THE GATEKEEPER de James Byrne

With a sharp narrative voice, action-packed and propulsive plot, great characters and a protagonist that rivals Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X, The Gatekeeper introduces one of the best new thriller series in years.

THE GATEKEEPER (Dez Limerick #1)
by James Byrne
Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press, publication date TBD (voir catalogue)

Dez Limerick is a retired mercenary. In his past life he was a gatekeeper, someone who opens doors that others can’t; but he has put that life behind him. He is checking out sunny California when he finds himself in the wrong place at the right time, interrupting the kidnapping attempt of the daughter of a military equipment corporation’s CEO. As a result, Dez becomes involved in helping her uncover a plot buried deep within her own company—one that turns out to be bigger, more dangerous, and more personal at every turn.

James Byrne is a journalist by day and a novelist by night. He lives in Portland, Oregon. THE GATEKEEPER is the first Dez Limerick thriller.

THE ENDANGEREDS by Philippe Cousteau & Austin Aslan

The A-Team meets Endling in this middle-grade duology about four animals who decide to take fate into their own paws—by environmentalist, award-winning author, and Xploration Awesome Planet host Philippe Cousteau and TURBO Racers author Austin Aslan.

THE ENDANGEREDS #1
by Philippe Cousteau & Austin Aslan
HarperCollins Children’s, September 2020
Ages 8 -12

Humans had their chance to be in charge and look where that got us. Temperatures are rising, ice caps are melting, and innocent animals are in trouble. It is time for someone else to take over and fix this mess. It is time for . . . the Endangereds. One super-strong polar bear. One pangolin with a genius for engineering. One extremely sarcastic narwhal. And one orangutan with a dream. What more do you need to save the world? Together, these four unlikely heroes are determined to save endangered species across the globe. But when two of their endangered friends get kidnapped by a villain with a dastardly agenda, the team find themselves up to their snouts in trouble. Can the Endangereds save the day? Or will this villain put humans and animals alike on the extinction list?

Philippe Cousteau is a multi-Emmy-nominated TV host, author, speaker, and social entrepreneur. He has spoken at the United Nations, Harvard University, and across the world about environmental issues, and hosted numerous TV programs for Discovery, BBC, CNN, Travel Channel and more. Currently he is the host of the syndicated television show Xploration Awesome Planet and producer/narrator of a new Virtual Reality experience Drop in the Ocean.
Austin Aslan is the author of the TURBO Racers series and the Islands at the End of the World series. A National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, he can often be found camping in a tent on a punctured air mattress. In other lives, Austin drove ambulances way too fast, served as an ecotourism Peace Corps volunteer in a Honduran cloud forest, and managed a variety of campaigns.

FACELESS de Kathryn Lasky

Newbery Honor-winner Kathryn Lasky, author of the Guardians of Ga’hoole series, delivers a riveting middle-grade historical fiction novel about young British spies on a secret mission in Germany in WWII.

FACELESS
by Kathryn Lasky
HarperCollins Children’s, May 2021
Ages 8 -12

Over the centuries, unbeknownst to all, a small clan of spies has worked ceaselessly to fight oppression. They are called the Tabula Rasa. They can pass unseen through enemy lines, eavesdrop on conversations, and « become » other people without being recognized. They are, essentially, faceless. Alice and Louise Winfield are sisters and spies in the Tabula Rasa. They’re growing up in war-time England, where the threat of Nazi occupation is ever near. But Louise wants to live an ordinary life, and she tires of spy missions. When she leaves the agency, Alice must face her most dangerous assignment yet, without her sister at her side. As Alice prepares for her new mission, she must head into Hitler’s inner sanctum in Germany to report on the Nazis. She fears the threat of discovery, but, worst of all, she fears losing her own sister. This novel is a mix of espionage and historical adventure. Lasky masterfully spins a tale filled with mystery, suspense and intrigue.

Kathryn Lasky is a New York Times bestselling author of many children’s and young adult books, which include her Tangled in Time series; her recent picture book She Caught the Light, her bestselling series Guardians of Ga’Hoole, which was made into the Warner Bros. movie Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole; and her picture book Sugaring Time, awarded a Newbery Honor. She has twice won the National Jewish Book Award, for her novel The Night Journey and her picture book Marven of the Great North Woods. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband.

HIDE AND DON’T SEEK d’Anica Mrose Rissi

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark meets Black Mirror. From wicked dolls to demanding crows to zombies that just can’t stand string cheese, this new contemporary collection of original scary short stories by Anica Mrose Rissi is sure to elicit chills, laughs, and screams.

HIDE AND DON’T SEEK
by Anica Mrose Rissi
Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins, May 2021
Ages 8 – 12

If you’re feeling brave, turn the page. A game of hide-and-seek goes on far too long… A look-alike doll makes itself right at home… A school talent-show act leaves the audience aghast… And a summer at camp takes a turn for the braaaains… This collection of all-new spooky stories is sure to keep readers up past their bedtimes—laughing, gasping, and looking over their shoulders to see what goes bump in the night. Anica Mrose Rissi’s collection of tales feels both classic and immediate, bone-chillingly scary and somehow incredibly funny at the same time.

Anica Mrose Rissi grew up on an island off the coast of Maine, where she read a lot of books and loved a lot of pets. She now tells and collects stories, makes up songs on her violin, and eats cheese with her friends in Princeton, New Jersey, where she lives with her dog, Arugula. Anica is the author of more than a dozen other books for kids and teens, including the Anna, Banana chapter-book series and Nobody Knows But You.

RED WOLF de Rachel Vincent

This high stakes, pacey reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood is perfect for fans of Stephanie Garber and Megan Spooner.

RED WOLF
by Rachel Vincent
HarperTeen, June 2021
Ages 14 +

For as long as sixteen-year-old Adele can remember the village of Oakvale has been surrounding by the dark woods—a forest filled with terrible monsters that light cannot penetrate. Like every person who grows up in Oakvale she has been told to steer clear of the woods unless absolutely necessary. But unlike her neighbors in Oakvale, Adele has a very good reason for going into the woods. Adele is one of a long line of guardians, women who are able to change into wolves and who are tasked with the job of protecting their village while never letting any of the villagers know of their existence. But when following her calling means abandoning the person she loves, the future she imagined for herself, and her values she must decide how far she is willing to go to keep her neighbors safe.

Rachel Vincent is the New York Times bestselling author of several pulse-pounding series for teens and adults, including Shifters and Menagerie. A former English teacher and champion of the serial comma, Rachel hopes to spend the rest of her life with her fingers on the keyboard and her head in the clouds. She lives with her husband and two children in Oklahoma.