New Release Spotlight – Week of April 9, 2024

Happy Eclipse Day! We won’t see totality in my neck of the woods (only about 60% here), but we’re excited to watch anyway!

This week’s Spotlight is a medium-sized one, so I added a couple of titles from last week to round it out. Middle grades looks best to me!

My top picks:

• Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier (YA)
• The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (MG)
• The Sea Hides a Seahorse by Sara T. Behrman (picture book)

PRESENTATION LINKS:

The downloadable Spotlight presentations are back this month! Just a reminder that all April Spotlight presentations will be designed in Canva.

The three presentations linked below will grow each week in April. By the end of the month, each presentation will have 25-30 or so new titles.

You can edit them by opening the presentation in Canva. Click FILE, then Make a Copy. You will need a Canva account (free for educators) to edit the presentation.

YA Presentation Link – Grades 7+

Middle Grades Presentation Link – Grades 3-8

Picture Book Presentation Link – PreS-Grade 5+

This week’s Spotlight titles are #3979 – #3993 on The Ginormous Booklist.

 

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

In a twenty-four-hour span, Rafael Alvarez led North Amistad High School’s Mariachi Alma de la Frontera to their eleventh consecutive first-place win in the Mariachi Extravaganza de Nacional; and met, made out with, and almost hooked up with one of the cutest guys he’s ever met.

Now eight months later, Rafie’s ready for one final win. What he didn’t plan for is his family moving to San Antonio before his senior year, forcing him to leave behind his group while dealing with the loss of the most important person in his life―his beloved abuelo.

Another hitch in his plan: The Selena Quintanilla-Perez Academy’s Mariachi Todos Colores already has a lead vocalist, Rey Chavez―the boy Rafie made out with―who now stands between him winning and being the great Mariachi Rafie’s abuelo always believed him to be.

Despite their newfound rivalry for center stage, Rafie can’t squash his feelings for Rey. Now he must decide between the people he’s known his entire life or the one just starting to get to know the real him.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile.

In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most. A chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong.

Samahtitamahenele, Sam, is the last remaining prince of Tamarind. But he can never inherit the throne, for Tamarind is a matriarchal society.

With his mother ill and his grandmother nearing the end of her reign, Sam is left with two choices: to marry, or to find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother for ten long years.

When a childhood companion returns from exile, she brings with her something he has not felt in a very long time-hope.

But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones searching for the dragonfruit. And as they battle enemies both near and far, there is another danger they cannot escape…that of the dragonfruit itself.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Worlds turn. Particles spin. Love endures.

There are infinite universes in which Elise never dies. Her best friend, Anna, never has to mourn her or choose between the weight of her grief and the weight of her ambition. Her cousin, Liam, never has to lose another loved one or fight to find purpose in a life that already doesn’t feel like his own.

But Liam and Anna do not get to choose the universe in which they live. Across multiple worlds, their paths collide as they wrestle with what it takes to save someone else and how to face love and loss on a quantum scale.

This moving, lyrical novel introduces two teens on the cusp of finding out who they are while finding each other again and again.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Rui has one goal in mind—honing her magic to avenge her mother’s death.

Yiran is the black sheep of an illustrious family. The world would be at his feet—had he been born with magic.

Nikai is a Reaper, serving the Fourth King of Hell. When his master disappears, the underworld begins to crumble…and the human world will be next if the King is not found.

When an accident causes Rui’s power to transfer to Yiran, everything turns upside down. Without her magic, Rui has no tool for vengeance. With it, Yiran finally feels like he belongs. That is, until Rui discovers she might hold the key to the missing death god and strikes a dangerous bargain with another King.

As darkness takes over, three paths intersect in the shadows. And three lives bound by fate must rise against destiny before the barrier between worlds falls and all Hell breaks loose—literally.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Alice is on her own for the first time. She has no coach. No friends. Not even clothes that meet the Bastille Invitational’s strict dress code. There’s only the steady drumbeat of guilt inside—pressure to make the tournament’s costly expense “worth it” in the wake of Ba’s unexpected passing. But will a win on court justify the price she paid to get here?

Violetta is Bastille’s darling: social media influencer, coach’s pet, and daughter of a former tennis star who fell from grace. Bastille is her chance to reclaim the future her mother gave up to raise her. But is that what she wants for herself?

Leylah hasn’t competed in two years, thanks to a back-stabbing ex-friend. Bastille is her last chance to prove she’s ready for a life of professional tennis. But will her fixation on past wrongs keep her from reclaiming her rightful place at the top?
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One week at the elite Bastille Invitational tennis tournament will decide their futures. If only the competition between them stayed on the court.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Ice-skater Mina is on a one-track path to Olympic gold and glory—that is, until she totally wipes out at her biggest competition, and is kinda-sorta-kidnapped by undead kids on roller skates.

Sucked into the high stakes world of Paranormal Roller Derby, she finds herself “recruited” by a squad of vampires who need a human player to complete their team—just in time to save the league from losing it all.

Between learning to play derby well enough to kick butt on the track, crushing hard on the dreamy team captain, and navigating the spooky rules of the supernatural, how can Mina go from striving to be a ten alone, to becoming one of nine chaotic bodies forming a perfectly-imperfect team?

Forget being the best. Will she be enough to help her new friends survive the season?

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

It’s 1942. German Nazis occupy much of France. And twelve-year-old Miriam, who is Jewish, is not safe. With help and quick thinking, Miri is saved from the roundup that takes her entire Jewish neighborhood.

She escapes Paris, landing in a small French village, where the spires of the famous Chateau de Chenonceau rise high into the sky, its bridge across the River Cher like a promise, a fairy tale.

But Miri’s life is no fairy tale. Her parents are gone—maybe alive, maybe not. Taken in at the boarding school near the chateau, pretending to be Catholic to escape Nazi capture, Miri is called upon one night to undertake a deadly task, one that spans the castle grounds, its bridge, and the very border to freedom.

Here is her chance to escape—hopefully to find her parents. But will she take it? One thing is certain: The person Miri meets that night will save her life. And the person Miri becomes that night could save the lives of many more.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

When FBI agents swarm twelve-year-old Mavis Callahan’s downtown Chicago home, her mom goes on the run.

With the family’s house and bank accounts seized, Mavis’s dad takes her and her siblings to seek refuge with his sister just south of rural Somewhere, Illinois—a far cry from the big city lifestyle Mavis is used to.

As Mavis grapples with her sudden turn in fortune, she learns to make new friends and starts a babysitting business to bring in some much-needed cash for the family.

But she can’t help but wonder—is her mom truly guilty?

And if not, why has she gone into hiding, contacting Mavis only through a series of postcards from exotic locales? Mavis isn’t sure if she’s ready for the truth, but she’ll do anything to find it.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Three Summers is the story of five young cousins who grow closer than sisters as ethnic tensions escalate over three summers in 1980s Bosnia.

They navigate the joys and pitfalls of adolescence on their family’s little island in the middle of the Una River. When finally confronted with the harsh truths of the adult world around them, their bond gives them the resilience to discover and hold fast to their true selves.

Written with incredible warmth and tenderness, Amra Sabic-El-Rayess takes readers on a journey that will break their hearts and put them back together again.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Twelve-year-old Isabel is the new kid in her San Francisco middle school.

It’s the first time in many years that she’ll be living with her mother again. Mama’s job in the US allowed Isabel and her grandparents to live more comfortably in the Philippines, but now Isabel doesn’t really know her own mother anymore.

Making new friends in a new city, a new country, is hard, but joining the gardening and cooking club at school means Isabel will begin to find her way, and maybe she too, will begin to bloom.

In this beautifully rendered novel-in-verse, Mae Respicio explores how growth can take many forms, offering both the challenges and joy of new beginnings.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Hidden in the ocean of colorful fish, octopus, kelp, sea sponges, and other sea life is a most unique creature: the seahorse.

Featuring different species of seahorses and seadragons across the world, The Sea Hides a Seahorse is a subtle seek-and-find story that journeys underwater to provide a glimpse into the secrets of seahorses as they swim, hide, hunt, court, mate, and more.

Included at the back is more information about seahorses and how to support their protection and conservation.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

How do you breathe underwater? What tools can we use to go deeper and deeper into the oceans? And…what’s down there?

Two-thirds of our Earth is covered in ocean, yet only 5% of it has been explored.

DIVE deep into our long history of sea exploration to learn why, how, and when humans have dived, and uncover our biggest questions about what hides in the Earth’s deepest waters.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Juneteenth is the smell of brisket filling the air. Juneteenth is the sounds of music, dancing, and cheering ringing from the parade outside. It is love. It is prayer. It is friends and relatives coming together to commemorate freedom, hope for tomorrow, and one another.

This book is an ode to the history of the Black community in the United States, a tribute to Black joy, and a portrait of familial love.

With poignant text and vivid illustrations, Juneteenth Is offers a window and a mirror for readers, resonating with kids who will see themselves reflected in its pages and those who hope to understand experiences beyond their own.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Everyone knows that dragons are fierce, capable of taking on the world!

But this dragon can’t stop sneezing long enough to get a roar out. Even with friendly Phoenix insisting that Dragon get some rest, this powerful creature refuses to stop for any orange ginger tea or a drop of bone broth soup.

It’s only when Dragon realizes Phoenix has caught the same cold that they are both able to take the break they so badly need.

This tale of helping your friends and valuing differences is a sure-thing for story time.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

One morning, out for one of its usual walks, a field mouse discovers something rather unusual: a mysterious blue object sitting at the foot of a big rock.

As a group of animals gather to carefully inspect the object, they realize that a robin’s egg has rolled down from its nest all the way at the top.

Wondering who will roll it back up, the field mouse quickly volunteers, only to be met with laughter and mockery from its fellow animals.

The field mouse, spurred on by a determination to prove them wrong, musters all of its strength to take on the Sisyphean task—but will it succeed?

THIS WEEK’S SEQUELS

  

PREVIOUS NEW RELEASE SPOTLIGHTS

     

ABOUT THE SPOTLIGHT

The New Release Spotlight began in May 2016 as a way to help librarians keep up with the many new children’s and YA books that are released each week.

Each week, school librarian Leigh Collazo compiles the New Release Spotlight using a combination of Follett’s Titlewave, Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes and Noble. Recommended grade levels represent the range of grade levels recommended by professional book reviewers. See the full selection criteria here.

Inevitably, there are far more books that meet my criteria than can make it on the Spotlight. When I have to make the tough decisions on what to include, I just use my “librarian judgment.” Would I buy this book for my own library? Would my students want to read this book? Is the cover appealing? Does it fill a need?