new release

Stoked for This: September 2025

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A TWENTY-ONE (yes 2-1) item list coming your way with amazing titles being released in September. We’ve got a pull as your heartstrings novel about people’s relationships with dogs, a little pocket bear who’s the unofficial mayor of a home for refurbish plush toys, a novel and a nonfiction book written by Indigenous authors, there’s werewolves, there’s witches, there’s time travel portals, we’ve also got a travelogue of one’s author’s favorite cemeteries.

If you can’t find one thing on this list that sounds good – what are we missing??

September 2, 2025

From the best selling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed (aka one of my favorite Indigenous authors) comes a new young adult about a foster teen claiming her heritage on her own terms.

Sisters in the Wind

By: Angeline Boulley

A middle grade book that’s sure to rip my heart out about the powerful relationship that can happen between dogs and humans.

Forever Ripley

By: McCall Hoyle

A young adult book about the only survivor of a massacre twelve years ago, who is now being hunted by urban legend cultists who believe that on her 17th birthday, she’ll open a portal to hell and user in the apocalypse.

The Deep Well

By: Laura Creedle

A novella (128 pages), where scholars must construct an ancient city from scratch to please their new dictator, Gyges, who needs the justification for his next invasion.

Making History

By: K.J. Parker

September 9, 2025

A book I kept religiously checking for ARCs for online because it’s not only by one of my favorite children’s authors (Katherine Applegate), but it’s also about a Pocket Bear from WWI who serves as the unofficial mayor of Second Changes Home for the Tossed and Treasured – where stuffed toys are refurbished and given a fresh opportunity to be loved.

Pocket Bear

By: Katherine Applegate

A fantasy (with some horror) book where paintings hold curses and powers.

The Macabre

By: Kosoko Jackson

A middle grade novel about three generations of Black girls connected through a wormhole in their school locker.

Candace, the Universe, and Everything

By: Sherri L. Smith

September 16, 2025

A new take on werewolves anybody?

American Werewolves

By: Emily Jane

A look into works of history, science, memoir, and fiction written by Indigenous authors.

Bad Indians Book Club: Reading at the Edge of a Thousand Worlds

By: Patty Krawec

A novel with institutional menace with triple boys who only want to sent to the Big House in Margate.

The Book of Guilt

By: Catherine Chidgey

A young adult novel about the longing to be loved while living with a mind that tells you otherwise.

The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar

By: Sonora Reyes

When the lights come back, the king is dead – murdered with the princess’s knife, in a weak spot only his guards know of, and dipped with venom from one of the beast tamer’s monsters – the unlikely group in his chambers make a pack to not tell a soul the king is dead until the treaty is signed. But then a winter storm seals everyone inside and the person who killed the king, begins killed off guests one by one…

I Killed the King

By: Rebecca Mix & Andrea Hannah

September 23, 2025

It’s the sequel to “Book of Night”!! Charlie is good enough to steal a shadow, but is she good enough to steal a heart?

Thief of Night

By: Holly Black

A companion piece to another of my favorite books, “My Father, the Panda Killer”, told in dual POV that follows a teenage son searching for information about his absent mother, and the mother as she struggles with grief and longing and the battle of the decision to leave her children.

My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser

By: Jamie Jo Hoang

Okay, I’m just going to give the pitch of “Twilight” meets “Teen Wolf” and let y’all decide 🙂

Moonsick

By: Tom O’Donnell

September 30, 2025

Oh, just a history about how the patriarchy used the accusation of witchcraft to both weaponized fear and silence women.

How to Kill a Witch: A Guide for the Patriarchy

By: Zoe Venditozzi & Claire Mitchell

A graphic memoir about the author’s father’s life during the Cuban Revolution and his family’s escape to America.

How to Say Goodbye in Cuban

By: Daniel Miyares

A travelogue about the author’s favorite cemeteries around the world… a grave-a-logue.

Somebody is Walking on Your Grave: My Cemetery Journeys

By: Mariana Enriquez

Oh, this a deeply researched novella (144 pages) that’s based on a series of real witchcraft trials that took place in Northern Jutland in the seventeenth century.

The Wax Child

By: Olga Ravn

A YA about lost sisters, female rage, and the drive to find out the secrets in order to survive.

Seven for a Secret

By: Mary E. Roach

Another novella (176 pages) about two daughters of opposing clans falling in love and how they want to be together, but also to be loyal to their clans.

Fate’s Bane

By: C.L. Clark

Stoked for This: August 2025

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Robots starting a noodle shop, a cat who runs around the cosmos in his homemade space craft, a library where books are filled with passed one’s memories that the government is now destroying for their own benefit, and a little ghost who, instead of a sheet, is a quilt and finds the joys of winter celebrations are just some of the awesome titles coming out this month!

Which of these covers catches your eye??

August 5, 2025

A novella about leftover robots opening their own noodle shop.
Maybe I’ve got a soft spot for robots after “In the Lives of Puppets” by TJ Klune, but robots and a noodle shop?! Yesss.

Automatic Noodle

By: Annalee Newitz

Birdie was a thirteen-year-old model under modeling agent Harriet Goldman – but after two years, she met a thirty-one-year-old rock star and her life changed. Now, thirty years later, Birdie is invited to celebrate Harriet’s fifty-year career, but Birdie has been avoiding her past for years. Now, she must face it if she wants to make her own future.

The Cover Girl: A Novel

By: Amy Rossi

August 12, 2025

Nimmi has wanted to see her mother in Sri Lanka, but her overprotective father has always refused. After her father gets an assignment in Sri Lanka and Nimmi sneaks onboard the plane, it’s a little too late to say no. But it’s Christmas 2004, and the tsunami hits Sri Lanka. Now, came Nimmi still reunite with her mother, even amidst the devastation?

Tall Water

By: SJ Sindu

Periwinkle is no ordinary pampered house pet. By day, he’s spoiled with scratches, cuddles, and delicious snacks. By night, he races through the cosmos in his custom-built space ship. This graphic novel has beautiful artwork from Tana Ford and is perfect for cat lovers out there.

The Space Cat

By: Nnedi Okorafor

August 26, 2025

Okay, this one has a library, the Time Space, that holds the memories of those who have passed, and it’s only accessed by these special watches. Lisavet basically grows up here and she finds out that government officials are coming into the library and destroying books so the past fits their personal narratives of what they wanted to happen. But when Lisavet meets American spy Ernest Duquesne and sets her on the course to change history and possible time space itself. In 1965, sixteen-year-old Amelia is mourning the disappearance of her Uncle Ernest when a CIA agents enlists her for help. When Amelia steps into the Time Space for the first time, she realizes time is not a linear as she once thought.

The Book of Lost Hours

By: Hayley Gelfuso

A little ghost quilt discovers the holiday of winter in this adorable Children’s book.

The Little Ghost Quilt’s Winter Surprise

By: Riel Nason

Illustrated by: Bryon Eggenschwiler

Set in a drive-in restaurant that exists in every Native community, this anthology celebrates Native joy with stories and poems of hope, healing, love, romance, friendship, and joy.

Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories

Stoked for This: July 2025

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This month has a few witches and a lot of mysteries/thriller vibes. For someone who loves true crime, you would think I would read more mystery/thrillers in my day to day reading… maybe this is my call to do so; when most of my books are hitting that genre. Some published authors have some new titles, including Holly Jackson with her first novel for adults, and a couple of debut releases.

July 1, 2025

This is said to be “Clap When You Land” meets “Monday’s Not Coming”. Told between two timelines, 2024 and 2006 as one teen searches for her biological mother and the other copes with giving up her baby.

This Book Might Be About Zinnia

By: Brittney Morris

After a student is killed in the fire that consumed the high school, five teens hold a piece of the truth as to what happened to Eden.

After We Burned

By: Marieke Nijkamp

July 15, 2025

A historical fiction with a witch on a journey to find a book of unspeakable powers before it can land in the hands of Nazis.

A Resistance of Witches

By: Morgan Ryan

A cozy fantasy romance about a witch who was turned into a wooden statue after breaking the law, but yet one day wakes in the dead of winter on a nearly-deserted island. She meets the gardener who maintains the greenhouses, but finds out the greenhouses magic keeping them alive is failing and she must help. (also there’s a cat with wings on the cover and I’m a sucker for cats on covers)

The Enchanted Greenhouse

By: Sarah Beth Durst

July 22, 2025

Three Jewish sisters navigate dating, ambition, and young womanhood in their Brooklyn community as they seek to find their place within not only their neighborhood, but with themselves.

Sisters of Fortune

By: Ester Chehebar

In seven days Jet Mason will be dead from a brain aneurysm brought on by a violent attack. As her condition deteriorates, she only has her best friend Billy for help but she is determined to solve her own murder.

Not Quite Dead Yet

By: Holly Jackson

July 29, 2025

First off – this was marketing for fans of “Under the Whispering Door” by TJ Klune and we all know I love him… but this one is about a lighthouse for the dead of Chicago to go to, reckon with their lives, and then step on the boat to go beyond. One day, the lighthouse starts flickering and a living person has found her way onto the boat after she followed a song. Nera, the daughter of the ferryman, tries to help Charlie find the person she lost.

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World

By: J.R. Dawson

A collection of witty, imaginative stories that blend humor and reflections on everyday life’s absurdities.

An Oral History of Atlantis: Stories

By: Ed Park

Stoked for This: June 2025

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Dunno why I felt like this month had less than previous when it has the exact same Stoked for This titles as May, but regardless, 12 titles is still a decent amount! One in particular is only an audiobook, but it’s a full production and I can’t wait for y’all to hear it (I’ve heard some previews of it and it’s FANTASTIC).

June 3, 3035

An audiobook original by one of my favorite YA authors, Jason Reynolds. This is to have a full cast, original music, and I watched an interview with Reynolds and the two Audio producers, Dan Zitt and Brian Ramcharan and it sounds SO GOOD!!

Soundtrack

By: Jason Reynolds

The interview can be watched here

A novel in verse (y’all know how much I love those) about a neurodivergent seventh grader who dreams of going to space.

The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez

By: Jasminne Paulino

A YA novel in verse (I can’t help myself) that’s a coming of age about a young Black girl discovering first love and the power of a good skate. As someone who is getting into outdoor roller skating (even as a 33 year old), I’m quite excited to have that connection in this book.

Under the Neon Lights

By: Arriel Vinson

Okay, so this one is supposedly for fans of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, “You’ve Reached Sam”, “They Both Die at the End” and Tiffany D. Jackson. Jackson is an author I will read anything of, so if someone is comparing a book or offering a book up as a read-a-like for her, I will give it a shot! This one is going to be tough – about suicide, addiction, and hard truth.

Your Final Moments

By: Jay Coles

June 10, 2025

Sixteen-year-old Mia is stranded in the middle of the Caribbean. On purpose. After a crazy accident in the school’s cafeteria, Mia’s parents decide the only way to deal with her is to move her onto a batter sailboat and leave everything behind. Her life is falling apart and she’s not exactly sure who she is and what she wants.

The Uncertainty Principle

By: Joshua Davis & Kal Kini-Davis

A graphic novel with a non-binary teen on a road trip with their mom who just doesn’t seem to understand. When a wrong turn leads the duo into the Realm of Spirits, they must work together in order to find their way out.

Love, Misha

By: Askel Aden

A graphic memoir about coming of age in the time when Poland as a country transitions from communism to capitalism.

Breadcrumbs: Coming of Age in Post-Soviet Poland

By: Kasia Babis

As someone who has been watching through Law & Order: SVU with her partner for the first time, this novel about a forensic team that’s investigating the murder of a child that ends up possibly being an international coverup just screams to be something I may like. It’s also only 176 pages, so I feel like this would be a perfect afternoon read.

Not Long Ago Persons Found

By: J. Richard Osborn

June 17, 2025

So apparently this is book is the first English translation of the romantic tragedy that inspired a popular TV series in China. I honestly don’t know much about it but the fact that I’ll probably be broken after reading it…

Goodbye, My Princess

By: Fei Wo Si Cun

And just a young adult novel set in the 1960s with two sisters from a struggling, damaged family who reply on each other to survive. That is until an ugly secret tears them apart.

The Grove

By: Brooks Whitney Phillips

A middle grade novel about a young girl who just wants to skateboard and stay in one place, but her influencer, nomadic parents want to get back on the road as soon as their bus is fixed. Lindy is willing to do anything to stay in San Jose – even if that means sabotage.

Kickturn

By: Brie Spangler

A feel good Korean best seller about a convenience store and the community around it.

The Second Chance Convenience Store

By: Kim Ho-Yeon

Stoked for This: May

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May 6, 2025

All I really needed to know about this myself was the author: Fredrik Backman. No other author has been able to write the way he does about the human experience that has yet to hit as hard as his word do (at least to me). Even the most mundane things forms a connection and makes me feel seen. Anywho, this is his latest book.

My Friends

By: Fredrik Backman

A graphic novel filled with magic, hidden truths, and self-discovery.

Espada: The Will of the Blade

By: Anabel Colazo

I’m honestly not sure if I’m as excited for this one or more curious to see where it goes. The first book in the series was just “okay” for me, but other readers have given it high praise. I’m just wondering what in the world is going to happen.

Snowglobe 2

By: Soyoung Park

Translated By: Joungmin Lee Comfort

May 13. 2025

Yet another water world apocalyptic novel, this time in flooded San Francisco with a caregiver and her 130-year-old woman she cares for.

Awake in the Floating City

By: Susanna Kwan

Middle grade ghost story set in the 1960’s during summer camp with creepy woods and mysterious music.

The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall

By: Charis Cotter

A young readers adaptation of “An Immense World” that I read for a gust book group facilitator last year. That book took me some time to read, but I enjoyed all the connections I made with it. I mostly want to flip through this and see the photos 🙂

An Immense World (Young Readers Edition)

By: Ed Yong

After a super storm wipes out an important bridge from her remote town, Addy must ask for help from others (something she hasn’t done in a long time) in order to get to her summer camp she’s been waiting to go to.

Into the Rapids

By: Ann Braden

May 20, 2025

This one teased that it combines “Under the Whispering Door” (TJ Klune) with the high-stakes culinary world of “Sweetbitter” (Stephanie Danler). You all know I love me some TJ Klune, so of course I want to check this one out. This also has a premise of eating a meal one last time with someone you lost, and like, I may cry?!

After Taste

By: Daria Lavelle

Jonathan Van Ness and Julie Murphy team up in this New Adult novel about a gender-nonconforming eighteen-year-old testing their wings in the big city with a ghost of a drag performer from the fifties.

Let Them Stare

By: Jonathan Van Ness & Julie Murphy

May 27, 202

In this upper middle grade novel, Leta struggles with food insecurity. Her mom is already working two jobs and has a hard enough time keeping food on the table, so they end up with a lot of fast food. Leta works hard to keep her top spot on the track team, but when she gets sidelined with an injury, she refuses to admit just how much pain she is in as she fights to not be forgettable.

The Unforgettable Leta “Lightning” Laurel

By: R.L. Toalson

This one may be a little out there but stick with me here. Twenty years ago, the members of a reclusive commune outside Philly vanish without a trace, leaving behind a twelve-year-old girl wandering around alone. When a stranger shows up at Lee’s door all these years later with “answers”, she must decide if the truth is worth shattering her life.

The Ascent

By: Allison Buccola

This is just a fun historical novel about a young woman writer defying societal norms in 1880s with not only her fictional worlds but her journalism. When on a job covering a brewing civil war in Chile Emilia finds herself in danger and at a crossroads, questioning both her identity and her destiny.

My Name is Emilia del Valle

By: Isabel Allende

One Good Thing / Georgia Hunter

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One Good Thing
By: Georgia Hunter
Genre: Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 432
Published: March 4, 2025
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Dates Read: March 27, 2025 - April 8, 2025
Format: ARC / Paperback

In 1941 Italy, best friends Lili and Esti are as close as sisters, especially after Esti’s son Theo is born. But then the war knocks on Italy’s doors and Mussolini’s Racial Laws have deemed Lili and Esti descendants of an “inferior” Jewish race.

The two women and Theo first flee to a villa in the countryside to help hide a group of young war orphans, then to a convent in Florence, where they pose as nuns and forge false identification papers for the Italian Underground. When the convent is raided, Esti ends up wounded and asks Lili to take Theo and run; to protect him.

Even though she’s terrified of traveling on her own, Lili heads south towards the Allied territory, travelling through Nazi-occupied villages, bombed out cities, and wide open fields, doing everything she can to keep Theo safe while they wait for both the war to end and to be reunited with Esti.

So, I feel like quite a few people who read We Were the Lucky Ones and immediately wanted this new novel from Georgia Hunter, so of course I asked for an ARC of it as soon as I saw it. As with the previous novel, Hunter did a fantastic job at crafting characters who were relatable and endearing. I felt like I was reading a letter from a friend as I followed Lili’s journey.

As I’ve come to slowly learn over the years, no matter how many WWII historical fiction novels I read, I’m constantly learning more and more about different parts of Europe and different experiences through every book. I’ve known Italy started off on the Axis side and then effectively switched sides after the Allied invasion, but I didn’t realize the treatment of Jews during this time.

Overall, an amazing character enriched historical fiction about one woman’s endurance during the WWII in Italy as she does everything to protect her best friend’s son.

*Thank you Pamela Dorman Books and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Please Pay Attention / Jamie Sumner

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Please Pay Attention
By: Jamie Sumner
Genre: Middle Grade, Novel in Verse
Number of Pages: 240
Published: April 15, 2025
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: March 15, 2025
Format: ARC / Paperback

Trigger Warning: school shooting, PTSD, grief

After a school shooting took the lives of some of her schoolmates and her teacher, Bea Coughlin must figure out how to grieve, live, and keep rolling forward. But as her community begins to rally and protest, Bea can’t get past the helplessness she felt in her wheelchair as others around her took cover.

When her foster mom signs her up for therapeutic horseback riding, Bea finally begins to feel like herself. As she begins to heal, she finds her voice and the courage to demand change.

In a way, books about school shootings make me so sad because it’s become almost a norm for children, especially in America, and to think that someone reading this book may very well feel seen is a bit bittersweet in a way. I wish we didn’t need a book like this, but I’m also glad that we had one. 

Besides the overall storyline of the school shooting, this book really focuses on Bea feeling helpless in a situation she had no control over and how with the help from her family, and a horse, she was able to get her power back.

Overall, this book is worth the read for younger students to feel seen and to help those maybe overcome the tragedy of being in a school shooting. This would also be great for adults to read to understand what the younger generation is going through just to get an education.

*Thank you Atheneum Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Stoked For This: March 2025

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So this month is really gearing up for Poetry Month (April). Why? Because there are quite a few novel-in-verse books I’m stoked to be coming out! For a girlie who doesn’t really care too much for poetry itself, I will devour novel-in-verse books one after another. What are y’alls feelings towards Novel-in-Verses? Have you read them yet? What’s been your favorite??

Oh! – There’s also a new release from Georgia Hunter, an author I really enjoyed reading last year – I actually started it yesterday and so far so good!

March 4, 2025

A middle grade novel about 13-year-old Mo and his father’s fits of rage. This novel explores the impact of mental health on families.

The Strongest Heart

By: Saadia Faruqi

Author of “We Were the Lucky Ones” returns with the story of two friends during war torn Italy in the 1940’s and what they will do to not only survive, but to protect those they love.

One Good Thing

By: Georgia Hunter

This witchy romantasy where Charmed meets Gilmore Girls.

Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things

By: Breanne Randall

The newest graphic novel from K. O’Neill – that’s all I should really have to say! But, for just a tiny bit more: A ranger always protects, but what if they fail and get someone hurt?

A Song for You & I

By: K. O’Neill

March 11, 2025

A middle grade novel-in-verse that follows J, a young transgender from fifth grade to seventh grade as they use the video game, Coaster Boss, to help with their ADHD, isolation, and their relationship with their gender.

Glitch Girl!

By: Rainie Oet

March 18, 2025

After getting a tarot card reading from her best friend for her birthday, Camila struggles with the fear of the future.

Camila Núñez’s Year of Disasters

By: Miriam Zoila Perez

March 25, 2025

Told through the narration of the last residential building on its street – yes, the building known as the Odenburgh – works together with 12-year-old tenant, Prue to save the building from being demolished.

Once for Yes

By: Allie Millington

A novel-in-verse novel about Pearl as she struggles with depression as she tries to adjust to the fifth grade.

Octopus Moon

By: Bobbie Pyron

A Young Adult novel-in-verse about Diego and his best friend Lawson as the lines of loyalty are tested between them.

When We Ride

By: Rex Ogle

Stoked For This: February 2025

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Alright, alright, I know I’m late again! This time, it really was NOT my fault, I tried to get this done last night and my oldest cat, Mushi, was not having it. She was smacking at my iPad’s screen, which kept reacting to her little kitty paws – and every time I tried to type anything, she’d start smacking my hands! I don’t know what she had against me finishing it this, but she was on one!

This month there’s seventeen titles I’m stoked to be released, two of which I’ve already read and reviewed 🙂 There’s quite a few novel in verse titles as well as some silly ones (three novels deal with aliens in someway form or another).

Are you excited for any of these titles??

February 4, 2025

A sci-fi where two men protect a special little girl at all cost – written by one of my favorite authors of all time.

The Bones Beneath My Skin

By: TJ Klune

*This was my first book of 2025 and I absolutely loved it!! Read my review here 🙂

An anthology about the “The Event” – the night the runaway alien posing as Hollywood star, Max Spencer’s rescue turns into an unintentional invasion. 

Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology

Edited By: Rosiee Thor and Vania Stoyanova

A historical fiction meets mystery in both multi-POV and multi-timeline (1940s & 1980s Germany and 2020 New York) YA filled with rebellion and sacrifices.

Under the Same Stars

By: Libba Bray

In this newly Japanese translated novel, a restaurant’s resident cat will transport you back in time to reunite with a departed loved one. Cue the tears and the tissues.

The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen

By: Yuta Takahashi

An action-packed, unflinching examination of the impacts of transphobia adventure intertwined with elements of Jewish mythology. 

A World Worth Saving

By: Kyle Lukoff

A memoir about the love of reading and writing and the relationship between the books that shaped us – aka a book I’m probably going to see myself in within so many pages.

Bibliophobia

By: Sarah Chihaya

February 11, 2025

A novel in verse about a young girl finding her way back after a life changing accident.

It’s All or Nothing, Vale

By: Andrea Beatriz Arango

A novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore with inherited magic and the price we pay for the life we desire.

(S)Kin

By: Ibi Zoboi

Gothic horror novella with sapphic monster romance – only 160 pages!!

But Not Too Bold

By: Hache Pueyo

A companion novel to the ah-mazing novel in verse, Alone, where we’re following kids from their homes into the evacuation camp.

Away

By: Megan E. Freeman

*This was my second book of 2025, you can read my steller review here.

A novel with neurodivergent characters, quirky friendships that explores identity, belonging, and the wonder of being different.

Life Hacks for a Little Alien

By: Alice Franklin

February 18, 2025

A book for nature lovers to meditate on the impact trees have on our lives.

Treenotes: A Year in the Company of Trees

By: Nalini Nadkarni

This book needs no other introduction other than it’s title: I Got Abducted By Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com

I Got Abducted By Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com

By: Kimberly Lemming

A historical novel that follows a homeless teenage girl as she struggles to survive during the Great Depression.

A Tiny Piece of Blue

By: Charlotte Whitney

A young adult debut novel about a young woman’s journey to heal from the trauma of trying “to be fixed”.

I Am the Cage

By: Allison Sweet Grant

With elements from The Little Mermaid and Cinderella, this historical fantasy is about one young woman’s love for the sea.

Upon a Starlit Tide

By: Kell Woods

February 25, 2025

A lake monster bands together with a human after the witch is thrown into her lake by her village.

Greenteeth

By: Molly O’Neill

Away / Megan E. Freeman

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Away
By: Megan E. Freeman
Genre: Middle Grade, Novel in Verse
Number of Pages: 480
Published: February 11, 2025
Publisher: Aladdin
Dates Read: January 19, 2025 - January 20, 2025
Format: ARC / Paperback

Told in multiple POVS with a mixture of novel in verse, movie script, production diary, letters, and newspaper articles, this companion novel to Alone, Away follows a group of kids who were placed in the same evacuation camp after the imminent yet unnamed danger that forced them out of their home. When the group of kids has an aspiring filmmaker and a budding journalist, they begin to dig into the reasoning as to why their world was turned upside down.

As they begin to investigate, they start to discover there’s more of a cover-up operation going on than there is an actual immediate threat. Can the group get to the root of the conspiracy and tell the adults in a way they’ll be believed before it’s too late?

I absolutely adored Alone when I read it back in 2023, so I immediately tried to get my hands on Away as soon as I could. This novel is not a full novel in verse but jumps around between different styles depending on which character it’s focusing on at the moment – though Grandin and Ashantae’s are in verse, Teddy’s is written in movie script or production diary, and Harmony writes letters to her Aunt and essays in new reports.

I think this fast paced story would be fun for middle school readers, especially those who like to prove kids can be just as absorbent, if not more, than adults. The charge to question what is really going on begins with the kids and they’re the ones who shine the light on it in order for the adults to finally see what’s happening.

Are some of the scenarios in this unrealistic? Yes, but it didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying it as I’m sure many others will.

You don’t have to have read Alone in order to understand what is happening in this novel as it is a companion novel and not a sequel.

*Thank you Aladdin and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review