New Release Spotlight: April 28, 2026

It’s the last week of April, so the Canva links are now ready! I will share the links with my email list on the morning of April 28, 2026.

If you are not on my email list or need the links sent again, you can fill out this form and get them immediately.

I researched a total of 146 qualifying titles for consideration in the Spotlight. I ended the month with 47 new titles in the Spotlight, plus 28 featured sequels and favorite character/series books. In most cases, I do not spotlight sequels beyond #3 in the series.

The sequels and series books are only in the Canva presentations, and as usual, most of them are for middle grades.

My top picks:

• How to Be Normal by Ange Crawford (YA realistic fiction)
• Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer by Paige Classey (MG survival)
• The Secrets of the Jellies by Karen Jameson (informational picture book)

You can see the full list of all 47 Spotlight books for April here.

Canva links will be sent out via email on Tuesday morning, April 28, 2026. The links are free to my email list, which is here if you need to sign up.

This week’s titles are #5178 – #5190 on The Ginormous Booklist.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

They say Hollywood is like high school, and has-been child actor Ambrosia Lee feels like she’s at the bottom of the social ladder. Her acting career peaked at the age of eleven— then she was unceremoniously fired from her big break due to her weight.

Now after years of rejections and backstabbing auditions, teenage Ambrosia turns to stand-up to speak her truth. It’s the perfect way to rant about everything that’s been bothering her: divorced parents dynamics, Asian stereotypes, and Hollywood drama. It also doesn’t hurt that a cute boy is helping her learn the ropes of a comedy routine.

It’s all laughs…but comedy clubs can be just as toxic as the Hollywood complex she always mocks.

Can Ambrosia be her true self both on and off the mic?

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Long oppressed, the Hmong struggle to preserve their traditions and way of life in a homeland torn by war and strife. Their history is closely linked to France, which colonized Indochina in 1893 and for whom the Hmong worked tirelessly, first as opium suppliers and then as soldiers.

With great sensitivity and humor, the author tells the story of these people through the lens of her own family.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Seventeen-year-old Sam Tombs hopes to get more eyes on the videos they make to raise awareness of crimes against LGBTQ+ teens. A true crime content creator event seems like the perfect opportunity to grow their channel―until the group becomes stranded at an eerie Victorian mansion, and one of them is killed in the night.

Sam’s alibi, and the only person they can trust, happens to be their mean, dorky internet nemesis Dylan. But the two must now put aside their rivalry and use their investigative skills to figure out who among the remaining teens is the killer, before their own deaths become tomorrow’s trending content.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

When her dad loses his job, Astrid’s homeschooling comes to an end. Until now, she has lived within the confines of a tightly controlled, contracted world where there’s no room for anything . . . except following her father’s rules and pretending that everything is normal.

As Astrid and her mom tentatively expand their world, they struggle to break free of their ingrained wariness and self-doubt. But with hope, new friends, and the strength of a promise, Astrid has a chance to find out what she wants, whom she loves, and who she really is.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

When twelve-year-old Eleanor Newton thinks she see her deceased grandmother, she misses her chance to speak with her one last time.

Soon after, Ellie finds herself and her best friend Justin lost in the underworld. The pair are split up by the voices guiding their journey and Ellie arrives at Eventide House, a somewhat boarding school for children who have died. 

The Underworld is beautiful, but Ellie is plagued by the feeling that something isn’t right, leading her to search for a way back to her family in the world of the Living. 

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Anna-Jane is thrilled to be back at Camp Chester—the one place she feels like she belongs. She’s excited to swim in the lake, read in her favorite chair, and swap secrets with her best friend under the stars. But not long after Anna-Jane unpacks her trunk, weird things start happening.

First, townspeople near camp begin disappearing. Then, the internet, cell service, and all other forms of communication are cut off. Soon, Anna-Jane and the residents of Camp Chester realize they are completely alone.

Or so they think. Across the lake, the kids spot a strange flashing light. And when animals begin turning up with yellowed eyes and disfigured limbs, it is clear the dangers are only growing. Most alarming of all, though, is the deepening distrust among the campers themselves, which could have deadly consequences. Anna-Jane knows what to expect from a summer at camp . . . but what happens when camp lasts well beyond the summer?

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

In the fall of 1943, German troops controlled nearly all of continental Europe. The one chance the Allies had of punching through the German front meant keeping the enemy distracted and in the dark. They had to take the Germans by surprise on “D-Day.”

The mission: trick the Germans into believing the Allies would strike anywhere but their true target, the beaches of Normandy.

Featuring historical photos and breathtaking true accounts, Double Crossed tells the exhilarating story of Operation Bodyguard, the mind-boggling effort to lay a false trail for the Germans using fake armies, decoy landings, and the covert work of double agents and spies who risked their lives. With millions of lives hanging in the balance, victory―or defeat―in World War II depended on the Nazis being caught unaware.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Eighth Graders Sadie and Pug don’t have anything in common except for their love of soccer and their loyalty to Ella, the overachieving team captain. So when Ella doesn’t show up for the most important game of the season and her parents pull her out of school, Sadie and Pug are determined to find out what happened, even though they don’t usually get along. There’s no way Ella abandoned the team!

But as Sadie and Pug dig deeper, they begin to realize that Ella’s life wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. And maybe Sadie and Pug have a few secrets that need to come to light, too. Maybe all their classmates do

Told in recordings, letters, texts, journal entries, and emails, Where Ella Went is a funny and absorbing slice-of-life mystery about friendship, teamwork, and the pressures of being in middle school. If Sadie and Pug keep searching for answers, they risk sabotaging the end of their soccer season.

But can they ever move on if they don’t learn the truth? And what if Ella needs them even more than they need her?

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Underwater, everything looks different—and every body moves differently, too. During swim therapy, a child discovers he can be anything: a catfish, a seahorse, a starfish cartwheeling across the universe.

He finds the magic of moving in wholly new ways, just like he does on land in his trusty wheelchair.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Find all of the answers to your brain in this accessible picture book about the body’s most amazing organ and the systems it controls. What does your brain look like? Like a gray sponge. How does it tell my body to do all those incredible things?

Nerves that send messages to every part of your body. Discover how your body can dribble a soccer ball, shiver in the cold, and taste yummy tacos. Learn about the five parts of the brains, what they do, and how they work.

Hooray for My Brain! breaks down vocabulary like cerebellum and neurons with simple, straightforward language. Fun-filled, energetic artwork shows kids the connections between how they play and what’s going on inside their body. Award-winning author and illustrator Paul Meisel makes the human brain easy to understand for the youngest readers.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

A spectacular world of weird and wonderful jellyfish awaits in The Secrets of the Jellies. Engaging rhyming text will amaze young readers with awe-inspiring information about these beguiling sea creatures.

Filled with facts and energetic undersea artwork, this aquarium-exhibit-in-a-book helps us learn all about jelly anatomy, behavior, habitats, and ecosystems as we get to know the moon jelly, lion’s mane jellyfish, fried-egg jellyfish, flame jellyfish, and so many more. Dive in and be dazzled!