The Scorpio Races

Maggie Stiefvater turns to a new world, where a pair are swept up in a daring, dangerous race across a cliff–with more than just their lives at stake should they lose. Nineteen-year-old returning champion Sean Kendrick competes against Puck Connolly, the first girl ever to ride in the annual Scorpio Races, both trying to keep hold of their dangerous water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 3

Red Ridin’ in the Hood: And Other Cuentos

Eleven classic tales are retold with an injection of Latino culture, providing a twist on the traditional forms while sustaining a freshness all their own. The title story, “Red Ridin’ in the Hood,” moves the setting to the barrio, where Red decides to brave dangerous Forest Street in order to reach her abuelita and encounters the menacing wolf in a thumping Chevy lowrider. Some stories are set in the Mexican countryside; in “Belleza y La Bestia,” the beautiful heroine is a defender of the Revolution and teaches the beast about the righteousness of the freedom fighters. “El Día de los Muertos,” a retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, takes place in the time of the Aztecs and casts Orpheus as the feather-maker Nochehuatl.

These and the other cuentos in this book are further brought to life by abundant illustrations, by turns comical and poignant.

The Revenant

When Willie arrives in Indian Territory, she knows only one thing: no one can find out who she really is. To escape a home she doesn’t belong in anymore, she assumes the name of a former classmate and accepts a teaching job at the Cherokee Female Seminary. Nothing prepares her for what she finds there. Her pupils are the daughters of the Cherokee elite-educated and more wealthy than she, and the school is cloaked in mystery. A student drowned in the river last year, and the girls whisper that she was killed by a jealous lover. Willie’s room is the very room the dead girl slept in. The students say her spirit haunts it. Willie doesn’t believe in ghosts, but when strange things start happening at the school, she isn’t sure anymore. She’s also not sure what to make of a boy from the nearby boys’ school who has taken an interest in her-his past is cloaked in secrets. Soon, even she has to admit that the revenant may be trying to tell her something. . . .

Same, Same but Different

Pen pals Elliott and Kailash discover that even though they live in different countries–America and India–they both love to climb trees, own pets, and ride school buses.

Adelita and the Veggie Cousins

On her first day at a new school, Adelita makes new friends through a lesson on vegetables, including how some vegetables are “cousins” because they share certain characteristics.

Maximilian: The Mystery of the Guardian Angel

Eleven-year-old Margarito, a big fan of the form of wrestling known as lucha libre, begins to suspect that he has a close connection with his favorite luchador, El Angel de La Guardia, the Guardian Angel.