#and now jenny/django

[bold-and-brashleigh]

why did i just found out/realize that django and jenny were siblings???

like i always headcannoned them as siblings bc they had similar hippie vibes but like???

i’m just now finding out????

[allieinarden]

I also love the whole ship of Candace “trying to get her brothers in trouble for being young inventors, philanthropists and humanitarians” Flynn with Jeremy “has never considered that his baby sister might be evil” Johnson.

[anymousse]

Okay gang; who’s your favorite?

EDIT: Sorry all; forgot to add Doofenshmirtz and Perry to the poll and now I can’t edit the poll. Feel free to comment with their names and/or reblog this and add them.

[fauvester]

bad bitches in bell bottoms with weaponized guitars?!?

[cantdanceflynn]

CAUGHT UP ON ART AT LEAST!! ACTUALLY RLY PROUD OF ALL OF THESE:"""] HEHEHEH

1ST ONE IS FOR ACE VISIBILITY DAY IN SPIRIT, SECOND ONE WAS JUST A NICE THING, AND THIRD ONE IS FOR @pftones3482 TYSM FOR BEING THE BEST

[cometcrystal]

for the anon earlier. some random pnf headcanons 💯 i might have talked about some of these before but i'll take any chance to talk about stuff i like

i've DEFINITELY talked about this one before but as adults phineas and isabella are divorced besties with a son. they love each other soooo much but the romance part just didn't really work.

yall also already know i hc jeremy as bi but i find it worth mentioning because it was one of my first lgbt headcanons EVER after i figured out i could do that. buford and baljeet were probably first.

eliza and nicolette are endgame. do you see my vision

it doesn't matter to the show whatsoever but i do have ideas for what happened to mr flynn and mrs fletcher. in my timeline mr flynn was abusive and linda left him when she was pregnant with phineas, and mrs fletcher died at some point. idk how. ferb was too young to remember her. i have not worked out how close she and lawrence were but she had green hair

phineas and ferb cure multiple cancers in 10th grade and make the patents open-source

one of my early internet friends turned the drummer in jeremy's band into an oc named hugo.... he was in a situationship with jenny that lasted well past their 30s

speaking of jenny i think she and django disappeared for a bit because their rich artist dad took them to. like. greece or something. for the remainder of the summer and theyre just living their best life on a veranda on the other side of the planet until the school year starts

phineas, ferb, and baljeet COULD graduate VERY early but they purposely stay in the same grade as their friends because they love them. once the acts/sats/ap exams come around though its over for you hoes.

candace and stacy went to horse camp (a week long program during the summer teaching kids to ride horses) every summer until high school. at which point they decided it was For Babies. but they're both still horse girls deep down.

since we know that jeremy has liked candace longer than she's liked him, i think he was a really shy kid. he was too nervous to even look at her some days. when she gave him that pencil that one time, he didn't even say anything. he broke out of his shell later and became a friendly young man but candace still made him nervous. etc etc.

xavier and fred are movie buffs. they're usually logging one film per day. if letterboxd still exists on the future their profiles would be legendary.

jeremy picked the name fred. he was fine with candace already having names picked out, but once they found out they were having twins, she texted him a link to a baby name website and told him to pick his favorite. He picked Fred.

jeremy has written an entire album about candace and its all shit that sounds like Chasing Cars and candace LOVES IT

stacy interning at owca is how she meets her girlfriend vanessa and also how she meets her future wife in uruguay

buford and isabella have ice cream romcom sleepovers and nobody else is invited this is THEIR bonding time

IN MY TIMELINE JEREMY AND COLTRANE WERE AT THE ROBOT RIOT IN THE ORANGE TREEHOUSE ROBOT WHILE CANDACE AND STACY WERE IN THE PINK ONE. #COPING

sometimes the flynn fletcher kids would spend entire days at the antique shop before candace was old enough to watch the boys

this isn't really a headcanon but i want to see some isabella and jeremy bro moments. Because of In love with #TwoCrazyRedheads

Thats the only ones i can think of right now. My hands are shaking

[burningexeter]

Now here's something that I think will stick, I have a gut feeling about this.

Here's a huge ass list yet again of everything (as in all of the numerous different kinds of media) that I can see sharing the same universe as Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption Duology, that you can both read and see below for yourself with the theme connecting them is the focus on unconventional type of protagonists and ensembles fighting the odds and high stakes:

• Sergio Leone's The Dollars Trilogy

• The Quentin Tarantino Universe (Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, Inglourious Basterds, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Natural Born Killers, Kill Bill 1 & 2, From Dusk Till Dawn and Curdled)

• Park Chan-Wook's Oldboy

• Kim Jee-Won's I Saw The Devil

• Gore Verbinski's Pirates Of The Caribbean Trilogy

• Julius Avery's Overlord (2018)

• Remedy Entertainment's Connected Universe

• Stephen Sommers' The Mummy (1999)

• HBO's Spawn Trilogy

• Takahiro Omori's Baccano!, Durarara!! and Durarara!! x2

• Sunao Katabuchi's Black Lagoon

• Masayuki Kojima's Monster

• Tetsuro Araki's Death Note and Attack On Titan (the first two seasons)

• Hajime Isayama's Attack On Titan (the Royal Government arc — manga)

• Chris Carter's The X Files Series (First nine seasons, Fight The Future, Millennium and The Lone Gunmen)

• Joss "Yikes!" Whedon's Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel

• Tom Fontana's Oz

• David Simon's The Wire

• Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse's LOST

• Vince Gilligan's Breaking Bad Trilogy

• Kurt Sutter's Sons Of Anarchy Duology

• Jeff Pinkner & J.H. Wyman's Fringe

• Jenny Clements' Mias and Elle

• Brandon Santiago's Erma

• Travis Knight's Wildwood

[clockwrkcabaret]

This Is Workin'

WARNING! This show is for adults. We drink cocktails, have potty mouths and, at least, one of us was raised by wolves.

The Clockwork Cabaret is a production of Agony Aunt Studios. Featuring that darling DJ Duo, Lady Attercop and Emmett Davenport. Our theme music is made especially for us by Kyle O’Door.

This episode aired on Mad Wasp Radio, 04.21.24.

New episodes air on Mad Wasp Radio on Sundays @ 12pm GMT! Listen at www.madwaspradio.com or via TuneIn radio app!

Playlist:

Truckstop Honeymoon – We Ain’t Proud

The White Stripes – Little Ghost

Brown Bird – Bilgewater

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

Peter Murphy – I’ll Fall With Your Knife

The Cure – The Blood

The Legendary Tigerman – Gone

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – So Good at Being in Trouble

The Avalanches – Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life

The Velvet Underground – Venus In Furs

Echo & the Bunnymen – The Killing Moon

The Smiths – How Soon Is Now?

Pixies – Here Comes Your Man

Radiohead – No Surprises

Pulp – Common People

David Bowie – Suffragette City

Queen – Fat Bottomed Girls

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – S.O.B.

Fiona Apple – Everyday

The Magnetic Fields – A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off

Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twin – Handle With Care

Vermillion Lies – No Good

Charming Disaster – Driving to Idaho

Regina Spektor – All The Rowboats

The Wombats – I Only Wear Black

Florence + The Machine – Strangeness And Charm

Django Django – Default

Check out this episode!

[wherevenusholdssomeofficespace]

I think the Dwampyverse on some level is kind of a family affair. It's so cute how much the creators families grew into it.

Like on a purely in universe standpoint we have all the characters who are named for IRL family members of Dan and Swampy. Isabella is named for Dan's older daughter, Lil' Sparks Melissa, Melissa Chase (and probably Tia Meli) are named for his younger daughter Melissa. Django and Jenny Brown are named for Swampy's kids (their last name Brown could have come from Swampy's grandfather). Linda and Tiana are named after Dan's sisters. Ferb is named after a friend of Dan and Swampy's and based off of Swampy's uncle. Adyson Sweetwater is based on Swampy's granddaughter. Ferb and Lawrence being British comes from the time Swampy spent in England. The fact Phineas and Ferb are step siblings also comes from Swampy's own childhood. The Grant-Gomez family is inspired by Dan and his wife and being a half-Venezuelan family. The large age gap in the Grant Gomez family (and likely between Jeremy and Suzy) is due to Dan's own large age gap with his sister. The premise of enjoying summer vacation came from his mom. Perry's double life is inspired by a cat Dan had.

But then out of universe, their IRL family is involved too. Django has voiced Balthazar Horowitz, some of Ferb's cousins, and Chad Van Coff among other minor characters. Meli voices Gretel of course, and Alex/Isa Povenmire sings "I'm the Bomb" along with doing temp voices. Not to mention Olivia Olson, daughter of Phineas and Ferb writer and Songwriter Martin Olson voiced Vanessa, sang a lot of other songs for the show, and Olivia is now writing for the Phineas and Ferb revival, so that's basically come full circle.

This was sort of inspired by Gretel, voiced by Meli Povenmire, quoting a memed Doofensmirtz line, who is voiced by her father Dan Povenmire. I don't think she was even born when Phineas and Ferb first came out. And now she and her sister are now teenagers, which Olivia was when she first got involved on Phineas and Ferb. And now Olivia's writing. That's kind of crazy.

[makeusfly]

More Light Than Heat, Chapter 20

Piercing Lights in the Dark

previous chapter

read on AO3

masterpost

Now

It took an hour after the firework smoke settled for the backyard to clear out.  Linda waved through the sliding doors before flipping the lights off, leaving Phineas, Isabella, and Ferb alone with the stars.

“I’d say today was pretty successful.”

Isabella produced a half-full bottle of champagne seemingly from nowhere.  Taking a swig, she said, “Definitely.  Even if I did only win a hundred bucks.”

“Dad lost it for you, huh?”

“I didn’t think he’d hold out that long!”  She shrugged.  “But I was the only one who thought Vanessa was going to cry, so I got it back there.”

Ferb took the bottle.  “Did anyone wager on her girlfriend proposing?”

“No!  No one saw it coming.  And after I lost on Jenny proposing to her girlfriend.”

“That’s what you get for cheating.”  Phineas reached across Isabella, making a gimme-hand for the bottle.

“I’ve no idea what you mean.”

Phineas laughed.  “Django told you she bought the ring.”

Isabella didn’t take the bait but she did take the bottle back from him.  “He still hasn’t-”

“No,” Phineas said, his voice as soft as his smile.  “And it’s really okay.”

Earlier

“I just can’t help but think…it’s all been too smooth.  Something has to go wrong.”

Phineas looked up to send Stacey a reassuring smile, but caught Suzy's eye by mistake.

Deadpan, she said, “The break-up wasn’t enough?”

Phineas felt his smile slip away.  “Wait, is that why Ferb’s the one walking Isabella?  Because you thought it would be awkward?  Because-”

“Okay!” Isabella cried, bursting through the doors.  “Touch-up is done and she’s good to go.”

“How’s Lawrence?”

Kneeling in the corner, taking a pair of heels from a cabinet, she waved a hand in front of her face and said, “Respectable mist.”

Vanessa pointed.  “Only counts if he blubbers.”

Ferb raised an eyebrow.  Isabella grinned, balancing on one barefoot to slide her shoe on the other.  “We’re taking bets on how long before your dad cries.”

“What if he doesn’t cry?”

Ferb turned his raised brow to Phineas, clearly asking, have you met our father?  He leaned in towards Isabella who gripped his shoulder as she buckled the one shoe and then slid the other one on.

“Isabella, can you tell Stacey that it wouldn’t be awkward if I escorted you down the aisle instead of Ferb?”

“Oh, I thought that was because my heels make me taller than you.”  Standing up straight, she smoothed down her dress.

“Does that matter?”

With a noncommittal noise, she shrugged.  “Stacey-”

“Candace decided!” Stacey snapped.  “If you want to know why she decided, you’ll have to ask her, but later when she isn’t stressed!”

Smiling warmly, Isabella asked, “And how are you doing?”

It was strange to see her so worked up.  “I just keep thinking something’s going to go wrong…Perry!  The rings!  Where’s-”

“Oh, he’ll be here,” Vanessa said.  Something curious passed between her and Stacey.

Isabella’s eyes went wide in an approximation of horror.  “Oh, boy: do you think Jeremy will decide he doesn’t want to get married after all?”

“What?” Stacey exclaimed.  “No!”

“Suzy?”

“Fat chance.”

Smiling beautifically, Isabella said, “Well, seems like today will be pretty successful then.  The rest is just…”

“Fireworks?”

She met his eyes, absolutely beaming.  “Fireworks,” she agreed.  Then a second later, “Shit!  Who’s got my bouquet?”

Vanessa smirked.  “Who had Isabella curses before we even cross the threshold?”

Now

“Hey,” Isabella all but whispered.  From his spot next to her, Phineas could see her fiddling with Ferb’s cufflinks.  He resisted the temptation to prop himself up on his elbows, to see what his brother was doing with his face.  Isabella coughed.  “If you really wanted to go out with Marissa, I can talk to her.  I can let her know it’s okay.”

He could just make out the shine in her eyes.  It could have been the champagne, but Phineas wondered if it was something else.  Ferb shook his head.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Phineas added, pausing when he realized how loud his voice was in the night.

Isabella turned to look at him curiously.  “I thought you liked her for him!”

He shrugged.  “I dunno.  If she doesn’t get him enough to know he wasn’t listening, do we really want her dating our Ferb?”

“Even Candace doesn’t get Ferb-speak every time,” she said, and Phineas didn’t miss how she didn’t say that the only ones who did were the two of them.  “She’d learn.”

“I don’t know,” he said again, hoping his voice was neutral enough for plausible deniability.  “I just think he could do better, is all.”

Earlier

“There you are.”

She looked up, eyes wide.  “Here I am?  What are you doing here?  Candace isn’t done with you.”

Hands in his pockets, his shrug was a full-body gesture.  “My feet are killing me.  I don’t know how you’re doing it.”

She held up her stockinged-foot and wiggled her toes.  “I honestly have no idea where my shoes are.”

He laughed as he slid into the chair next to her.  The moment he did, Ferb appeared with her heels in one hand and a glass in the other.

“Not you too!”

His brow furrowed.

“If Candace thinks I stole both of you halfway through family portraits, she will murder me.  Seriously, it’ll be the last thing she does before leaving for her honeymoon in a non-extradition country.”

He rolled his eyes but it was half-hearted at best.  He passed the cup to her, close enough to Phineas’s face that he could tell it was coke.

“Caffeine!  Thank you!”  She took a long sip.  “I am so tired.”

“Well, you had an early morning,” Phineas affirmed.  “Did you get a chance to make up with Marissa?”

She nodded, smiling.

“Cool.  So you can explain her text to Ferb.”

Obligingly, he held his phone up, showing the message she’d sent saying she couldn’t go to the Night of the Falling Stars Dance with him after all.

“Oh.”  She let out a nervous titter.  “She just thought it would be awkward, since I just broke up with your brother and all.”

There was a strain to her voice that made Phineas wonder if that was the whole truth.  It certainly didn’t clear anything up for Ferb.

“But I wasn’t going to the dance with her,” he said slowly.

She blinked, face blank.  “You…were though.  She asked you?  The day you guys built the ferris wheel.  And you nodded, so…”

Ferb laughed, a sound most beautiful for its rarity.  “The ferris wheel?  Isabella, I was too busy watching Phineas and Django and worrying about your feelings to take in anything she said.”

Isabella’s first giggle came out on the exhale, the following trickling out breathlessly.  “That’s-”

“There you are!”

Isabella shook her head somberly, but the ghost of her smile was still there.  “I tried to tell them.”

Candace glared.  “Well maybe if you weren’t setting a bad example.”

“Excuse me, bridal portraits are finished, thank you.”

“Yeah, but family portraits aren’t.  Get your ass over there.”

Isabella blinked several times, taking the last sip of her coke to swallow back tears with.

“I-

She stopped him with a finger pointed at his face.  “If the next words out of your mouth are ‘told you so,’ I will run you over.”

“Have you always been this violent?”

Ignoring him, she stood and took her shoes from Ferb.  “Once more unto the breach, yeah?”

He smiled fondly and followed her out.

Now

“You really have to leave tomorrow?” he whined.

“If I want to keep my spot on the soccer team, I do.”

Phineas pouted, arms bent under his head.

“But…I’ll see you guys next month, right?  You’re coming to the first game?”

“Of course,” Phineas promised.  She beamed at him, but it only lasted a moment before Ferb spoke and she turned towards him.

“We wouldn’t miss it.”

This time, Phineas did sit up.  For a moment, he worried they’d find it weird that he was watching them, but he’d barely started forming a defense in his mind before he realized he didn’t need to.  They were so busy looking at each other, he might as well have been on another planet.

Huh, Phineas thought, settling back down in the grass.  Candace was right.

Earlier

“And now, the bride and groom invite you to join them on the dance floor.”

Laughing, Isabella tugged on his hand.  “I love this song!”  With her other hand, she grabbed Ferb’s dragging both of them out of their seats and towards the floor.  He expected Ferb to start showing off, but he just swayed and waggled his hips a bit along with him and Isabella.

“Yo, Phineas!”

He spun, grinning at the newly minted Mrs. Johnson.

“Dance with me!”

He glanced back to Isabella, who nodded, before letting go and hugging Candace.

“Congratulations, sis!”

“Thank you!”

Behind her, Jeremy was dancing with Suzy who actually looked pretty happy.  Phineas smiled at her before turning his attention back to Candace.  But she was staring over his shoulder.

“Look,” she whispered, thrusting her chin out towards something behind him.  “Do you see what I’ve been saying?”

He was confused until they pivoted a little and he could see what she’d been pointing at.  He expected Ferb to be tearing it up, maybe twirling her around, but they were still just…swaying.  Her arms were around his neck, his around her waist, and she was laughing at something he’d said.  And Ferb was looking at Isabella…well, the same way Jeremy had been looking at Candace just moments before, during their first dance as man and wife.

“Yeah,” Phineas said, the image knocking the breath out of him.  “I think I do.”

Now

Sighing, Isabella sat up, drawing her knees to her chest.  “Okay boys.  I think it’s time.”

They both followed her lead, Phineas crossing his legs and Ferb supporting himself on his palms as his remained outstretched, but none of them moved further.  Isabella released another heavy breath, eyes on the stars.

“Maybe it’s the champagne talking, but…change, huh?”

Phineas laughed.  “Is that your big proclamation?  ‘Change, huh?’”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Some things don’t though,” he said, sobering.  “This tree hasn’t gotten any taller.”

“It definitely has,” Ferb corrected.  “It’s just that we have too.”

Isabella bit her lip, considering.  “You ever think it won’t be here for us to come back to?”

“Nah,” Phineas said.  “The roots are pretty solid.  And besides-”

“It’s more of a state of mind, really,” Ferb added.  “And we can clone it, if we need to.”

Isabella smiled, standing up.  Hands on her hips, she said, “I love you both very much.  I’ll text you when I get to school.  And I’ll see you later.”

Ferb nodded.  Phineas waved.  And Isabella crossed the street back home.

next chapter

[thedanwich]

Top 10 Albums of 2023

10. Indigo De Souza - All of This Will End

9. Sir Chloe - I Am the Dog

8. Hepcat - Right On Time

7. Jenny Lewis - Joy'All

6. Bethany Cosentino - Natural Disaster

5. Alison Goldfrapp - The Love Invention

4. Drug Church - Cheer

3. Metric - Formentera II

2. Mom Jeans. - Sweet Tooth

The Dirty Nil - Free Reign to Passions

Honorable mentions:

Angel Olsen - Forever Means Aziya - Lonely Castles Aziya - We Speak of Tides Bad Nerves - Bad Nerves blink-182 - ONE MORE TIME... Christine and the Queens - PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE Disclosure - Alchemy Django Django - Off Planet Like Pacific - Control My Sanity Lil Yachty - Let's Start Here. Janelle Monáe - The Age of Pleasure Jessie Ware - That! Feels Good! Jessy Lanza - Love Hallucination Jungle - Volcano Kesha - Gag Order Margo Price - Strays The Mars Volta - Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon Metric - Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? Mom Jeans. - Best Buds The New Pornographers - Continue as a Guest Octo Octa - Dreams Of A Dancefloor EP Parannoul - After the Magic Romy - Mid Air Róisín Murphy - Hit Parade Spanish Love Songs - Portions For Foxes The Strokes - The Singles - Volume 01 Suki Waterhouse - Milk Teeth Tanukichan - GIZMO

[themurphyzone]

Reading TV Tropes... I never realized that Phineas and Ferb had many wasted characters, that could had appeared more, like: Django, Jenny, the Fireside Girls, Mindy (Do you even remember her?), Derek (that sweeden guy), Wendy (Brenda Song), Thaddeus, Thor, Mandy, Coltrane or scenarios that could had been exanded, like Stacy knowing about Perry being an agent or Vanessa and Monty's relationship. What do you think? By the way, I don't see Coltrane as a scrappy, he needed to appear more.

Personally I think the main cast of PnF is already pretty unique and interesting, and that’s where the focus should lie. Some of the characters you mentioned above are simply meant to be characters-of-the-day. 

Coltrane is just meant to function as Jeremy’s friend and bandmate, in addition to bringing a High School Musical actor onto the show, since The Baljeatles first aired around Disney Channel’s big HSM phase. 

Given how late Stacy found out Perry’s identity, I don’t think there’s much they could’ve done with it. Now, if you revised ATSD to where Stacy is the only one who somehow remembers Perry’s identity, then I think they could’ve done a follow up ep to where she helps him on a case. 

[aion-rsa]

Top New YA Books in January 2021

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The YA genre is still booming, providing romance, adventure, and more for teens and adults alike. Here are some of the YA books from January 2021 we’re most looking forward to…

Top New Young Adult Books January 2021

You Have a Match: A Novel by Emma Lord

Type: Novel Publisher: Wednesday Books Release date: Jan. 12

Den of Geek says: Theres something quintessentially charming about summer camp stories, where kids trade their day-to-day for the wilderness. But this protagonist can’t escape everything at camp, and she’ll need the help of her sister to figure out the story of more than one family.

Publisher’s Summary: When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. After all, she knows who she is already: Avid photographer. Injury-prone tree climber. Best friend to Leo and Connie…although ever since the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) with Leo, things have been awkward on that front.

But she didn’t know she’s a younger sister.

When the DNA service reveals Abby has a secret sister, shimmery-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully, it’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet, never mind the same parents — especially considering Savannah, queen of green smoothies, is only a year and a half older than Abby herself.

The logical course of action? Meet up at summer camp (obviously) and figure out why Abby’s parents gave Savvy up for adoption. But there are complications: Savvy is a rigid rule-follower and total narc. Leo is the camp’s co-chef, putting Abby’s growing feelings for him on blast. And her parents have a secret that threatens to unravel everything.

But part of life is showing up, leaning in, and learning to fit all your awkward pieces together. Because sometimes, the hardest things can also be the best ones. 

Buy You Have a Match: A Novel by Emma Lord.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Type: Novel Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Release date: Jan. 5, 2021 Den of Geek says: A twist on Greek mythology from an accomplished author promises creative world-building and fantasy adventure. Publisher’s summary: Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality. 

Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family’s sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory. For years she’s pushed away any thought of revenge against the man–now a god–responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore’s decision to bind her fate to Athena’s and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost–and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

Buy Lore by Alexandra Bracken.

Siege of Rage and Ruin by Django Wexler

Type: Novel Publisher: Tor Teen Release date: Jan. 5, 2021 Den of Geek says: This month’s high fantasy installment is the finale in a popular series, and one that makes us want to see how the characters arrived and where they go from here. Ghost ships! Mind control!  Publisher’s Summary: Isoka has done the impossible―she’s captured the ghost ship Soliton.

With her crew of mage-bloods, including the love of her life Princess Meroe, Isoka returns to the empire that sent her on her deadly mission. She’s ready to hand over the ghost ship as ransom for her sister Tori’s life, but arrives to find her home city under siege. And Tori at the helm of a rebellion.

Neither Isoka’s mastery of combat magic, nor Tori’s proficiency with mind control, could have prepared them for the feelings their reunion surfaces. But they’re soon drawn back into the rebels’ fight to free the city that almost killed them.

Buy Siege of Rage and Ruin by Django Wexler.

Top New Young Adult Books December 2020

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

Type: Novel Publisher: Delacorte Press Release date: Dec. 1

Den of Geek says: A tale of family and suspense, this novel about uncovering a bloody secret looks like it’s full of atmosphere and a tinge of horror.

Publisher’s summary: Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they’ve never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they’re surprised . . . and curious.

Their parents are all clear on one point–not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother’s good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it’s immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious–and dark–their family’s past is.

The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn’t over–and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.

Buy The Cousins by Karen M. McManus.

A Universe of Wishes by Dhonielle Clayton

Type: Short story collection Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers Release date: Dec. 8 Den of Geek says: Some of the SF/F genre’s best authors (not to mention YA’s best authors) come together in a collection of fantasy from the We Need Diverse Books initiative. Publisher’s summary: From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes a young adult fantasy short story collection featuring some of the best own-voices children’s authors, including New York Times bestselling authors Libba Bray (The Diviners), V. E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic), Natalie C. Parker (Seafire), and many more. Edited by Dhonielle Clayton (The Belles).

In the fourth collaboration with We Need Diverse Books, fifteen award-winning and celebrated diverse authors deliver stories about a princess without need of a prince, a monster long misunderstood, memories that vanish with a spell, and voices that refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice. This powerful and inclusive collection contains a universe of wishes for a braver and more beautiful world.

AUTHORS INCLUDE: Samira Ahmed, Jenni Balch, Libba Bray, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova, Tessa Gratton, Kwame Mbalia, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tochi Onyebuchi, Mark Oshiro, Natalie C. Parker, Rebecca Roanhorse, V. E. Schwab, Tara Sim, Nic Stone

Buy A Universe of Wishes by Dhonielle Clayton.

This is How We Fly by Anna Meriano

Type: Novel Publisher: Philomel Books Release date: Dec. 15 Den of Geek says: It wouldn’t be a geek rec list without this grab bag of high school coming-of-age and Quidditch. Whether you’re a current or recovering Harry Potter fan or looking for a unique setting, this might have something for you.

Publisher’s summary: 17-year-old vegan feminist Ellen Lopez-Rourke has one muggy Houston summer left before college. She plans to spend every last moment with her two best friends before they go off to the opposite ends of Texas for school. But when Ellen is grounded for the entire summer by her (sometimes) evil stepmother, all her plans are thrown out the window. 

Determined to do something with her time, Ellen (with the help of BFF Melissa) convinces her parents to let her join the local muggle Quidditch team. An all-gender, full-contact game, Quidditch isn’t quite what Ellen expects. There’s no flying, no magic, just a bunch of scrappy players holding PVC pipe between their legs and throwing dodgeballs. Suddenly Ellen is thrown into the very different world of sports: her life is all practices, training, and running with a group of Harry Potter fans. 

Even as Melissa pulls away to pursue new relationships and their other BFF Xiumiao seems more interested in moving on from high school (and from Ellen), Ellen is steadily finding a place among her teammates. Maybe Quidditch is where she belongs. 

But with her home life and friend troubles quickly spinning out of control–Ellen must fight for the future that she wants, now she’s playing for keeps. 

Buy This is How We Fly by Anna Meriano.

Top New Young Adult Books November 2020

The Way Back by Gavriel Savit

Type: Novel  Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers Release date: Nov. 17

Den of Geek says: A shimmering historical fantasy brings its heroes on a journey through worlds of demons and the dead based on Jewish folklore. 

Publisher’s summary: For the Jews of Eastern Europe, demons are everywhere: dancing on the rooftops in the darkness of midnight, congregating in the trees, harrowing the dead, even reaching out to try and steal away the living. 

But the demons have a land of their own: a Far Country peopled with the souls of the transient dead, governed by demonic dukes, barons, and earls. When the Angel of Death comes strolling through the little shtetl of Tupik one night, two young people will be sent spinning off on a journey through the Far Country. There they will make pacts with ancient demons, declare war on Death himself, and maybe– just maybe–find a way to make it back alive. 

Drawing inspiration from the Jewish folk tradition, The Way Back is a dark adventure sure to captivate readers of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book and Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust.

Buy The Way Back by Gavriel Savit.

Rebel Sisters

Type: Novel Publisher: Razorbill Release date: Nov. 17

Den of Geek says: Onyebuchi returns to his anime-inspired anti-war series with Afrofuturism in space. 

Publisher’s summary: It’s been five years since the Biafran War ended. Ify is now nineteen and living where she’s always dreamed–the Space Colonies. She is a respected, high-ranking medical officer and has dedicated her life to helping refugees like herself rebuild in the Colonies.

Back in the still devastated Nigeria, Uzo, a young synth, is helping an aid worker, Xifeng, recover images and details of the war held in the technology of destroyed androids. Uzo, Xifeng, and the rest of their team are working to preserve memories of the many lives lost, despite the government’s best efforts to eradicate any signs that the war ever happened.

Though they are working toward common goals of helping those who suffered, Ify and Uzo are worlds apart. But when a mysterious virus breaks out among the children in the Space Colonies, their paths collide. Ify makes it her mission to figure out what’s causing the deadly disease. And doing so means going back to the homeland she thought she’d left behind forever.

Buy Rebel Sisters by Tochi Onyebuchi.

How to Pack for the End of the World by Michelle Falkoff 

Type: Novel Publisher: HarperTeen Release date: Nov. 10

Den of Geek says: This small stakes high school drama nevertheless feels timely for a world in which it seems like another disaster strikes every day. 

Publisher’s summary: If you knew the world was going to end tomorrow, what would you do?

This is the question that haunts Amina as she watches new and horrible stories of discord and crisis flash across the news every day.

But when she starts at prestigious Gardner Academy, Amina finds a group of like-minded peers to join forces with—fast friends who dedicate their year to learning survival skills from each other, before it’s too late. 

Still, as their prepper knowledge multiplies, so do their regular high school problems, from relationship drama to family issues to friend blow-ups. Juggling the two parts of their lives forces Amina to ask another vital question: Is it worth living in the hypothetical future if it’s at the expense of your actual present?

Buy How to Pack for the End of the World by Michelle Falkoff.

Top New Young Adult Books October 2020

Return of the Thief by Megan Whelan Turner 

Type: Novel Publisher: Greenwillow Books Release date: Oct. 6

Den of Geek says: The latest book in this acclaimed, long-running series known for intricate plotting and twists follows the continuing political machinations of Eugenides, the titular thief, in fantasy world-building based loosely on Greek mythology. 

Publisher’s summary: This beloved and award-winning series began with the acclaimed novel The Thief. It and four more stand-alone volumes bring to life a world of epics, myths, and legends, and feature one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. Now more powerful and cunning than ever before, Eugenides must navigate a perilous future in this sweeping conclusion. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and Sarah J. Maas.

Neither accepted nor beloved, Eugenides is the uneasy linchpin of a truce on the Lesser Peninsula, where he has risen to be high king of Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis. As the treacherous Baron Erondites schemes anew and a prophecy appears to foretell the death of the king, the ruthless Mede empire prepares to strike.

The New York Times–bestselling Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations, divine intervention, dangerous journeys, battles lost and won, power, passion, and deception. Features a cast list of the characters in the Queen’s Thief novels, as well as two maps—a map of the world of the Queen’s Thief, and a map exclusive to this edition.

Buy Return of the Thief by Megan Whelan Turner on Amazon.

Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker (Seanan McGuire) 

Type: Novel Publisher: Tordotcom Release date: Oct. 6

Den of Geek says: An experimental companion to McGuire’s intricate novel Middlegame, Over the Woodward Wall first came to life as a middle grade story that serves as a pop culture touchstone for the characters in that adult novel. It’s also a story by a master in its own right, although how well it holds up outside the companion novel is yet to be determined.

Publisher’s summary: Avery is an exceptional child. Everything he does is precise, from the way he washes his face in the morning, to the way he completes his homework – without complaint, without fuss, without prompt.

Zib is also an exceptional child, because all children are, in their own way. But where everything Avery does and is can be measured, nothing Zib does can possibly be predicted, except for the fact that she can always be relied upon to be unpredictable.

They live on the same street.

They live in different worlds.

On an unplanned detour from home to school one morning, Avery and Zib find themselves climbing over a stone wall into the Up and Under – an impossible land filled with mystery, adventure and the strangest creatures.

And they must find themselves and each other if they are to also find their way out and back to their own lives.

Buy Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker on Amazon.

Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz

Type: Novel  Publisher: Page Street Kids Release date: Oct. 6 

Den of Geek says: This sounds like a sports anime with dragons in book form. A compelling mystery as a tour of a fantastical racing league promises action and ambitious characters. 

Publisher’s summary: Lana Torres has always preferred dragons to people. In a few weeks, sixteen countries will compete in the Blazewrath World Cup, a tournament where dragons and their riders fight for glory in a dangerous relay. Lana longs to represent her native Puerto Rico in their first ever World Cup appearance, and when Puerto Rico’s Runner―the only player without a dragon steed―is kicked off the team, she’s given the chance.

But when she discovers that a former Blazewrath superstar has teamed up with the Sire―a legendary dragon who’s cursed into human form―the safety of the Cup is jeopardized. The pair are burning down dragon sanctuaries around the world and refuse to stop unless the Cup gets cancelled. All Lana wanted was to represent her country. Now, to do that, she’ll have to navigate an international conspiracy that’s deadlier than her beloved sport.

Buy Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz on Amazon.

Top New Young Adult Books September 2020

Night Shine by Tessa Gratton 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books  Release date: Sept. 8

Den of Geek says: We’re all about crossovers between fantasy and YA here, and this looks like a good stepping stone for a kid who is just about ready to start reading high fantasy. The prose style is slow and deliberate as the author tells a tale of romance, kidnapping, and friendship.

Publisher’s summary: In the vast palace of the empress lives an orphan girl called Nothing. She slips within the shadows of the Court, unseen except by the Great Demon of the palace and her true friend, Prince Kirin, heir to the throne. When Kirin is kidnapped, only Nothing and the prince’s bodyguard suspect that Kirin may have been taken by the Sorceress Who Eats Girls, a powerful woman who has plagued the land for decades. The sorceress has never bothered with boys before, but Nothing has uncovered many secrets in her sixteen years in the palace, including a few about the prince.

As the empress’s army searches fruitlessly, Nothing and the bodyguard set out on a rescue mission, through demon-filled rain forests and past crossroads guarded by spirits. Their journey takes them to the gates of the Fifth Mountain, where the sorceress wields her power. There, Nothing will discover that all magic is a bargain, and she may be more powerful than she ever imagined. But the price the Sorceress demands for Kirin may very well cost Nothing her heart.

Buy Night Shine by Tessa Gratton on Amazon. 

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

Type: Novel in Verse Publisher: Balzer + Bray  Release date: Sept. 1

Den of Geek says: Authors like Tochi Onyebuchi have taken hold of the moment to write political novels about incarceration in the last few years. This mix of poetry and prose adds to that genre with real world experience from prison reform activist Yusef Salaam. Publisher’s summary: The story that I thought 

was my life 

didn’t start on the day 

I was born  

Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, he’s seen as disruptive and unmotivated by a biased system. Then one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. “Boys just being boys” turns out to be true only when those boys are white.  

The story that I think 

will be my life  

starts today 

Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal’s bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it?  

With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth, in a system designed to strip him of both.

Buy Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam on Amazon.

Gold Wings Rising (The Skybound Saga) by Alex London 

Type: Novel Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux  Release date: Sept. 1

Den of Geek says: It’s always nice to see a fantasy series that moves away from the staple creatures, even if I love dragons, and this series replaces them with ghostly birds that give it a horror movie flavor. 

Publisher’s summary: The war on the ground has ended, but the war with the sky has just begun. After the Siege of the Six Villages, the ghost eagles have trapped Uztaris on both sides of the conflict. The villagers and Kartami alike hide in caves, huddled in terror as they await nightly attacks. Kylee aims to plunge her arrows into each and every ghost eagle; in her mind, killing the birds is the only way to unshackle the city’s chains. But Brysen has other plans.

While the humans fly familiar circles around each other, the ghost eagles create schemes far greater and more terrible than either Kylee or Brysen could have imagined. Now, the tug-of-war between love and power begins to fray, threatening bonds of siblinghood and humanity alike.

Buy Gold Wings Rising by Alex London on Amazon.

Top New Young Adult Books August 2020

Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon 

Type: Novel Publisher: Simon & Schuster Release date: Aug. 18

Den of Geek says: This looks like it could be an incisive and hard-hitting book that speaks to the way American Latinx students experience racism and navigate high school social life. It has gained high praise from authors including Celeste Ng. 

Publisher’s Summary: Liliana Cruz is a hitting a wall—or rather, walls.

There’s the wall her mom has put up ever since Liliana’s dad left—again.

There’s the wall that delineates Liliana’s diverse inner-city Boston neighborhood from Westburg, the wealthy—and white—suburban high school she’s just been accepted into.

And there’s the wall Liliana creates within herself, because to survive at Westburg, she can’t just lighten up, she has to whiten up.

So what if she changes her name? So what if she changes the way she talks? So what if she’s seeing her neighborhood in a different way? But then light is shed on some hard truths: It isn’t that her father doesn’t want to come home—he can’t…and her whole family is in jeopardy. And when racial tensions at school reach a fever pitch, the walls that divide feel insurmountable.

But a wall isn’t always a barrier. It can be a foundation for something better. And Liliana must choose: Use this foundation as a platform to speak her truth, or risk crumbling under its weight.

Buy Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From By Jennifer De Leon on Amazon.

Lobizona by Romina Garber 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Wednesday Books (Macmillan)  Release date: Aug. 4 

Den of Geek says: Described as a Hogwarts-style fantasy world with werewolves, this fantasy doesn’t flinch from the real world effects of ICE and deportation. 

Publisher’s summary: Some people ARE illegal. 

Lobizonas do NOT exist.

Both of these statements are false.

Manuela Azul has been crammed into an existence that feels too small for her. As an undocumented immigrant who’s on the run from her father’s Argentine crime-family, Manu is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida. 

Until Manu’s protective bubble is shattered. 

Her surrogate grandmother is attacked, lifelong lies are exposed, and her mother is arrested by ICE. Without a home, without answers, and finally without shackles, Manu investigates the only clue she has about her past―a mysterious “Z” emblem―which leads her to a secret world buried within our own. A world connected to her dead father and his criminal past. A world straight out of Argentine folklore, where the seventh consecutive daughter is born a bruja and the seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, a werewolf. A world where her unusual eyes allow her to belong. 

As Manu uncovers her own story and traces her real heritage all the way back to a cursed city in Argentina, she learns it’s not just her U.S. residency that’s illegal. . . .it’s her entire existence.

Buy Lobizona by Jennifer De Leon on Amazon.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Levine Querido Release date: Aug. 25 

Den of Geek says: Charming illustrations and a ghost story deeply tied to a family’s history promise a richly textured tale from this Lipan Apache author. 

Publisher’s summary: Imagine an America very similar to our own. It’s got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.

There are some differences. This America been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day.

Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.

Darcie Little Badger is an extraordinary debut talent in the world of speculative fiction. We have paired her with her artistic match, illustrator Rovina Cai. This is a book singular in feeling and beauty.

Buy Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger on Amazon.

The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska

Type: Novel Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire  Release date: Aug. 4

Den of Geek says: Described as atmospheric and salt-soaked, this F/F romance might be a good introduction to readers who want to switch from post-apocalyptic YA to dark fantasy. 

Publisher’s summary: A gripping, dark LGBT YA fantasy about two girls who must choose between saving themselves, each other, or their sinking island.

Every year on St. Walpurga’s Eve, Caldella’s Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full moon to keep the island city from sinking. 

Lina Kirk is convinced her brother is going to be taken this year. To save him, she enlists the help of Thomas Lin, the boy she secretly loves, and the only person to ever escape from the palace. But they draw the queen’s attention, and Thomas is chosen as the sacrifice. 

Queen Eva watched her sister die to save the boy she loved. Now as queen, she won’t make the same mistake. She’s willing to sacrifice anyone if it means saving herself and her city.

When Lina offers herself to the queen in exchange for Thomas’s freedom, the two girls await the full moon together. But Lina is not at all what Eva expected, and the queen is nothing like Lina envisioned. Against their will, they find themselves falling for each other as water floods Caldella’s streets and the dark tide demands its sacrifice.

Buy The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska on Amazon.

Top New Young Adult Books In July 2020

Feathertide by Beth Cartwright 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Del Rey  Release date: July 30 

Den of Geek says: This has won a lot of praise for its prose. While some fairy tale adaptations can come off as empty, not actually adding anything to the context of the tradition they’re supposedly writing in, this one’s specificity seems like it might set it apart and add detail to the central metaphor about a young girl’s search for her family. 

Publisher’s summary: Born covered in the feathers of a bird, and kept hidden in a crumbling house full of secrets, Marea has always known she was different, but never known why. And so to find answers, she goes in search of the father she has never met.

The hunt leads her to the City of Murmurs, a place of mermaids and mystery, where jars of swirling mist are carried through the streets by the broken-hearted.

And Mara will never forget what she learns there.

Buy Feathertide by Beth Cartwright on Amazon.

Running by Natalia Sylvester 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Clarion Books Release date: July 14 

Den of Geek says: A political novel of a different type. This fantasy of being part of a presidential campaign seems like it has a lot to say about family and change. 

Publisher’s summary: In this authentic, humorous, and gorgeously written debut novel about privacy, waking up, and speaking up, Senator Anthony Ruiz is running for president. Throughout his successful political career he has always had his daughter’s vote, but a presidential campaign brings a whole new level of scrutiny to sheltered fifteen-year-old Mariana and the rest of her Cuban American family, from a 60 Minutes–style tour of their house to tabloids doctoring photos and inventing scandals. As tensions rise within the Ruiz family, Mari begins to learn about the details of her father’s political positions, and she realizes that her father is not the man she thought he was.

But how do you find your voice when everyone’s watching? When it means disagreeing with your father—publicly? What do you do when your dad stops being your hero? Will Mari get a chance to confront her father? If she does, will she have the courage to seize it? 

Buy Running by Natalia Sylvester on Amazon.

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Dutton  Release date: July 7 

Den of Geek says: YouTube sensation Hank Green’s science fiction debut, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, kicked off this series about alien robots. The sequel shows the aftermath, and continues to engage with the author’s internet in internet culture and science. 

Publisher’s summary: The Carls disappeared the same way they appeared, in an instant. While the robots were on Earth, they caused confusion and destruction with only their presence. Part of their maelstrom was the sudden viral fame and untimely death of April May: a young woman who stumbled into Carl’s path, giving them their name, becoming their advocate, and putting herself in the middle of an avalanche of conspiracy theories. 

Months later, April’s friends are trying to find their footing in a post-Carl world. Andy has picked up April’s mantle of fame, speaking at conferences and online; Maya, ravaged by grief, begins to follow a string of mysteries that she is convinced will lead her to April; and Miranda is contemplating defying her friends’ advice and pursuing a new scientific operation…one that might have repercussions beyond anyone’s comprehension. Just as it is starting to seem like the gang may never learn the real story behind the events that changed their lives forever, a series of clues arrive—mysterious books that seem to predict the future and control the actions of their readers—all of which seems to suggest that April could be very much alive. 

In the midst of the search for the truth and the search for April is a growing force, something that wants to capture our consciousness and even control our reality. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is the bold and brilliant follow-up to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. It is a fast-paced adventure that is also a biting social commentary, asking hard, urgent questions about the way we live, our freedoms, our future, and how we handle the unknown.

Buy A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green on Amazon.

Top New YA Books June 2020 

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow 

Type: Novel Publisher: Tor Teen Release date: June 2 

Den of Geek says: After reading The Deep, I’m on board with the idea of black mermaids meeting YA fantasy world-building. The friendship at the center of this novel sounds cute and sweet. 

Publisher’s summary: In a society determined to keep her under lock and key, Tavia must hide her siren powers. 

Meanwhile, Effie is fighting her own family struggles, pitted against literal demons from her past. Together, these best friends must navigate through the perils of high school’s junior year.

But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice at the worst possible moment.

Soon, nothing in Portland, Oregon, seems safe. To save themselves from drowning, it’s only Tavia and Effie’s unbreakable sisterhood that proves to be the strongest magic of all.

Buy A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow on Amazon Read our interview with Bethany C. Morrow

Hood by Jenny Elder Moke 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Disney-Hyperion  Release date: June 9

Den of Geek says: An adventure in which a young girl joins Robin Hood’s adventures, this one reminds me of fanfic in the best way. A re-examination of legendary characters with the pacing of contemporary YA could be cinematic fun. 

Publisher’s summary: You have the blood of kings and rebels within you, love. Let it rise to meet the call.

Isabelle of Kirklees has only ever known a quiet life inside the sheltered walls of the convent, where she lives with her mother, Marien. But after she is arrested by royal soldiers for defending innocent villagers, Isabelle becomes the target of the Wolf, King John’s ruthless right hand. Desperate to keep her daughter safe, Marien helps Isabelle escape and sends her on a mission to find the one person who can help: Isabelle’s father, Robin Hood. 

As Isabelle races to stay out of the Wolf’s clutches and find the father she’s never known, she is thrust into a world of thieves and mercenaries, handsome young outlaws, new enemies with old grudges, and a king who wants her entire family dead. As she joins forces with Robin and his Merry Men in a final battle against the Wolf, will Isabelle find the strength to defy the crown and save the lives of everyone she holds dear?

In Hood, author Jenny Elder Moke reimagines the world of Robin Hood in lush, historical detail and imbues her story with more breathless action than has ever come out of Sherwood Forest before. This novel is a must-read for historical-fiction fans, adventure lovers, and reluctant readers alike!

Buy Hood by Jenny Elder Moke on Amazon

Sisters of Sword and Song by Rebecca Ross 

Type: Novel Publisher: HarperTeen Release date: June 23

Den of Geek says: A sisterly bond provides the heart at the center of this story of magic and war. The Ancient Greece-inspired world and the promise of magic and battles look good, but the emphasis on characterization and familial love raise this one above the rest. 

Publisher’s summary: After eight years, Evadne will finally be reunited with her older sister, Halcyon, who has been serving in the queen’s army. But when Halcyon unexpectedly appears a day early, Eva knows something is wrong. Halcyon has charged with a heinous crime, and though her life is spared, she is sentenced to 15 years. 

Suspicious of the charges, brought forth by Halcyon’s army commander, as well as the details of the crime, Eva volunteers to take part of her sister’s sentence. If there’s a way to absolve Halcyon, she’ll find it. But as the sisters begin their sentences, they quickly learn that there are fates worse than death.

Buy Sisters of Sword and Song by Rebecca Ross on Amazon 

Top New YA in May 2020 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Scholastic Press  Release date: May 19 

Den of Geek says: It’s arguable whether a new Hunger Games book from the point of view of the man who will become the despotic President Snow is really what readers wanted, but it’s here. Inevitably this one will spark a lot of conversation after the runaway success of the original series. 

Publisher’s summary: It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

Buy The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins.

House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess  

Type: Novel  Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers Release date: May 12 

Den of Geek says: This YA fantasy distinguishes itself primarily by a varied cast of five characters, making it a good introduction to epic fantasy plus the “fun group of friends” appeal of a superhero squad. Also, there are dragons and a frightening fantasy job interview, two of my favorite things. 

Publisher’s summary: When the Emperor dies, the five royal houses of Etrusia attend the Call, where one of their own will be selected to compete for the throne. It is always the oldest child, the one who has been preparing for years to compete in the Trial. But this year is different. This year these five outcasts will answer the call. . . .

THE LIAR: Emilia must hide her dark magic or be put to death.

THE SOLDIER: Lucian is a warrior who has sworn to never lift a sword again.

THE SERVANT: Vespir is a dragon trainer whose skills alone will keep her in the game.

THE THIEF: Ajax knows that nothing is free–he must take what he wants.

THE MURDERER: Hyperia was born to rule and will stop at nothing to take her throne.

Buy House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo 

Type: Novel 

Publisher: Quill Tree Books 

Release date: May 5 

Den of Geek says: This looks like it could be both a tearjerker and a sweet story of sisterly love. The tragic death of their father brings Camino and Yahaira Rios into each other’s lives in a new way. 

Publisher’s summary: Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…

In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.

And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other. 

Buy Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo.

Top New YA in April 2020

Little Universes by Heather Demetrios

Type: Novel  Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.  Release date: April 7 

Den of Geek says: It’s not often that YA books focus on family, and the sisterly relationship at the heart of Little Universes looks well-crafted and heart-wrenching. When tragedy strikes, each sister will need to find a way to move on. 

Publisher’s summary: One wave: that’s all it takes for the rest of Mae and Hannah Winters’ lives to change.

When a tsunami strikes the island their parents are vacationing on in Malaysia, it soon becomes clear that their parents are never coming home. Forced to move to Boston from their sunny California home for the rest of their senior year, each girl struggles with secrets their parents’ death has brought to light and with their uncertainty about the future. Instead of getting closer, it feels like the wave has torn them apart.

Little Universes explores the powerful bond of sisters, the kinds of love that never die, and the journey we all must make through the baffling cruelty and unexpected beauty of human life in an incomprehensible universe.

Buy Little Universes by Heather Demetrios on Amazon.

What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter

Type: Novel  Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Release date: April 7 

Den of Geek says: YA romance, and digital age romance in particular, can easily come off as cheesy or derivative. But this ‘love triangle between two people’ looks like a twist on relationships and online identity, plus the coziness of a crush story. 

Publisher’s summary: There are a million things that Halle Levitt likes about her online best friend, Nash.

He’s an incredibly talented graphic novelist. He loves books almost as much as she does. And she never has to deal with the awkwardness of seeing him in real life. They can talk about anything…

Except who she really is.

Because online, Halle isn’t Halle—she’s Kels, the enigmatically cool creator of One True Pastry, a YA book blog that pairs epic custom cupcakes with covers and reviews. Kels has everything Halle doesn’t: friends, a growing platform, tons of confidence, and Nash.

That is, until Halle arrives to spend senior year in Gramps’s small town and finds herself face-to-face with real, human, not-behind-a-screen Nash. Nash, who is somehow everywhere she goes—in her classes, at the bakery, even at synagogue.

Nash who has no idea she’s actually Kels.

If Halle tells him who she is, it will ruin the non-awkward magic of their digital friendship. Not telling him though, means it can never be anything more. Because while she starts to fall for Nash as Halle…he’s in love with Kels. 

Buy What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter on Amazon.

Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost 

Type: Novel Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Release date: April 14 

Den of Geek says: It’s an interesting time for historical fantasy, and this looks a bit like a YA cousin of Upright Women Wanted, with more robots and monsters. Check out the crunchy mechanical horses on that cover. 

Publisher’s summary: In this sweeping Dust Bowl-inspired fantasy, a ten-year game between Life and Death pits the walled Oklahoma city of Elysium-including a girl gang of witches and a demon who longs for humanity-against the supernatural in order to judge mankind.

When Sal is named Successor to Mother Morevna, a powerful witch and leader of Elysium, she jumps at the chance to prove herself to the town. Ever since she was a kid, Sal has been plagued by false visions of rain, and though people think she’s a liar, she knows she’s a leader. Even the arrival of enigmatic outsider Asa-a human-obsessed demon in disguise-doesn’t shake her confidence in her ability. Until a terrible mistake results in both Sal and Asa’s exile into the Desert of Dust and Steel.

Face-to-face with a brutal, unforgiving landscape, Sal and Asa join a gang of girls headed by another Elysium exile-and young witch herself-Olivia Rosales. In order to atone for their mistake, they create a cavalry of magic powered, scrap metal horses to save Elysium from the coming apocalypse. But Sal, Asa, and Olivia must do more than simply tip the scales in Elysium’s favor-only by reinventing the rules can they beat the Life and Death at their own game. 

Buy Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost on Amazon.

Top New YA Books in March 2020 

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

Type: Novel Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers Release date: March 3, 2020 Den of Geek says: To put a twist on historical fantasy, author Marie Lu focuses just to the side of a world-changing life. Nannerl Mozart was a real person, and has appeared in fiction before with the aim of bringing some recognition to the famous musician’s talented but forgotten sister. The fairy tale element sounds like it will provide strong atmosphere in this musical novel. Publisher’s Summary: Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish–to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she’ll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in 18th century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age–her tyrannical father has made that much clear.

And as Nannerl’s hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true–but his help may cost her everything.

In her first work of historical fiction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu spins a lush, lyrically-told story of music, magic, and the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.

Buy The Kingdom of Back on Amazon.

The Fire Never Goes Out by Noelle Stevenson

Type: Illustrated memoir  Publisher: HarperTeen Release date: March 3 Den of Geek says: Stevenson’s cute illustrations and enthusiastic storytelling have delighted me in her adaptation She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, so a look into her life and career sounds like an interesting look into the business of art, the animation industry, and living as a creative person. Publisher’s Summary: From Noelle Stevenson, the New York Times bestselling author-illustrator of Nimona, comes a captivating, honest illustrated memoir that finds her turning an important corner in her creative journey—and inviting readers along for the ride.

In a collection of essays and personal mini-comics that span eight years of her young adult life, author-illustrator Noelle Stevenson charts the highs and lows of being a creative human in the world. Whether it’s hearing the wrong name called at her art school graduation ceremony or becoming a National Book Award finalist for her debut graphic novel, Nimona, Noelle captures the little and big moments that make up a real life, with a wit, wisdom, and vulnerability that are all her own.

Buy The Fire Never Goes Out on Amazon.

A Phoenix First Must Burn, edited by Patrice Caldwell

Type: Anthology Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers Release Date: March 10

Den of Geek says: A grab-bag of some of the best writers of color in the YA space today,this anthology faces challenges head-on to tell stories of Black women and gender-non-conforming people. It looks like a good mix of realistic and fantastical stories, set past, future, and present.

Publisher’s summary: Evoking Beyoncé’s Lemonade for a teen audience, these authors who are truly Octavia Butler’s heirs, have woven worlds to create a stunning narrative that centers Black women and gender nonconforming individuals. A Phoenix First Must Burn will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and everything in between. Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters in which you cannot help but see yourself reflected. Witches and scientists, sisters and lovers, priestesses and rebels: the heroines of A Phoenix First Must Burn shine brightly. You will never forget them.

Buy A Phoenix First Must Burn on Amazon.

Top New YA Books in March 2020 

Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland

Type: Novel (Second in series) Publisher: Balzer + Bray Release date: 2/4/20

Den of Geek says: Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation was a buzzy historical zombie novel with a keen awareness of racial dynamics in Civil War-era America. The sequel looks to be just as intense as the first. 

Publisher’s summary: The sequel to the New York Times bestselling epic Dread Nation is an unforgettable journey of revenge and salvation across a divided America.

After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother.

But nothing is easy when you’re a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodemus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880s America.

What’s more, this safe haven is not what it appears—as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her.

But she won’t be in it alone.

Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by—and that Jane needs her too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not.

Watching Jane’s back, however, is more than she bargained for, and when they both reach a breaking point, it’s up to Katherine to keep hope alive—even as she begins to fear that there is no happily-ever-after for girls like her.

Buy Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland on Amazon.

Cast Away: Poems for Our Time by Naomi Shihab Nye 

Type: Poetry Publisher: Greenwillow Books Release date: 2/11/2020

Den of Geek says: This unique book of poetry seems perfectly suited to today’s environmental and humanitarian issues. What happens to the things we throw away? What happens to the people who aren’t wanted? The metaphor is rich.

Publisher’s summary: Acclaimed poet and Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye shines a spotlight on the things we cast away, from plastic water bottles to those less fortunate, in this collection of more than eighty original and never-before-published poems. A deeply moving, sometimes funny, and always provocative poetry collection for all ages.

“Nye at her engaging, insightful best.”―Kirkus (starred review)

“How much have you thrown away in your lifetime already? Do you ever think about it? Where does this plethora of leavings come from? How long does it take you, even one little you, to fill the can by your desk?”―Naomi Shihab Nye

National Book Award Finalist, Young People’s Poet Laureate, and devoted trash-picker-upper Naomi Shihab Nye explores these questions and more in this original collection of poetry that features more than eighty new poems. “I couldn’t save the world, but I could pick up trash,” she says in her introduction to this stunning volume.

With poems about food wrappers, lost mittens, plastic straws, refugee children, trashy talk, the environment, connection, community, responsibility to the planet, politics, immigration, time, junk mail, trash collectors, garbage trucks, all that we carry and all that we discard, this is a rich, engaging, moving, and sometimes humorous collection for readers ages twelve to adult.

Buy Cast Away: Poems for Our Time on Amazon.

Rebelwing by Andrea Tang 

Type: Novel Publisher: Razorbill Release date: 2/25/20

Den of Geek says: Robot dragons? What more to say? The fantastical war story setting and high-energy cast of characters looks like it’ll make this one a good read for fans of Pacific Rim.

Publisher’s summary: Things just got weird for Prudence Wu. 

One minute, she’s cashing in on a routine smuggling deal. The next, she’s escaping enforcers on the wings of what very much appears to be a sentient cybernetic dragon. 

Pru is used to life throwing her some unpleasant surprises–she goes to prep school, after all, and selling banned media across the border in a country with a ruthless corporate government obviously has its risks. But a cybernetic dragon? That’s new. 

She tries to forget about the fact that the only reason she’s not in jail is because some sort of robot saved her, and that she’s going to have to get a new side job now that enforcers are on to her. So she’s not exactly thrilled when Rebelwing shows up again. 

Even worse, it’s become increasingly clear that the rogue machine has imprinted on her permanently, which means she’d better figure out this whole piloting-a-dragon thing–fast. Because Rebelwing just happens to be the ridiculously expensive weapon her government needs in a brewing war with its neighbor, and Pru’s the only one who can fly it. 

Set in a wonderfully inventive near-future Washington, D.C., this hilarious, defiant debut sparkles with wit and wisdom, deftly exploring media consumption, personal freedoms, and the weight of one life as Pru, rather reluctantly, takes to the skies.

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from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2Ro14iD

[dailybuglenow]

TUESDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 2023. EDITED BY J. JONAH JAMESON.

BELOVED REPORTER SLAUGHTERED: IS MURDER A FAMILY AFFAIR?

TW: the article discusses and describes murder

New York is a big place filled to the brim with a lot of people. So many, in fact, that it seems at time that we’re all stuffed on top of one another. Of these people, a staggering amount will be murdered according to statistics in 2022, not counting lives lost in natural disaster or superhero collateral damage. Those numbers seem low due to the mass decimation caused by Thanos, but in a post-Cleanse world we need as much good as possible. That being said, murder rates are up 55% from the last year which could be due to the societal disorganization that is still being reestablished. But I know what you’re thinking: why all of this talk about murder? With all the crime and super powered damage we don’t can’t report on each individual, unfortunately, but today the Bugle reports with heavy hearts that we lost one of our own.

Gayle Rogers might have been a newer face at the Bugle, but her coverage on the Jean Grey Incident and Mutant Decimation were incredibly popular on our site. A junior reporter who transferred from Los Angeles, CA, Roger’s had a bright and exciting future in journalism. What’s most tragic about this terrible loss of life, however, is the cause. Approximately two days on the 7th of September police were called to Roger’s apartment when neighbors complained that her dog would not stop barking. What police found in side was horrifying. Ms. Rogers was found pinned to her wall, crucified by shards of metal. Police were initially baffled by who did this and how they managed to as nothing else in the apartment seemed to be out of place. That’s when attention began to turn to one person who can wield metal like no one else: Erik Lehnsherr.

Lehnsherr, also commonly known as Magneto, is a mutant extremist who has posed a threat to humanity for years. His name may sound familiar as we recently detailed his involvement in the Time Square Incident where he was seen carrying the body of a deceased Jean Grey from the scene before issuing a statement. Lehnsherr has killed many humans over the course of his life and has been especially cruel against those who spoke against mutants. Aside from Lehnsherr, the other reasonable suspect is one Lorna Dane, the daughter of Magneto. Dane has a history of mental illness and arrests dating all the way back to when she was a minor and was involuntarily institutionalized. Both father and daughter have been connected to the mutant Hellfire Club at one point or another and have murdered in the name of mutant rights.

As it currently stands, no arrests have been made in the murder of Gayle Rogers but both Lehnsherr and Dane have been asked to come in for questioning. Another reason a mutant is suspected to be at fault is the fact that Rogers was unapologetically anti-mutant and never shied away from being so in her pieces. Silencing a voice that has called them out and held them accountable is what some suspect has happened. This reporter remains a little more evenly keeled on the situation, but I will dutifully update you as the investigation continues. In the meantime, we mourn the loss of a friend and voice that was taken too soon. 

—- Jennie Sheldon, Daily Bugle News Junior Reporter

MUTANT DECIMATION: HOW A GENOCIDAL AVENGER IS TO BLAME

It was five years ago that Thanos snapped his finger and the mutant population was decimated. Although they were once 32 million strong it was in one second that the population dropped to a mere 198-200 people, a case of genocide very rarely matched in numbers. While Thanos’ snap turned half the population to dust everyone who remained alive was untouched except for the mutants. Over the five years before Thanos was beaten scientist after scientist looked into the mutant genome for reason or explanation but none could be found. When it was realized that no mutants were being born either what remained of the population panicked and began looking for anything they could do to stop themselves from reaching the inevitable extinction. One of the solutions they found was isolation.

Mutants had splintered off in the past to form their own societies, whether it was in a smaller setting such as the institution formerly known as Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters or the short lived island of Genosha run by Erik Lehnsherr in the 1990′s. Once again the mutants sequestered themselves off, this time on the living island of Krakoa that scientists and researchers are still trying to understand. For now we’ll simply agree that Krakoa is mysterious, as are the laws that govern the mutants and what that looks like on an international political scale. Mutants hid themselves from the world to cope with a great tragedy, but they never believed the source of their pain could be one of their own. What you are about to read is information that has been obtained through a verified but confidential source who is close to the mutant population and the one who tried to wipe them out. Before we get into that, let’s do a little recap.

 Wanda Maximoff is an Avenger with a rocky past. Originally seen in the 2015 fight against Ultron, Maximoff was a Sokovian national experimented on by HYDRA agents alongside her brother, the deceased Pietro Maximoff, who gave his life saving Avenger Clint Barton. Following the destruction of her brother and loss of her country Maximoff joined the New Avengers alongside the likes of Sam Wilson and the Vision and is responsible for civilian casualties in Lagos. Maximoff was later involved in the Berlin battle and the Superhuman Civil War in 2016 on the side of Captain America. After becoming a war criminal due to her refusal to sign the Sokovian Accords, Maximoff escaped from the Raft prison and went off the grid for two years before surfacing to fight against Thanos in Wakanda where she was turned to ash during the battle. Since her return Maximoff has rejoined the Avengers and received the full support of the team. It’s not what’s known about Maximoff that’s interesting though. It’s what’s not.

Although raised by Django and Magda Maximoff, sources have revealed that both Wanda and Pietro had a different biological father, and that man was Erik Lehnsherr. While the two were believed to be mutates it was later agreed upon that the experiment only activated their mutant genes instead of giving it to them. Maximoff’s status as a mutant has called her Avengers position into question as the Avengers and mutants have been at odds and Maximoff has never made an official statement on the extremist acts of her father or half sister Polaris, also known as Lorna Dane. Instead Maximoff has worked to clear her own name of her international charges and be a hero even if it meant not associating with her family or species. Now, however, we have to ask ourselves if Maximoff had it in for the mutants all along.

The exact moment the mutants were decimated cannot be pinpointed, only that it happened within moments of the Cleanse. Scientists now have examined the scene and have taken note of the fact that Maximoff was trying to destroy the Mind Stone that resided in the head of the deceased synthezoid Vision while also trying to hold of Thanos. Tracing the frequencies of her powers, Maximoff’s energies fluctuate on the same level as both the Mind Stone and the dangerous Phoenix Force. The Cleanse caused a great deal of things that range from a Multiversal Incursion (more on that will be released later) to galaxy wide destruction, but it may not be fully to blame for what happened to the mutants. The reality warping and infinity stone based power of Maximoff in conflict with the Gauntlet that Thanos wore is now believed to be the reason the mutants were decimated.

If all of this is true, Wanda Maximoff could very well be one of the most hated women in the world and to blame for an international tragedy. Ever since rumors were released of this mutants around the world and on Krakoa had begun to call for Maximoff to be held responsible. “If someone kills another there is a price to be a paid, a consequence to be given,” Briar Raleigh, representative of the Hellfire Club read in a statement. “And Wanda Maximoff has done more than kill someone. She has stripped millions of who they were, their essence. She has invaded them and the people she hurt deserve to see her stand trial. They deserve to see her held responsible and she must know what she’s done. This isn’t a witch hunt. This is justified and it’s five years overdue.”

Whether or not Maximoff will respond personally to the mutants is unknown, but the Avengers have called a meeting with mutant representatives on 9 September to talk matters through. In an attempt to show good will they offered to do so on Krakoa, giving the X-Men the home field advantage. If Maximoff has plans to attend has yet to be determined, but if she does she’ll have both hell and family to face for her crimes and the pain she has brought on to so many.

—- Irene Merryweather, Daily Bugle News Senior Reporter of Mutant Affairs

IN OTHER NEWS:

What many believed to be a human comet that crashed into Manhattan last night has now been revealed to be one of the human space cops, Nova. He crashed into Midtown around midnight and an Avengers ambulance took him from the sight. Nova, also known as Richard Rider, was heard trying to issue some kind of warning to onlookers and appeared to be semi-coherent.

Construction on the formerly demolished Avengers Compound has now been finished. The new facilities was opened in honor of Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff and will have meeting rooms, training rooms, spaces for various teams to meet and outbuildings for mutants and intergalactic representatives. Clearance to the Compound is only given to those who are classified to enter and will not be open to the public in the near future.

Rumor has it that prodigal son Harry Osborn, the heir to the Oscorp legacy, will be returning to New York City soon. Although Osborn’s father, Norman Osborn, has been running the business from what was once the Avengers Tower, there have been very few sightings of the mogul with his only child. Hopefully this family reunion is nothing but good news for two of New York’s most eligible bachelors!

[yesbiffwritesthings]

“don’t get your hopes up too high”: An Exhaustively Curated 2018 Playlist

So, since time immemorial I have been putting together year-end playlists and for a long time they were pretty sloppy affairs overall.  Last year, I decided to make up some kind of formula for putting these playlists together.  Basically what it comes down to is, from every new album I listen to, released in the given year, I pick one song.  No repeating artists because that gets to be too much (although featured acts aren’t subject to this rule).  When deciding what releases are going to get my attention, aside from my own personal tastes (skews toward alt. rock and punk a lot of the time) and releases from longtime favorites (this year we saw releases from Metric, and Animal Collective, as well as a long-awaited A Perfect Circle album, and even a Spotify single from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), I try to get give more of my time to queer artists (and this year there were TONS of queer acts releasing great music--Adult Mom, Laura Jane Grace & the Devouring Mothers, Janelle Monae, Snail Mail, SOPHIE, etc. etc. etc. hallelujah).  I also try to make an effort broaden my musical worldview by making time for artists that operate within genres I don’t always naturally gravitate towards.  This was a great year to get back into hip-hop (Rico Nasty, Cardi B, Tierra Whack, Black Panther OST) after not really vibing with some of the directions it has taken in the past ten or so years.  I have also tried to include a track by every band I saw in 2018, providing they actually released something in 2018 and it is available on Spotify (strong apologies to Partner, Bully, Shellshagg, Kimya Dawson, Rozwell Kid, Los Campesinos, the incomparable Liz Phair, and the legendary Fleetwood Mac--y’all didn’t release anything this year).  I give myself until the end of January of the following year to finalize my expansive, year-end playlist, and here we are.  This years playlist is over 15 hours long--almost long enough to put on while you’re doing all that laundry you've been putting off.  I hope you enjoy.

Full list of songs:

The 1975 - “Love it if We Made it”, from A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships

Ab-Soul - “Bloody Waters” [ft. Anderson .Paak], from _Black Panther _OST Adult Mom - “Drive Me Home”, from Soft Spots Amanda Palmer - “Mr. Weinstein Will See You Now” [ft. Jasmine Power], from “Mr. Weinstein Will See You Now” single Amen Dunes - “Miki Dora”, from Freedom American Pleasure Club - “New Years Eve”, from A Whole Fucking Lifetime of This Animal Collective - “Jake & Me”, from Tangerine Reef Anna Burch - “Quit the Curse”, from Quit the Curse Anna Calvi - “Don’t Beat the Girl Out of My Boy”, from Hunter Antarctigo Vespucci - “Not Yours”, from Love in the Time of E-Mail Arctic Monkeys - “Four Out of Five”, from Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino Ariana Grande - “No Tears Left to Cry”, from Sweetener Ava Luna - “Centerline”, from Moon 2

The Bascinets - “Jangle Bee”, from 378 Vol. 1 EP Bat Fangs - “Bad Astrology”, from Bad Astrology Beach House - “Last Ride”, from 7 Bear Hands - “Back Seat Driver”, from “Back Seat Driver” single Bettye LaVette - “What Was it You Wanted” [ft. Trombone Shorty], [Bob Dylan cover], from Things Have Changed Big Freedia - “Karaoke” [ft. Lizzo], from 3rd Ward Bounce Billie Eilish - “When the Party’s Over”, from “When the Party’s Over” single Black Belt Eagle Scout - “Soft Stud”, from Mother of My Children Bleachers - “Alfie’s Song (Not So Typical Love Song)”, from Love, Simon OST Blood Orange - “Charcoal Baby”, from Negro Swan Bob Dylan - “He’s Funny That Way” [Gene Austin cover], from Universal Love: Wedding Songs Reimagined Booji Boys - “Locked (Barely Open)”, from Unknown Pleathers EP Boygenius - “Bite the Hand”, from Boygenius EP Brandi Carlile - “Every Time I Hear That Song”, from By the Way, I Forgive You The Breeders - “Walking With a Killer”, from All Nerve  Bristletongue - “Thistle Among Roses”, from Femme Florale EP Brockhampton - “Thug Life”, from Iridescence

Camp Cope - “The Opener”, from How to Socialise & Make Friends Cardi B - “Ring” [ft. Kehlani], from Invasion of Privacy Caroline Rose - “Bikini”, from Loner Caroline Says - “Cool Jerk”, from No Fool Like an Old Fool The Carters - “Apeshit”, from Everything is Love Cat Power - “Wanderer”, from Wanderer Celine Dion - “Ashes”, from Deadpool 2 OST Chai - “Fried”, from Pink Chance the Rapper - “My Own Thing” [ft. Big Purp], from “My Own Thing” single Childish Gambino - “This is America”, from “This is America” single Christine & the Queens - “Girlfriend” [ft. Dâm-Funk], from Chris Chvrches - “Get Out”, from Love is Dead Closer - “This Year”, from All This Will Be Cloud Nothings - “So Right, So Clean”, from Last Building Burning Company of Thieves - “Window”, from Better Together EP Comrade Question - “Never Change”, from Four Seasons Con Connections - “Low, Low, Low”, from Foreign Affairs Control Top - “Type A”, from “Type A” single Courtney Barnett - “Charity”, from Tell Me How You Really Feel Cupcakke - “Total”, from Ephorize

Damn the Witch Siren - “I Don’t Want to Say I’m Sorry”, from Red Magic Daphne & Celeste - “You & I Alone”, from Daphne & Celeste Save the World Dashboard Confessional - “We Fight”, from Crooked Shadows David Byrne - “Everybody’s Coming to My House”, from American Utopia Death Cab For Cutie - “Gold Rush”, from Thank You For Today The Decemberists - “I’ll Be Your Girl”, from I’ll Be Your Girl” A Delicate Motor - “Do For Self”, from Fellover My Own didi - “Haru”, from Like Memory Foam Dilly Dally - “Bad Biology”, from Heaven Dirty Projectors - “I Found it in U”, from Lamp Lit Prose Django Django - “Beam Me Up, from Marble Skies Downtown Boys - “Fotos y Recuerdos” [Selena cover], from “Fotos y Recuerdos” single Drake - “In My Feelings”, from Scorpion Dream Wife - “Spend the Night”, from Dream Wife DRAM - “WWYD?”, from That’s a Girl’s Name EP Drinks - “Pink Or Die”, from Hippo Lite

El Perro Del Mar - “We Are History”, from We Are History EP EMA - “Dark Shadows”, from Outtakes From Exile EP Empath - “The Eye”, from Liberating Guilt & Fear EP Empress Of - “Love For Me”, from Us Ezra Furman - "Suck the Blood From My Wound", from Transangelic Exodus

Father John Misty - "Disappointing Diamonds Are the Rarest of Them All", from God's Favorite Customer Fatoumata Diawara - "Nterini", from Fenfo (Something to Say) Fields & Planes - "Alice", from Press First Aid Kit - "It's a Shame", from Ruins Fischerspooner - "Discreet", from Sir  Flasher - "Business Unusual", from Constant Image Florence & the Machine - "Hunger", from High As Hope Frank Ocean - "Moon River" [Audrey Hepburn cover], from "Moon River" single Franz Ferdinand - "The Academy Award", from Always Ascending The Frights - "Over It", from Hypochondriac Fucked Up - "Tell Me What You See", from Dose Your Dreams

Gabby's World - "Winter, Withdraw", from Beast On Beast Gerard Way - "Baby You're a Haunted House", from "Baby You're a Haunted House" single Gia Margaret - "Smoke", from There's Always Glimmer Girlpool - "Picturesong", from "Picturesong" single The Go! Team - "The Answer's No--Now What's the Question?", from Semicircle Goodbye Honolulu - "Lorry Can't Love", from More Honey Goat Girl - "The Man With No Heart Or Brain", from Goat Girl Greta Van Fleet - "When the Curtain Falls", from Anthem of the Peaceful Army Gymshorts - "Ding Dong Ditch", from Knock Knock

H.E.R. - "Lord is Coming", from I Used to Know Her: Part Two EP harunemuri **- "sekaiwotorikaeshiteokure", from harutosyura Hatchie - "Sure", from Sugar & Spice EP Hinds - "To the Morning Light", from I Don't Run The HIRS Collective - "Not For You" [Moor Mother remix], from Friends, Lovers, Favorites Hop Along - "Not Abel", from Bark Your Head Off, Dog Hovvdy - "Late", from Cranberry Hozier - "Nina Cried Power" [ft. Mavis Staples], from Nina Cried Power EP

Iceage - "Take it All", from Beyondless  Idles - "Smaritans", from Joy As an Act of Rebellion Illuminati Hotties - "The Rules", from Kiss Yr Frenemies Interpol - "If You Really Love Nothing", from Marauder The Interrupters - "Gave You Everything", from Fight the Good Fight Iron & Wine - "Milkweed", from Weed Garden EP

Jack White - "Over & Over & Over", from Boarding House Reach Janelle Monae - "Pynk" [ft. Grimes], from Dirty Computer Japanese Breakfast - "Dreams" [The Cranberries cover], from Spotify Singles Jay Rock - "Redemption" [ft. SZA], from Redemption Jeff Rosenstock - "Let Them Win", from POST- Jenn Champion - "O.M.G. (I'm All Over It)", from Single Rider Jenny Hval - "Spells", from The Long Sleep EP Jorja Smith - "I Am", from Black Panther OST Joyce Manor - "Fighting Kangaroo", from Million Dollars to Kill Me Juice WRLD - "Lucid Dreams", from Goodbye & Good Riddance Julia Holter - "Turn the Light On", from Aviary Juliana Hatfield - "A Little More Love" [Olivia Newton-John cover], from Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John  Jupiter & Okwess - "Ekombe", from Kin Sonic

Kacey Musgraves - "Space Cowboy", from Golden Hour Karen O - "YO! MY SAINT" [ft. Michael Kiwanuka], from "YO! MY SAINT" single Kendrick Lamar - "All the Stars" [ft SZA], from Black Panther OST Kero Kero Bonito - "Time Today", from Time 'n' Place Kesha - "I Need a Woman to Love" [Janis Joplin cover], from Universal Love: Wedding Songs Reimagined  Khalid - "Love Lies" [ft. Normani], from Love, Simon OST King Princess - "Pussy is God", from "Pussy is God" single Kimbra - "Right Direction", from Primal Heart Kississippi **- "Adrift", from Sunset Blush Krimewatch - "The Big Picture", from Krimewatch Kurt Vile - "Check Baby", from Bottle it In

Lala Lala - "I Get Cut", from The Lamb Laura Jane Grace & the Devouring Mothers - "Reality Bites", from Bought to Rot Laura Stevenson - "Maker of Things", from "The Mystic & the Master" single Lauren Ruth Ward - "Well, Hell", from Well, Hell Leikeli47 - "Top Down", from Acrylic Leon Bridges - "Bet Ain't Worth the Hand", from Good Thing  Loma - "Relay Runner", from Loma Long Neck - "Elizabeth", from Will This Do? Lord Huron - "Wait By the River", from Vide Noir Low - "Rome (Always in the Dark)", from Double Negative  Lowpines - "Parasite", from In Silver Halides Lucius - "Woman", from Nudes Lucy Dacus - "Timefighter", from Historian Lykke Li - “Jaguars in the Air”, from So Sad, So Sexy

The Men - "Come to Me", from Drift Meshell Ndegeocello - "Smooth Operator" [Sade cover], from Ventriloquism Metric - "Dressed to Suppress", from Art of Doubt MGMT - "One Thing Left to Try", from Little Dark Age Middle Kids - "Edge of Town", from Lost Friends Mister Moon - "Plastic", from Codes EP Mitski - "Nobody", from Be the Cowboy Mountain Man - "AGT", from Magic Ship Mourn - "Candle Man", from Sorpresa Familia Muncie Girls - "Jeremy", from Fixed Ideals Mungbean - "Wednesday", from "Wednesday/Aimed at You" single

Natalie Prass - "The Fire", from The Future & The Past Neko Case - "Gumball Blue", from Hell-On Night Flowers - "Head On", from Wild Notion Noble Vices - "Wheelhouses", from "Wheelhouses" single Noname - “With You", from Room 25 Nothing - "Us/We/Are", from Dance On the Blacktop Now, Now - "Window", from Saved

Ohmme - "Icon", from Parts The Ophelias - "Lover's Creep", from Almost Ought - "Disgraced in America", from Room Inside the World Ovlov - "Stick", from TRU

Palm - "Swimmer", from Rock Island Parquet Courts - "Normalisation", from Wide Awake! Peach Kelli Pop - "Parasomnia", from Gentle Leader Peggy Gou - "It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)" [edit], from "It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)" single A Perfect Circle - "So Long & Thanks For All the Fish", from Eat the Elephant Petal - "Stardust", from Magic Gone Phoebe Bridgers - "Friday I'm in Love" [The Cure cover], from Spotify Singles Pinky Pinky - "Robber", from Hot Tears  Poppy - "Play Destroy" [ft. Grimes], from Am I a Girl? Preoccupations - "Espionage", from New Material Princess Chelsea - "I Love My Boyfriend", from The Loneliest Girl Protomartyr - "Wheel of Fortune" [ft. Kelley Deal], from Consolation EP

Q-Tip and Demi Lovato - "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" [Elton John cover], from Revamp

Radattack - "Rock & Roll Party Queen", from "Rock & Roll Party Queen" single Rainbow Kitten Surprise - "Hide", from How to: Friend, Love, Freefall Remember Sports - "Making it Right", from Slow Buzz Rico Nasty - "Oreo", from Nasty Robert Delong - "Favorite Color is Blue" [ft. K-Flay], from See You in the Future EP Robyn - "Missing U", from Honey Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - "Exclusive Grave", from Hope Downs Ron Gallo - "Really Nice Guys", from Really Nice Guys EP Rosalia - "Di Mi Nombre", from El Mal Querer Saintseneca -  ” Good Hand", from Pillar of Na Say Lou Lou - "All Love to Me", from Immortelle Screaming Females - "Deeply", from All at Once Shame - "Concrete", from Songs of Praise Shannon & the Clams - "The Boy", from Onion Shannon Shaw - "Golden Frames", from Shannon in Nashville Shilpa Ray - "Shoot This Dying Horse", from Nihilism The Sidekicks - "Twin's Twist", from Happiness Hours SiR - "Summer in November", from November Skating Polly - "Free Will at Ease", from The Make it All Show Sleep - "Marijuanaut's Theme", from The Sciences Slothrust - "For Robin", from The Pact Smashing Pumpkins - "Silver Sometimes (Ghosts)", from Shiny & Oh So Bright, Vol. 1: No Past, No Future, No Sun Snail Mail - "Pristine", from Lush Snarls - "Lonely", from Snarls EP SOB X RBE - "Paramedic!", from Black Panther OST Soccer Mommy - "Cool", from Clean SOPHIE - "Immaterial", from Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides Souther - "Enough", from Blume EP Spiritualized - "On the Sunshine", from And Nothing Hurt SSION - "1980-99" [ft. Patty Schemel and Sky Ferreira], from O St. Vincent - "Los Ageless" [piano version], from Mass Education Stef Chura - "Degrees", from "Degrees/Sour Honey" single Sunflower Bean - "Burn It", from Twentytwo in Blue Superchunk - "Erasure" [ft. Stephin Merritt and Waxahatchee], from What a Time to Be Alive  Superorganism - "Night Time", from Superorganism Swearin' - "Big Change", from Fall Into the Sun

Tanya Tagaq - "Run to the Hills" [ft. Damian Abraham] [Iron Maiden cover], from "Run to the Hills" single Tanlines - "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", from Presents EP Teenage Wrist - "Dweeb", from Chrome Neon Jesus They Might Be Giants - "Let's Get This Over With", from I Like Fun Third Eye Blind - "In the Fade" [Queens of the Stone Age cover], from Thanks For Everything EP Thumpers - "Tenor", from Life All In EP Tierra Whack - "Fuck Off", from Whack World Titus Andronicus - "Above the Bodega (Local Business)", from A Productive Cough Tom Misch - "Isn't She Lovely" [Stevie Wonder cover], from Geography Tomberlin - "You Are Here", from At Weddings Toto - "Hash Pipe" [Weezer cover], from "Hash Pipe" single Tracyanne & Danny - "It Can't Be Love Unless it Hurts", from Tracyanne & Danny  TT - "Take One", from LoveLaws tune-yards - "Colonizer", from i can feel you creep into my private life Turtlenecked - "Knocked Down By Another Ghost", from High Scores of the Heart TV Girl - "King of Echo Park", from Death of a Party Girl Twin Shadow - "Saturdays" [ft. Haim], from Caer

U.S. Girls - "Rage of Plastics", from In a Poem Unlimited Ultra Beauty - "Pegasuss", from Ultra Beauty EP Unknown Mortal Orchestra - "Hunnybee", from Sex & Food

Vacation - "Action Road", from Mouth Sounds #2699 The Vaccines - "Surfing in the Sky", from Combat Sports Valerie June - "Mad About the Girl", from Universal Love: Wedding Songs Reimagined

Waxahatchee - "Takes So Much", from Great Thunder EP Weaves - "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)", from "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" single The Weeknd - "Wasted Times", from My Dear Melancholy EP Weezer - "Africa" [Toto cover], from "Africa" single Westerman  - "Albatross", from Ark EP Wished Bone - "Ohio", from Cellar Belly The Wombats - "Dip You in Honey", from Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life  Wussy - "Cake", from What Heaven is Like Wye Oak - "I Know It's Real", from The Louder I Call the Faster it Runs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Thirteen" [Big Star cover], from Spotify Singles Young Fathers - "Fee Fi", from Cocoa Sugar Young Guv - "Ain't Fallin' in Luv Again", from 2 Sad 2 Funk Yowler - "WTFK", from Black Dog in My Path Yungblud - "I Love You, Will You Marry Me", from 21st Century Liability

https://open.spotify.com/user/barfwalker/playlist/7mCLnG6CZG1yB4q8uhzcys?si=Ip-Lka-0TOWCWRLMXGZ26w

[cantdanceflynn]

HAD TO SEND MYSELF AN ASK TO GET THIS TO WORK SO THATS WHY THIS IS WEIRD THE ACTUAL POST IS THE RESPONSE TO THIS

IM HAVING A LOT OF THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT MY "IT STARTED AS JUST EMPIRESMP BUT NOW ITS LIKE EVERYTHING MOSTLY CANON TO EMPIRESMP AS WELL" PNF AU SO. IF ANYONE HAS ANY SPECIFIC MOMENTS THEY WANT ME TO DRAW FOR IT(EMPIRESMP AND TRAFFIC LIFE SERIES PROBABLY PREFERRED BUT AT LEAST HERMITCRAFT, AFTERLIFESMP, AND THE X LIFE SERIES ALSO COUNT, ANY OTHERS ARE BASED ON HOW I FEEL BOUT THE CLIP IG BC IVE FORGOTTEN IF ANY OTHERS R CANON TO IT PROPERLY RN(I DONT HAVE THE ENERGY TO WATCH ALL THE ONES THAT SHOW UP IN SAUSAGES FLASHBACKS SO FAR IM NOT COMPLETELY CAUGHT UP W HIS SEASON 2 POV) SO)

THE CURRENT CHARACTERS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE IF ANYONE HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS PLS MY BRAIN IS DEAD AND STRUGGLING W THE CROSSOVER STUFF) (AND DO NOT ASSUME THESE 100% FOLLOW CANON EVENTS BUT THEY USUALLY DO) IS LIZZIE AS CANDACE, JOEL AS JEREMY, JIMMY AS PHINEAS, SCOTT AS ISABELLA, FWHIP AS BALJEET, GEM AS BUFORD, SAUSAGE AS DJANGO, PEARL AS JENNY, SHUBBLE AS IRVING, PIX AS PERRY, JOEY AS FERB, KATHERINE AS STACY, OLI AS DOOF, FALSE AS ALICE, AND POSSIBLY MILO AS TANGO, COLTRANE AS ETHO, SARA AS CLEO, AND MAYBE BDUBS AS BIFF? IDK I DONT THINK I HAVE ENOUGH CONTEXT FOR IT BUT I THINK ITD BE RLY FUNNY. I DID HAVE VANESSA AS ZORNOTH BEFORE BUT HAVING WATCHED A SEASON ONE POV CLOSE TO ZORNOTH IM KINDA RETHINKING THAT, ALTHOUGH WHO ELSE ITD BE IM NOT RLY SURE ON. I JUST KINDA DID IT AS A VAGUE REFERENCE TO PYXES SWAP AU AND STUCK W IT BUT XORNOTH IS RLY IMPORTANT SO IF ANYONE HAS ANOTHER IDEA PLS LEMMIE KNOW. THAS BOUT ALL IVE GOT SO LIKE I SAID ANY IDEAS OR SUGGESTIONS R WELCOME

ANYWAYS IF YOU HAVE SCENES OR INTERACTIONS U WANT ME TO DRAW FOR IT PLS TELL ME I WANNA DRAW A BUNCHA STUFF FOR THIS GENERAL AU RN