Among the books hitting shelves next week are a picture book about a child struggling with an apology, a graphic novel following a teen wolf protecting her friend from hunters, a YA novel about a doomsday prepper falling in love, and more.
Bridge Across the Sky by Freeman Ng. Atheneum, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-6659-4859-3. Teenage immigrant Tai Go faces the ramifications of the Chinese Exclusion Act and joins a resistance group that aims to help, in this YA verse novel inspired by the anonymous poems of Chinese detainees found at Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco. The book received a starred review from PW.
The Boy and the Elephant by Freya Blackwood. Random House Studio, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-593-70766-1. After school, a child spends time with a stand of interwoven trees that make up the figure of an elephant. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos by Nathalie Alonso, illus. by Rudy Gutierrez. Calkins Creek, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-6359-2811-2. In this biography of Puerto Rican baseball player Clemente (1934–1972), Alonso celebrates the athlete’s contributions to baseball and human rights. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay. Kokila, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-46141-9. Ribay examines masculinity and familial trauma via four generations of Filipino teens’ alternating perspectives. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry by Ransom Riggs. Dutton, $21.99; ISBN 978-0-593-53093-1. Leopold Berry’s grief-fueled obsession with the kitschy fantasy TV show Sunderworld lands him in the world of the show, where he and his best friend Emmett discover a charmed object that only Leopold can activate. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
Full Shift by Jennifer Dugan, illus. by Kit Seaton. Putnam, $24.99; ISBN 978-0-5935-2984-3; $17.99 paper ISBN 978-0-593-52985-0. Teenage werewolf Tessa struggles to morph into full form but must protect her best friend and crush Maddie when a group of hunters mistake her for a wolf.
I’m Sorry You Got Mad by Kyle Lukoff, illus. by Julie Kwon. Dial, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-46291-1. A student struggles to apologize to a classmate about a knocked-over block castle. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Island of Whispers by Frances Hardinge, illus. by Emily Gravett. Amulet, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-7433-1. Fourteen-year-old Milo sails a ship of souls to the realm of the dead and must face the mystical trials separating him from his destination. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
Jupiter Rising by Gary D. Schmidt. Clarion, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-35-865964-8. In this companion to Orbiting Jupiter, Jack awaits Jupiter’s official adoption into his family and struggles with a cross-country teammate who once bullied him.
Libertad by Bessie Flores Zaldívar. Dial, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-59369-612-5. Zaldívar recreates the tumultuous world of 2017 Tegucipigalpa, Honduras, and explores the societal climate’s effects on 18-year-old Libertad (Libi) Morazán and her family. The YA debut received a starred review from PW.
Mysterious Ways by Wendy Wunder. Wednesday, $20; ISBN 978-1-250-77020-2. Maya’s stint at the Whispering Pines Psychiatric Hospital allows her to explore how her powers can be used to help others and herself. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
Noodles on a Bicycle by Kyo Maclear, illus. by Gracey Zhang. Random House Studio, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-70608-4. Maclear highlights Japan’s demae—cycling food deliverers—who, from the 1930s to the 1970s, balanced stacked trays loaded with “ceramic soup bowls and wooden soba boxes” on one shoulder while piloting their bicycle with the other hand. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Not Nothing by Gayle Forman. Aladdin, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-665943-27-7. To avoid juvenile detention, 12-year-old Alex spends the summer working at Shady Glen Retirement Home where he befriends 107-year-old Josey Kravitz, a Polish Holocaust survivor. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
One Small Spark: A Tikkun Olam Story by Ruth Spiro, illus. by Victoria Tentler-Krylov. Dial, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-3991-8631-8. A child rallies their class and local businesses to help repair an old park. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Our Shouts Echo by Jade Adia. Disney-Hyperion, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-3680-9011-7. When doomsday prepper Niarah Holloway joins a hiking group to avoid failing PE class, she falls for cofounder Mac ahead of Mac’s departure for college. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
Practical Rules for Cursed Witches by Kayla Cottingham. Delacorte, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-593-81397-3. Seventeen-year-old witch Delilah Bea must break a deadly curse or lose her powers, and she sets off on a treacherous journey to save herself.
Show Up and Vote by Ani DiFranco, illus. by Rachelle Baker. Rise x Penguin Workshop, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-5933-8377-3. Though a child is reluctant to head out to the polls on a rainy November day, encouragement from their mother allows them to see the importance of getting out to vote.
Somewhere for Little Bear by Britta Teckentrup. Crocodile, $18.95; ISBN 978-1-62371-683-7. When a fire destroys the woods, Little Bear flees for his life and bravely searches for a new place to call home. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Sync by Ellen Hopkins. Penguin/Paulsen, $20.99; ISBN 978-0-5934-6324-6. Seventeen-year-old twins Lake and Storm are separated from each other in the foster care system, and after reuniting for an afternoon, they find their worlds imploding. The YA novel in verse received a starred review from PW.
This Land by Ashley Fairbanks, illus. by Bridget George. Crown, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-59-365144-5. With a title that echoes a song long protested as erasing Indigenous history, this work—part of the Race to the Truth series—communicates the issue of land acknowledgments. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
With Love, Echo Park by Laura Taylor Namey. Atheneum, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-6659-1536-6. Clary Delgado embarks on a quest to obtain historic recognition for La Rosa Blanca and Avalos Bicycle Works, the last two Cuban-owned businesses in Los Angeles’s Echo Park, with the help of her neighbor Emilio. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of August check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
