Archives de catégorie : Children’s Books

SELFIE d’Allayne L. Webster

An exploration of the complexities of teen friendships and the difficulties of navigating social media in a captivating novel for younger YA readers.

SELFIE
by Allayne L. Webster
Text Publishing, April 2023

Dene Walker picked me to be her best friend. She had the whole of Tonsley High’s year eight to choose from—and she chose me. Me!

Tully can’t believe her luck. Dene is famous. Everyone loves her. She has thousands of followers online and hundreds of sponsorship deals. Being best friends with Dene Walker is a dream come true.

Before long, Tully is hardly aware of the existence of her long-time bestie, Kira, as she shapes herself into a person worthy of Dene’s attention. And she’s not prepared for the heartache and confusion when Dene’s friendship is not all she imagined it to be.

SELFIE is an engaging and very real exploration of social media and the trickiness of separating what’s real from the glossiness of the online world. It’s a tender story about friendship and staying true to yourself.

Allayne L. Webster grew up in rural South Australia and now lives in Adelaide. Her books include the CBCA notable novel Paper Planes, A Cardboard Palace, Our Little Secret, The Centre of My Everything, That Thing I Did and Sensitive, which has been selected for the 2023 IBBY catalogue.

THE SECRETS OF LOVELACE ACADEMY de Marie Benedict et Courtney Sheinmel

From New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict and Courtney Sheinmel comes a historical adventure about a young girl plucked from a London orphanage to begin attending a boarding school with more secrets than she could imagine—perfect for fans of Enola Holmes.

THE SECRETS OF LOVELACE ACADEMY (Book 1)
by Marie Benedict and Courtney Sheinmel
Aladdin (Simon & Schuster), April 2025
(via Laura Dail Literary Agency)

London, 1904.

Lainey Phillips has lived at the Sycamore Home for Orphaned Children since she was three years old. Now nearly a teenager, her life is difficult, and she doesn’t expect it to get better—until a chance encounter during an open house changes everything when Lainey meets a woman who invites her to attend the prestigious Lovelace Academy.

Fitting in amongst the many privileged students at Lovelace Academy proves challenging in a different way, though. Terrified she’ll be cast out of the academy, Lainey grabs the chance to prove herself by traveling to Switzerland to witness a female scientist craft a groundbreaking theory. The journey that includes a train, a ferry, and a mysterious boy named Gen is treacherous, but the real test is what awaits her at the home of Mileva Maric, wife of Albert Einstein.

Marie Benedict is the New York Times bestselling author of several adult books of historical fiction, including The Other Einstein, the inspiration for this book. She found her calling unearthing the hidden historical stories of women. Her mission is to excavate from the past the most important, complex, and fascinating women of history and bring them into the light of present day where readers can finally perceive the breadth of their contributions as well as the insights they bring to modern day issues. THE SECRETS OF LOVELACE ACADEMY, written with Courtney Sheinmel, is her first book for kids. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Courtney Sheinmel is the author of nearly thirty books for kids and teens, including the acclaimed Stella Batts and My Pet Slime series for young readers. Her book, Helen Keller, was part of Chelsea Clinton’s She Persisted series. Courtney received a National Scholastic Outstanding Educator Award for her work as a writing instructor at the non-profit Writopia Lab. She lives in New York City.

BLOOD AT THE ROOT de LaDarrion Williams

A teenager on the run from his past finds the family he never knew existed and the community he never knew he needed at an HCBU for the young, Black, and magical. Enroll in this fresh fantasy debut with the emotional power of Legendborn and the redefined ancestral magic of Lovecraft Country.

BLOOD AT THE ROOT (Book 1)
by LaDarrion Williams
Labyrinth Road/PRH, May 2024
(via Park & Fine Literary and Media)

At just seven years old, Malik’s life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished, and he discovered he had uncontrollable powers. For ten years, he kept his abilities hidden, looking out for himself and his younger foster brother, Taye. However, a daring act to safeguard them both reveals an unexpected connection with his long-lost grandmother: a legendary conjurer with ties to a hidden magical university that Malik’s mother attended.

At Caiman University, Malik’s eyes are opened to a future he never could have envisioned for himself— one that includes the reappearance of his first love, Alexis. His search for answers about his heritage, his powers, and what really happened to his mother exposes the cracks in their magical community as it faces a reawakened evil dating back to the Haitian Revolution. Together with Alexis, Malik discovers a lot beneath the surface at Caiman: feuding covens and magical politics, forbidden knowledge and buried mysteries.

In a wholly unique saga of family, history and community, Malik must embrace his legacy to save what’s left of his old family as well as his new one. Exploring the roots and secrets that connect us in an unforgettable contemporary setting, this heart-pounding fantasy series opener is a rich tapestry of atmosphere, intrigue, and emotion.

« [An] exuberant contemporary fantasy series opener… Williams delivers a serpentine, high-intensity celebration of Black culture, history, and power. » Publishers Weekly

« The extensive worldbuilding incorporates West African, Caribbean, and Black American history and cultures to explain a magical reality hidden from view and relevant to the Black diaspora and Malik’s family history… A well-thought-out magical world that provocatively centers Black experiences. » Kirkus Reviews

A genre-shattering amalgamation of culture, heritage, and magic. Williams’s debut is bold, gripping and utterly refreshing. » – J. Elle, NYT bestselling author of Wings of Ebony and House of Marionne

LaDarrion Williams is a Los Angeles based-playwright, filmmaker, author, and screenwriter whose goal is to cultivate a new era of Black fantasy, providing space and agency for Black characters and stories in a new, fresh, and fantastical way. LaDarrion is currently a resident playwright/co-creator of The Black Creators Collective.

GRIMOIRE SERIES de Dimitri Balcaen

Featuring neurodivergent characters, this Norse-inspired middle-grade fantasy series follows Finn Zhao and his friends as they develop their magical gifts to protect the Nine Realms. Along the way, their friendship provides the key in their battles against their most fearsome foes. Perfect for fans of Rick Riordan’s Magnus Chase series and John Flanagan’s Brotherband Chronicles.

GRIMOIRE SERIES
by Dimitri Balcaen
Readmore Publishing, January 2022 –
(via JABberwocky Literary Agency)

Autism, anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders… 1 in 5 young people struggle with a mental or psychological condition. That includes Finn and his friends. Yet that doesn’t stop them from being heroes. Follow them on their journey through Asgard and discover how they become the gods of tomorrow.

  

Dimitri Balcaen is a Belgian novelist and screenwriter, author of the Peter & Pan series, a captivating fusion of the beloved childhood narrative of Peter Pan with the enchanting tapestry of Greek mythology. He is also the founder of Publishing House ReadMore. In 2020, he released the first volume in a seven-part series called Grimoire. These stories were specifically aimed at young people struggling with psychosocial issues such as autism, eating disorders, anxiety disorders and depression.

THE NIGHTFALL BAZAAR DUOLOGY de Catelyn Wilson

Stephanie Garber’s Caraval series meets Mary E. Pearson’s Dance of Thieves series in this sweeping fantasy about a young woman caught in a game of cat-andmouse with the silver-tongued king of a magical island.

THE NIGHTFALL BAZAAR DUOLOGY
by Catelyn Wilson
(via JABberwocky Literary Agency)

#1 THESE WICKED STARS (October 2022)

Remember, if you know what you want, you’ll never find it.
Hazel Blackthorn is an outcast, the bastard daughter of a nameless sailor and a disgraced mother. She will do anything to marry her secret fiancé and escape her oppressive life. When her fiancé announces he must marry her cousin in order to save his family’s crumbling business, Hazel is heartbroken and her hope for the future crushed. But a kind old man offers her salvation: Travel to the mythical Bazaar that visits the island once every thirty years and return before the end of the festival with medicine he needs, and she will have all the riches in the world. Gripped by hope, Hazel accepts.
But in the Bazaar, a place where the gods themselves used to dwell, Hazel can trust nothing. In a world where you can buy time and purchase power, wicked merchants wield cruel magic. As she travels further into the Bazaar, searching for the medicine her benefactor desires, she becomes enmeshed in a game of cat and mouse with the all-powerful King of the Bazaar, a man with a silver-tongue and shadowy past.
As time runs out and the Bazaar threatens to trap Hazel forever, she begins to unravel the mystery of the Bazaar and why the King wants her for himself. But Hazel must decide if her desire for her freedom is worth the cost the Bazaar demands—and if the love she thought she needed is the one she truly deserves.

#2 THESE FALLEN GODS (December 2023)

« There is a darkness in me. A hunger. A lust for power. The appetite of a god. »
The Bazaar has fallen, Zaire is gone, and Adelaide is alive. But Hazel Blackthorn has never felt more alone.
With her sister sick from the lotus flower, and haunted by powers she doesn’t understand, Hazel struggles to come to terms with who she is. When she and Cassian learn of strange, cataclysmic events across the world, it is clear their time has run out. The gods are rising.
Hazel learns that the answers to defeating the gods and saving Adelaide may be hidden far away in ancient archives. She and Cassian leave Veara island and embark on a journey across the sea. But the gods have not been forgotten in these new lands, and their followers are eager to serve their masters and deliver Hazel back to Irra.
Fighting old enemies and traveling with new allies, Hazel must confront her identity and master her powers if she hopes to save the world from the wrath of hungry gods. And as Cassian battles his own past and his endless curse, the two risk losing their bond forever.

Catelyn Wilson writes YA Fantasy with a splash of romance. She loves incorporating mythology into her books and firmly believes morally grey is the way to any woman’s heart. She has an unhealthy obsession with Jane Austen, sunscreen, and animals. She lives in Texas with her husband and mini-Aussie, Churro.