Hitting shelves next week are a picture book in which a familiar ’fraidy-cat returns, a middle grade novel about the imaginations of the Brontë siblings, and a YA novel about mistaken identity and privilege.
If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Harlequin Teen, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-373-21222-4. Armentrout (The Problem with Forever) presents a story of raw grief and gradual acceptance in this YA novel, when four lives are lost after protagonist Lena reluctantly lets an inebriated friend drive home from a party.
Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust. Flatiron, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-07773-8. In Bashardoust’s debut, a retelling of “Snow White,” Princess Lynet and her stepmother, Queen Mina, fight the fates imposed by their fathers.
The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4847-7817-3. Every family has its secrets, but not every family has a secret pact with a demon, as in this YA series opener. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary by Martha Brockenbrough. Feiwel and Friends, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-250-12319-0. Brockenbrough’s deeply researched nonfiction book gives equal weight to Alexander Hamilton’s personal and professional lives and to the history of the founding and early years of the United States.
I Hate Everyone but You by Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin. Wednesday, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-12932-1. YouTubers Dunn and Raskin craft a humorous look at friendship and college life in their debut novel, told through emails and text messages exchanged between two best friends and college freshman.
When’s My Birthday? by Julie Fogliano, illus. by Christian Robinson. Roaring Brook/Porter, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-62672-293-4. Birthdays are hard to wait for, but now there’s a book to read while counting down the days. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.
Night Shift by Debi Gliori. Razorbill, $13.99; ISBN 978-0-451-48173-3. In a small-format picture book aimed at a teenage and adult audience, Gliori (Side by Side) uses stark language and somber charcoal-like artwork to reflect on the weight and intensity of depression.
Feral Youth by Shaun David Hutchinson et al. Simon Pulse, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-9111-2. Nine perspectives interweave in a novel composed of divergent, unsettling stories about delinquent teens at an outdoor education program, from authors that include Brandy Colbert, Justina Ireland, Alaya Dawn Johnson, and Stephanie Kuehn.
Salam Alaikum: A Message of Peace by Harris J, illus. by Ward Jenkins. Salaam Reads, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-8938-6. The rewards of paying it forward are at the heart of this picture book adaptation of Muslim pop musician Harris J’s 2015 song of the same title, an Islamic greeting that means “Peace be upon you.”
Brave Red, Smart Frog: A New Book of Old Tales by Emily Jenkins, illus. by Rohan Daniel Eason. Candlewick, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-7636-6558-6. Fine, spare prose distinguishes these shrewd retellings of seven familiar tales. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart. Delacorte, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-385-74477-5. Lockhart blends the privileged glamour of We Were Liars with a twisty, backward-running plot featuring two teen girls, mistaken identity, and pushing against the roles traditionally available to female characters. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Come with Me by Holly M. McGhee, illus. by Pascal Lemaître. Putnam, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-3905-8. In this picture book, in the wake of so much news about “anger and hatred—/ People against people,” a girl asks her parents what she can do to help the world.
The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC’s (the Hard Way) by Patrick McDonnell. Little, Brown, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-316-50246-7. This wordless picture book from McDonnell follows the misadventures of the eponymous red cat, who dashes out the front door of his home, only to be set upon, almost instantly, by an alligator, bear, chicken, and dragon. The book earned a starred review from PW.
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. HarperTeen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-245779-0. Soon after Rufus Emeterio, 17, and Mateo Torrez, 18, receive midnight phone calls from Death-Cast, a service that notifies those with less than 24 hours to live, the NYC teenagers connect via the Last Friend app and decide to spend their final hours together. The book earned a starred review from PW.
The King of Too Many Things by Laurel Snyder, illus. by Aurore Damant. Rodale Kids, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-62336-874-6. In a dry-humored modern fairy tale, Snyder (Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova) explores the concept of less is more as she introduces King Jasper, a young royal who is eager to add some excitement to his kingdom.
The Glass Town Game by Catherynne M. Valente. S&S/McElderry, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-7696-6. Valente (Radiance) delivers a linguistically dazzling novel that draws on the Brontë siblings’ real-life childhood writings about Glass Town, an invented land where they escaped the difficulties of their lives.
Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen. Knopf, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-101-94044-0. Fourteen-year-old Wren knows she’s in trouble when she awakens to a police officer hovering near her bed, but she has no idea what’s in store for her in this psychological thriller.
Sam, the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World: A Leonardo, the Terrible Monster Companion by Mo Willems. Disney-Hyperion, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-368-00214-1. Twelve years after Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, Willems brings back Leonardo the monster and Sam, the boy who’s afraid of everything (except Leo). Sam grabs the spotlight in this sequel, but he has competition: after running into a girl named Kerry and her monster pal, Frankenthaler, both of the young humans start screaming, terrified of each other.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of September, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
