Something for everyone – PB, MG and YA! And right in time for gift giving time! With some extras at the very end. 🎄🎅
First up – picture book.
HOW CATS SAY I LOVE YOU by Guy Brown, illustrated by Davide Ortu
From the publisher: Platypus Media, LLC, Sept 2023
Cats have a lot to say!
Just like people, cats share their feelings in all sorts of ways. It's up to us to uncover what our furry friends are trying to tell us. Are they gently purring or curiously crouching? Is their tail straight or swishing? Featuring a diverse cast of kids and cats from all over the world, this social-emotional learning book models empathy and compassion. Young readers will learn to look for the different ways their friends―human and feline alike―share their feelings.
Each silly, sassy cat expresses a different emotion to their human pal, who responds to the cat's needs by handing them a treat to soothe their nerves, giving them space to calm down, or offering lots of cuddles. The kids also describe how they communicate those same feelings. Sometimes they hold hands with their best friends, ask their parents for a hug, or say they need to take a break.
Written by award-winning author (and cat owner) Guy Brown, with colorful and lively illustrations from Davide Ortu, How Cats Say I Love You teaches young kids how to care for others' feelings as well as their own, while showing that healthy relationships are rooted in communication.
For all the cat lovers out there, with or without a cat of their own, this adorable book is about all the ways cats communicate with their humans. Not only does it showcase lots of different cats, emotions, behavior and responses, but also takes the reader around the world. The emotions translate from cat to human and human to cat. The back matter reveals the type of cats in the book, where they’re from and what their names mean. When I said adorable, I meant it.
Second book – Middle Grade
THE LOST LIBRARY by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass
From the publisher: Feiwel & Friends, August 2023
When a mysterious little free library (guarded by a large orange cat) appears overnight in the small town of Martinville, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, never suspecting that his life is about to change.
Evan and his best friend Rafe quickly discover a link between one of the old books and a long-ago event that none of the grown-ups want to talk about. The two boys start asking questions whose answers will transform not only their own futures, but the town itself.
Told in turn by a ghost librarian named Al, an aging (but beautiful) cat named Mortimer, and Evan himself, The Lost Library is a timeless story from award-winning authors Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass. It’s about owning your truth, choosing the life you want, and the power of a good book (and, of course, the librarian who gave it to you).
This is a wonderful tale of a boy Evan, and his friend Rafe, finding a mystery in their small town and how it relates to Evan and his family.
But it also is about how a wee free library got started, how a library burned down, who was responsible and the heroes, and a fabulous orange cat named Mortimer.
It’s also about finding the truth, telling the truth, healing the past and forging your own path forward.
It’s quite lovely and I’ll bet you will think so too.
Third book – Young Adult
BEHOLDER by Ryan La Sala
From the publisher: PUSH, October 2023
From Ryan La Sala, author of the tantalizingly twisted The Honeys and riotously imaginative Reverie, comes a chilling new contemporary fable about art, aesthetic obsession, and the gaze that peers back at us from behind our reflections.
No one survived the party at the penthouse. Except Athan.
Athanasios “Athan” Bakirtzis has made it far in life relying on his charm and good looks, even securing an invitation to a mysterious penthouse soiree for New York City’s artsy elite. But when he sneaks off to the bathroom, he hears a slam, followed by a scream. Athan peers outside, only to be pushed back in by a boy his age. The boy gravely tells him not to open the door, then closes Athan in.
Outside the door, the party descends into chaos. Through hours of howls, laughter, and sobs, Athan stays hidden. When he finally emerges, he discovers a massacre where the corpses appear to have arranged themselves into a disturbingly elegant sculpture―and Athan’s mysterious savior is nowhere to be found. Athan―the only known survivor―is now the primary suspect.
In a race to prove his innocence, Athan is swept up in a supernatural mystery, one of secret occult societies and deadly eldritch horrors with rather distinctive taste. Something evil is waking up in the walls of New York City, and it’s compelling victims toward violence, chaos, and self-destruction. Bound to him by a mysterious hereditary power, Athan has felt this evil hiding behind his reflection his entire life, watching him. Waiting. Now, it’s taking over.
I reviewed THE HONEYS and enjoyed the supernatural elements and story. This one was a level above that in supernatural elements and the wild pace of the story. It galloped along and I was just a passenger.
There were horror parts, too. And I don’t generally read much horror, but once I caught on to what Athan’s sight was about, I was totally in. The characters’ thoughts and emotions put you right in the story. The risks they take make you hold your breath. And the ending party is fantastically crazy. Then the actual ending is sad and good and satisfying.
PS
In my, to be read or recently read pile, is:
a first time for everything by Dan Santat, winner of the National Book Award
Maizy Chen's Last Chance by Lisa Yee, National Book Award Finalist
Ravenfall by Kalyn Josephson, two books in the series so far
Itty Bitty Kitty Corn by Shannon Hale, illustrated by Leuyen Pham - talk about CUTE! Three books and lots of cuteness overload.
The first one just came out but the next two are from 2022 and Kitty Corn is from 2021. I have lots of catching up to do. All these amazing authors have so many incredible books out - let's get reading!
