Books & Media

Tandem: The Many Worlds Trilogy, Book I by Anna Jarzab. Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House. 2013. Reviewed from ARC. The Plot: Sasha Lawson is an ordinary teenager. She lives with her grandfather; is a good girl; has friends. Princess Juliana is rich and privileged, and facing an arranged marriage for the good of her [...]

Librarians Jennifer Thompson of Brooklyn Public Library (l.) and Jeanne Lamb of New York Public Library (r.) chat with author Andrew Smith (c.) about his upcoming Grasshopper Jungle. Debut author Jennifer Walkup presents her young adult mystery, Second Verse at WORDS Bookstore in Maplewood, New Jersey.

The Kingdom of Little Wounds, Susann Cokal Candlewick Press, October 2013 Reviewed from ARC I wanted to like this. I mean, it’s huge, it’s about my favorite general period in history, it uses a fairy tale motif throughout, it’s got a stunning package, and people whose opinions I respect say this is an it book [...]

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James. Random House. 2011. Personal copy. Vacation reads — a non-teen book for your reading pleasure over the holiday weekend. The Plot: A murder mystery set several years after the events of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The murder takes place at the Darcy estate, and it’s up to [...]

You know that it is time for another Candlewick book preview when librarians and other industry insiders head for the hills of New York City’s Morningside Heights neighborhood, flocking to The Bank Street School for a glimpse at the hottest new titles. This year's spring preview had someone special in store planned as its guest speaker: one of our own, New York Public Library's Betsy Bird, SLJ blogger and author.

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater. Book II of the Raven Cycle. Sequel to Book I – The Raven Boys. Scholastic. 2013. Reviewed from ARC. The Plot: In Book I, Blue Sargent became friends with the “Raven Boys” — Richard Campbell Gansey III, Ronan Lynch, Adam Parrish, and Noah Czarny. All had become involved in [...]

The Moth in the Mirror stands alone, but also provides a tantalizing glimpse of what’s to come in Unhinged, the sequel to A.G.Howard's Splintered. Abrams is letting you in for a look with a free online excerpt.

Chronicle Children’s Books recently welcomed librarians and booksellers to its spring preview in San Francisco, where it celebrated its 25th anniversary and the roaring success—star reviews or bestseller status—of many of its 2013 titles. But the focus remained on spring 2014, and the exciting slate of new titles that the publisher has in store. Here are some of the highlights.

Kid lit offerings from niche publishers had a chance to shine recently, thanks to the Association of American Publishers and its Children’s Libraries Committee's recent Book Buzz event in New York City. Librarians hailing from across the eastern seaboard gathered to preview spring 2014 titles from 14 different publishers plus various smaller imprints.