(2) PS In this festive counting book, a debonair pumpkin-headed host welcomes guests to a fancy twilight banquet. Numbers are woven into a rhyming text that alternates guests' introductions ("Lady Nightshade brings three jars of jelly to share") with atmospheric elements ("While four swooping bats fly through the air") up until "the clock strikes thirteen." Elegant watercolor and ink illustrations conjure the party's spooky sophistication.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(2) YA High schooler Danny and her mom arrive in Tempest, California, under mysterious circumstances. There, Danny meets a group of queer girls called the Grays, who weave magic in "a braid of traditions." The Grays need help: their most powerful member has become distant and her magic unresponsive. Capetta organically alternates narrative perspectives and time periods in this atmospheric story that thought-provokingly explores the magic within young women and in women loving women.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(3) 4-6 Immigrant Experiences series. This series provides general glimpses into many immigrant groups' struggles in the U.S. Vignettes (with direct quotes) of real immigrants striving for citizenship and acceptance in America add intimacy and impact to the presentation; frank discussions of discrimination are included. Photographs extend the narratives. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Immigrant Experiences titles: Catholic Immigrants, Indian Immigrants, Chinese Immigrants, Central American Immigrants, Jewish Immigrants, Russian Immigrants, Filipino Immigrants and Muslim Immigrants

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) 4-6 Immigrant Experiences series. This series provides general glimpses into many immigrant groups' struggles in the U.S. Vignettes (with direct quotes) of real immigrants striving for citizenship and acceptance in America add intimacy and impact to the presentation; frank discussions of discrimination are included. Photographs extend the narratives. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Immigrant Experiences titles: Catholic Immigrants, Indian Immigrants, Chinese Immigrants, Central American Immigrants, Jewish Immigrants, Russian Immigrants, Filipino Immigrants and Muslim Immigrants

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) 4-6 Immigrant Experiences series. This series provides general glimpses into many immigrant groups' struggles in the U.S. Vignettes (with direct quotes) of real immigrants striving for citizenship and acceptance in America add intimacy and impact to the presentation; frank discussions of discrimination are included. Photographs extend the narratives. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Immigrant Experiences titles: Catholic Immigrants, Indian Immigrants, Chinese Immigrants, Central American Immigrants, Jewish Immigrants, Russian Immigrants, Filipino Immigrants and Muslim Immigrants

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) 4-6 Immigrant Experiences series. This series provides general glimpses into many immigrant groups' struggles in the U.S. Vignettes (with direct quotes) of real immigrants striving for citizenship and acceptance in America add intimacy and impact to the presentation; frank discussions of discrimination are included. Photographs extend the narratives. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Immigrant Experiences titles: Catholic Immigrants, Indian Immigrants, Chinese Immigrants, Central American Immigrants, Jewish Immigrants, Russian Immigrants, Filipino Immigrants and Muslim Immigrants

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) 4-6 Immigrant Experiences series. This series provides general glimpses into many immigrant groups' struggles in the U.S. Vignettes (with direct quotes) of real immigrants striving for citizenship and acceptance in America add intimacy and impact to the presentation; frank discussions of discrimination are included. Photographs extend the narratives. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Immigrant Experiences titles: Catholic Immigrants, Indian Immigrants, Chinese Immigrants, Central American Immigrants, Jewish Immigrants, Russian Immigrants, Filipino Immigrants and Muslim Immigrants

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) 4-6 Immigrant Experiences series. This series provides general glimpses into many immigrant groups' struggles in the U.S. Vignettes (with direct quotes) of real immigrants striving for citizenship and acceptance in America add intimacy and impact to the presentation; frank discussions of discrimination are included. Photographs extend the narratives. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Immigrant Experiences titles: Catholic Immigrants, Indian Immigrants, Chinese Immigrants, Central American Immigrants, Jewish Immigrants, Russian Immigrants, Filipino Immigrants and Muslim Immigrants

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Taia Morley. For weeks, Jack wishes for snow. Near Christmas, he and his classmates (a racially diverse cast) have a substitute teacher, Mr. Clausen, who acts suspiciously like...well, you know. Their homework--write a wish on a homemade paper snowflake--culminates in a Christmas-morning surprise: snow. Morley's textured mixed-media illustrations in bold colors have an old-fashioned look and feel in this tale imbued with holiday wonder. Paper snowflake–making instructions appended.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(3) 4-6 Immigrant Experiences series. This series provides general glimpses into many immigrant groups' struggles in the U.S. Vignettes (with direct quotes) of real immigrants striving for citizenship and acceptance in America add intimacy and impact to the presentation; frank discussions of discrimination are included. Photographs extend the narratives. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Immigrant Experiences titles: Catholic Immigrants, Indian Immigrants, Chinese Immigrants, Central American Immigrants, Jewish Immigrants, Russian Immigrants, Filipino Immigrants and Muslim Immigrants

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) 4-6 Immigrant Experiences series. This series provides general glimpses into many immigrant groups' struggles in the U.S. Vignettes (with direct quotes) of real immigrants striving for citizenship and acceptance in America add intimacy and impact to the presentation; frank discussions of discrimination are included. Photographs extend the narratives. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Immigrant Experiences titles: Catholic Immigrants, Indian Immigrants, Chinese Immigrants, Central American Immigrants, Jewish Immigrants, Russian Immigrants, Filipino Immigrants and Muslim Immigrants

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) YA Kate Brighton bears her late father's "traitor" legacy and shares a magical bond with the horses she now rides to relay mail while avoiding the terrifying nightdrakes. When an unexpected daylight drake attack causes her to cross paths with her former love, Prince Corwin, it portends romantic and political difficulties ahead. Arnett builds an engaging world for this high fantasy full of action and realistic character development.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) YA It's the summer before senior year, and Noah's two best friends drag him to a party, even though he'd rather be listening to Bowie and contemplating his recurring dream. After he's hypnotized at this party, his friends and family start to exhibit minute but profound changes, and Noah is the only one who sees them. A darkly comedic, surreal examination of connections and shared histories.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(4) YA Betrayed by love and exhausted from battle in King's Cage, Mare and her united rebel front seek unexpected reinforcements for the war against the mentally unstable king, Maven. Several of Aveyard's narrators are unapologetically elitist, which makes for interesting character studies but unsympathetic story lines. However, the political scheming and elemental fighting that ensue should maintain readers' interest in this fourth and final novel.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) PS Illustrated by Simone Shin. A young child likes playing loudly but learns to enjoy quieter activities, too. Poetic text oscillates between the capitalized onomatopoeia of raucous play-imaginings and soothing, rhythmic rhymes of quiet-time ("A book's pages make a breeze, / a quiet shuffle across quiet knees"). In a palette of hushed blues, browns, and reds, the expressive acrylic and digital-media pictures depict "the quiet" coming and going as a weaving dust-like trail.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) YA The alien Abdoloreans took over Earth and eradicated humanity years ago--or so they thought. Human Li has gone to necessary extremes to hide in plain sight, growing up among them. But while Li prepares for her military-placement tests, she starts a relationship with an off-world boy. With a reverse-Avatar premise, this sci-fi romance explores personal and planetary morality and the desire to belong.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) YA In 1991, Tara Maureen Murphy enters senior year with high expectations: lead in the school musical, a spectacular prom, continued social dominance as half of a "Supercouple." When things don't fall into perfect place, this mean-girl antihero turns to manipulations and lies. Told via passed folded notes, this multi-voiced epistolary novel is an entertaining time capsule of the early 1990s--"you know what I mean?"

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(4) YA The titular protagonist from Piper Perish is finally in NYC to work as an assistant to a big name in the art business before attending her dream art school. Now, to earn tuition money, she must deal with creating art for someone else instead of for herself. There's less emotional urgency in this sequel's similar journal-style narration, but Piper remains spunky and admirably ready to make it on her own.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) YA Dominique (Dom) has always wanted to be a modern dancer, but her mother's struggling laundry business doesn't provide a lot of options after high school. Ben studies violin at the prestigious Brighton Academy and is obsessed with perfection. Their worlds collide against the backdrop of NYC in a sweeping, classic-feeling romance that deals with privilege and the lies we instinctually tell ourselves and others.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) 4-6 In the small, struggling town of Timbers, Washington, lies creepy Still Cove. A bullying incident lands a group of kids, including narrators Nico and Opal, in the cove, where they find a mysterious island, a bizarre collection of antiques, and a pool of dark, swirling water. But at every revelation of the area's chaotic power, their curiosity leads them deeper into darkness. Alternating narration builds enthralling suspense in this supernatural series-starter.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant