Mosquitoland,
Kids of Appetite, returns with
The Electric Kingdom, an achingly beautiful and timely book that transcends simple classification.
Set in postapocalyptic New England,
The Electric Kingdom follows 18-year-old Nico, who lives in an abandoned farmhouse with her dog, Harry, and her ailing father. Their home is a place of relative safety and comfort, but the dangers of the outside world constantly haunt them. Killer Flu Flies, which are actually modified honeybees, stalk the few humans who remain, seeking either to swarm the survivors or to pass on their deadly flu. As Nico’s father grows sicker, he tells his daughter that she must leave with Harry and find a secret portal.
Blood Red Road meets “The Snow Queen” in this winter-bound Western YA novel following 16-year-old Jorie Harrow, who scavenges dead men outside the Gold Rush town of Shadow Springs, where spring hasn’t come for a generation.
Sunny-Side Up by Jacky Davis, illus. by Fiona Woodcock. Greenwillow, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-257307-0. This picture book offers a realistic take on how much emotional stamina can be required to make it through a day gone wrong when the protagonist’s mother leaves for the day.
Paris by Phone by Pamela Druckerman, illus. by Benjamin Chaud. Putnam, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-399-16506-1. Having shown adults the ways of French parenting in 2014’s
Camille Durbonne gambled everything she had to keep herself and her sister safe. But as the people of Paris starve and mobs riot, safety may no longer be possible… Not when Camille lives for the rebellion. In the pamphlets she prints, she tells the stories of girls living at society’s margins. But as her writings captivate the public, she begins to suspect a dark magic she can’t control lies at the heart of her success. Then Louis XVI declares magic a crime and all magicians traitors to France. As bonfires incinerate enchanted books and special police prowl the city, the time for magic and those who work it is running out. In this new Paris where allegiances shift and violence erupts, the answers Camille seeks set her on a perilous path, one that may cost her the boy she loves even her life. If she can discover who she truly is before vengeful forces unmask her, she may still win this deadly game of revolution.
The sequel to
All the Stars and Teeth finds Amora Montara finally on her rightful throne, but her position is precarious and she’s still keeping her lost magic a closely guarded secret. A mysterious artifact could be the key to setting things right but at what price? (February 2)
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And Then She Vanished by Nick Jones A man whose sister disappeared when they were children realizes he has the ability to time travel but slipping into the past to save her proves both complicated and dangerous. (February 2)
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Beneath the Keep by Erika Johansen
In a troubled kingdom, a princess must decide between staying loyal to her royal family or joining a rebellion that could ultimately help save her people. (February 2)
by Hafsah Faizal (Sands of Arawiya #2) January 19, 2021; Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Nasir and Zafira may have defeated the shadow forest, but victory is not yet guaranteed. Altair has been taken captive. Nasir is busy learning to control the powerful magic flowing through his veins. Soon he will have to use his magic against the Lion of the Night and his own father, who is being puppeted by the Lion. To restore magic to Arawiya, Zafira must return the five hearts of the Sisters of Old to the minarets in each caliphate. Zafira is pulled into the Lion’s orbit and it may cost her everything to break free.