Star Wars the High Republic: Into the Dark
Claudia Gray

This is another book in the High Republic series set again in the early days of Star Wars. In this book the Jedi are the peacekeepers in the galaxy and there are plenty of rowdy independents to keep in line. Rather counter to the typical Jedi is Padawan apprentice Reath Silas. Reath would rather be left alone on the central world of Coruscant to bury himself in the Jedi Archives than engage in adventures. But his Jedi Master, Jora Malli, wants him to be well-rounded and so she accepts an assignment for them to go to the frontier to a post at Starlight Beacon. Not a great place for someone who describes it “as being in the middle of nowhere.” All kinds of strangeness awaits them, including green plants that sometimes attack with nasty thorns.

A little over 400 pages but a good read with lots of new things including a plot twist.

Concrete Rose
Angie Thomas

Concrete Rose, which takes place several years before the events of The Hate U Give, tells the story of 17 year old Maverick, who learns shortly into the book that he is a father. Maverick is thrown in the deep end of parenting when he is tasked with caring for his baby son with only assistance from his mother. Juggling school, a baby, work, and the gang ties he has because of his father means that Maverick just can't seem to catch a break. This book tackles difficult topics of young black fatherhood and the struggle of doing what is best for your family when doing so is anything but easy. Although this novel is a prequel to Thomas' first book, it can easily be read and enjoyed as a standalone.

Sometimes our best source of a great new book is… you. This was the case with A New Alphabet For Humanity. It was a special order that we couldn’t resist reading and now it’s a must-have in the bookstore. It’s an alphabet book like many you’ve seen, but the alphabet is used for words like Mindful and Nurturing. Each page lists a letter, a word that begins with that letter with an illustration and a brief (two sentences) example of the word. The illustrations are colorful. The children depicted in the illustrations are from all kinds of backgrounds (my favorite illustration includes a girl in a wheelchair). At the back of the book are “extras”: empowering questions, examples of compassion, etc. So keep telling us about the great books you discover and we hope you’ll love this one as much as we do!

Hold Back the Tide
Melinda Salisbury