As the heir to a long line of evildoers, Steve L. McEvil, portrayed with white skin and red hair, strives to meet the expectations of his grandfather Tiberius, “the world’s greatest supervillain,” who has retired from active villainy. Steve’s big plan is to take over his school (the operation remains a work in progress) and woo his academically inclined crush, Sierra Flores, but Steve’s blue-haired do-gooder new neighbor Vic Turry repeatedly foils his schemes with his consistent friendliness. When Steve, Sierra, and Vic are grouped together for a school science project, they decide to investigate the new rock structure in town. Citizens assume it’s an art installation, but Tiberius believes its appearance heralds something far more sinister. Turnbloom’s ( Curse of the Harvester ) vibrant full-color art is rendered with thick line and stark highlights that evoke a mad-scientist aura, and while the central mystery’s resolution is tidy, Steve’s reticence to heroics and characters’ comic-strip-esque cutaway reactions provide dry humor. This plot-driven graphic novel ably synthesizes tried-and-true school drama with familiar science fiction tropes. Instructions on how to create a three-panel comic strip and more conclude. Ages 8?12. Agent: Judy Hansen, Hansen Literary Management. (May)

Reviewed on 06/17/2022 | Details & Permalink

Freckled, brown-skinned Adora, nine, was found alone as an infant by a fountain in her ostensibly Spanish empire city, before being adopted by Lord Rafael, a learned and wealthy government official. Years later, she lives by a strict routine studying etiquette, fencing, and politics, all while being plagued by dreams of an ancient evil called the Distance, which legend likens to a “storm of darkness that destroys anything in its way.” Accompanied by her lifelong protector El Moor, caretaker Esperanza, and several skilled warriors from faraway lands, Adora seeks to lure the Distance and its imminent devastation away from her home. Together, the group searches for a way to defeat it by journeying to “the end of the world.” Though supporting characters sometimes feel thinly developed and the resolution feels rushed, Kristantina’s ( Mata Hari ) cinematic illustrations, enlivened by rich colors and almost tangible textures, adeptly portray Adora’s ever-expanding worldview as she learns more about her traveling companions, the lands beyond her own city, and herself. In an afterword, Bernardin ( Heroes Reborn ) describes the work as a meditation on and interpretation of autistic children’s (“especially those with language deficits”) inner worlds. Ages 13?17. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 06/17/2022 | Details & Permalink

In Siegemund-Broka and Wibberley’s ( What’s Not to Love ) latest swoony collaboration, high school sweethearts on the brink of change embark on a long-distance relationship. Siena and Patrick, both cued as white, have been dating for the past three years, and everyone insists that they are made for each other. With college looming, however, Siena worries that spending the rest of their lives having only ever dated one person is holding them back from their futures, and she resolves to break up with Patrick. But when Patrick’s family abruptly leaves Arizona for Texas, Siena, assuming their relationship will naturally fizzle when faced with time and separation, decides they’ll give long-distance a shot. Together, through misunderstandings and an unpredictable transition into adulthood, they must determine whether their future has room for the people they’ve been together and the people they want to become. Supporting characters often act solely as sounding boards for the protagonists’ relationship, and the novel’s episodic narrative, told from Siena’s occasionally meandering perspective, can feel disjointed. Nevertheless, Siena and Patrick’s relationship dynamic feels live-in, their banter is engaging, and their growth is effortlessly romantic, making for a tender, cozy read. Ages 14?up. Agent: Katie Shea Boutillier, Donald Maass Literary . (Apr.)

Reviewed on 06/17/2022 | Details & Permalink

Doyle (The Storm Keeper trilogy) and Webber ( The Revelry ) spin a complex tale of royal intrigue, power grabs, and ancient magic in this riveting duology opener. Since her parents’ murders 18 years prior, Princess Rose Valheart of the island nation Eana has been cared for by domineering regent Willem Rathborne, who has taught her to hate the witches who used to rule preceding the monarchy. Unknown to Rose, her twin sister, Wren Greenrock, was rescued by witches on the night of their parents’ deaths and has been raised to restore the witches to power by impersonating Rose and eventually taking her place as queen. After Wren’s roguish best friend, East Asian?cued Shen Lo, kidnaps Rose and transports her to the witch’s settlement on the other side of the island’s desert, Wren assumes her role in the castle. As Rose uncovers her true heritage and innate healing magic, Wren stumbles upon a fiendish political scheme. The creators use the sisters’ alternating perspectives, memorable characters, and dynamic relationships to unspool a leisurely paced and lushly described adventure, which is steeped in absorbing magic and exhilarating romance. Rose and Wren cue as white. Ages 14?up. Agent: Peter Knapp, Park & Fine Literary and Media. (May)

Reviewed on 06/17/2022 | Details & Permalink

Using an intimate first-person narrative and alternating between the past and present, Dwyer celebrates found family in this emotionally layered and strikingly romantic debut. With her father in and out of jail and her mother often disappearing without notice, Ellis Truman spent most of her Indiana childhood with classmate Easton Albrey and his family. After taking Ellis, then 11, under their wing, the Albreys?which include Easton’s mother, father, and brothers Dixon and Tucker?essentially raise her as their own. When she’s 15, Ellis realizes that she’s fallen in love with Easton, but following an incident, Ellis, now 18, is living with her aunt in California. Though she and Easton haven’t spoken since she left, Tucker encourages Ellis to accompany him home for their mother’s 50th birthday. Ellis’s melancholy present, juxtaposed with scenes from her joyful past, provide insight into her struggles navigating conflicting loyalties to her biological family and the Albreys. The narrative’s alternating timelines and the slowly unfolding mystery behind Ellis and Easton’s fallout introduces intrigue and palpable tension between intricately characterized, presumably all white, characters. Ages 14?up. Agent: Sarah Landis, Sterling Lord Literistic. (May)

Reviewed on 06/17/2022 | Details & Permalink

Seventeen-year-old New Yorker Samina “Mina” Rahman dreams of escaping her hometown for greener pastures in Bhuiyan’s ( Counting Down with You ) heartwarming novel. Mina’s Bangladeshi Muslim parents feel that studying film at the University of Southern California isn’t a practical life plan. Determined to prove that her dreams have value, Mina enters the Golden Ivy Film Festival, a student film contest whose grand prize is much-needed scholarship money. Struggling to cast a lead for her project, Mina approaches Chinese and Spanish indie London film star Emmitt Ramos, who’s currently undercover at Mina’s school preparing for a role. Though they immediately dislike each other, Mina and Emmitt strike a deal: he’ll star in her film if she’ll be his N.Y.C. tour guide. As the duo traipse across the city, they slowly warm to each other, and Mina realizes that maybe there are things in her own backyard worth staying for. Bhuiyan artfully blends Mina’s eclectic Desi diaspora community and N.Y.C.’s racially diverse population with conversations about Hollywood’s overwhelming whiteness to explore themes of home and belonging. Witty banter, energetic characters, and a bustling setting make for a hopeful read. Ages 13?up. Agent: JL Stermer, New Leaf Literary and Media. (May)

Reviewed on 06/17/2022 | Details & Permalink

Twelve-year-old Pakistani Muslim Mona Hasan, who lives in Dubai, has big resolutions for 1991?such as not rolling her eyes behind her parents’ back, and saving someone from danger?all of which she chronicles in her diary. “Nothing exciting ever happens in the UAE, but there is bad news happening all around us,” Mona writes in a January entry and, by February, Americans have invaded and dropped bombs in Iraq, before subsequently departing. Believing that the first Gulf War is over (“except for a few chips and cracks, everything’s back to normal”), Mona busies herself with pining for her crush, Waleed (a February entry features only his name, written 74 times), and trying to navigate puberty, until she overhears her parents discussing leaving the U.A.E. to avoid a shifting regime. Drawing on her own lived history, Hussain, who grew up in Dubai and emigrated to Canada as a teenager, touches on weighty topics such as racism, misogyny, and war. Mona’s voice is good-humored, and her diary entries?comprising lists, poems, and letters from supporting characters?amalgamate into a wise and introspective debut. Ages 10?14. Agent: Amy Tompkins, Transatlantic Literary. (May)

Reviewed on 06/17/2022 | Details & Permalink

Jones’s haunting debut, set in mid-2000s Ontario, unapologetically tackles biphobia, generational trauma, misogyny, and slut-shaming. Sixteen-year-old Dell is running from a lot of things, including unresolved trauma from a sexual harassment incident, a stormy relationship with her mother, and her own pervasive thoughts that she’s “messed up” for masturbating. When her mother receives word that their tenant, who had been renting their lakeside cottage, has been illegally dumping trash in the lake, the duo decide to spend their summer clearing out the detritus. What Dell assumed would be a quiet, if laborious, getaway is invaded by Dell’s mother’s boyfriend and his 17-year-old daughter Ivy, whom Dell is simultaneously infuriated and captivated by. The cottage clean-out also uncovers secrets about Dell’s mother’s past and Dell, plagued by strange apparitions of her late aunt, must navigate her burgeoning sexuality while confronting potentially uncomfortable truths about her family history. Through Dell’s tumultuous mental health and equally turbulent relationships, this intensely personal and moving narrative adeptly captures the often nerve-wracking complexity of queer adolescence. A contextualizing author’s note concludes. Dell is white; Ivy is of an unspecified Indigenous descent. Ages 16?up. (May)

Reviewed on 06/17/2022 | Details & Permalink

Twelve-year-old white-cued Roda lives with her mother and Aunt Dora in an Aerland city bordered by a paralyzing mist. Everyone knows that, while the mist is dangerous, it’s meant to keep them safe; it petrifies anything that touches it, preventing the terrifying monsters of the wild from entering their town. After Roda rescues a small crow who seemingly tumbled through the mist, the bird turns out to be a shape-shifter named Ignis, a boy around her age who has no memory of what he was doing before he fell. Gathering up a series of letters, which Roda has been receiving from an anonymous source, the pair follow the notes and their ostensibly prophetic instructions beyond the mist and into the outside world, called Nowhere. Roda and Ignis travel across Nowhere’s perilous landscape, populated by dangerous creatures such as gryphons, hoping to encounter Kader’s Comet, which only appears once every 10 years and is rumored to be a portal between the past and present. Hassan grounds complex worldbuilding and characterizations with easily digestible writing and fluid dialogue. This keenly plotted fantasy debut blends a tranquil contemporary world with an epically time-rending adventure. Ages 12?up. Agent: Erica Bauman, Aevitas Creative Management. (May)

Reviewed on 06/17/2022 | Details & Permalink

Khan ( Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun ) and Menotti’s ( How Many Jelly Beans? ) ambitious Pick-Your-Path Adventure series opener explores myriad routes that readers?who operate as the protagonist?can take while navigating recently developed superpowers. As part of the elite Summer Science Academy the protagonist is attending, they visit a center for avian science. When their class gets split up into pairs, the main character follows their partner, an aloof girl named Alex, into a restricted area and discovers a mysterious silver-feathered bird. After the bird scratches the protagonist’s hand, they develop a fever and wake the next day with the capability of flight. Readers are presented with a plethora of options for what to do next, with each scenario resulting in its own story, providing a unique experience for every individual read. Labat’s ( DC Super Hero Girls: Ghosting ) graphic b&w; ink illustrations and bold speech bubbles add a classic comic-book feel to this madcap adventure and its oftentimes intense resolutions, many of which involve falling from high places and breaking several bones. While its conclusions are often not as fanciful as its premise, this volume proves a quirky addition to the superhero genre. Ages 8?12. (May)

Reviewed on 06/17/2022 | Details & Permalink