New Release Spotlight: October 21, 2025

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

As fifteen-year-old twins Delia and Velia plan the launch of their Magic-Twin Tour with their father’s Tejano band, a sudden supernatural attack on their father derails the family. Papá is delirious with a susto, a fright so awful that it allows a mysterious supernatural being to begin slowly sucking the life out of him.

As the twins hunt down his attacker, a wider world of borderland monsters opens up to them. Each twin has her own decision to make, with her own guide from the Aztec pantheon–Quetzalcoatl guiding Velia, and Xolotl advising Delia. Soon the girls must choose: Should they follow a divine mandate to become monster hunters for the goddess of death?

Can the sisters obey the will of the gods while saving their father’s life? Anything can happen within the magical realm of the borderlands.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

How did Hitler and the Nazi Party convince millions of people that the murder of Jews during the Holocaust was not only justifiable but correct? What can we learn from one of the most horrific times in history? 

Can Posters Kill? uses rare, historical posters to take readers on a visual journey from medieval anti-Jewish artwork to the venomous Nazi propaganda of the Second World War.

These posters show how powerful propaganda can be as a tool for spreading hate: how repetition, vivid imagery, and urgent messaging promote intense emotional reactions―fear, distrust, loyalty, revulsion―that can be used to create a coordinated campaign to impact the way we think.

By understanding the visual language of propaganda from the past, we can learn to recognize and resist messages of hate―an essential skill in a digital world where information is spread in seconds.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Jane Choi is a typical Nebraskan teen—a corn-fed lover of Husker football. But lately, she feels like she’s missing something. Her non-Korean classmates—that’s everyone—are immersed in K-pop, K-dramas, K-beauty…basically, K-everything. But for Jane, kimchi? Not a fan. Bibimbap? What is that? Her mom even named her after the very not-Korean Jane Eyre.

Everyone seems to know more about Korean culture than Jane. And she isn’t sure whether she’s more annoyed at them, or herself.

With a baby brother on the way, Jane is determined to save her new sibling from enduring the same humiliation. Enter: a totally foolproof plan to become the K-Jane of her dreams. What better way than to start a private social media account about all things Korean so her closest cousins can learn from her?

But Korean heritage and identity are more complicated than taste-testing multiple varieties of kimchi in front of a camera. And when online virality crashes into real life, Jane’s plans might just go K-boom in her face.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Meet Taylor Cassidy, Black history enthusiast and creator of the viral TikTok series Fast Black History. In her debut book, Taylor takes readers on a journey through the Black history she wishes she was taught in school.

With sparkling wit and humor—and lots of fun pop culture references—she paints a vibrant picture of twelve figures from Black history whose groundbreaking contributions shaped America as we know it today.

Introducing icons from activists to literary giants, movie stars to Olympic gold medalists, fashion designers to astronauts, and more, this one-of-a-kind collection makes Black history relatable, relevant, and utterly irresistible.

Using Black history as inspiration, Taylor weaves together research and personal anecdotes that illuminate each trailblazer’s impact on her own life—as well as sharing plenty of triumphant, funny, and embarrassing moments from her past.

From navigating friend breakups and unrequited crushes to setting boundaries and fighting self-doubt, Taylor’s been there…and she’s learned some valuable life lessons along the way.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

When Chyna gets a scholarship to the newest, most prestigious sports school in the city, it’s the best opportunity to do the gymnastics she loves. But between caring for her ailing mother and dealing with the elitist girls on her gymnastics team, she’s not sure she belongs.

Meanwhile, Jamaal is reeling from the death of his brother―who was also secretly Chyna’s boyfriend. Becoming star of the Power Panthers basketball team is his way to honor his brother’s memory and nothings going to stand in his way. Not even his health.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

On the dreary Oregon coast, an all-seeing beast—known as the Watcher—lies in wait. When Shay and her girlfriend, Lauren, get into a fight over whether to go public with their clandestine relationship, they awaken the creature. Although Lauren is badly injured, the girls escape with their lives but can’t shake the feeling of the creature’s eyes tracking them.

Meanwhile, aspiring photographer Zoe is desperate to put together a portfolio worthy of earning a scholarship to attend art college. Her photography teacher praises her skill but urges her to select more daring subjects for her submissions—a tall task when Zoe’s camera acts as a barrier between herself and the rest of the world.

As rumors swirl about Lauren’s injuries, Shay remains steadfast in that the Watcher is to blame, not her. She asks for Zoe’s help in snapping a photo of the local legend. Proof would help Shay clear her name and certainly be daring enough for Zoe’s scholarship. Together with their friends Jack and Parker, they set out to expose the Watcher before its ever-creeping eyes cast the secrets they’re all keeping from the town—and one another—into the light.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

It’s almost Daeboreum in 1980s South Korea—a holiday that celebrates the first full moon of the year. Taehee couldn’t care less. All she wants is to spend time with her boyfriend Kiwoo, avoid her controlling father, and play music for her mask dance club.

But Taehee’s weird granny and her even weirder friends have other plans for Taehee: they drag her, Kiwoo, and the rest of the dance club to their remote farm to celebrate Daeboreum…the old-fashioned way.

As the group arrives at the farm, Taehee overhears her granny talking about ceremonies, ghosts, and possibly (probably) sacrificing her friends to evil spirits. And if that’s not bad enough, Taehee just said those Three Little Words to Kiwoo that he can’t seem to say back.

Meanwhile, her friends are running wild with secrets—ones they definitely don’t want the grannies to overhear. It seems like everyone is up to no good.

The first full moon of the year is about to arrive, and with it confessions that threaten to change everything. That is, of course, if they all make it out alive.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Virginia Vaughn just wants to fit in with her super-popular friend group. That means she doesn’t let them know how much she loves the library, she never speaks a word about her massive crush on tragically unpopular Grayson, and she says nasty things she doesn’t actually mean. But only in the group chat, so it’s harmless, right?

But when she has a blowout fight with her clique—specifically, with the Queen Bee herself—her mean texts are posted online for the entire school to see! And, suddenly, Virginia has no one but her cat to talk to.

Cue “Knight Errant,” a mystery boy at school who texts Virginia by accident—and who quickly becomes her closest confidante. Though they send messages back and forth for hours every night, Virginia doesn’t want him to know which classmate she is (because then he’ll connect her to the mean texts ALL OVER THE INTERNET).

She likes him, but she really likes Grayson, too. Can she find the strength to tell Knight who she really is? And will Grayson—who has become her only ally at school—give up on her when the awful things she’s said about him are finally posted?

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Jaxon Averett has had some terrifically bad luck. Because only the worst luck in the world can account for the fact that he has to live with his Uncle Clive Grimmitz, Aunt Helga, and their six kids in dead-end Walkonby, Kansas. Life with Jax’s cousins isn’t easy — they’re all bullies, and his aunt and uncle can’t even remember his name.

Which is why, on the night before his twelfth birthday, Jax sneaks over to the neighboring property, floats a raft out into the middle of the hot springs lake, and drops anchor.

Jax is now the president and sole citizen of his own micronation, the Free State of Jax.

With the help of new friends, a local lawyer, and the property owner Owen O’Keefe, Jax’s micronation begins to flourish. But the Grimmitzes will do anything to get him back and they are not above sabotage. On top of that, Jax is quickly embroiled in the mystery of Owen’s missing brother — and a lost windfall of the town’s money.

Investigating puts everything Jax has built at risk, and when long-buried family secrets are unearthed, he must find the courage to do what’s right, even if it means losing his only chance at freedom.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Benji feels like he’s had more than his fair share of good luck—so it’s frustrating that his disability tends to make people think the opposite. Adopted from an overseas orphanage when he was four, he’s grown up surrounded by the love of his dads and little sister.

But it seems like the only thing people notice about him is that he was born without hands. He wishes that it didn’t bother him so much when people stare at him and that he could be as confident as the superheroes he’s obsessed with.

Then Benji meets a real-life hero and begins to dream about new possibilities. Staff Sergeant Snyder is a quadruple war amputee whose comfort in his own skin inspires Benji. Plus, Staff Sergeant has fun with his prosthetic limbs, making Benji wonder if it’s time he becomes bionic.

It takes a near disaster in the neighborhood with their pet cat to show Benji that bionic or not, he already has all the courage it takes to be a hero. After all, heroes walk among us every day, and if he just remembers to believe in himself, he can easily be one of them.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Look closely. The color orange is all around you, not only in the natural world—from fruit and foxes to minerals and mushrooms—but in the human-engineered world, too, from works of art to religious ceremonies to astronaut survival suits.

Ranging through time and circumnavigating the globe, witty stream-of-consciousness text and jaunty illustrations explore color through surprising social, historical, cultural, and artistic lenses.

With more than thirty vivid examples and a gentle introduction to color theory, this eye-opening voyage into the heart of orange is a clever appeal to experience other colors—and the world at large—with an open and expansive mind.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Nunu doesn’t understand, so when her emotions feel too big for her, she makes her boat out of paper origami and sails away.

Out at sea, she navigates somewhere new and with the help of her origami friends, she is able to mend what is broken and find her way home.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

A wordless story of unlikely friendship that celebrates art and its ability to connect us. However, this picture book also opens a conversation about alienation and empathy. Who is kept out of the theater? How can we welcome them in? A deeply personal story, author Eric Valqueuez sees himself in this tale.

When dancers have a photoshoot at the Central Park Zoo, a young, African American ballerina and a polar bear form a special friendship. When his new friend leaves her scarf behind, the polar bear must venture through Central Park and out into Manhattan to return it before her performance at the Lincoln Center.

However, the theater goers eye the strange bear with suspicion. When the ushers won’t let him inside, the ballerina comes to his rescue and welcomes him in. The polar bear has dreamed of seeing the ballet, and now he gets to be a part of it in the most surprising way.

The wordless narrative is told through expressive and detailed oil paintings. On the endpapers, readers learn more about these loveable characters with illustrations of zoo signage about polar bears and a magazine article about the young ballerina.