Category: Young Adult/New Adult

Posted in Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Cosmic horror lets loose in the Hamptons?! You’ve Awoken Her

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

You’ve Awoken Her, by Ann Dávila Cardinal, (June 2025, HarperCollins), $19.99, ISBN: 9780063299559

Ages 12+

HOLY COW, folks, you are going to love this book. I’ve been on a bit of a spooky kick for a little bit, and this tale was everything I needed between two tidy covers. Gabriel – Gabi to his friends – is a kid living in Astoria, Queens. His best friend, Ruthie, has moved away and is living the posh life in the Hamptons, and he’s on his way to spend some time with her, despite a warning from a complete stranger on the train platform that “they’ve awoken her”. It’s New York, he figures it’s nonsense – despite that creepy feeling in his gut – and heads to the Hamptons, where he sees Ruthie is a party girl and so different from the girl he knew. And he’s not thrilled with her smug rich-boy boyfriend, Frost, either. When a woman drowns by the water at one of Frost’s parties, AND he sees what looks suspiciously like a tentacle near the drowning woman – he starts digging into the town’s secrets. When more residents start dying, Gabi knows that his discomfort is about so much more than Hamptons society: he’s sure Frost is behind this somehow. Now, he just has to convince Ruthie that he’s not jealous of her new boyfriend or new lifestyle. Cardinal hooks readers from page one and doesn’t let up, introducing exciting characters and creepy scenarios. She also takes on Lovecraft by reframing cosmic horror in an inclusive, diverse lens: Gabi is Puerto Rican; there are LGBTQ+ characters in the story. More importantly, Cardinal addresses Lovecraft’s shortcomings within the story while creating a new way of reading and enjoying works influenced by his ideas. Don’t miss this book – it’s a good one.

Posted in Fantasy, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Divining the Leaves is magical

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Divining the Leaves, by Shveta Thakrar, (March 2025, HarperCollins), $19.99, ISBN: 9780063255265

Ages 13+

Ridhi is a 17-year-old young woman deeply connected to nature: she blends flora into delectable scents, wears flower crowns, and feels the trees as if they speak to her, and she wants desperately for the nature spirits – yakshas – to allow her entry into the enchanted forest. Nilesh is a young man who used to be her friend but has veered away from the “weird girl” with flowers in her hair. Nilesh’s world falls apart when he discovers that not only are his parents divorcing, but that their marriage has been an illusion for years. He gets suspended from school and sent to live with Ridhi’s family while his parents sort themselves out. While staying with Ridhi’s family, Nilesh encounters Kamini, part of the Yaksha court. He’s smitten, but Kamini’s affections may not be all they seem to be. Meanwhile, Ridhi has made connections of her own in the Yaksha world, striking up a deal with one of the noblewomen of the Yaksha court. The nobles are playing the mortals like chess pieces, but the mortals have their own agendas. Rich with Hindu and Buddhist mythology, Thakrar allows Divining the Leaves readers to get lost in the beauty of the writing. She creates a story that invites readers – like her main characters – to escape from the frustrations of daily living to get lost in the magical beauty of the enchanted forest and the Yaksha court and Night Market. Invite readers to create their own flower crowns and nature-inspired art projects to extend an activity for this beautifully woven story. Invite your fantasy readers to get lost in this world.

Posted in Fantasy, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

2025 is all about the dragons: A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

A Language of Dragons, by S.F. Williamson, (Jan 2025, HarperCollins), $19.99, ISBN: 9780063353848

Ages 13+

Dragons have always been popular, but 2025 is shaping up to be THE year for Dragon Lit. We all know about Onyx Storm hitting shelves later this month, but do you know about A Language of Dragons? Pull up a chair, let’s talk. Set in an alternate London in 1923, dragons are in the world but it’s an uneasy existence with humans. A rigid class system is in place that moves people up and down among classes like chess pieces. Viv Featherswallow isn’t concerned with any of this, though. She’s got a level of privilege as a member of the Second Class, and has her life sorted: she’s going to get a summer internship studying dragon languages and attain a comfortable job as a dragon translator. She may have done some awful things to keep her comfortable spot, but she did what she has to do. Until the night her parents are arrested for being part of a rebellion. Viv’s world is turned upside down; desperate, she leaves her sister with family friends, focused on one task that will destroy evidence against her parents. All she has to do is free one dragon. By midnight, she’s sparked a civil war. Viv is brought to Bletchley Park as a codebreaker – translate the dragons’ hidden language, and she and her family will go free. But it’s never that simple, and the more Viv discovers about the hidden language, the more she learns about the Peace Agreement between Britannia and the dragons, and the corruption that goes all the way to the top: the Prime Minister. Will Viv give the Prime Minister the information she needs, putting all of dragonkind at risk, or will she risk her family’s safety? A Language of Dragons has it all: a conflicted heroine, a romance, and a richly layered story with very high stakes. Unputdownable for fantasy fans and dragon aficionados.

A Language of Dragons has a starred review from School Library Journal.

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Teen, Tween Reads, Young Adult/New Adult

STOP THE PRESSES! NEW MOUSE GUARD INCOMING!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Holy cow, was this a great announcement to read. Mouse Guard is an Eisner and Harvey Award-winning graphic novel and comic book series; it’s a fantasy setting similar to Brian Jacques’s Redwall books. The Mouse Guard was formed to protect mice against predators. It’s a great series; my son (now in his mid-20s) was a tremendous fan when he was a kid, which naturally got me reading it. We were both hooked!

Anyway, the great news from BOOM! Studios: in honor of Mouse Guard’s 20th anniversary, we are getting a NEW Mouse Guard adventure! Here’s the scoop from BOOM!:

LOS ANGELES, CA (December 19, 2024) – There are few series as lauded and beloved as David Petersen’s Eisner Award-winning and New York Times bestselling Mouse Guard. Now, in celebration of the 20th anniversaries of both Mouse Guard and BOOM! Studios, David Petersen, along with Eisner-nominated artist Gabriel Rodríguez (Locke & Key), bring a brand new chapter to life in this sprawling saga with MOUSE GUARD: DAWN OF THE BLACK AXE.

The origins of the legendary Black Axe are revealed in this prequel story set in the earliest point in the Mouse Guard history. Adventure with the ancient weapon’s first mouse wielder and champion, Bardrick, as he sets off on an epic quest of good versus evil!

“Getting to write this Mouse Guard lore of the forging of the Black Axe and it being handed to Bardrick (first of eleven wielders) while getting to do so with the brilliant Gabriel Rodríguez drawing Dawn of the Black Axe has been a thrill,” said Mouse Guard creator David Petersen. “He’s going above and beyond with his inked pages and storytelling while I’m just trying to keep up coloring them and still do them justice. Gabe was top of my list when we started pitching names for this spin off project, and I postponed it for a long time until his schedule opened up––I didn’t want to do this first one with anyone else.

“I’ll continue to work on the next volume in the main Mouse Guard series: The Weasel War of 1149, but I also hope this is first of many more Mouse Guard books like this one, where I get to explore the other past wielders of the Black Axe with exciting and extremely talented collaborators like Gabe.”

“I’ve been a fan of David Petersen’s work since the first time I saw a volume of his astonishing Mouse Guard books. We became friends as soon as we met,” said Eisner-nominated artist Gabriel Rodríguez. “Almost a decade ago we started daydreaming about working together on the story of the first wielder of the mythical Black Axe. That dream finally came true, and I’m humbled, grateful and excited to share it with the faithful legion of Mouse Guard readers.”

MOUSE GUARD: DAWN OF THE BLACK AXE #1 features main cover art by series artist Gabriel Rodríguez, and variant covers by Mouse Guard creator David Petersen, and celebrated artist Goñi Montes (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers).

MOUSE GUARD: DAWN OF THE BLACK AXE is the newest release from BOOM! Studios’ award-winning Archaia imprint, home to inspiring graphic novels such as Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Ryan North, and Albert Monteys; The Sacrifice of Darkness by Roxane Gay, Tracy Lynne-Oliver, and Rebecca Kirby; Big Black: Stand at Attica by Frank “Big Black” Smith, Jared Reinmuth, and Améziane; The Killer by Matz and Luc Jacamon; We Served the People by Emei Burell; New World by David Jesus Vignolli; Eighty Days by A.C. Esguerra; Better Angels: A Kate Warne Adventure by Jeff Jensen and George Schall; The Short While by Jeremy Sorese; About Betty’s Boob by Vero Cazot and Julie Rocheleau; Flavor Girls by Loïc Locatelli-Kournwsky; I’m Still Alive by Roberto Saviano and Asaf Hanuka; and licensed series including Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes; Lev Grossman’s The Magicians; and Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, The Storyteller, and Labyrinth.

MOUSE GUARD: DAWN OF THE BLACK AXE #1 will be available in comic shops March 19, 2025. It is available for pre-order at your local comic shop. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including Kindle, iBooks, and Google Play.

For continuing news on MOUSE GUARD: DAWN OF THE BLACK AXE and more from BOOM! Studios, stay tuned to www.boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on X.

About David Petersen:

David Petersen is the creator of the New York Times Bestselling and critically acclaimed Graphic Novel series Mouse Guard.  He was the 2007 Russ Manning Award recipient for Most Promising Newcomer and has since gone on to win three Eisner Awards and two Harvey’s for his continued work on the Mouse Guard series. David has done covers for Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Jim Henson’s Storyteller, Star Wars, TMNT, and Usagi Yojimbo as well as recent work for Magic the Gathering: Bloomburrow.

David and his wife Julia live in Michigan.

About Gabriel Rodríguez:

Gabriel Rodríguez is a Chilean comic book artist and writer. He’s the author of Sword of Ages and co-creator Locke & Key, Onyx, and the Eisner Award-winning Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland at IDW. He’s also drawn titles such as Adventures of Superman for DC Comics, Locke & Key/Sandman: Heaven and Hell for IDW/DC, Le Gouffre Des Resurrections for Les Humanoïdes Associés, and illustrated for Marvel, BOOM! Studios, Skybound, Oni Press, Heroic Signatures and Clover Press. He has also contributed illustrations for novels by Stephen King and Joe Hill. He lives and works in Santiago, Chile. You can find Gabriel on Instagram at @gr_comics.

Posted in Teen, Tween Reads, Young Adult/New Adult

Being a Jane Austen Murder Mystery Spin-Off: In Want of a Suspect by Tirzah Price

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

In Want of a Suspect (A Lizzie & Darcy Mystery), by Tirzah Price, (Nov. 2024, HarperCollins), $19.99, ISBN: 9780063278028

Ages 12+

The Jane Austen Murder Mysteries brought some of the author’s favorite characters to cozy mystery life, but author Tirzah Price gives us more in a new spin-off starring Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy! In Want of a Suspect features Lizzie, working as a solicitor in her father’s firm, and Darcy working as a solicitor in his family’s firm, Pemberley. Lizzie’s called in to investigate a suspicious warehouse fire and locate a person of interest seen at the location… which leads Lizzie to a woman Darcy once courted. When the key suspect turns up dead and Lizzie doggedly refuses to give up her investigation, she may be putting her own life on the line next. The interaction between Lizzie and Darcy makes the story. It’s alternately playful and cautious as the two blend their personal and professional lives and navigate expectations of young men and women in Austen’s time. Lizzie’s feelings for Darcy are in direct conflict with the knowledge that she would be expected – not by Darcy, but society – to leave her work and become a homemaker; Darcy feels the pressure to declare his intentions to Lizzie’s parents if he calls on her at home, relying instead on accompanying her on her investigations. The mystery itself is perfectly cozy, with the deaths occuring off-page; plot twists keep the whodunnit moving. You don’t need to have read the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries to jump into In Want of a Suspect, but it will be helpful as Price refers to previous events. Other characters from Austen’s novels make appearances. If you have mystery fans and Austen readers – YA and beyond! – this is a great add to your shelves.

Posted in Graphic Novels, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

The Murder Next Door examines trauma

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Murder Next Door: A Graphic Memoir, by Hugh D’Andrade, (Feb. 2025, Street Noise Books), $20.99, ISBN: 9781951491352

Ages 14+

In 1978, Hugh discovered his friends crying outside their home in his neighborhood. They had come home from school and discovered their mother lying on the floor, murdered. Forty years later, he’s an adult with a successful career and social life, but he’s also haunted by the murder and experiences anger, anxiety, and panic attacks. Through The Murder Next Door, he examines his trauma and its roots, moving between sessions with his therapist and his memories. Using light blue and black illustration, with red for jarring emphasis, D’Andrade’s art is at once stark and dreamlike; his recall so painful, the reporting at odds with what D’Andrade witnessed, that it all churns in his mind, feeding his anger, his anxiety, his constant feeling of dread. He becomes an adult who baits conspiracy theorists, an adult never quite secure. Writing this memoir, D’Andrade allows readers to sit in on his therapy sessions and see where young Hugh was forced to bear witness to the unthinkable; we see the scars it left, rendered in red ink for readers to witness. A moving portrait of youth lost and of resistant trauma.

Posted in Graphic Novels, Post-apocalyptic/Dystopian, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

A Plausible Dystopia? You Must Take Part in Revolution

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

You Must Take Part in Revolution, by Melissa Chan & Badiucao, (March 2025, Street Noise Books), $23.99, ISBN: 9781951491291

Ages 16+

Set in 2035 during a war between the U.S. and China, with Taiwan divided between the two, You Must Take Part in Revolution is a stark dystopian graphic novel created by a nactivist artist and an international journalist, both exiled from China for their stances. In Revolution, America is a proto-fascist state, led by a President who gained power through a coup. Maggie, Olivia, and Andy are three young people meet during a protest in Hong Kong and become friends, but their differing methods of freedom fighting carry life-altering changes for each of them. The illustration is powerful, with stark blacks and greys and splashes of red and yellow, sparsely used to devastating effect. Chan’s journalistic prowess shines here; the story reads like a headline and has roots in current and past relations between the U.S., China, and Taiwan; she also captures the human side of the story, developing her characters and making them live off the page and in the reader’s head. They will stay with readers long after the book is finished. An excellent purchase for graphic novel collections.

Melissa Chan is an award-winning journalist who was expelled from China through her work as the China correspondent with Al Jazeera English. You can learn more about her via her website. Badiucao is a Chinese-Australian activist and dissident who has been referred to as “China’s Banksy”. You can learn more about him via his website.

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Apocalyptic Bargains! Check out Aisle Nine!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Aisle Nine, by Ian X. Cho, (Sept. 2024, HarperCollins), $19.99, ISBN: 9780063206809

Ages 13+

Jasper is a 17-year-old checkout clerk working in the local discount store. He puts up with all the things store clerks do, like bickering customers or customers who want to use one coupon for an entire shelf’s worth of toilet paper. The one thing that sets Jasper apart is that his store has a demonic portal in Aisle 9. It’s been closed off to the general public, sure, but every now and then, something will come through and he has to help shut the store down until the entity is dealt with. Jasper also has amnesia, so he has no idea what his life was like before, but he’s heard from everyone around him that Hell Portal Day – the day portals opened up all over the world and the demons attacked – was pretty terrible. He’s pretty sure, from the claw marks in his carpet, that he lost his parents on Hell Portal Day, too. His store manager lets staff know that the coming Black Friday – the start to holiday shopping season – is going to be the biggest one in recent memory, and as Jasper tries piecing together bits of his memory, he learns more and more about Hell Portal Day, the corporate entity that claims to protect the citizenry from the demons, and even the people he work with. Bitingly witty, Cho introduces us to a hero we can root for while taking aim at corporations monetizing terror in a way that readers will laugh at and shake their heads in agreement with. Supporting characters, including an adorable sidekick and a strong female love interest, make things even more interesting. Cho deftly mixes comedy with horror and a touch of romance in a dystopian setting. This is a great choice for YA collections.

 

Posted in Graphic Novels, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Adrift on a Painted Sea is a touching memoir

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Adrift on a Painted Sea, by Tim Bird with paintings by Sue Bird, (Oct. 2024, Avery Hill Publishing), $18.99, ISBN: 9781910395820

Ages 16+

Sue Bird was an artist who “filled the house with her art”. Her son, Tim Bird, created this graphic memoir as a tribute to her.  Told in flashbacks, Bird touches on his relationship with his mom and her art. Bird incorporates Sue Bird’s art, art research, and photos in his story, fitting his illustrations and narration around all of it with skill and feeling. Chapters are organized into weather reports and illustration, the titles framing the journey of Bird’s grief and loss. Bird fills this memoir with lessons learned, particularly around one of Sue’s paintings, ever-present in his home, whose origin may differ from the story he grew up hearing: “There are always mysteries – big or small – that go unanswered even when you think you know everything about someone”.

A warm, heartfelt piece on love and loss that works as a crossover graphic memoir for YA collections.

Posted in Graphic Novels, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Teleportation and Other Luxuries, for STEM Geeks Everywhere

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Teleportation and Other Luxuries, by Archie Bongiovanni & Mary Verhoeven, (Nov. 2024, Mad Cave Studios), $14.99, ISBN: 9781545812242

Ages 12+

A group of brainy misfits come together to win a science competition sponsored by a nefarious coroporation in this original graphic novel from Bongiovanni (A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns) and illustrator Verhoeven. Tyler, a trans teen with a penchant for social media and scientist parents who won’t accept anything less than total success, feels the pressure to keep up appearances for his family’s reputation’s sake. Gabby is a nonbinary student in the competition for far greater reasons than the scholarship money and the fame; her distrust of the corporation and science overall puts her at odds with Tyler. Allegra is a shy genius who hides her intelligence so she can fit in, and LJ is from a small town where he just learned to do everything because no one else could. Each member of the group has a hidden and personal agenda; when they realize a monumental breakthrough, though, they must weigh the cost of entering a project they know will win, but is unsafe. Blamazon, the megacorporation sponsoring the contest, is quick to wave their fears aside. A very human story with four queer teens at its heart, Bongiovanni explores their relationships with one another and with the world outside Blamazon’s walls. It becomes a story that encourages readers to ask themselves what really matters most. Cartoon-realistic illustration keeps pages turning along with the smart dialogue. A solid STEM story with realistic characters and situations at its center.