Archives de catégorie : Children’s Books

NO ONE LEFT BUT YOU de Tash McAdam

Own voices for trans identity and struggles with anxiety and depression, NO ONE LEFT BUT YOU will appeal to fans of Malinda Lo’s A Line in the Dark, Angelline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter, and the TV show Euphoria.

NO ONE LEFT BUT YOU
by Tash McAdam
Soho Teen, November 2023
(via The Rights Factory)

Newly out trans guy Max is having a hard time in school. Things have been tough since his summer romance turned on him. This year, his plan is to keep his head down and make sure he graduates. All that changes when new It-girl Gloss moves to town.

No one understands why perfect, polished Gloss is so interested in an introverted skater kid, but Max blooms in the hothouse of her attention. Swept along in the riptide of burgeoning popularity, it doesn’t matter to Max that Gloss is making all the decisions, choosing his clothes, what he does and who he hangs out with. Caught somewhere between romance and obsession, he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her on his side.

Haircut, makeovers, drugs, parties. It’s all fun and games until someone gets stabbed in the throat. When Gloss confesses to murdering his ex, Max refuses to believe that she did it. If she did, he’ll have lost the two most important people in his life in one night. Trying to collect evidence that will exonerate his only friend, Max veers dangerously close to being implicated—and his own memories of that awful night are fuzzy. He has to figure out who’s lying, even if it turns out to be himself.

Tash McAdam is a Welsh-Canadian author, activist, and high school educator. Their publications include The Psionics (Nine Star Press), and the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections Blood Sport and Sink Or Swim (Orca Books). They are also featured in multiple anthologies. Tash is a recipient of the Shoot for the Moon fund for trans writers, and a founding mentor with the Gender Generations Project. When they’re not writing or reading you can probably find Tash in a lake, lying on the carpet thinking about monsters, or getting a new tattoo. They enjoy regular cups of tea, existential philosophy, and sharp objects.

MY NAME IS MAGIC de Xan van Rooyen

For fans of witchcraft and wizardry looking for a new, inclusive story, MY NAME IS MAGIC, is a story about finding strength from within and potential where you least expected it.

MY NAME IS MAGIC
by Xan van Rooyen
Tiny Ghost Press, September 2022
(via The Rights Factory)

Despite coming from a long line of powerful Finnish mages, and their name literally meaning magic, Taika can’t perform the simplest of spells.

Forced to attend Myrskyjärvi International School for the Magically Gifted on account of their mom being principal, Taika has a hard time fitting in. Sometimes, they wonder if not having magic has something to do with the fact they’re neither a girl nor a boy and if they’re fated to be Taika the Talentless forever.

Life goes from bad to worse when Taika sees a liekkiö and recognizes the spirit’s voice begging for help as that of their former BFF and major crush, Natalie Khumalo, whose recent absence from class hadn’t gone unnoticed. When more students go missing, Taika must take the lead in a race against time to save friends old and new before a powerful group of chaos mages can unleash the legendary Sampo, an artifact capable of either renewing the world’s waning magic or destroying everything Taika holds dear.

To rescue Natalie, Taika will have to journey to the liminal space between worlds where they’ll be forced to battle mythical monsters and their own flagging self-esteem. In doing so, Taika might just discover that magic—and love—comes in many different forms.

Xan van Rooyen is a genderqueer, tattooed storyteller from South Africa. They currently live in Finland where they find the heavy metal soothing and the cold, dark forests inspiring. Although they have a Master’s degree in music, Xan prefers conjuring strange worlds and creating quirky characters. When they grow up, they want to be an elf—until then, they spend their time (when not writing) climbing, buying far too many books, and entertaining their shiba inu, Lego.

UNFAMILIAR de Haley Newsome

Based on the wildly popular webcomic from Tapas, UNFAMILIAR is an endearing and whimsical story full of magical mayhem, offbeat outsiders, and the power of friendships and found family.

UNFAMILIAR
by Haley Newsome
Andrews McMeel, 2022 – 2023

Volume 1 (December 2022)

Young kitchen witch Planchette gets an incredible deal on a new house in a magical town. Turns out, there’s a reason: it’s haunted! After unsuccessfully attempting to get these unwanted ghosts to leave, she realizes the only thing to do is to help them with their problems. Along the way, she befriends a shy siren who hates being popular, a girl battling a curse, and a magically-challenged witch from a powerful coven.

Volume 2 (October 2023)

More magical mayhem ensues as Planchette and her new witch friends try to help a ghost bride rest in peace. Join them as they work together to handle a blackmailing Faerie King, a possible new romance, and an overnight camping trip in a profoundly evil forest.

Unfamiliar is bursting with offbeat charm, a vibrant cast of teen witches, and hilarious familiar sidekicks. Set in an intriguing magical world, this series is a hit with fantasy readers of all ages.

Haley Newsome is a comic creator, illustrator, and internet artist with millions of followers across YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch. She loves horror movies, animation, and ghosts. Haley has lived in Idaho, Oregon, Calgary, and Tokyo, and currently resides in Los Angeles.

MEEMS AND FEEFS de Liza N. Cooper

Meems and Feefs are ferrets from the planet Ferretonia. When they secretly carry out an experiment using Ferretonia’s forbidden Ancient Tech, it all goes wrong, and they end up crash-landing on Earth!

MEEMS AND FEEFS
(Volume 1, Ferrets from Planet Ferretonia!)
by Liza N. Cooper
Andrews McMeel, September 2023

Meems is a smart, cheeky, and tech-savvy ferret from the planet Ferretonia. Feefs is his goofy, happy-go-lucky brother. Unsatisfied and bored with their quiet life on Ferretonia, the brothers build a forbidden Travel Opal to go on adventure but accidentally bite off more than they can chew and get stuck on planet Earth with no way to get home. The ferrets journey to an animal shelter where they meet a shy teen named Liza. After using a Communication Opal on Liza to transcend language barriers, Meems and Feefs put their trust in her and embark on a race-against-time adventure, or else they’re doomed to stay on Earth forever!

Liza N. Cooper is an artist and digital content creator who goes by the pen name Siberian Lizard online. Originally born in the wild and frosty Siberia, she has since settled down in a much warmer (and wetter) London, where she lives with her two naughty ferrets and a Pomeranian puppy.

UNICORN ISLAND de Donna Galanti, illustrée par Bethany Stancliffe

Beyond the mist lies a magical secret waiting to be discovered . . . From Epic! Originals, UNICORN ISLAND is a middle-grade illustrated novel series about a young girl who discovers a mysterious island full of mythical beasts and darker dangers!

UNICORN ISLAND
by Donna Galanti and Bethany Stancliffe
Andrews McMeel, 2021 – 2023

Book 1: UNICORN ISLAND (February 2021)

When Sam arrives in Foggy Harbor, population 3,230, all she can see is a small, boring town that’s way too far from home. And knowing that she’s stuck there all summer with her grumpy Uncle Mitch only makes things worse.

But when Sam discovers a hidden trapdoor leading to a room full of strange artifacts, she realizes Foggy Harbor isn’t as sleepy as it seems. With the help of a new friend, Sam discovers an extraordinary secret beyond the fog: an island of unicorns whose fates are intertwined with hers.

Book 2: SECRET BENEATH THE SAND (March 2022)

Sam can’t believe how much her life and luck have changed since she came to Foggy Harbor: First, she discovered that unicorns are real, and now she’s on her way to becoming an actual unicorn protector! With her new friend, Tuck, by her side during Uncle Mitch’s lessons, Sam finally feels like she’s home.

But as the long-buried dangers of Unicorn Island begin to surface and a mysterious scourge spreads throughout the herd, Sam learns the truth behind Aunt Sylvie’s disappearance and her own connection to the island. With determination, courage, and fierce loyalty to one another—and to their code as unicorn protectors—the kids set out to protect the island’s secrecy and the unicorns’ very existence.

Book 3: BEYOND THE PORTAL (April 2023)

For Sam, knowing a little about her mother’s disappearance through the portal is almost worse than knowing nothing at all. Determined to distract herself, she tries to learn everything possible about caring for the herd on Unicorn Island. But when she and her friend Tuck stumble on a coded verse in The Unicorn Protector Creed, they are faced with an even greater task.

With no way of knowing what’s beyond it, Sam, Tuck, and Barloc the unicorn step through the portal and find that not only is Sam’s mother no longer a unicorn protector, she also lives in a world plagued by its own problems—and convinced that the only solution to them rests in the horn on Barloc’s head.

With the portal closing at sundown on the third day, Sam and Tuck are in a race to rescue their friend, reunite their families, and save another world from a terrible fate of its own making!

Donna Galanti wrote her first fantasy about Dodo birds, wizards, and a flying ship––and has been writing fantasy ever since. Donna is the author of the middle-grade fantasy adventure, Joshua and The Lightning Road.

Bethany Jayde Stancliffe is a Central Washington-based artist who grew up in the Rockies, where she spent her time building tree forts, reading fairy tales, and filling up sketchbooks. Having had a spectrum of creative interests since childhood ranging from architecture to animation, she has found a home in illustration, where design and storytelling meet.