Holiday House and Pixel+Ink Showcase: September Through December 2024

I was sitting on the floor sorting all my recent book mail and Charlie and Spot, the above chiweenies, just kept snoozing. They were like, Great, book mail—she’s going to ignore us in favor of books. AGAIN! May as well keep sleeping.

I almost just wrote that just when I started to feel like my TBR carts were not totally intimidatingly overflowing, more book mail showed up, but then I looked at my carts and realized how wrong I am. They are still intimidatingly overflowing. And I’m about to add a bunch more books to them. It’s a good problem to have, too many good books to read, but one that actually does cause me a ridiculous (for the issue) amount of stress. I want to read everything! And I can’t read everything, but I can sure share it all with you here.

For all of your collection development and TBR needs, please enjoy these new titles from Holiday House and Pixel+Ink. All descriptions are from the publisher.

Team Canteen 1: Rocky Road by Amalie Jahn (ISBN-13: 9781645952565 Publisher: Pixel+Ink Publication date: 09/03/2024, Ages 10-12)

A hot pink boa that might be magic bonds 4 unlikely friends from summer camp and gives them the courage to face down the challenges they face back home.

This sassy, diverse series debut for tweens is perfect for fans of XO, Kitty, The Baby-Sitters Club, and Julie and the Phantoms.

On the final night of summer camp, Tasha, Raelynn, Claire, and Billie get busted stuffing themselves with ice cream in the mess hall’s walk-in freezer. But when they slip away without being punished, they’re convinced the pink feather boa Billie put on to stay warm is magic.

Back at home, each member of Team Canteen tests the boa’s powers as they face their own challenges. When her little cousin moves in with her destructive dog, Tasha struggles to find her place inside her adoptive family. Claire’s scared the kids at school will find out how hard life’s gotten since her dad lost his job. Raelynn longs to be someone other than her sister’s twin. And with a hockey-obsessed family charting his every move, Billie’s worried he’ll never be able share his dream of becoming a figure skater.

It’s going to be a rocky road from the start of the school year back to Camp Happy Hollow. Will the boa continue to protect Team Canteen, or will their friendship end up being the most magical find of all?

Alternating among the friends, Rocky Road is a smart, soaring celebration of the highs and lows of middle school, and the unbreakable friendships that see you through, no matter what comes next.

Library Girl by Polly Horvath (ISBN-13: 9780823455676 Publisher: Holiday House/Margaret Ferguson Books Publication date: 09/10/2024, Ages 9-12)

After living in the public library for the last eleven years, Essie must learn to adapt to a world that’s not as perfect as the stories she’s grown up with in this heartfelt middle grade novel from Newbery Honor author Polly Horvath.

Essie has grown up in the public library, raised in secret by the four librarians who found her abandoned as a baby in the children’s department. With four mothers and miles of books to read, Essie has always been very happy living there.

But now that she is eleven, Essie longs for a little more freedom . . . and maybe a friend her own age. She seems to get her wish when her moms let her go by herself to the mall. On her second trip there, she meets G.E., a mysterious boy who looks so much like her she can’t help but think they may be twins. Maybe he was raised by four dads in the appliance section of the department store. Maybe his story is intertwined with hers, and their happy ending is as one big family. But as she gets to know G.E. better, she learns that nothing is as simple as it seems in her stories—not even her own past.

With her signature warmth and offbeat humor, Newbery Honor author Polly Horvath invites book lovers to sit back in their own library nooks and check out a whimsical adventure perfect for readers trying to find their place in the world.

Sweetest Darkness by Leslie Lutz (ISBN-13: 9780823454945 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 09/24/2024, Ages 14-17)

A teenage psychic is drawn deep into the honeycomb of an abandoned hotel—and into a cat-and-mouse game with a predatory entity—in this riveting new supernatural horror novel.

“SO SCARY, IT GIVES DARKNESS A BAD NAME! When I finished the last page, I realized I was still shivering.”—R.L. STINE, author of Goosebumps and Fear Street

Everyone in Gypsum, Texas knows the Hotel Alvarado changes at night—especially Quinn. A teenage clairvoyant, he’s been having dreams about it… dreams that call him to its dark, abandoned halls. The hotel is a monument to the town’s more prosperous past, when celebrities flocked to the mineral spas and films were shot in the desert. The Great Depression killed all of that, it killed the Alvarado, and frankly it killed Gypsum, too. Now, when the sun goes down, things no longer living stir deep within its creaking depths.

But the dreams are relentless. When Quinn braves the hotel’s darkness with his best friend June and unrequited love Selena, looking for answers, he gets only one: ghosts aren’t the scariest thing lurking inside the Alvarado (although they’re there, cold and restless and angry).

No. He’s been called by something worse: a predatory, inhuman entity that threatens to wipe Gypsum off the map, along with everyone in it. And wrongly—accidentally—he’s let it out. It takes the shape of a handsome young man. It walks. It talks. It laughs. It can even make you laugh. But its appetite for death can never be sated. Quinn has always had the power to see the future… can he find the power to change it?

Plotting the Stars 3: Ashgarden by Michelle A. Barry (ISBN-13: 9781645951322 Publisher: Pixel+Ink Publication date: 10/01/2024, Ages 10-13)

Cast into a dangerous new world and separated from her friends, Myra uncovers secrets and lies the Governing Council has been cultivating for centuries. The third book in the searing STEAM-inspired Plotting the Stars middle grade series perfect for fans of The City of Ember and Divergent.

Out of the ashes, change will grow.

Thrown on a ship on a one-way voyage to uninhabitable Earth, Myra, Hannah, and Bernard believe they’ll never see their home or the people they care about again. After crash landing, they’re attacked, sedated, and dragged away . . . by people? There are still people on Earth? Unbeknownst to just about everyone in the galaxy, the Old World is inhabited by Botans and many generations of their offspring. And that means maybe Canter’s mother and Hannah’s sister might be there, too.

Back on Venus, Canter and Lila have an insider spying on MFI’s operations and are biding their time, waiting for the right moment to expose Melfin’s treachery before he risks more than just the Settlement food supply.

But there’s more at stake than revealing the continued existence of the Botans and freeing the Reps. Other long-buried Old World secrets. Secrets that were buried for a very good reason. . . .

Will Myra and her friends kindle and cultivate a new future from the ruins of the old, or have they ignited an inferno that will destroy all they hold dear?

The third book in the Plotting the Stars series, Ashgarden burns with determination, exploring the devastating possibilities of climate change and the power of the young voices fighting for something better.

Find Her by Ginger Reno (ISBN-13: 9780823454808 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 10/15/2024, Ages 10-12)

Five years, three months, and twelve days.
That’s how long Wren’s mother has been missing.

In dreams, Wren can see her again: her eyes, her hair, her smile. She can even hear her laugh. Her mother, one of hundreds of Native Americans considered missing or murdered in Oklahoma. Sometimes it seems like Wren and her grandmother are the only people still looking. Even more frustrating, Wren’s overprotective father won’t talk about it.

Wren refuses to give up, though. And an opportunity to find lost pets seems like a real way to hone her detective skills. But everything changes when one of the missing pets is found badly hurt. Soon, there are others.

With help from an unlikely friend, Wren vows to unmask whoever is behind the animal abuse. If she can do this, maybe she can do the same for her mother’s case. She’ll just have to keep it secret from her father who will certainly put an end to all her sleuthing if he finds out.

Find Her explores the crisis of missing Indigenous women from the perspective of a sensitive young Cherokee girl who yearns to find her mother, while also navigating a chilling town mystery, a new friendship, and a family in need of healing.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows (ISBN-13: 9780823456383 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 10/22/2024, Ages 10-14)

Can a guarded gamer girl lower her shield for a new friend… or more-than-friend?

“EARNEST AND LAUGH-OUT-LOUD… PITCH PERFECT.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Thirteen-year-old Ingrid’s been living a double life. At school, she’s the Girl With Dead Parents, her popular friend Rachel’s charity case. Online, things are different: she crushes it in her favorite MMORPG, geeks out in her favorite fantasy fandom, and runs a popular social media account. If only real life were that easy.

But when Ingrid finally stands up to Rachel and “starts drama,” it suddenly feels like she has no life at all . . . and nowhere to sit at lunch.

Until she gets a supersweet wrong-number text from a mystery boy at her school, and everything starts to go right. Spending time together playing Ancient Tomes Online as “Stitches” and “Traveler” makes her feel like she’s really connecting with someone. But when she begins to suspect that Traveler may be a popular classmate who is WAY above her in the cool-kid food chain—and whose original text was actually intended for Rachel—she faces a difficult choice. Can they be friends IRL? She wants to open up, but getting close to people has hurt her before.

Is making real friends only fantasy after all?

Bye Forever, I Guess is the fresh, funny, and deeply sweet middle-grade debut of New York Times bestselling author Jodi Meadows (MY LADY JANE). Speaking to the messiness of middle-school friendships (and first loves), this is a warm, witty, enormously entertaining book—and a love letter to geek culture, gaming, and the healing power of fantasy.

Bird Nerd by Jennifer Ann Richter (ISBN-13: 9780823456567 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 10/22/2024, Ages 8-12)

Thoughtful, nerdy fifth-grader Nyla sets out to win her school’s bird watching competition, while balancing old friends with new in this heartfelt debut.

Nyla Braun has always been called a nerd at her Philadelphia school. But that hasn’t stopped her from pursuing her nerdy hobbies, especially when she has best friend Tasha by her side. When a birding tournament between Nyla’s class and a class from a suburban school is announced, Nyla sees her chance to get the respect she deserves. If they win, that is. The Burb Birders will be tough competition.

With the contest underway, Nyla soon catches the attention of the most popular girl in class, who also wants to win, setting off a chain of small disasters as Nyla tries to balance old friends and new and the pressure to be cool when you really just want to be yourself.

Told with warmth and gentle humor, debut author Jennifer Ann Richter’s Bird Nerd combines a deep love of nature and birding with the story of a young girl learning to discover her own confidence and values.

Just Until by Joseph Moldover (ISBN-13: 9780823456192 Publisher: Holiday House/Margaret Ferguson Books Publication date: 10/29/2024, Ages 14-17)

Hannah must choose the impossible—put her nephews into foster care so she can stay true to her dream, or take them on and lose everything she’s worked so hard to achieve.

17-year-old Hannah Lynn has just one goal: to get out of Evans Beach, Maine. It’s where she lost her mother to cancer. Where her estranged sister, Pauline, fell apart before moving out. Where her father, Larry, holds court as a local legend who once played twelve games for the Red Sox. Hannah has never fit in, but that doesn’t matter now that she is finally on the cusp of escape. All she needs is a little help from her chemistry tutor, Richard, a fellow junior who she finds equal parts compelling and infuriating.

Then, one winter night, Hannah’s life is turned upside down. Pauline’s two sons are taken by the state, leaving Hannah and Larry the only people standing between the boys and the child welfare system. Her father promises that it will only be for a little while, just until Pauline gets back on her feet, but Hannah knows nothing is that simple when it comes to her troubled older sister.

But Hannah’s life—and future—is upended after they take the boys in and her father’s health unexpectedly declines. Hannah might be a kid herself, but as her struggling nephews’ surrogate mother, she faces a soberingly adult decision: is she willing to sacrifice everything to raise them alone? Or would she be giving up everything to leave them behind?

Drawing on his clinical psychology background, Moldover challenges readers to face some of life’s most difficult questions through the eyes of an unforgettably complex heroine. Unflinching yet ultimately hopeful, Just Until is a heart-wrenching tale of the weight some teenagers carry when no one else can do it for them—one that will linger with readers long after the final page.

The Donut Prince of New York by Allen Zadoff (ISBN-13: 9780823456635 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 11/05/2024, Ages 14-17)

“A masterful page-turner. You’ll root for Eugene long after the final chapter. Chef’s kiss!”—Lisa Fipps, author of Starfish

Eugene Guterman’s junior year in high school is off to a rocky start. No love life, no new theater production, and if his mother has her way, no more of his favorite comfort food—donuts. Eugene would just as soon spend the year playing small, but that’s hard to do when you’re the biggest kid in your class.

Things change when he accidentally tackles the school’s star quarterback and Coach sees the possibilities and recruits the plus-size playwright onto the varsity football team. Eugene is suddenly catapulted into the world of the “The Pops,” the exclusive clique of popular athletes known for their parties and dating scene. Best of all is the new and mysterious girl Daisy who seems to be noticing him.

Then Eugene discovers that life at the top is more complicated than he imagined— there’s pressure to excel, to fit in, and to uphold a certain image—and Eugene misses his former life and his old friends. Can he find the courage to give it all up, write something real, and maybe, just maybe, be the big guy who actually gets the girl?

“A heartbreaking coming of age tale that finds triumph in failure. Football, first crushes, theater and donuts. I love this book.”—Yehudi Mercado, author of Chunky and Sci-Fu

Mendel the Mess-Up by Terry LaBan (ISBN-13: 9780823453566 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 12/17/2024, Ages 9-12)

Cursed from birth, Mendel Schlotz is the unluckiest kid in his village.
He’s also the only one who can save it.

Ask anyone—twelve-year-old Mendel can’t do anything right. When he tries to herd goats, they get out. When he tries to chop wood, he breaks the ax. It’s embarrassing to be called “Mendel the Mess Up,” but it’s worse to be so clumsy that he can’t even stand to read aloud without destroying the classroom. Nobody expects Mendel to keep out of trouble… least of all himself.

But when the Cossacks invade Mendel’s remote Jewish village of Lintvint (famous for Lintvint kvatch, which is made from a very special ingredient), Mendel’s not the only one in trouble. When he slips away from the mountain caves where his fellow villagers are hiding, out of certainty he’ll find a way to make things worse if he’s around them, he discovers an unexpected opportunity to save the day.

Mendel’s always been different because everything he does turns into disaster. Now, he’s the only one who can help the people who doubt him.

Could Mendel’s bad luck be the key to saving Lintvint? Or will his plan to drive the Cossacks off go as badly as everyone—including him—expects?

Sympathetic, funny, and warm, this fast-paced middle-grade graphic novel from a veteran Jewish comics star reminds young readers who feel just a little out of place in their world that sometimes our weaknesses can be our greatest strengths.

Filed under: new books