Archives de catégorie : Bologna 2023 Children’s & YA

GODLY HEATHENS de H. E. Edgmon

The first book in a YA contemporary fantasy duology in which a teen, Gem, finds out they’re a reincarnated god from another world.

GODLY HEATHENS
by H.E. Edgmon
Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press, November 2023

Maybe I have always just been bad at being human because I’m not one.  Gem Echols is a nonbinary, Seminole teen living in a tiny town in Georgia. Known for being their peers’ queer awakening, Gem leans hard on charm to disguise the anxious mess they are beneath the surface. The only person privy to their authentic self is another trans kid, Enzo, who’s a thousand long, painful miles away in Brooklyn. But even Enzo doesn’t know about Gem’s dreams, haunting visions of magic and violence that have always felt too real. So how the hell does Willa Mae Hardy know about them? The strange new girl in town acts like she and Gem are old companions and seems to know things about them they’ve never told anyone else. When Gem is attacked by a stranger claiming to be the Goddess of Death, Willa Mae saves their life and finally offers some answers. She and Gem are reincarnated gods who’ve known and loved each other across lifetimes. But Gem—or at least who Gem used to be—hasn’t always been the most benevolent deity. They’ve made a lot of enemies in the pantheon—enemies who, like the Goddess of Death, will keep coming. It’s a good thing they’ve still got Enzo, but as worlds collide, and the past catches up with the present, Gem will discover that everyone has something to hide.

H.E. Edgmon (he/they) is a questionable influence, a dog person, and an author of books both irreverent and radicalizing. Born and raised in the rural south, he currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with his eccentric little family. His stories imagine Indigenous worlds and center queer kids saving each other. H.E. has never once gotten enough sleep and probably isn’t going to anytime soon. His highly acclaimed THE WITCH KING duology is out now. 

RED AS BLOOD de Sorboni Banerjee & Dominique Richardson

Riverdale meets fairytale in this edgy, seductive twist on the age-old stories you think you know.

RED AS BLOOD
by Sorboni Banerjee & Dominique Richardson
Wise Wolf Press, February 2023
(via Context Literary)

When Penny Zale vanishes from the psychiatric hospital where she’s being held against her will, only her chopped-off braid and cryptic letters remain. If her friends Raven, Aarya, Dawn, and Elle have any chance of finding Penny, they must enter a world where money and power mean everything, and life is expendable.
The lies that built their town of Everbeach run deep, and someone is willing to do anything to keep them hidden. The girls believe Penny’s letters point to her ex, big sugar heir Logan Steele. When Raven tries to get close to Logan to gather information, she finds herself fighting a dangerous attraction to the magnetic billionaire.
Everything begins to unravel when Aarya discovers Raven has been keeping secrets. Raven’s painful past of anxiety and addiction causes her to spiral, and everyone, including Raven herself, starts to question her version of reality. As threats and attacks ramp up against the friends, they must decipher what happened to Penny before they’re the next to disappear.
Scandalous secrets, deadly twists, and forbidden love make this series perfect for fans of Inheritance Games, Thousandth Floor, and Pretty Little Liars.

Sorboni Banerjee is a Bengali-American author and Emmy Award winning television news reporter and anchor. Sorboni is also the host of The Lead, an online talk show featuring authors, aimed at inspiring positive change and achieving big dreams.
Dominique Richardson is a Lebanese-Jamaican former CPA who spends her free time writing and passing on her love of unicorns to her twin boys. Dominique presents #DomsDownload on The Lead, breaking down books that help people live their best lives.

THE ADVENTURES OF INVISIBLE BOY de Doogie Horner

The first in a new middle-grade graphic novel series, featuring over-the-top action and excitement—and a superpower all kids dream of having.

THE ADVENTURES OF INVISIBLE BOY
by Doogie Horner
Putnam, Fall 2023
(via Writers House)

It’s the wind! It’s a ghost! No, it’s Invisible Boy! It’s Stanley’s first day at a new school and he is not looking forward to meeting a bunch of new kids. He wishes he could be invisible until he gets the lay of the land, and, due to a science project spill, it actually happens!
Turns out Stanley’s neighbor, Gene, is a pint-sized evil genius (with a secret science lair in his basement) and because that potion spill robbed him of first place in the science fair, he is determined to take his anger out on kids all over town. Good thing Stanley wants to use his invisible powers for good, even if it leads to an epic battle with tons of Gene’s outrageous inventions.

“On the first day of school, a new kid and an evil genius are about to collide. Our hero may be invisible—but THE ADVENTURES OF INVISIBLE BOY can’t be missed!” —Max Brallier, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Kids on Earth

Doogie Horner is the author of This Might Hurt a Bit, Some Very Interesting Cats Perhaps You Weren’t Aware of, Everything Explained Through Flowcharts, A Die Hard Christmas, and other books. His comedy album A Delicate Man was an AV Club staff pick. He won over a hostile NYC audience on America’s Got Talent and is a frequent guest on Doug Loves Movies.

THE ONLY GIRL IN TOWN d’Ally Condie

What would you do if everyone you love disappeared? What if it was your fault? A biting and breathless contemporary novel from Ally Condie, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Matched series.

THE ONLY GIRL IN TOWN
by Ally Condie
‎ Penguin Random House, September 2023
(via Writers House)

For July Fielding, nothing has been the same since that summer before her senior year. Or that late-August night at the jump. Before, she had Alex to be her loyal bestie, always up for playing endless rounds of mini golf or trying every ice cream flavor at local favorite Verity. She had Sydney, who pushed her during every sweaty and wonderful cross country run, and who sometimes seemed to know July better than she knew herself. And she had Sam. Sam, who told her she was everything and left her breathless with his kisses.
Now, July is alone. Every single person in her small town of Lithia has disappeared. No family. No Alex or Sydney. No Sam. July’s only chance at unraveling the mystery of their disappearance is a series of objects, each a reminder of the people she loved most. And a recurring message that begins to appear all over town: GET TH3M BACK.
With sharp, poetically visceral prose that grabs you by the heart and refuses to let go, New York Times bestselling author Ally Condie makes her contemporary YA debut with a searingly candid, breathless novel that perfectly distills the messy, beautiful realities of growing up, growing apart, and the courageous act of self-discovery.

Ally Condie is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Matched trilogy and co-author of the Darkdeep middle grade series. She is also the author of the novel Summerlost, an Edgar Award Finalist. A former English teacher, Ally lives with her family outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. Ally has an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and is the founder and director of the nonprofit WriteOut Foundation.

MISSING DEAD GIRLS de Sara Walters

From the author of The Violent Season comes a gripping, fast-paced psychological thriller that is sure to keep you turning pages. What is friendship without a few secrets?

MISSING DEAD GIRLS
by Sara Walters
‎ Sourcebooks Fire, January 2023
(via Dystel, Goderich & Bourret)

What is friendship without a few secrets?
It wasn’t Tillie’s choice to leave Philadelphia. But after everything that happened junior year, her mom insisted the quiet suburb of Willow Creek was the perfect place to get a fresh start, to put the trauma and rumors behind them.
Madison Frank is the perfect distraction. Beautiful, fun, and from the wealthy side of town, Madison is the kind of girl who has a pull stronger than gravity. She commands attention, even inspires obsession. And by the end of summer, Tillie’s forgotten everything―everyone―she left in Philadelphia. Almost.
Then Madison goes missing. A photo of her bloody body is texted to the whole student body…from an account with Tillie’s name on it. Tillie’s caught in a tangled web of secrets that will destroy her if they surface…and will destroy everyone she loves if they don’t.

Sara Walters works as an advocate for victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence in central Pennsylvania. Previously, she worked as a reproductive rights advocate and a college instructor. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of South Florida, and studied children’s and young adult literature while earning her doctorate in education at the University of Tennessee. She believes in the power of storytelling as a voice for survivors, and aims to give space to the stories too often silenced.