By the catalog: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, Spring 2020

Catalog: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, Spring 2020

You know how it is…

First you read a review of a book that sounds like a completely perfect fit:

I loved every minute of this story, from the dollar-a-word vocabulary (Jejune! Forwent! Insouciance!) to Mary's dramatic introduction to Nicholas Sparks. Amid the brief diary entries and opulent prose, Sellet manages to hide a clever and biting social commentary in Mary's point of view. One doesn't need intimate familiarity with the classics to enjoy By the Book, but the more you know, the more you'll laugh. I, for one, cackled out loud!

Then you read an essay in which Lois Lowry explains that we’re living through the prequel to The Giver, which—once you’ve hauled yourself back out of The Abyss—reminds you that you still need to read the graphic novel adaptation of The Giver… and then somehow you’re scrolling down through the Spring 2020 HMH Books for Young Readers catalog, and you suddenly have an excessively long list of books to read.

The two that started it all:

By the Book, by Amanda Sellet
The Giver: Graphic Novel Adaptation, by by Lois Lowry and P. Craig Russell

And then, THE REST OF THEM:

Pick Your Own Path on the Oregon Trail: A Tabbed Expedition with More Than 50 Story Possibilities, by Jesse Wiley: Choose Your Own Adventure books are getting more popular again at my library—or they were before we shut everything down—and this looks like an appealing new take on them. (Also, adults tend to get all NO YOU HAVE TO READ A ‘REAL’ BOOK when the CYOA book has possible educational content.)

Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor, by Ally Carter: One of the blurbs describes it as “Batman meets Annie,” which sounds like a thing I need in my life? Also, Ally Carter is always fun, and given the popular crossover appeal of her previous books—in my experience, younger YAs ate them up—I’m kind of shocked that this is her first foray into middle grade?

Prairie Lotus, by Linda Sue Park: Set in the Dakota Territory in 1880, this one follows a young girl as she works in her father’s dress shop—YESSSS DOMESTIC ARTS YESSSSS—and navigates life as one of the only Asian people in a predominately white community. I’m so glad that we’re continuing to see books set in this time period that engage with and push back on the long-held assumptions and mythology that surround Laura Ingalls Wilder and Little House on the Prairie.

Maya and the Rising Dark, by Rena Barron: Contemporary fantasy that involves a twelve-year-old in Chicago who has find her missing father and, you know, save the world. There are werehyenas. WEREHYENAS!!

A Place at the Table, by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan: Two sixth-grader girls—one Muslim, one Jewish—take a South Asian cooking class and go from cooking partners to friends.

Brown Girl Ghosted, by Mintie Das: The description compares it to We Were Liars and Riverdale, which makes me hope it’ll be twisty and soapy and BANANAS. (And also reminds me that I should get caught up on Riverdale.)

Running, by Natalia Sylvester: Fifteen-year-old Mariana Ruiz’s father is running for president, and over the course of the campaign, she starts to see him entirely differently. (Boy oh boy, I do have a soft spot for stories about kids realizing that their parents are human beings with flaws.)

Courting Darkness and Igniting Darkness, by Robin Lefevers: Am I always here for historical fantasy with lots and lots of political intrigue? Yes, yes I am.

The Conductors, by Nicole Glover: Based on the date on the Amazon page, maybe this one got pushed to next year? Regardless, the cover is GORGEOUS and it’s set in post–Civil War Philly and stars a crime-solving former Underground Railroad conductor. So I might just pre-order it now and be pleasantly surprised whenever it decides to show up.

We Are Not Free, by Traci Chee: Historical fiction about fourteen Japanese American teens leading up and into the mass incarcerations in internment camps of WWII.

Splinters of Scarlet, by Emily Bain Murphy: Historical fantasy! Set in Denmark! The heroine is a seamstress! There is murder!

Sarah Bernhardt: The Divine and Dazzling Life of the World’s First Superstar, by Catherine Reef: After her phenomenal Florence Nightingale biography, I will always be here for another book by Catherine Reef.

Superpower Field Guides, by Rachel Poliquin: The upcoming one is about eels, but there are also installments about beavers, ostriches, and moles—and I mean, who doesn’t want to know everything about ostriches??? Cartoony nonfiction like this is SO POPULAR at my library. (With me as well as my young patrons.)