WITH GREAT POWER: The Marvelous Stan Lee, d’Annie Hunter Eriksen, illustré par Lee Gatlin

Stan Lee didn’t have hulking strength. Or fantastic flexibility. Or cat-like reflexes. His superpower was creating heroes who did.

WITH GREAT POWER: The Marvelous Stan Lee
by Annie Hunter Eriksen
illustrated by Lee Gatlin
Page Street Kids, September 2021

Every superhero has their origin story: a radioactive spider bite turns ordinary teen Peter Parker into Spider-Man, wealthy Tony Stark escapes captivity by building his Iron Man suit, scientist Bruce Banner survives gamma rays only to transform into the Hulk.
For Stan Lee, it was books of adventure, monsters, and magic that helped him transform from an ordinary boy to a superstar superhero creator. At first, reading these stories was a pathway to a world bigger than his family’s tiny apartment in New York City, but it wasn’t long until Stan was crafting his own stories, creating comics professionally when he was still just a teenager! Still, writing wasn’t exciting when the heroes were always the same: strong, perfect, and boring. Stan had a revolutionary idea. What if anyone―even an ordinary kid―could be a superhero?
Discover more about the life of the Cameo King, known to many for his appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and how he revolutionized comics with this vibrant introduction bustling with action, humor, and references for fans new and old. ‘Nuff said!

Annie Hunter Eriksen grew up with a love of superheroes, and remains a huge Marvel nerd to this day. Her favorite comic book series is Ms. Marvel. She works as a freelance writer and lives in Ohio with her husband, cat named Cosmo, and hedgehog named Pineapple.

Lee Gatlin learned to draw by looking at cartoons, kids’ books, and comics. He is the illustrator of the Monster School by Kate Coombs (Chronicle). In addition to drawing and making things, he enjoys making a racket on the piano or banjo. An illustrator and cartoonist, he lives with wife and three children in Georgia.

THE AGATHAS de Kathleen Glasgow & Liz Lawson

Who killed Brooke Donovan? It’s the biggest mystery of the summer, and everyone in Castle Cove thinks it’s the wrong guy. Fans of One of Us Is Lying and Riverdale can’t miss this page-turning who-done-it that’s sure to be the next must read Young Adult thriller!

THE AGATHAS
by Kathleen Glasgow & Liz Lawson
Delacorte, May 2022
(via Writers House)

Last summer, Alice Ogilvie’s basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. She’s not talking, so where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove. Or it was, at least. But now, another one of Steve’s girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice’s ex–best friend. And it doesn’t look like Brooke will be coming back. . .
Enter Iris Adams, Alice’s tutor. Iris has her own reasons for wanting to disappear, though unlike Alice, she doesn’t have the money or the means. That could be changed by the hefty reward Brooke’s grandmother is offering to anyone who can share information about her granddaughter’s whereabouts. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice isn’t so sure, and with Iris on her side, she just might be able to prove her theory.
In order to get the reward and prove Steve’s innocence, they need to figure out who killed Brooke Donovan. And luckily Alice has exactly what they need—the complete works of Agatha Christie. If there’s anyone that can teach the girls how to solve a mystery it’s the master herself. But the town of Castle Cove holds many secrets, and Alice and Iris have no idea how much danger they’re about to walk into.

“Full of twists, mysteries, and so much heart, The Agathas will keep you up late guessing who-exactly-dunit. Perfect for readers who like their thrillers with an extra dose of fun!” —Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows
“A propulsive mystery starring two unlikely friends who give Nancy Drew a run for her money. With a totally satisfying and surprising ending, The Agathas is so, so much fun.” —Jessica Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of They’ll Never Catch Us and They Wish They Were Us
“This whip-smart novel had me hooked from page one, with wisecracking teen detectives, Agatha Christie references galore, and a killer mystery. I freakin’ loved this book, and in my opinion, Alice Ogilvie and Iris Adams can definitely sit with Nancy Drew and Veronica Mars at lunch.” —Kate Williams, author of the Babysitters Coven series and Never Coming Home
« Full of witty writing, banter, and adventure…readers will delight at the girls’ creative ways of drawing upon Agatha Christie to solve Castle Cove’s biggest head-scratcher of all time. » —Booklist
« The mystery thrills and gratifies thanks to escalating stakes and devastating reveals. » —Publishers Weekly

Kathleen Glasgow is the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces,How to Make Friends with the Dark, and You’d Be Home Now. She lives and writes in Tucson, Arizona.
Liz Lawson is the author of The Lucky Ones (2020), which was a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2020. She lives outside of Washington DC with her family and two bratty cats.

THE DOGS de John Hughes

Michael Shamanov grapples with the idea of his mother’s life and her desire to finish it. Perhaps it’s her life he has been running away from and not his own. A haunting gem of family secrets and impossible decisions with a distinctly European focus.

THE DOGS
by John Hughes
Upswell Books/Black Inc. (Australia), October 2021

“The story of a life is as secret as life itself. A life that can be explained is no life at all.” —Elias Canetti

Is it possible to write about the living without thinking of them as already dead? Michael Shamanov is a man running away from life’s responsibilities. His marriage is over, he barely sees his son and he hasn’t seen his mother since banishing her to a nursing home two years earlier. A successful screenwriter, Michael’s encounter with his mother’s nurse leads him to discover that the greatest story he’s ever heard may lie with his dying mother. And perhaps it’s her life he’s been running away from and not his own.
Is the past ever finished? Should we respect another’s silence? And if so, is it ever possible to understand and put to rest the strange idea of family that travels through the flesh?

John Hughes is based in Sydney. He has published six books, all acclaimed and highly awarded, including the National Biography Award and Premier’s Book Awards. His previous novels, The Remnants and Asylum were critically acclaimed, and in 2019, No One was shortlisted in the Miles Franklin Award 2020.

DIE REBELLIN UND DER DIEB de Jan-Philipp Sendker

A moving story about a forbidden love, the courage of despair and humanity in the face of disaster.

DIE REBELLIN UND DER DIEB
(The Rebel Girl and the Thief)
by Jan-Philipp Sendker
Blessing/PRH Germany, August 2021

18-year-old Niri, his parents and siblings have a modest but secure existence as servants in the villa of a wealthy family. Until the pandemic comes, Niri’s entire family is laid off and stares into the abyss of deepest poverty.
The previously well-behaved monastic student does not want to wait for the mercy of an indifferent government and, in the face of growing hardship, rebels against his father’s resignation to fate. Sneaking past the patrols at night through a sealed-off city, he returns to the villa to get what the family needs to survive. Waiting for him there is his childhood friend Mary, who not only gives him food, but has a larger plan that will change the lives of the town and the two of them forever.
The universal story of two lovers from different worlds who learn what matters in the face of disaster: Courage to resist, will to change, and unconditional trust in each other.

Jan-Philipp Sendker, born in 1960, was the US correspondent for Stern magazine from 1990 to 1995, and its Asian correspondent from 1995 to 1999. His first novel, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats and his other books are international best sellers. He lives in Potsdam with his family.

A HOUSE BETWEEN EARTH AND THE MOON de Rebecca Scherm

Rebecca Scherm’s long awaited new gripping story of one scientist in outer space, another who watches over him, the family left behind, and the lengths people will go to protect the people and planet they love.

A HOUSE BETWEEN EARTH AND THE MOON
by Rebecca Scherm
Viking, March 2022
(via Writers House)

Scientist Alex Welch-Peters has believed for twenty years that his super-algae can reverse the effects of climate change. His obsession with his research has jeopardized his marriage, his relationships with his kids, and his own professional future. When Sensus, the colossal tech company, offers him a chance to complete his research, he seizes the opportunity. The catch? His lab will be in outer space on Parallaxis, the first-ever luxury residential space station built for billionaires. Alex and six other scientists leave their loved ones to become Pioneers, the beta tenants of Parallaxis.
But Parallaxis is not the space palace they were sold. Day and night, the embittered crew builds the facility under pressure from Sensus, motivated by the promise that their families will join them. Meanwhile, back on Earth, with much of the country ablaze in wildfires, Alex’s family tries to remain safe in Michigan. His teenage daughter Mary Agnes struggles through high school with the help of the ubiquitous Sensus phones implanted in everyone’s ears, archiving each humiliation, and wishing she could go to Parallaxis with her father—but her mother will never allow it.
The Pioneers are the beta testers of another program, too. As they toil away two hundred miles in the sky, Sensus is designing an algorithm that will predict human behavior. Tess, a young social psychologist Sensus has hired to watch the Pioneers through their phones, begins to develop an intimate, obsessive relationship with her subjects. When she takes it a step farther—traveling to Parallaxis to observe them up close—the controlled experiment begins to unravel.
Prescient and insightful, A HOUSE BETWEEN EARTH AND THE MOON is at once a captivating epic about the machinations of big tech and a profoundly intimate meditation on the unmistakably human bonds that hold us together.

Praise for Rebecca Scherm’s first novel, Unbecoming (Viking 2015):

“Startlingly inventive” —The New York Times Book Review
“terrific debut” —The Wall Street Journal
“a genuine work of art” —Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“A clever, engrossing thriller” —Huffington Post
“A marvel” —Buzzfeed

Rebecca Scherm is the author of Unbecoming, a novel. She received her MFA from the University of Michigan, where she was also a postgraduate Zell Fellow. She lives in Michigan.