Read below to find our staff picks for August 2023 and learn more about these must-reads!
Invisible
How to Stay Invisible
By Maggie C. Rudd
On Sale Now!
Ages 10-14
“How to Stay Invisible, the first middle grade novel from Maggie Rudd, is a genuinely thrilling story of adventure, survival, and found family, that reads like a middle-grade Cormac McCarthy, if his characters also had to navigate not just survival, but also middle school.”
Molly Ellis, VP, Executive Director Of Publicity
Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider
by Jessica Lanan
On Sale Now!
Ages 4-8
“Imagine if you had eight eyes instead of two? This is one of the many questions Jessica Lanan asks her reader in Jumper, a thrilling, edge of your seat view into the life of a backyard jumping spider. With Jumper, Jessica establishes herself as a non-fiction picture book creator to watch. Her spreads are full of vibrant colors, surprising perspectives, and action. Readers will delight in a double gatefold that brilliantly reveals what the backyard would look like, if only you had eight eyes. Extensive backmatter is packed with details sure to delight curious minds.”
Mary Van Akin, Director of School & Library Marketing
Ghost Book
by Remy Lai
On Sale August 15th
Ages 8-12
“You may have heard about Christmas in July, but get ready for Halloween in August. Ghost Book took me on a wild ride to a fantastical underworld filled with Chinese mythology that has left me breathless.
In this graphic novel, we find July Chen, yearning to learn more about her mother, who passed away when she was born. With the power to see ghosts, she meets William. She thinks he is a ghost, but he is a boy whose body is in the hospital, on the cusp of death. Seeking her help in bringing him back to life, July investigates what happened to Will and along the way, they share a common bond. But in order to revive Will, July faces a bigger price to pay to the spirits that leave you questioning if it’s possible for both of them to remain among the living.
Young readers will enjoy Lai’s cozy and bright illustrations while taking them deeper into conversations on grief and friendship that makes Ghost Book incredibly well-paced, refreshing, and engaging.”
Ryan Bada, MCPG Summer Intern
I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me
by Jamison Shea
On Sale August 29th
Ages 14-18
“I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me is a captivating, gorgeously written, and absolutely unputdownable YA debut! It’s one of those books that haunts you, in the best of ways.
A villain origin story in the vein of cult classics like Black Swan and Jennifer’s Body, this book follows Laure, the only Black ballerina in the Parisian academy. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite, cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, Laure will do anything to prove that she deserves to take center stage. On the eve of her big audition, Laure is lured deep into the Catacombs with the promise that things will change. There, she strikes a deal with a pulsating river of blood and an eldritch power hungry for release into our world. Yet, even as she surpasses her peers, there is a heavy price to pay. Laure is faced with the ultimate choice: continue to break herself for scraps of validation or succumb to the darkness that wants her exactly as she is monstrous heart and all.
Author Jamison Shea is a star on the rise, and in I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me, they introduce readers to a magic, monstrous underworld that comes rushing to the surface and they offer a larger exploration of what it means to be young and blindly devoted to something that will never love you back.”
Alexandra Quill, Senior Marketing Manager
Gorgeous Gruesome Faces
by Linda Cheng
On Sale November 7th
Ages 14-18
“Gorgeous Gruesome Faces tells the dark story of the fall from grace in friendships, in popularity, and when once attainable dreams now seem so out of reach. The twist in this book is a sinister revelation that all horror fans will love. When paranormal events come into play, they become a real pinpoint of fear, and that’s my favorite kind of thriller! And with a friend’s death and an ex-friend who’s keeping secrets, you’re in the head of a protagonist in a total tailspin. You’ll be asking yourself what’s true and what’s imagined? “
Elysse Villalobos, Associate Marketing Manager
