New Book Tuesday: June 21st

Here are the new books coming out for this week on New Book Tuesday. Click each book for more information and to purchase. Which are you planning to read? Do you have a favorite of all the new titles being released this week? Tell us in the comments section below.

Epically Earnest by Molly Horan

About the Book:

Jane Worthing’s claim to fame is that she was one first viral internet sensations, dubbed #bagbaby—discovered as a one-year-old in an oversized Gucci bag by her adopted father in a Poughkeepsie train station.

Now in her senior year of high school, Janey is questioning whether she wants to look for her bio family due to a loving, but deeply misguided push from her best friend Algie, while also navigating an all-consuming crush on his cousin, the beautiful, way-out-of-her-league Gwen Fairfax.

And while Janey’s never thought of herself as the earnest type, she needs to be honest with her parents, Algie, Gwen, but mostly herself if she wants to make her life truly epic. With a wink toward Oscar Wilde’s beloved play, Epically Earnest explores the complexity of identity, the many forms family can take, and the importance of being . . . yourself.

About the Author:

Molly Horan is a graduate of the New School’s MFA program in writing for children and young adults. After graduating, she worked as a web writer and editor focusing on entertainment writing at sites like KnowYourMeme and Refinery29. She currently works as an English professor teaching writing for young adults and writing for the web at NYU and SVA. Molly resides in Astoria, New York.

Jumper by Melanie Crowder

About the Book:

Blair Scott is in her second season as a wildland firefighter when the Forest Service puts out a call for an additional class of smokejumpers. She and her best friend Jason both apply, though neither expects to get in since they’re only nineteen. But it’s been a devastating fire season, and they are both accepted. But going to training camp is only the first step—everyone expects the teenage rookies will wash out in the first week. Blair has always been touchy about people telling her she isn’t good enough, so she begins taking unnecessary risks to prove herself. It doesn’t take long before everything spins out of control, leaving Blair struggling to cope.

A story of courage, self-knowledge, and ultimate triumph over the elements, Jumper is a dramatic wilderness adventure that explores what it takes to survive—in every sense of the word.

About the Author:

Melanie Crowder (she/her) holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the author of the critically acclaimed Audacity, Mazie, and An Uninterrupted View of the Sky. She lives with her family on the Colorado Front Range.

Not Good For Maidens by Tori Bovalino

About the Book:

Beneath the streets of York, the goblin market calls to the Wickett women―the family of witches that tends to its victims. For generations, they have defended the old cobblestone streets with their magic. Knowing the dangers, they never entered the market―until May Wickett fell for a goblin girl, accepted her invitation, and became inextricably tied to the world her family tried to protect her from. The market learned her name, and even when she and her sister left York for Boston to escape it, the goblins remembered.

Seventeen years later, Lou, May’s niece, knows nothing of her magical lineage or the twisted streets, sweet fruits, and incredible jewels of the goblin market. But just like her aunt, the market calls to her, an echo of a curse that won’t release its hold on her family. And when her youngest aunt, Neela, is kidnapped by goblins, Lou discovers just how real and dangerous the market is.

To save her, both May and Lou will have to confront their family’s past and what happened all those years ago. But everything―from the food and wares, to the goblins themselves―is a haunting temptation for any human who manages to find their way in. And if Lou isn’t careful, she could end up losing herself to the market, too.

About the Author:

Tori Bovalino is the author of The Devil Makes Three. She is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and now lives in the UK with her partner and their very loud cat, Sir Gordon Greenidge II. Tori loves scary stories, obscure academic book facts, and impractical oversized sweaters.

A Year to the Day by Robin Benway

About the Book:

Leo can’t remember what happened the night of the accident. All she knows is that she left the party with her older sister, Nina, and Nina’s boyfriend, East. And now Nina is dead, killed by a drunk driver and leaving Leo with a hole inside her that’s impossible to fill.

East, who loved Nina almost as much as Leo did, is the person who seems to most understand how she feels, and the two form a friendship based on their shared grief. But as she struggles to remember what happened, Leo discovers that East remembers every detail of the accident—and he won’t tell her anything about it. In fact, he refuses to talk about that night at all.

As the days tumble one into the next, Leo’s story comes together while her world falls apart. How can she move on if she never knows what really happened that night? And is happiness even possible in a world without Nina?

About the Author:

Robin Benway is a National Book Award–winning and New York Times bestselling author of seven novels for young adults, including Audrey, Wait!; the AKA series; Emmy & Oliver; and Far From the Tree. Her books have received numerous awards and recognition, including a Blue Ribbon Award from the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, ALA Booklist’s Best Books for Young Adults, and ALA Booklist’s Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults. In addition, her novels have received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, ALA Booklist, and Publishers Weekly and have been published in more than twenty-five countries. Her previous book, Far From the Tree, won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and the PEN America award. Robin grew up in Orange County, California; attended NYU, where she was the recipient of the Seth Barkas Prize for Creative Writing; and is a graduate of UCLA. She currently lives in Los Angeles.

The Name She Gave Me by Betty Culley

About the Book:

Rynn was born with a hole in her heart—literally. Although it was fixed long ago, she still feels an emptiness there when she wonders about her birth family.

As her relationship with her adoptive mother fractures, Rynn finally decides she needs to know more about the rest of her family. Her search starts with a name, the only thing she has from her birth mother, and she quickly learns that she has a younger sister living in foster care in a nearby town. But if Rynn reconnects with her biological sister, it may drive her adoptive family apart for good.

This powerful story uncovers both beautiful and heartbreaking truths and explores how challenging, yet healing, family can be.

About the Author:

Betty Culley lives in central Maine, where the rivers run through the small towns. She’s an RN who worked as an obstetrics nurse and as a pediatric home hospice nurse. She went into foster care at nine months old and was adopted three years later. As an adult, she was found by five siblings she never knew she had.

Never Coming Home by Kate Williams

About the Book:

Everyone knows Unknown Island—it’s the world’s most exclusive destination. Think white sand beaches, turquoise seas, and luxury accommodations. Plus, it’s invite only, no one over twenty-one allowed, and it’s absolutely free. Who wouldn’t want to go?

The mysterious resort launched with a viral marketing campaign, and now the whole world is watching as the mysterious resort opens its doors to the First Ten, the ten elite influencers specifically chosen to be the first to experience everything Unknown Island has to offer. You know them. There’s the gamer, the beauty blogger, the rich girl, the superstar, the junior politician, the environmentalist, the DJ, the CEO, the chef, and the athlete.

What they don’t know is that they weren’t invited to Unknown Island for their following—they were invited for their secrets. Everyone is hiding a deadly one, and it looks like someone’s decided it’s payback time. Unknown Island isn’t a vacation, it’s a trap. And it’s beginning to look like the First Ten—no matter how influential—are never coming home.

About the Author:

Kate Williams has written for Seventeen, NYLON, Cosmopolitan, Bustle, Vans, Calvin Klein, Urban Outfitters, and many other brands and magazines. She is the author of The Babysitters Coven trilogy: The Babysitters CovenFor Better or Cursed, and Spells Like Teen Spirit. Kate lives in Kansas.

This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron

About the Book:

Briseis has one chance to save her mother, but she’ll need to do the impossible: find the last fragment of the deadly Absyrtus Heart. To locate the missing piece, she must turn to the blood relatives she’s never known, learn about their secret powers, and take her place in their ancient lineage.
But Briseis is not the only one who wants the Heart, and her enemies will stop at nothing to fulfill their own ruthless plans. The fates tell of a truly dangerous journey, one that could end in more heartache, more death. Strengthened by the sisterhood of ancient magic, can Briseis harness her power to save the people she loves most?

About the Author:

Kalynn Bayron is the bestselling author of the award-winning YA fantasy Cinderella Is Dead and This Poison Heart. She is a classically trained vocalist and when she’s not writing you can find her listening to Ella Fitzgerald on loop, attending the theater, watching scary movies, and spending time with her kids. She currently lives in upstate New York with her family.

We Weren’t Looking to Be Found by Stephanie Kuehn

About the Book:

Dani comes from the richest, most famous Black family in Texas and has everything a girl could want. So why does she keep using drugs and engaging in other self-destructive behavior?

Camila’s Colombian American family doesn’t have much, but she knows exactly what she wants out of life and works her ass off to get it. So why does she keep failing, and why does she self-harm every time she does?

When Dani and Camila find themselves rooming together at Peach Tree Hills, a treatment facility in beautiful rural Georgia, they initially think they’ll never get along―and they’ll never get better. But then they find a mysterious music box filled with letters from a former resident of PTH, and together they set out to solve the mystery of who this girl was . . . and who she’s become. The investigation will bring them closer, and what they find at the end might just bring them hope.

About the Author:

Stephanie Kuehn is a psychologist and an author. She has written five novels for teens, including Charm & Strange, which won the ALA’s 2014 William C. Morris Award for best debut young adult novel. Stephanie lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family and their many pets, where life is loud, joyous, and filled with animal hair.

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