Elizabeth Lim Sixteen-year-old Princess Shiori has a secret. Forbidden magic runs in her veins, and if it is discovered, she’ll be exiled from Kiata, royal daughter or not. On the morning of her betrothal ceremony, she jumps out a window to avoid what she thinks will be a loveless marriage. Her would-be fiancé, Takkan, …
Continue reading →

Middle grade fiction by Sarwat Chadda A timely tale for our pandemic season, City of the Plague God draws on lesser-known Mesopotamian mythology to spin its tale of adventure in New York City. Thirteen-year-old Sikander “Sik” Aziz works in his Iraqi refugee parents’ deli and mourns his dead brother Mo. One night, two demons show up demanding something …
Continue reading →

THE COURT OF MIRACLES Young adult fiction by Kester Grant Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables has proven an enduring touchstone, inspiring everything from a stage musical (remember Les Miz?) to numerous movie versions. Court of Miracles puts its own fresh spin on this durable tale by setting it in an alternate Paris where the wretched poor have formed …
Continue reading →

You’ve petted your dog, you’ve walked your dog, but have you ever been inspired by your dog? I have. My newest book, Switched, is particularly close to my heart because it was inspired by my late dog, Riley. One morning when she was young, we went walking in a canyon and I let her go off-leash. …
Continue reading →

LORE Young adult fiction by Alexandra Bracken Alexandra Bracken’s LORE boasts a killer premise. Every seven years, as punishment for an ancient rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of Greek heroes. The seven days of hunting is known as the Agon, and whoever kills a god will …
Continue reading →

I didn’t know what to expect. Having flown halfway around the world to visit the American International School of Abuja in Nigeria, I was open for adventure. But when the school invited me to visit their “sister school,” a local primary school they were mentoring, I wasn’t sure how those kids would react. After all, …
Continue reading →

Tween fiction by Holly Black
What happens when you take an iconic Disney villain (in this case, Maleficent) and put her in the hands of Holly Black, doyenne of YA fantasy? A delightful tween story that humanizes the villain and puts a new spin on the world of Sleeping Beauty.

In this telling, Princess (now Queen) Aurora …
Continue reading →

Middle-grade fiction by Kwame Mbalia Rick Riordan Presents delivers another engaging, kid-friendly, mythological tale in Kwame Mbalia’s Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky. When the story opens, Tristan Strong isn’t having the most ideal seventh-grade year. His best buddy, Eddie, died in a school bus crash, and Tristan blames himself for not being able …
Continue reading →