(Cascade Head, Oregon Coast, 2007; photo by Steve Rawley, use with permission only, please)

Holla. What are you up to, friends? Leave a note if you feel so inclined, or send an email. Here are a few new titles that came my way. I just started reading them, in my own inimitable style: all at once. Highly recommend them, even though I’m technically in the middle of them all. OK! 

• “Build a Girlfriend,” by Elba Luz (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025, ages teens and up, 362 pages, $19.99) is first on the stack. Luz is a gem — this is the first YA romantic comedy for the author — and she tackles all the challenges: bisexuality, cultural issues, mental health stuff. Our hero, Amelia Hernandez, is single. Again. And revenge-dating her ex. She feels that she is cursed for love (blame her family), but jumps back in the fray, anyway.
• “First Love Language,” by Stefany Valentine (Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House, 2025, ages teen and up; 300 pages). This book also tackles some of the challenges that can come along with being a teenage female. Catie Carlson, who is Taiwanese-American, loves her adopted family (they’re white), but also hopes to make connections with her bio family.
• “Everwhen the Doomsday Vault” (great title!) is the first book in a new series by Thomas Wheeler (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; scheduled for release Jan. 28, 2025; grades 3-7; 293 pages; $18.99). You know how it goes when you accidentally kind of create a black hole in your room? And next thing you know you’re traveling from 1878 to 2022? It’s weird. But that’s time travel. This is a fun one, inspired (just a little) by Douglas Adams’s “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series. We are introduced to the Everwhen School, where we will meet  Millie da Vinci, and Dean Marconi, who may have some famous family members. Wheeler is also a screenwriter (“Puss in Boots,” “The Lego Ninjago Movie”) and it looks like “Everwhen” is headed to the big screen, too.
• “City Spies: London Calling,” the latest in the series by James Ponti, is another good read (Aladdin Books/Simon & Schuster; on sale Feb. 4, 2025, grades 3-7, 394 pages, $18.99). The spies are on the go again, from Istanbul, to Rome to the U.K. I love this series because… good writing, characters and plots, but also just because it’s fun to learn about geography while you’re in the middle of a good story. (In addition to City Spies, Ponti is the writer of the Sherlock Society, Framed! and the Dead City series.

My pick of the week is “First Love Language.” It’s a sweet and salty read, a little quirky, and handles a difficult topic in a thoughtful manner. Looking forward to reading more from Valentine, and the other writers featured this week. Disclaimer: The titles included in today’s post were sent to me free for review purposes. Disclaimer here. See you next time!

WM