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the odyssey

The Odyssey

Homer

Description

The Odyssey, translated by T. E. Lawrence, an epic 12,000-line poem composed over 2,700 years ago, is the first adventure story in Western literature. It describes the ten-year wanderings of Odysseus in his quest to return home after the Trojan War. Hounded by the sea-god Poseidon and championed by the goddess Athene, he encounters giants, sorceresses, and sea monsters before finally reaching his beloved Ithaca. There he must endure the taunts of the Suitors to his queen, Penelope, who have taken up residence in his palace. At once enchanting fairy tale and gripping drama, the Odyssey is eminently readable, not least for the rich complexity and magnetism of its hero. An inspiration to writers as diverse as Virgil, Swift, and Joyce, the Odyssey has proved enormously influential and continues to captivate readers of all ages.

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"Caught Stealing" by Charlie Huston

Caught Stealing

Charlie Huston

Description

A retired baseball player finds himself fighting for his life in this “fantastically hopped-up thriller [with] a wrong-man plot worthy of Hitchcock” (Entertainment Weekly, Editor’s Choice). 

“Wow! Brutal, visceral, violent, edgy, and brilliant.”—Harlan Coben

Now a major motion picture starring Austin Butler and directed by Darren Aronofsky

Henry “call me Hank” Thompson used to play California baseball. Now he tends to a bar on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. When two Russians in tracksuits beat Hank to a pulp, he gets the clue: someone wants something from him. He just doesn’t know what it is, where it is, or how to make them understand he doesn’t have it. 

Within twenty-four hours, Hank is running over rooftops, playing hide-and-seek with the NYPD, riding the subway with a dead man at his side, and counting a whole lot of cash on a concrete floor. All because of some Russian hoods and a flat-out freakshow of goons. All because once, in another life, the only thing Hank wanted to steal was third base—without getting caught.

Henry “Hank” Thompson’s thrilling adventures continue:
CAUGHT STEALING • SIX BAD THINGS • A DANGEROUS MAN

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"Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir

Project Hail Mary

Andy Weir

Description

AS SEEN ON BARACK OBAMA'S 2021 SUMMER READING LIST
'THE MOST ENJOYABLE HARD SF I HAVE READ IN YEARS' THE GUARDIAN

OUT NOW from the bestselling author of THE MARTIAN

'Weir's finest work to date. . . This is the one book I read last year that I am certain I can recommend to anyone, no matter who, and know they'll love it.' BRANDON SANDERSON

'If you like a lot of science in your science fiction, Andy Weir is the writer for you. . . This one has everything fans of old school SF (like me) love.' GEORGE R.R. MARTIN

'Brilliantly funny and enjoyable. One of the most plausible science fiction books I've ever read' TIM PEAKE, astronaut
________________________________________
A lone astronaut.
An impossible mission.
An ally he never imagined.

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it's up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery-and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he's got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could imagine it, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian -- while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.
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'One of the most original, compelling, and fun voyages I've ever taken.' ERNEST CLINE, author of Ready Player One and Ready Player Two

'Undisputedly the best book I've read in a very, very long time. Mark my words- Project Hail Mary is destined to become a classic.' BLAKE CROUCH

'An unforgettable story of survival and the power of friendship - nothing short of a science-fiction masterwork.' KIRKUS REVIEWS

'A suspenseful portrait of human ingenuity and resilience that builds to an unexpectedly moving ending. A winner.' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

'Weir returns with gusto . . . his writing flows naturally, and his characters and dialogue crackle with energy. With this novel, he takes his place as a genuine star in the mainstream SF world.' BOOKLIST

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wuthering heights

Wuthering Heights

Brontë, Emily

Description

At the centre of this novel is the passionate love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff - recounted with such emotional intensity that a plain tale of the Yorkshire moors acquires the depth and simplicity of ancient tragedy.

 

This best-selling Norton Critical Edition is based on the 1847 first edition of the novel. For the Fourth Edition, the editor has collated the 1847 text with several modern editions and has corrected a number of variants, including accidentals. The text is accompanied by entirely new explanatory annotations.

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"Wicked" by Gregory Maguire

Wicked

Gregory Maguire

Description

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked?

Gregory Maguire has created a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again.

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vineland

Vineland

Pynchon, Thomas

Description

"Later than usual one summer morning in 1984 . . ." On California's fog-hung North Coast, the enchanted redwood groves of Vineland County harbor a wild assortment of Sixties survivors and refugees from the "Nixonian Reaction," still struggling with the consequences of their past lives. Aging hippie freak Zoyd Wheeler is revving up for his annual act of televised insanity when news reaches him that his old nemesis, sinister Federal agent Brock Vond, has come storming into Vineland at the head of a heavily armed Justice Department strike force. Zoyd instantly disappears underground, but not before dispatching his teenage daughter Prairie on a dark odyssey into her secret, unspeakable past . . .

Freely combining disparate elements from American pop culture - spy thrillers, Ninja potboilers, TV soap operas, sci-fi fantasies - Vineland emerges as what Salman Rushdie has called in the New York Times Book Review "that rarest of birds: a major political novel about what America has been doing to itself, to its children, all these many years."

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woman in cabin ten

The Woman in Cabin 10

Ruth Ware

Description

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER

FROM THE AUTHOR OF IN A DARK, DARK WOOD

Featured in TheSkimm

An Entertainment Weekly “Summer Must List” Pick

A New York Post “Summer Must-Read” Pick

Included in Summer Book Guides from Bustle, Oprah.com, PureWow, and USA TODAY 

An instant New York Times bestseller, The Woman in Cabin 10 is a gripping psychological thriller set at sea from an essential mystery writer in the tradition of Agatha Christie. 

In this tightly wound, enthralling story reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s works, Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for—and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong…

With surprising twists, spine-tingling turns, and a setting that proves as uncomfortably claustrophobic as it is eerily beautiful, Ruth Ware offers up another taut and intense read in The Woman in Cabin 10—one that will leave even the most sure-footed reader restlessly uneasy long after the last page is turned.

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"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

Description

"I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel." Immerse yourself in a haunting exploration of ambition and isolation, where the thirst for creation leads to tragedy and the quest for understanding unravels the very fabric of humanity. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a cornerstone of Gothic Literature. First published in 1818, it tells the tragic story of Victor Frankenstein, a driven scientist whose ambition to create life leads him to construct a sentient monster. As creation spirals into revenge, both creator and creation are engulfed in a cycle of tragedy and isolation, exploring profound themes of science and ethics, the duality of man, and the consequences of playing god. This classic novel remains a timeless reflection on the responsibilities of creation and the depths of human emotion, making it a must-read in the realm of gothic life books and classic novels with timeless emotions. Sneak Peak of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein book: "I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart." A stunning preservation of a literary masterpiece, this edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is perfect for classic literature enthusiasts or as a thoughtful gift for those who appreciate timeless emotions in classic novels. Whether you're adding to your thrift books collection or seeking a beautifully maintained copy of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein book, this gothic literature classic is an excellent choice. Tap the Buy Now Button and delve into one of the most influential works in gothic literature. Title Details Original Text: 1818 Genre: Gothic Literature

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"The Housemaid" by Freida McFadden

The Housemaid

Freida McFadden

Description

"Welcome to the family," Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I'll soon learn that the Winchesters' secrets are far more dangerous than my own...

 

Every day I clean the Winchesters' beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

 

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew's handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it's hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina's life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

 

I only try on one of Nina's pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it's like. But she soon finds out... and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it's far too late.

 

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don't know who I really am.

 

They don't know what I'm capable of...

 

An unbelievably twisty read that will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train won't be able to put this down!

 

Read what everyone's saying about The Housemaid:

 

"I could NOT put it down!... An incredible roller-coaster ride... This book left me hungry for more and I could not believe the ending!!" Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

"One wild ride!... So many twists and turns... I was hooked right away - I even read my Kindle while waiting in my kid's school pick-up line so I wouldn't have to put this book down!... addictive... pure perfection!" Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

"Terrific! Finished The Housemaid in one night, totally compulsively readable... the ending packs a wallop!" NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

"Wow what an amazing book! I couldn't put this down until the very last page... a perfect five stars. This one is by far my favorite book by this author yet." Bookishfirst, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

"I've yet to read a book by Freida McFadden that didn't blow me away! I finished this in one sitting, couldn't tear my eyes away... I did not see the plot twist coming at all! The ending was so satisfying but left me wanting even more." @bookscoffeemorebooks, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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"Hamnet" by Maggie O'Farrell

Hamnet

Maggie O'Farrell

Description

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Now a major motion picture starring Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, and Joe Alwyn, directed by ACADEMY AWARD® winner Chloé Zhao.

The bestselling author of The Marriage Portrait delivers a deeply moving novel about the death of Shakespeare’s eleven-year-old son, Hamnet, and the years leading up to the production of his great play.

"Miraculous... brilliant... A novel told with the urgency of a whispered prayer — or curse... A richly drawn and intimate portrait of 16th-century English life set against the arrival of one devastating death." —Ron Charles, The Washington Post

England, 1580: The Black Death creeps across the land, an ever-present threat, infecting the healthy, the sick, the old and the young alike. The end of days is near, but life always goes on.

A young Latin tutor—penniless and bullied by a violent father—falls in love with an extraordinary, eccentric young woman. Agnes is a wild creature who walks her family’s land with a falcon on her glove and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer, understanding plants and potions better than she does people. Once she settles with her husband on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon, she becomes a fiercely protective mother and a steadfast, centrifugal force in the life of her young husband, whose career on the London stage is just taking off when his beloved young son succumbs to sudden fever.

Hamnet is mesmerizing, seductive, impossible to put down—a magnificent leap forward from one of our most gifted novelists.

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"Captain Marvel Vol. 1" by Kelly Sue Deconnick

Captain Marvel Vol. 1

Kelly Sue Deconnick

Description

"As Carol Danvers comes to a crossroads with a new life and new romance, she makes a dramatic decision that will alter the course of her life--and the entire Marvel Universe. But as Carol takes on a mission to return an alien girl to her homeworld, she lands in the middle of an uprising against the Galactic Alliance and the Spartax! Investigating the forced resettlement of Rocket Girl's people, Carol discovers she has a history with the man behind the plot. But when the bad guy tries to blackmail Carol and turn the Avengers against her, it's payback time!"--Page 4 of cover.
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"Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Omnibus Volume 1" by Joss Whedon

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Omnibus Volume 1

Joss Whedon

Description

Series creator Joss Whedon brought Buffy the Vampire Slayer back to life with this comics-only follow-up to Season 7 of the television show. Aptly named Season 8, these comics are the official sequel to Buffy and continue where the live-action series left off with the Slayer, her friends, and their ongoing challenge to fight the forces of darkness.


After the destruction of the Hellmouth, the Slayers--newly legion--have gotten organized, but it's not long before new and old enemies begin popping up. Buffy, Xander, Willow, and a very different Dawn are introduced to the season's big bad, Twilight, and begin to understand the incredible reach of this mysterious threat. Meanwhile, rebel Slayer Faith teams up with Giles to handle a menace on the other side of the Atlantic. It's a dirty job, and Faith is just the girl to do it! Then, as Twilight's ominous influence continues to expand Buffy and her Slayers travel to Tokyo to face a new kind of vampire with powers they've only witnessed in Dracula . . . And, when trouble with Buffy's scythe comes to light, Willow and Buffy head to New York to investigate the secrets behind the ancient weapon; ever full of the unexpected, Buffy is transported to a dystopian future where her first chance meeting is with Fray, future Slayer!

This oversized omnibus edition is one of two volumes that will contain the entirety of Season 8. It includes the first four arcs of the series along with one-shots and short stories written by Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, Drew Goddard, and Jeph Loeb, with art by the acclaimed Georges Jeanty, as well as Karl Moline, Paul Lee, Cliff Richards, and more.

“Joss Whedon, the man, the myth, the legend, writes the comic with the same genius as he did the show. The art, penciled by Georges Jeanty, is as faboo as the writing.”—Janet Evanovich, New York Times best-selling author of Hard Eight
 
Buffy the comic might be every bit as good as Buffy the TV show.”—Entertainment Weekly (featured as one of the Best Comics of 2007)

“Vaughan is a fantastic writer that conveys emotion and character to a degree of perfection.”—Wired
 
“Drew Goddard is a rare breed: a genre writer who crafts truly inspired characters and lyrical, emotional scenes.”—J. J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Cloverfield)
 
Buffy Season 8 is run like the television series from which it came . . . a classic evolving specimen for this era of ever shifting media platforms.”—Los Angeles Times
 
“The whole gang returns, kicking ass and splitting infinitives in Whedon’s inimitable dialogue.”—Wired 
 
“Series creator Whedon effectively sucks devotees back into his Hellmouth.”—Entertainment Weekly

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"Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" by Tom King

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

Tom King

Description

Kara Zor-El can no longer find any meaning or purpose in her life. But all that changes when an alien girl seeks her out to help her take revenge on the bad guys who destroyed her world. Now a Kryptonian, a dog, and an angry, heartbroken child head into space on a journey that will shake them to their very core. It’s Supergirl like you’ve never seen her before in a character-defining sci-fi/fantasy masterpiece! Collects the entire miniseries Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1-8.

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"She-Hulk by Rainbow Rowell Vol. 1: Jen, Again" by Rainbow Rowell

She-Hulk by Rainbow Rowell Vol. 1: Jen, Again

Rainbow Rowell

Description

Smashing new adventures starring the best character ever! Jennifer Walters, the Sensational She-Hulk, is no longer savage - and now she needs to put her life back together. She's got a legal career to rebuild, friends to reacquaint herself with (and maybe represent in a court of law) and enemies to...well, she may not want to connect with them, but they are definitely going to connect with her. And Jen is about to be sent down a road she's never traveled - one that will shake up her life...and possibly the whole Marvel Universe! One of the most dangerous things ever to exist lands in She-Hulk's lap, and she's got to figure out what the heck to do with it. Good luck with that, Jen! And with...Super Fight Club?! Collecting SHE-HULK (2022) #1-5.

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"Batgirl Vol. 1: The Darkest Reflection (The New 52)" by Gail Simone

Batgirl Vol. 1: The Darkest Reflection (The New 52)

Gail Simone

Description

A New York Times Best Seller!

As a part of the acclaimed DC Comics—The New 52 event of September 2011, Barbara Gordon is finally back as Batgirl!

The nightmare-inducing brute known as Mirror is destroying the lives of Gotham City citizens seemingly at random. Will Barbara be able to survive her explosive confrontation with this new villain, as well as facing dark secrets from her past? A new chapter in the riveting adventures of Batgirl continue in stunning fashion, with script by fan-favorite Gail Simone and stellar art by superstar Ardian Syaf!

This volume colles issues 1-6 of Batgirl, part of the DC Comics—The New 52 event.

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"A-Force Presents Vol. 1" by G. Willow Wilson, Nathan Edmondson, Kelly Sue DeConnick, and Jason Aaron

A-Force Presents Vol. 1

G. Willow Wilson

Description

Marvel's most amazing heroes step into the spotlight in this all action book packed with adventure, danger, drama...and fun! Black Widow seeks redemption for her past - in ways that the Avengers wouldn't approve! When Carol Danvers takes on the legacy of Captain Marvel, she'll live her dream of traveling to the stars! Teenage Kamala Khan fights crime as Ms. Marvel...but is she ready for this dangerous new life? She-Hulk isn't just a green powerhouse - she's an attorney with legal skills that will knock her opponents' socks off! A mysterious woman lifts the hammer Mjolnir, and claims the powers of the mighty Thor! And Squirrel Girl faces her most dangerous challenge yet: college! Collecting: Black Widow (2014) #1, Captain Marvel (2014) #1, Ms. Marvel (2014) #1, She-Hulk (2014) #1, Thor (2014) #1, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015) #1.

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"Harley Quinn and the Gotham City Sirens: DC Compact Comics Edition" by Paul Dini

Harley Quinn and the Gotham City Sirens: DC Compact Comics Edition

Paul Dini

Description



Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are tired of playing by other peoples' rules regardless of which side of the law they're on. They have a new agenda that's all their own, and they'll use any means necessary to pursue it. But can they get along and work as a team? And who will get hurt along the way?

Collects Gotham City Sirens #1-13.

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"Something is Killing the Children Omnibus Vol. 1" by James Tynion IV

Something is Killing the Children Omnibus Vol. 1

James Tynion IV

Description

The iconic story of monsters, and the ones who hunt them, that began the award-winning, bestselling horror phenomenon is assembled in one convenient omnibus collection.

WHAT IS ABDUCTING THE CHILDREN OF ARCHER'S PEAK?

When the children in a sleepy Wisconsin town begin to go missing, all hope seems lost. Most children never return, and those that do have terrible stories of terrifying creatures that live in the shadows. But even monsters fear the mysterious stranger that arrives shortly after. She believes the children and claims to be the only who sees what they can see...

Her name is Erica Slaughter. She kills monsters. This is all she does, and she bears the cost because it must be done.

The definitive collection of the entire “Archer’s Peak” saga by GLAAD Award-winning writer James Tynion IV (Department of Truth, Batman) and artist Werther Dell'Edera (Razorblades) is assembled here in a single volume.

Collects Something is Killing the Children #1-20.

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"Zatanna: Bring Down the House" by Mariko Tamaki

Zatanna: Bring Down the House

Mariko Tamaki

Description

Zatanna's past and present collide in a brand-new series by Eisner Award-winning writer Mariko Tamaki (Harley Quinn- Breaking Glass, I Am Not Starfire) and Javier Rodriguez!

After a deadly mistake left her terrified of her own abilities, Zatanna found a home for herself in Las Vegas performing a free show full of sleight-of-hand and cheap card tricks at the crappiest casino on the strip. It's not exactly glamourous-or heroic-but it sure beats the risk of dabbling in real magic! That is, until a mysterious stranger plunges Zatanna's world into chaos, dredging up old wounds and cracking open an inter-dimensional rift in the process!

Now, Zatanna will have to face her fears and embrace her powers whether she wants to or not! But will the magic words do the trick, or will it all collapse around her like a house of cards?

This volume collects Zatanna- Bring Down The House #1-5.

This title was selected as New York Public Library Best New Comics for Adults 2025!

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"Wonder Woman Earth One Vol 1" by Grant Morrison

Wonder Woman Earth One Vol 1

Grant Morrison

Description

A #1 New York Times Bestseller!

From the masterful minds of Grant Morrison (FINAL CRISIS, DOOM PATROL, THE MULTIVERSITY) and Yanick Paquette (SWAMP THING, BATMAN, INC.) comes the most provocative origin of Wonder Woman you've ever seen--a wholly unique retelling that still honors her roots.

For millennia, the Amazons of Paradise Island have created a thriving society away from the blight of man. One resident, however, is not satisfied with this secluded life--Diana, Princess of the Amazons, knows there is more in this world and wants to explore, only to be frustrated by her protective mother, Hippolyta. Diana finds her escape when Air Force pilot Steve Trevor, the first man she has ever seen, crashes onto their shores. With his life hanging in the balance, Diana ventures into the long-forbidden world of men. The Amazons chase after her and bring her back to Paradise Island in chains to face trial for breaking their oldest law--staying separated from the world that wronged them.

Thought-provoking yet reverent, thoroughly modern but still timeless, the power and courage of Paradise Island's greatest champion--Wonder Woman--is introduced in this new addition to DC Comics' New York Times best-selling Earth One original graphic novel series.

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"Heiress of Nowhere" by Stacey Lee

Heiress of Nowhere

Stacey Lee

Description

Two starred reviews!

An orphan races to uncover a killer—who may have come from the sea—when she and her beloved orcas fall under suspicion in this “atmospheric…beguiling” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) historical gothic mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl, Stacey Lee.

1918. Orcas Island, Washington.

Lucy Nowhere has spent her eighteen years working on the vast estate of the eccentric shipbuilder who took her in after she washed ashore in a green canoe as a baby. But she has long wished for a life off the island, and in a matter of days, she is set to leave for college—and, for the first time, choose her own future.

Then she finds her employer’s severed head on the beach. Rumors swirl that a mischievous spirit and its minions, the sea wolves, have struck again. Lucy doesn’t believe in myths. She knows that a human—a human murderer—killed him. And when she is unexpectedly named heiress to the estate, she understands the next target is her.

Her closest friend, the estate’s vigilant young guard, begs her to escape while she can. But Lucy knows the only way she can discover who she is, and free the island of its curse, is to find the real killer—before she becomes the next victim.

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"Right as Rain" by Tashie Bhuiyan

Right as Rain

Tashie Bhuiyan

Description

"I was struck by lightning and now there's rain following me around. I was struck by lightning and now there's rain following me around."

Recent high-school graduate Megh Rashid has plans to escape to the other side of the country for college and leave behind the stormy household she’s been trapped in for years. But things are complicated when she gets struck by lightning right before the start of a prestigious summer internship that’s key to her getting accepted to her dream university, and she wakes up to a storm cloud that follows her everywhere, seemingly attuned to her every emotion. 

Megh’s struggles with depression, fear of leaving her home and loved ones, and uncertainty about her future cause the cloud to act up, creating rainstorms that dampen her spirits and her hopes of making an impact at her internship. With the help of fellow intern Lev Osman, a boy whose warmth makes her feel less alone, Megh has to find a way to control her feelings and decide what she’s willing to sacrifice in order to secure her desired future.

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"When I Was Death" by Alexis Henderson

When I Was Death

Alexis Henderson

Description

Final Destination meets House of Hollow in this haunting and lyrical speculative horror about a group of girls doing Death's bidding in exchange for preserving their own lives.

'The kind of story I wish I could experience for the first time all over again.' Angela Montoya, author of A Cruel Thirst

Roslyn Volk isn't herself any more. It's been almost a year since her older sister, Adeline, died under suspicious circumstances, and she's still shackled by grief. When six mysterious girls appear in town one morning, Roslyn finds herself inexplicably drawn to them, soon learning that Adeline spent her last summer with the group.

Desperate to find out what really happened to her sister, Roslyn agrees to accompany the girls on their road trip. But this strange sisterhood share an inconceivable secret. All of them have been spared from Death's clutches and now must pay for the privilege. Gifted with Death's touch, the girls travel the country reaping other people's souls in return for preserving their own lives.

As Roslyn becomes more entangled with the girls, in particular the group's leader Shiloh who she gravitates towards, it becomes clear there is only one way to discover the truth about her sister. She must strike her own deal with Death . . .

Praise for When I Was Death-

'Atmospheric and achingly lyrical. When I Was Death is a tale of untamed girlhood, defiant loyalty and a relentless search for truth.' Sophie Clark, author of Cruel is the Light

'Henderson's hauntingly beautiful prose explores how girlhood and grief are often intertwined. I savoured every single page.' Cynthia Murphy, author of Win Lose Kill Die

'Hauntingly beautiful and equally heart-wrenching, When I Was Death explores love and loss in a way that both hurts and heals. Henderson has crafted an intimate, powerful and utterly unputdownable tale.' Channelle Desamours, author of Needy Little Things

'A searing portrayal of girlhood, at once sparkling and violently dark. When I Was Death is thrilling and wholly original.' Goldy Moldavsky, author of The Last Girl

'This is girlhood at its darkest and most glittering. When I Was Death is the culty road trip fantasy of your dreams. It's horror with heart, unafraid to explore the sharp edges of friendship and sisterhood.' Maria Meservey, author of The Ironfell Inheritance

'Henderson's prose glows with honesty, her characters richly textured and utterly alive.' Abby Dewsnup, author of Rabbit Heart

'I couldn't put it down! When I Was Death is brilliant from start to finish.' Abiola Bello, author of Love in Winter Wonderland

'A beautiful exploration of grief and girlhood. Five stars. I'll be haunted by this one for a long time.' Beth Tomlin, author of To Hell With You

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"Midnight on the Celestial" by Julia Alexandra

Midnight on the Celestial

Julia Alexandra

Description

Roe Damarcus has never been afraid of the dead. Her power to summon spirits has awed the guests of her esteemed family’s galas for as long as she can remember. Her future is certain, and her gift will be another shining jewel in the Damarcus legacy.

But when she fails her realm’s trial to keep her magic and is deemed too dangerous for society, she faces a harrowing choice: give up her gift or serve a punishment sentence aboard the Celestial, a luxurious magical cruise ship where staff members compete for guest votes to earn a coveted retrial.

As a concierge, Roe juggles the demands of affluent guests, cruel bosses, and the suspicion that an infuriatingly handsome silks performer, Ivander, is determined to keep her from a retrial.

But the true dangers surface after her shift ends when the Celestial transforms into halls of nightmares that kill staff members after dark. Faced with the reality of serving aboard, Roe begins to question the ship, trials, and the system that put her there. But the moment Roe sinks into the ship's dark history, she's wrongly framed for a guest's murder. Vowing to conjure her own second chance, Roe will use whatever power she has to uncover the secrets of the ship, her family, and their entwined bloody past... before she becomes the Celestial’s next victim.

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"Estela, Undrowning" by René Peña-Govea

Estela, Undrowning

René Peña-Govea

Description

In her raw and resonant debut novel, René Peña-Govea seamlessly interweaves prose and poetry to uplift the power of language, the courage to fight injustice, and the complex beauty of finding your people--perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo's The Poet X and Carolina Ixta's Shut Up, This is Serious.

Estela Morales is one of the only Latinas who tested into San Francisco's most exclusive public high school. In her senior year, Estela just wants to keep her head down, eke out a passing grade from her racist Spanish teacher, and get into her dream college.

But after placing second in the Latiné Heritage Poetry Contest behind a non-Latino student, Estela is thrust into citywide debates about merit, identity, and diversity.

Things only get messier when her family is threatened with eviction. As Estela's friends organize against bigotry and her landlady increases the pressure, Estela is suffocating and finds release only in poetry and in a breathless new romance. When tensions finally reach their breaking point, Estela must find a way to undrown the community she loves--and herself.

 

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"The Oks Are Not OK" by Grace K. Shim

The Oks Are Not OK

Grace K. Shim

Description

A contemporary young adult novel by Grace K. Shim that mixes the humor of Schitt’s Creek with the heritage and heart of Minari.

Seventeen-year-old Elena Ok (pronounced “Oak”) has mastered the art of being both a Los Angeles party girl and financially savvy influencer, but her family doesn’t see the brilliance behind her carefully curated image. Instead, they endlessly praise her older brother, Gavin, whose most impressive achievement is consistently forgetting his homework. All of Elena’s hard work and social clout disintegrates when the Oks, founders of the wildly popular (and now bankrupt) fast-fashion brand It’s Ok! (pronounced “OKAY”), lose their fortune overnight.

With their empire crumbling and an investigation underway, the Oks flee to Blaire, CA—a farming town that’s as glamorous as Temu. Mr. Ok, a now-disgraced retail mogul, and Mrs. Ok, a now-also-disgraced fashion-forward matriarch, realize they’ve spent decades perfecting their public personas at the expense of actually knowing their kids. Meanwhile, Elena and Gavin are stuck in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to distract them from their family’s unraveling dynamics—or each other’s annoying habits.

But life in Blaire isn’t all bad. As the family reconnects with their Korean farming heritage, Elena discovers a hidden gem: the Blaire Fair, the local market brimming with untapped potential. Applying her business savvy, she helps the small-town vendors thrive and sees how they put their profits back into the community. For the first time, Elena begins to question her own definition of success.

The Oks Are Not OK offers humor and drama to tell a story about family, self-discovery, and the fine line between building a brand and building a life.

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"Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions" by Ahmad Saber

Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions

Ahmad Saber

Description

“An ode to the courage it takes to live with authenticity.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) 

An intensely brave, beautifully honest, and wryly funny story about a gay Muslim teen who has to choose between being true to himself or his faith—and his realization that maybe they aren’t as separate as he thought.

Ramin Abbas has spent his whole life obeying his parents, his Imam, and, of course, Allahno questions asked. But when he starts crushing on the ridiculously handsome captain of the soccer team, so many things he’d always been so sure about are becoming questions:

1. Music is haram. But what if the Wicked soundtrack is the only thing keeping you sane because you’re being forced to play on the soccer team? With Captain Handsome?! 

2. A boy crush is double haram, and Ramin’s parents will never accept it. But can he really be the only Muslim on Earth who feels this way?

3. Allah is merciful and makes no mistakes. Then isn’t Ramin just the way Allah intended him to be?

And so why should living your truth but losing everythingor living a lie and losing yourselfhave to be a choice?!

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"Slow Burn" by Bethany Rutter

Slow Burn

Bethany Rutter

Description

A sporty, feel-good, body-positive rom-com pits a plus-size teen against her bullies to prove what she already knows--that she has exactly the right stuff.

Sixteen-year-old Ruby has worked hard to be happy in her body, even when other people--including her brother and her PE teacher--insist there's something wrong with her for being fat. All Ruby cares about is hanging out at the skate park this summer with friends. But her brother's bullying words get under her skin, and in order to prove to him (and her impressionable little sister) that fat girls can do anything, Ruby finds herself signed up for the annual 5K Dawson Dash. There's just one problem: She can't run. The cute new boy next door can, however, and when Ollie offers to help her train, Ruby takes him up on it, even if it means he'll see her at her sweatiest and most vulnerable. Young athletes of all stripes, especially those marginalized in sports due to body differences, will find a hero in good-humored Ruby. With its all-audience appeal, her joyful story delivers upbeat romance and affirmation that our bodies are just right, just the way they are.

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"The Fall of Iris Henley" by Jennifer Graham

The Fall of Iris Henley

Jennifer Graham

Description

For fans of Megan Lally and Kara Thomas, a twisty thriller about a Texas teen accused of murder who's desperate to clear her name.

All it takes to ruin someone’s life is the stroke of a key. Just ask Iris Henley. Her life is destroyed when someone posts an anonymous message on her high school’s subreddit thread: “Iris Henley is a killer. I’ve been too scared to come forward until now, but I saw her murder Rocky and Lynette last summer.”

Just like that, Iris loses everything. Her reputation. Her friends. Her hope of getting into college on scholarship. Even, possibly, her freedom, once the police start to investigate. After all, she’s the perfect suspect: Rocky was her boyfriend, and Lynette was her ex-best friend—and the girl he was cheating on her with. But Iris didn’t do it, and now it’s up to her to clear her name by finding out who did—before it’s too late. 

Propulsive, sharp, and absolutely twisty from the New York Times bestselling author who brought readers the Veronica Mars duology, Jennifer Graham's YA thriller is unputdownable.

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"Paradise Coast" by Suzanne Young

Paradise Coast

Suzanne Young

Description

Rival groups of local and wealthy teens in a small Everglades town confront the secrets that rise from the waters in the wake of a hurricane in this sizzling and suspenseful thriller from New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young—perfect for fans of Outer Banks and The White Lotus.

Some secrets won’t stay buried. Not even in the Everglades.

Deep in the Everglades, there was once a luxurious and legendary hotel enjoyed by the wealthy elite. Until one mysterious night when a fire tore through the building, killing a young socialite and casting blame on a local dock worker. Soon after, the hotel vanished, swallowed up by the wetlands like it never existed at all. 

Until now.

When a powerful hurricane unearths the ruins of the long-forgotten hotel, the past is dragged back to the surface as clues to the devasting truth about the night of the fire are revealed. 

It’s the truth that die-hard local Noa and her friends have been chasing for years in the hopes of clearing their ancestor’s name and pushing back against the rich families trying to force them out. With the help of Jamie, the rebellious son of a wealthy businessman, Noa and her crew begin a desperate fight for the justice they deserve. 

It won’t be easy. Because the wealthy control just about everything on Paradise Coast—including the truth. And they will do whatever it takes, even kill, to make sure the past stays buried.

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mad,bad

Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know

Ahmed, Samira

Description

Told in alternating narratives that bridge centuries, the latest novel from bestselling author Samira Ahmed traces the lives of two young women fighting to write their own stories and escape the pressure of familial burdens and cultural expectations in worlds too long defined by men.

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we are the beasts

We Are the Beasts

Griffis, Gigi

Description

In eighteenth century France, sixteen-year-old Joséphine and her best friend Clara use a mysterious beast conveniently blamed for the villagers' crimes to protect young girls from abusive men in power.

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the queen's spade

The Queen's Spade

Raughley, Sarah

Description

"The year is 1862 and murderous desires are simmering in England. Nineteen-year-old Sarah Bonetta Forbes (Sally), once a princess of the Egbado Clan, desires one thing above all else: revenge against the British Crown and its system of colonial 'humanitarianism,' which stole her dignity and transformed her into royal property. From military men to political leaders, she's vowed to ruin all who've had a hand in her afflictions...Inspired by the true story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, Queen Victoria's African goddaughter"

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code name verity

Code Name Verity

Wein, Elizabeth.

Description

In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage, and great courage as she relates what she must to survive while keeping secret all that she can.

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the davenports

The Davenports

Marquis, Krystal

Description

"The Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States, their fortune made through the entrepreneurship of William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man who founded the Davenport Carriage Company years ago. Now it's 1910, and the Davenports live surrounded by servants, crystal chandeliers, and endless parties, finding their way and finding love--even where they're not supposed to. There is Olivia, the beautiful elder Davenport daughter, ready to do her duty by getting married... until she meets the charismatic civil rights leader Washington DeWight and sparks fly. The younger daughter, Helen, is more interested in fixing cars than falling in love--unless it's with her sister's suitor. Amy-Rose, the childhood friend turned maid to the Davenport sisters, dreams of opening her own business--and marrying the one man she could never be with, Olivia and Helen's brother, John. But Olivia's best friend, Ruby, also has her sights set on John Davenport, though she can't seem to keep his interest... until family pressure has her scheming to win his heart, just as someone else wins hers"-- Amazon.com.

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kill her twice

Kill Her Twice

Lee, Stacey

Description

A YA murder mystery noir set in 1930s Los Angeles's Chinatown, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl.

 

"A captivating and crackling noir full of suspenseful twists. Readers will fall in love with the Chow sisters and their quest for the truth." --Kathleen Glasgow, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces and The Agathas

 

LOS ANGELES, 1932: Lulu Wong, star of the silver screen and the pride of Chinatown, has a face known to practically everyone, especially the Chow sisters--May, Gemma, and Peony--Lulu's former classmates and neighbors. So the girls instantly know it's Lulu when they discover a body one morning in an out-of-the-way stable, far from the Beverly Hills home where she lived after her fame skyrocketed.

 

The sisters suspect Lulu's death is the result of foul play, but the police don't seem motivated to investigate. Even worse, there are signs that point to a cover-up, and powerful forces in the city want to frame the killing as evidence that Chinatown is a den of iniquity and crime, even more reason it should be demolished to make room for the construction of a new railway depot, Union Station.

 

Worried that neither the police nor the papers will treat Lulu fairly--no matter her fame and wealth--the sisters set out to solve their friend's murder themselves, and maybe save their neighborhood in the bargain. But with Lulu's killer still on the loose, the girls' investigation just might put them square in the crosshairs of a cold-blooded murderer.

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"All the Stars Denied" by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

All the Stars Denied

Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Description

In a companion novel to her critically acclaimed Shame the Stars, Pura Belpré Award Winner Guadalupe García McCall tackles the first mass deportation event in the US, which swept up hundreds of thousands of Mexican American citizens during the Great Depression.

It's the heart of the Great Depression and Rancho Las Moras, like everywhere else in Texas, is gripped by the drought of the Dust Bowl, and resentment is building among White farmers against Mexican Americans. All around town, signs go up proclaiming "No Dogs or Mexicans" and "No Mexicans Allowed."

So when Estrella organizes a protest against the treatment of Tejanos, her whole family becomes a target of "repatriation" efforts to send Mexicans "back to Mexico" -- whether they were ever Mexican citizens or not. Dumped across the border and separated from half her family, Estrella must figure out a way to survive and care for her mother and baby brother. How can she reunite with her father and grandparents and convince her country of birth that she deserves to return home?

In this companion novel to her critically acclaimed Shame the Stars Guadalupe García McCall reveals the hidden history of the first mass deportation event that swept up hundreds of thousands of Mexican American citizens during the Great Depression.

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"Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray

Ruta Sepetys

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the award-winning author of Salt to the Sea comes a “superb” (The Wall Street Journal), “eye-opening” (Los Angeles Times) novel of survival and hope in the darkest of places—the inspiration for the major motion picture Ashes in the Snow

"Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both." —The Washington Post

WINNER OF THE GOLDEN KITE AWARD • A CARNEGIE MEDAL NOMINEE • A WILLIAM C. MORRIS AWARD FINALIST • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE CENTURY

A knock comes at the door in the dead of night, and Lina’s life changes in an instant. With her young brother and mother, she is hauled away by the Soviet secret police from her home in Lithuania and thrown into a cattle car en route to Siberia. Separated from her father, Lina secretly passes along clues in the form of drawings, hoping they will reach his prison camp. But will her letters, or her courage, be enough to reunite her family? Will they be enough to keep her alive?

A moving and haunting novel about loss, fear, and ultimately, survival, Between Shades of Gray is a tour de force of historical and emotional storytelling.

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"Songs of Irie" by Asha Ashanti Bromfield

Songs of Irie

Asha Ashanti Bromfield

Description

"A devastating and nuanced look at two teens’ battle for freedom, hope, independence, and love." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Perfect for fans of The Black Kids, Songs of Irie is a sweeping coming-of-age novel from Asha Bromfield about a budding romance struggling to survive amidst the Jamaican civil unrest of the 1970s.

It's 1976 and Jamaica is on fire. The country is on the eve of important elections and the warring political parties have made the divisions between the poor and the wealthy even wider. And Irie and Jilly come from very different backgrounds: Irie is from the heart of Kingston, where fighting in the streets is common. Jilly is from the hills, where mansions nestled within lush gardens remain safe behind gates. But the two bond through a shared love of Reggae music, spending time together at Irie's father's record store, listening to so-called rebel music that opens Jilly's mind to a sound and a way of thinking she's never heard before.

As tensions build in the streets, so do tensions between the two girls. A budding romance between them complicates things further as the push and pull between their two lives becomes impossible to bear. For Irie, fighting—with her words and her voice—is her only option. Blood is shed on the streets in front of her every day. She has no choice. But Jilly can always choose to escape.

Can their bond survive this impossible divide?

Asha Bromfield has written a compelling, emotional and heart-rending story of a friendship during wartime and what it means to fight for your words, your life, and the love of your life.

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"Last Night at the Telegraph Club" by Malinda Lo

Last Night at the Telegraph Club

Malinda Lo

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND STONEWALL BOOK AWARD • From acclaimed author Malinda Lo comes a gripping, tender coming-of-age novel exploring identity, queerness, and historical upheaval set in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the 1950s.

“Lush, ambitious and layered, Malinda Lo’s sweeping historical novel is the queer romance we’ve been waiting for.”—Ms. Magazine

Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the feeling took root—that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly, everything seemed possible.

But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.

Meticulously researched, emotionally stirring, and startlingly brave, Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a standout work of historical fiction that has taken the world by storm. 

Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature • A Michael L. Printz Honor Book • A We Need Diverse Books Walter Dean Myers Honor Book • A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist • A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Century

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Claire McCardell

Claire McCardell

Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson

Description

Named one of The New York Times’s 100 Notable Books of 2025

The riveting hidden history of Claire McCardell, the most influential fashion designer you’ve never heard of. 

Claire McCardell forever changed fashion—and most importantly, the lives of women. She shattered cultural norms around women’s clothes, and today much of what we wear traces back to her ingenious, rebellious mind. McCardell invented ballet flats and mix-and-match separates, and she introduced wrap dresses, hoodies, leggings, denim, and more into womenswear. She tossed out corsets in favor of a comfortably elegant look and insisted on pockets, even as male designers didn’t see a need for them. She made zippers easy to reach because a woman “may live alone and like it,” McCardell once wrote, “but you may regret it if you wrench your arm trying to zip a back zipper into place.”

After World War II, McCardell fought the severe, hyper-feminized silhouette championed by male designers, like Christian Dior. Dior claimed that he wanted to “save women from nature.” McCardell, by contrast, wanted to set women free. Claire McCardell became, as the young journalist Betty Friedan called her in 1955, “The Gal Who Defied Dior.” 

Filled with personal drama and industry secrets, this story reveals how Claire McCardell built an empire at a time when women rarely made the upper echelons of business. At its core, hers is a story about our right to choose how we dress—and our right to choose how we live.

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counterfeit countess

The Counterfeit Countess

Elizabeth B. White

Description

The “remarkable…inspiring” (The Wall Street Journal) true story of Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg—a Jewish mathematician who saved thousands of lives in Nazi-occupied Poland by masquerading as a Polish aristocrat—drawing on Mehlberg’s own unpublished memoir.

World War II and the Holocaust have given rise to many stories of resistance and rescue, but The Counterfeit Countess is unique. It tells the astonishing unknown story of “Countess Janina Suchodolska,” a Jewish woman who rescued more than 10,000 Poles imprisoned by Poland’s Nazi occupiers, becoming “a heroine for the ages” (Larry Loftis, author of The Watchmaker’s Daughter).

Mehlberg operated in Lublin, Poland, headquarters of Aktion Reinhard, the SS operation that murdered 1.7 million Jews in occupied Poland. Using the identity papers of a Polish aristocrat, she worked as a welfare official while also serving in the Polish resistance. With guile, cajolery, and steely persistence, the “Countess” persuaded SS officials to release thousands of Poles from the Majdanek concentration camp. She won permission to deliver food and medicine—even decorated Christmas trees—for thousands more of the camp’s prisoners. At the same time, she personally smuggled supplies and messages to resistance fighters imprisoned in Majdanek, where 63,000 Jews were murdered in gas chambers and shooting pits. Incredibly, she eluded detection, and ultimately survived the war and emigrated to the US.

Drawing on the manuscript of Mehlberg’s own unpublished memoir supplemented with prodigious research, Elizabeth White and Joanna Sliwa, professional historians and Holocaust experts, have uncovered the full story of this remarkable woman. They interweave Mehlberg’s sometimes harrowing personal testimony with broader historical narrative. Like The Light of Days, Schindler’s List, and Irena’s Children, The Counterfeit Countess is a “riveting…stunning” (Debbie Cenziper, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of Citizen 865) account of inspiring courage in the face of unspeakable cruelty.

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"The Westerners" by Megan Kate Nelson

The Westerners

Megan Kate Nelson

Description

From award-winning historian Megan Kate Nelson, an epic account of the creation of the American West in the 19th century, shattering the traditional frontier myth that has dominated popular American culture.

The Westerners tells two richly detailed and interwoven stories. The first reveals the captivating lives of women and men moving through the American West—Indigenous peoples, Black Americans, Mexican Americans, and Canadian and Asian immigrants—in the 19th century. The second tracks the attempts of many Americans to erase these westerners from history, through a frontier myth that lionized individualism and conquest and celebrated white settlers traveling west in search of prosperity.

Nelson’s vivid, eye-opening account centers on seven extraordinary individuals whose lives capture the true history of the frontier: Sacajawea, not just Lewis and Clark’s guide but an explorer who forged her own path; Jim Beckwourth, a biracial fur trader whose sharp cultural insight made him indispensable; María Gertrudis Barceló, a Hispana gambling saloon owner who broke every stereotype to become the wealthiest woman in Santa Fe; Ovando Hollister, a gold miner, soldier, and newspaper man who championed Western expansion; Little Wolf, a Northern Cheyenne chief whose courageous leadership secured his people’s future; Canadian immigrant Ella Watson, who strove to become a ranch woman in a male-dominated world; and the defiant Polly Bemis, a Chinese immigrant who carved out a life in Idaho despite federal expulsion efforts.

Nelson roots this bold new history of the American West in the deep research and gripping storytelling that have garnered her critical acclaim. Highlighting the perseverance and ingenuity of the communities that have otherwise been forgotten or erased from history, The Westerners challenges us to reimagine who we are and where we came from.

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jane austen's bookshelf

Jane Austen's Bookshelf

Rebecca Romney

Description

From rare book dealer and guest star of the hit show Pawn Stars, a page-turning literary adventure featuring “your favorite author’s favorite authors” (Today)—the women who inspired Jane Austen—that’s “a meditation on reading and writing, on honesty and self-discovery—and on what books can teach us, if we let them” (The Washington Post).

Long before she was a rare book dealer, Rebecca Romney was a devoted reader of Jane Austen. She loved that Austen’s books took the lives of women seriously, explored relationships with wit and confidence, and always, allowed for the possibility of a happy ending. She read and reread them, often wishing Austen wrote just one more.

But Austen wasn’t a lone genius. She wrote at a time of great experimentation for women writers—and clues about those women, and the exceptional books they wrote, are sprinkled like breadcrumbs throughout Austen’s work. Every character in Northanger Abbey who isn’t a boor sings the praises of Ann Radcliffe. The play that causes such a stir in Mansfield Park is a real one by the playwright Elizabeth Inchbald. In fact, the phrase “pride and prejudice” came from Frances Burney’s second novel Cecilia. The women that populated Jane Austen’s bookshelf profoundly influenced her work; Austen looked up to them, passionately discussed their books with her friends, and used an appreciation of their books as a litmus test for whether someone had good taste. So where had these women gone? Why hadn’t Romney—despite her training—ever read them? Or, in some cases, even heard of them? And why were they no longer embraced as part of the wider literary canon?

Jane Austen’s Bookshelf investigates the disappearance of Austen’s heroes—women writers who were erased from the Western canon—to reveal who they were, what they meant to Austen, and how they were forgotten. Each chapter profiles a different writer including Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Lennox, Charlotte Smith, Hannah More, Elizabeth Inchbald, Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi, and Maria Edgeworth—and recounts Romney’s experience reading them, finding rare copies of their works, and drawing on connections between their words and Austen’s. Romney collects the once-famed works of these forgotten writers, physically recreating Austen’s bookshelf and making a convincing case for why these books should be placed back on the to-be-read pile of all book lovers today. Jane Austen’s Bookshelf will encourage you to look beyond assigned reading lists, question who decides what belongs there, and build your very own collection of favorite novels.

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access

Access

Rebecca Grant

Description

From the award-winning author of Birth, a journey into the underground activist networks that have been working to protect women’s autonomy over their bodies amidst legal, political, religious, and cultural oppression over the past sixty years.

In this definitive, eye-opening history, award-winning author Rebecca Grant charts the reproductive freedom movement from the days before Roe through the seismic impact of Dobbs. The stories in Access span four continents, tracing strategies across generations and borders. Grant centers those activists who have been engaged in direct action to help people get the abortions they need. Their efforts involve no small measure of daring-do, spy craft, sea adventures, close calls, undercover operations, smuggling, sequins, legal dramas, victories, defeats, and above all, a deeply held conviction that all the risks are worth it for the cause.

In Access, we meet a cast of brave, bold, and unforgettable women: the founders of the Jane Collective, a group of anonymous providers working clandestinely between Chicago apartments to perform abortions in the pre-Roe years; the originators and leaders of the abortion fund movement; Verónica Cruz Sánchez, a Mexican activist who works to support self-managed abortion with pills and fights to free women targeted by the criminalization of abortion; and Rebecca Gomperts, a Dutch doctor who realizes that there is one place abortion bans cannot reach: international waters. 

Post-Dobbs, activist groups have once again stepped up and put themselves on the line to resist. Building on the work of their feminist forebearers and international allies, they are charting new pathways for access in the face of unprecedented acts to subjugate and control half of America’s population. Working above ground, underground, and in legal gray areas, they’ve helped people travel across state lines for care, established telehealth practices, and formed community networks to distribute pills for free to people who needed them.

Drawing on expert research and investigative reporting, told with deep compassion and humanity by a journalist who has spent her career on the frontlines of the fight, Access celebrates the bravery, ingenuity, and determination of women across decades who have fought for a fundamental human right—and serves as an inspiring rallying cry for the work that lies ahead.

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joy goddess

Joy Goddess

A'Lelia Bundles

Description

“Raucously immersive...An intimate portrait of Black opulence in the early 20th century.” —Oprah Daily

A “scintillating, vibrant” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) and deeply researched biography of A’Lelia Walker—daughter of Madam C.J. Walker and herself a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance—written by her great-granddaughter.

Dubbed the “joy goddess of Harlem’s 1920s” by poet Langston Hughes, A’Lelia Walker was a dazzling cultural icon whose legendary parties and Dark Tower salon helped define the Harlem cultural scene.

After inheriting her mother’s pioneering hair care business, A’Lelia became America’s first high-profile Black heiress and a patron of the arts. Joy Goddess takes readers inside her New York homes, where she hosted luminaries including Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Paul Robeson, Florence Mills, James Weldon Johnson, Carl Van Vechten, and W.E.B. Du Bois—figures who shaped African American history and culture during the Roaring Twenties.

Drawing on extensive research and personal correspondence, A’Lelia Bundles presents a nuanced biography of a woman navigating life as a wife, mother, businesswoman, and patron outside the shadow of her famous mother’s legacy.

With vivid detail, Joy Goddess brings to life A’Lelia’s radiant personality, fashion-forward influence, and role as one of the most important cultural icons of Harlem, offering a fresh and unforgettable portrait of the woman who embodied the spirit of a new Black cultural era.

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spell freedom

Spell Freedom

Elaine Weiss

Description

Spell Freedom draws us in with lucid prose, filling in the holes of American history with the work of Septima Clark and Bernice Robinson and their compatriots, who deftly wielded reading and writing as their weapons of choice in the 20th century fight for first class citizenship for all.” —Margot Lee Shetterly, bestselling author of Hidden Figures

The acclaimed author of the “stirring, definitive, and engrossing” (NPR) The Woman’s Hour returns with the story of four activists whose audacious plan to restore voting rights to Black Americans laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement.

In the summer of 1954, educator Septima Clark and small businessman Esau Jenkins travelled to rural Tennessee’s Highlander Folk School, an interracial training center for social change founded by Myles Horton, a white southerner with roots in the labor movement. There, the trio united behind a shared mission: preparing Black southerners to pass the daunting Jim Crow era voter registration literacy tests that were designed to disenfranchise them.

Together with beautician-turned-teacher Bernice Robinson, they launched the underground Citizenship Schools project, which began with a single makeshift classroom hidden in the back of a rural grocery store. By the time the Voting Rights Act was signed into law in 1965, the secretive undertaking had established more than nine hundred citizenship schools across the South, preparing tens of thousands of Black citizens to read and write, demand their rights—and vote. Simultaneously, it nurtured a generation of activists—many of them women—trained in community organizing, political citizenship, and tactics of resistance and struggle who became the grassroots foundation of the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King called Septima Clark, “Mother of the Movement.”

In the vein of Hidden Figures and Devil in the Grove, Spell Freedom is both a riveting, crucially important lens onto our past, and a deeply moving story for our present.

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code name lise

Code Name: Lise

Larry Loftis

Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, New York Newsday, and on Today!
“A nonfiction thriller.”—The Wall Street Journal

From New York Times and international bestselling author of the “gripping” (Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author) Into the Lion’s Mouth comes the extraordinary true story of Odette Sansom, the British spy who operated in occupied France and fell in love with her commanding officer during World War II—perfect for fans of Unbroken, The Nightingale, and Code Girls

The year is 1942, and World War II is in full swing. Odette Sansom decides to follow in her war hero father’s footsteps by becoming an SOE agent to aid Britain and her beloved homeland, France. Five failed attempts and one plane crash later, she finally lands in occupied France to begin her mission. It is here that she meets her commanding officer Captain Peter Churchill.

As they successfully complete mission after mission, Peter and Odette fall in love. All the while, they are being hunted by the cunning German secret police sergeant, Hugo Bleicher, who finally succeeds in capturing them. They are sent to Paris’s Fresnes prison, and from there to concentration camps in Germany where they are starved, beaten, and tortured. But in the face of despair, they never give up hope, their love for each other, or the whereabouts of their colleagues.

In Code Name: Lise, Larry Loftis paints a portrait of true courage, patriotism, and love—of two incredibly heroic people who endured unimaginable horrors and degradations. He seamlessly weaves together the touching romance between Odette and Peter and the thrilling cat and mouse game between them and Sergeant Bleicher. With this amazing testament to the human spirit, Loftis proves once again that he is adept at writing “nonfiction that reads like a page-turning novel” (Parade).

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the movement

The Movement

Clara Bingham

Description

A comprehensive and engaging oral history of the decade that defined the feminist movement, including interviews with living icons and unsung heroes—from former Newsweek reporter and author of the “powerful and moving” (The New York Times) Witness to the Revolution.

For lovers of both Barbie and Gloria Steinem, The Movement is the first oral history of the decade that built the modern feminist movement. Through the captivating individual voices of the people who lived it, The Movement tells the intimate inside story of what it felt like to be at the forefront of the modern feminist crusade, when women rejected thousands of years of custom and demanded the freedom to be who they wanted and needed to be.

This engaging history traces women’s awakening, organizing, and agitating between the years of 1963 and 1973, when a decentralized collection of people and events coalesced to create a spontaneous combustion. From Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, to the underground abortion network the Janes, to Shirley Chisholm’s presidential campaign and Billie Jean King’s 1973 battle of the sexes, Bingham artfully weaves together the fragments of that explosion person by person, bringing to life the emotions of this personal, cultural, and political revolution. Artists and politicians, athletes and lawyers, Black and white, The Movement brings readers into the rooms where these women insisted on being treated as first class citizens, and in the process, changed the fabric of American life.

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eleanor

Eleanor

David Michaelis

Description

The New York Times bestseller from prizewinning author David Michaelis presents a “stunning” (The Wall Street Journal) breakthrough portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt, America’s longest-serving First Lady, an avatar of democracy whose ever-expanding agency as diplomat, activist, and humanitarian made her one of the world’s most widely admired and influential women.

In the first single-volume cradle-to-grave portrait in six decades, acclaimed biographer David Michaelis delivers a stunning account of Eleanor Roosevelt’s remarkable life of transformation. An orphaned niece of President Theodore Roosevelt, she converted her Gilded Age childhood of denial and secrecy into an irreconcilable marriage with her ambitious fifth cousin Franklin. Despite their inability to make each other happy, Franklin Roosevelt transformed Eleanor from a settlement house volunteer on New York’s Lower East Side into a matching partner in New York’s most important power couple in a generation.

When Eleanor discovered Franklin’s betrayal with her younger, prettier, social secretary, Lucy Mercer, she offered a divorce and vowed to face herself honestly. Here is an Eleanor both more vulnerable and more aggressive, more psychologically aware and sexually adaptable than we knew. She came to accept her FDR’s bond with his executive assistant, Missy LeHand; she allowed her children to live their own lives, as she never could; and she explored her sexual attraction to women, among them a star female reporter on FDR’s first presidential campaign, and younger men.

Eleanor needed emotional connection. She pursued deeper relationships wherever she could find them. Throughout her life and travels, there was always another person or place she wanted to heal. As FDR struggled to recover from polio, Eleanor became a voice for the voiceless, her husband’s proxy in the White House. Later, she would be the architect of international human rights and world citizen of the Atomic Age, urging Americans to cope with the anxiety of global annihilation by cultivating a “world mind.” She insisted that we cannot live for ourselves alone but must learn to live together or we will die together.

This “absolutely spellbinding,” (The Washington Post) “complex and sensitive portrait” (The Guardian) is not just a comprehensive biography of a major American figure, but the story of an American ideal: how our freedom is always a choice. Eleanor rediscovers a model of what is noble and evergreen in the American character, a model we need today more than ever.

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"The Exceptions" by Kate Zernike

The Exceptions

Kate Zernike

Description

‘Outstanding’ Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

The remarkable untold story of how a group of sixteen determined women used the power of the collective and the tools of science to inspire ongoing radical change. This is a triumphant account of progress, whilst reminding us that further action is needed.

These women scientists entered the work force in the 1960s during a push for affirmative action. Embarking on their careers they thought that discrimination against women was a thing of the past and that science was a pure meritocracy. Women were marginalized and minimized, especially as they grew older, their contributions stolen and erased.

Written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who broke the story in 1999 for The Boston Globe, when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology made the astonishing admission that it discriminated against women on its faculty, The Exceptions is an intimate narrative which centres on Nancy Hopkins – a surprisingly reluctant feminist who became a hero to two generations of women in science.

In uncovering an erased history, we are finally introduced to the hidden scientists who paved the way for collective change.

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howlong

Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait?

Tina Cassidy

Description

In this “heroic narrative” (The Wall Street Journal), discover the inspiring and timely account of the complex relationship between leading suffragist Alice Paul and President Woodrow Wilson in her fight for women’s equality. 

Woodrow Wilson lands in Washington, DC, in March of 1913, a day before he is set to take the presidential oath of office. He is surprised by the modest turnout. The crowds and reporters are blocks away from Union Station, watching a parade of eight thousand suffragists on Pennsylvania Avenue in a first-of-its-kind protest organized by a twenty-five-year-old activist named Alice Paul. The next day, The New York Times calls the procession “one of the most impressively beautiful spectacles ever staged in this country.”

Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait? weaves together two storylines: the trajectories of Alice Paul and Woodrow Wilson, two apparent opposites. Paul’s procession of suffragists resulted in her being granted a face-to-face meeting with President Wilson, one that would lead to many meetings and much discussion, but little progress for women. With no equality in sight and patience wearing thin, Paul organized the first group to ever picket in front of the White House lawn—night and day, through sweltering summer mornings and frigid fall nights.

From solitary confinement, hunger strikes, and the psychiatric ward to ever more determined activism, Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait? reveals the courageous, near-death journey it took, spearheaded in no small part by Alice Paul’s leadership, to grant women the right to vote in America. “A remarkable tale” (Kirkus Reviews) and a rousing portrait of a little-known feminist heroine, this is an eye-opening exploration of a crucial moment in American history one century before the Women’s March.

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Suffrage

Ellen Carol DuBois

Description

Honoring the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment to the Constitution, this “indispensable” book (Ellen Chesler, Ms. magazine) explores the full scope of the movement to win the vote for women through portraits of its bold leaders and devoted activists.

Distinguished historian Ellen Carol DuBois begins in the pre-Civil War years with foremothers Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Sojurner Truth as she “meticulously and vibrantly chronicles” (Booklist) the links of the woman suffrage movement to the abolition of slavery. After the Civil War, Congress granted freed African American men the right to vote but not white and African American women, a crushing disappointment. DuBois shows how suffrage leaders persevered through the Jim Crow years into the reform era of Progressivism. She introduces new champions Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul, who brought the fight to the 20th century, and she shows how African American women, led by Ida B. Wells-Barnett, demanded voting rights even as white suffragists ignored them.

DuBois explains how suffragists built a determined coalition of moderate lobbyists and radical demonstrators in forging a strategy of winning voting rights in crucial states to set the stage for securing suffrage for all American women in the Constitution. In vivid prose, DuBois describes suffragists’ final victories in Congress and state legislatures, culminating in the last, most difficult ratification, in Tennessee.

“Ellen DuBois enables us to appreciate the drama of the long battle for women’s suffrage and the heroism of many of its advocates” (Eric Foner, author of The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution). DuBois follows women’s efforts to use their voting rights to win political office, increase their voting strength, and pass laws banning child labor, ensuring maternal health, and securing greater equality for women.

Suffrage: Women’s Long Battle for the Vote is a “comprehensive history that deftly tackles intricate political complexities and conflicts and still somehow read with nail-biting suspense,” (The Guardian) and is sure to become the authoritative account of one of the great episodes in the history of American democracy.

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theagitators

The Agitators

Dorothy Wickenden

Description

An LA Times Best Book of the Year, Christopher Award Winner, and Chautauqua Prize Finalist! 

“Engrossing... examines the major events of the mid 19th century through the lives of three key figures in the abolitionist and women’s rights movements.” —Smithsonian

From the executive editor of The New Yorker, a riveting, provocative, and revelatory history told through the story of three women—Harriet Tubman, Frances Seward, and Martha Wright—in the years before, during and after the Civil War.

In the 1850s, Harriet Tubman, strategically brilliant and uncannily prescient, rescued some seventy enslaved people from Maryland’s Eastern Shore and shepherded them north along the underground railroad. One of her regular stops was Auburn, New York, where she entrusted passengers to Martha Coffin Wright, a Quaker mother of seven, and Frances A. Seward, the wife of William H. Seward, who served over the years as governor, senator, and secretary of state under Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil War, Tubman worked for the Union Army in South Carolina as a nurse and spy, and took part in a spectacular river raid in which she helped to liberate 750 slaves from several rice plantations.

Wright, a “dangerous woman” in the eyes of her neighbors, worked side by side with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony to organize women’s rights and anti-slavery conventions across New York State, braving hecklers and mobs when she spoke. Frances Seward, the most conventional of the three friends, hid her radicalism in public, while privately acting as a political adviser to her husband, pressing him to persuade President Lincoln to move immediately on emancipation.

The Agitators opens in the 1820s, when Tubman is enslaved and Wright and Seward are young homemakers bound by law and tradition, and ends after the war. Many of the most prominent figures of the era—Lincoln, William H. Seward, Frederick Douglass, Daniel Webster, Charles Sumner, John Brown, William Lloyd Garrison—are seen through the discerning eyes of the protagonists. So are the most explosive political debates: about the civil rights of African Americans and women, about the enlistment of Black troops, and about opposing interpretations of the Constitution.

Through richly detailed letters from the time and exhaustive research, Wickenden traces the second American revolution these women fought to bring about, the toll it took on their families, and its lasting effects on the country. Riveting and profoundly relevant to our own time, The Agitators brings a vibrant, original voice to this transformative period in our history.

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thesix

The Six

Loren Grush

Description

“Vivid.” —The Guardian * “Engrossing.” —Booklist * “Suspenseful, meticulously observed, enlightening.” —Margot Lee Shetterly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures

In this account of America’s first women astronauts “Grush skillfully weaves a story that, at its heart, is about desire: not a nation’s desire to conquer space, but the longing of six women to reach heights that were forbidden to them” (The New York Times).

When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only military test pilots—a group then made up exclusively of men—had the right stuff. It was an era in which women were steered away from jobs in science and deemed unqualified for space flight. Eventually, though, NASA recognized its blunder and opened the application process to a wider array of hopefuls, regardless of race or gender. From a candidate pool of 8,000 six elite women were selected in 1978—Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon.

In The Six, acclaimed journalist Loren Grush shows these brilliant and courageous women enduring claustrophobic—and sometimes deeply sexist—media attention, undergoing rigorous survival training, and preparing for years to take multi-million-dollar payloads into orbit. Together, the Six helped build the tools that made the space program run. One of the group, Judy Resnik, sacrificed her life when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded at 46,000 feet. Everyone knows of Sally Ride’s history-making first space ride, but each of the Six would make their mark. “A spirited group biography…it’s hard not to feel awe for these women” (The Wall Street Journal).

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Cover for "Oh, Olive!" by Lian Cho. A colorful and grinning cartoon girl stands out front splashing paint with a larger-than-life paintbrush, black and white adults stand unimpressed behind.

Oh, Olive!

Lian Cho

Description

Presenting Olive Chen! The most magnificent and brilliant artist in the whole wide world! Her parents are also artists--serious artists--who paint prim, proper, perfect shapes. They know Olive has the talent to follow in their footsteps. But Olive likes to smear, splatter, splash, and even lick. With a brush in each hand, Olive cascades through town with her friends in tow, painting what she wants to, what she feels--until she reaches her parents' pristine art museum. . .

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Cover for "Vincent's Starry Night and Other Stories" by Michael Bird. A rendering of Van Gogh painting Starry Night in his own style.

Vincent's Starry Night and Other Stories

Michael Bird

Description

An enthralling journey through the story of world art, from early cave paintings right up to the present day. Discover artists and their art around the world, in 70 exciting and imaginative tales about artists and the way they created their work. 

Written by educator and art historian Michael Bird, and beautifully illustrated by Kate Evans, the book also features reproductions of the famous artworks discussed, a comprehensive timeline of events, and extra feature spreads on places connected with art.

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Cover for "Jake Makes a World: Jacob Lawrence, A Young Artist in Harlem" by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts. Close-up painting of a dark-skinned boy holding close to what looks like his own paintings.

Jake Makes a World: Jacob Lawrence, A Young Artist in Harlem

Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts

Description

Jake Makes a World follows the creative adventures of the young Jacob Lawrence as he finds inspiration in the vibrant colors and characters of his community in Harlem.

From his mother's apartment, where he is surrounded by brightly colored walls with intricate patterns; to the streets full of familiar and not-so-familiar faces, sounds, rhythms, and smells; to the art studio where he goes each day after school to transform his everyday world on an epic scale, Jake takes readers on an enchanting journey through the bustling sights and sounds of his neighborhood.

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Cover for "This Book Will Make You an Artist" by Ruth Millington. Blocks with solid backgrounds feature each word of the title plus art materials and kids making their own art.

This Book Will Make You an Artist

Ruth Millington

Description

Jam packed with imaginative ideas for all kinds of creative crafts . . . this book will make YOU an artist!

Pick up your pencils, collect your collage materials, and take inspiration from 25 of the world's best-known artists in this fact-filled book full of activities.

Discover famous masterpieces through the included photographs of real works of art - from ancient cave painting to contemporary performance - and lots more in between!

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Cover for "I Spy Shapes in Art" by Lucy Micklethwait. Basic shapes in varying sizes and deep colors are arranged within an upright rectangle.

I Spy Shapes in Art

Lucy Micklethwait

Description

Each of the fourteen magnificent paintings in this book contains a different shape for you to find. Some are easy to spot, and others are more challenging. But take a closer look -- after you think you've found them all, there are even more shapes to look at and discover.

I Spy Shapes in Art features a remarkable variety of artists from around the world, including Georgia O'Keeffe, Henri Matisse, and M.C. Escher. This picture book pairs a classic game with timeless art, making it the perfect way to introduce fine art to children.

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Cover for "If Picasso Painted a Snowman" by Amy Newbold. An illustrated hamster happily holds a paintbrush in front of a rendering of a snowman drawn in Picasso's Cubist style.

If Picasso Painted a Snowman

Amy Newbold

Description

If someone asked you to paint a snowman, you would probably start with three white circles stacked one upon another. Then you would add black dots for eyes, an orange triangle for a nose, and a black dotted smile. But if Picasso painted a snowman…

Greg Newbold's chameleon-like artistry shows us Roy Lichtenstein's snow hero saving the day, Georgia O'Keefe's snowman blooming in the desert, Claude Monet's snowmen among haystacks, Grant Wood's American Gothic snowman, Jackson Pollock's snowman in ten thousand splats, Salvador Dali's snowmen dripping like melty cheese, and snowmen as they might have been rendered by J. M. W. Turner, Gustav Klimt, Paul Klee, Marc Chagall, Georges Seurat, Pablita Velarde, Piet Mondrian, Sonia Delaunay, Jacob Lawrence, and Vincent van Gogh.

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Cover for "Doodleville" by Chad Sell. Five diverse middle schoolers each hold up notebooks with drawings that look interconnected and even alive.

Doodleville

Chad Sell

Description

Drew is just a regular artist. But there's nothing ordinary about her art. Her doodles are mischievous . . . and rarely do they stay in Doodleville, the world she's created in her sketchbook. Instead, Drew's doodles prefer to explore the world outside. But after an inspiring class trip to the Art Institute of Chicago--where the doodles cause a bit too much trouble--Drew decides it's time to take her artistic talents to the next level.

Enter the Leviathan--Levi, for short. He's bigger and better than anything Drew has ever created before. He's a monster, but a friendly one. That is, until Levi begins to wreak havoc on Drew's other doodles--and on the heroes her classmates have dreamt up.

Levi won't be easily tamed, and it seems there is a link between the monster's bad behavior and Drew's feelings. With the help of her loyal art club friends, will she be able to save Doodleville--and Levi--before it's too late?

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Cover for "How to Draw a Secret" by Cindy Chang. A Taiwanese American middle schooler sits cross-legged on the floor while drawing in a notebook.

How to Draw a Secret

Cindy Chang

Description

Twelve-year-old Cindy relishes drawing flawless images, but she is stumped by an art contest prompt: "What family means to me." No one at school can know that Cindy's dad moved back to Taiwan four years ago, so Cindy sketches out the perfect plan to draw the perfect picture while keeping her parents' separation secret.

Then an unexpected trip to Taipei reveals devastating new secrets. Suddenly everything from Cindy's art to her family is falling apart. With her dream of perfection in tatters, Cindy must figure out how to draw from her heart and share her secrets. But can she really reveal the truth, messy lines and all?

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Cover for "Art Club (a Graphic Novel)" by Rashad Doucet. Four stylish kids with varying ethnicities face the reader holding pencils, paintbrushes, canvases, and notebooks.

Art Club (a Graphic Novel)

Rashad Doucet

Description

Dale Donavan has heard the same lecture over and over again: Art will get you nowhere in life. A kid with a creative streak, Dale wants nothing more than to doodle, play video games, and create comics forever--maybe even as a full-time job one day. But between his grandfather pushing him to focus on his studies and a school with zero interest in funding arts programs, Dale feels like his future has already been decided for him. 

That is, until he comes up with the perfect plan: What if he starts an after-school art club, gathers a team of creative students like himself, and proves all the naysayers--his stubborn vice principal in particular--wrong? 

This might just work, but if the club isn't financially successful by the end of the semester, the school with shut them down. This may be Dale's only chance to show the adults in his life that a career as an artist is not just a dream but a possibility!

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Cover for "New Kid" by Jerry Craft. A light-skinned Black middle schooler stands while drawing in a notebook.

New Kid

Jerry Craft

Description

Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade.

As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds—and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?

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Cover for "Aaron Slater, Illustrator" by Andrea Beaty. A Black boy holds pencils in one hand and holds on to a giant flower, one of his own drawings that leads into other drawings on the graphic paper background.

Aaron Slater, Illustrator

Andrea Beaty

Description

Aaron Slater loves listening to stories and dreams of one day writing them himself. But when it comes to reading, the letters just look like squiggles to him, and it soon becomes clear he struggles more than his peers. When his teacher asks each child in the class to write a story, Aaron can't get a single word down. He is sure his dream of being a storyteller is out of reach . . . until inspiration strikes, and Aaron finds a way to spin a tale in a way that is uniquely his.

Printed with a dyslexia-friendly font, Aaron Slater, Illustrator tells the empowering story of a boy with dyslexia who discovers that his learning disability may inform who he is, but it does not define who he is, and that there are many ways to be a gifted communicator.

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Cover art for "Hum and Swish" by Matt Myers. A young white girl with brown hair crouches on the sand creating something while ocean waves crash in the background.

Hum and Swish

Matt Myers

Description

It's a glorious summer day at the shore, and all Jamie wants is to finish her art project in the sand. A little time to herself is all she needs. But everyone around keeps asking her pesky questions she doesn't know how to answer: what are you making? Aren't you clever? 

Jamie does her best to tune it all out and focus on her creation . . . until she finds a like-minded friend, who's as happy to work quietly as she is.

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Cover for "Imagine!" by Raúl Colón. A boy faces the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyscape with a bright cloud overhead.

Imagine!

Raúl Colón

Description

After passing a city museum many times, a boy finally decides to go in. He passes wall after wall of artwork until he sees a painting that makes him stop and ponder. Before long the painting comes to life and an afternoon of adventure and discovery unfolds, changing how he sees the world ever after.

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Cover for "Luna Loves Art" by Joseph Coelho. A girl with curly hair holds a paint palette is surrounded by paint cans and a full border of colorful painted flowers and shapes.

Luna Loves Art

Joseph Coelho

Description

At the gallery, Luna is transfixed by the famous art, but her classmate Finn doesn't seem to want to be there at all. Finn's family doesn't look like the one in Henry Moore's 'Family Group' sculpture, but then neither does Luna's. Maybe all Finn needs is a friend. Join Luna and Finn at the Art Gallery and step inside famous works of art by Van Gogh, Picasso, Jackson Pollock and more! Can you spot all the art?

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Cover for "Ish" by Peter Reynolds. A cartoon brown-skinned boy runs with a paintbrush spelling out the title.

Ish

Peter Reynolds

Description

Ramon loved to draw. Anytime. Anything. Anywhere.

Drawing is what Ramon does. It¹s what makes him happy. But in one split second, all that changes. A single reckless remark by Ramon's older brother, Leon, turns Ramon's carefree sketches into joyless struggles. Luckily for Ramon, though, his little sister, Marisol, sees the world differently. She opens his eyes to something a lot more valuable than getting things just "right." 

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Cover with title and author with illustration of a girl and her grandma

Zara's New Eid Dress

Nafisah Abdul-Rahim

Description

Zara loves all the festivities of Ramadan and Eid. She enjoys visiting with her friends at the mosque and sampling delicious foods from around the world. But one of her favorite things is shopping for her Eid dress. In past years, she wore similar outfits as her friends from different ethnic backgrounds. This year, she wants something uniquely her own. Zara envisions a dress that represents her heritage and her style, a reflection of her culture as an African American Muslim. This picture book for children shares the story of Azra as she seeks the perfect dress for Eid, while offering insight into her Muslim culture.

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cover with title and author and illustration of boy surrounded by colors

It's Holi!

Sanyukta Mathur

Description

Getting ready for Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colors, young Nikhil is nervous about the festivities until his family comes up with a silly solution for him to celebrate the messy colors of spring with everyone.

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cover with title and author and illustration of three kids dressed in Irish clothing

St. Patrick's Day

Ann Rockwell

Description

Mrs. Madoff's students celebrate Saint Patrick's Day by making class presentations about the history of the holiday and Irish traditions and culture.

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cover with title and author and illustration of three characters

Meet the Hamantaschen: A Purim Mystery

Alan Silberberg

Description

There's a problem with Purim!

The Purim play is about to start, but the megillah is missing! Without the scroll that recounts the Purim story, how can the show go on? Never fear: three determined hamantaschen--

DETECTIVES!

Right. Three determined DETECTIVES are on the case. With the help of a mysterious stranger and a few disguises, the detectives uncover the facts so the true story of Purim can be told.

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cover with title and author and illustration of a smiling moon

Moon's Ramadan

Natasha Khan Kazi

Description

It's Ramadan, the month of peace, and Moon watches over Ramadan traditions with excitement and longing in this sweetly illustrated debut.

In Egypt, India, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates, in Somalia, New Zealand, and Indonesia, in Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States, children and their families do good deeds in honor of those who have less.

Cleverly blending glimpses of different countries' celebrations with the corresponding phases of the moon, Moon's Ramadan makes Ramadan, one of the world's most widely celebrated traditions, accessible and exciting for all readers. Includes robust and easy-to-understand back matter.

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cover with title and author and illustration of two kids with holi colored powder

Happy Holi!

Chitra Sounder

Description

Friends and family come together to celebrate the arrival of spring and the triumph of goodness and love over evil in Holi, the Festival of Colors

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cover with title and author and illustration of peppa pig over a background of shamrocks

Peppa Loves St. Patrick's Day

Description

Peppa learns about and celebrates St. Patrick's Day. Includes a special fact sheet in the back. Based on the hit show on Nick Jr.

Peppa and George are going to Ireland for an Irish-dancing festival!

But when the band forget their instruments, will Peppa's new Irish four-leaf clover be able to bring them some luck?

This brand-new story features a glittery cover and is the perfect introduction to Ireland and St. Patrick's Day for little Peppa fans.

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Cover with title and author and illustration with farm animals

Purim Chicken

Margery Cuyler

Description

The animals are putting on a Purim play. Moo will be Mordecai. Neigh will be the king of Persia. Cluck wants to be Queen Esther, but Quack knows all the lines and gets the part. But then Quack disappears! Can Cluck find the courage of Queen Esther to rescue Quack and save the show?

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Cover with title and author and illustration of a cat by homes at night

Eid for Nylah

Nizrana Farook

Description

Nylah the cat is making her usual visits to the homes on her street, but something is very different today . . .

Families are creating decorations or making food, trying on new clothes, and decorating their hands with henna. Everyone is very busy, and they won't let Nylah help! But why does nobody have any time to play? All is finally revealed as the community comes together for a big Eid celebration, where everyone is welcome - especially Nylah!

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cover with title and author and illustration of girl throwing holi colors

Holi Hai!

Chitra Sounder

Description

Gauri is excited to splash colors on everyone for Holi. But when she doesn't get her favorite color, Gauri gets mad. Will she find a way to overcome her anger and join in the festivities?

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"A Fairy Finds Her Song" by Bea Jackson

A Fairy Finds Her Song

Bea Jackson

Description

A fairy searches for her special skill in this enchanting Level 1 Ready-to-Read in the Fairies Welcome series from New York Times bestselling illustrator Bea Jackson.

Every fairy has a talent except Lily…or so she thinks. Her human friend, Willow, knows how special Lily truly is. Can she help Lily see that, too, and find her gift?

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"Ride, Roll, Run" by Valerie Bolling

Ride, Roll, Run

Valerie Bolling

Description

Ride, Roll, Run: Time for Fun! is a joyful, rhyming picture book that is an ode to community and outdoor play. 

This energetic picture book celebrates community and friendship, following children as they play their way through their vibrant neighborhood.

Award-winning author and educator Valerie Bolling's rhyming text makes for an exciting read-aloud and is paired with stunning illustrations by Sabrena Khadija.

Pedal, pump. 
Speed bump! 
Ride, roll, run. 
Friends and fun! 
 

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"Rick Riordan Presents Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Graphic Novel" by Robert Venditti and Kwame Mbalia

Rick Riordan Presents Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Graphic Novel

Robert Venditti

Description

The best-selling and awarding-winning novel about a Black boy who helps folk heroes and gods through storytelling is now a dynamic graphic novel!

"This graphic adaptation of the children's novel that began the 'Tristan Strong' trilogy will have plenty of appeal for readers who are interested in African and African American characters and folklore. The illustrations pop with energy and color."--School Library Journal

The talented team of Robert Venditti and Olivia Stephens brings to glorious full color the novel that best-selling author Jason Reynolds called "A brilliant action adventure rooted in African American lore."

Seventh grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend when they were in a bus accident together. All he has left of Eddie is the journal his friend wrote stories in. Tristan is dreading the month he's going to spend on his grandparents' farm in Alabama, where he's being sent to heal from the tragedy.

But on his first night there, a sticky creature shows up in his bedroom and steals Eddie's notebook. Tristan chases after it--is that a doll?--and a tug-of-war ensues between them underneath a Bottle Tree. In a last attempt to wrestle the journal out of the creature's hands, Tristan punches the tree, accidentally ripping open a chasm into the MidPass, a volatile place with a burning sea, haunted bone ships, and iron monsters that are hunting the inhabitants of this world.

Tristan finds himself in the middle of a battle that has left Black American folk heroes John Henry and Brer Rabbit exhausted. In order to get back home, Tristan and these new allies will need to entice the god Anansi, the Weaver, to come out of hiding and seal the hole in the sky. But bartering with the trickster Anansi always comes at a price.

Can Tristan save this world before he loses more of the things he loves? Find out by diving into this stunning graphic novel adaptation of the original book.


Endorsed by Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, soon to be a series on Disney+.

Complete your graphic novel collection with these fan favorites: 
 

  • Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti
  • The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan, adapted by Orpheus Collar
  • The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti
  • Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, adapted by Michael Moreci, illustrated by Stephen Gilpin
  • Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi, adapted by Joe Caramanga, illustrated by Anu Chouhan
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"Berry Parker Doesn't Catch Crushes" by Tanita S. Davis

Berry Parker Doesn't Catch Crushes

Tanita S. Davis

Description

With her mom's new boyfriend, her best friend's new crush, and her dad's interest in her gym teacher, Berry vows to never catch a crush--and to show everyone how much better things would be without theirs--in this stand-alone contemporary middle grade from Tanita S. Davis, author of The Science of Friendship and Partly Cloudy.

Every year, Berry's mom, Ivy, visits for a three-week "August Invasion." And every summer Berry hopes will be the one when Ivy will stay--forever.

Which is why Ivy's surprise return visit is amazing--until Berry realizes her mom didn't come for her. Ivy's back to pack the last of her things, and she's brought her new "friend," Mr. Cole to help. When Berry discovers that Mr. Cole is taking a job in England, she's convinced that Ivy wants to move all the way across the ocean with him, to where an August Invasion can't reach. Even at school, messy feelings are ruining everything. Berry's best friend, Lia, rearranges her schedule to have classes with her crush, leaving Berry alone all day. Even Berry's normally boring dad is making excuses to talk to her gym teacher.

All these crushes are crushing the life out of Berry. Weren't things better before these extra people came along Why do things have to change

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"King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender

King and the Dragonflies

Kacen Callender

Description

A 2021 Coretta Scott King Honor Book!

Winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature!

Winner of the 2020 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry!

In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him beyond the bayous of his backyard, to learn that there is no right way to be yourself.

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Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. When Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed what was his first skin for another to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. Khalid still visits in dreams, and King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family.

It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy-that he thinks he might be gay. "You don't want anyone to think you're gay too, do you?"

But when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. As King's friendship with Sandy is reignited, he's forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother's death.

The Thing About Jellyfish meets The Stars Beneath Our Feet in this story about loss, grief, and finding the courage to discover one's identity, from the author of Hurricane Child.

 

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"High Score" by Destiny Howell

High Score

Destiny Howell

Description

"Months after his last 'job' sparked unintended consequences, mastermind DJ ... [and] seventh grader ... is lying low at his new school, retired from a life of cons, heists, and schemes. That is, until his best friend and former partner-in-crime Conor transfers to be with him, and promptly runs afoul of the lottery kingpin who controls the school's underground economy of Starcade-brand arcade tickets. Now, DJ has two weeks to acquire 100,000 tickets, or both he and Conor will be 'rocket boosted'--socially disappeared. To achieve the impossible, DJ goes straight to the source, planning to lift the tickets from the Starcade itself by any means necessary. But even after he recruits actor Audrey Valentine and intimidating but soft-spoken Monty LaCroix to round out his new crew, it'll take every trick in the book to pull off a caper of this caliber"--Publishers Weekly (04/25/2022)

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"The Night Market" by Seina Wedlick

The Night Market

Seina Wedlick

Description

Journey with a young girl as she explores the mesmerizing wonders of a Nigerian night market, where each stall is an adventure waiting to be discovered! Filled with vibrant illustrations, this captivating picture book invites young readers into a world of magic, mystery, and the joy of finding treasures in unexpected places.

The Night Market is here again, and all one girl needs is a bag of gold coins to enter. The market is alive with the sound of hawkers and traders. “A taste of tangy sweetness!” hollers a man behind a towering fountain of lemonade. “I’ll trade you a joke for a coin,” a little boy calls. “Home grown spices!” shouts a granny at a counter. What should the girl buy? But, wait! Do you hear that? It's the sound of an old African drum. Have a turn, then learn to make cards disappear when you shout Abracadabra! When the sun starts to rise and the night market winds down, the girl has one gold coin left—just enough to buy a return ticket to the night market.

With stunning illustrations by Nigerian-American artist Briana Mukodiri Uchendu, here is an enchanting read aloud about curiosity and the wonders that lie hidden in plain sight.

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Afia in the Land of Wonders

Mia Araujo

Description

In her stunning literary debut, Mia Araujo presents a gorgeous reimagining of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, spinning a new story that is accompanied by arresting, ethereal illustrations about twin sisters and how one must venture outside the safety of their home, into the wilderness, in order to find herself and true happiness.

Afia has always felt like half of a whole. Her twin sister, Aya, is perfectly happy with fulfilling their family's expectations of them. But Afia dreams of exploring the world beyond her secluded cliffside home of Dafra. She dreams of adventure.

When she meets a charming shape-shifter named Bakame, who dazzles her with promises of a magical land called Ijábù, Afia decides to take her destiny into her own hands. Although it will mean leaving everything she has ever known behind, including her beloved sister, Afia follows Bakame into the forbidden forests surrounding Dafra, from which no one has ever returned.

Filled with magical sights, a charismatic Queen and her intriguing court, Ijábù is everything that Afia has ever dreamed of. But she soon discovers that nothing is as it seems, and this fantasy world demands a terrible price. With the help of a mysterious trickster, Afia must evade the Queen's hunters and the lost dreamers of Ijábù, who wish to pull her deeper into their web.

Now, Afia must find the courage to survive while standing on her own--or risking losing herself completely to the wonders of Ijábù.

Debut author-illustrator Mia Araujo weaves an extraordinarily luminous and beautiful story, inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, about what it takes to find your true self, even if it means facing your deepest fears.

"Nothing short of an amazing adventure into a fantastic world, Mia Araujo has crafted a beautiful narrative, made all the more incredible by stunning visuals that overflow with heart and soul." -- David F. Walker, Eisner-award winning author of Bitter Root and The Second Chance of Darius Logan

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"Where's Rodney?" by Carmen Bogan

Where's Rodney?

Carmen Bogan

Description

A Black boy's transformative day out in nature, recommended by Social Justice Books and We Are Kid Lit Collective

Rodney is that kid who just can't sit still. He's inside, but he wants to be outside. Outside is where Rodney always wants to be. Between school and home, there is a park. He knows all about that park. It's that triangle-shaped place with the yellow grass and two benches where grown-ups sit around all day. Besides, his momma said to stay away from that park. When Rodney finally gets a chance to go to a real park, with plenty of room to run and climb and shout, and to just be himself, he will never be the same.

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"Mimi and the Cutie Catastrophe" by Shauna J. Grant

Mimi and the Cutie Catastrophe

Shauna J. Grant

Description

Rising star Shauna J. Grant makes her Graphix Chapters debut with this humorous and wholesome series.

Get drawn into reading with Graphix Chapters!

Graphix Chapters are ideal books for beginning and newly independent readers aged 6-8. With approachable page counts, easy-to-follow paneling, and artwork that supports text comprehension, these engaging stories with unforgettable characters help children become lifelong readers.

Meet Mimi. She's charming! She's cheerful! She's cute!

But that's not all! She's also a loyal friend and fun playmate, who has the best adventures with Penelope, her magical toy dog. But when Mimi notices people treating her like she's too cute, can she show them that she's much more than meets the eye? Or will she be stuck in this cute-astrophe?

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"Just Like Me" by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Just Like Me

Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Description

An ode to the girl with scrapes on her knees and flowers in her hair, and every girl in between, this exquisite treasury will appeal to readers of Dear Girl and I Am Enough and have kids poring over it to find a poem that's just for them.

I am a canvas
Being painted on
By the words of my family
Friends
And community

From Vanessa Brantley-Newton, the author of Grandma's Purse, comes a collection of poetry filled with engaging mini-stories about girls of all kinds: girls who feel happy, sad, scared, powerful; girls who love their bodies and girls who don't; country girls, city girls; girls who love their mother and girls who wish they had a father. With bright portraits in Vanessa's signature style of vibrant colors and unique patterns and fabrics, this book invites readers to find themselves and each other within its pages.

"A dynamic, uplifting, and welcoming world of girls."--Kirkus 

"Thoughtful, inclusive, and celebratory"--Publishers Weekly

"Bursting with positivity, this would be a great book to use in primary school classrooms when discussing issues of friendship, diversity, and self-esteem."--Booklist
 

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"Daydreamer" by Rob Cameron

Daydreamer

Rob Cameron

Description

An eleven-year-old boy copes with the challenges of his city life by weaving his reality into a magical realm of dragons, foxes, and trolls—until he must use the power of his creativity to save both of his worlds from destructive forces. This stunning debut is a profound exploration of imagination, community, and how the stories we tell both comfort us and challenge us to grow.

Charles’ life is split between two worlds: one real and one fantasy. In the real world, he is a lonely, bullied kid who can’t keep up with school when the letters refuse to stay still on the page, and is constantly in trouble for getting distracted. He lives with his mom in an apartment building, where Glory, the grumpy old superintendent, fills his head with stories about the Dream Folk.

In his fantasy world, the Sanctuary, Charles adventures with faeries and sprites and his two imaginary best friends. There, Charles's bullies become ogres, and Glory opens his arms wide to transform into a dragon. But when trolls move into Charles’ apartment building and bring with them a terrible secret, the stories he has been told and the ones he brings to life grow more complicated. To protect everyone he cares about, Charles must harness his imagination in ways he never dreamed, in this unique story of the spaces and narratives we create for ourselves, and the ways in which fantasy and reality collide and blur.

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"The Magic Violin" by Christine A. Platt

The Magic Violin

Christine A. Platt

Description

Ana & Andrew are learning to play the violin! They are excited to join the youth orchestra. At first it is fun. But when they start to lose interest, Ana & Andrew learn from an important African American about the importance of practicing. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Calico Kid is an imprint of Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO.

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"Kwesi and Nana Ruby Learn to Swim" by Kobina Commeh

Kwesi and Nana Ruby Learn to Swim

Kobina Commeh

Description

A 2026 Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book

"An informative and celebratory, multigenerational story of swimming." - Kirkus Reviews

Kwesi doesn't know how to swim... and discovers his grandmother doesn't either! Can they conquer their fear of water together with the help of the West African legend Mami Wata?

"How about we make a deal?" Nana rubbed Kwesi's head. "I will learn to swim, if you do."
"Deal!"

Kwesi likes spending time at the lake with his friends, except there's one tiny problem... he can't swim. But guess what? Neither can Nana Ruby! When she comes over for dinner one night, she tells Kwesi about when she moved from Ghana to the US and the history of segregation that kept her out of pools and caused a fear of water among many Black people.

"So I will never learn how to swim?" Kwesi asks. But Nana Ruby tells him they will call on the strength of Mami Wata, the sea creature of West African legend, to conquer their fears together. This touching intergenerational story teaches the importance of naming, acknowledging and facing fears.

  • End notes include more information on West African cultures, including the Akan people, day names, and adinkra symbols.
  • Teaches kids about the history of segregation of public pools and beaches in an accessible way
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"Sincerely Sicily" by Tamika Burgess

Sincerely Sicily

Tamika Burgess

Description

From debut author Tamika Burgess comes the captivating and empowering story of Sicily Jordan--a Black Panamanian fashionista who rocks her braids with pride--who learns to use her voice and take pride in who she is while confronting prejudice in the most unexpected of places.

Sicily Jordan's worst nightmare has come true! She's been enrolled in a new school, with zero of her friends and stuck wearing a fashion catastrophe of a uniform. But however bad Sicily thought sixth grade was going to be, it only gets worse when she does her class presentation.

While all her classmates breezed through theirs, Sicily is bombarded with questions on how she can be both Black and Panamanian. She wants people to understand, but it doesn't feel like anyone is ready to listen--first at school and then at home. Because when her abuela starts talking mess about her braids, Sicily's the only one whose heart is being crumpled for a second time.

Staying quiet may no longer be an option, but that doesn't mean Sicily has the words to show the world just what it means to be a proud Black Panamanian either. Even though she hasn't written in her journal since her abuelo passed, it's time to pick up her pen again--but will it be enough to prove to herself and everyone else exactly who she is

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"The Family I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake

The Family I'm In

Sharon G. Flake

Description

The bestselling and award-winning author of The Skin I'm In and The Life I'm In returns with a novel that explores the complex relationships between Black boys and their fathers, and what it truly means to be a man.

 

Sharon Flake's groundbreaking novel, The Skin I'm In ushered in a new voice that lit up the YA landscape, ignited important conversations about self-perception and racial identity, and became a modern classic that has been passed down through generations. The Life I'm In came next, bringing the same unmistakable voices of the characters who opened the hearts and minds of kids throughout the world, asked hard questions, and plunged readers into the harsh realities many teen girls face. Now, The Family I'm In brings back the same riveting characters — but this time focuses on the important relationships between Black fathers and sons. John-John and Caleb, friends since childhood, have come face-to-face with the struggles and triumphs of becoming young men. They're up against a world where many Black boys face complicated generational expectations and fears of the future. They summon their inner strength to push beyond family illness, mental health issues, parents, teachers, and society — to reach, succeed, and to live with dignity, purpose, and promise.

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"Two Truths and a Lionel" by Brian Wasson

Two Truths and a Lionel

Brian Wasson

Description

Perfect for fans of Justin A. Reynolds and Talia Hibbert, this comedic romp explores the social hierarchy of high school, the ego of a teenage boy raised in a culture marred by toxic masculinity, and the meaning of “the truth will set you free.”

As the grandson of a late, great action star, Lionel Honeycutt III knows all about heroics. Not that any of Grandpa’s genes were passed down to him; Lionel is solidly a Background Character in the social hierarchy of his high school. But when a fire at a pet store has Lionel cast as the brave teen who helped everyone escape, Lionel can finally live up to the family name.

Honestly, though…Lionel isn’t sure he did any saving, despite smoky security footage that shows someone who could be him ushering victims to safety. But Lionel blacked out before he even exited the store. He keeps this minor detail to himself as everyone else—from social media influencers to his longtime crush—heralds him a hero.

As Lionel's popularity grows, so does his anxiety about his sorta-lie. Between reporters wanting to interview him about the incident, catching feelings for his longtime rival, and an anonymous source who somehow knows more about the incident than Lionel would like, Lionel starts to wonder if the truth will really set him free...or cost him everything.

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"Out of Step, Into You" by Ciera Burch

Out of Step, Into You

Ciera Burch

Description

"A perfectly angsty second-chance romance." —Dahlia Adler, award-winning author of Cool for the Summer and Home Field Advantage

Out of Step, into You is a sapphic contemporary romance following childhood friends turned cross-country team rivals who are forced to work together to win the state championship – for fans of Kelly Quindlen and Rachael Lippincott.

You can’t outrun love.

Taylor and Marianna were each other’s whole world – best friends, running partners, practically sisters – until Marianna moved away and Taylor promptly ghosted her. When the former best friends turned rivals end up on the same cross-country team three years later, everything is a competition... and a reminder of old feelings, as well as blossoming new ones.

Marianna runs because she’s angry.The oldest child of a single mother, she knows all about responsibility – for her siblings, at her part-time job. She just has to stay focused and be faster than the past nipping at her heels if she wants to secure a new, brighter future. With or without Taylor.

Taylor runs to prove herself. The only child of a Divison 1 athlete, she’s no stranger to high expectations. With enough effort, she knows she can immortalize herself with a state record and make her parents proud. Then, she can discover her own passion. She definitely doesn’t have time to untangle her feelings towards Mari.

Can this pair figure out a way to work together before their past catches up with them?

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thiscouldbeforever

This Could Be Forever

Ebony LaDelle

Description

This “endearing and honest” (School Library Journal) romance about love across cultures follows a Black girl and Brown boy who find themselves—and each other—while pursuing their passions the summer before college.

Deja’s got a plan. The first in her large family to go to college, she wants to study chemistry and sell natural skin care products, like the ones she already creates from plants grown on her family’s North Carolina farm. It all starts with the Onward Bound summer program at the University of Maryland, the summer before school officially starts.

Raja’s got a dream. His traditional Nepali parents want him to study engineering and settle down in an arranged marriage, but his passion is art, and he wants to open his own tattoo parlor one day. In the meantime, he’s apprenticing at a tattoo shop in College Park, Maryland.

When Deja walks into the shop where Raja’s working, they both start crushing hard—over the course of the summer, they fall more and more deeply for one another. But the closer they get and the more their lives entwine, the more they find that dating someone who doesn’t match your parents’ expectations is harder than they ever imagined.

Can they bridge the divide between the vision their families have for their futures and the lives—and love—that are starting to feel like destiny?

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"Pretty Girl County" by Lakita Wilson

Pretty Girl County

Lakita Wilson

Description

A KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

"Irresistibly fun and authentic, Pretty Girl County is a luminous showcase of community, friendship, love in all its complexities, and the ways we blaze our own paths. A sparkling, must-read delight!"—Julian Winters, award-winning author of Right Where I Left You

The glitz of Gossip Girl meets the hustle of Leah Johnson's You Should See Me in a Crown in this charming and hilarious story of ex-BFFs from PG County, Maryland, perfect for fans of Joya Goffney and Elise Bryant.

Girls like Reya Samuels always come from Prince George’s County. Reya is rich and she’s not afraid to show it—she wears designer clothes, drives a custom pink Audi, and lives in a neighborhood tucked behind a fancy cast iron gate. She works hard, but she can get anything she wants with a snap.

Sommer Watkins is from Seat Pleasant, where the cast iron gates are significantly smaller—and attached to the windows, where most folks are still trying to make ends meet. Every day for Sommer is a hustle, working at her dad’s bookstore, and using her art skills to scrounge up enough scholarship money for her dream school, Spelman.

Reya and Sommer used to be BFFs—back when Reya lived in Seat Pleasant, too. Now the girls are from different stratospheres—but when Reya desperately needs help to prove to FIT admissions officers that she has what it takes to make it in fashion, the only person who can help is Sommer. Reya promises to help Sommer in return—she’ll pay her for her services, helping Sommer afford the school her parents can’t.

As the girls work together, slowly they begin to trust each other again. But when new relationships push them both, and Sommer’s dad’s bookstore is suddenly in danger of closing, old wounds bubble up. Can the girls find a way to repair their friendship and stay true to themselves along the way?

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