Set in the world of García McCall’s Summer of the Mariposas, this mesmerizing novel follows 15-year-old Mexican American twins Velia and Delia as they determine to save their father’s soul from supernatural beings. Though Velia and Delia have always been close, the siblings find themselves at odds as they get older, as when Delia coaxes Velia into agreeing to go on tour with their recently returned musician father, who abandoned them years ago to make it big with his Tejano band. After Papá is attacked one night by a ghoulish dismembered hand, however, Velia realizes that she and her sister must work together to save him from the supernatural entity. Traveling from Eagle Pass, Texas, into Mexico, the siblings visit their abuelita, who informs them that their father’s soul has been stolen by elemental shape-shifters called chaneques. The sisters are then recruited by twin Aztec gods Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl in the beings’ efforts to vanquish the chaneques. Via the girls’ propulsive, distinctly rendered alternating POVs, McCall presents an Aztec-influenced world teeming with magical creatures and powerful deities. Across their adventure, the twins struggle to see eye to eye, a dynamic that an author’s note addresses as being inspired by sisters Antigone and Ismene from Sophocles’s Antigone. A Spanish-language edition publishes simultaneously. Ages 13–17. Agent: Andrea Cascardi, Transatlantic Literary. (Oct.)

Correction: A previous version of this review miscategorized two characters.

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

Eleven-year-old Ruthie is wary of her mother and stepfather’s surprise pregnancy announcement, especially after a previous stillbirth and her mother’s subsequent depression, and her parents’ divorce three years before this book’s start. Ruthie believes that her mother and Ruthie’s stepfather are being “selfish and stupid”; her older stepbrothers Matt and Chris agree, but for reasons unrelated to Ruthie’s unresolved grief over the past (“Where are we going to put another kid?”). Though her father and her best friend Jenna try to be supportive, Ruthie laments their lack of understanding. Instead, Ruthie turns to her dog Izzy and her favorite unicorn book series for comfort. When she discovers that the final volume in the series was canceled, however, Ruthie and Jenna endeavor to write their own. And on her nightly walks with Izzy, Ruthie befriends an older woman named Ally, who’s grieving her own loss. Levy (Crushing It) deftly tackles topics surrounding grief, mental health, and pregnancy via Ruthie’s comforting, emotionally vulnerable first-person narration, resulting in an encouraging exploration of loss and healing. Main characters cue as white. Ages 9–12. Agent: Hilary McMahon, WCA. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

A French Indian tween traverses 19th-century Paris seeking answers to a family mystery in DasGupta’s mystical debut. Zélie Dutta doesn’t understand why her beloved father sent her from India to work as a maid in the Parisian household of Madame Malaise a year and a half before this book’s start. Nor does she understand why he hasn’t written to her in two months. Miserable from constant accusations of thievery and witchcraft by her peers, Zélie plots an escape—and then sees a redheaded boy on the street holding her father’s locket. Determined to find out how and why her father’s possession traveled 5,000 miles to France, she enlists the help of the boy, who introduces himself as Jules Dubois. Jules guides Zélie into the sewers, and together the youths delve deeper into a broadening mystery involving Zélie’s family history, a folkloric object called the Snakestone, and a sinister scientist fraternity named the Brotherhood of Blood. Though a convenient plot saps tension, descriptive text renders Zélie’s refreshingly non-Eurocentric view of the vivid Belle Epoque Paris setting as DasGupta’s impetuous and compassionate protagonist ventures from the Catacombs to the Cirque Fantastique. Includes a map of Paris. Ages 9–12. Agent: Kate Shaw, Shaw Agency. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

Chinese American saxophonist Lani Li, 13, is excited to travel to London to perform at an international band recital. She’s less thrilled that her 10-year-old brother Gavin is also coming, intent on participating in the annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling race despite feeling “off” due to a congenital heart condition. When Gavin needs an emergency heart valve replacement, though, he’s forced to stay home in Utah. Out of sympathy, Lani agrees to Gavin’s challenge that she strive to embody the Eight Invincible Brothers of Chinese folklore by engaging in acts of bravery and inner strength during her trip—and his plea that she enter the race in his stead. From facing her fear of heights by invoking the Seventh Brother’s gift of flight on the plane to London, to channeling the Fifth Brother’s “super chill” vibes by staying calm during a crisis, Lani checks off each item. But with the race fast approaching, she must decide if she’s ready to undergo such a daunting trial. Bybee (the Team Awkward series) deploys elements of Chinese myth as metaphors for Lani’s inspiring tale of personal growth and pushing boundaries. Lively and touching third-person narration, enhanced by Phan’s realistic b&w illustrations, centers thought-provoking family dynamics. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Ann Leslie Tuttle, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

Casey, the 12-year-old protagonist of this feel-good novel by Nelson (Making a Splash), loves playing soccer and visiting the historic Cornish Library where his widowed librarian father works. Until recently, Casey also liked hanging out with his friends, but things grow complicated after his library compatriot Addison turns against him, and his soccer teammate Steven becomes increasingly prone to bullying and cheating on school assignments. And if Casey’s dad follows his usual pattern of taking a new job at a different library and moving, Casey won’t have the opportunity to smooth over these friendship wrinkles anyway. When he learns that the library needs extensive—and expensive—repairs, Casey decides to take his future into his own hands by joining the Kids Community Action Network, a youth community service competition with a Shark Tank–like spin. Recruiting Addison, Casey determines to lead a fundraising campaign successful enough to persuade the Kids C.A.N. executives to foot the bill for the library renovations. Though some characters, including Casey’s father, lack dimensionality, straightforward language and plotting culminate in a spirited story of friendship and forgiveness that serves as a love letter to the communities that libraries foster. The protagonists cue as white. Ages 8–12. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

A moose embarks upon an unexpected long-haul road trip in this buoyant portrayal of a trucker’s day-to-day life. As Rus, portrayed with dark hair and pink skin, maneuvers an 18-wheeler through Maine’s woods, Moose leaps into the road, getting “tangled up in the truck’s engine.” The surprisingly unhurt beast recovers in the cab’s bunk, and upon awakening agrees to accompany Rus down I-95 to Georgia. Colorful scenery—depicted with carefully inked geometric detailing—wows the animalian traveler, who readily assists along the way. Logistically oriented text describes the simple process of unloading cargo (“They use a forklift to fill the container with pallets and boxes”), and before long the duo heads south to Florida. Loosely sketched florals burst along the bottoms of pages and seep into scenes, communicating the expedition’s breezy exuberance. When Rus makes a daily call home to his wife, their playful rapport generates a bout of homesickness in Moose, which the always-on-the-go Rus gently rectifies. The camaraderie between Rus and Moose makes for a winsome picture book debut. An author’s note concludes. Ages 5–8. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

With swirling colors woven through a snowy mountain setting, Arai (Almost Nothing, yet Everything) crafts a surreal tale of guilt and redemption. After his father’s treasured butterfly book is torn during a quarrel with a friend, a rosy-cheeked boy portrayed with goldenrod skin escapes outdoors on skis. Thinking about the incident, he falls into a gap in the snow, and there finds a magical miniature theater where tiny snow people perform a circus-like spectacle. The performance, shown in radiant streaming hues, crescendoes with a dizzying song that seems to speak to themes of escape: “spin in circles, spinning high,/ spin your way into the sky.” As snow flurries escalate, the child has a vision of his friend amid fluttering butterflies, and his father’s hand appears, pulling him out of the snow. On the way home, Dad offers hot chocolate, and even suggests they lend the damaged book to his friend. The chilling, dreamlike narrative can be challenging to follow, but the striking imagery lyrically conveys how shame can be transcended by being open to forgiveness. Ages 5–8. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

A wolf statue with dreams of grandeur abandons its pedestal in the middle of a city’s “tired old square” in this heartening picture book from Wolf. Tired of the same old routine, including being pooped on by a pigeon, sleek, snowy-coated Wolf determines to join the magnificent monuments in the city center. With the help of a map and hopes of being adored, the protagonist seeks a place among the “famous, beautiful statues” in various locales, but routinely fails to find the right fit. “Fight with us!” invite a water fountain’s battling mercreatures, but Wolf is too peaceable to join in. A museum’s quiet seems appealing, but even the “most relaxed-looking statue” proves unfriendly—as do the self-absorbed effigies atop a nearby hill. Sympathetic lines describe Wolf’s ensuing melancholy while she “wandered through the city, lost and lonely,” and scribble-textured illustrations describe her downcast mood as she roams Europe-styled metropolitan spaces. Eventually, the heroine heads wearily back, where her arrival brings about both the appreciation she desires and the classic realization that there’s no place like home. Human characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–9. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

Drawing on a longtime Chinatown tourist attraction, this animal liberation tale from debut author Tso and Chin (Bodega Cat) offers an encouraging example of a resourceful young activist outwitting the opposition. Whenever young Beatrice, whose East Asian–cued family raises chickens in their Upstate New York backyard, visits her New York City cousins, she checks in on Lillie, a caged chicken who plays tic-tac-toe in a Chinatown video-game arcade. Worried about Lillie’s wellbeing, she asks questions of her cousins and the establishment’s Big Boss: “Does Lillie ever go outside? ...Does she ever see other chickens?” After Beatrice learns that Lillie is trained to follow a computer’s instructions, she wonders if she might be able to beat it, ties twice, and persuades the arcade’s Big Boss to play her—with Lillie’s freedom on the line. Unadorned language speaks frankly (“New York City is not a great place for a chicken”), while retro visuals depict an earlier decade’s Chinatown, replete with boxy automobiles and a phone booth. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Savannah Brooks, KT Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Michael Thibeault, Art Rep NYC. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

A child learns about the history of miyeok-guk and haenyeo in a delicately rendered tale that honors both Korean matriarchal traditions. As the book opens, its young narrator expresses dissatisfaction that—instead of desired strawberry cake or chocolate cupcakes—“Mom makes me birthday soup.” Prepared with miyeok, it “tastes like the sea” and it is eaten while Mom offers up a story. The parent explains that “You had this soup every birthday when you were four, three, two, and one years old.// And I had it every day for a month after you were born”—just like previous generations’ mothers, each shown cradling infants on successive pages. The tender, time-spanning narrative next turns to the family history of haenyeo, one of whom, “many mothers ago,” saw a whale eating seaweed after birthing young. Soft, signature-style illustrations from Yum (Toto) build to a moving spread of a whale and generations of haenyeo swimming in the bowl of soup, lovingly linking mothers across species and decades. An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. Agent: Sean McCarthy, Sean McCarthy Literary. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink