New Release Spotlight: January 13, 2026

January always brings new titles from many popular authors, and this week is no exception. Middle grades and picture books both look best to me this week!

This week’s titles are #5004 – #5012 on The Ginormous Booklist.

I don’t have any “Top Picks” this week. There are just too many good ones, especially with middle grades and picture books. The books that made this week’s list are already my top picks. There were many good books that I passed over this week, but they are still on my list and may appear on the Spotlight later this month.

I’ve actually got several early picks for 2027 awards listed below!

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See my Amazon Idea List for all January 2026 New Release Spotlights.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Mina Murray is followed by death―at least, that’s the rumor in her small town of New Whitby. An aspiring photojournalist, she has a knack for finding herself in unsettling situations to find interesting shots, like on the deck of the recently crashed boat the Demeter.

While exploring the wreckage, Mina comes across large cases of dirt and debris―and the decaying body of the ship’s captain.

Intrigued by the ghastly scene, Mina tries to unearth more information about the abandoned ship, the captain, and the missing crew. Instead, she finds herself roped into her high school’s newspaper club covering the big school dance her BFF, Lucy, is coordinating. It’s a major bummer, but all might not be too bad if it gets her closer to Jon, her crush and guitarist for the local punk band the Romeros.

But instead of catching Jon’s eye, Mina enters the orbit of Raf, the brooding (and frankly, hot) transfer student who has everyone under his thrall. As Raf’s popularity grows and the dance draws near, sinister events begin to shake the core of the school: The head of the newspaper club gains an unseemly appetite for flies. Jon is getting close to Raf.

And Lucy falls ill . . . with strange puncture wounds on her neck. Mina starts to suspect that new student is hiding a dark and terrible secret . . . but will she be able to figure it out before it’s too late?

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Eva has one dream: to study English at Oxford University. Not only will she receive a world-class education – getting into Oxford is a path to freedom.

But when Eva and her best friend George are invited to interview week, they find themselves in the cutthroat ultra-competitive world of elite academia, and at the center of gossip on anonymous student forum Oxford Slays. When Eva finds George dead near the steps of a statue in the college, she knows he’s been murdered – but all eyes are now on her. Can she clear her name, catch the true killer and win her place at Beecham College?

Eva has one week to prove her innocence, and Oxford Slays will be watching.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Ella was supposed to be out with friends. But a blinding headache and a twist of fate leave her babysitting instead.

Only, when she arrives, the house is quiet, the door is wide open—and the air reeks of gas. She manages to call 911, but not everyone survives.

As Ella struggles to recover, cracks begin to form in the investigation. Whispers, memories, and buried motives point to something sinister. The gas leak might not have been an accident after all. And someone might be out to kill Ella next.

The door’s open, the gas is leaking, and nothing is what it seems—your next book club obsession starts here.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

For eleven-year-old Gao Sheng, home is the lush, humid jungles and highlands of Laos. Home is where she can roll down the grassy hill with her younger siblings after her chores, walk to school, and pick ripe peaches from her family’s trees.

But home becomes impossible to hold onto when the communist government takes over after U.S. troops pull out of the Vietnam War. The communists will be searching for any American allies, like Gao Sheng’s father, a Hmong captain in the Lao Army who fought alongside the Americans against the Vietnamese. If he’s caught, he’ll be killed.

As the adults frantically make plans – contacting family, preparing a route, and bundling up their silver and gold, Gao Sheng wonders if she will ever return to her beloved Laos and what’s to become of her family now. Gao Sheng only knows that a good daughter doesn’t ask questions or complain. A good daughter doesn’t let her family down. Even though sometimes, she wishes she could be just a kid rolling down a grassy hill again.

On foot, by taxi and finally in a canoe, Gao Sheng and her family make haste from the mountains to the capitol Vientiane and across the rushing Mekong River, to finally arrive at an overcrowded refugee camp in Thailand. As a year passes at the camp, Gao Sheng discovers how to rebuild home no matter where she is and finally find her voice.

Inspired by author V.T. Bidania’s family history, A Year Without Home illuminates the long, difficult journey that many Hmong refugees faced after the Vietnam War.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

At the beginning of seventh grade, Luna knows who she is: an observant, quiet girl who loves writing and making zines with her best friend, Scott.

But when one of their zines takes off, Luna is somehow swept up into the popular group and learns just how much of herself she’s going to have to compromise to stay there. Will she give up her writing? Her best friend? What about her own beliefs about who she is and what she stands for?

Featuring author-illustrator Chanel Miller’s signature line drawings, The Moon Without Stars is a deeply personal and often funny novel about what it means to lose and then find yourself again during the vulnerable, life-changing years of middle school.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Auden “Denny” Greene is happiest with her friend Runa, creating stories set in their imaginary land of Sorrowfeld, where princesses rule and cursed dragons are a constant danger. But now that they are turning twelve, Runa seems ready to give up on the magic of Sorrowfeld just when Denny needs it the most…

Princess Auden is the last remaining princess of Sorrowfeld—and on her twelfth birthday, she will be expected to vanquish the dragons that took her family. Only, when a swarm attacks her birthday celebration, all she can do is run…

But suddenly. Auden is in Denny’s world. And Denny is in Auden’s.

The two Audens have switched places. No one but them has any idea. And now, each girl must come into her own power in order to fight the other’s dragons. 

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

How do you work through a complicated idea, solve a tricky problem, or make a big discovery? Charles Darwin had a lot of ways to do it. He paced in circles and hit rocks with a stick. He studied the bones of his dinner. He even rode around the world on a boat called The Beagle.

These methods may sound unorthodox, but they led him to some pretty great thoughts—and discoveries about the origins of life as we know it.

Sibert Medalist Nicholas Day’s conversational text has all the charm of a true story told by your smartest, most interesting friend. With Hadley Hooper’s engrossingly textured illustrations, How to Have a Thought is both an introduction to Darwin and an invitation to live with brilliant curiosity.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Small-girl Zora knows her stories are going to change the world. Although her neighbors might not believe her outlandish tales, she’s sure they’re the key to ending the drought in her town.

If she can make people laugh at her stories, she’ll be able to gather enough tears to bring back her mama’s garden and more. But when things don’t go exactly as planned, Zora learns that with creativity, determination, and faith, a little magic might be possible.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

From the intricate coils of kings and queens to the cornrowed maps to freedom of African Americans, This Hair Belongs is a heartfelt poetic tribute to Black hair throughout history.

Told through powerful verse, stunning illustrations, and fascinating back matter, this Black history picture book pays tribute to the African origins of Black hairstyles and will remind young Black readers that their hair is magical and beautiful and belongs.

JaNay Brown-Wood and Erin K. Robinson deftly weave African and American history into this powerful children’s picture book about Black hair, making it an essential nonfiction title honoring Black cultural heritage.