#Tomi Oyemakinde

[bookaddict24-7]

New Young Adult Releases! (September 26th, 2023)

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Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Standalones/First in a Series:

The Scarlet Veil by Shelby Mahurin

The Prince & the Coyote by David Bowles

A British Girl's Guide to Hurricanes & Heartbreak by Laura Taylor Namey

If I Have to Be Haunted by Miranda Sun

Mermaids Never Drown by Various

Down Came the Rain by Jennifer Mathieu

Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons

Firsts & Lasts by Various

The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde

A Pretty Implausible Premise by Karen Rivers

This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson

Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis

Roses & Violets by Gry Kappel Jensen

Mall Goth by Kate Leth, Diana Sousa, & Robin Crank

New Sequels:

A Grim & Sunken Vow (The Hollow Star Saga #3) by Ashley Shuttleworth

Foul Heart Hunstman (Foul Lady Fortune #2) by Chloe Gong

Cage of Dreams (City of Nightmares #2) by Rebecca Schaeffer

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Happy reading!

[semper-legens]

193. The Changing Man, by Tomi Oyemakinde

Owned: No, library Page count: 382 My summary: Ife is a scholarship student at the prestigious Nithercott Academy - and she's not dealing with the pressure of being one of the few working-class Black kids in school. But something strange is afoot at the school. Kids are disappearing, and either they come back...different, or they don't come back at all. With outcast Bee and brother of one of the missing Ben at her side, can Ife solve the mystery of the Changing Man? My rating: 3.5/5 My commentary:

I was expecting this one to be a bit more...horror, than it was. That's not a criticism, it was just a surprise. Urban legends and cryptids are an interest of mine, so this story about the 'Changing Man', a being that supposedly lurks around Nithercott and takes lonely kids, is right up my alley. I found it to be really fun, honestly, if a little weird at times. But I'd prefer weird and fun to polished and boring. It was a good read!

Ife, our protagonist, is one of those classic heroines of this sort of story. She's struggling under pressure from both her parents, who expect great things from her, and the school, which might expel her if her grades are poor. She also feels disconnected from her home and friends - an attempt to smuggle herself out to see her best friend fails, and she's increasingly isolated as one of the only Black kids in a sea of white posh kids. If you've ever been a lonely teenager (which, let's be real, most of us have) you will relate to Ife. She's isolated, awkward, and troubled even before the Changing Man nonsense happened. And I find her to be a really credible protagonist. She's in over her head, and has a lot of moments where she's overwhelmed or breaking down over everything she's seen and done. She makes mistakes and further alienates herself from the kids that would naturally be her allies. But she keeps going, she keeps fighting, she doesn't back down, because she sees an injustice and she can't give it up. I loved her a lot, even if her narration was a little selfconsciously teenagery at times, the narrative leaning on a few teen cliches to characterise her in the earlier parts.

I also really liked her friends. Ben is the brother of missing kid Leon who bears a lot of guilt over Leon's disappearance. He's a weird kid, a bit of a delinquent but not a bad person, and adds a sort of quirky charm to the proceedings. Bee, meanwhile, is an awkward ambiguously-autistic nerd who finds herself alone because other people often find her offputting, and she latches onto other social outcasts to befriend out of a sense of desperation. They're both credible teens, and despite how I'm describing them here, they don't really fall into any of the classic Teen Story stereotypes. Sure, Bee is an awkward nerd, but her love of the school's history and self-awareness about Ife being cold to her at first elevate her. Ben is also complicated by his love for his brother and his big heart. They make a really cute trio!

Finally, let's talk about the Changing Man. Not the alien cryptid creature that forms the centre of this story, but the idea of change as a whole. Ife is worried that, being at the Academy and separated from her old friends, they will change without her and grow to not like her. She's also worried that she will change, and be left behind. The kids who disappear come back as pod people who act exactly as they are supposed to, a change that is clearly unnatural. Change is a huge theme, and the shapeshifters preying on the kids just underscore the point. Change is inevitable, and not necessarily to be feared, but too much change too quickly can be a red flag. The messaging is obvious, but not so on the nose that it gets in the way of the story, which I liked. Overall, it was a good story! I'm glad I picked it up.

Next, the pharmacist in a bunker beneath the world is facing a moral dilemma.

[the-worlds-between-pages]

The Changing Man by: Tomi Oyemakinde

Published by: Macmillan Publication Date: 9/26/2023 Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC. All opinions are my own. Now, onto the review. I wanted to love this book. The Changing Man had an interesting premise and I absolutely love gothic mysteries and settings. I’ve read Jane Eyre so many times I essentially have it memorized. If it’s gothic, it’s for me.…

[richincolor]

New Releases - Week of September 17, 2024

It's almost like the releases in September are preparing us for the scary time of the year. Three out of four of these releases are nightmarish, thriller types. They look like they will give folks a few chills. We have fear and magic to look forward to this week. 

Ruin Road by Lamar Giles Scholastic Press

Sometimes a little fear is a good thing…

Cade Webster lives between worlds. He’s a standout football star at the right school but lives in the wrong neighborhood–if you let his classmates tell it. Everywhere but home, people are afraid of him for one reason or another. Afraid he’s too big, too fast, too ambitious, too Black.

Then one fateful night, to avoid a dangerous encounter with the police, he ducks into a pawn shop. An impulse purchase and misspoken desire change everything when Cade tells the shopkeeper he wishes people would stop acting so scared around him, and the wish is granted…

At first, it feels like things have taken a turn for the better. But it’s not just Cade that people no longer fear–it’s everything. With Cade spreading this newfound “courage” wherever he goes, anything can happen. Fearless acts of violence begin to escalate in both his neighborhood and at school. Something monstrous is clearly at work and it’s up to Cade to stop it. But just what did he buy and what’s the price to undo the damage? After all, the devil’s in the details.

Such Lovely Skin by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne Page Street YA

An evil video game A lying Twitch streamer A demon hungry for her secrets

After spending the summer wracked with guilt about causing the accident that killed her little sister, ambitious gamer and chronic liar Viv returns to Twitch streaming. She never told her parents the truth about the accident, but she hopes that maybe making it big in streaming and giving the money to them is penance enough for her mistakes.

The weekend before school starts, Viv finds the perfect horror game to make her Twitch comeback, and during an offline practice run, an NPC asks Viv for a secret. She decides to tell them the truth about her sister’s death since a game could never share her secret―in doing so, she accidentally welcomes a demonic mimic into her life.

No one believes Viv when she tells them about her evil doppelganger. Viv has lied to get her best friend’s sympathy and has spread rumors for attention, so why should anyone trust her now? The only person who believes her is Ash, a cute social outcast whom Viv once bullied. In trying to clear her name and kill the mimic, Viv discovers that her lies have hurt people who never deserved it, herself included.

We Are Hunted by Tomi Oyemakinde Feiwel & Friends

A boy, his family, and other resort guests must fight for their lives after the island’s unusual animals turn feral, in this horrifying fast-paced survival story!

Experience paradise, reimagined.

When 17-year-old Femi Fatona and his older brother are forced to accompany their dad to an island resort, Femi is not looking forward to it. After all, he hasn’t exactly been getting along with either of them lately. At least the resort promises to be full of all the extravagant luxuries they’re used to. Yet not much is actually known about it, as it’s on a recently-discovered island and shrouded in nondisclosure agreements.

Once they arrive, Femi is thrilled to find that the island is bursting with new and spectacular species of plants and animals. But he soon realizes that sometimes pretty exteriors hide ugly truths—truths that are begging to come to light.

When the animals suddenly become feral and the island is thrown into chaos , what was meant to be a peaceful bonding experience quickly becomes the stuff of nightmares. Femi will have to put aside tension with his family and work with other guests in order to escape the animals, the island. . .and his own guilt at the part he may have played in all of it.

Spells to Forget Us by Aislinn Brophy G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Fate brought them together. Magic made them strangers.

Luna is a powerful witch. Known for her skills and feared for her temper, she’s set to preserve her family’s legacy by becoming the head of Boston’s Witch Council—a job she does not want.

Aoife is a non-magical girl. Raised under the lens of her influencer family, she’s grown up in the public eye. Now she yearns for privacy—but knows her parents won’t oblige.

Just when they are at their lowest, Aoife and Luna find each other and start dating. As decreed by magic law, Luna casts a spell that will erase Aoife’s memories of their history together if they ever break up. But when Aoife and Luna end things, it’s both of them who forget . . . that is, until they meet again, fall for each other, and recover all the memories of their last attempt at dating.

So begins the story of two star-crossed lovers who keep finding their way into each other’s orbits, even as the universe pulls them apart. When they set out to break the cycle, will they be strangers forever or together at last?

[gay-panic-in-a-bottle]

- last song you listened to

Sharks by Imagine Dragons. I think. I can't be bothered to check but i think that's it.

- currently reading

The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde

Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

- currently watching

Avatar: The Last Airbender (the cartoon). My brother started binging it again and then I walked in and now he won't watch if I'm not there with him too.

- currently obsessed with

Ohhhh. Fucking uh. Batman, Psych, Riordanverse, The Martian, ATLA, Carmen Sandiego, Ever After High, Miraculous Ladybug. Sometimes I'll spend like 200 hours coming up with a whole fantasy world/magic system, and then as soon as I get bored my brain flushes the whole thing. That's always fun.

@dragonspleenistasty @yeasty-boy @pyromaniac-fairy-of-water

Tag meme- get to know you game: answer the questions and tag the people you want to get to know better

It has been insanely long since I've done one of these things, cheers for the tag @poorpoorpitifulme.

- last song you listened to

Gates of Heaven - The Mary Wallopers The start of this song can be deceptive, it's a light and cheerful tune as the lyrics centre around the dogmatic influence of Catholicism upon Ireland and the church positioning itself above the people. The latter half of the song gives its way to the rage that should be felt about the above and leads out on an incredible rendition of the Dawning of the Day (the musical air against which Raglan Road is famously set).

- currently reading

The Collected Poems of John Donne I barely take the time to read regularly these days but have been working my way back through this collection (since you can do so in small sessions). If you can get used to the language of a boyo born in the 1500s it's quite a thing to be able to sit and enjoy his work and feel that connection of understanding whilst you're 500 years in the future.

- currently watching Shogun: Greatly enjoying Protestant vs Catholic antics in the Sengoku period in Japan although the lead actor was quite clearly told "we were going to cast Tom Hardy but couldn't get him so act like Tom Hardy would've acted in this role". Dungeon Meshi: Extremely fun anime antics that usually end up giving me some kind of food craving for the rest of the week. Masters of the Air: This was supposed to be "Band of Brothers but with WW2 pilots" and instead it's "jesus that Unreal Engine screen has gotta be like 2ft away from yer man's head this looks like shit" Compartment No.6: Saw this a few years back in the QFT and it's been stuck in my head ever since. I'm not going to explain what it's about because frankly it's better going in blind. It is very good.

- currently obsessed with

I set a new years resolution to take up an "art school" course type thing to learn how to draw. Currently doing daily sessions of practicing fundamentals as part of a 2 year course, I am very shit at it but slowly and surely there are improvements and some things make more sense. Spending time on it is its own reward and with the current onslaught of generative AI and a general sense of human decline right now, I feel like immersing myself more in art is helping get back in touch with appreciating manifestations of goodness whilst we are subjected to daily news of a genocide nobody is permitted to interrupt, a Cold War revival and unstoppable environmental collapse. On that cheerful note: @sceneabomination @smallgamedev @northirish @bluevioletcat @gingerslicer Get ye to work or further chain-mail posts will get you in your sleep tonight

[bookaddict24-7]

(New Young Adult Releases Coming Out Today! (September 17th, 2024)

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Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Releases:

We Are Hunted by Tomi Oyemakinde

What is this Feeling? by Robby Weber

Night Owls by A.R. Vishny

Spells to Forget Us by Aislinn Brophy

If Anything Happens to Me by Luanne Rice

Such Lovely Skin by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne

Ruin Road by Lamar Giles

The Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning

New Sequels:

Warrior of Legend (Heromaker #2) by Kendare Blake

Seasons of Flesh & Flame (Shades of Rust and Ruin #2) by A.G. Howard

Forget Me Not (Rosenholm #2) by Gry Kappel Jensen

The Immortal Abyss (The Threshold Duology #2) by Katherine Briggs

The Heart of the World (The Isles of the Gods #2) by Amie Kaufman

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Happy reading!

[richincolor]

New Releases

It's officially fall and the beginning of the spooky season! We have three spooky books out this week to start this magical time off right as well as the sequel to another one of Chloe Gong's fantastical Shakespeare's adaptations. Which of these will be your spooky season read?

If I Have to Be Haunted by Miranda Sun

Cemetery Boys meets Legendborn in this thrillingly romantic, irresistibly fun YA contemporary fantasy debut following a teenage Chinese American ghost speaker who (reluctantly) makes a deal to raise her nemesis from the dead. Cara Tang doesn’t want to be haunted. Look, the dead have issues, and Cara has enough of her own. Her overbearing mother insists she be the “perfect” Chinese American daughter—which means suppressing her ghost-speaking powers—and she keeps getting into fights with Zacharias Coleson, the local golden boy whose smirk makes her want to set things on fire. Then she stumbles across Zach’s dead body in the woods. He’s even more infuriating as a ghost, but Cara’s the only one who can see him—and save him. Agreeing to resurrect him puts her at odds with her mother, draws her into a dangerous liminal world of monsters and magic—and worse, leaves her stuck with Zach. Yet as she and Zach grow closer, forced to depend on each other to survive, Cara finds the most terrifying thing is that she might not hate him so much after all. Maybe this is why her mother warned her about ghosts.

The Grimmer by Naben Ruthnum ECW Press

The small-town mysteries of John Bellairs are made modern with a dash of Stranger Things in this spine-tingling supernatural horror-thriller. After his father returns from treatment for addiction, highschooler Vish ― lover of metal music and literature ― is uncertain what the future holds. It doesn’t help that everyone seems to know about the family’s troubles, and they stand out doubly as one of the only brown families in town. When Vish is mistaken for a relative of the weird local bookseller and attacked by an unsettling pale man who seems to be decaying, he is pulled into the world of the occult, where witches live in television sets, undead creatures can burn with a touch, and magic is mathematical. Vish must work with the bookstore owner and his mysterious teenage employee, Gisela, to stop an interdimensional invasion that would destroy their peaceful town. Bringing together scares, suspense, and body horror, The Grimmer is award-winning author Naben Ruthnum’s first foray into the young adult genre. This gripping ride through the supernatural is loaded with vivid characters, frightening imagery, and astonishing twists, while tackling complex issues such as grief, racism, and addiction.

The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde Feiwel & Friends

A teenage girl is pulled into investigating the truth behind her new boarding school’s decades-old legend in The Changing Man , this debut Young Adult speculative thriller by Tomi Oyemakinde Face front. Watch your back. BE BRAVE. If it was left to her, Ife Adebola wouldn’t be starting at Nithercott School. Because despite her being in the Urban Achievers scholarship program, her parents can barely afford the tuition. No matter who is trying to be friends with her, like her classmate Bijal, or how much the prestigious boarding school tries to pull her in, Ife is determined not to get caught up in any of it. But when another student, Malika, begins acting strange, Ife can’t help but wonder if there’s more going on at Nithercott than she realizes. Could there be any truth to the school’s decades-old legend of the Changing Man? Is there any connection to the missing older brother of her classmate, Ben? As more questions arise, Ife has no choice but to team up with Ben and Bijal to investigate. But can the trio act quickly enough to uncover who is behind everything, before one―or all―of them is the Changing Man’s next victim?

Mermaids Never Drown: Tales to Dive For edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker Feiwel Friends

14 Young Adult short stories from bestselling and award-winning authors make a splash in Mermaids Never Drown – the second collection in the Untold Legends series edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker – exploring mermaids like we’ve never seen them before! A Vietnamese mermaid caught between two worlds. A siren who falls for Poseidon’s son. A boy secretly pining for the merboy who saved him years ago. A storm that brings humans and mermaids together. Generations of family secrets and pain. Find all these stories and more in this gripping new collection that will reel you in from the very first page! Welcome to an ocean of hurt, fear, confusion, rage, hope, humor, discovery, and love in its many forms. Edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker, Mermaids Never Drown features beloved authors like Darcie Little Badger, Kalynn Bayron, Preeti Chhibber, Rebecca Coffindaffer, Julie C. Dao, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Adriana Herrera, June Hur, Katherine Locke, Kerri Maniscalco, Julie Murphy, Gretchen Schreiber, and Julian Winters.

Firsts and Lasts edited by Laura Silverman Penguin Workshop

An exciting fiction YA anthology that celebrates the new experiences and final moments teenagers face on their journey into adulthood from editor Laura Silverman and a cast of spectacular contributors. From first breakups and romantic vampire encounters to last band performances and the deadly end of a friendship, Firsts and Lasts is an anthology that is just as unpredictable as being a teenager. While each of these stories span different genres and styles, they all perfectly capture the big emotions–confusion, joy, uneasiness, and anticipation–that many teens experience as they grow up. Whether you are hopelessly in love and not sure how to tell your crush, going through loss and can’t fully process it, or just trying to figure out where you belong in the world, this collection of sixteen stories has something for every reader. Stories written by: Adi Alsaid, Keah Brown, Monica Gomez-Hira, Kika Hatzopoulou, Shaun David Hutchinson, Amanda Joy, Loan Le, Joy McCullough, Yamile Saied Méndez, Anna Meriano, Nina Moreno, Tess Sharpe, Laura Silverman, Rachel Lynn Solomon, Diana Urban, and Julian Winters.

Foul Heart Huntsman (Foul Lady Fortune #2) by Chloe Gong Margaret K. McElderry Books

Winter is drawing thick in 1932 Shanghai, as is the ever-nearing threat of a Japanese invasion. Rosalind Lang has suffered the worst possible fate for a national spy: she’s been exposed. With the media storm camped outside her apartment for the infamous Lady Fortune, she’s barely left her bedroom in weeks, plotting her next course of action after Orion was taken and his memories of Rosalind wiped. Though their marriage might have been a sham, his absence hurts her more than any physical wound. She won’t rest until she gets him back. But with her identity in the open, the task is near impossible. The only way to leave the city and rescue Orion is under the guise of a national tour. It’s easy to convince her superiors that the countryside needs unity more than ever, and who better than an immortal girl to stir pride and strength into the people? When the tour goes wrong, however, everything Rosalind once knew is thrown up in the air. Taking refuge outside Shanghai, old ghosts come into the open and adversaries turn to allies. To save Orion, they must find a cure to his mother’s traitorous invention and take this dangerous chemical weapon away from impending foreign invasion—but the clock is ticking, and if Rosalind fails, it’s not only Orion she loses, but her nation itself.