New Releases by Katrina Leno

Are the four Farthing sisters really descended from Persephone? This is what their aunt has always told them: that the women in their family can trace their lineage right back to the Goddess of the Dead. And maybe she's right, because the Farthing girls do have a ghost in the attic of their Manhattan brownstone —a kind and gentle ghost named Henry, who only they can see. When one of the sisters falls in love with the ghost, and another banishes him to the Underworld, the sisters are faced with even bigger questions about who they are. If they really are related to Persephone, and they really are a bit magic, then perhaps it’s up to them to save Henry, to save the world, and to save each other.

In this funny and fantastical middle grade novel, one boy must uncover the secret behind his rainy town in order to save himself from a future in his father’s footsteps. Oscar Buckle lives in a city where it’s always raining. And when it isn’t raining, it’s about to rain, so the townspeople have learned to embrace it. Oscar’s father is an umbrella maker—appropriate for a place where you can’t leave home without one!—but while Buckle Umbrellas are strong, reliable, and high quality, they’re expensive. Because of this, people are buying from the competitor instead, which is threatening Oscar’s family’s business. To make ends meet, Oscar is forced to quit school and work in his father's shop as an apprentice. But when extraordinary events start to occur in their rainy town, Oscar becomes suspicious of their competitor. Desperate to save his town, Oscar must enlist the help of his best friend, Saige, to discover if there's more than nature involved in their city's weather. This charming story is packed with adventure, lively illustrations, and unforgettable characters determined to survive in a world where the weather is a mysterious, magical force.

From critically acclaimed author Katrina Leno comes a tender love letter to books and summertime, with a touch of magic. Anna Lucia Bell believes in luck: bad luck. Bad luck made her best friend stop talking to her. Bad luck caused her parents’ divorce. Bad luck is forcing her mother, Miriam, to sell the family’s beloved bookstore. And it is definitely bad luck that Anna seems to be the only person in the world Miriam is unable to recommend a life-changing book. When Anna finds out that she and her mom are spending two months in a New England seaside town called Rockport, she expects a summer plagued with bad luck too. But Rockport has surprises in store for Anna, including a comet making its first appearance in over twenty years and two new—but familiar—friends. In what will prove to be the most important summer of her life so far, Anna learns about love, herself, and the magic that an ordinary summer can bring.

From the author of You Must Not Miss comes a haunting contemporary horror novel that explores themes of mental illness, rage, and grief, twisted with spine-chilling elements of Agatha Christie and Stephen King. Following her father's death, Jane North-Robinson and her mom move from sunny California to the dreary, dilapidated old house in Maine where her mother grew up. All they want is a fresh start, but behind North Manor's doors lurks a history that leaves them feeling more alone ... and more tormented. As the cold New England autumn arrives, and Jane settles in to her new home, she finds solace in old books and memories of her dad. She steadily begins making new friends, but also faces bullying from the resident "bad seed," struggling to tamp down her own worst nature in response. Jane's mom also seems to be spiraling with the return of her childhood home, but she won't reveal why. Then Jane discovers that the "storage room" her mom has kept locked isn't for storage at all—it's a little girl's bedroom, left untouched for years and not quite as empty of inhabitants as it appears... Is it grief? Mental illness? Or something more ... horrid?

Imaginez : l'endroit rêvé, la famille idéale, la revanche parfaite... « J'ai beaucoup pensé au nombre de fois où une fille doit dire non avant d'être écoutée. » Magpie Magpie se souvient du jour où elle a écrit les premières lignes de son journal. C'était le jour où sa soeur a quitté la ville. Le jour où elle a surpris son père au lit avec sa tante. Le jour où sa mère est tombée dans une spirale infernale d'autodestruction. Le jour de la soirée chez Brandon Phipp. Depuis, au lycée, Magpie a hérité du surnom de salope. Sa meilleure amie ne lui adresse plus la parole, et elle passe ses pauses déjeuner à la table des rejetés du lycée, en silence. Alors, pour sortir un peu de l'enfer du quotidien, elle invente dans son journal un mystérieux endroit appelé « Tout près d'ici ». Tout près est une contrée parfaite. Son père n'y trompe personne, sa mère n'a jamais bu une goutte d'alcool et les soirées ne dérapent pas. Elle s'y sent tellement bien qu'elle pourrait presque toucher « Tout près » du doigt. La porte d'entrée semble là, à quelques pas, juste dans la cour de sa maison... Serait-ce l'endroit rêvé pour enfin prendre sa revanche ?

Imaginez : l'endroit rêvé, la famille idéale, la revanche parfaite « J'ai beaucoup pensé au nombre de fois où une fille doit dire non avant d'être écoutée. » Magpie Magpie se souvient du jour où elle a écrit les premières lignes de son journal. C'était le jour où sa soeur a quitté la ville. Le jour où elle a surpris son père au lit avec sa tante. Le jour où sa mère est tombée dans une spirale infernale d'autodestruction. Le jour de la soirée chez Brandon Phipp. Depuis, au lycée, Magpie a hérité du surnom de salope. Sa meilleure amie ne lui adresse plus la parole, et elle passe ses pauses déjeuner à la table des rejetés du lycée, en silence. Alors, pour sortir un peu de l'enfer du quotidien, elle invente dans son journal un mystérieux endroit appelé « Tout près d'ici ». Tout près est une contrée parfaite. Son père n'y trompe personne, sa mère n'a jamais bu une goutte d'alcool et les soirées ne dérapent pas. Elle s'y sent tellement bien qu'elle pourrait presque toucher « Tout près » du doigt. La porte d'entrée semble là, à quelques pas, juste dans la cour de sa maison Serait-ce l'endroit rêvé pour enfin prendre sa revanche ?

One of Us Is Lying meets Carrie in this suspenseful story of friendship, family, and revenge. Magpie Lewis started writing in her yellow notebook the day after her family self-destructed. The day her father ruined her mother's life. The day Magpie's sister, Eryn, skipped town and left her to fend for herself. The day of Brandon Phipp's party. Now Magpie is called a slut in the hallways of her high school, her former best friend won't speak to her, and she spends her lunch period with a group of misfits who've all been as socially exiled as she has. And so, feeling trapped and forgotten, Magpie retreats to her notebook, dreaming up a magical place called Near. Near is perfect - a place where her father never cheated, her mother never drank, and Magpie's own life never derailed so suddenly. She imagines Near so completely, so fully, that she writes it into existence, right in her own backyard. At first, Near is a peaceful escape, but soon it becomes something darker, somewhere nightmares lurk and hidden truths come to light. Soon it becomes a place where Magpie can do anything she wants...even get her revenge. You Must Not Miss is an intoxicating, twisted tale of magic, menace, and the monsters that live inside us all.

Magic passed down through generations. An island where strange things happen. One summer that will become legend. Practical Magic meets Nova Ren Suma’s Imaginary Girls and Laura Ruby’s Bone Gap in this lush, atmospheric novel by acclaimed author Katrina Leno. Georgina Fernweh waits impatiently for the tingle of magic in her fingers—magic that has touched every woman in her family. But with her eighteenth birthday looming at the end of this summer, Georgina fears her gift will never come. Over the course of her last summer on the island—a summer of storms, falling in love, and the mystery behind one rare three-hundred-year-old bird—Georgina will learn the truth about magic, in all its many forms. Praise for Katrina Leno: “Leno’s writing is flawless. Readers of all ages will find themselves swept away.” —VOYA “Charming and sophisticated.” —Kirkus “Crackles with wit, humor, and enormous love.”—Booklist (starred review) “Introduces a fierce new presence.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A soaring novel by the critically acclaimed author of The Half Life of Molly Pierce and The Lost & Found, perfect for fans of Jennifer Niven and Rainbow Rowell. Part mysterious adventure, part love letter to the power of books, this is a brilliantly woven novel about loving, reading, writing, grieving, and finding the strength to take a leap. Lottie Reaves is not a risk taker. But she’s about to take a leap into the unknown… When Lottie's beloved Aunt Helen dies of cancer, it upends her careful, quiet life. Aunt Helen wasn’t a typical aunt. She was the world-famous author of the bestselling Alvin Hatter series. She knew a thing or two about the magic of writing, and how words have the power to make you see things differently. In her will, Aunt Helen leaves Lottie a series of letters—each containing mysterious instructions. As Lottie sets about following them, she realizes they’re meant to make her take a risk, and, for once in her life, really live. But when the letters reveal an extraordinary secret about her aunt’s past—and the inspiration for the Alvin Hatter series—Lottie finds herself faced with an impossible choice, one that will force her to confront her greatest fears once and for all.

An imaginative and unconventional YA novel that “crackles with wit, humor, and enormous love” (Booklist, starred review). Frannie and Louis met online when they were both little and have been pen pals ever since. They have never met face-to-face, and they don’t know each other’s real names. All they know is that they both have a mysterious tendency to lose things. Well, not lose them really. Things just seem to mysteriously disappear. When they each receive surprising news in the mail, they set off on a road trip to Austin, Texas, looking for answers—and each other. Along the way, each one begins to find, as if by magic, important things the other has lost. And by the time they finally meet in person, they realize that the things you lose might be things you weren’t meant to have at all, and that you never know what—or who—you might find if you just take a chance. “The characters and the road trip alone are a winning combination. The premise is where the magic happens.” —Adi Alsaid, author of Let's Get Lost and Never Always Sometimes “A rich, romantic story about two thoughtful teenagers on a quest for meaning.” —Publishers Weekly “A beautiful exploration of loss. An emotional journey that’s well worth the ride.” —School Library Journal

DIE UNBEKANNTE in dir Schon immer hat Molly Erinnerungslücken. Ganze Stunden und Tage: einfach weg. Was während dieser Blackouts passiert, weiß sie nicht, nur, dass sie danach jedes Mal wie aus einem wilden Traum erwacht. Bis eines Tages nach einem Unfall ein tödlich verletzter Junge in ihren Armen liegt und behauptet, sie zu kennen. Aber Molly kennt diesen Jungen nicht. Oder doch? Als sie sich auf die Suche nach Spuren macht, gerät sie in den Sog einer verstörenden Wahrheit: Sie kannte den Toten, liebte ihn sogar. Aber nicht als Molly. Sondern als Mabel, ihr zweites Ich. Und Mabel hat die Oberhand, wenn Molly ihren Blackout hat.

An intricately woven debut psychological mystery and a profound coming of age story for fans of Made You Up by Francesca Zappia and All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. “Introduces a fierce new presence.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “5 out of 5 bright, beautiful stars.” —Teenreads.com “A fascinating debut...something original indeed. Readers will absolutely need to know the end of this unique inward-facing mystery.” —ALA Booklist For all of her seventeen years, Molly feels like she’s missed bits and pieces of her life. Her memory is perforated with holes and gaps. But then a horrible accident changes everything. Now she’s starting to remember her own disturbing secrets. And bit by bit, Molly uncovers the separate life she seems to have led—and the love that she can’t let go.