New Releases

New April Books for Middle-Grade Readers!

By Julie K. Rubini on April 3, 2023 / New Releases

Middle-grade readers will be showered with many new books being released in April.

A middle-grade debut from Angie Thomas. Graphic novels. A new adventure story by author and illustrator Brian Selznick (The Invention of Hugo Cabret). PLUS, an MG debut from MUF’s very own Heather Murphy Capps: Indigo and Ida! This month’s lineup of new releases for middle-grade readers will help beat the blahs when those April Showers arrive. Enjoy!

I’m Still Here (Adapted for Young Readers): Loving Myself in a World Not Made for Me, written by

Austin Channing Brown, Convergent Books, April 4

Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with race in America came at age seven, when she discovered that her parents had named her Austin to trick future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools and churches, Channing Brown writes, “I had to learn what it means to love Blackness,” a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, speaker, and expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion.

In this adaptation of her bestselling and critically acclaimed memoir, she explores how America’s racial dynamics show up in the classrooms, friend groups, and conversations kids inhabit every day. “I love being a Black girl,” she writes. “And sometimes being a Black girl in America is hard.” Covering topics like representation, self-love, allyship, and being Black in public, Brown helps kids nourish their identity and make sense of how they fit into the world.

For students navigating a time of racial hostility, and for the adults and educators who care for them, I’m Still Here is an empowering look at the experiences of young Black kids, inviting the reader to confront apathy, find their voice, and discover how Blackness–if we let it–can save us all.

School Trip: A Graphic Novel, written by Jerry Craft, Quill Tree Books, April 4

New York Times bestselling author Jerry Craft is back with the newest adventures of Jordan, Drew, Liam, and all the characters that fans first met in New Kid, winner of the Newbery Award and the Coretta Scott King Author Award! In this full-color contemporary graphic novel, the gang from Riverdale Academy Day is heading to Paris, for an international education like you’ve never seen before …

Jordan, Drew, Liam, Maury, and their friends from Riverdale Academy Day School are heading out on a school trip to Paris. As an aspiring artist himself, Jordan can’t wait to see all the amazing art in the famous City of Lights.

But when their trusted faculty guides are replaced at the last minute, the school trip takes an unexpected–and hilarious–turn. Especially when trying to find their way around a foreign city ends up being almost as tricky as navigating the same friendships, fears, and differences that they struggle with at home.

Will Jordan and his friends embrace being exposed to a new language, unfamiliar food, and a different culture? Or will they all end up feeling like the “new kid”?

Indigo and Ida, written by Heather Murphy Capps, Published by Carolrhoda Books/Lerner, April 4

When eighth grader and aspiring journalist Indigo breaks an important story, exposing an unfair school policy, she’s suddenly popular for the first time.

The friends who’ve recently drifted away from her want to hang out again. Then Indigo notices that the school’s disciplinary policies seem to be enforced especially harshly with students of color, like her. She wants to keep investigating, but her friends insist she’s imagining things.

Meanwhile, Indigo stumbles upon a book by Black journalist and activist Ida B. Wells―with private letters written by Ida tucked inside. As she reads about Ida’s lifelong battle against racism, Indigo realizes she must choose between keeping quiet and fighting for justice.

Good Different written by Meg Eden Kuyatt, Published by Scholastic, April 4

An extraordinary novel-in-verse for fans of Starfish and A Kind of Spark about a neurodivergent girl who comes to understand and celebrate her difference.

Selah knows her rules for being normal.

She always, always sticks to them. This means keeping her feelings locked tightly inside, despite the way they build up inside her as each school day goes on, so that she has to run to the bathroom and hide in the stall until she can calm down. So that she has to tear off her normal-person mask the second she gets home from school, and listen to her favorite pop song on repeat, trying to recharge. Selah feels like a dragon stuck in a world of humans, but she knows how to hide it.

Until the day she explodes and hits a fellow student.

Selah’s friends pull away from her, her school threatens expulsion, and her comfortable, familiar world starts to crumble.

But as Selah starts to figure out more about who she is, she comes to understand that different doesn’t mean damaged. Can she get her school to understand that, too, before it’s too late?

Spy Camp the Graphic Novel, written by Stuart Gibbs, Illustrated by Anjan Sarkar

The second book in the New York Times bestselling Spy School series continues in graphic novel form as aspiring spy Ben Ripley must spend his summer in top-secret training–and is thrown back into danger.

Ben Ripley is a middle schooler whose school is not exactly average–he’s spent the last year training to be a top-level spy and dodging all sorts of associated danger. So now that summer’s finally here, Ben would like to have some fun and relax. But that’s not going to happen during required spy survival training at a rustic wilderness camp, where SPYDER, an enemy spy organization, has infiltrated the spies’ ranks. Can Ben root out the enemy before it takes him out–for good?

Warriors: A Starless Clan #3 Shadow, written by Erin Hunter, HarperCollins, April 4

A crossroads for the Clans–and the warrior code!

The warrior code now allows a cat to formally change Clans, but ShadowClan’s newest arrival feels increasingly unwelcome–and though ShadowClan warrior Sunbeam thinks every cat deserves a chance, one of the loudest voices of opposition is her own mother. Meanwhile medicine cat apprentice Frostpaw scrambles to help RiverClan stay afloat under the watchful eye of a second Tigerstar, and the shadow of growing conflict looms over them all…

This seventh epic Warriors series is full of action, intrigue, and adventure–a perfect introduction for new readers and for long-time fans eager to discover what unfolds after the events of The Broken Code.

Big Tree, written by Brian Selznick, Scholastic, April 4

“Hello, stars. I thought I heard you calling me.”

A mysterious voice has been speaking to Louise in her dreams. She and her brother Merwin are Sycamore seeds, who hope to one day set down roots and become big trees. But when a fire forces them to leave their mama tree prematurely, they find themselves catapulted into the unknown, far from home. Alone and unprepared, they must use their wits and imagination to navigate a dangerous world–filled with dinosaurs, meteors, and volcanoes!–and the fear of never finding a safe place to grow up. As the mysterious voice gets louder, Louise comes to realize their mission in life may be much bigger than either of them ever could have imagined!

Brimming with humor, wonder, mystery, and a profound sense of hope, Big Tree is a trailblazing adventure, illustrated with nearly 300 pages of breathtaking pictures. It is Selznick’s most imaginative and far-reaching work to date and a singular reading experience for the whole family!

Nic Blake and The Remarkables, written by Angie Thomas, Published by Balzer & Bray/Harperteen, April 4

Internationally bestselling superstar author Angie Thomas makes her middle grade debut with the launch of an inventive, hilarious, and suspenseful new contemporary fantasy trilogy inspired by African American history and folklore.

It’s not easy being a Remarkable in the Unremarkable world. Some things are cool–like getting a pet hellhound for your twelfth birthday. Others, not so much–like not being trusted to learn magic because you might use it to take revenge on an annoying neighbor.

All Nic Blake wants is to be a powerful Manifestor like her dad. But before she has a chance to convince him to teach her the gift, a series of shocking revelations and terrifying events launch Nic and two friends on a hunt for a powerful magic tool she’s never heard of…to save her father from imprisonment for a crime she refuses to believe he committed.

The Little Mermaid: Guide to Merfolk, written by Erin Geron, Disney Press, April 11

Learn everything you ever wanted to know about mermaids and more from Disney’s new live action film The Little Mermaid inside this gorgeous guidebook!

From Prince Eric’s royal library, this beautiful guidebook deep dives into the legends and lore surrounding the mermaids and their world from The Little Mermaid live action film. Learn more about the Seven Seas and the mermaid princesses who rule them, discover stories of sirens and sea witches, and come to know the legend of the coral moon. With gorgeous full-color illustrations throughout, this book is perfect for any reader who can’t get enough of mermaids.

Creatures of the In Between, written by Cindy Lin, HarperCollins Publishers, April 11

Princess Mononoke meets How to Train Your Dragon in this magical middle grade adventure from Cindy Lin, author of The Twelve, featuring a blend of East and Southeast Asian folklore and mythical creatures, and starring a boy with a hero’s destiny.

Prince Jin is running out of time.

He must find a monster companion before his thirteenth birthday or lose the throne completely.

And that means travelling to the only place where monsters still live: the legendary, dangerous Whisper Island.

But untold perils await Jin there. The magical creatures he seeks are not so easily swayed, and an even greater threat looms on the horizon–one that could threaten everything Jin hopes to achieve.

Fireborn: Phoenix and the Frost Palace, written by Aisling Fowler, HarperCollins, April 18

Twelve journeys to new lands and embarks on even more perilous adventures in this sequel to Fireborn, which B.B. Alston praised as “the best kind of children’s fantasy story.”

Twelve is now a full-fledged hunter, with a new name worthy of her fiery powers: Phoenix.

But with her new powers come new responsibilities. When a plea for help arrives from the long-lost witch clan, it’s clear Phoenix’s newfound fire is their only hope. Phoenix and her friends must travel to Icegaard, the witches’ home, to combat the mysterious darkness there—one that grows stronger each day.

But deep within this darkness lies an enemy that could destroy Ember entirely . . . unless Phoenix can find the strength to stop it.

A thrilling adventure and poignant journey all in one, this second novel in the Fireborn trilogy—perfect for fans of The School for Good and Evil and the His Dark Materials series—will take Phoenix and her readers to enchanting new worlds, where unexpected friends, untold dangers, and a treacherous new enemy await.

Author Interview: Dianne Salerni and her latest release, The Carrefour Curse

By Mike Hays on March 15, 2023 / Author Interviews, books, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers, New Releases

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Addams Family meets The Westing Game in this exhilarating mystery about a modern magical dynasty trapped in the ruins of their once-grand, now-crumbling ancestral home.

Twelve-year-old Garnet regrets that she doesn’t know her family. Her mother has done her best to keep it that way, living far from the rest of the magical Carrefour clan and their dark, dangerous mansion known as Crossroad House.

But when Garnet finally gets summoned to the estate, it isn’t quite what she hoped for. Her relatives are strange and quarrelsome, each room in Crossroad House is more dilapidated than the last, and she can’t keep straight which dusty hallways and cobwebbed corners are forbidden.

Then Garnet learns the family secret: their dying patriarch fights to retain his life by stealing power from others. Every accident that isn’t an accident, every unexpected illness and unexplained disappearance grants Jasper Carrefour a little more time. While the Carrefours squabbles over who will inherit his role when (if) he dies, Garnet encounters evidence of an even deeper curse. Was she brought to Crossroad House as part of the curse . . . or is she meant to break it?

Written with loads of creepy atmosphere and an edge-of-your-seat magical mystery, this thrilling story reads like The Haunting of Hill House for preteens. Perfect for late-night reading under the covers.

Introduction

Today, we have the pleasure of hosting a favorite author of mine, Dianne K. Salerni, to talk about her latest release from Holiday House Books called, The Carrefour Curse. Here’s her official introduction:

Dianne K. Salerni has written many books for children, including Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections Eleanor, Alice, and the Roosevelt Ghosts and Jadie in Five Dimensions. After teaching elementary school for twenty-five years, Dianne now spends her time hanging around creepy cemeteries and climbing 2,000-year-old pyramids for book research. Visit her online at https://diannesalerni.com/

Dianne can also be found online at:

The Interview

MH: One of my favorite things as a reader and a creator is the author’s story of their story. The journey and brain science behind how a story grew from bits and pieces of an idea to a book on the shelf is fascinating to me. What is the origin story of your latest middle-grade release, The Carrefour Curse?

Dianne: There were two main inspirations for The Carrefour Curse: Dark Shadows, the supernatural soap opera, and The Spook House, a vignette written by Ambrose Bierce. My mother was a fan of Dark Shadows, and I used to watch the show as a young child even though I wasn’t allowed to. I hid behind the sofa and became a lifelong fan of all things gothic. As for the Bierce story, the image of a locked room filled with dead people haunted me for a long time, and I tried for years to build a plot around it. When I got the idea to combine Dark Shadows and The Spook House, the result was The Carrefour Curse.

I wrote the first draft in 2017, and when it was finished, I proclaimed it “a terrible mess,” closed the document, and forgot about it. Fast forward to early 2020, when I devoured the Netflix series, Locke & Key. I loved that show so much, I made a list of all the elements that called to me and thought, I’d like to write a story with these elements. Then I remembered I already had! For the first time in three years, I opened the document named Crossroad House, read it, and discovered that, although it was messy, it wasn’t terrible. Revising this manuscript soon became my pandemic project.

MH: I’ve always been drawn to your ability to create real and believable fictional worlds within a recognizable “normal” story world. From the magical extra day of The Eighth Day series to the extra dimension worlds of Jadie in Five Dimensions, you build logical worlds that allow the reader to seamlessly move in and out of. I realize my begging at your feet and screaming, “How do you do this?” is too broad and too unfair of a question to ask, but can you share a few steps of how you create such effective world shifts in your books?

Dianne: Well, it certainly doesn’t happen in the first draft, that’s for sure! The world-building usually starts with an idea. Like: There’s a secret day hidden between Wednesday and Thursday. Or: Our 3-dimensional universe exists inside a larger 4-dimensional universe. In my first draft, world-building is thin, disjointed, and often contradictory as I try to nail down the plot. After the story is complete, I work on a list of “rules” for my alternate world, with my priority being that the rules have to allow all my events to happen and still make sense. In successive drafts, I work on the inconsistencies and the logic and make sure that the world elements saturate the story, instead of feeling tacked on. In the final drafts, I make a list of the chapters and chart what elements appear in each one. Has it been several chapters since my main character felt like Crossroad House was watching her or influencing events? I’ll work a mention in.

MH: Can you describe your creative process of how an idea becomes a fully-formed story in your hands?

Dianne: Every book starts with a premise, like the secret day or the nesting universes, or an inspirational source, like Dark Shadows and The Spook House. Next, come the characters. Who are they and what happens to them? What is the main conflict? In rare cases, before I start writing, I’ll outline the entire story on Scrivener. I did that with Eleanor, Alice, & the Roosevelt Ghosts and also with the second and third books in the Eighth Day series. But most of the time, I outline the first third or half and then jump into writing because I don’t know how it all works out until it happens on the page. Sometimes there are surprises. In The Carrefour Curse, a rather important character invented herself in Chapter 23 and inserted herself into the climax, forcing me—in later drafts—to weave her very existence into the first half of the book. Sometimes, the surprise is that the book is a dud. There are many, many unfinished manuscripts on my computer.

MH: Are you a multiple-irons in-the-fire creator or a one-story-at-a-time creator?

Dianne: Usually, I’ll work on only one story at a time. If I’m struggling with it, I might put it aside to revise and polish an old manuscript. (The Carrefour Curse is not the only one of my books to come out of a resurrected manuscript.) Once in a while, publication deadlines require that I work on more than one thing at a time. While I was under contract for the Eighth Day series, I once found myself proofreading the galley of Book 1, making editorial revisions on Book 2, and drafting Book 3. I got so confused about what Jax knew and when he knew it that I had to rearrange my schedule to work on one at a time: first the proofreading, then the revisions, and finally back to drafting.

MH: Can you describe your experience with Holiday House in bringing The Carrefour Curse to its publication date?

Dianne: Holiday House has been wonderful to work with. My last three books have been published through Holiday House, and I think my editor, Sally Morgridge, is brilliant. I love the covers they’ve commissioned for all three books – they’re all very different but each one perfect in its own way. The publicity department is enthusiastic and very communicative. In the past, I have worked with bigger publishers where I never had any contact with my “official publicist,” so this is a refreshing change!

MH: What’s next?

Dianne: I have a book on submission. Because it’s not recommended that we talk about works on submission, I’ll say only that it’s a comedy-mystery and somewhat different from my other books. While I wait for word on that, I’m drafting a middle grade horror story. We’ll see how that goes because I’m approaching the end of the “index cards” on my Scrivener corkboard and wading into the un-outlined part of the story. For me, this is the scariest part of my horror story!

MH: What are some of your favorite activities, outside of the butt-in-chair life of an author, to recharge your creative battery?

Twice a week, I volunteer at our local animal shelter. I walk dogs and service the cat room – feeding and cleaning up after the cats and assorted critters. (Currently, we have more rabbits than cats in the so-called cat room.) I have three hydroponic gardens in my home. I typically grow lettuce, tomatoes, and baby bok choy, but I’ve also experimented with sweet peas (too much vine and not enough peas), dwarf eggplants (they do better outside), and Swiss chard (nobody at my house would eat it). I also enjoy skiing and scuba diving, and my husband and I LOVE to make homemade pasta.

Conclusion

Thank you, Dianne, for a fantastic insight into your writer’s life and The Carrefour Curse. How can one not want to read a book with a tagline like, The Addams Family meets The Westing Game? The entire MUF family wishes much success for the book and for you. Personally, I can’t wait to read the next one.

For more information on The Carrefour Curse and Holiday House Books, check out the following links.

The Carrefour Curse Book Page @ Holiday House Books

Holiday House Books Socials

Interview with Middle Grade Author Beth McMullen

By Lisa Schmid on March 6, 2023 / Author Interviews, MUF Contributor Books, New Releases

It’s a special day here at The Mixed Up Files when one of our own has a new book coming out. Yay! Time to celebrate Beth McMullen’s latest novel SECRET OF THE STORM: LAND OF DRAGONS—Out tomorrow!

Lisa: Tell us about Secret of The Storm: Land of Dragons

Beth: I find writing sequels a challenge, sometimes in a good way and sometimes not! But I love these characters so much, especially the relationship between Cassie and Albert, that I was excited to go back to their world. The way we love our animal companions is uncomplicated and beautiful and wanted to grow that in the second book. I also gave it an ending that is shocking even to me!

Lisa: Did you hide any Easter Eggs that only a few people will find?

Beth: If you’ve read my other middle grade series you were certainly see some cross over. As a reader, I love being rewarded by easter eggs (Stephen King is a master at this!) because it makes me feel like I’m in on a private joke. And that’s pretty fun.

Lisa: What is your writing Kryptonite?

Beth: Oh boy, just one??? Fatigue is probably the big one. If I’m exhausted my attention turns into a cloud that just floats right away at the slightest breeze. But knowing this helps me turn off the light and go to sleep at a reasonable hour because I hate losing a day because I can’t keep my eyes open.

Lisa: If you could tell your younger writing self, anything, what would it be?

Beth: It’s a marathon, not a sprint! Honestly, people who make it in this profession (and ‘making it’ has many definitions) are the ones who stay and don’t quit and persevere. If you can’t take the occasional kick in the teeth, this might not be the profession for you.

Lisa: Which scene was the hardest to write, and why?

Beth: The shocking ending that I talked about in question one! I wrote it and then thought ‘no way.’ It was too much. So I rewrote it a few times but none of those drafts worked and I ended up where I began.

Lisa: Which of the characters do you relate to the most and why?

Beth: The dragon. Kidding. I love how Cassie faces the challenges in her life and doesn’t completely go to pieces. And I was really happy with the angles in Cassie and Joe’s friendship. They are not the obvious choice for each other but it works.

Lisa: If you could spend a day with another author, dead or alive, who would you choose?

Beth: Stephen King. Yeah. Huge fan. I don’t think he gets enough credit for creating regular relatable people with such apparent ease. I’d love to wander around in his head for bit.

Lisa: What are you working on now?

Beth: I’m working on a novel for adult readers that I absolutely love. I’m having way too much fun!

Lisa: Last, but most important-What is your favorite podcast?

Beth: Writers with Wrinkles. Those ladies are so funny and informative! If you haven’t listened, download it right away. You don’t want to miss out on this one!

Beth McMullen is the author of the Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls (Aladdin/S&S) series as well as the Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter (Aladdin/S&S) series. Her third middle grade series, Secret Of The Storm arrived in March 2021 with the second installment out March 7th, 2023. Beth lives in Northern California with her husband, kids, cats and a very tolerant parakeet named Zeus.

You can reach her on FaceBook/Instagram @BethMcMullenBooks and on Twitter at @bvam. Visit BethMcMullenBooks.com to email or for more information.

New Releases

New April Books for Middle-Grade Readers!

Like this: