Girl Code: Gaming, Going Viral, and Getting It Done
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Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser. Harper, $17.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-06-247250-2
In this impressive debut, Gonzales and Houser enthusiastically and sympathetically recount how they met as high school students and created a stigma-cracking video game during a seven-week Girls Who Code course in 2014. A lighthearted attack on the “menstrual taboo,” their game, Tampon Run, had roots in a quest for social impact; this book, told in alternating voices, extends that by encouraging more girls to learn how to code. Houser originally hoped that coding would enable her to share great ideas without public speaking, while Gonzales wondered if she really wanted to become an engineer, as her Filipino immigrant parents hoped. Successful beyond their wildest imaginings, their game drew Houser and Gonzales further into the tech world, where over the next year, they competed with college students, learned to promote and adapt their product, interned at venture-capital-backed start-ups, and wrestled with their self-images. Their accomplishments (including this narrative, written while they attend college), intelligence, humanity, creativity, seriousness of purpose, and humor will stick with readers, and inspire them. Ages 13–up. Agent: Mackenzie Brady Watson, New Leaf Literary & Media. (Mar.) ■
Starfall
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J. Torres, illus. by Corin Howell and Maarta Laiho. Oni, $14.99 trade paper (152p) ISBN 978-1-62010-315-9
Torres (BroBots) introduces a complex mythology that riffs on figures from the Chinese zodiac in this action-laden first book in the Mighty Zodiac series, in which animal warriors attempt to defend the land of Gaya against rabbit-led forces of darkness. After the death of a celestial blue dragon, six stars fall from the sky, and the Moon Rabbit Army descends on Gaya. On the brink of death, the serpent Master Long calls upon the warriors he has trained—the Mighty Zodiac—to capture the fallen stars and propel him to his place among the stars. Torres quickly introduces the Zodiac members—Buta, a flamboyant performing pig; Rang, a duplicitous rat; and the powerful Great Tiger Ho—but slowly unravels their backstories through flashbacks and dialogue so that, by the final battle, readers care about who they are and why they fight. The action sequences are nearly nonstop, and Horwell and Laiho make good use of shifting perspectives and dynamic compositions to sustain a high-energy atmosphere that lays a strong foundation for future tales. Ages 9–12. (Mar.)
Star Scouts
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Mike Lawrence. First Second, $14.99 trade paper (192p) ISBN 978-1-62672-280-4
Avani Patel has a serious case of new-kid blues, and the fact that her father has signed her up for a local Flower Scouts troupe only makes matters worse. But Avani winds up joining another group of scouts altogether after she’s abducted by an enthusiastic blue alien named Mabel, who is working on her Star Scouts “collection badge.”Avani happily ditches Flower Scouts to spend time in space with Mabel and her troupe, but these new friendships are challenged during a week at Camp Andromeda, where Avani accidentally ignites a rivalry between her troupe and a group of methane-breathing scouts (aka “toot-breathers”). As Avani attempts to win teleportation, jetpack racing, and other competitions, Lawrence (Muddy Max) delivers a madcap extraterrestrial adventure with no shortage of parallels to more terrestrial scouting activities. Gross-out jokes abound, from recurring gags about “xenoscatology badges” to the robots built by parrotlike Star Scout Steve, which include GOOSE (“all it does is pinch people on the bum”) and the Biometric Ultra Techno Tool or BUTT. It’s an exciting, laugh-a-minute story that plainly reveals the rewards of teamwork, whatever planet one calls home. Ages 8–12. Agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary. (Mar.)
Waking in Time
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Angie Stanton. Switch, $17.95 (360p) ISBN 978-1-63079-070-7
Abbi Thorp is excited to start college at the University of Wisconsin, but she’s still carrying the pain of her grandmother’s recent death; Abbi has her grandmother’s hatbox with her, which is filled with photos and memories, and the fact that she is attending her adventurous grandmother’s alma mater also brings comfort. However, Abbi is haunted by some of Grandma’s last words (including a request to “find the baby”) and a note in the hatbox that expresses hope that Abbi will find the answers that she never could. When Abbi awakens one morning in the year 1983, she’s stunned but then meets Professor W.C. Smith, who knows who she is and where she comes from. Thrown into a mystery that may affect her future, Abbi finds a fellow time traveler in the handsome Will. Stanton’s (the Jamieson Brothers series) breezy time-jumping romance doesn’t break new ground and the conclusion is overly tidy, but Abbi’s interactions with family members she has never met are charming, and snapshots of college life in different time periods add interest. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jane Dystel, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Mar.)
Radio Silence
Alice Oseman. HarperTeen, $17.99 (496p) ISBN 978-0-06-233571-5
Oseman (Solitaire) explores sexual identities, the weight of expectation, and the intensity and fickleness of fandom in a story revolving around a mysterious, Welcome to Night Vale–esque podcast called Universe City. Frances Janvier, a high-achieving but largely friendless British student, has been a fan of Universe City since its first episode, even creating fan art for the show under the online persona of Toulouse. Aled Last, the boy next door, turns out to be Universe City’s creator, and, soon after each realizes who the other is, the two collaborate on the podcast and develop a much-needed friendship. Frances and Aled both identify as queer, and their intense friendship—as well as relationships with their mothers that couldn’t be more different—are central to the story. Oseman gives Frances an honest, insecure, and occasionally meandering voice, as she considers the stresses, joys, and letdowns of her high school existence. Oseman vividly illustrates that the world and its technologies offer opportunities for connection and fulfillment that go far beyond traditional definitions of success. Ages 13–up. Agent: Claire Wilson, Rogers, Coleridge and White. (Mar.)
Done Dirt Cheap
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Sarah Nicole Lemon. Amulet, $17.95 (336p) ISBN 978-1-4197-2368-1
Tourmaline Harris and Virginia Campbell just graduated from the same high school, but what they know of each other is all rumors and front. Tourmaline is the goody-two-shoes daughter of the president of the Wardens, the feared local motorcycle club; Virginia is a beauty pageant winner. Both have a darker reality. Virginia sells drugs for the corrupt attorney who helped her mother; Tourmaline’s mother is in prison, and the boyfriend/dealer convicted along with her was just released—and has a grudge against Tourmaline. The girls’ relationship begins to change when the attorney sends Virginia to get dirt on the club. Debut author Lemon spins a complicated story of revenge, motorcycles, female friendship, and sexy bikers who appreciate and protect the strong women they fall for. The Wardens’ vigilante morality isn’t questioned all that much, and at times the tale has a TV-movie quality—the high level of violence, everyone’s ability to get beaten up and keep going, and how good-looking they all are—but the book is undeniably fun to read, with a satisfyingly hard-won happy ending. Ages 13–up. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Agency. (Mar.)
Wonderful Feels Like This
Sara Lövestam, trans. from the Swedish by Laura A. Wideburg. Flatiron, $17.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-250-09523-7
Empathy, identity, and the transformative power of music bind this tale of an atypical friendship between a teenage outcast and a jazz musician. Swedish teen Steffi Herrera doesn’t fit in at her school, where the other girls malign her dark hair and eyes, comparing her Cuban skin to feces and hurling other racist insults at her. When Steffi hears her favorite jazz artist playing from the window of a retirement home, she knows she has found a kindred spirit. During Steffi’s regular visits, 89-year-old Alvar recounts his own teenage struggles in Stockholm during WWII, his love for a woman named Anita, and his days as a jazz musician. Steffi and Alvar’s stories intersect in surprising ways as they find solace in each other and their musical prowess while coping with harsh realities. There’s a an easy, languid flow to Lövestam’s omniscient third-person storytelling as different characters take the spotlight, but the author doesn’t soft-pedal mortality, Alzheimer’s, or Steffi’s bullies—Steffi’s self-control is all the more courageous in the face of their genuine cruelty. Ages 12–up. Agent: Marina Penalva, Pontas Literary & Film Agency. (Mar.)
The Secrets We Keep
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Deb Loughead. Dundurn, $12.99 trade paper (184p) ISBN 978-1-4597-3729-7
Four months ago, sophomore Clem went to a field party where she believes she was the last person to see Kit, an autistic classmate who was found drowned in the quarry the next day. Clem’s best friend Ellie dragged Clem to the bash, so Ellie could hook up with her crush, Mac. Clem didn’t reveal any information about the night to the police, and only Ellie knows Clem let Kit wander off alone; she uses this secret to manipulate Clem into covering for her when she sneaks around with hot-headed Mac. Now, Kit’s mother is seeking closure and pressuring students to step forward with any information about her son’s death. Clem feels very alone until Jake, a friend turned crush, opens up about his own connections to Kit and the party, leading to further revelations. Loughead (Rise of the Zombie Scarecrows) is less successful in passages that compare Clem’s guilt to that of Macbeth, or that get preachy regarding digital addiction. Clem’s lingering guilt makes her a compelling narrator but most of the other characters are not given much depth. Ages 12–up. (Mar.)
Overturned
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Lamar Giles. Scholastic Press, $17.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-545-81250-4
Famed poker player Nathan “the Broker” Tate is back in Las Vegas and free from death row after fresh evidence overturns a wrongful murder conviction. When he winds up dead outside his casino, his 16-year-old daughter, Nikki, already responsible for running the business and carrying on his legacy at the card table, starts doing some detective work in order to bring his killer to justice. High-stakes gambling, low-level espionage, and more typical high school concerns intersect, though the talk of football rivalries and choosing colleges can sometimes feel out of place against the deadly serious backdrop. Giles (Endangered) excels at pulpy crime drama, including a romance with a wealthy casino heir, scattering a trail of clues and bluffs to keep readers guessing. Racial elements at play—the Tates are black while their rivals, the Carlinos, are white—hover in the background, adding another layer to Giles’s murder mystery. Nikki’s sharp observations and self-deprecating sense of humor lighten the overall mood of this dark and twisty thriller. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jamie Weiss Chilton, Andrea Brown Literary. (Mar.)
The Heartbeats of Wing Jones
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Katherine Webber. Delacorte, $17.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-399-55502-2
Believing that she has no particular talent of her own, half black, half Chinese Atlanta teen Wing Jones lives in the shadow of Marcus, her football-star older brother. All that changes the night Marcus kills two people while driving drunk, and is left in a coma. Juggling anger, sadness, and guilty relief that her brother survived, Wing finds solace in late-night runs. When Marcus’s best friend Aaron (whom Wing secretly loves) spots her circling the high school track, he’s amazed by her speed and wants to bring her into the spotlight. Soon, Wing is on the track team, winning one race after another. In a story showing how hope and love can blossom in the midst of chaos, first-time author Webber explores Wing’s challenges to be a winner as her family—overwhelmed by mounting bills, criminal charges against Marcus, and the uncertainty of his fate—begins to crumble. Readers caught up in the tension of the story, set in 1995, are unlikely to be bothered by the improbability of Wing’s speedy climb to the top. Ages 12–up. Agent: Claire Wilson, Rogers, Coleridge & White. (Mar.)
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