This feature is where I spotlight older, recent, or upcoming releases I am looking forward to. The lists will include all genres I like to read, everything from picture books to comics, children’s lit to adult fiction!

This week: more children’s fiction! I can’t help it, folks- children’s fiction is one of my reading loves…and there is so much GREATNESS out there in this area that my to-read pile grows and grows. Some of this week’s picks are inspired by recently read incredible, moving, and overall wonderful reads. I just finished reading Jolly Foul Play, the fourth in the Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries series by British author Robin Stevens, and immediately added Mistletoe & Murder (book number five) to my list. It had been some time since reading book three in the Murder Most Unladylike series, but starting Jolly Foul Play brought Stevens’s brilliant 1930’s English world of young detectives all back- and it is a tremendous series that gets even stronger, sharper, and more engaging with each entry. Truly great. I also recently read Ghost (Track #1) by Jason Reynolds (mentioned here) and it is excellent- a highly, highly recommended read. I have Patina (Track #2) on my must-read, though for this Must Read Monday I am including another of his acclaimed middle grade novels, As Brave As You.

Last, but certainly not least, this week also includes: James Nicol’s The Apprentice Witch, which I picked up on a whim and looks delightful; the fantastically spooky and strange sounding The Bone Snatcher by Charlotte Salter; and Celia C. Pérez’s The First Rule of Punk, which I have been reading rave reviews about.

As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds
Publication: May 3, 2016 by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Book Description:

When two brothers decide to prove how brave they are, everything backfires—literally.

Genie’s summer is full of surprises. The first is that he and his big brother, Ernie, are leaving Brooklyn for the very first time to spend the summer with their grandparents all the way in Virginia—in the COUNTRY! The second surprise comes when Genie figures out that their grandfather is blind. Thunderstruck and—being a curious kid—Genie peppers Grandpop with questions about how he covers it so well (besides wearing way cool Ray-Bans).

How does he match his clothes? Know where to walk? Cook with a gas stove? Pour a glass of sweet tea without spilling it? Genie thinks Grandpop must be the bravest guy he’s ever known, but he starts to notice that his grandfather never leaves the house—as in NEVER. And when he finds the secret room that Grandpop is always disappearing into—a room so full of songbirds and plants that it’s almost as if it’s been pulled inside-out—he begins to wonder if his grandfather is really so brave after all.

Then Ernie lets him down in the bravery department. It’s his fourteenth birthday, and, Grandpop says to become a man, you have to learn how to shoot a gun. Genie thinks that is AWESOME until he realizes Ernie has no interest in learning how to shoot. None. Nada. Dumbfounded by Ernie’s reluctance, Genie is left to wonder—is bravery and becoming a man only about proving something, or is it just as important to own up to what you won’t do?

Mistletoe & Murder (Murder Most Unladylike #5) by Robin Stevens
Publication: October 20, 2016 by Puffin
Book Description:

Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are spending the Christmas hols in snowy Cambridge. Hazel has high hopes of its beautiful spires, cosy libraries and inviting tea-rooms – but there is danger lurking in the dark stairwells of ancient Maudlin College.

Two days before Christmas, there is a terrible accident. At least, it appears to be an accident – until the Detective Society look a little closer, and realise a murder has taken place. Faced with several irritating grown-ups and fierce competition from a rival agency, they must use all their cunning and courage to find the killer (in time for Christmas Day, of course).

The fabulously festive fifth mystery from the bestselling, award-winning author of Murder Most Unladylike.

The Bone Snatcher by Charlotte Salter
Publication: February 14, 2017 by Dial
Book Description:

Sophie Seacove is a storyteller. She tells stories of what the world would be like if madness hadn’t taken over. If her parents hadn’t sold her off as a servant to pay for their stupid vacation. If she wasn’t now trapped in a decaying mansion filled with creepy people and surrounded by ravenous sea monsters.

The mansion has plenty of stories, too: About fantastical machines, and the tragic inventor who created them. About his highly suspicious death. And about the Monster Box, a mysterious object hidden in the house that just might hold the key to escaping this horrible place—and to reuniting Sophie with her family.

But not everyone wants Sophie to have the Monster Box, and as she gets closer to finding it, she finds herself unspooling years-old secrets—and dodging dangerous attacks. Sophie needs to use her brains, her brawn, and her unbreakable nature if she wants to make it off this wretched island…and live to tell this story.

The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol
Publication: July 25, 2017 by Chicken House
Book Description:

Arianwyn has flunked her witch’s assessment: She’s doomed. Declared an apprentice and sent to the town of Lull in disgrace, she may never become a real witch– much to the glee of her arch-rival, Gimma.But remote Lull is not as boring as it seems. Strange things are sighted in the woods, a dangerous infestation of hex creeps throughout the town, and a mysterious magical visitor arrives with his eye on her.

With every spirit banished, creature helped, and spell cast, Arianwyn starts to get the hang of being a witch–even if she’s only an apprentice. But the worst still lies ahead. For a sinister darkness has begun to haunt her spells, and there may be much more at stake than just her pride . . . for Arianwyn and the entire land.

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
Publication: August 22, 2017 by Viking
Book Description:

There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school–you can’t fix it with duct tape like you would your Chuck Taylors. On Day One, twelve-year-old Malu (Maria Luisa, if you want to annoy her) inadvertently upsets Posada Middle School’s queen bee, violates the school’s dress code with her punk rock look, and disappoints her college-professor mom in the process. Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles away, says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself.

The real Malu loves rock music, skateboarding, zines, and Soyrizo (hold the cilantro, please). And when she assembles a group of like-minded misfits at school and starts a band, Malu finally begins to feel at home. She’ll do anything to preserve this, which includes standing up to an anti-punk school administration to fight for her right to express herself!

Black and white illustrations and collage art throughout make The First Rule of Punk a perfect pick for fans of books like Roller Girl and online magazines like Rookie.

This feature is where I spotlight older, recent, or upcoming releases I am looking forward to. The lists will include all genres I like to read, everything from picture books to comics, children’s lit to adult fiction!

This week’s Must Read Monday is a little bit different. I’ve been looking through various sources (review journals, publisher’s sites, Goodreads, blogs, etc.) as is my norm, but my to-be read pile has grown tremendously in a short span! This is due, in part, to all of the incredible books that are slated for Fall 2016 release! Some favourite authors and/or illustrators are releasing new titles or sequels, and there are new-to-me and/or debut authors with terrific sounding and terrifically reviewed titles.

I hope over the course of a few posts (this is Part 1!) to do a quick rundown of as many titles as possible: in no particular order, here we go!

Today Will be Different by Maria Semple
Expected publication: October 4th 2016 by Little, Brown and Company

To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
Publication: August 2nd 2016 by Little, Brown and Company

The Boy is Back (Boy #4) by Meg Cabot
Expected publication: October 18th 2016 by William Morrow

The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall
Expected publication: August 27th 2016 by House of Anansi Press

The Singing Bones by Shaun Tan
Expected publication: October 11th 2016 by Arthur A. Levine Books

The Swan Riders (Prisoners of Peace #2) by Erin Bow
Expected publication: September 20th 2016 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

Mark of the Plague (The Blackthorn Key #2) by Kevin Sands
Expected publication: September 6th 2016 by Aladdin

Jolly Foul Play (Wells & Wong #4) by Robin Stevens
Expected release in North America: September 27, 2016 by Puffin (Already published)

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
Expected publication: September 13th 2016 by Graphix

King Baby by Kate Beaton
Expected publication: September 13th 2016 by Arthur A. Levine Books

*For the purposes of these posts, ‘Fall’ will include some August, September and October, possibly some November 2016 releases

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week: Ten Childhood Characters You’d Love To Revisit As Adults! With some favourite characters, like Mia Thermopolis, Jessica Darling, or Hermione Granger, I’ve had the tremendous luck to be able to follow them into adulthood AND love who they had become. Some characters that I love…well, I’m not sure I’d want to revisit as I genuinely want to leave them as I adore and remember them.

But who else would I like to revisit as an adult? In no particular order, here are my picks. The characters are mostly from the teen genre, some old and beloved favourites, and some wonderfully memorable characters from recently read stand-out YA:

• Anna Bloom from Julie Halpern’s Anna Bloom series
• Clarissa and Benji from Vikki VanSickle’s Clarissa Delaney series
• Hadley from Jennifer E. Smith’s The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
• Hermione and Polly from E.K. Johnston’s Exit, Pursued by a Bear. Recently read, I highly recommend this one; Hermione’s narrative voice was SO GOOD.
• Amanda Hardy from Meredith Russo’s If I Was Your Girl
• Elizabeth Clarry from Jaclyn Moriarty’s Feeling Sorry for Celia
• Jill and Mandy from Sara Zarr’s How to Save a Life
• Daisy and Hazel from Robin Stevens’ Wells and Wong mystery series
• Annabeth from Hilary T. Smith’s A Sense of the Infinite
• Henry from Susin Nielsen’s The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen

Which characters would you like to revisit?

Don’t forget to check out the post on The Broke and the Bookish and have a look at other great lists!

This feature is where I spotlight older, recent, or upcoming releases I am looking forward to. The lists will include all genres I like to read, everything from picture books to comics, children’s lit to adult fiction!

First up is No Matter How Improbable, the third entry in the Portia Adams historical mystery series from Canadian author Angela Misri. I adored the first two titles in this Sherlockian-inspired world, and look very much forward to more of this beautifully written young adult series.

No Matter How Improbable (Portia Adams Adventures #3) by Angela Misri
Expected Publication: March 22, 2016 by Fierce Ink Press

Can Portia Adams right all that has happened in her brief absence in Italy or will she lose someone she loves to the gray London streets?

Second up is Jolly Foul Play, the fourth entry in the wonderful historical mystery series, Wells & Wong, from British author Robin Stevens. The Wells & Wong middle grade series is, like the Portia Adams series, rich in historical detail and features strong female protagonists. If you are on the lookout for British-set cozy mysteries in middle grade lit or young adult, then I would definitely recommend these series!

Jolly Foul Play (Wells & Wong #4) by Robin Stevens
Expected Publication: March 24, 2016 by Puffin

Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong have returned to Deepdean for a new school term, but nothing is the same. There’s a new Head Girl, Elizabeth Hurst, and a team of Prefects – and these bullying Big Girls are certainly not good eggs. Then, after the fireworks display on Bonfire Night, Elizabeth is found – murdered.

Many girls at Deepdean had reason to hate Elizabeth, but who might have committed such foul play? Could the murder be linked to the secrets and scandals, scribbled on scraps of paper, that are suddenly appearing around the school? And with their own friendship falling to pieces, how will Daisy and Hazel solve this mystery?

This week: ten books that celebrate diversity and/or diverse characters*! In no particular order, my list of twelve terrific young adult and middle-grade titles and series featuring and celebrating diverse characters:

*To borrow from The Broke and the Bookish’s reference:

For the purposes of this topic our definition of diversity is aligned with that of WNDB: “We recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (Contemporary YA; LGBTQIA)
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour (Contemporary YA; LGBTQIA)
So B. It by Sarah Weeks (Middle-grade title; main characters with disabilities)
Wonder by R.J. Palacio (Middle-grade title; main characters with disabilities)
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (Contemporary YA title featuring protagonist with prosthesis and a main character with cerebral palsy)
The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten (Contemporary YA featuring main characters with mental health issues)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Contemporary YA featuring Native American narrator/protagonist)
Ask the Passengers by A.S. King (Contemporary YA; LGBTQIA)
The Wig in the Window by Kristen Kittscher (Middle grade mystery title featuring female ethnic minority main character)
The Agency (Mary Quinn mystery series) by Y.S. Lee (YA historical mystery series featuring female ethnic minority main character)
Origami Yoda (series) by Tom Angleberger (Middle-grade contemporary series; LGBTQIA, gender diversity, ethnic minorities, mental health issues)
Wells & Wong (series) by Robin Stevens (Middle-grade historical mystery series featuring female ethnic minority main character)

Bonus picture book pick:
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena, illus. Christian Robinson

What are your picks this week?

This week I am featuring two most excellent sounding children’s mystery titles:

First Class Murder (Wells & Wong #3) by Robin Stevens
Expected publication: July 30, 2015 by Corgi Childrens
If you’re looking for witty historical British mysteries (featuring some terrific middle-grade female sleuths), then I highly recommend giving the Wells & Wong mystery series a try! This is one of those children’s fiction offerings that I would call a real gem. Here’s the description for the third novel- which I am very excited to read:

Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are taking a holiday through Europe on the world-famous Orient Express. From the moment the girls step aboard, it’s clear that each of their fellow first-class passengers has something to hide. Even more intriguing: rumour has it that there is a spy in their midst.
Then, during dinner, there is a bloodcurdling scream from inside one of the cabins. When the door is broken down, a passenger is found murdered, her stunning ruby necklace gone. But the killer is nowhere to be seen – almost as if they had vanished into thin air.
Daisy and Hazel are faced with their first ever locked-room mystery – and with competition from several other sleuths, who are just as determined to crack the case as they are.

The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine
Note: Expected publication for the paperback appears to be August 4, 2015 by Egmont, though an ebook appears to have been available from June 4, 2015.
I heard about this title through Wells & Wong author Robin Stevens’ Twitter and Goodreads account. How wonderful does this sound?!?:

You are cordially invited to attend the Grand Opening of Sinclair’s department store!
Enter a world of bonbons, hats, perfumes and MYSTERIES around every corner. WONDER at the daring theft of the priceless CLOCKWORK SPARROW! TREMBLE as the most DASTARDLY criminals in London enact their wicked plans! GASP as our bold heroines, Miss Sophie Taylor and Miss Lilian Rose, CRACK CODES, DEVOUR ICED BUNS and vow to bring the villians to justice…

If you’d like to join Must Read Monday, please do! Link up or leave a comment about what you’re looking forward to reading- I love to hear what other readers have on their radar!

My picks for top 5 children’s and top 5 YA fiction I read this year:

Murder Most Unladylike (Wells and Wong #1) by Robin Stevens

The Return of Zita the Spacegirl (Zita the Spacegirl #3) by Ben Hatke

Now Look What You’ve Done (Timmy Failure #2) by Stephen Pastis

We Meet Again (Timmy Failure #3) by Stephan Pastis

Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus (Origami Yoda #6) by Tom Angleberger

The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing by C.K. Kelly Martin

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry

Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson

A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller

*Note: These are titles I have read in 2014; titles may have been published in previous years. Rereads are not included on this list.