Hooray, It’s Time for New Books!

This is the first in a fantastic new YA series from the author of All the Birds in the Sky! In so many books, kids are often surprised to find out that they are The One, or are from another planet, etc. Like, “Surprise! You’re actually the only secret weapon that can defeat the evil Jelly Emperor in the Donut Realm.” But in this book, Tina Mains knows from a young age that she is an alien, brought to Earth, camouflaged as a regular human baby, and given to her mother to keep her hidden and safe. She also knows that nestled inside her is an interplanetary rescue beacon, because sometimes, it glows. And one day it’s going to go off for real, and Tina will have to run for her life until she can be located by her people, leaving behind everything she knows and loves. She’s excited, but also scared.

But when that day comes, it’s going to be a lot more dangerous and stressful than she imagined. For while Tina is a clone of the brilliant military commander Captain Thaoh Argentian, she doesn’t have any of the knowledge. She’s just a teenage girl with regular human memories and abilities. Can she regain the skills of her former life in time to help fight off an evil alien army and save the galaxy? That’s a lot of pressure. Luckily, Tina has friendship and love on her side. (Awwwww.) Anders has written a fun space opera that also touches on a lot of important issues, such as gender and self-identity, depression, and anxiety.

Backlist bump: A Spark of White Fire (The Celestial Trilogy) by Sangu Mandanna

This is extremely Liberty wheelhouse, but also, there are a zillion Agatha Christie fans out there, so I am sure many of you will also be excited to pick this up! It’s an extremely comprehensive deep dive into all of Christie’s novels featuring her famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. It’s almost more of a reference book than one you would sit and read cover to cover, unless you find everything Christie to be an epic nerdpurr, like I do. You can choose a Poirot title, and read about not just the book, but what was going at the time the book was written, character development, and more. As someone who has an entire bookcase of books about Agatha Christie, I enjoyed learning more about the books and Poirot than the usual information. It also features an introduction by Mark Gatiss, who has played the brother of another of the world’s most famous detectives.

Backlist bump: A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup

I don’t know what it is exactly about big books, but I gravitate towards them. When I see an enormous book on the new release table, or get a huge galley in the mail, that is the book I am most excited to read, even if I don’t know what it’s about!

So imagine my excitement when I got a box in the mail the other day and inside was a 600-page Japanese mystery novel! As a huge fan of Six Four, I was thrilled! This tome was originally published to great acclaim in Japan in 1997, and is taught in college classes there. Now, because it’s 600 pages long, I have only made it a quarter of the way so far, but I am enjoying this dark, atmospheric tale of kidnapping and crime, inspired by a true unsolved case referred to as “the Monster with 21 Faces.” And I don’t know what it is about the cover, but it’s very effective in giving me the creeps!

Backlist bump: Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama, Jonathan Lloyd-Davies (translator)