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richincolor · 24 days

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New Releases - Week of August 27, 2024

We've found eight different new releases to shout about this week. Are any of them on your TBR?

Bridge Across the Sky by Freeman Ng Atheneum Books for Young Readers

A raw and honest historical novel in verse about a Chinese teen who immigrates to the United States with his family and endures mistreatment at the Angel Island Immigration Station while trying to navigate his own course in a new world.

Tai Go and his family have crossed an ocean wider than a thousand rivers, joining countless other Chinese immigrants in search of a better life in the United States. Instead, they’re met with hostility and racism. Empowered by the Chinese Exclusion Act, the government detains the immigrants on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay while evaluating their claims.

Held there indefinitely, Tai Go experiences the prison-like conditions, humiliating medical exams, and interrogations designed to trick detainees into failure. Yet amid the anger and sorrow, Tai Go also finds hope—in the poems carved into the walls of the barracks by others who have been detained there, in the actions of a group of fellow detainees who are ready to fight for their rights, in the friends he makes, and in a perceived enemy whose otherness he must come to terms with.

Unhappy at first with his father’s decision to come to the United States, Tai Go must overcome the racism he discovers in both others and himself and forge his own version of the American Dream.

The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal by Ambika Vohra Quill Tree Books, Harper Collins

“How have you gotten out of your comfort zone?”

That’s the Stanford admissions prompt that valedictorian shoo-in Aisha Agarwal can’t answer. Her life’s been homework and junk food. So, when her crush, Brian, asks her to winter formal, Aisha thinks her fate is changing . . .

. . . until Brian stands her up.

As if on cue, a banged-up Volkswagen arrives outside the dance; the driver profusely apologizing for being late to pick her up. Does Aisha know him or what he’s talking about? No. Does the Stanford essay convince her to take him up on the ride? Absolutely.

To Aisha’s relief, seventeen-year-old Quentin Santos isn’t a kidnapper, but he is failing math. They strike a deal: if Aisha helps Quentin pass math, he’ll help push her out of her comfort zone, using a series of sticky note to-do’s—dares—that will not only give Aisha content for her essay, but will turn her into the confident person she’s always wanted to be.

From New Year’s Eve kisses to high school parties, Aisha’s sticky note manifesto is taking off. But when she falls for the wrong guy, hurts her best friend, and still can’t finish her essay, victory feels far from reach.

Is winning worth it if you end up losing yourself in the process?

Indiginerds edited by Alina Pete Iron Circus Comics

First Nations culture is living, vibrant, and evolving…

…and generations of Indigenous kids have grown up with pop culture creeping inexorably into our lives. From gaming to social media, pirate radio to garage bands, Star Trek to D&D, and missed connections at the pow wow, Indigenous culture is so much more than how it’s usually portrayed. These comics are here to celebrate those stories!

Featuring an all-Indigenous creative team, INDIGINERDS is an exhilarating anthology collecting 11 stories about Indigenous people balancing traditional ways of knowing with modern pop culture.

Bvlbancha Forever, by Ida Aronson and Tate Allen

Walk With The Earth Mother, by Maija Plamondon and Milo Applejohn

Roll Your Own Way, by Jordanna George

Digital Eden, by Raven John and Asia Wiseley

Amplification/Adaptation, by Em Matson and Nipinet Landsem

Welei (I Am Fine), by Bianca “binkz17” and Rhael McGregor

Saving Throws, by James Willier and Sam “Mushki” Medlock

Dorvan V, by Alina Pete

Uncured Horror, by Gillian Joseph and Wren Rios

Airwaves Pirates, by Autumn Star and PJ Underwood

Missed Pow Wow Connection, by Kameron White

Twin Flames by Olivia Abtahi Lee & Low Books

When djinn start to show up in twins Leila and Bianca’s small Virginia hometown, the only way they and their families will survive will be if the twins can get past their differences and start to act like sisters again.

Twins Bianca and Leila could not be more different from each other. Being both Argentinian and Iranian in a small town has always been hard, but with Leila shunning her heritage and Bianca embracing it, the two walk very different paths. They run in different circles of friends, and barely talk anymore. Leila’s a homebody who loves to craft and plans on marrying her high school sweetheart. Bianca’s more anti-establishment and plans to get out of Dodge as soon as humanly possible.

But on their eighteenth birthday, the neighbor’s barn is burned down–and it doesn’t seem to have been caused by anything normal like an electrical or fuel source. When Leila encounters a mysterious monster arising from the fire, suddenly she gains strange powers–and can no longer touch iron or even eat foods with high iron content.

What are these creatures and where are they coming from? What do they want with Leila–or other people in town, for that matter? Can the twins learn to rely on each other–and their cultures–to banish them? It’ll take a sisterly reconciliation for the girls to find out and to save their hometown in this New Visions Award-winning fantasy adventure.

Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay Kokila

From the author of the National Book Award finalist Patron Saints of Nothing comes an emotionally charged, moving novel about four generations of Filipino American boys grappling with identity, masculinity, and their fraught father-son relationships.

Watsonville, 1930. Francisco Maghabol barely ekes out a living in the fields of California. As he spends what little money he earns at dance halls and faces increasing violence from white men in town, Francisco wonders if he should’ve never left the Philippines.

Stockton, 1965. Between school days full of prejudice from white students and teachers and night shifts working at his aunt’s restaurant, Emil refuses to follow in the footsteps of his labor organizer father, Francisco. He’s going to make it in this country no matter what or who he has to leave behind.

Denver, 1983. Chris is determined to prove that his overbearing father, Emil, can’t control him. However, when a missed assignment on “ancestral history” sends Chris off the football team and into the library, he discovers a desire to know more about Filipino history―even if his father dismisses his interest as unamerican and unimportant.

Philadelphia, 2020. Enzo struggles to keep his anxiety in check as a global pandemic breaks out and his abrasive grandfather moves in. While tensions are high between his dad and his lolo, Enzo’s daily walks with Lolo Emil have him wondering if maybe he can help bridge their decades-long rift.

Told in multiple perspectives, Everything We Never Had unfolds like a beautifully crafted nesting doll, where each Maghabol boy forges his own path amid heavy family and societal expectations, passing down his flaws, values, and virtues to the next generation, until it’s up to Enzo to see how he can braid all these strands and men together.

Our Shouts Echo by Jade Adia Disney-Hyperion

Survival Tip #1: The world is going to shit. Whatever you do, trust no one.

Sixteen-year old Niarah Holloway’s only goal in life is to get through it unnoticed. That, and to spend her first summer in LA building a doomsday bunker in her backyard. Because if the past few years have taught Niarah anything, it’s that the ocean levels are rising, minimum wage is a scam, and the people who are supposed to protect you will hurt you. Now the only thing that helps Niarah stay afloat amidst the constant waves of anxiety and dread that threaten to drag her under is her new mantra: Be prepared.

But Niarah wasn’t prepared for Mac Torres. Not for his disarmingly cute face, or for his surfer lifestyle, or for the way his smile resuscitates her heart. Mac is a bomb that blows Niarah’s world to pieces, but instead of disaster, he fills it with sunset bonfires, breakfast burritos, and new friends.

For years, Niarah’s life has revolved around ignoring the demons of her past, avoiding the problems of her present, and preparing for the catastrophes of the future. Now Mac—with his sunshine laugh and infectious optimism— is determined to show her another way to be. But in a world where the worst feels inevitable, can one summer be enough to light the way to a hopeful future? Can one summer be enough to fall in love?

With Love, Echo Park by Laura Taylor Namey Atheneum

Seventeen-year-old Clary is set to inherit her family’s florist shop, La Rosa Blanca—one of the last remnants of the Cuban business district that once thrived in Los Angeles’s Echo Park neighborhood. Clary knows Echo Park is where she’ll leave a legacy, and nothing is more important to her than keeping the area’s unique history alive.

Besides Clary’s florist shop, there’s only one other business left founded by Cuban immigrants fleeing Castro’s regime in the sixties and seventies. And Emilio, who’s supposed to take over Avalos Bicycle Works one day, is more flight risk than dependable successor. While others might find Emilio appealing, Clary can see him itching to leave now that he’s graduated, and she’ll never be charmed by a guy who doesn’t care if one more Echo Park business fades away.

But then Clary is caught off guard when an unexpected visitor delivers a shocking message from someone she thought she’d left behind. Meanwhile, Emilio realizes leaving home won’t be so easy—and Clary, who has always been next door, is who he confides in. As the summer days unfold, they find there’s something stronger than local history tying them together.

Libertad by Bessie Flores Zaldivar Dial Books

A queer YA coming-of-age set during the rigged Honduran presidential election, about a young poet discovering the courage it takes to speak her truth about the people and country she loves.

As the contentious 2017 presidential election looms and protests rage across every corner of the city, life in Tegucigalpa, Honduras churns louder and faster. For her part, high school senior Libertad (Libi) Morazán takes heart in writing political poetry for her anonymous Instagram account and a budding romance someone new. But things come to a head when Mami sees texts on her phone mentioning a kiss with a girl and Libi discovers her beloved older brother, Maynor, playing a major role in the protests. As Libertad faces the political and social corruption around her, stifling homophobia at home and school, and ramped up threats to her poetry online, she begins dreaming of a future in which she doesn’t have to hide who she is or worry about someone she loves losing their life just for speaking up. Then the ultimate tragedy strikes, and leaving her family and friends—plus the only home she’s ever known—might be her only option.

#young adult books #new releases #ya lit

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battyaboutbooksreviews · 1 month

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💙 YA Book Releases August 2024

🦇 Good afternoon, my bookish bats. I hope you have a good book, hot cuppa, and sweet snack within reach! No TBR is complete without a few young adult novels, and plenty were released in August! Here are a few YA releases to consider adding to your shelves.

❤️ Which of these are on your TBR?

✨ August 6 ✨ 💜 The Girl with No Reflection - Keshe Chow 💜 Ami - S. Jae-Jones 💜 Death at Morning House - Maureen Johnson 💜 Better Left Buried - Mary E. Roach 💜 Silent Sister - Megan Davidhizar 💜 Dance of the Starlit Sea - Kiana Krystle 💜 Witty in Pink - Erica George 💜 This Is Not a Dead Girl Story - Kate Sweeney 💜 A Family of Killers - Bryce Moore 💜 Medici Heist - Caitlin Schneiderhan 💜 This Ravenous Fate - Hayley Dennings 💜 Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch - Codie Crowley

✨ August 13 ✨ ❤ The Dark We Know - Wen-yi Lee ❤ Zombie Apocalypse Running Club - Carrie Mac ❤ Return to Sender - Lauren Draper ❤ Ghostsmith - Nicki Pau Preto ❤ Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies - Abigail Hing Wen ❤ Under the Surface - Diana Urban ❤ Hemlock House - Katie Cotugno ❤ Holly Horror: The Longest Night - Michelle Jabès Corpora

✨ August 20 ✨ 💙 A Bánh Mì for Two - Trinity Nguyen 💙 Love Requires Chocolate - Ravynn K. Stringfield 💙 Prince of the Palisades - Julian Winters 💙 Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Frendo - Adam Cesare 💙 Something Like Right - H.D. Hunter 💙 Drown Me with Dreams - Gabi Burton 💙 Wisteria - Adalyn Grace 💙 My Salty Mary - Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows 💙 House of Thorns - Isabel Strychacz

✨ August 27 ✨ ❤ Mysterious Ways - Wendy Wunder ❤ Everything We Never Had - Randy Ribay ❤ The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal - Ambika Vohra ❤ Libertad - Bessie Flores Zaldivar ❤ One House Left - Vincent Ralph ❤ Sync - Ellen Hopkins ❤ Fyrebirds - Kate J. Armstrong ❤ Practical Rules for Cursed Witches - Kayla Cottingham ❤ Our Shouts Echo - Jade Adia ❤ Don't Let It Break Your Heart - Maggie Horne ❤ The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry - Ransom Riggs ❤ With Love, Echo Park - Laura Taylor Namey ❤ The New Camelot - Robyn Schneider ❤ Come Out, Come Out - Natalie C. Parker

#books #booklr #new books #book releases #book release #ya book recs #ya books #young adult romance #young adult books #young adult fiction #young adult #new adult books #books to read #batty about books #battyaboutbooks

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