This preview highlights titles to be published in May
05
My Shed, which has sold strongly.
Ele Fountain Fake
Pushkin, 19th, £7.99, pb, 9781782692904 In a near-future world, the failure of antibiotics has shifted society online. Searching for a solution to her sister’s illness, Jess discovers explosive truths about how manipulated reality has become. Timely and thought provoking.
Vashti Hardy, George Ermos (illus) Firesong Scholastic, 5th, £6.99, pb, 9780702312250 Long-buried family secrets are revealed as Arthur, Maudie and the Aurora gang travel to the Volcanic North. Expect a thrilling, explosive conclusion to the popular Brightstorm trilogy.
Larry Hayes How to Survive Time Travel Simon & Schuster, 26th, £7.99, pb, 9781471198366 Eliza and Johnnie’s parents have vanished and the siblings must travel back in time to Ancient Egypt to save them. A “hilarious, edge- of-your-seat” sequel to How to Survive Without Grown Ups.
Anthony Horowitz, Tony Ross (illus) Where Seagulls Dare Walker, 5th, £6.99, pb, 9781529501179 A brand new story in funny detective series The Diamond Brothers. Chapters one to six were released for free during the first Covid lockdown.
Picture book Rebecca Patterson
Four Bad Unicorns Andersen Press, 5th, £12.99, hb, 9781839131035
The series began life in the mid-1980s and remains popular.
Cath Howe The Insiders Nosy Crow, 5th, £7.99, pb, 978178006125 A close-knit group of friends decide to investi- gate when they discover that someone has been sleeping in their school. Expect a “hugely heart- warming” story of secrets, friendship and family.
Hodder, 26th, £7.99, pb, 9781444964868 Second in the series about a girl who can bring her drawings to life, creating a richly imagined fantasy world inspired by Hindu mythology.
Michael Mann Ghostcloud Hodder, 12th, £7.99, pb, 9781444959307 Luke shovels coal beneath a richly reimagined London, until he meets Alma, a ghost girl who can ride clouds through the night sky. A major launch for Hodder; “an imagina- tive, action-packed début”, said the Guardian.
Emily Kenny The Extraordinary Adventures of Alice Tonks Rock the Boat, 26th, £6.99, pb, 9780861542055 Alice has always found it hard to make friends, until she discovers an astonishing gift: she can talk to animals. From an autistic author, a boarding school adventure about friendship, neurodiversity and finding your voice.
Ross MacKenzie The Colour of Hope Andersen Press, 5th, £7.99, pb, 9781839132025 Years ago, the Emperor and his necromancer stole all the colour from the world. Now a miracle girl is born with the power to restore it. Expect a thrill- ing adventure of belong- ing, loss and friendship.
Sangu Mandanna Kiki Kallira Conquers a Curse
Priscilla Mante Charligh Green vs the Spotlight Puffin, 26th, £6.99, pb, 9780241482032 Second in the funny and inclusive Dream Team series, about football, friends and following your dreams. This features a neurodiverse character, drawing on the author’s own experiences.
Claribel A Ortega The Witchlings Scholastic, 5th, £12.99, hb, 9781338745528 Three aspiring witchlings must work together to complete an impos- sible task and gain their full powers. Expect spooky adventure and cosy friendships, says Scholastic, which pitches it for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers.
Jasmine Richards The Unmorrow Curse UClan, 5th, £7.99, pb, 9781912979882 When humanity is cursed
to repeat the same day over and over, two friends must awaken a world of myth and magic. Previously published as Secrets of Valhalla in the US in 2017, this is the first UK publication with a reworked text.
Eloise Smith Sister to a Star Chicken House, 5th, £6.99, pb, 9781912626717 Expect sibling rivalry, glamour and skulduggery in a compelling début following spirited twin sisters and their adven- tures in Hollywood.
was shortlisted for the Waterstones Prize.
Dean Atta Only on the Weekends Hodder, 12th, £7.99, pb, 9781444960563 Mack never thought he would find love, but now two boys want to be with him. A powerful queer love story told in verse, from the author of The Black Flamingo, which was shortlisted for the Waterstones, Carnegie and YA Book Prizes.
Nicki Thornton The Poisoned Pie Mystery Chicken House, 5th, £6.99, pb, 9781913696641 Oakmoss Hornbeam feels like the unluckiest boy in the world, until a mysterious black cat sets out to be his lucky charm. Second in the spin-off series from the Seth Seppi Mysteries.
Teen & YA
Samira Ahmed Hollow Fires Atom, 10th, £7.99, pb, 9780349003955 Aspiring teen journalist Safiya seeks to tell the whole truth about a murdered boy who was mistaken for a terrorist. I’ve not yet read this, but admired her début Internment, which
One to Watch
Frankie and her sister are playing their favourite unicorn game, until bossy friend Ada takes over and puts them all in unicorn prison. Drawing on her experience of growing up with a disabled sister, Patterson deftly handles the subject of childhood play and disability in
this unicorn-filled, laugh-out-loud picture book. I’ve long been a fan of Patterson and her well- observed childhood dynamics, particularly the excellent My Big Shouting Day, which won the Roald Dahl Funny Prize.
Fiction 9-12
Marcus Rashford & Alex Falase-Koya, Marta Kissi (illus) The Breakfast Club Adventures Macmillan, 26th, £6.99, pb, 9781529076622
Emily Barr Ghosted Penguin, 12th, £7.99, pb, 9780241481875 Ariel’s chance meeting with Joe reveals a connec- tion she has never felt before. But every time she returns to the place where they met, he has no idea who she is. A love story with a thrilling twist from the author of The One Memory of Flora Banks.
Sita Brahmachari, Natalie Sirett (illus) When Shadows Fall Stripes, 12th, £8.99, pb, 9781788954365 Can Kai’s childhood friends help him find the way back from a terrible loss? Told in verse and prose, a timely, empa- thetic story of disaffected youth and the importance of care and community. An Editor’s Choice in hardback.
Tracy Darnton Ready or Not Stripes, 12th, £8.99, pb, 9781788953313 Idyllic holidays at Creek House have always been the backdrop to Millie’s summers, until her best
friend goes missing. A year later, can she find out the truth? Gripping and tightly plotted, says the publisher.
Malcolm Duffy Read Between the Lines Zephyr, 12th, £12.99, hb, 9781800241701 Two very different boys, struggling with their new blended family, find they have more in common than they think in a modern tale exploring the challenges of dyslexia.
Kathleen Glasgow & Liz Lawson The Agathas Rock the Boat, 5th, £8.99, pb, 9780861544776 The most popular girl in school is dead and every- one is blaming the wrong guy in a twisty YA thriller pitched for fans of Karen McManus. Glasgow’s Girl in Pieces, heavily featured on BookTok, sold more than 28,000 copies through the TCM last year.
Joya Goffney Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl Hot Key, 3rd, £7.99, pb, 9781471411113 Monique is torn between life as a preacher’s daughter and her desire to further her relationship with her boyfriend. Rich, warm and thought- provoking, says the publisher. Goffney’s début Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry sold well last year.
Jessica Jung Bright Electric Monkey, 12th, £8.99, pb, 9780755500291 The sequel to 2020’s Shine, peeling back the curtain on the world of
One to Watch
The footballer and child food-poverty campaigner makes his fiction début with a middle-grade adventure about friendship, community, mystery and fun, written in collaboration with Falase-Koya, and with black and white
illustrations by Kissi. Inspired by Rashford’s own experiences growing up, the book will be promoted as part of the Marcus Rashford Breakfast Club, a marketing initiative to nurture a love of reading in children. His non-fiction title You Are a Champion was 2021’s bestselling children’s non-fiction title, and a follow-up will be issued this autumn.
TheBookseller.com
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