The Sentence Is Death

“You shouldn’t be here. It’s too late . . . “ <br>

These, heard over the phone, were the last recorded words of successful celebrity-divorce lawyer Richard Pryce, found bludgeoned to death in his bachelor pad with a bottle of wine—a 1982 Chateau Lafite worth £3,000, to be precise.<br>

Odd, considering he didn’t drink. Why this bottle? And why those words? And why was a three-digit number painted on the wall by the killer? And, most importantly, which of the man’s many, many enemies did the deed?<br>

Baffled, the police are forced to bring in Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, the author Anthony, who’s really getting rather good at this murder investigation business. <br>

But as Hawthorne takes on the case with characteristic relish, it becomes clear that he, too, has secrets to hide. As our reluctant narrator becomes ever more embroiled in the case, he realizes that these secrets must be exposed—even at the risk of death . . .

The Clockwork Ghost: York

It was only a few weeks ago that the Biedermann twins, Tess and Theo, along with their friend Jaime Cruz, followed the secrets of the Morningstarrs’ cipher further than anyone had in its century-and-a-half history—and destroyed their beloved home in the process. But the Old York Cipher still isn’t solved. The demolition of 354 W. 73rd Street only revealed the next clue in the greatest mystery of the modern world, and if Tess, Theo, and Jaime want to discover what lies at the end of the puzzle laid into the buildings of New York by its brilliant, enigmatic architects, they will need to press on.

But doing so could prove even more dangerous than they know. It is clear that the Morningstarr twins marshaled all the strange technology they had spent their lives creating in the construction of the Cipher, and that technology has its own plans for those who pursue it. And it is also clear that the Biedermanns and Jaime are not the only ones on the trail of the treasure. As enemies both known and unknown close in on them from all sides and the very foundations of the city seem to crumble around them, Tess, Theo, and Jaime will have to ask themselves how far they will go to change the unchangeable—and if the price of knowing the secrets of the Morningstarrs is one they are willing to pay. National Book Award finalist Laura Ruby returns with the middle chapter in her epic alternate history adventure—a journey that will test Tess, Theo, and Jaime and change their lives forever.

The First: Endling, Book Two

Byx and her companions—loyal Tobble, brave and resourceful Khara, wise but deadly Gambler, and Renzo the thief—must travel a perilous path out of Nedarra and into the snow-covered mountains of the country of Dreyland to the north.

But just as the threat of war is growing across the lands, so too is the possible extinction of all Byx’s dreams. When it seems like there may be a silver lining in the group’s quest to find more dairnes, things grow dark. And a terrifying encounter with the terramants, another of the powerful governing species, uncovers a treacherous plan that could bring devastation to all the creatures of Nedarra.

Even as victory seems impossible, Byx and her friends are determined to never give up, and they ultimately find themselves the unlikely leaders in a simmering rebellion that risks everything they love. Byx may be the last of her kind, but will she be the first to lead the revolution? 

The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown

What is important about Margaret Wise Brown?
In 42 inspired pages, this biography by award-winning writer Mac Barnett vividly depicts one of the greatest children’s book creators who ever lived: Margaret Wise Brown, the author of Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, and The Little Fur Family. Illustrated with sumptuous art by rising star Sarah Jacoby, this is essential reading for book lovers of every age.

Sources. Full-color illustrations created with watercolor, pastels, and Photoshop.

August Isle

Miranda wants nothing more than to spend the summer with her mother, repairing whatever has mysteriously broken between them. So she is crushed when her parents send her to stay with family friends in August Isle, a little coastal town where Miranda’s mother spent her summers growing up. Things start looking up when Miranda becomes fast friends with “Aunt” Clare’s daughter, Sammy, who is sure this will be the best summer ever, spent sailing in the bay and licking ice cream cones underneath the majestic August Oak. But everything changes when a dare gone wrong results in the girls spending their afternoons with Caleb, a mischievous boy from Sammy’s school, and Mr. Taylor, an old seafarer. Suddenly, mysteries begin to swirl around Miranda and August Isle: Mr. Taylor is a man of many stories, but why won’t he share his own? And what are the strange sounds Miranda hears at night, coming from the haunted lighthouse? When a set of clues leads Miranda to a family secret, she is faced with the biggest question of all: Is she brave enough to face the truth?

Maximillian Fly

Maximillian Fly wants no trouble. Yet because he stands at six feet two, with beautiful indigo wings, long antennae, and more arms than you or me, many are frightened of him. He is a gentle creature that looks like a giant cockroach. This extraordinary human wants to prove his goodness, so he opens his door to two SilverSeed children in search of a place to hide. Instantly, Maximillian’s quiet, solitary life changes. There are dangerous powers after them and they have eyes everywhere. But in this gray city of Hope trapped under the Orb, is escape even possible? 

Finding Orion

An unforgettable story of family, loss, and jelly beans, from the beloved author of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day and Posted.
Rion Kwirk comes from a rather odd family. His mother named him and his sisters after her favorite constellations, and his father makes funky-flavored jelly beans for a living. One sister acts as if she’s always onstage and the other is a walking dictionary. But no one in the family is more odd than Rion’s grandfather, Papa Kwirk. He’s the kind of guy who shows up on his motorcycle only on holidays, handing out crossbows and stuffed squirrels as presents. Rion has always been fascinated by Papa Kwirk, especially since his son—Rion’s father—is the complete opposite. Where Dad is predictable, nerdy, and reassuringly boring, Papa Kwirk is mysterious, dangerous, and cool.
Which is why, when Rion and his family learn of Papa Kwirk’s death and pile into the car to attend his funeral and pay their respects, Rion can’t help but feel that that’s not the end of his story. That there’s so much more to Papa Kwirk to discover.
He doesn’t know how right he is.
The beloved author of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day and Posted returns with an unforgettable tale of love and laughter; of fathers and sons; of what family truly means; and of the ways in which we sometimes need to lose something in order to find ourselves.

Knights vs. Monsters

Award-winning creator Matt Phelan’s Knights vs. Monsters is a highly illustrated, fast-paced adventure full of uproarious knightly hijinks, surprising secrets, and terrifying monsters. When a magical boat sweeps the Knights of the Round Table off to Scotland, they take on the evil Queen Morgause and her horde of monsters. With art on nearly every page, including an epic fight scene depicted in several graphic-novel style spreads, this engaging story is ideal for reluctant readers, aspiring knights, and fans of Gordon Korman’s Masterminds. In a starred review, Kirkus called the first book in the series, “Epic—in plot, not in length . . . and as wise and wonderful as Gerald Morris’s Arthurian exploits.”

“A Note from Queen Morgause” with further information on Scottish tradition and legend. Black-and-white illustrations.

Refugee 87

For Black Girls Like Me

Viral: The Fight Against AIDs in America

Thirty-five years ago, it was a modern-day, mysterious plague. Its earliest victims were mostly gay men, some of the most marginalized people in the country; at its peak in America, it killed tens of thousands of people. The losses were staggering, the science frightening, and the government’s inaction unforgivable. The AIDS Crisis fundamentally changed the fabric of the United States.

Viral presents the history of the AIDS crisis through the lens of the brave victims and activists who demanded action and literally fought for their lives. This compassionate but unflinching text explores everything from the disease’s origins and how it spread to the activism it inspired and how the world confronts HIV and AIDS today.

The Grief Keeper

Seventeen-year-old Marisol has always dreamed of being American, learning what Americans and the US are like from television and Mrs. Rosen, an elderly expat who had employed Marisol’s mother as a maid. When she pictured an American life for herself, she dreamed of a life like Aimee and Amber’s, the title characters of her favorite American TV show. She never pictured fleeing her home in El Salvador under threat of death and stealing across the US border as “an illegal”, but after her brother is murdered and her younger sister, Gabi’s, life is also placed in equal jeopardy, she has no choice, especially because she knows everything is her fault. If she had never fallen for the charms of a beautiful girl named Liliana, Pablo might still be alive, her mother wouldn’t be in hiding and she and Gabi wouldn’t have been caught crossing the border.
But they have been caught and their asylum request will most certainly be denied. With truly no options remaining, Marisol jumps at an unusual opportunity to stay in the United States. She’s asked to become a grief keeper, taking the grief of another into her own body to save a life. It’s a risky, experimental study, but if it means Marisol can keep her sister safe, she will risk anything. She just never imagined one of the risks would be falling in love, a love that may even be powerful enough to finally help her face her own crushing grief.
The Grief Keeper is a tender tale that explores the heartbreak and consequences of when both love and human beings are branded illegal.

Resources.