Making his picture book debut, Cooper (Better Living Through Birding, for adults) catalogs a handful of wild owls who have taken up residence in New York City, starting with Flaco, the famous Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo: “He flew and flew and flew! If you’d been stuck in a cage your whole life, wouldn’t you?” Barry the barred owl, a keen hunter, attracts devoted sightseers because of her dependable appearance on a favorite roost. Great horned owl Geraldine “still catches all the food she needs” following an injury (“A body that’s different doesn’t mean you’re not able to do great things. Just ask Geraldine!”). The survey concludes with the appearance of Rocky, a saw-whet owl that arrived one year via the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. In light-filled digital spreads, Adam (The Secret of Fall) shows the owls in flight and at rest, emphasizing their city-bird status by picturing them near fire escapes and neon signs. Drawing frequent parallels between owls and humans (“Flaco worked the night shift”), cadenced text assures readers that owls might be more proximate than they think. Owl facts conclude. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Gail Ross, WME. Illustrator’s agent: Alice Jin Zhang, Astound US. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

In intricate b&w spreads, Cole (Adventure Awaits) traces the life of a single oak from sprouting acorn to mature tree, detailing its relationship with the changing world around it. Short, documentary-style sentences describe the tree’s growth and the complex ecosystem it sustains across approximately two centuries (“The oak tree’s leaves and branches provide camouflage for the nest, as well as a good supply of insects for food”). As time passes, Indigenous people are pictured resting in the subject’s shade. Later, a pale-skinned naturalist makes notes about the tree, a hole in a branch hosts myriad creatures, and human-built structures appear, as nearby trees are felled and vintage autos of different eras populate the pages. At last, the oak towers over a small town and shelters the stands of a festival the same way it shelters wildlife: “The tree is home.” Meticulous spreads drawn entirely with fine pen combine the accuracy of scientific illustration with the dense patterning of tapestry. It’s easy to imagine touching the oak’s bark and feeling its crisp leaves in this study of an organism living among others. Back matter includes notes on building an ecosystem. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Based on debut author Bakes’s childhood experiences sailing with her parents, this buoyant graphic novel follows the adventures of Janey as she sails the Caribbean during her fourth grade year in the mid-1990s. The family leaves Indian Harbor Beach, Fla., where they had moored long enough for Janey to go to school and make a best friend. But now that she’s at sea, her mother is her teacher, and she rarely encounters other kids. When they anchor in St. Thomas, Janey meets older (and cooler) Astrid, who experiences emotional and physical abuse from her alcohol-dependent father. The girls soon become each other’s support system and bond over the contradiction of cohabitating in confined quarters and luxuriating in the vastness of the open ocean while living on a boat. Vibrant artwork by Smith (The Golden Hour) bursts with tropical colors and includes detailed nautical diagrams and maps throughout. Together, the creators skillfully recreate the unique experience of living at sea, infusing the story with humor and intense emotion that invites readers to partake in a shared adventure. Janey is depicted with pale skin and Astrid is shown with tan skin. Ages 8–12. Illustrator’s agent: Charlie Olsen, InkWell Management. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Clare, the undead fox of Deadwood Forest, is cast as a monster by the local children who gather each Halloween around the forest’s edge to chant about how he “waits to feast/ On little bones.” But Clare isn’t a monster: he’s an Usher, one who helps wandering souls find their way to their respective afterlife, be it Peace, Pleasure, Progress, or Pain. Having died as a kit, Clare has no memories of his mortal life; all he knows is that if he dies again, his soul will go to Pain. When he learns of a prophecy about his impending disappearance, and Gingersnipes, a badger soul who doesn’t seem to belong to any afterlife, arrives on his doorstep, Clare realizes he’s being replaced as Usher, forcing him to confront his loneliness and fear of death, and making him reckless in his grief. In folktale cadences, Hartman (The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor) speaks directly to the reader, deftly weaving a riveting and morally complex tale populated by flawed, fully realized characters navigating realistic emotions. Prospective life-after-death scenarios are presented in an age-appropriate manner without judgment, encouraging self-reflection and bravery in the face of the unknown. Whimsical chapter illustrations spotlight important aspects of this atmospheric and deeply emotional story about loss and the things one discovers upon learning to be vulnerable. Ages 8–up. Agent: Molly O’Neill, Root Literary. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Poet and educator Keith (How the Boogeyman Became a Poet) delivers a poignant, hip-hop-fueled collection of poetry that’s equal parts memoir, love letter, and rallying cry to Black boys. Often marginalized by society and labeled a “knucklehead” as a child, Keith highlights in this powerfully affirming assemblage the ability to use language as an essential force for rising above various societal challenges. Throughout, the self-proclaimed nerd (“for real for real, I wanna be known as that artsy-fartsy intellect”) tackles topics surrounding toxic masculinity, police violence, and generational trauma and invokes “the spirit of everything African within me” to declare freedom from these issues using varying poetic styles. Keith’s personal journey—including his adolescence as a Black gay youth living a camouflaged existence where “girl-friends were my girlfriend” and the freedom that came with living “onstage, unafraid”—is interwoven with poems depicting other Black boys’ treatment in a society that marks them from birth as targets. Searing language and palpable messaging permeate this dazzling, from-the-heart poetry collection that’s sure to inspire the eponymous knuckleheads and beyond to find their voice and use it for liberation. Ages 14–up. Agent: Annie Hwang, Ayesha Pande Literary. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Teenage Ximena Reale, who has one eye, strives to overcome her family’s reputation—her parents, who were once allied to the Luzan Empire, were executed for their crimes against their country as Robin Hood–like pirates, the Reales. Now attending La Academia de los Cazadores, the training center for Luzan’s Naval recruits, Ximena seeks to reach the coveted rank of Cazador. The return of Gasparilla, a notorious pirate, could be Ximena’s only opportunity to rise above her infamous parents’ legacy; if she defeats Gasparilla, she could prove her bravery and loyalty to the empire. But her resolve begins to crumble as those around her start exposing Luzan’s dark secrets, particularly Dante de León, her rival and the son of the empire’s high minister, who opens her eyes to the misery of her people. Lengthy narration and the protagonists’ lackluster developing romance sometimes sap tension and forward momentum from the enticing plot. Nevertheless, debut author James employs elucidating prose to craft a rich imaginary world inspired by 18th-century Latin America in this swashbuckling adventure, a duology starter. Ages 14–up. Agent: Andrea Morrison, Writers House. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Sixteen-year-old heir to the throne Mancella Cliff wields a terrible gift: she can control animal spirits, but only by killing them with her bare hands first. Her father, a ruthless ruler, believes Mancella is his greatest weapon; Mancella yearns only for peace. Meanwhile teenage Silver is intimately familiar with the cost of war. Following his parents’ deaths, he’s placed in an orphanage that turns its inhabitants into soldiers. Though Silver and his friends escape, they live hand-to-mouth, unable to find work without “the proper papers.” Offered a job by a mysterious man, Silver breaks into the palace to steal items of great importance to the throne to secure his future. There, he targets Mancella for help, believing her to be monstrous but malleable; Mancella agrees, thinking Silver an ally who can stop the current war brewing. Via the teens’ alternating perspectives, Silver discovers Mancella is more than her reputation implies, and Mancella learns that, with her power, she can become more than a pawn in her father’s schemes. Court intrigue and humorous banter propel Taylor’s whirlwind romantic fantasy debut. Characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Catherine Cho, Paper Literary. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

A teenage key conjurista scrambles to save her family in this imaginative romantasy debut. Elia Tallis, whose power is capable of unlocking almost anything, is determined to keep her gravely ill father alive using magic until she turns 19 and can legally take over guardianship of her younger siblings. Then Morthanos, the god of death, claims her youngest brother as an acolyte as punishment for delaying her father’s death. Hoping to find a way to release her brother from Morthanos’s clutches, Elia reluctantly makes a bargain with Prince Trystoferian Lightdragon, ninth in line for the throne. In exchange for the prince’s resources and protection for her remaining siblings, Elia must accompany him to a land that’s closed to outsiders in search of the Scroll of Peace, which is said to have the power to end the relentless war ravaging their kingdom. The duo successfully obtain the scroll, but its effects are not what the prince imagines and Elia, narrowly escaping with her life, must now find a way to rescue him. Lengthy buildup and expository worldbuilding make the high-adrenaline plot points of this complex and exciting adventure feel rushed, occasionally stunting the narrative’s emotional impact. The protagonists cue as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Amy Giufridda, Belcastro Literary. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Sixteen-year-old Sabel is puzzled by tonight’s family meal, which seems to be a special spread of her and her four siblings’ favorite foods. Sickness and savagery have toppled the world, their home country is plagued by bombings, the president is dead, thugs roam the streets, and goods like this feast are scarce. Following dinner, a black bus with tinted windows whisks the five youths away, leaving their parents behind. All 30 children on the bus are drugged and taken to an unknown island, where they’re enrolled at an isolated boarding school. The young headmistress Chynoweth and her brother Gyre cryptically explain the rules: they’ll stay for 10 days, after which a ship will come to pick them up. As Sabel and the others get to know one another, the children realize they’re all from powerful ruling-class families, and that the administration are likely not who they say they are. In his YA debut, Boyagoda (Dante’s Indiana, for adults) presents a restrained, austere tale that chronicles a series of threatening events that befall a vague, deliberately unspecified setting, creating a sense of mythos and timelessness. Perceptive depictions of class dynamics and societal collapse dominate this fever-dream read with Lord of the Flies undertones. Ages 12–up. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Nineteen-year-old Elisabeth Amos, who is still navigating complications following a major surgery for fibular short congenital femur and fibular hemimelia at age 11, decides to forgo college. Now she lives alone in a secluded cabin in Fish Creek, Wis. Beyond her job at a local store, she keeps to herself, until a power outage during a snowstorm forces her to confront her fear of authority figures and rely on her neighbor, Sheriff Noah Harmon, for assistance. Elisabeth opens up to Noah and, with his help, grapples with her long-buried memories of her various medical procedures and the pain she’s endured, as well as the neglect she experienced from her doctors and mother. In this semi-autobiographical debut, as addressed in an author’s note, Grant moves back and forth in time, highlighting the trauma Elisabeth experienced in white-knuckled detail (“The friction of bone and flesh and blood and steel. It feels sticky and hot, like oil on fire”). Through Elisabeth’s poetry, integrated throughout, Grant artfully showcases the complicated back-and-forth between keeping oneself safe and staunching one’s own growth. Elisabeth and Noah’s dialogue crackles with tension and sincerity, and depictions of Elisabeth’s harrowing struggles with her narcissistic mother are cathartic. Most characters read as white. Ages 12–up. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink