Archives de catégorie : Bologna 2024 Children’s & YA

THE GUARDIANS OF THE NORTH d’Antonia Maxwell

Book 1 in an action-packed dystopian adventure series set in the near- future post-melt Arctic.

THE GUARDIANS OF THE NORTH
(Terra Electrica, Book 1)
by Antonia Maxwell
Neem Tree Press, July 2024
(via Randle Editorial & Literary Consultancy)

The last ice cap has melted, and the world is on the brink of collapse. A deadly alien force—the Terra Electrica—has been unleashed. It feeds on electricity. It is infecting humanity.

In this chaotic, rapidly changing reality, 12-year-old Mani has lost her family and community to the Terra Electrica. Armed only with some ancestral wisdom and a powerful, ancient wooden mask she was never meant to inherit so soon, she suddenly finds herself responsible for the fate of the world.

Can Mani piece everything together and harness her newfound powers in time to save humanity?

Antonia Maxwell is a writer and editor based in North Essex and Cambridge, UK. With a degree in Modern Languages and a longstanding career as a book editor, she has a lifelong curiosity for language and words, and a growing fascination in the power of story – the way it shapes our lives and frames our experience.

DREAMSLINGER de Graci Kim

Amari and the Night Brothers meets Pokémon in this thrilling start to Graci Kim’s brand-new fantasy series where dragons and phoenixes roam the skies of Seoul; meals magically appear based on your mood; and dreams literally come to life.

DREAMSLINGER (Book 1)
by Graci Kim
Disney Hyperion, April 2025
(via Writers House)

Fourteen-year-old Aria Loveridge lives at the Resthaven Home for Dreamslingers, a safe haven for children born with a genetic mutation that transports them to a powerfully magical realm while they sleep. But this magic can be unpredictable—even deadly. After all, it was only ten years ago when members of the Royal League of Dreamslingers caused the Great Outburst—a tragedy that killed hundreds of people, including Aria’s mom.

Since then, Aria’s dad has become leading expert on Dreamslinger Welfare, which means Aria knows better than most what it takes to keep society safe from her, and others like her: separation, identification, and most importantly, power suppression.

So when the Kingdom of Royal Hanguk—home of the Dreamslinger League—announces the first Dreamslinger trials where teenage slingers from around the world are invited to compete for a chance to join the League and learn how to use their powers, Aria knows what she must do: join the trials and take down the League from the inside.

But the Trials introduce Aria to a world of wonderous magic and friendship, a world where she finally feels like she belongs. And as dark secrets from the past are revealed—ones that make Aria question her very identity—she becomes even more determined to discover the truth for herself. She just has to survive the trials first.

Graci Kim is the New York Times best-selling author of The Last Fallen Star and The Last Fallen Moon, the first two books in the Gifted Clans trilogy. A Korean Kiwi diplomat turned author, Graci writes about the magic she wants to see in the world. In a previous life she used to be a cooking show host, and she once ran a business that turned children’s drawings into cuddly toys. When she’s not lost in her imagination, you’ll find Graci drinking flat whites, eating ramyeon, and most likely hugging a dog (or ideally, many). She lives in New Zealand with her husband and daughter. Follow her on Instagram @GraciKimWrites and find her at GraciKim.com.

THE FREEDOM OF FALLING d’Arriel Vinson

Sold in a 7-publisher auction, debut author and Reese’s Book Club Fellow Arriel Vinson delivers an outstanding novel-in-verse about a girl who falls in love at the roller-skating rink—the only place in the world where she feels whole.

THE FREEDOM OF FALLING
by Arriel Vinson
Putnam/ Penguin Random House, Summer 2025
(via Writers House)

Jaelyn Coleman wants nothing more than to go to WestSide Roll skating rink every weekend like she always does with her best friend Noelle. As Arriel says, like many Black families, her parents—before they got divorced—made roller skating a tradition. But Jaelyn learns that her place of refuge is shutting down by the middle of the summer. Her neighbourhood is being gentrified. Which means she and her best friend might grow apart even more. Trey—the guy she just met at the rink—may become a distant memory. And the place where her family was essentially made will be gone. But, Jaelyn realizes that no one can take away what she loves, and that skating is about keeping community alive.

With searing intelligence, THE FREEDOM OF FALLING explores female friendship, complicated family relationships, and growing into confidence. But at its heart, it’s about learning to let your emotions be free. The freedom to fall in love, maybe with your cute boyfriend, but also with your family who you thought you had lost.

Arriel Vinson is a Reese’s Book Club LitUp Fellow and Midwesterner who writes about being young, Black, and in search of freedom. She earned her MFA in Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College. Her poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in Shondaland, Kweli Journal, Catapult, The Rumpus, Waxwing, and others. A Tin House YA Scholar, 2020 Walter Grant recipient, and 2019 Kimbilio Fellow, her work has been nominated for Best New Poets 2020, Best of the Net 2019, and a Pushcart Prize.

LitUp by Reese’s Book Club is working to break down systematic barriers in traditional book publishing and provide opportunities for underrepresented women storytellers. The program provides powerful resources for diverse writers to get started and get their books onto our shelves through a writers retreat, a mentorship with Reese’s Book Club alumni authors, and marketing through Reese’s Book Club channels, including spotlights on their Instagram, features in their newsletter, and videos on TikTok.

VERY DANGEROUS THINGS de Lauren Muñoz

From the author of Suddenly a Murder comes a smart, twisty whodunnit—set on one very unique school campus, and filled with love, betrayal, and deadly secrets. Perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Maureen Johnson.

VERY DANGEROUS THINGS
by Lauren Muñoz
Penguin Random House, May 2025
(via Writers House)

The dead body should have been fake. It wasn’t.

Dulce Castillo is determined to win the murder mystery game her crime and criminology magnet school stages every fall. Last year’s loss to her ex-best friend’s team wasn’t only humiliating; it kept her from winning the $60,000 prize money she and her dad need to keep living in the town she loves. But Dulce is sure this year will be different because she and her friend Emi have a secret weapon: Zane, the new transfer student, who somehow knows everything about forensics.

It doesn’t hurt that he’s as cute as ten puppies wearing bunny ears.

The school’s golden boy, Xavier Torres, is chosen to play the victim. Unfortunately, someone wants Xavier dead for real. When he’s found murdered in the school greenhouse, the primary suspect is his girlfriend, Sierra. She swears she’s being railroaded by the sheriff, but the evidence against her is overwhelming: It shows that she stabbed Xavier with a poison-tipped knitting needle because he dumped her when he found out she was having a fling with his brother.

Sierra begs Dulce for help clearing her name, but Dulce refuses. After all, this is the same ex-bff who lied about why Dulce’s mom died in a car wreck three years ago. But when the prize committee decides to offer up the $60,000 to whoever solves Xavier’s real murder, Dulce has no choice but to throw her monocle in the ring. When she finds evidence that Sierra might be innocent and that someone she cares about might be guilty, Dulce has to determine whether justice is more important than love.

Lauren Muñoz is a writer, lawyer, and former teacher living in Southern California. She received her J.D. from Northwestern University in Chicago, where she frequently skipped class to commune with her sun lamp. When she’s not reading, she can be found knitting, crocheting, and collecting recipes for things she’ll never bake.

BEHIND THE CRIMSON CURTAIN d’E.B. Golden

Firin and Bregan never should have met, let alone started a relationship that would haunt them their whole lives.

BEHIND THE CRIMSON CURTAIN
by E.B. Golden
47 North/(Amazon, September 2024
(via Laura Dail Literary Agency)

Firin is a face-changing con artist trained by her domineering father. Bregan is an actor turned heroic leader in the Reform movement that’s overthrowing the coal-choked island of Luisonn.

As the flames of revolt settle, Firin joins Bregan on the stage. She’s determined to create a life with the honorable man she never forgot. But love and truth are hard to hide—especially when one of Firin’s victims, now President, chooses Bregan as his right-hand man. In a web of war and false identities, Firin must choose a side. Will the price of freedom be her heart?

« A steamy, epic romance with two backdrops — a revolution and the theater — that somehow work together perfectly.” – Ali Hazelwood, author of The Love Hypothesis and other TikTok sensations/New York Times bestsellers

“A lyrically haunting love story masterfully woven into a world that is a poignant mirror to our own. Genre fans will be enraptured by the morally gray cast, shocking plot twists, and imaginative foray into the world of theater. Fans of Erin Morgenstern, Shannon Chakraborty, and R.F. Kuang will be undone. Perfect for readers who love their fantasy razor sharp. » – J. Elle, New York Times bestselling author of House of Marionne and Wings of Ebony

Though born and raised on the coast of Maine, E.B. Golden spends most of her free time exploring the mountains of southwest Colorado with her husband and daughter. Since she could hold a pen, she’s used speculative fiction to make sense of a nonsensical world, and when she’s not writing, she’s usually traveling or coaching other writers, because the world always needs more stories.