Last week I showed you the tales that are already out that I can't wait to read; this week is for the new stuff. And hooboy, this one's going to be a big one. I've always got a long list of fairy tales, retellings, and "-esques" that I want to get my hands on, and it seems that publishers are determined to bankrupt me this year...there are a lot of good ones coming out! Here they are, in order of publication:
Catherynne M. Valente
Expected Publication: May 10th, 2011
Feiwel & Friends
Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.
With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.
Sarah Porter
Expected Publication: July 4th, 2011
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Books
What happens to the girls nobody sees—the ones who are ignored, mistreated, hidden away? The girls nobody hears when they cry for help?Fourteen-year-old Luce is one of those lost girls. After her father vanishes in a storm at sea, she is stuck in a grim, gray Alaskan fishing village with her alcoholic uncle. When her uncle crosses an unspeakable line, Luce reaches the depths of despair. Abandoned on the cliffs near her home, she expects to die when she tumbles to the icy, churning waves below. Instead, she undergoes an astonishing transformation and becomes a mermaid.
A tribe of mermaids finds Luce and welcomes her in—all of them, like her, lost girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. The mermaids are beautiful, free, and ageless, and Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: they feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks.
Luce’s own talent at singing captures the attention of the tribe’s queen, the fierce and elegant Catarina, and Luce soon finds herself pressured to join in committing mass murder. Luce’s struggle to retain her inner humanity puts her at odds with her friends; even worse, Catarina seems to regard Luce as a potential rival. But the appearance of a devious new mermaid brings a real threat to Catarina’s leadership and endangers the very existence of the tribe. Can Luce find the courage to challenge the newcomer, even at the risk of becoming rejected and alone once again?
Lost Voices is a captivating and wildly original tale about finding a voice, the healing power of friendship, and the strength it takes to forgive.
Victoria Schwab
Expected Publication: August 2nd, 2011
Hyperion Books
The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.
And there are no strangers in the town of Near.
These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.
But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.
The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.
As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.
Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.
Jackson Pearce
Expected Publication: August 23, 2011
Little, Brown
Twelve years ago, Gretchen, her twin sister, and her brother went looking for a witch in the forest. They found something. Maybe it was a witch, maybe a monster, they aren’t sure—they were running too fast to tell. Either way, Gretchen’s twin sister was never seen again.Years later, after being thrown out of their house, Gretchen and Ansel find themselves in Live Oak, South Carolina, a place on the verge of becoming a ghost town. They move in with Sophia Kelly, a young and beautiful chocolatier owner who opens not only her home, but her heart to Gretchen and Ansel.
Yet the witch isn’t gone—it’s here, lurking in the forests of Live Oak, preying on Live Oak girls every year after Sophia Kelly’s infamous chocolate festival. But Gretchen is determined to stop running from witches in the forest, and start fighting back. Alongside Samuel Reynolds, a boy as quick with a gun as he is a sarcastic remark, Gretchen digs deeper into the mystery of not only what the witch is, but how it chooses its victims. Yet the further she investigates, the more she
finds herself wondering who the real monster is, and if love can be as deadly as it is beautiful.
Merrie Haskell
Expected publication: September 6, 2011
Harper Collins
A retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses", in which an herbalist's apprentice in 15th century Romania attempts to break a curse and instead discovers a door to the Underworld.
Anne Ursu
Expected publication: September 27, 2011
Walden Pond Press (Harper Collins)
Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. But that was before he stopped talking to her and disappeared into a forest wth a mysterious woman made of ice. Now it's up to Hazel to go after him. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," BREADCRUMBS is a story of the struggle to hold on, and the things we leave behind.
Jessica Day George
Expected publication: October 11, 2011
Bloomsbury
Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celie’s favorite days. That’s because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one—other than Celie, that is—takes time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and their fate is unknown, it’s up to Celie, with her secret knowledge of the castle’s never-ending twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom. This delightful book from a fan—and bookseller—favorite kicks off a brand new series that is sure to become a modern classic.
Jaclyn Dolamore
Expected Publication: October 25, 2011
Bloomsbury
For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren--the highest calling a mermaid can have. Then Dosinia runs away to the mainland, and Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood--a dashing young man named Alandare, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alandare band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship . . . and ignite the emotions for a love so great it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air.
Don't these all look and sound beyond awesome? I can't wait for them!
What's on your wishlist?
I agree on most of these. I hadn't seen Breadcrumbs before.
ReplyDeleteThe Near Witch sounds very good, as does Sweetly. Not many retellings of Hansel and Gretel, I think, though I've always found it creepy beyond belief and thought that would be fuel enough. My sister just got her other book, Sisters Red, and I'm planning on borrowing it soon (she just doesn't know it yet). Nice list!
ReplyDeleteOooh, I hadn't heard of Breadcrumbs before but I quite like the soft, muted colors giving it a mystical feel.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read all of them (my computer is too slow) but I would love to read Tuesdays at the Castle!
ReplyDeleteI'm all about the cozy today, my list is here
I want all of these so badly! I'm especially coveting The Girl Who Circumnavigated, Sweetly, Breadcrumbs, The Near Witch and Between the Sea and Sky. Awesome choices!
ReplyDelete