Holiday House and Pixel + Ink Showcase: New titles from the second half of 2023

The stack of book mail I opened up and sorted this past week was so INCREDIBLY giant that I had to break it up into multiple posts, including two publishers’ showcases. Here’s the thing: I am currently going over my two presentations for the upcoming Twin Cities Teen Lit Con. I am writing two feature articles for SLJ right now. I am constantly doing TLT stuff. And I work. And I try to sometimes interact with my family. Do I want to put a pause on all those things so I can JUST tackle Mount TBR? Yeah, I do (sorry, family). Right now I’m holding onto the fact that school is done in less than 2.5 months (I haven’t started to count the days yet, but that’s coming soon) and then MAYBE I will get to more of these books.

So, for all of your collection development and TBR needs, please enjoy some new titles.

Today’s giant box o’ fun is from Holiday House and Pixel + Ink. All descriptions are from the publisher.

In the Tunnel by Julie Lee (ISBN-13: 9780823450398 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 05/30/2023, Ages 8-12)

Trapped in an enemy tunnel, a young refugee experiences the Korean War firsthand in this searing story of survival, loss, and hope, a companion to the Freeman Award-winning novel Brother’s Keeper.

Myung-gi knows war is coming: War between North and South Korea. Life in communist North Korea has become more and more unbearable—there is no freedom of speech, movement, association, or thought—and his parents have been carefully planning the family’s escape.

But when his father is abducted by the secret police, all those plans fall apart. How can Myung-gi leave North Korea without his dad? Especially when he believes that the abduction was his fault?

Set during a cataclysmic war which shaped the world we know today, this is the story of one boy’s coming-of-age during a time when inhumanity, lawlessness, and terror reigned supreme. With only each other, Myung-gi, his mother, and his twelve-year-old sister Yoomee do everything they can to protect one another. But gentle, quiet, bookish Myung-gi has plans to find his father at any cost—even if it means joining the army and being sent to the front lines, where his deepest fears await him.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Fatima Tate Takes the Cake by Khadijah VanBrakle (ISBN-13: 9780823454853 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 06/13/2023, Ages 14-17)

Fatima Tate wants to be a baker AND enjoy some innocent flirting with her hot friend Raheem—but her strict Muslim parents would never approve of either…

Seventeen-year-old Fatima Tate, aspiring baker (100% against her conservative parents’ wishes), leads a pretty normal life in Albuquerque: long drives with BFF Zaynab, weekly services at the mosque, big family parties, soup kitchen volunteering (the best way to perfect her flaky dough recipe!), stressing about college.

But everything changes when she meets a charming university student named Raheem. Knowing the ‘rents would FREAK, Fatima keeps their burgeoning relationship a secret… and then, one day, her parents and his parents decide to arrange their marriage. Amazing! True serendipity!

Except it’s not amazing. As soon as the ring is on Fatima’s finger, Raheem’s charm transforms into control and manipulation. Fatima knows she has to call the whole thing off, but Raheem doesn’t like to lose. He threatens to reveal their premarital sexual history and destroy her and her family’s reputation in their tight-knit Muslim community.

Fatima must find the inner strength to blaze her own trail by owning her body, her choices, and her future. Combining the frank authenticity of Elizabeth Acevedo and the complex social dynamics of Ibi Zoboi, FATIMA TATE TAKES THE CAKE is a powerful coming-of-age story that gives a much-needed voice to young Black Muslim women.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Light Comes to Shadow Mountain by Toni Buzzeo (ISBN-13: 9780823453849 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 07/11/2023, Ages 8-12)

Cora Mae Tipton is determined to light up her Appalachian community in this historical fiction novel from an award-winning author and former librarian.

It’s 1937 and the government is pushing to bring electricity to the mountains of southeastern Kentucky. It’s all Cora can think of; radios with news from around the world, machines that keep food cold, lightbulbs by which to read at night! Cora figures she can help spread the word by starting a school newspaper and convincing her neighbors to support the Rural Electrification Act.

But resistance to change isn’t easy to overcome, especially when it starts at home. Cora’s mother is a fierce opponent of electrification. She argues that protecting the landscape of the holler—the trees, the streams, the land that provides for their way of life—is their responsibility. But Cora just can’t let go of wanting more.

Lyrical, literary, and deeply heartfelt, this debut novel from an award-winning author-librarian speaks to family, friendship, and loss through the spirited perspective of a girl eager for an electrified existence, but most of all, the light of her mother’s love and acceptance.

Back matter includes an Author’s Note; further information on the Rural Electrification Act, the herbs and plants of Appalachia, the Pack Horse Library Project, and more; and a “Quick Questions” historical trivia section for readers.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

The Curious League of Detectives and Thieves 2: S.O.S. by Tom Phillips (ISBN-13: 9781645951087 Publisher: Pixel + Ink Publication date: 08/01/2023 Series: The Curious League of Detectives and Thieves #2, Ages 8-12)

Take to the skies in the side-splitting second installment of a middle grade mystery series for fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events and Enola Holmes.

Fresh off recovering a billion-dollar ruby and losing the criminal who stole it, John Boarhog and Inspector Toadius McGee are soaring high on a new adventure. Hoping to intercept the Mauve Moth before they execute their next great heist, Toadius and John book passage on Her Majesty’s Royal Air Armada—a luxury cruise liner airship. But alas, there will be no clear skies ahead. A committee from the Society of Sleuths (S.O.S) is also aboard, ready to put John through his first trial to gain full membership, despite Toadius’s objections.

Furious with his mentor, John falls in with the Hive, a group of kids obsessed with using social media for fame. They see how valuable he is, even if Toadius doesn’t.

But when both the Mauve Moth and Shim-Sham resurface, each with their own nefarious aims, will the detective duo be able to see past their disagreements to, once again, save the day?

The second book in the Curious League of Detectives and Thieves series, S.O.S. is a hilarious, high-flying, heart-pounding mystery adventure readers won’t be able to put down.

Forget-Me-Not Blue by Sharelle Byars Moranville (ISBN-13: 9780823453597 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 08/08/2023, Ages 8-12)

Perfect for fans of Encanto and Turning Red, this intimate and heartfelt middle grade novel follows two siblings fighting to stay together amidst the ripple effects of addiction and generational trauma.

Siblings Con and Sofie’s mom promised that nothing would ever come between them–but when she disappears without any warning, she becomes the one who’s tearing them apart.

With no one else to rely on, inseparable siblings Con and Sofie must decide who they can trust, and whether or not it’s safe to share their hearts with family members who have the power to hurt them. Sofie has always turned to Con–and to books–during times of upheaval in their unstable lives. But as their mother is arrested and their guardianship becomes uncertain, Sofie will have to find hope in the most important story of all: her own.

Moranville’s captivating and vulnerable prose explores the ways in which addiction’s ripple effects pass through generations and how familial bonds can remain unbreakable through the most difficult circumstances. Expertly grappling with difficult topics at an age-appropriate level, this novel is a sensitive, nuanced exploration of children’s enduring resilience and optimism.

Be That Way by Hope Larson (ISBN-13: 9780823447619 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 10/03/2023, Ages 14+)

Seventeen-year-old Christine keeps a journal of an eventful year in her life in mid-90s, while juggling troubled friendships and looking for love.

It’s January 1, 1996, and high school junior Christine wants more than anything to be that cool girl everyone notices, like her gorgeous best friend, Landry. She usually hates New Year’s resolutions, but this year she vows to be that shiny kind of girl—and record it all in her diary through prose, illustration, and comics.

When Landry drops her, Christine is surprised to discover just how much she doesn’t miss her and her drama. But a misguided kiss with film-obsessed Paul, her only other close friend, also causes a rift, and she finds herself facing a long, lonely summer.

With nothing to lose, Christine finds a new sense of courage. She gets a job at her neighborhood video store, experiments with her art, and becomes romantically entangled with her next-door neighbor Whit, who’s either the coolest guy ever or a total jerk. In spite of all this, she doesn’t quite feel shiny—until a shocking betrayal shows her the value of the words and drawings she hides in her diary, and she finally understands that she doesn’t need to be cool to be noticed—she only needs to be herself.

Eisner-award winning author and illustrator, Hope Larson, has created a powerful coming-of-age story set in a time before the Internet that explores themes of betrayal, first love, self-expression, and the power of art.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Pine Island Visitors by Polly Horvath (ISBN-13: 9780823452958 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 10/10/2023, Ages 9-12)

By the Newbery Honor author, Polly Horvath, comes a sequel to her popular Pine Island Home about orphaned sisters who find a way to make a new family.

Fiona, Marlin, Natasha, and Charlie McCready have been adopted by their unlikely guardian, Al, and finally settled into their new home on Pine Island in British Columbia. Fiona is struggling under the weight of trying to keep everything together, not to mention worrying about expenses, while Marlin tries to adjust to her new high school while facing rejections for her cookbook, Thirty Meals a Twelve-Year-Old Could Make and Did!. Natasha is still keeping to herself but is looking forward to learning how to play the violin when school starts. And Charlie is dreaming of what kind of dog she would like. It’s been an adjustment, but they are loving being with each other and having Al next door.

Then they receive a letter from Mrs. Witherspoon who took care of them after their parents died and she is coming to visit for three months—an inordinate amount of time for a houseguest. Accommodating a fifth person in the tiny house is hard enough, but to their horror, Mrs. Weatherspoon arrives with a companion, her childhood friend, Jo.

Jo has opinions about everything—what they should eat, how they should behave—and she doesn’t hesitate to express them. And sweet Mrs. Witherspoon seems to have fallen under her spell. When she and Jo announce that they are going to extend their stay even longer, Fiona and Marlin are beside themselves. Fiona hates rocking the boat, but there must be a way to get rid of these grown-up bullies so she and her sisters can have the life they wish to lead.

Sweetness All Around by Suzanne Supplee (ISBN-13: 9780823453696 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 10/24/2023, Ages 8-12)

An indomitable heroine who believes she is destined to find her kidnapped neighbor leads this warm, big-hearted story with irresistible characters and a captivating mystery.

Almost-eleven-year-old Josephine is NOT pleased to be moving into the Happy World trailer park over the summer of 1974. She misses her beautiful bedroom with ballerinas on the wall and her pretty, well-dressed friends. Happy World isn’t happy. It’s dingy and depressing! Nothing like the world that headstrong Josephine wants for herself.

But when Josephine learns that her would-be next door neighbor in Happy World was kidnapped months ago, she develops a begrudging interest in her new home. A kidnapping is exciting—and all signs point to Josephine being meant to find ten-year-old Molly.

Despite her efforts to stay detached, Josephine investigates Molly’s disappearance with help from the eccentric cast of characters living in Happy World. It turns out the rough edges of her community are softer and sweeter than they first seemed. And the unexpected friendships she forms might be more precious than anything she’s ever owned.

In her extraordinary middle grade debut, Suzanne Supplee brings a small Tennessee town and its memorable residents to life. Perfect for daydreamers and unstoppable imaginations. Hand this beautiful, bursting-with-feelings read to fans of Kate DiCamillo’s Raymie Nightingale series.

Filed under: new books