We are pleased to share that Foreword Reviews has reviewed Shadow Weaver by MarcyKate Connolly for their January/February 2018.
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Foreword Reviews says, "Connolly's narrative is full of meaningful moral lessons--on the limits of loyalty, the importance of honesty, and the absolute necessity of trusting others... an enchanting new juvenile fantasy series."

Book Info

Shadow Weaver by MarcyKate Connolly

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Publication Date: January 2nd, 2018

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository

Fans of Serafina and the Black Cloak and The Night Gardener will devour Shadow Weaver, the first in a dark middle-grade fantasy duology that’s filled with shadows, danger, magic, and has the feel of a new classic.

Emmeline’s gift of controlling shadows has isolated her from the rest of the world, but she’s grown to be content, hidden away in her mansion with Dar, her own shadow, as her only company.

Disaster strikes when a noble family visits their home and offers to take Emmeline away and cure her of magic. Desperate not to lose her shadows, she turns to Dar who proposes a deal: Dar will change the noble’s mind, if Emmeline will help her become flesh as she once was. Emmeline agrees but the next morning the man in charge is in a coma and all that the witness saw was a long shadow with no one nearby to cast it. Scared to face punishment, Emmeline and Dar run away.
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With the noble’s guards on her trail, Emmeline's only hope of clearing her name is to escape capture and perform the ritual that will set Dar free. But Emmeline’s not sure she can trust Dar anymore, and it’s hard to keep secrets from someone who can never leave your side.

​Book Info

Under Her Skin by Adriana Anders

Sourcebooks Casablanca

Publication Date: February 7th, 2017

Buy It:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository

Her body is his canvas.

A darkly possessive relationship has left Uma alone and on the run. Beneath her drab clothing, she hides a terrible secret—proof of her abuse, tattooed onto her skin in a lurid reminder of everything she’s survived.
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Caught between a brutal past and an uncertain future, Uma’s reluctant to bare herself to anyone, much less a rough ex-con whose rage drives him in ways she will never understand. But beneath his frightening exterior, Ivan is gentle. Warm. Compassionate. And just as determined to heal Uma’s broken heart as he is to destroy the monster who left his mark scrawled across the delicate tapestry of her skin.

Book Info
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​The Cookie Cure by Susan and Laura Stachler
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Sourcebooks

Publication Date: February 6th, 2018

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository

When twenty-two-year-old Susan Stachler was diagnosed with cancer, her mother, Laura, was struck by déjà vu: the same illness that took her sister’s life was threatening to take her daughter’s too. Heartbroken but steadfast, Laura pledged to help Susan through the worst of her treatments.

​When they discovered that Laura’s homemade ginger cookies soothed the side effects of Susan’s chemo, the mother-daughter duo soon found themselves opening Susansnaps and sharing their gourmet gingersnaps with the world.

Told with admirable grace and infinite hope, The Cookie Cure is about more than baked goods and cancer—it’s about fighting for your life and for your dreams.

We are thrilled to share that The Very Very Very Long Dog by Julia Patton is an SLJ Popular Pick for November!
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School Library Journal calls The Very Very Very Long Dog "a charming book that is packed with humor."

Their review goes on to say, "It’s difficult not to fall in love with Bartelby and his supportive friends. The story quietly stresses the importance of friendship and perseverance. This is a sublimely silly book that children and dog lovers will enjoy reading again and again."

​Book Info

The Very Very Very Long Dog by Julia Patton
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Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Publication Date: December 5th, 2017

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository

Bartelby is a very long and lovable dachshund who lives in a bookstore. He has a lovely set of friends who take him for walks through the city, but he has no idea that his bumbling backside leaves a trail of destruction and accidents behind him. Embarrassed that he has no control over his back end, Bartelby vows to never leave the cozy bookstore again. Can his friends help him find a way to help himself?
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This beautifully illustrated picture book features silly fun along with an important message: that we love our friends not in spite of their flaws, but because of them.

What School Library Journal has to say about Alone: "The realistic character development will leave readers on the edge of their seats until the nail-biting conclusion. Fans of Stephen King's and R.L. Stine's novels will enjoy this entry."
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​​Alone by Cyn Balog

Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: November 7th, 2017

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository

When her mom inherits an old, crumbling mansion, Seda's almost excited to spend the summer there. The grounds are beautiful and it's fun to explore the sprawling house with its creepy rooms and secret passages. Except now her mom wants to renovate, rather than sell the estate—which means they're not going back to the city…or Seda's friends and school.

As the days grow shorter, Seda is filled with dread. They're about to be cut off from the outside world, and she's not sure she can handle the solitude or the darkness it brings out in her.
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Then a group of teens get stranded near the mansion during a blizzard. Seda has no choice but to offer them shelter, even though she knows danger lurks in the dilapidated mansion—and in herself. And as the snow continues to fall, what Seda fears most is about to become her reality…

​School Library Journal describes Busted by Gina Ciocco as "A satisfying story that explores how actions in life and relationships impact others" and that "the characters are realistic and well developed." 

Busted by Gina Ciocca
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Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: January 2nd, 2018

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
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Marisa never planned to be a snoop for hire. It wasn’t like she wanted to catch her best friend’s boyfriend making out with another girl. But as her reputation for sniffing out cheaters spreads all over school, Marisa finds herself the reluctant queen of busting two-timing boys.
​
And her next case? It’s for ex-frenemy Kendall. She’s convinced her boyfriend, TJ, has feelings for someone else and persuades Marissa to start spying on him. But the more Marisa gets to know sincere and artistic TJ, the more she starts to fall for him. Worse yet, the feelings seem to be mutual. Marisa knows she needs to give up her investigation—and the spoken-for guy who may just be the love of her life. Then she uncovers new secrets about Kendall and TJ, secrets that take “cheater” to a whole new level…

What School Library Journal says about Remember Me Always by Renee Collins: "Auden and Shelby's electric chemistry is heightened by the mystery of Shelby's true past that will keep teens guessing until the satisfying end. Recommend this book to fans of Adam Silvera's More Happy than Not and the film La La Land."

Remember Me Always by Renee Collins

Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: October 3rd, 2017

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository

Shelby is nervous to start her senior year after spending the whole summer away from home. After all, it’s hard to be carefree when you’re trying to protect a secret.

Shelby was in a devastating car accident, and everyone in town thinks that she was undergoing more physical therapy in Denver. Instead, Shelby’s mother enrolled her in a clinical program to stop the panic attacks that started after the crash. The treatment erased Shelby’s memory of the accident, but she can’t help feeling as if a piece of herself is missing, that the treatment took more than the doctors claimed.
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So when Shelby starts hallucinating a boy with dark and mysterious eyes, she knows it must be a side-effect of the clinical program. Except you can’t kiss hallucinations. And this boy insists that they know each other and are in love...

School Library Journal calls Plague Land: "A high-impact horrific thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seat and begging for the next installment."

School Library Journal also says, "This fast-paced thriller is extremely intense and full of surprises, providing the YA horror genre with a wonderful postapocalyptic addition. Smaller chapters from all over the world showing the devastation of the virus creates a horrifying picture of mass destruction and a layered look at the plot. Adding to the multidimensional view of the story are small vignettes where the virus itself narrates and describes how it is evolving and replicating."

Plague Land by Alex Scarrow
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Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: December 5th, 2017

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository
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Leon and his younger sister, Grace, have recently moved to London from New York and are struggling to settle into their new school when rumors of an unidentified plague in Africa begin to fill the news. Within a week, the virus hits London. The siblings witness people turning to liquid before their eyes, and they run for their lives.
​
A month after touching Earth’s atmosphere, the virus has wiped out most of the population. Desperate to stay alive, Leon and Grace are reluctantly taken in by a tight-knit group of survivors. But as they struggle to win their trust, the siblings realize that the virus isn’t their only enemy, and survival is just the first step…

As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti received the following review from School Library Journal: "The plot itself transcends Eldon’s quest for a wish and becomes a study of human nature. This is a good story that includes a bit of romance, sports, friendship, family issues, and coming of age. A thoroughly engaging choice for readers of realistic fiction and magical realism."

As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti
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Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: January 2nd, 2018

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository
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If you could make one wish that was guaranteed to come true—what would you wish for?
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Madison is a small town in the Mojave dessert on the road between nothing and nowhere. It's an unremarkable speck on the map, which is perfect for protecting the town's secret. Because in Madison, everyone can make one wish on their eighteenth birthday—and that wish always comes true.

Most of Eldon's classmates have had their wishes picked out for months, even years. Not Eldon. He's seen how wishing has hurt the people around him. His parents' marriage is strained, his sister is a virtual ghost in their house, his ex-girlfriend is dating his ex-friend...where does he even begin?
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One thing is for sure: Eldon has only twenty-six days to figure it out—and the rest of his life to live with the consequences.

What School Library Journal says about The Gross Cookbook: "Delightfully disgusting-looking recipes fill this playful cookbook for kids. Perfect for Halloween, there are recipes for severed fingers, cat litter cake, frog’s egg pudding, and many more that are made to look totally gross but are actually delicious."

The Gross Cookbook by Susanna Tee
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Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Publicaiton Date: August 22nd, 2017

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository

Do you want to gross out your friends? 
Do you like making people laugh? 
Would you like to throw the best Halloween party? 

​This book is for you!

Inside you’ll find all the best recipes for foods that LOOK disgusting but are actually DELICIOUS! 

Pretend you’re eating straight from the litter box with Cat Poop cookies
Trick your friends into thinking you had a little accident while cooking with Severed Fingers cheese straws
Host a zombie-themed party and serve brains for everyone—Human Brain cake, that is

School Library Connection says that Shadow Weaver "contains plenty of action and intrigue to keep the reader turning pages. It is quick to read and contains enough unsolved mysteries to make the reader look forward to the next title in the series."
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The full review will appear in the January/February 2018 issue of School Library Connection. ​

Book Info

Shadow Weaver by MarcyKate Connolly
​
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Publication Date: January 2nd, 2018

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository

Fans of Serafina and the Black Cloak and The Night Gardener will devour Shadow Weaver, the first in a dark middle-grade fantasy duology that’s filled with shadows, danger, magic, and has the feel of a new classic.

Emmeline’s gift of controlling shadows has isolated her from the rest of the world, but she’s grown to be content, hidden away in her mansion with Dar, her own shadow, as her only company.

Disaster strikes when a noble family visits their home and offers to take Emmeline away and cure her of magic. Desperate not to lose her shadows, she turns to Dar who proposes a deal: Dar will change the noble’s mind, if Emmeline will help her become flesh as she once was. Emmeline agrees but the next morning the man in charge is in a coma and all that the witness saw was a long shadow with no one nearby to cast it. Scared to face punishment, Emmeline and Dar run away.
​
With the noble’s guards on her trail, Emmeline's only hope of clearing her name is to escape capture and perform the ritual that will set Dar free. But Emmeline’s not sure she can trust Dar anymore, and it’s hard to keep secrets from someone who can never leave your side.

Frederik Sandwich and the Earthquake that Couldn’t Possibly Be is "Highly Recommended" in School Library Connection review.

The review goes on to say, “This eerie book is reminiscent of Lemony Snicket in its characters and plot line and sure to be a popular title! This one is a must for elementary readers who want an engaging book that will take them on a wild ride and leave them on edge waiting for more.”
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The full review will appear in the January/February 2018 issue of School Library Connection.

​Book Info

Frederik Sandwich and the Earthquake that Couldn’t Possibly Be by Kevin John Scott

​Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Publication Date: February 6th, 2018

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository

​A delightfully strange and hilarious debut novel perfect for Lemony Snicket and Trenton Lee Stewart fans—the first book in a new middle-grade mystery series that will keep you guessing and laughing all along the way.

At the age of eleven Frederik Sandwich awakens to an earthquake that couldn’t possibly be. His town is nowhere near a fault line and no earthquake has ever been recorded there. But when he questions what could have caused the shaking, he realizes he may have uncovered more than he bargained for.
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Desperately wanting to know what happened, but not the type of person to break rules or push adults for answers, Frederik is lucky (or not, depending on how you look at it) to meet a mysterious stranger, Pernille. She is the sort of person to break rules and demand answers, and is determined to partner with him to get to the bottom of the mystery. It’s a mystery that will lead the two outsiders through abandoned train tunnels, into hidden library rooms, and to the shadowy corridors of City Hall in the dead of night as they try to figure out what could have caused inexplicable rumblings in their small town.

What School Library Connection says about Plague Land: "The author does a nice job of providing readers with a vivid picture of how people are affected by the virus, as well as suggestions on where it may have originated... fans of the sci-fi genre will enjoy this book."
​
The full review will appear in the January/February 2018 issue of School Library Connection.

Book Info

​Plague Land by Alex Scarrow
​
Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: December 5th, 2017

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository

Leon and his younger sister, Grace, have recently moved to London from New York and are struggling to settle into their new school when rumors of an unidentified plague in Africa begin to fill the news. Within a week, the virus hits London. The siblings witness people turning to liquid before their eyes, and they run for their lives.
​
A month after touching Earth’s atmosphere, the virus has wiped out most of the population. Desperate to stay alive, Leon and Grace are reluctantly taken in by a tight-knit group of survivors. But as they struggle to win their trust, the siblings realize that the virus isn’t their only enemy, and survival is just the first step…

School Library Connection says As You Wish "provides an interesting and original premise that will open up some great discussion about what students might wish for and what the ramifications of those wishes might be.”
The full review will appear in the January/February 2018 issue of School Library Connection.

Book Info

As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti
​
Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: January 2nd, 2018

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository

If you could make one wish that was guaranteed to come true—what would you wish for?

Madison is a small town in the Mojave dessert on the road between nothing and nowhere. It's an unremarkable speck on the map, which is perfect for protecting the town's secret. Because in Madison, everyone can make one wish on their eighteenth birthday—and that wish always comes true.

Most of Eldon's classmates have had their wishes picked out for months, even years. Not Eldon. He's seen how wishing has hurt the people around him. His parents' marriage is strained, his sister is a virtual ghost in their house, his ex-girlfriend is dating his ex-friend...where does he even begin?
​
One thing is for sure: Eldon has only twenty-six days to figure it out—and the rest of his life to live with the consequences.

What School Library Connection says about Busted: "Readers will find themselves intertwined in a tale of mystery, deception, and romance like no other."
​
The full review will appear in the January/February 2018 issue of School Library Connection. 

Book Info

Busted by Gina Ciocca
​
Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: January 2nd, 2018

Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
​
Marisa never planned to be a snoop for hire. It wasn’t like she wanted to catch her best friend’s boyfriend making out with another girl. But as her reputation for sniffing out cheaters spreads all over school, Marisa finds herself the reluctant queen of busting two-timing boys.
​
And her next case? It’s for ex-frenemy Kendall. She’s convinced her boyfriend, TJ, has feelings for someone else and persuades Marissa to start spying on him. But the more Marisa gets to know sincere and artistic TJ, the more she starts to fall for him. Worse yet, the feelings seem to be mutual. Marisa knows she needs to give up her investigation—and the spoken-for guy who may just be the love of her life. Then she uncovers new secrets about Kendall and TJ, secrets that take “cheater” to a whole new level…