New Release Spotlight – May 28, 2024

Happy summer! I know many of my Texas colleagues ended the school year last week. If you are among the lucky summer breakers, welcome to SUMMER! I hope you enjoy all the things and knock out some titles on your TBR over the next several weeks. You made it!

I also know many schools are still in session into June (looking at you, Connecticut!). If that’s you…hang in there! You’ll be tackling your TBR before you know it!

You will notice this week’s Spotlight includes a variety of publication dates in May. The Spotlights for May 7th and May 14th were crazy-huge, so I left some of them on my list to add later. There were far fewer titles that met my criteria on the May 21st and May 28th Spotlights.

I got a couple of questions about the Spotlight this summer… YES, I do plan to continue the Spotlight as normal throughout the summer. The Spotlight is useful for me, too, so I will definitely keep it going!

 

My top picks this week:

• Stay Dead by April Henry (YA)
• Flying Through Water by Mamle Wolo (middle grades)
• Terrible Horses by Raymond Antrobus (picture book)

PRESENTATION LINKS:

This is the last Spotlight of May, so all presentations for May are now complete. I do not plan to add further titles to any of the May presentations. I will start three new presentations for June next week.

To use the presentations, set them up on a publicly-visible monitor. Play them on a scrolling loop to show off the week’s newest book releases. This is a great way to get student and staff input on the books that interest them most.

You can edit the presentations by opening them in Canva using the links below. 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 #4091 – #4106 on The Ginormous Booklist.

 

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Being a samurai isn’t easy. Sixteen-year-old Chihiro Ito knows that more than anyone.

Her father is renowned among the samurai, but the only thing Chihiro is known for is spending way too much time on her phone obsessing over Tatsuo Nakano, Chihiro’s idol and the first woman to be accepted into Kesi Academy, a prestigious samurai school.

So, when Chihiro’s father is conscripted for service and the opportunity arises to work with Tatsuo in his stead, Chihiro jumps at the chance to prove that she’s worthy of a spot at Kesi Academy and the samurai title.

Their mission: kill the yamauba demon terrorizing a village. With a legendary samurai like Tatsuo by her side, Chihiro is convinced victory is inevitable.

But Tatsuo isn’t at all like the hero Chihiro imagined. Foulmouthed, quick tempered, and a terrible drunk, Tatsuo completely turned her back on the samurai way and is now a ronin working for hire as a means of escaping the grief that haunts her.

Forced to work together, the two are thrust on a treacherous journey filled with epic battles and twisted conspiracies as they must put aside their differences to save the village and face the demons of the past.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Sometimes, the only way to live is to make sure the world thinks you’re dead . . . 

In the aftermath of a car accident that claimed the life of her senator father, sixteen-year-old Milan finds herself adrift, expelled from her third boarding school. Milan’s mother, who has assumed the senate seat, diverts her private plane to pick up her daughter.

But on their way home, a bomb rips off a wing and the plane crashes in the mountains.

In her final moments, Milan’s mother entrusts her with a key. She reveals it will unlock the evidence that so many people have already died for—including Milan’s father. The only way Milan can survive, her mom tells her, is to let everyone believe she died with the other passengers.

​Milan is forced to navigate a perilous descent in freezing conditions while outwitting everything from a drone to wild animals. With relentless assassins on her trail, she must untangle the web of deceit and save herself and countless others. Will she piece together the truth in time?

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Maelstrom is a half-demon prince pining for a place in history. (Honestly, he’s just bored and searching for a way to pass the time.)

Twigs is the young, prophesized Hero of Virtue fated to face him―or so we’ve been told…

But Maelstrom’s mother, regent to the throne and a powerful necromancer, is determined to keep an iron grip on her domain. Bemoaning his lost destiny, Maelstrom teams up with the Hero to stop his mother and forge a new destiny for himself.

What Twigs doesn’t know is that Maelstrom has a cunning plan to build his own epic legend and double-cross Twigs at the perfect moment…

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

It’s been a year since eighteen-year-old River Lang’s best friend died in a car accident. And every day since, he’s had to pass by the depressing billboard that appeared as a result: a texting and driving PSA that reduces Dylan to a cautionary tale and River to the best friend of the dead kid at school.

Dylan was so much more than a statistic, though, and River hates that everyone in town seems to have forgotten.

When he’s caught improving (a.k.a. vandalizing) Dylan’s billboard, River is blackmailed into joining the Affinity Trials—a research study that’s observing teens who are “struggling socially.”

But as soon as he arrives, River’s social struggles only worsen as he’s thrown together with the last person he wants to spend an entire week with: his ex-best friend and Dylan’s former girlfriend, Mavis, who’s the only one who knows the truth about the night Dylan died.

During the Trials, River befriends a charming quarterback named Nash, and it doesn’t take long for romantic feelings to start bubbling to the surface. But so do bizarre developments within the Trials that make him wonder what researchers are actually studying while monitoring his every move.

And when suspicions lead him to a bombshell discovery, River will have to decide just how far he’s willing to go for another chance at first love.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

As American as apple pie. It’s a familiar saying, yet gumbo and chop suey are also American!

What we eat tells us who we are: where we’re from, how we move from place to place, and how we express our cultures and living traditions.

In twelve dishes that take readers from thousands of years ago through today, this book explores the diverse peoples and foodways that make up the United States.

From First Salmon Feasts of the Umatilla and Cayuse tribes in the Pacific Northwest to fish fries celebrated by formerly enslaved African Americans, from “red sauce” Italian restaurants popular with young bohemians in the East to Cantonese restaurants enjoyed by rebellious young eaters in the West, this is the true story of the many Americas—laid out bite by bite.

 

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

After accidentally wishing on a family heirloom to hear what boys are thinking, Clara wakes up the next day able to do just that. Every idea, every worry, every generous or petty thought crossing their minds—somehow, they now form a chorus of voices in hers.

But why couldn’t her newfound powers have arrived sooner? Then, maybe, she could have stopped her ex–best friend Leo from betraying her and ditching her for the more popular kids. At least her dad is open to the idea of moving her off O‘ahu and out to Arizona to be with him.

If Clara can use what she hears to solve her problems, then her powers might just be able to make up for lost time—but instead, she ends up making a bigger mess of everything. While scrambling to fix her mistakes, Clara must question old friendships, enter into new ones, and try to figure out what makes a home, and if she is willing to leave hers behind.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Sena treasures his life in rural Ghana—playing soccer, working the family farm, striving to do his best at school—but he is increasingly aware of his family’s precarious security in the face of poverty.

When an alluring gentleman comes to town to befriend local teenagers, offering promises of a better future, it only takes one more unsettling turn of events to send Sena into the clutches of human traffickers. Sena’s ordeal, escape, and remarkable survival makes for a page-turning adventure of self-discovery and empowerment.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Ainy is excited for summer! She plans on working at her mom’s clothing store, having adventures with her best friend, and maybe even starting to wear the hijab–just like her big sister.

Everything changes when a boy from her community starts messaging her and following her around, even showing up at the store while she’s working! Ainy knows his behavior isn’t okay, but she can’t find the words to tell the people around her how the unwanted attention makes her uncomfortable.

Finally, Ainy decides that she needs to start wearing the hijab to get him to leave her alone. She’s always used fashion to express herself, so maybe now she can use it to become invisible.

But things don’t get any better–and Ainy starts to realize that she’s lost her own sparkle along the way. Maybe she can’t handle this all on her own. With the help of her best friend and her sister, Ainy must find a way to stand her ground and get the respect that she knows she deserves–no matter how she looks.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Since her mother died when she was five years old, it’s always just been Ronnie Miller and her dad. Two Korean Americans who, thanks to Ronnie’s dad’s adoption by white parents, have never felt all that Korean. But Ronnie is okay with that—as long as she has her dad and her best friend Jack, Ronnie is 99% certain she can get through anything.

But as much as she wants everything to stay the same, the world—and her dad—has other plans. Now, Ronnie and Jack are headed away to sleepaway camp for the first time ever. Camp Foster promises all of the outdoorsy activities that Ronnie has so far managed to avoid: ropes courses, scavenger hunts, kayaking on the lake. Ugh. But she can do this. As long as she has Jack.

As it turns out, an old manor in the woods is the kind of place that’s crawling with secrets. Secrets like a mysterious gwishin haunting the grounds, a blood-red scarf wrapped too tightly around her ghostly neck. And a witch-hunting dokkaebi intent on finding and silencing the last Rhee witch. And the strange habit all the counselors have of rhyming when they speak . . . just like Ronnie has begun to do lately.

For a girl who wants everything to stay the same, nothing is scarier than all the changes Camp Foster brings. New friends. New foes. Souls with unfinished business. And, possibly worst of all, revelations that disprove everything Ronnie knew to be true.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Ever since sixth grade, Ashton Price and their best friend and enduring crush, Ivy Santos, have spent their summers together at theater camp.

Now it’s their last year before they part ways for high school, and Ash is determined to end it on a high note!

With Ash as stage manager and Ivy the lead in this year’s musical, this summer’s shaping up to be everything the two could have hoped for. Maybe Ash will even work up the courage to ask Ivy out!

But between Ivy rehearsing long hours with her colead and Ash throwing themself into an ambitious stage production, will they end up drifting apart instead?

As summer wanes and September looms, Ash and Ivy’s friendship will change forever, one way or another.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Ernesto has waited his whoooole life to become a niño grande. A big boy. Now he’s finally old enough to walk the six blocks to school without his parents.

Every morning, his mom hands him a shiny new quarter and reminds him they’re for emergencies. If Ernesto needs her, she’s only a pay phone call away.

But each day reveals a tempting new treat to enjoy with his friends: crisp packs of baseball cards, arcade games, hot tamales, and fresh juices! Ernesto has the coins jingling in his pocket, so how will he choose to spend them?

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

On the night of May 13th, 1862, as the Civil War raged on in the United States, 16 enslaved people decided they would reach freedom or die trying.

Filled to the brim with suspense, this true story details how Robert Smalls commandeered a confederate ship through the Charleston harbor toward liberation at the Union blockade.

Experience both determination and triumph with this picture book written by Robert Small’s great great grandson, Michael Boulware Moore, with illustrations by the award winning artist Bryan Collier.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

A tiny Spaceman arrives on a new planet, ready to perform his monotonous tasks—collecting samples, labeling and filing them, and moving on to the next planet.

But pausing to look around, the Spaceman is dazzled by the beauty of his surroundings. And when a large bird makes off with his ship, he’s forced to venture out into this new world—planet Earth—on foot.

Marveling at a varied landscape of flowers, butterflies, and other wondrous creatures, he finds a pond to float in and a goofy, slobbery beast who seems to want to be his friend.

Could it be that the Spaceman has found a new home?

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

For one little boy and his older sister, fights are always waiting to happen—when he takes something without asking, jumps on her bed without asking, even wanders off without asking. And when they fight, they don’t use words: it’s all push, pull, hurt, hide. 

To cool off after, the boy retreats to his room to write and draw stories—stories about terrible horses trampling and galloping, while he is a lone pony unable to compete or speak or sleep.

One morning, the boy wakes up to find his sketchbook missing, taken by his sister. What now? Will this make things worse, or could it help them to finally understand each other? With empathy and simplicity, Terrible Horses has much to say about using creativity to rein in anger, reflect, and see life through someone else’s eyes.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

On June 19, 1865, the 250,000 enslaved people of Texas learned they were free, ending slavery in the United States.

This day was soon to be memorialized with the dedication of a park in Houston. The park was called Emancipation Park, and the day it honored would come to be known as Juneteenth.

In the voice and memory of the park itself—its fields and pools, its protests and cookouts, and, most of all, its people—the 150-year story of Emancipation Park is brought to life.

Through lyrical text and vibrant artwork, Tonya Duncan Ellis and Jenin Mohammed have crafted an ode to the struggle, triumph, courage, and joy of Black America—and the promise of a people to remember.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

A red Jeep on a dirt road, two sets of hands on the wheel; fresh-caught trout grilling over a fire; a night in a sleeping bag, the moon glowing outside the tent. Camping with his dad near Michigan’s Au Sable river, a young boy collects these indelible memories, and more.

Now war has called his father away, to drive a different kind of Jeep, and the memories are even more precious. One day soon, he hopes, Dad will come home, and they’ll be headed back into the woods, off to make more.

Acclaimed editor and author Richard Jackson drew from his own experience for this tender story about the lasting impact of quality time with a parent, especially poignant for military families. Caldecott Medalist and Sibert Honoree Brian Floca’s warm, lively illustrations pair perfectly with Jackson’s timeless words.

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?