A tale of derring-do serves as the educational vehicle for a lesson in story structure in this graphic novel yarn by collaborators Goetter and Riess (The Bawk-ness Monster). Beginning with a welcome to the Realm of Narration by Bitsy—one of the three cyclopean Point-of-View sisters—the pink-skinned storyteller introduces her two older siblings: Prima, who tells of her adventures as a knight in first person, and cantankerous witch Midi, who writes interactive stories in second person. Eager to begin a tale of her own, Bitsy—an aspiring third-person narrator—calls upon stout, mustachioed wizard Boozle to become her reluctant protagonist. Communicating via pictograph, Boozle agrees to help Bitsy in exchange for his “very own Happily Ever After.” Using foreshadowing and flashbacks—storytelling techniques that Bitsy explains in bard-like ditties that address the reader—Bitsy chronicles Boozle’s journey, during which he assists troubled villagers, gains allies named after literary principles, and encounters a fearsome antagonist. Throughout the fluidly drawn and brightly colored adventures, Bitsy doubts her narrating chops, but encouragement from Boozle emphasizes the creators’ assertion that everyone’s POV is unique, making for a memorable story-within-a-story and a noteworthy tale. Ages 6–10. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink

After mysteriously drowning in the river near the tourist town of Les´na Woda at 16, Gisela became a rusalka, or a water nymph. She longs to reunite with her family, but the only way to return to her human life is to kiss a mortal. Her attempts have been foiled by reclusive Kazik, the 16-year-old grandson of a late witch who views Gisela as an evil spirit demonizing the town. Upon informing Kazik of the quickest way to dispatch her, Gisela sets her sights on Aleksey, Kazik’s former classmate. But Kazik is interested in Aleksey too, and when Aleksey returns both Kazik and Gisela’s admiration, the trio become tangled in a web of complicated feelings. Yet Aleksey is not all he seems to be either, and he may know more about Gisela’s plight and the death of Kazik’s grandmother than he’s letting on. Jasinska (The Midnight Girls) employs Gisela, Kazik, and Aleksey’s alternating perspectives to spin a delightfully queer polyamorous romance teeming with splashes of ethereal magic. As the trio’s relationship unfolds via charming banter and self-conscious uncertainty, secrets heighten the tension in this historical fantasy that’s inspired by Slavic folklore. Protagonists cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Rena Rossner, Deborah Harris Agency. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink

Via penetrating prose, Casomar’s fresh debut depicts a teen’s refusal to accept his best friend’s lack of romantic interest. Baseball star Zeke Ladoja—who’s secretly working to help his family pay the bills while his father navigates a cancer diagnosis—schemes to confess his love for his best friend Imogen at the 16th birthday bash he’s planning. But Imogen doesn’t share Zeke’s feelings; instead, she’s begun swooning over Zeke’s nerdy Texan teammate Trevor, who recently moved to Chicago. When Zeke announces his affections for Imogen despite warnings from a peer, she panics and kisses Trevor in front of the whole party. Embarrassed, Zeke begins engaging in uncharacteristically cruel behavior, causing friction with his and Imogen’s mutual friends. As Zeke’s demeanor worsens, Imogen’s attempts to go back to how they were before founder amid the taunts directed at her for rejecting Zeke and for her budding relationship with Trevor. In this sure-footed portrayal of contemporary teen romance, Casomar utilizes Zeke and Imogen’s alternating POVs to candidly capture the social systems that uphold the inherent entitlement of the friend zone myth as well as the costs of railing against its toxic messaging. Main characters are Black. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jess Regel, Helm Literary. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink

Since her recently divorced parents can’t afford it, assumed white and Mohawk teen Avery Ray is determined to attend college on a running scholarship. While traversing difficult terrain, a hypnotic voice lures her off her usual training path and deep into the forest, in which she encounters a mysterious, dreamlike landscape that features a pond of black water. Barely breaking free of the voice’s lure, Avery makes her way back to safety, but the black water’s malignancy lingers. When she starts hallucinating visions of the water and smoky, faceless forms begin stalking her every move, she fears that she’s unleashed something sinister. Then someone close to her goes missing, forcing Avery to dive deep into the history of her Crooks Falls town and her own Mohawk identity if she hopes to break the curse of the black water. Sharp prose and humorous banter permeate this stellar debut by Isaacs, who crafts an atmospheric mystery filled with intrigue and harrowing imagery that shimmers brilliantly amid the eerie setting. Fully fleshed out secondary characters help Avery connect with her heritage while a romantic subplot seamlessly interweaves itself throughout her investigation. An author’s note and Kanyen’kehá glossary conclude. Ages 13–up. Agent: Natalie Lakosil, Looking Glass Literary. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink

Everything for white and Métis 17-year-old Molly Norris-Norquay changes when her older half brother Hank, who is white, falls in a climbing accident that puts him in a coma. When he awakens after three weeks, Molly learns that he’s sustained a traumatic brain injury that will affect every part of his life, including his personality and their future plans. It also delays his graduation. Hank chooses not to attend the celebratory trip hiking the Pacific Crest Trail that he, Molly, and their mutual best friend, Métis 18-year-old Traylor, put together. Traveling without Hank, tensions rise between Tray and Molly, who blames Tray for the accident, as he was the one who unknowingly gave Hank faulty equipment. The hike was meant to kick off the trio’s long-awaited future, but between navigating new friendships, surprise visitors, and emotional revelations, it’s clear that this trip will catalyze even more drastic changes for Molly and Tray. With a rhythm and tone that reads like poetry, Ferguson (Those Pink Mountain Nights) delivers an emotionally resonant tale in which profound interpersonal conflict unfolds against the lushly described natural backdrop of an adrenaline-inducing outdoor environment. Ages 13–up. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink

When Vietnamese American Eric Ly, an aspiring filmmaker, met enigmatic Haru during his high school’s international club’s annual trip to Japan, they became fast friends, spending the day together but separating before they can share contact information. Fourteen months later, 19-year-old Eric is reeling following the death of his best friend and crush, Daniel. With his sister dropping out of college to go on tour with a band and his parents disengaged from his life, Eric feels abandoned. To cope with his grief, he takes refuge in imagined scenarios, until he’s unexpectedly reunited with Haru. It soon becomes clear to Eric, however, that he’s the only one who can see Haru, who accompanies Eric on his adventures around Chicago to help break the monotony and isolation of his life. But Eric’s new job at a theater box office and the opportunities it presents to interact with the world around him strains the boys’ relationship. Though some plot threads are wrapped up too neatly, Thao (You’ve Reached Sam) casts an intelligent look into the harm and benefits of one teen’s coping mechanisms in this sharply depicted exploration of grief and moving on. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink

Debut author Reno, who is Cherokee, dives into issues regarding the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls crisis through the lens of one child who was left to wonder where her loved one has gone. Twelve-year-old Wren, who is white and Cherokee, is “good at finding things for people.” The only thing she can’t locate is her Cherokee mother, who disappeared five years ago. “So very sick of having nothing but questions,” she instead starts a business locating lost pets (“Her real talent, her real sweet spot, was missing pets”), calling upon her strength as a member of the Wolf Clan, the “protectors,” for help. She soon discovers that pets are being viciously killed in the small town of Gibson, Okla., and vows to bring the perpetrator to justice, a plan she keeps from her white police sheriff father and her maternal grandmother. It’s only when she’s assigned a class project with a schoolmate that Wren gains an ally in her investigation. Via crisp prose, Reno meshes plot threads involving abandoned shelter pets and a mystery surrounding a locator on Wren’s grandmother’s keys, which emphasize the futility Wren feels in trying to find someone who seems unreachable. Ages 10–up. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink

The start of her first period—mid-game in white shorts—marks the beginning of a transformative summer for incoming eighth grade soccer player Valeria. Coached by her abuelo, with whom she lives, Valeria always played on the boys’ team, but the game during which she got her period turns out to be her last with them. Valeria remains undeterred: “I’d learned that when one door closes, I had to be strong enough to smash down a wall and make a new one.” Seeking out the best girls’ coach in Utah, she earns a spot on the Amazons and struggles to find her place among her new teammates’ “sisterhood.” While Valeria navigates the bodily discomforts of severe menstruation symptoms, family tragedy necessitates her cousin Maxwell moving into her home—and into the role she vacated on her old team. Growing emotional maturity accompanies physical maturation as Valeria learns to manage intense emotions, embrace family changes, and step outside her comfort zone to bond with the Amazons. Méndez (Furia) fluidly combines the challenges of growing up and the pressure of elite athletic competition in this winning novel. Valeria cues as having Argentinian ancestry. Ages 9–up. Agent: Linda Camacho, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink

When 12-year-old Ethan feels overwhelmed by his anxiety, his best friends—devil-may-care goofball Harley and confident, pragmatic Olivia—help him overcome his fears. Such is the case when they convince him to attend a classmate’s viewing party of Demons of Death 4: Death Fingers, an urban legend–inspired horror film that’s “supposed to be the scariest movie ever made.” Though Ethan arrives late, he’s just in time to watch the television transform into a cyclopean creature that devours people’s heads while leaving them alive yet unresponsive. Now Ethan must find a way to confront his own fears without Harley and Olivia if he hopes to rescue his friends and save the world from an unstoppable menace, along the way discovering the secrets behind the film and its monster. In this gleefully off-kilter ode to late-night B movies and classic kids’ horror tales like Goosebumps, Wendig (Dust & Grim) skillfully tempers terrifying events with a tint of absurdity, playing them against Ethan’s all-too-relatable worries. It’s a fast-paced and intense adventure that never loses sight of its human elements. Ethan and Harley are white; Olivia is Black. Ages 8–12. Agent: Stacia Decker, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink

After what she perceives as a disappointing performance in the California Middle School State Chess Championship finals, Chinese American seventh grader May Li is thrilled to learn that she won the award for “top female player.” She even gets a splashy feature in the esteemed Chessbase magazine, to the chagrin of her teammate Ralph, who bitterly remarks that “everyone knows that girls aren’t as good at chess as guys.” Hurt but refusing to let his comments get to her, May plays her gambit—she bets on herself to win the team’s internal tournament and subsequently be named captain before nationals. But as the competition progresses, she finds that the pressure and high expectations take a toll on her confidence and her friendships, leading her to question her love for chess. Zhao (The Fraud Squad, for adults) draws on personal experience, as addressed in an endnote, to explore themes of sexism in a male-dominated field and anxiety brought about by sudden fame and scrutiny. Digestible chess strategy breakdowns and terminology scattered throughout serve as an approachable introduction to the sport. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink