Now that 2016 is in full swing, we’re ready to tackle some new reading lists ! At first, I thought I could compile ALL the exciting new books releasing within the next 365 days. Nuh-uh. Not possible. The list started getting too long and overwhelming. So… here are some exciting books released in January (playing some catch up) and coming out in February :
Click on the title of the book to read the description from the book publisher:
JANUARY
The Only Girl in School by Natalie Standiford
wollstonecraft-detective-agency
Lizzie and the Lost Baby by Cheryl Blackford
Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban
Secrets of the Dragon Tomb by Patrick Samphire
Bounders by Monica Tesler
Thirteen years ago, Earth Force — a space-military agency — discovered a connection between brain structure and space travel. Now they’ve brought together the first team of cadets, called Bounders, to be trained as high-level astronauts.
Twelve-year-old Jasper is part of this team being sent out into space. After being bullied back on Earth, Jasper is thrilled to have something new and different to do with other kids who are more like him. While learning all about the new technologies and taking classes in mobility — otherwise known as flying with jetpacks — Jasper befriends the four other students in his pod and finally feels like he has found his place in the world.
But then Jasper and his new friends learn that they haven’t been told everything about Earth Force. They weren’t brought to space for astronaut training, but to learn a new, highly classified brain-sync technology that allows them to manipulate matter and quantum bound, or teleport. And it isn’t long before they find out this new technology was actually stolen from an alien society.
When Jasper and his friends discover the truth about why Earth Force needs them, they are faced with a choice: rebel against the academy that brought them together, or fulfill their duty and protect the planet at all costs.
The Only Girl in School by Natalie Standiford
When Claire’s best friend, Bess, moves away, she becomes the only girl left in her entire school. At first, she thinks she’ll be able to deal with this —after all, the girls’ bathroom is now completely hers, so she can turn it into her own private headquarters and draw on the walls. When it comes to soccer games or sailing races, she can face off against any boy.
The problem is that her other best friend, Henry, has begun to ignore her. And Webby, a super-annoying bully, won’t leave her alone. And Yucky Gilbert, the boy who has a crush on her, also won’t leave her alone.
It’s never easy being the only one — and over the course of a wacky school year, Claire is going to have to make it through challenges big and small. The boys may think they rule the school, but when it comes to thinking on your feet, Claire’s got them outnumbered.
The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency by Jordan Stratford
Jordan Stratford imagines an alternate 1826, where Ada Lovelace (the world’s first computer programmer) and Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein ) meet as girls and form a secret detective agency!
Lady Ada Byron, age 11, is a genius. Isolated, awkward and a bit rude — but a genius. Mary Godwin, age 14, is a romantic. Adventurous, astute, and kind, Mary is to become Ada’s first true friend. And together, the girls conspire to form the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency — a secret constabulary for the apprehension of clever criminals. Their first case involves a stolen heirloom, a false confession, and an array of fishy suspects. But it’s no match for the deductive powers and bold hearts of Ada and Mary.
Read Karen’s review of The Wollstonecraft Dectective Agency »
Lizzie and the Lost Baby by Cheryl Blackford
“Is it ever right to keep something that doesn’t belong to you?” That’s the question that haunts ten-year-old Lizzie as she adjusts to life as an evacuee in the remote Yorkshire valley of Swainedale.
Cheryl Blackford’s debut novel is set in England during World War II and told from the dual perspectives of Lizzie, a homesick girl evacuated from bomb-blitzed Hull to the remote Yorkshire valley, and Elijah, a local gypsy boy. When Lizzie discovers an abandoned baby, her dangerous friendship with Elijah is put to the test.
Will Lizzie be able to find the baby’s parents? And if she does, can she and Elijah remain friends in a world clouded by prejudice and fear?
Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban
Ten-year-old Manami did not realize how peaceful her family’s life on Bainbridge Island was until the day it all changed. It’s 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Manami and her family are Japanese American, which means that the government says they must leave their home by the sea and join other Japanese Americans at a prison camp in the desert.
Manami is sad to go, but even worse is that they are going to have to give her dog, Yujiin, to a neighbor to take care of. Manami decides to sneak Yujiin under her coat, but she is caught and forced to abandon him. She is devastated but clings to the hope that somehow Yujiin will find his way to the camp and make her family whole again. It isn’t until she finds a way to let go of her guilt that Manami can accept all that has happened to her family.
Secrets of the Dragon Tomb by Patrick Samphire
Mars in 1816 is a world of high society, deadly danger, and strange clockwork machines.
Twelve-year-old Edward Sullivan wants to become a spy like the ones he reads about in his favorite magazine, Thrilling Martian Tales , but he’s far too busy keeping his eccentric family from disaster. All of that is about to change. In the north, great dragon tombs hide marvels of Ancient Martian technology, and the villainous archaeologist Sir Titus Dane is determined to loot one.
When Sir Titus kidnaps Edward’s parents, Edward, his sisters, and their mysterious cousin set off in pursuit across the Martian wilderness. Together they must battle Sir Titus’s minions, dodge hungry pterodactyls, and escape fearsome Martian hunting machines in order to rescue Edward’s parents and uncover the secrets of the dragon tomb.
FEBRUARY
Ravenous by MarcyKate Connolly
Fridays with the Wizards by Jessica Day George
Pilfer Academy- A School So Bad It's Criminal by Lauren Magaziner
Fenway and Hattie by Victoria J. Coe
The Last Boy at St. Edith's by Lee Gjertsen Malone
The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price by Jennifer Maschari
The Key to Extraordinary by Natalie Lloyd
Ravenous by MarcyKate Connolly
A witch has come to the city of Bryre. She travels in a hut that has chicken feet, and is ravenous for children. And once she gets what she desires, she never lets it go.
But when the witch captures Hans, Greta’s little brother, Greta refuses to let her have him. The two strike up a bargain. Greta will retrieve something the witch desires in exchange for her brother’s freedom.
To get the prize Greta must travel to Belladoma — a city where she was once held captive — which brings back terrible memories. With the help of a new friend, Dalen, a magical half-boy and half-horse, Greta embarks on the journey and tries to overcome both foes and her own weaknesses.
Fridays with the Wizards by Jessica Day George
The newest installment of the Castle Glower series!
Princess Celie and her companions have made it home safely from the Glorious Arkower, and everything is back to normal now that the Eye of the Castle is where it belongs. With more magical griffins to care for, Celie, Lilah, and Rolf have their hands full. But when the dangerous ancient wizard Arkwright escapes the dungeon and goes missing within the Castle, no one can rest until he is found.
Only Celie knows where he is most likely hiding — deep within the secret passageways behind the walls of their beloved Castle. With danger lurking behind every tapestry and under every trap door, Celie must find the wizard and save her family.
Pilfer Academy: A School So Bad It’s Criminal by Lauren Magaziner
Troublemaking George has never heard of Pilfer Academy, a top-secret school for cultivating young crooks, until he’s kidnapped as its newest student. The teachers are kooky at best, and naughty does not even begin to describe his sneaky, smart, and morally bankrupt new classmates. Between disguise classes, cracking safes, and DIY gadgets, George becomes an expert bandit and finds true friendship with Tabitha, his new partner-in-crime. But everything is ruined when George comes to a shocking realization: He is just too good-hearted to be a thief!
Unfortunately, not thieving is not an option at Pilfer Academy, and “misbehaving” students face Dean Deanbuggle’s favorite punishment — the Whirlyblerg! In order to gain their freedom, George and Tabitha must pull the biggest heist the school has ever seen and reveal their true colors not as thieves, but as kind (and, okay, mischievous) kids.
Fenway and Hattie by Victoria J. Coe
Fenway is an excitable and endlessly energetic Jack Russell terrier. He lives in the city with Food Lady, Fetch Man, and — of course — his beloved short human and best-friend-in-the-world, Hattie.
But when his family moves to the suburbs, Fenway faces a world of changes. He’s pretty pleased with the huge Dog Park behind his new home, but he’s not so happy about the Evil Squirrels that taunt him from the trees, the super-slippery Wicked Floor in the Eating Room, and the changes that have come over Hattie lately. Rather than playing with Fenway, she seems more interested in her new short human friend, Angel, and learning to play baseball. His friends in the Dog Park next door say Hattie is outgrowing him, but that can’t be right. And he’s going to prove it!
The Last Boy at St. Edith's by Lee Gjertsen Malone
Seventh grader Jeremy Miner has a girl problem. Or, more accurately, a girls problem. Four hundred and seventy-five of them. That’s how many girls attend his school, St. Edith’s Academy.
Jeremy is the only boy left after the school’s brief experiment in coeducation. And he needs to get out. His mom won’t let him transfer, so Jeremy takes matters into his own hands: He’s going to get expelled.
Together with his best friend, Claudia, Jeremy unleashes a series of hilarious pranks in hopes that he’ll get kicked out with minimum damage to his permanent record. But when his stunts start to backfire, Jeremy has to decide whom he’s willing to knock down on his way out the door.
The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price by Jennifer Maschari
Pax by Sara Pennypacker; illustrated by Jon Klassen
Pax and Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter rescued him as a kit. But one day, the unimaginable happens: Peter’s dad enlists in the military and makes him return the fox to the wild.
At his grandfather’s house, 300 miles away from home, Peter knows he isn’t where he should be — with Pax. He strikes out on his own despite the encroaching war, spurred by love, loyalty, and grief, to be reunited with his fox.
Meanwhile Pax, steadfastly waiting for his boy, embarks on adventures and discoveries of his own. . . .
The Key to Extraordinary by Natalie Lloyd
My personal top picks are Pax by Sara Pennypacker and Fenway and Hattie by Victoria J. Coe because I’ve been in the mood for a good animal story, and The Last Boy at St. Edith’s is next on my list after those two. Private school! Boy vs. Girls! Hijinks! Yaaasssss!
Which books are you most excited about? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
— Nancy
Nancy has never had a dog, unless you count fake-in-her-mind-adopting all the fictional dogs she’s read about (Kipluck from The Fourth Grade Wizards , White Fang, Wolf from The Wolfling , and of course, Ribsy).
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