Children’s Fiction/Non-fiction

Bringing Back the Wolves: How a Predator Restored An Ecosystem – Jude Isabella and Kim Smith (ill) – Kids Can Press – Published 3 March 2020

In the 1800s, hunters were paid by the American government to eliminate threats to livestock on cattle ranches near Yellowstone National Park. They did such a good job that, by 1926, no gray wolf packs were left in the park. Over the following decades, virtually every other part of the park’s ecosystem was affected by the loss of the wolves — from the animals who were their prey, to the plants that were the food for that prey, to the streams that were sheltered by those plants — and the landscape was in distress. So, starting in 1995, in an attempt to reverse course, the government reintroduced gray wolves to the park. Over time, animal populations stabilized, waterways were restored and a healthy ecosystem was recreated across the land. It’s a striking transformation, and a fascinating tale of life’s complicated interdependencies.

Children’s non-fiction – Animals, environment

The Lost Lands – Jessica Khoury – Rise of the Dragons #2 – Scholastic Press – Published 3 March 2020

Sirin, Allie, and Joss have joined forces with the legendary silver dragon Lysander, the only creature capable of opening portals between the two worlds. But the powerful Lennix clan is following the children’s every move and will stop at nothing to capture Lysander. After generations of plotting, the Lennixes —and their bloodthirsty dragon allies, the Raptors — are terrifyingly close to establishing a brutal dragon regime on Earth, just like they did centuries ago.

Children’s fiction – Fantasy

Young Adult Fiction

Moment of Truth – Kasie West – Egmont USA – Published 3 March 2020

At sixteen, Hadley Moore knows exactly who she is—a swimmer who will earn a scholarship to college. Totally worth all the hard work, even if her aching shoulders don’t agree. So when a guy dressed as Hollywood’s latest action hero, Heath Hall, crashes her swim meet, she isn’t amused. Instead, she’s determined to make sure he doesn’t bother her again. Only she’s not sure exactly who he is.

Young adult fiction: Contemporary.

The June Boys – Court Stevens (AKA Courtney C. Stevens) – Thomas Nelson – Published 3 March 2020

The Gemini Thief could be anyone. Your father, your mother, your best friend’s crazy uncle. Some country music star’s deranged sister. Anyone.

The Gemini Thief is a serial kidnapper, who takes three boys and holds them captive from June 1st to June 30th of the following year. The June Boys endure thirteen months of being stolen, hidden, observed, and fed before they are released, unharmed, by their masked captor. The Thief is a pro, having eluded authorities for nearly a decade and taken at least twelve boys.

Now Thea Delacroix has reason to believe the Gemini Thief took a thirteenth victim: her cousin, Aulus McClaghen.

Young adult fiction: Mystery/Thriller

If These Wings Could Fly – Kyrie McCauley – Harper Collins – Published 3 March 2020

Tens of thousands of crows invading Auburn, Pennsylvania, is a problem for everyone in town except seventeen-year-old Leighton Barnes. For Leighton, it’s no stranger than her house, which inexplicably repairs itself every time her father loses his temper and breaks things.

Leighton doesn’t have time for the crows–it’s her senior year, and acceptance to her dream college is finally within reach. But grabbing that lifeline means abandoning her sisters, a choice she’s not ready to face.

Young adult fiction: Contemporary/Paranormal

Wicked As You Wish – Rin Chupeco – A Hundred Names for Magic #1 – Sourcebooks Fire – Published 3 March 2020

Tala Warnock has little use for magic – as a descendant of Maria Makiling, the legendary Filipina heroine, she negates spells, often by accident. But her family’s old ties to the country of Avalon (frozen, bespelled, and unreachable for almost 12 years) soon finds them guarding its last prince from those who would use his kingdom’s magic for insidious ends.

Young adult fiction: Fantasy

Be Not Far From Me – Mindy McGinnis – Katherine Tegen Books – Published 3 March 2020

Ashley knows how to survive. Unlike her friends, she knows what it is like to go hungry, hunt for her food, and heal injuries without trips to the doctors. Walking through the woods gives her freedom. When Ashley and a group of her classmates hold a party in the woods, she has a bad feeling. But nothing could prepare her for seeing her boyfriend in the arms of another girl. Drunk and upset, she runs. Separated from the group, injured and outside of the area she is familiar with, Ashley knows it will take everything she has to survive.

Young adult fiction – Adventure

Sparrow – Mary Cecilia Jackson – Tor Teen – Published 17 March 2020

Though Savannah Rose―Sparrow to her friends and family―is a gifted ballerina, her real talent is keeping secrets. Schooled in silence by her long-dead mother, Sparrow has always believed that her lifelong creed―“I’m not the kind of girl who tells”―will make her just like everyone else: Normal. Happy. Safe. But in the aftermath of a brutal assault by her seemingly perfect boyfriend Tristan, Sparrow must finally find the courage to confront the ghosts of her past, or lose herself forever….