A Blue Box Full Of Books

The Minus-One Club Kekla Magoon Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) @henryholt Publication date : January 24, 2023

After receiving a mysterious note in his high school locker , Kermit meets the members of the Minus-One Club, a group of teenagers who lost someone, just like him. Meeting them helps the young man dealing with tragedy, as things are suffocating at home, because of overprotective parents. Kermit meets Matt, and the friendship turns into love.

The Minus-One Club is a moving and emotional young adult novel. Fifteen-year-old Kermit Sanders is deeply wounded by grief after losing his big sister in a tragic car accident. The Minus-One Club is the story of a transformation, as Kermit loses his last drops of childhood innocence. Emotional, mental and spiritual changes are rooted deeply in Kermit’s story.

Kekla Magoon wrote a powerful novel, raising strong and difficult topics. Death, grief, alcoholism, suicide, fear of rejection. Kermit’s homosexuality discovery is at the heart of the novel. His relationship with Matt is sweet, but also ingrained in fear. Kermit’s family is really religious, and the teenager knows he will never be accepted for who he really is.

The Counter Balance (Ruling Magic : Book 1) Lissa Bolts Publication date : October 15, 2020

Who needs a badass heroine ? I give to you Isla, heiress of a magical kingdom (technically it is the United States, but still, magiiiiiiic) and daughter of a horrible mean tyrant, incidentally, the Queen. Isla doesn’t have the glamorous sparkly life that her title could suggest. She is hated by her mother who does everything she can to make her life difficult. No, the Queen doesn’t have a magical mirror, but still cares to be the more powerful. Still, Isla is smart and finds ways to sneak out under her mother’s nose. But then, things get pretty serious. There is an assassination attempt and the Princess becomes the pawn in a war between her kingdom and the neighboring royal domain. So Isla knows it, she has to stop her crazy mother to save everyone, including the king of the other kingdom, who is really cute.

The Art of Running Away Sabrina Kleckner @sabkleckner-blog Jolly Fish Press @jollyfishpress Published November 16, 2021

Maisie is passionate about art. She spends hours in Glenna’s , the familial art shop. But one evening, her world collapses, as her parents tell her she will spend the summer in Scotland, with an aunt she never met before. Little does she know that this foreign adventure will allow her to reunite with her brother, who ran away from home when she was six.

I loved the relationship between twelve-year-old Maisie and her big brother Calum. It is absolutely sweet, and feels at the same time so reel. I was deeply touched by how they learn to know each other after many years of silence. I was impressed by how the author subtly included the LGBT topic : with simple words she goes through what it means to be an ally, and how feeling different can sometimes hurt. The Art of Running Away is a book meant to be shared, and talked about, especially between adult and younger readers. It is a discussion opener, not only about LGBT topics, but also about what makes you, YOU. Young Maisie is passionate about art, but has a hard time finding what her path is. She grows a lot during the novel, both emotionally and mentally.

As Jaxon’s mom has to go to court, the young boy has to stay with a grandmother he never heard of. But the old woman isn’t who he expects. She is in fact a witch. And she is hiding three baby dragons in a tin box in her bag. Of course there are rules : Do not let them out of the bag, and whatever happens, do not feed them, especially anything sweet.

I loved Dragons in a Bag so much ! It is an adorable middle grade novel, full of magical creatures and genuine, courageous diverse characters. Jaxon is a colorful character, a young boy who discovers that magic is real and wishes to become Ma’s apprentice, an old witch who protects out of our realms creatures.

Ronald Wimberly First seconds Books Published January 3, 2023

Now Let Me Fly is a deeply powerful graphic biography about the first African-American fighter pilot, Eugene Bullard. Born in Columbus (GA) under the oppression of Jim Crow laws, Bullard dreamt of Europe, especially France, where he heard black people are free, safe and treated as fellow human beings. The eve of World War 1, he realized his dream, and discovered Parisian life, before joining the fight in 1914 to defend France.

Gray fox wanders in the woods, discovering the world in the dark. Moon, stars and shadows accompany her journey, as she joins her kits for the rest of the night.

With beautiful illustrations and poetic words, Isaac Peterson invites the readers to open their eyes and ears and explore Nature as it falls asleep. With only three colors, dark blue, white and gold, the atmosphere is simple, but truly warm. This story is a celebration of family and of Nature grace.

Charity Mae Knighted Phoenix Publishing

Not easy to be a Princess in the Enthronement World. The Enthronement ? A competition opened to all the young women of the country where the lucky winner will become the next Princess of the kingdom, wed to the crown prince. Kascia doesn’t want to be part of all this madness. She just wants to dance and marry the man she loves. But nothing goes as planned.

Kascia is an interesting and strong heroine. In this retelling of the Princess and the Pea, people are at war for the last few centuries, fighting against a regime that they think is unfair. Being part of the Royal family could offer Kascia’s family a unique opportunity to enter the castle and assassinate the royal family. But are they really as horrible as the people describe?

Blanka H. Madow

Published November 30th

I absolutely loved Mother of Pearl, the first book of the Precious Stones series. So we can say that I had high expectations about Eye of Hawk, the second book of the series. I was really not disappointed. Blanka H. Madow takes the reader on a journey along Valeri, the heroine, who feels more alone than ever in this strange and magical country. We discover truths about the wall, and about ennemis who may not be as bad as they seem.

Sofía Lapuente

Jarrod Shusterman

Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

Out January 24th 2023

After a fight with her best friend, Luna releases a problematic video on Limbo, the social media that everyone uses, without thinking of the terrible consequences it can have. To answer the problem, Limbo created the Retro Challenge where the social media encourages its users to disconnect and only uses technologies that existed before the internet took over the world. What seems like a fun experience turns rapidly to nightmare as contestants start to disappear.

Retro is the kind of book that you cannot put down. It is like a millefeuille cake. It is good and sugary and you cannot stop eating it. And like the cake this efficient young adult thriller has several layers of reading. I loved how Sofía Lapuente and Jarrod Shusterman introduced difficult topics in the story, without overdoing it. There are topics such as death of a parent, online bullying, or suicide attempt. There is also that omnipresence of social media, and how it influences people’s lives and our relationship to others. Limbo, the imaginary social app, is almost on every page of the novel. It is a puppet master that manipulates all the characters' lives . It sees everything. The 1984’s atmosphere is undeniable. 

Emily Bybee Published October 20th 2022

Clara has a dream : land the lead in the high school musical, Grease. As her dream comes true, she meets the handsome Sam, and falls in love. But Clara isn’t like other teenagers. She is a witch. And according to witch’s laws, she is supposed to marry a guy she has never met in a few weeks. Defying the council’s authority, Clara and Sam escape, without imagining the terrible consequences and punishment that will follow.

It is the second book of the Unstable Magic series I read, and I was not disappointed. Emily Bybee has an incredible talent to create extraordinary characters evolving in a world where humans and witches coexist. Even if all the books can be read individually, each of them focusing on a different character, they all form together a perfect coherence, moving forward in the Unstable Magic universe and story.

Lexi Haddock Chrysalis Press

(Published December 6th 2022)

Callie arrived in Paris to be with her boyfriend, hoping to be engaged soon. But her world collapsed soon after arriving, when he told her that it wouldn’t work. Six months later, she is ready to return to the USA. She has four days left to enjoy Paris, and maybe find love.

This romantic comedy is really sweet. I loved the heroine, Callie. I found it really inspiring how, despite all her misadventures and a broken heart, she still is full of hopes and dreams, enjoying the moment. Callie’s deep connection with her two friends, Lila and Emilie helps her a lot during her time in France : self-discovery and courage are the keys for the young woman to start over and meet the man of her life.

Kate Beaton Drawn and Quarterly @drawnandquarterly

(Published September 13th 2022)

After university, Kate Beaton headed west, like many others, searching for a job opportunity. She heard about Alberta’s oil rush, and hoped to find something that will help her to pay off her student loans. Arriving in Fort McMurray, Beaton finds work in the lucrative camps owned and operated by the world’s largest oil companies. For two years, she worked in a place dominated by men.

Beaton’s graphic memoir is powerful, and so interesting. She depicts everything from the harsh reality of life in the oil sands where trauma is an everyday occurrence yet never discussed. For months, she lived in a small community where colossal machineries and machines were the only scenery. Her testimony as a woman worker in the Oil Sands is strong, deep and touching.

Dark Testament : Blackout Poems Crystal Simone Smith Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) @macmillanusa

With Dark Testament : Blackout Poems, Crystal Simone Smith shares the mourning and pain of a community, deeply wounded by unlawful killings and racism : Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Sybrina Fulton, Michael Brown, Jordan Davis, Michelle Kenney, Daunte Wright, Aiyana Jones, Laquan McDonald, Rodney King, Sandra Bland, George Floyd, Walter Scott, or Breonna Taylor ; to only name a few of a very long, too long list. It is to them, and many others, that Smith’ s poems are dedicated.

Antonio Iturbe Salva Rubio Lilit Zekulin Thwaites Loreto Aroca Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Godwin Books @macmillanusa

Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this graphic novel tells the incredible story of a courageous girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust.

Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. The teenager is a book lover and devoured every book she could put her hands on before the war. But she was taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, and is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. Her life brightens when Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards.

Alan Gratz Brent Schoonover Graphix, Scholastic (Out 01/03/2023)

Steve Rogers and his young sidekick Bucky Barnes are sent in Europe to give a hand to the American Army. What seems to be a banal battle turns rapidly into a dangerous adventure against a ghost nazi army and a powerful magician.

Captain America : the Ghost Army was a very interesting read : I loved the historical context, as well as the story. All the characters have intriguing background stories, and the villains have solid motives. The art is beautiful and detailed, without being too violent, so young readers can enjoy it as well. Consider this graphic novel more like an historical fiction with superheroes. World War 2 is omnipresent in the story : death is one of the main characters, and soldiers and civilians are in constant danger.

Right to Remain Silent is a very sweet Scottish Christmas novella. If you want something cute and fast to read, it may be the perfect fit ! The story is seen through the two main characters' perspectives : Christine and Fraser. Years ago these two dated, but they separated and never really forgot each other. Christmas being a magical time of the year, they are unexpectedly reunited as Fraser becomes Christine's new boss.