Archives de catégorie : Frankfurt 2023 Children’s Books

FOUR LETTER WORD de Gretchen McNeil

In this pulse pounding thriller, Izzy and her family welcome an exchange student into their home. But after a series of mishaps and coincidences, and with a serial killer on the loose, Izzy begins to suspect the young man is not who he seems.

FOUR LETTER WORD
by Gretchen McNeil
Disney Hyperion, March 2024
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

For most of her life, Izzy has been looking forward to fulfilling her mother’s dream of studying abroad in Italy. Going into her senior year, Izzy is counting down the days until she can leave her humdrum life behind, until Alberto, a handsome and mysterious Italian exchange student shows up for his stay with her family. Now life in her hometown doesn’t seem so drab, as Izzy, and everyone else, is immediately charmed by Alberto and his irresistible accent.

But something about Alberto isn’t quite…right. As an avid true crime fan, Izzy has been following a serial killer case in San Francisco and the murderer, whose description bears a passing resemblance to the Italian exchange student living in her house, seems to have made his way north. As Izzy pays closer attention to Alberto—his actions, his temper—she finds more and more holes in his story that he has trouble explaining away.

When a local girl is murdered, Izzy thinks Alberto might not be who he seems. Worse, a series of “accidents” seem to target Izzy herself. In a race against the clock, Izzy must convince anyone that Alberto could be a notorious killer before another girl ends up dead.

Gretchen McNeil is the author of #NoEscape, I’m Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl, Possess, 3:59, Relic, and Ten which was adapted as the Lifetime original movie Ten: Murder Island in 2017, as well as Get Even and Get Dirty, adapted as the series Get Even which is streaming worldwide on BBC iPlayer and Netflix.

LIE UNTIL IT’S TRUE de Jessie Weaver

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder meets Knives Out in this haunting YA thriller. To redeem herself, true crime TikToker Amanda Pruitt spends the summer in Colorado investigating a murder that seems open and shut. But when two crimes—one past, one present—intertwine, Amanda becomes the main suspect.

LIE UNTIL IT’S TRUE
by Jessie Weaver
Disney Hyperion, May 2024
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

Amanda Pruitt needs redemption. She is the one, after all, who turned her sister in for murder and anonymously broadcasted her trial to millions on TikTok. And she was wrong. Her sister is innocent, making Amanda the villain—not the hero—all along.

So when her childhood best friend’s mom is arrested for murdering an eccentric billionaire and refuses to give a statement, Amanda decides to help solve the crime. This could be her second chance. If she can use her TikTok to get the public on her friend’s side, the police will have to reopen the investigation.

The plan? Stay the summer with her aunt who is the concierge at the Summit, a historic (read: haunted) hotel in the mountains that also happens to be the scene of the crime. Investigate the billionaire’s murder. Win back her estranged bestie Vincent.

Not the plan? See a ghost. Fall for Vincent. Black out and lose 15 minutes of her life. Wake up to find the dead body of a frenemy.

Amanda and Vincent must work together to find the killer, or Amanda risks going down for a murder she isn’t quite sure she didn’t commit. Set in a possibly haunted hotel and including TikTok interstitials, this is the perfect follow up to Live Your Best Lie.

Before writing about flawed, funny teens with big hearts, Jessie Weaver spent ten years teaching them English. She completed the Stanford University online novel writing program in 2019. Though she’s an East Coast girl at heart, she currently lives in Colorado with her husband and two daughters.

ALI CROSS: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL de James Patterson

Don’t miss a minute of this action-packed thrill ride—#1 New York Times bestseller ALI CROSS in fullcolor!

ALI CROSS: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL
by James Patterson
JIMMY Patterson, July 2024
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

Ali Cross has always dreamed of following in the footsteps of his father, famous detective Alex Cross, who never gives up on a case. Ali’s chance to prove himself arrives sooner than he might think when his best friend, Gabe, goes missing.

But the more Ali digs, the more he realizes maybe he didn’t know his friend as well as he thought. At the same time, his house is hit in a string of burglaries. With his father on trial for a crime he didn’t commit, Ali is on his own to piece together the clues. Will Ali be able to trust his instincts and find his friend—or is he in over his head?

This action-packed, page-turning, full-color graphic novel is a blockbuster addition to any shelf.

James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author. The creator of Max Einstein and Middle School, he founded JIMMY Patterson to publish books that young readers will love. He lives in Florida with his family.

MINERVA KEEN’S DETECTIVE CLUB de James Patterson et Keir Graff

James Patterson has just created the most spine-tingling, creepycrawling, giggle-producing kid’s detective club ever.That’s ever.

MINERVA KEEN’S DETECTIVE CLUB
Minerva Keen #1
by James Patterson and Keir Graff
‎ JIMMY Patterson, May 2023
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

Living in the luxurious Arcanum building—with its interior balconies perfect for playing tag, an elevator like an iron birdcage, and quirky neighbors behind every apartment door—has always been fun and games for twelve-year-old Minerva Keen…until her neighbors start getting poisoned. Anyone could be next, and everyone is a suspect, including Minerva herself.

To clear her name and help the police crack the case, Minerva starts her own detective club. So what if it has only two other members, one being Minerva’s accident-prone daredevil brother and the other being the biggest and quietest kid in school, who happens to be afraid of his own shadow? Minerva knows that with her brainpower, the club’s sleuthing skills, and case files full of suspects, they can unmask the poisoner…hopefully before it’s too late.

This page-turning new mystery series is packed with thrills, chills, laughs, and unforgettable characters and will leave kids eager to join the best club around.

Keir Graff is thrilled to collaborate with James Patterson on the Minerva Keen series. His funny and fantastical middle-grade adventure novels include The Tiny Mansion, The Phantom Tower (a Chicago Tribune Best Children’s Book), and The Matchstick Castle (an official Illinois Reads selection). He lives in Chicago.

FATHOM FORCE de Mike de Seve

Dive into a world of adventure, where four ordinary teensbecome extraordinary ocean protectors.

FATHOM FORCE
by Mike de Seve
TBD
(via The Lennon-Ritchie Agency)

Four ordinary teens find themselves with extraordinary powers to transform into sea creatures when an ancient order recruitsthem to protect the world’s oceans. Guided by their mentor Pierre and a shape-shifting vessel endowed with the collectiveconsciousness of the Elders, heroes Jaden, Parker, Yu Qi and Logan must dig deep and discover that they have what it takes tostop worldwide evil from destroying the world’s oceans. Together they are … the Fathom Force!

Mike de Seve is an Emmy-nominated animation writer and director working in feature films and television. He is founder of Baboon Animation, acollective of some of the most accomplished animation writers in the US, with 31 Emmys among them and clients including Disney, Netflix,Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Warner Brothers. At DreamWorks, Mike was a script consultant on six films, including Madagascar (on which hewas also a sequence director), Shrek 2 and Shrek 3, and he co-wrote the original story, with Mark Osborne, for Monsters VS Aliens. At Paramount,Mike was a director and writer on the feature film Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. In Television, Mike has head-written for and/or directed suchiconic series as Angry Birds Toons, Sesame Street, Pocoyo and Saturday Night Live, and for numerous major clients such as Disney, WarnerBros., Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and DreamWorks He’s lately focused on applying his company’s skills and relationships toward progressivecauses – such as the launch of Baboon Animation Africa, integrating BIPOC talent into the industry, and addressing climate change with fun kids’content.