Archives de catégorie : Nos incontournables

QUEST KIDS AND THE DRAGON PANTS OF GOLD de Mark Leiknes

Comics artist Mark Leiknes delivers a laugh-out-loud story set in a fantastic world of dragons, rock creatures, and golden loungewear. This first book in a trilogy is A Series of Unfortunate Events meets Diary of a Wimpy Kid—introducing readers to a (mostly) fearless fellowship of adventurers, the Quest Kids!

QUEST KIDS AND THE DRAGON PANTS OF GOLD
by Mark Leiknes
‎ Union Square Kids/Sterling, September 2022
(via Writers House)

Okay, QUEST KIDS, you’re hired, but if I don’t have my super-soft zip-up golden track jacket in one year’s time, this town is toast. DRAGON OUT!
The Quest Kids are ready for their first real quest. This time, they won’t oversleep, they won’t be put off by a little rain, and they won’t accidentally burn down the village that hired them. All they have to do is find the Golden-Fleeced Rage Beast, shave it, and make a really nice golden track suit to appease a furious dragon. Simple, right? I mean, check out their crew: Gil, a wizard (well, wizard in training. . . the beard isn’t his); Terra, a 700-year old elf kid; Boulder, a rock troll who, okay, is more of a cook than a fighter; Ace, a flatulent pig-dog-maybe-lizard hybrid; and Ned—their intrepid and overly optimistic leader with his own personal quest: to solve the mystery of his missing parents.
With humor, magic, mystery, and at least one acid swamp filled with skeletal alligators, QUEST KIDS AND THE DRAGON PANTS OF GOLD is a richly illustrated saga of fantasy friendship that’s sure to thrill and crack up readers from all kingdoms! Mark already has the next titles lined up, too – Quest Kids and the Dark Prophecy of Doug (2023), and Quest Kids and the Mystery of the Goblin Gazebo (2024).

Mark Leiknes lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his wife and three kids. He produced a nationally syndicated comic strip (Cow & Boy) for eight years and now he writes and illustrates books for kids. Mark studied graphic design in college and honed his comedic chops studying improv and sketch comedy at the acclaimed Groundlings School. Visit him online at markleiknes.com.

STORIES TO KEEP YOU ALIVE DESPITE VAMPIRES de Ben Acker

This fourth wall–breaking middle-grade collection of spooky, scary, and spoopy stories for fans of Lemony Snicket and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark might just help you survive the night in a house full of vampires.

STORIES TO KEEP YOU ALIVE DESPITE VAMPIRES
by Ben Acker
‎ Simon & Schuster BYR, August 2022
(via Writers House)

If you are reading this book, then you must be trapped in that spooky house with those vampires. Sorry about that. But! You might just make it out if you manage to tell them one scary story each night in accordance with standard vampire rules. Don’t know any scary stories? Good thing you found this book! Every tale in this tome is true…more or less (more more than less).
You get a little bit of everything in this monster mash: from hitchhiking phantoms to women in white, a carnivore beast that loves a good vacation to a haunted mannequin with a bug problem, killer phones, concerned werewolves, you name it. Everything you need to keep those vampires on the edge of their seats—and well away from your neck.
But beware…don’t get too comfortable. Names have power, and if you whisper about too many things in the dark, they might just hear you.

Ben Acker is best known as the cocreator and writer of The Thrilling Adventure Hour, a monthly comedic variety stage show and podcast in the style of old-timey radio. That would have been enough. Acker has written for television, comic books, and actual radio. STORIES TO KEEP YOU ALIVE DESPITE VAMPIRES is his first book about defeating vampires with the power of storytelling.

THAT SELF-SAME METAL de Brittany N. Williams

A stunning YA fantasy debut, perfect for fans of Holly Black and Justina Ireland, about a Black girl (and sword expert) fighting a Fae uprising in Shakespearean London.

THAT SELF-SAME METAL
by Brittany N. Williams
Amulet/ Abrams, April2023
(via Writers House)

Sixteen-year-old Joan Sands is a gifted craftswoman who creates and upkeeps the stage blades for William Shakespeare’s acting company, The King’s Men. Joan’s skill with her blades comes from a magical ability to control metal—an ability gifted by her Head Orisha, Ogun. Because her whole family is Orisha-blessed, the Sands family have always kept tabs on the Fae presence in London. Usually that doesn’t involve much except noting the faint glow around a Fae’s body as they try to blend in with London society, but lately, there has been an uptick in brutal Fae attacks. After Joan wounds a powerful Fae and saves the son of a cruel Lord, she is drawn into political intrigue in the human and Fae worlds.
Swashbuckling, romantic, and full of the sights and sounds of Shakespeare’s London, this series starter delivers an unforgettable story—and a heroine unlike any other.

Brittany N. Williams is an actress, writer, Co-Artistic Director of The NOLA Project, and nerd of many fandoms. She’s performed across three continents—including a year spent as a principal vocalist at Hong Kong Disneyland—and her writing has been featured on BlackNerdProblems.com, Tor.com, in The Indypendent, The Gambit, Fireside Magazine, and in the Star Wars anthology From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back.

THE BLACK QUEEN de Jumata Emill

Sold in a 6-figure pre-empt, Jumata Emill’s debut is at once a fast-paced and ingenious thriller, as well as being an exploration of white privilege, systemic racism—brimming with small-town secrets, Southern Gothic atmosphere, and twists galore. Perfect for fans of White Rabbit and One of Us is Lying.

THE BLACK QUEEN
by Jumata Emill
‎ Delacorte, February 2023
(via Writers House)

Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is dead. Murdered the night of her coronation, her body found the next morning in the old slave cemetery she spent her weekends rehabilitating.
Tinsley McArthur was supposed to be queen. Not only is she beautiful, wealthy and white, it’s her legacy—her grandmother, mother, and even her sister wore the crown before her. Everyone in Lovett knows Tinsley would do anything to carry on the McArthur tradition.
No one is more certain of that than Duchess Simmons—Nova’s best friend. Duchess’s father is the first Black police captain in Lovett. For Duchess, Nova’s crown was more than just a win for Nova. It was a win for all the Black kids. Now her best friend is dead, and her father won’t face the fact that the main suspect is right in front of his face. Duchess is convinced Tinsley killed Nova. And that Tinsley is privileged enough to think she can get away with it. But Duchess’s father seems to be doing what he always does: falling behind the blue line. That could mean the white girl is going to walk free.
Duchess is determined to prove Tinsley’s guilt. And to do that, she’ll have to get close to her. Only Tinsley has an agenda, too. Everyone loved Nova. And sometimes, love is exactly what gets you killed.

Jumata Emill is an award-winning Louisiana journalist who has covered crime and local politics in towns that share stark similarities to the one he created for this book. He’s a recent alum of the 2018 Pitch Wars mentee class and member of the Crime Writers of Color.

AFTER DARK WITH ROXIE CLARK de Brooke Lauren Davis

For fans of Kara Thomas and Cruel Summer, a gripping new YA novel about a girl who revels in all things macabre. . . until a chilling murder hits closer to home.

AFTER DARK WITH ROXIE CLARK
by Brooke Lauren Davis
Bloomsbury, October 2022
(via Writers House)

Whistler, Indiana has suffered more than its fair share of misfortunes—everything from sudden drownings to poisoning conspiracies to unsolved disappearances. And almost every bad thing can be traced back to the Clark family. Some people even believe they are cursed. But instead of cowering from her family’s past, Roxie Clark is fascinated by it. Combining her flare for performance with her obsession with all things horror, she’s woven her ancestors’ history into a lucrative ghost tour that has quickly become infamous all over the state.
But six months ago, a shocking tragedy rattled Roxie’s world when Colin Riley—her sister Skylar’s boyfriend—was found stabbed to death in a cornfield. Skylar is distraught, and Roxie is desperate to help her find answers and closure. Instead, Skylar becomes fixated on finding the killer. As the two young women dig into the mystery, Roxie realizes that everyone in town may hiding something. . . and maybe some secrets are best left untold. Brooke Lauren Davis offers another thought-provoking and eerily satisfying tale.

Brooke Lauren Davis grew up in rural Southern Ohio. Now she lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where she divides her time between working as an indie bookseller and dreaming up more stories about small towns with big secrets. Her debut novel The Hollow Inside was published by Bloomsbury in 2021.