What's New? Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Hop on over there to ogle what other bloggers got this week.

For review: It started out a quiet week with just the first two books arriving early in the week. Thursday brought a thick package from my arc-fairy godmother at Candlewick. 

Henry and the Chalk Dragon by Jennifer Trafton. Illustrated by Benjamin Schipper. 220 p. Rabbit Room Press, April 4, 2017. 9780986381881.

Publisher synopsis: (from press release) A boy discovers that being a true artist means being brave-even when your art has a mind of its own.

In the town of Squashbuckle, just about anything can happen, and when eight-year-old Henry Penwhistle draws a might Chalk Dragon on his door, the dragon does what Henry least expects-it runs away. Now Henry's art is out in the world for everyone to see, and it's causing trouble for him and his schoolmates. To vanquish the beast, Henry must do more than catch his art-he has to let his imagination run wild. And that takes bravery.

Warren the 13th and the All-seeing Eye by Tania Del Rio. Illustrated by Will Staehle. 223 p. Quirk Books, NOvember, 2015. 9781594748035.

Publisher synopsis: Meet Warren the 13th. He’s the lone bellhop, valet, groundskeeper, and errand boy of his family’s ancient hotel. It’s a strange, shadowy mansion full of crooked corridors and mysterious riddles—and it just might be home to a magical treasure known as the All-Seeing Eye. But if Warren is going to find the hidden treasure, he’ll need to solve several other mysteries first: What is the strange creature lurking in the hotel boiler room? Who is the ghostly girl creeping around the garden’s hedge maze? And why is the hotel’s only guest covered in bandages? Full of puzzles, secret codes, outrageous inventions, and hundreds of intricate illustrations, Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye will delight and confound readers of all ages.

Thanks Candlewick!

Yvain: the knight of the lion by M.T. Anderson. Illustrated by Andrea Offerman. 132 p. Candlewick Press, March 14, 2017. 9780763659394.

Publisher synopsis: In his first graphic novel, National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson turns to Arthurian lore, with captivating art by Andrea Offermann bringing the classic legend to life.

Eager for glory and heedless of others, Sir Yvain sets out from King Arthur’s court and defeats a local lord in battle, unknowingly intertwining his future with the lives of two compelling women: Lady Laudine, the beautiful widow of the fallen lord, and her sly maid Lunette. In a stunning visual interpretation of a 12th century epic poem by Chrétien de Troyes, readers are — at first glance — transported into a classic Arthurian romance complete with errant knights, plundering giants, and fire-breathing dragons. A closer look, however, reveals a world rich with unspoken emotion. Striking, evocative art by Andrea Offermann sheds light upon the inner lives of medieval women and the consequences Yvain’s oblivious actions have upon Laudine and Lunette. Renowned author M. T. Anderson embraces a new form with a sophisticated graphic novel that challenges Yvain’s role as hero, delves into the honesty and anguish of love, and asks just how fundamentally the true self can really change.

Poe Stories and Poems. A graphic novel adaptation by Gareth Hinds. 120 p. Candlewick Press, August 1, 2017. 9780763695095.

Publisher synopsis: In a thrilling adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s best-known works, acclaimed artist-adapter Gareth Hinds translates Poe's dark genius into graphic-novel format.

It is true that I am nervous. But why will you say that I am mad?

In "The Cask of Amontillado," a man exacts revenge on a disloyal friend at carnival, luring him into catacombs below the city. In "The Masque of the Red Death," a prince shielding himself from plague hosts a doomed party inside his abbey stronghold. A prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, faced with a swinging blade and swarming rats, can’t see his tormentors in "The Pit and the Pendulum," and in "The Tell-Tale Heart," a milky eye and a deafening heartbeat reveal the effects of conscience and creeping madness. Alongside these tales are visual interpretations of three poems — "The Raven," "The Bells," and Poe’s poignant elegy to lost love, "Annabel Lee." The seven concise graphic narratives, keyed to thematic icons, amplify and honor the timeless legacy of a master of gothic horror.

This was a sample not a full arc but I am thrilled to anticipate another brilliant work from Hinds. 

Beck by Mal Peet with Meg Rosoff. 272 p. Candlewick Press, April 11, 2017. 9780763678425.

Publisher synopsis: From Carnegie Medal–winning author Mal Peet comes a sweeping coming-of-age adventure, both harrowing and life-affirming.

Born of a brief encounter between a Liverpool prostitute and an African soldier in 1907, Beck finds himself orphaned as a young boy and sent overseas to the Catholic Brothers in Canada. At age fifteen he is sent to work on a farm, from which he eventually escapes. Finally in charge of his own destiny, Beck starts westward, crossing the border into America and back, all while the Great Depression rages on. What will it take for Beck to understand the agonies of his childhood and realize that love is possible?

Haunt Me by Liz Kessler. 371 p. Candlewick Press, July 11, 2017. 9780763691622.

Publisher synopsis: Haunting and intensely romantic, Liz Kessler’s latest novel features a teen girl for whom falling in love could mean losing her heart — and maybe her life.

When her family moves after a rough year, Erin feels instantly at home in her new bedroom — even after she realizes that she’s not the only one occupying it. As Erin becomes accustomed to Joe, the spirit of the teenage boy who lived in the room before her, she starts to sense an inexplicable connection between them. Meanwhile, Joe’s brother, Olly, is trying to find a new normal since his brother passed away. Before Joe died, Olly was king of the school — and it’s not until Olly meets a new girl that he realizes just how many ways he’s changed . . . including the type of girl he could fall for. And when Erin finds herself caught between two brothers, and two choices, will her decision destroy her completely, or can she save herself before she’s lost forever? From Liz Kessler, the best-selling author of Read Me Like a Book, comes a young adult novel about how love can overcome the ultimate divide.

Of Jenny and the Aliens by Ryan Gebhart. 345 p. Candlewick Press, August 1, 2017. 9780763688455.

Publisher synopsis: When boy meets girl meets alien, the angst of first love gets an extraterrestrial intervention in a tale both outrageously funny and full of heart.

Ten years after Earth sent messages out into deep space, there has been an answer. Music from distant planet Pud 5 has reached the world’s radios. Are aliens about to invade? No one knows, and almost-eighteen-year-old Derek doesn’t really care, because at a wild end-of-the-world party, Jennifer Novak invited him to play beer pong, and things, well, progressed from there. Derek is in love. Deeply, hopelessly in love. He wants it all — marriage, kids, growing old on a beach in Costa Rica. For him, Jenny is the One. But Jenny has other plans, which may or may not include Derek. So Derek will try anything to win her — even soliciting advice from an alien who shows up in his hometown. This alien may just be the answer to Derek’s problem, but is Derek prepared to risk starting an intergalactic war to get his girl? Just how far is he willing to travel to discover the mysteries of the universe — and the enigma of love?

Who Killed Christopher Goodman? by Allan Wolf. 269 p. Candlewick Press, March 14, 2017. 9780763656133.

Publisher synopsis: Inspired by a tragic true event in his past, Allan Wolf examines the circumstances of one boy’s inexplicable murder and the fateful summer leading up to it.

Everybody likes Chris Goodman. Sure, he’s a little odd. He wears those funny bell-bottoms and he really likes the word ennui and he shakes your hand when he meets you, but he’s also the kind of guy who’s always up for a good time, always happy to lend a hand. Everybody likes Chris Goodman, which makes it especially shocking when he’s murdered. Here, in a stunning multi-voiced narrative — including the perspective of the fifteen-year-old killer — and based on a true and terrible crime that occurred when he was in high school, author Allan Wolf sets out to answer the first question that comes to mind in moments of unthinkable tragedy: how could a thing like this happen?

The Bone Queen by Alison Croggin. 404 p. Candlewick Press, June 13, 2017. 9780763689742.

Publisher synopsis: In a highly anticipated prequel to the Books of Pellinor, Alison Croggon captivates fans old and new with her ancient, legendary world of Annar.

After being seduced into sorcery by an agent of the Dark, the promising Bard Cadvan of Lirigon recklessly unleashed the terrible Bone Queen, bringing destruction down upon Annar. Cast out of the Schools of Barding for his crime, Cadvan now lives in exile, burdened by memories of his dealings with the Dark. At his former home, Cadvan’s mentor, Nelac, and his rival, Dernhil, begin to suspect that the Bone Queen may yet lurk in Annar, and a young Bard named Selmana is plagued by an ominous presence and an unsettling new ability to step between worlds. With darkness gathering and Bards giving in to fear and paranoia, a guilt-ridden Cadvan must once again earn the Bards’ trust and Selmana must gain control of her newfound powers if they are to bring peace to the living and the dead. Fans of the Books of Pellinor will savor this glimpse into Cadvan’s past, and readers new to Alison Croggon’s intricately built world will relish The Bone Queen as a stand-alone epic of light, dark, magic, and redemption.

That's what's new with me. What's new with you?