Sponsored by The Experiment / Workman Publishing.
This personal lens into a nation’s shameful past powerfully documents the largest army of child soldiers in recent memory. In 1937, Munson’s father, Hans, was enrolled in an elite German school whose students were destined to take leadership roles in the Reich. Helene Munson resurrects her father’s WWII journals and embarks on a meticulous investigation, exposing how the Nazis trained 300,000 impressionable children as soldiers. Both a contemporary narrative and an important historical contribution, Hitler’s Boy Soldiers grapples with inherited trauma, the nature of being a victim or perpetrator, and the burden of guilt. Download an egalley now!
Welcome to Check Your Shelf, where you are likely reading this on the most magical of days, Tuesday 2/22/22. May you have double the things you love and half of the things you dislike.
Collection Development Corner
New & Upcoming Titles
PREPARE YOUR HOLDS LISTS: Taylor Jenkins Reid just announced a new book coming out in August 2022: Carrie Soto is Back.
Elliot Page’s memoir, Pageboy, will be published in 2023.
Chelsea Clinton is launching a children’s book series this fall that focuses on animal conservation.
It Starts With Us, the sequel to Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, It Ends With Us, will be published in September.
Here’s a first look at Maggie O’Farrell’s next novel, The Marriage Portrait.
And here’s a look at Delia Ephron’s upcoming memoir, Left on Tenth.
Romance novelists share their most-anticipated recommendations.
Nine new books about feminism.
2022 fantasy novels recommended by Marlon James.
Weekly book picks from Crime Reads, The Millions, and USA Today.
Crime Reads picks the best debut novels for February.
Make sure to get your own Read Harder Book Journal from Book Riot to track your reading for the year!
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
Moon Witch, Spider King – Marlon James (LA Times, New York Times, NPR, Time, Washington Post)
Pure Colour – Sheila Heti (LA Times, New York Times, NPR, Washington Post)
True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us – Danielle J. Lindemann (New York Times, Washington Post)
RA/Genre Resources
Inspiring young readers, TikTok is a boon for books.
What romance novels can teach us about attraction.
On the Riot
Why is publishing plagiarism still possible?
Who owns your story? The ethics and legality of memoir.
An introduction to Romance BookTok.
How Amish fiction served as this reader’s gateway to loving romance.
Hunting for podcasts that feel like literary novels.
All Things Comics
50 Cent’s production company has optioned Christopher Priest’s Xerø comic series for development.
George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards anthology series is becoming a Marvel comic.
Amazon’s overhaul of Comixology ignites concern from comic creators and readers.
On the Riot
A history of the Underground Comix movement.
Comics and graphic novels about families.
Shoot, cheer, score: YA sports comics.
Audiophilia
SYNC, the program that provides free audiobooks for teens, is back on April 28th!
Libro.fm’s most anticipated audiobooks for Spring 2022.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
On the Riot
8 books narrated by Adam Lazarre-White.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
YA historical fiction with a dark twist.
12 queer boarding school books to devour.
Adults
Buzzfeed, Bustle, and Essence have queer romance reads for Valentine’s Day and beyond.
Office thrillers as people transition back to in-person work.
10 Latinx romance authors to keep on your radar.
7 books about star-crossed lovers.
Books with deeply flawed mother figures.
8 cookbooks perfect for people who don’t know how to cook.
7 novels told from both members of a couple.
On the Riot
15 of the best books for newborns.
Interactive musical books for toddlers.
12 middle grade Asian historical fiction books by authors of color.
Fantastic YA fantasy duologies.
15 laugh-out-loud funny books for teens.
9 queer YA post-apocalyptic books.
9 books with Deaf characters for kids and adults.
The best LGBTQ books of 2021, according to American librarians.
10 bone-chilling horror thrillers.
12 fascinating near-future science fiction novels.
That’s not a friends group, honey. That’s a cult.
Crimes that strike a chord: musical mysteries.
The best books about caring for houseplants.
Must-read books about love that aren’t about romance.
Books about pre-colonial life.
8 enchanting books like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
10 vintage book series from the 90’s to read this year. (Oh god, are the 90’s vintage now??)
Books to read while you wait for Yellowjackets to return.
Don’t forget to check out our new line of bookish, Wordle-inspired merch! There are mugs, t-shirts, hoodies, and more. The campaign is temporary, so order yours now!
Level Up (Library Reads)
Do you take part in Library Reads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.
Dini wants you to marvel at his luxurious white whiskers. They are truly a sight to behold.
And with that, I’m off. I’ll check in again on Friday.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Cherish Farrah by Bethany C. Morrow.