Here at Penguin Random House Canada, we’re lucky to work with so many different publisher lists. This holiday season, we’ll be highlighting each one with a dedicated post to help you find the perfect gift (or your next read). Today’s post is all about Penguin Young Readers.
Check & Mate By Ali Hazelwood 368 Pages | Ages 14+ | Paperback ISBN 9780593619919 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess. Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist . . . As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent . . . and infuriating . . . )
Dragon’s First Taco By Adam Rubin Illustrated by Daniel Salmieri 16 Pages | Ages 1-3 | Board Book ISBN 9780593533178 | Dial Books Let the New York Times bestselling team behind Dragons Love Tacos introduce the joy of dragons to the youngest of readers in this original board book shaped like a taco! What do you get when you take a tortilla, fold it in half, and fill it with all sorts of delicious things? A taco, of course! This little dragon’s first taco will surely not be their last in this lively, funny board book that introduces the magic of tacos and dragons.
House of Marionne By J. Elle 432 Pages | Ages 14+ | Hardcover ISBN 9780593527702 | Razorbill BURY YOUR SECRET OR DIE FOR IT. 17 year-old Quell has lived her entire life on the run. She and her mother have fled from city to city, in order to hide the deadly magic that flows through Quell’s veins. Until someone discovers her dark secret. To hide from the assassin hunting her, and keep her mother out of harm’s way, Quell reluctantly inducts into a debutante society of magical social elites called the Order that she never knew existed. If she can pass their three rites of membership, mastering their proper form of magic, she’ll be able to secretly bury her forbidden magic forever. If caught, she will be killed. But becoming the perfect debutante is a lot harder than Quell imagined, especially when there’s more than tutoring happening with Jordan, her brooding mentor and – assassin in training. When Quell uncovers the deadly lengths the Order will go to defend its wealth and power, she’s forced to choose: embrace the dark magic she’s been running from her entire life or risk losing everything, and everyone, she’s grown to love. Still, she fears the most formidable monster she’ll have to face is the one inside.
Just Because By Matthew McConaughey Illustrated by Renée Kurilla 32 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover ISBN 9780593622032 | Viking BFYR The debut picture book by Academy Award-winning actor and #1 New York Times bestselling author Matthew McConaughey Just because I’m in the race, doesn’t mean I’m fully ready. Just because I’m shaking, doesn’t mean that I’m not steady. Have you ever felt worried and excited at the same time? Have you ever had your feelings hurt but forgiven someone anyway? Have you ever thought there was more than one right answer to a question? That’s because contradictions are all around us. And they make us who we are. Filled with his trademark humor and wisdom, Academy Award–winning actor and #1 New York Times bestselling author Matthew McConaughey has crafted a soulful and irreverent collection of life lessons that empowers readers, big and small, to celebrate how we are all full of possibility. Why? Just because.
Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen By Geri Halliwell-Horner 464 Pages | Ages 10+ | Hardcover ISBN 9780593623343 | Philomel Books It’s time to find your power. Suddenly orphaned and alone, Rosie Frost is sent to the mysterious Bloodstone Island – home not only to a school for extraordinary teens, but also a sanctuary for endangered species. There, Rosie confronts a menacing deputy headmaster, a group of mean girls intent on destroying her, and shocking family secrets. She also discovers that history can come to life in ways she never could have imagined. When the island itself comes under threat, Rosie knows she must enter and win the Falcon Queen Games in a desperate bid to save it. But Rosie can’t do it alone. She finds that believing in herself – and her friends – is the first step to finding the power she never knew she had.
Something, Someday By Amanda Gorman Illustrated by Christian Robinson 40 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover ISBN 9780593203255 | Viking BFYR The stunning new picture book by presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Christian Robinson. You’re told that This won’t work, But how will you know If you never try? Presidential inaugural poet and #1 New York Times bestselling author Amanda Gorman and Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor winner Christian Robinson have created a timeless message of hope. Sometimes the world feels broken. And problems seem too big to fix. But somehow, we all have the power to make a difference. With a little faith, and maybe the help of a friend, together we can find beauty and create change. With intimate and inspiring text and powerfully stunning illustrations, Something, Someday reveals how even the smallest gesture can have a lasting impact.
The Davenports By Krystal Marquis 384 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover ISBN 9780593463338 | Dial Books The Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States, their fortune made through the entrepreneurship of William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man who founded the Davenport Carriage Company years ago. Now it’s 1910, and the Davenports live surrounded by servants, crystal chandeliers, and endless parties, finding their way and finding love – even where they’re not supposed to. There is Olivia, the beautiful elder Davenport daughter, ready to do her duty by getting married . . . until she meets the charismatic civil rights leader Washington DeWight and sparks fly. The younger daughter, Helen, is more interested in fixing cars than falling in love – unless it’s with her sister’s suitor. Amy-Rose, the childhood friend turned maid to the Davenport sisters, dreams of opening her own business – and marrying the one man she could never be with, Olivia and Helen’s brother, John. But Olivia’s best friend, Ruby, also has her sights set on John Davenport, though she can’t seem to keep his interest . . . until family pressure has her scheming to win his heart, just as someone else wins hers.
The Last Kids on Earth and the Monster Dimension By Max Brallier Illustrated by Douglas Holgate 288 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Hardcover ISBN 9780593405253 | Viking BFYR The highly-anticipated ninth book in the #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling series, with over ten million copies in print! The last kids may have escaped the forbidden fortress by the skin of their teeth, but there isn’t much to celebrate. Thrull has what he needs to complete the Tower, Rezzoch will most certainly come to Earth, and the world as they know it will cease to exist. Except Jack’s Cosmic Hand is now even more powerful than he realized, and it might just be able to stop the inevitable from happening. To get the answers he seeks, he’ll need to travel farther than he’s ever been. He must go . . . to the monster dimension!
The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels By Beth Lincoln Illustrated by Claire Powell 352 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Hardcover ISBN 9780593533239 | Dutton BFYR On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A definition it is assumed they will grow up to match. Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker. Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her next great scheme: hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile’s long-lost treasure. She’s excited to finally meet her arriving relatives – until one of them gives Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs. So what if everyone thinks she’ll never be more than a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can become whatever she wants, even a detective. And she’s determined to follow the twisty clues and catch the killer.
Wonka By Roald Dahl Adapted by Sibéal Pounder Created by Simon Farnaby and Paul King 304 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Hardcover ISBN 9780593528686 | Viking BFYR Based on the major motion picture – an intoxicating mix of magic and music, mayhem and emotion, all told with fabulous heart and humor – Wonka introduces readers to a young Willy Wonka, chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time . . . proving that the best things in life begin with a dream, and if you’re lucky enough to meet Willy Wonka, anything is possible.
On 7/7/2023, megastar singer-songwriter Taylor Swift released the latest of her re-recorded albums (in reaction to a dispute with her former record label over the ownership of the original album masters), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). The album features re-recorded versions of 16 songs from the original, as well as six previously unreleased songs “from the vault.” Speak Now, Swift’s third studio album, originally released in 2010, was something of a concept album about heartbreak and features singles like “Back to December” and “Mean.” The vault-freed songs like “When Emma Falls in Love” and “Electric Touch” already have fans singing their praises and scouring their lyrics for clues to their real-life referents, and some songs – notably “Better than Revenge” have been partially rewritten to reflect the singer’s changed perspective. We’ve listened to the full tracklist many, many times and have come up with recommendations from our children’s and YA titles for each song. In some cases, the connection may be a similar plot or theme. In others, a single lyric or idea may have led to the suggestion. Either way, we know you’ll enjoy reading these books, so don’t wait! (We’ll meet you when you’re out of the church at the back door.)
Mine (Taylor’s Version)
Mine for Keeps By Jean Little 232 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Paperback ISBN 9781774882948 | Puffin Canada Away at school, Sally Copeland has always dreamed of going home, but now that she’s there, she feels frightened and unsure of herself. Will her brother and sister accept her? Will she be able to do things for herself? And what will it be like to go to a regular school and be the only one with cerebral palsy?
Sparks Fly (Taylor’s Version)
The Pink Umbrella By Amélie Callot Illustrated by Geneviève Godbout 80 Pages | Ages 6-9 | Hardcover ISBN 9781101919231 | Tundra Books When it’s bright outside, Adele is the heart of her community, greeting everyone who comes into her café with arms wide open. But when it rains, she can’t help but stay at home inside, under the covers. Because Adele takes such good care of her friends and customers, one of them decides to take care of her too, and piece by piece leaves her little gifts that help her find the joy in a gray, rainy day. Along with cute-as-a-button illustrations, The Pink Umbrella celebrates thoughtful acts of friendship.
Back to December (Taylor’s Version)
So, This Is Christmas By Tracy Andreen 368 Pages | Ages 14+ | Paperback ISBN 9780593353134 | Viking BFYR When Finley Brown returned to her hometown of Christmas, Oklahoma, from boarding school, she expected to find it just as she left it. Christmas hasn’t changed much in her sixteen years. But instead she returns to find that her best friend is dating her ex-boyfriend, her parents have separated, and her archnemesis got a job working at her grandmother’s inn. And she certainly didn’t expect to find the boy she may or may not have tricked into believing that Christmas was an idyllic holiday paradise on her grandmother’s doorstep. It’s up to Finley to make sure he gets the Christmas he was promised. This is Finley’s Christmas. It’s about home and family and friends and finding her place, and along the way she also finds the best Christmas present of all: love.
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
A Garden in My Hands By Meera Sriram Illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat 40 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover ISBN 9780593427101 | Knopf BFYR The sweet smell of henna, and stories we carry, fill us with pride of a faraway home. There’s a wedding tomorrow! And one little girl sits patiently while her mother tenderly applies intricate, delicate henna designs on her hands. As she does, she shares family stories–about weddings, monsoons, and ancestors long gone. The little girl must be careful to protect her hands as the henna dries–one smudge could ruin a story! After a whole night of anticipation, when the flakes are washed away, what will they reveal? Lyrical text pairs with vibrant illustrations for this poignant picture book that blooms with heart, connects us to our roots, and sweetly reminds us of the the garden of love we curate with those closest to us.
Dear John (Taylor’s Version)
Year On Fire By Julie Buxbaum 336 Pages | Ages 14+ | Paperback ISBN 9781984893697 | Ember It was a year on fire. They fell in love. Someone was bound to get burned. The Spark: Just days before the start of junior year, a spontaneous kiss and then a lie shakes the very foundation of the friendship between best friends Immie and Paige. Immie’s twin brother, Arch, knows something, only he’s not saying it. Some loyalties run too deep to be broken by accidental betrayal. The Fuel: Enter Rohan, new to Wood Valley High by way of London, who walks into school on the first day completely overwhelmed by his sudden move halfway around the world. When Paige calls dibs on him—he’s too cute to ignore—Immie is in no position to argue, certainly not after taking the fall for the disloyal kiss. Too bad for Immie that Ro feels like the best kind of familiar. The Kindling: Former lab partners Arch and Jackson, Paige’s ex-boyfriend, have never considered themselves more than friends. But sometimes feelings can grow like flames fanned by the wind. The Flames: When the girls’ bathroom at Wood Valley is set ablaze, no one doubts it’s arson. But in this bastion of privilege, who’d be angry enough to want to burn down the school? Answer: pretty much everyone.
Mean (Taylor’s Version)
I Walk with Vanessa: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness By Kerascoët 40 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover ISBN 9781524769550 | Schwartz & Wade Inspired by real events, I Walk with Vanessa explores the feelings of helplessness and anger that arise in the wake of seeing a classmate treated badly, and shows how a single act of kindness can lead to an entire community joining in to help. By choosing only pictures to tell their story, the creators underscore the idea that someone can be an ally without having to say a word. With themes of acceptance, kindness, and strength in numbers, this timeless and profound feel-good story will resonate with readers young and old.
The Story of Us (Taylor’s Version)
Threads That Bind By Kika Hatzopoulou 352 Pages | Ages 14+ | Paperback ISBN 9780593528716 | Razorbill Descendants of the Fates are always born in threes: one to weave, one to draw, and one to cut the threads that connect people to the things they love and to life itself. The Ora sisters are no exception. Io, the youngest, uses her Fate-born abilities as a private investigator in the half-sunken city of Alante. But her latest job leads her to a horrific discovery: somebody is abducting women, maiming their life-threads, and setting the resulting wraiths loose in the city to kill. To find the culprit, she must work alongside Edei Rhuna, the right hand of the infamous Mob Queen—and the boy with whom she shares a rare fate-thread linking them as soul mates before they’ve even met. The investigation turns personal when Io’s estranged oldest sister shows up on the arm of her best suspect. Amid unveiled secrets from her past and her growing feelings for Edei, Io must follow clues through the city’s darkest corners and unearth a conspiracy that involves some of the city’s most powerful players before destruction comes to her own doorstep.
Never Grow Up (Taylor’s Version)
The Wonderful Things You Will Be By Emily Winfield Martin 36 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover ISBN 9780375973277 | Random House BFYR From brave and bold to creative and clever, Emily Winfield Martin’s rhythmic rhyme expresses all the loving things that parents think of when they look at their children. With beautiful, and sometimes humorous, illustrations, and a clever gate-fold with kids in costumes, this is a book grown-ups will love reading over and over to kids-both young and old. The Wonderful Things You Will Be has a loving and truthful message that will endure for lifetimes and makes a great gift for any occasion, but a special stand-out for baby showers, birthdays, Easter, and graduation.
Enchanted (Taylor’s Version)
The Hidden World of Gnomes By Lauren Soloy 96 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover ISBN 9780735271043 | Tundra Books This book is an introduction to the hidden folk called gnomes, who live in a happy place they call The Pocket. Where is The Pocket, you ask? Well, it’s all around you, all the time. Gnomes are curious little creatures, and they’re very shy. But after reading this book, you will learn to spot the telltale signs that gnomes are around . . . and maybe even meet one! Lauren Soloy has been studying gnomes her whole life, and she has created this book to share her knowledge with you. For example, what jobs do gnomes do? Babysitting robin’s eggs, squirrel-tail fluffing, storytelling. Where do they live? In gardens, forests and any place with plants, birds and bugs. What are their names? Hotchi-Mossy, Able Potter, Cob Tiggy and Puckle Swift, to name a few. With charming details and surprising facts, this celebration of all things gnome will enchant readers of all ages.
Better Than Revenge (Taylor’s Version)
Our Playground Rules! By Kallie George Illustrated by Jay Fleck 32 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover ISBN 9780593378748 | Rodale Kids This young picture book plays with the double meaning of “rules” to explore how following a few simple rules of kindness can make playtime more fun for everyone! Featuring simple text and engaging illustrations that embrace the varying needs and capabilities of the adorable cast of animal characters, Our Playground Rules! is the perfect tool to help small children feel seen and better empathize with others.
Innocent (Taylor’s Version)
Skyward By Brandon Sanderson 544 Pages | Ages 12+ | Paperback ISBN 9780399555800 | Ember Spensa’s world has been under attack for decades. Now pilots are the heroes of what’s left of the human race, and becoming one has always been Spensa’s dream. Since she was a little girl, she has imagined soaring skyward and proving her bravery. But her fate is intertwined with her father’s–a pilot himself who was killed years ago when he abruptly deserted his team, leaving Spensa’s chances of attending flight school at slim to none. No one will let Spensa forget what her father did, yet fate works in mysterious ways. Flight school might be a long shot, but she is determined to fly. And an accidental discovery in a long-forgotten cavern might just provide her with a way to claim the stars.
Haunted (Taylor’s Version)
Funeral Songs for Dying Girls By Cherie Dimaline 280 Pages | Ages 14+ | Hardcover ISBN 9780735265639 | Tundra Books Winifred has lived in the apartment above the cemetery office with her father, who works in the crematorium all her life, close to her mother’s grave. With her sixteenth birthday only days away, Winifred has settled into a lazy summer schedule, lugging her obese Chihuahua around the grounds in a squeaky red wagon to visit the neglected gravesides and nursing a serious crush on her best friend, Jack. Her habit of wandering the graveyard at all hours has started a rumor that Winterson Cemetery might be haunted. It’s welcome news since the crematorium is on the verge of closure and her father’s job being outsourced. Now that the ghost tours have started, Winifred just might be able to save her father’s job and the only home she’s ever known, not to mention being able to stay close to where her mother is buried. All she has to do is get help from her con-artist cousin to keep up the rouse and somehow manage to stop her father from believing his wife has returned from the grave. But when Phil, an actual ghost of a teen girl who lived and died in the ravine next to the cemetery, starts showing up, Winifred begins to question everything she believes about life, love and death. Especially love.
Last Kiss (Taylor’s Version)
Always Isn’t Forever By J. C. Cervantes 384 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover ISBN 9780593404485 | Razorbill Best friends and soul mates since they were kids, Hart Augusto and Ruby Armenta were poised to take on senior year together when Hart tragically drowns in a boating accident. Absolutely shattered, Ruby struggles to move on from the person she knows was her forever love. Hart can’t let go of Ruby either…. Due to some divine intervention, he’s offered a second chance. Only it won’t be as simple as bringing him back to life – instead, Hart’s soul is transferred to the body of local bad boy. When Hart returns to town as Jameson, he realizes that winning Ruby back will be more challenging than he’d imagined. For one, he’s forbidden from telling Ruby the truth. And with each day he spends as Jameson, memories of his life as Hart begin to fade away. Though Ruby still mourns Hart, she can’t deny that something is drawing her to Jameson. As much as she doesn’t understand the sudden pull, it can’t be ignored. And why does he remind her so much of Hart? Desperate to see if the connection she feels is real, Ruby begins to open her heart to Jameson – but will their love be enough to bridge the distance between them?
Long Live (Taylor’s Version)
Take Back the Block By Chrystal D. Giles 240 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Hardcover ISBN 9780593175170 | Random House BFYR Wes Henderson has the best style in sixth grade. That – and hanging out with his crew (his best friends since little-kid days) and playing video games – is what he wants to be thinking about at the start of the school year, not the protests his parents are always dragging him to. But when a real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood Wes has lived his whole life, everything changes. The grownups are supposed to have all the answers, but all they’re doing is arguing. Even Wes’s best friends are fighting. And some of them may be moving. Wes isn’t about to give up the only home he’s ever known. Wes has always been good at puzzles, and he knows there has to be a missing piece that will solve this puzzle and save the Oaks. But can he find it . . . before it’s too late? Exploring community, gentrification, justice, and friendship, Take Back the Block introduces an irresistible 6th grader and asks what it means to belong – to a place and a movement – and to fight for what you believe in.
Ours (Taylor’s Version)
The Davenports By Krystal Marquis 384 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover ISBN 9780593463338 | Dial Books The Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States, their fortune made through the entrepreneurship of William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man who founded the Davenport Carriage Company years ago. Now it’s 1910, and the Davenports live surrounded by servants, crystal chandeliers, and endless parties, finding their way and finding love – even where they’re not supposed to. There is Olivia, the beautiful elder Davenport daughter, ready to do her duty by getting married . . . until she meets the charismatic civil rights leader Washington DeWight and sparks fly. The younger daughter, Helen, is more interested in fixing cars than falling in love – unless it’s with her sister’s suitor. Amy-Rose, the childhood friend turned maid to the Davenport sisters, dreams of opening her own business – and marrying the one man she could never be with, Olivia and Helen’s brother, John. But Olivia’s best friend, Ruby, also has her sights set on John Davenport, though she can’t seem to keep his interest . . . until family pressure has her scheming to win his heart, just as someone else wins hers.
Superman (Taylor’s Version)
Dads Can Do It All! By Ted Maass Illustrated by Ekaterina Trukhan 20 Pages | Ages 14+ | Board Books ISBN 9780593522998 | Grosset & Dunlap This year, celebrate Dad with this adorable board book young readers can personally inscribe and dedicate to their dad: the superhero! Beautiful illustrations and inspiring, rhyming verses make this the perfect gift for dads and for birthdays year-round. Young ones will love sharing this book with Dad and learning all the exciting things fathers can do—and everything they can do, too!
Electric Touch (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) [feat. Fall Out Boy]
A Life Electric: The Story of Nikola Tesla By Azadeh Westergaard Illustrated by Júlia Sardà 40 Pages | Ages 5-9 | Hardcover ISBN 9780593114605 | Viking BFYR Norn at the stroke of midnight during a lightning storm, Nikola Tesla grew up to become one of the most important electrical inventors in the world. But before working with electricity, he was a child who loved playing with the animals on his family’s farm in Serbia. An inventor since childhood, Tesla’s patents encompassed everything from radar and remote-control technology to wireless communications. But his greatest invention was the AC induction motor, which used alternating currents ( AC) to distribute electricity and which remains the standard for electric distribution today. Tesla’s love of animals also remained constant throughout his life and led to his anointment as the Pigeon Charmer of New York for his devotion to nature’s original wireless messengers. Exploring his groundbreaking inventions against the backdrop of his private life, A Life Electric introduces Nikola Tesla to young readers unlike ever before. Azadeh Westergaard’s lyrical debut brings compassion and humanity to the legacy of the brilliant inventor, while the esteemed illustrator Júlia Sardà deftly brings him to life.
When Emma Falls in Love (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children By Ransom Riggs 384 Pages | Ages 14+ | Paperback ISBN 9781594746031 | Quirk Books A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.
I Can See You (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)
Check & Mate By Ali Hazelwood 368 Pages | Ages 14+ | Paperback ISBN 9780593619919 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons Release Date: November 7, 2023 Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess. Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist…. As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)
Castles Crumbling (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) [feat. Hayley Williams]
Queen of the Sea By Dylan Meconis 400 Pages | Ages 10-14 | Paperback ISBN 9781536215175 | Walker Books US When her sister seizes the throne, Queen Eleanor of Albion is banished to a tiny island off the coast of her kingdom, where the nuns of the convent spend their days peacefully praying, sewing, and gardening. But the island is also home to Margaret, a mysterious young orphan girl whose life is upturned when the cold, regal stranger arrives. As Margaret grows closer to Eleanor, she grapples with the revelation of the island’s sinister true purpose as well as the truth of her own past. When Eleanor’s life is threatened, Margaret is faced with a perilous choice between helping Eleanor and protecting herself and her Island family. In a graphic novel of fictionalized history, Dylan Meconis paints Margaret’s world in soft greens, grays, and reds, transporting readers to a quiet, windswept island at the heart of a treasonous royal plot.
Foolish One (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)
Tremendous Things By Susin Nielsen 272 Pages | Ages 12+ | Paperback ISBN 9780735271227 | Tundra Books We all have moments that define us. For the comically clueless Wilbur, his moment happened on the first day of middle school, when someone shared his private letter with the entire student body. It revealed some of Wilbur’s innermost embarrassing thoughts that no one else should ever know. Now it’s the start of ninth grade and Wilbur hasn’t been able to escape that major humiliation. His good friend Alex stuck by him, but Alex doesn’t have as much time since he started dating Fabrizio. Luckily, Wil can confide in his best friend: his elderly neighbor Sal. Also, Wil’s in the school band, where he plays the triangle. They’re doing an exchange program with students from Paris, and Wilbur’s billet, Charlie, a tall, chic young woman who plays the ukulele and burps with abandon, captures his heart. Charlie likes him, but only as a friend. So Alex, Fabrizio, and Sal host a Queer Eye-style intervention to get Wil in shape and to build his confidence so he can impress Charlie when their band visits Paris, and just maybe replace humiliation with true romance in the City of Love.
Timeless (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)
Midnight Strikes By Zeba Shahnaz 448 Pages | Ages 14+ | Hardcover ISBN 9780593567555 | Delacorte Press Seventeen-year-old Anaïs just wants tonight to end. As an outsider at the kingdom’s glittering anniversary ball, she has no desire to rub shoulders with the nation’s most eligible (and pompous) bachelors—especially not the notoriously roguish Prince Leo. But at the stroke of midnight, an explosion rips through the palace, killing everyone in its path. Including her. The last thing Anaïs sees is fire, smoke, chaos . . . and then she wakes up in her bedroom, hours before the ball. No one else remembers the deadly attack or believes her warnings of disaster. Not even when it happens again. And again. And again. If she’s going to escape this nightmarish time loop, Anaïs must take control of her own fate and stop the attack before it happens. But the court’s gilded surface belies a rotten core, full of restless nobles grabbing at power, discontented commoners itching for revolution, and even royals who secretly dream of taking the throne. It’s up to Anaïs to untangle these knots of deadly deceptions . . . if she can survive past midnight.
On June 1, 2023, we hosted our annual #PenguinTeenSocial where we talked about staff picks for summer, revealed our #Penguin10 of 2023 – the top ten books you need to read this fall, and introduced the #MiddleGrade5 – similar to the #Penguin10, but with middle-grade novels. Here are all 15 titles . . . sorry in advance for how long your TBR is about to get!
#MiddleGrade5
Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen By Geri Halliwell-Horner 464 Pages | Ages 10+ | Hardcover ISBN 9780593623343 | Philomel Books Release Date: October 3, 2023 It’s time to find your power. Suddenly orphaned and alone, Rosie Frost is sent to the mysterious Bloodstone Island – home not only to a school for extraordinary teens, but also a sanctuary for endangered species. There, Rosie confronts a menacing deputy headmaster, a group of mean girls intent on destroying her, and shocking family secrets. She also discovers that history can come to life in ways she never could have imagined. When the island itself comes under threat, Rosie knows she must enter and win the Falcon Queen Games in a desperate bid to save it. But Rosie can’t do it alone. She finds that believing in herself – and her friends – is the first step to finding the power she never knew she had.
The Portal Keeper: The Misewa Saga #4 By David A. Robertson 256 Pages | Ages 10+ | Hardcover ISBN 9781774880258 | Tundra Books Release Date: October 10, 2023 Eli and Morgan experience life-changing revelations in this new adventure in the award-winning, Narnia-inspired Indigenous middle-grade fantasy series. While exploring World’s End, an area in Aski they’ve just discovered, Morgan and Emily delight in their developing relationship, while Eli struggles to understand his new-found power: the ability to locate a portal. A shocking turn of events leads them to a new village, Ministik, where the animal beings who live there are going missing. Horrified to discover who is responsible, the children vow to help and turn to friends, old and new. But it’s getting harder and harder to keep the two worlds separate, especially when details of a traditional legend change everything. Forever.
Project F By Jeanne DuPrau 224 Pages | Ages 8–12 | Hardcover ISBN 9780593643808 | Random House Books for Young Readers Release Date: October 10, 2023 WELCOME TO THE FUTURE. There are no cars, planes, television, or smart phones. Climate change wreaked havoc on Earth hundreds of years ago, and now people live a simpler life. Then thirteen-year-old Keith uncovers a secret. It’s a mysterious mission known only as Project F. It’s advanced, it’s scientific, and it’s going to change the world. It’s exactly the kind of adventure Keith has always longed to be a part of. And what is adventure without a little danger, right? But how much danger is Keith willing to risk? For himself? For his family? For his community? For the entire world…? Jeanne DuPrau’s The City of Ember was an instant hit when it arrived on bookshelves. It has become a modern classic beloved by readers selling hundreds of thousands of copies a year! In her latest novel, she explores timely questions about the Earth and our use of its resources. A bold novel, Project F asks how much you are willing to risk to save the future.
Like a Charm By Elle McNicoll 320 Pages | Ages 8 – 12 | Hardcover ISBN 9780593649138 | Random House Books for Young Readers Release Date: October 10, 2023 After the death of her grandfather, neurodivergent tween Ramya uncovers a world of mystery and magic—and she’s the only one who can see it! From the award-winning author of A Kind of Spark.“Ramya, you have something this city needs. And it’s something that’s going to change everything.” Ramya Knox always knew she was different. Her dyspraxia makes her clumsy and prone to attracting the disapproval of her teachers. Ramya didn’t know she can see magic! But when a dog statue comes to life, Ramya follows the pup and discovers a world she thought existed only in fairy tales. Trolls, witches, kelpies, vampires, and more lurk in the shadows of Edinburgh, hiding from the most dangerous creature of all: sirens. These beautiful monsters use their persuasive voice to convince those around them to do their bidding—for better or worse. As the sirens rise in power, it’s up to Ramya to save the day—or the Hidden and mortal worlds might both be at risk.
Billy and the Giant Adventure By Jamie Oliver Illustrated by Mónica Armiño 336 Pages | Ages 8 – 12 | Hardcover ISBN 9781774884140 | Tundra Books Release Date: November 14, 2023 One pinch of adventure, a dash of friendship, a sprinkle of mystery and a HUGE spoonful of magic . . . Jamie Oliver, bestselling author and internationally renowned chef, delivers the perfect recipe for a page-turning children’s fiction debut! Billy and his friends know that Waterfall Woods is out of bounds; strange things are rumored to have happened there and no one in their village has ventured past its walls for decades . . . But when they discover a secret way in, Billy and his best friends, Anna, Jimmy and Andy, can’t resist the temptation to explore! Only to quickly discover that the woods are brimming with magic and inhabited by all sorts of unusual creatures, including a whole community of sprites who need the children’s help! With magical battles, a long-lost mythical city, fantastical flying machines, epic feasts and one GIANT rescue — not to mention some mouth-watering recipes at the back — get ready for an adventure you’ll never forget!
#Penguin10
House of Marionne By J. Elle 432 Pages | Ages 14+ | Hardcover ISBN 9780593527702 | Razorbill Release Date: August 29, 2023 BURY YOUR SECRET OR DIE FOR IT. 17 year-old Quell has lived her entire life on the run. She and her mother have fled from city to city, in order to hide the deadly magic that flows through Quell’s veins. Until someone discovers her dark secret. To hide from the assassin hunting her, and keep her mother out of harm’s way, Quell reluctantly inducts into a debutante society of magical social elites called the Order that she never knew existed. If she can pass their three rites of membership, mastering their proper form of magic, she’ll be able to secretly bury her forbidden magic forever. If caught, she will be killed. But becoming the perfect debutante is a lot harder than Quell imagined, especially when there’s more than tutoring happening with Jordan, her brooding mentor and— assassin in training. When Quell uncovers the deadly lengths the Order will go to defend its wealth and power, she’s forced to choose: embrace the dark magic she’s been running from her entire life or risk losing everything, and everyone, she’s grown to love. Still, she fears the most formidable monster she’ll have to face is the one inside.
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth By Andrew Joseph White 400 Pages | Ages 14+ | Hardcover ISBN 9780593527702 | Peachtree Teen Release Date: September 5, 2023 Mors vincit omnia. Death conquers all. London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife. According to Mother, he’ll be married by the end of the year. It doesn’t matter that he’s needed a decade of tutors to hide his autism; that he practices surgery on slaughtered pigs; that he is a boy, not the girl the world insists on seeing. After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Finishing School and Sanitorium. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. When the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its guts to the world—if the school doesn’t break him first. Featuring an autistic trans protagonist in a historical setting, Andrew Joseph White’s much-anticipated sophomore novel does not back down from exposing the violence of the patriarchy and the harm inflicted on trans youth who are forced into conformity.
House of Ash and Bone By Joel A. Sutherland 336 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover ISBN 9781774880968 | Tundra Books Release Date: September 5, 2023 Seventeen-year-old Josephine Jagger is a talented writer with special abilities she doesn’t fully understand. Over the years she has developed methods to cope with the voices she hears in her head, but the old house her family has inherited in Vermont makes Josephine question what’s real and what’s not more than anything she’s ever encountered before. It’s filled with shadows, and whispers, and the unshakable feeling of being watched. Josephine then catches her first glimpse of a shadowy woman with long hair, pale skin, an impossibly wide smile and hollow pits for eyes. Her name is Dorcas, the ghost of a witch who died three hundred years ago. She has summoned the family to Vermont to ensnare them — then consume them — in order to rise from the grave and live again . . .
Goddess Crown By Shade Lapite 288 Pages | Ages 13–17 | Hardcover ISBN 9781536226522 | Walker Books US Release Date: September 12, 2023 Kalothia has grown up in the shadows of her kingdom, hidden away in the forested East after her parents were outed as enemies of the king. Raised in a woodland idyll by a few kindly adult caretakers, Kalothia can hunt and fish and fend for herself but knows little of the outside world. When assassins attack her home on her sixteenth birthday, she must flee to the king’s court in the West—a beautiful but lethal nest of poison, plots, and danger, overseen by an entrenched patriarchy. Guided by the Goddess herself, can Kalothia navigate this most worldly of places to find her own role? What if she must choose between her country and her heart? Excitement, romance, and a charismatic heroine shine in this first book set in the unforgettable kingdom of Galla.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods By Rick Riordan 288 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover ISBN 9781368098175 | Disney Hyperion Release Date: September 26, 2023 After saving the world multiple times, Percy Jackson is hoping to have a normal senior year. Unfortunately, the gods aren’t quite done with him. Percy will have to fulfill three quests in order to get the necessary three letters of recommendation from Mount Olympus for college. The first quest is to help Zeus’s cup-bearer retrieve his goblet before it falls into the wrong hands. Can Percy, Grover, and Annabeth find it in time? Readers new to Percy Jackson and fans who have been awaiting this reunion for more than a decade will delight equally in this latest hilarious take on Greek mythology.
Catfish Rolling By Clara Kumagai 432 Pages | Ages 14+ | Hardcover ISBN 9781774882764 | Penguin Teen Canada Release Date: October 3, 2023 There’s a catfish under Japan, and when it rolls, the land rises and falls. At least, that’s what Sora was told after she lost her mother to an earthquake so powerful that it cracked time itself. Sora and her father are some of the few who still live near the most powerful of these “zones” – the places where time has been irrevocably sped up, or slowed down. When high school ends, and her best friend leaves for university, Sora finds herself stuck and increasingly alone. She begins secretly conducting her own research, tracking down a time expert in Tokyo. She also feels increasingly conflicted in her quasi-romantic feelings for her best friend – and for the time expert’s assistant, a striking and confident girl named Maya, another hafu (half-Japanese, half-non) girl with whom Sora forms an instant bond. But when Sora’s father disappears, she has no choice but to return home and venture deep into the abandoned time zones to find him, and perhaps the catfish itself . . .
The Spells We Cast By Jason June 352 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover ISBN 9781368089234 | Melissa de la Cruz Studio Release Date: October 3, 2023 Nigel Barrett has spent his whole life preparing for the Culling, a spell-casting competition that determines which of the world’s teenage magicians will be stripped of their powers to preserve magical balance. But nothing could have prepared him to face Ori Olson, a broody rival whose caustic wit cloaks a painful past. From the moment Nigel and Ori meet, sparks fly. Their powers are stronger, more thrilling, the closer they get—not that they can risk becoming attached. Because as the field narrows and the Culling grows more dangerous, Nigel and Ori realize there’s more at stake than just their powers. The greatest threat to magic, their future, and all of humanity might be the connection growing between them. . . .
Sinner’s Isle By Angela Montoya 384 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover ISBN 9780593643334 | Joy Revolution Release Date: October 31, 2023 Rosalinda is trapped on Sinner’s Isle, an island filled with young women like her—Majestics, beautiful witches loathed by society for their dangerous magic yet revered by powerful men who want to use them. For years, she has been kept under the watchful, calculating eye of Doña Lucia. Now eighteen, Rosa will be the prized commodity at this year’s Offering, a fiesta for the wealthy to engage in drink, damsels, and debauchery. That is why she must flee—before someone forces the vicious phantoms within her to destroy everything she touches. Handsome, swashbuckling Mariano has long sailed the high seas as the Prince of Pirates. Then the king’s fleet attacks his father’s infamous ship, leaving him marooned on Sinner’s Isle with only an enchanted chain meant to lead him to his heart’s desire. Instead, he falls into the hands of a brazen (although) bewitching headache—Rosa.
Check & Mate By Ali Hazelwood 368 Pages | Ages 14+ | Paperback ISBN 9780593619919 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons Release Date: November 7, 2023 Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess. Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist…. As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)
Murtagh By Christopher Paolini 656 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover ISBN 9781774882962 | Penguin Teen Canada Release Date: November 7, 2023 The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society. Throughout the land, hushed voices whisper of brittle ground and a faint scent of brimstone in the air—and Murtagh senses that something wicked lurks in the shadows of Alagaësia. So begins an epic journey into lands both familiar and untraveled, where Murtagh and Thorn must use every weapon in their arsenal, from brains to brawn, to find and outwit a mysterious witch. A witch who is much more than she seems. In this gripping novel starring one of the most popular characters from Christopher Paolini’s blockbuster Inheritance Cycle, a Dragon Rider must discover what he stands for in a world that has abandoned him. Murtagh is the perfect book to enter the World of Eragon for the first time . . . or to joyfully return.
