First Book Program: First Book October 2023

In this prequel to the bestselling phenomenon They Both Die at the End, two new strangers spend a life-changing day together after Death-Cast first makes their fateful calls. #1 New York Times bestseller! It's the night before Death-Cast goes live, and there's one question on everyone's mind: Can Death-Cast actually predict when someone will die, or is it just an elaborate hoax? Orion Pagan has waited years for someone to tell him that he's going to die. He has a serious heart condition, and he signed up for Death-Cast so he could know what's coming. Valentino Prince is restarting his life in New York. He has a long and promising future ahead and he only registered for Death-Cast after his twin sister nearly died in a car accident. Orion and Valentino cross paths in Times Square and immediately feel a deep connection. But when the first round of End Day calls goes out, their lives are changed forever--one of them receives a call, and the other doesn't. Though neither boy is certain how the day will end, they know they want to spend it together...even if that means their goodbye will be heartbreaking. Told with acclaimed author Adam Silvera's signature bittersweet touch, this story celebrates the lasting impact that people have on each other and proves that life is always worth living to the fullest.  * A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year *

Raised to be fierce dragon slayers, two sisters end up on opposite sides of the impending war when one sister forms an unlikely, magical bond with a dragon in this standalone YA contemporary fantasy that Kirkus calls "an exciting, inclusive fantasy." The perfect read for fans of Slayer and Sorcery of Thorns. Dani and Eden Rivera were both born to kill dragons, but the sisters couldn't be more different. For Dani, dragon slaying takes a back seat to living a normal high school life in their Tennessee town, while Eden prioritizes training above everything else. Yet they both agree on one thing: it's kill or be killed where dragons are concerned. Until Dani comes face-to-face with one and forges a rare and magical bond with him. As she gets to know Nox, she realizes that everything she thought she knew about dragons is wrong. With Dani lost to the dragons, Eden turns to mysterious and alluring sorcerers to help save her sister. Now on opposite sides of the conflict, each sister will do whatever it takes to save the other. But the two are playing with magic that is more dangerous than they know, and there is another, more powerful enemy waiting for them both in the shadows.

Una niña llamada Petra a que no quería otra cosa que ser cuentista, como su abuelita. Pero el mundo de Petra está llegando a su fin. La Tierra ha sido destruida por un cometa, y solo unos pocos científicos y sus hijos --entre ellos, Petra y su familia-- han sido elegidos para viajar a un nuevo planeta. Son ellos quienes garantizarán la continuidad de la raza humana. Cientos de años después, Petra despierta en el nuevo planeta y descubre que es la única persona que recuerda a la Tierra. Un siniestro Colectivo ha tomado el mando de la nave durante el viaje, empeñado en borrar los pecados pasados de la humanidad. En forma sistemática, han purgado los recuerdos de quienes se habían embarcado... o directamente los han purgado. Solo Petra atesora las historias de nuestro pasado y, con ellas, las esperanzas para nuestro futuro. ¿Podrá devolverles la vida? Donna Barba Higuera, ganadora del Premio Pura Belpre, nos ofrece un viaje brillante al mismo corazón de eso que nos hace humanos.

They tell me to "fix" my hair. And by fix, they mean straighten, they mean whiten; but how do you fix this shipwrecked history of hair? In her most famous spoken-word poem, author of the Pura Belpré-winning novel-in-verse The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo embraces all the complexities of Black hair and Afro-Latinidad--the history, pain, pride, and powerful love of that inheritance. Paired with full-color illustrations by artist Andrea Pippins in a format that will appeal to fans of Mahogany L. Browne's Black Girl Magic or Jason Reynolds's For Everyone, this poem can now be read in a vibrant package, making it the ideal gift, treasure, or inspiration for readers of any age.

Winner of the Pura Belpré Award! "We need books to break open our hearts, so that we might feel more deeply, so that we might be more human in these unkind times. This is a book doing work of the spirit in a time of darkness." --Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street  Efrén Nava's Amá is his Superwoman--or Soperwoman, named after the delicious Mexican sopes his mother often prepares. Both Amá and Apá work hard all day to provide for the family, making sure Efrén and his younger siblings Max and Mía feel safe and loved. But Efrén worries about his parents; although he's American-born, his parents are undocumented. His worst nightmare comes true one day when Amá doesn't return from work and is deported across the border to Tijuana, México. Now more than ever, Efrén must channel his inner Soperboy to help take care of and try to reunite his family. A glossary of Spanish words is included in the back of the book. 

De la autora premiada Margarita Engle, una inspiradora novela de formación sobre una niña que se enamora por primera vez mientras encuentra el coraje para protestar por el derecho al voto de las mujeres en la Cuba de 1920. A Rima le encanta montar a caballo con la abuela y las mambisas, las valientes veteranas que lucharon durante las guerras de independencia en Cuba. Feministas de varios orígenes se han reunido en clubes de votación para exigir el sufragio y la igualdad de las mujeres, pero no todos quieren igualdad para todo el mundo... especialmente para alguien como Rima Marín. En los años 1920 en Cuba, los niños "ilegítimos" como ella eran intimidados y rechazados. Rima sueña con un día en que estará libre de miedo y vergüenza, que es como se siente cuando viaja con las mambisas. Mientras busca su camino en la vida, Rima forja amistades inesperadas con otras personas que desean la libertad, especialmente con un apuesto joven artista llamado Maceo. A través de tiempos turbulentos, la esperanza se eleva... y también el amor.

A Pura Belpré Honor Book * A Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book for Teens In this gorgeously written and authentic novel, Verónica, a Peruvian-American teen with hip dysplasia, auditions to become a mermaid at a Central Florida theme park in the summer before her senior year, all while figuring out her first real boyfriend and how to feel safe in her own body. Verónica has had many surgeries to manage her disability. The best form of rehabilitation is swimming, so she spends hours in the pool, but not just to strengthen her body. Her Florida town is home to Mermaid Cove, a kitschy underwater attraction where professional mermaids perform in giant tanks . . . and Verónica wants to audition. But her conservative Peruvian parents would never go for it. And they definitely would never let her be with Alex, her cute new neighbor. She decides it's time to seize control of her life, but her plans come crashing down when she learns her parents have been hiding the truth from her--the truth about her own body.

In his award-winning memoir Free Lunch, Rex Ogle's abuela features as a source of love and support. In this companion-in-verse, Rex captures and celebrates the powerful presence a woman he could always count on--to give him warm hugs and ear kisses, to teach him precious words in Spanish, to bring him to the library where he could take out as many books as he wanted, and to offer safety when darkness closed in. Throughout a coming of age marked by violence and dysfunction, Abuela's red-brick house in Abilene, Texas, offered Rex the possibility of home, and Abuela herself the possibility for a better life. Abuela, Don't Forget Me is a lyrical portrait of the transformative and towering woman who believed in Rex even when he didn't yet know how to believe in himself.

National Book Award nominee Samantha Mabry weaves "a shivery, magical exploration of the power of sisterhood" (People) in this otherworldly Latine ghost story about three sisters shadowed by guilt and grief over the loss of their eldest sister, who haunts their house. The first time Ana Torres came back as a ghost, her sisters weren't there. A year after Ana's death, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa, still consumed by grief and haunted by her memory, start noticing strange things around the house: laughter without a voice, shadows cast by nothing, writing on the walls. None of them have seen Ana, but they know she's trying to send them a message--or maybe it's a warning. Tigers, Not Daughters is an aching, lyrical novel with a whisper of magic, that is one part family drama, one part romance, and one part ghost story. "A moody and unflinching examination of the gritty, tender, and impossible parts of people that make them unforgettably whole. . . Ferocious and gorgeously crafted." --Courtney Summers, New York Times bestselling author of Sadie Writers League of Texas Book Award Winner * MPIBA Reading the West Award Winner * Indie Next pick * Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book * SLJ Best Book * Shelf Awareness Best Book * BCCB Blue Ribbon List title * NEA Read Across America title * A Must-Read Novel According to BuzzFeed, Entertainment Weekly, Ms. Magazine, BookPage, Publishers Weekly, Tor.com, and D Magazine   And don't miss Samantha Mabry's next book: Clever Creatures of the Night!

National Book Award Finalist * William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist * Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year * Walter Honor Award Winner * Pura Belpré Honor Book * Lambda Literary Award Winner for LGBTQ+ Young Adult A sharply funny and moving debut novel about a queer Mexican American girl navigating Catholic school, while falling in love and learning to celebrate her true self. Perfect for fans of Erika L. Sánchez, Leah Johnson, and Gabby Rivera. Sixteen-year-old Yamilet Flores prefers to be known for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new, mostly white, very rich Catholic school. But at least here no one knows she's gay, and Yami intends to keep it that way.  After being outed by her crush and ex-best friend before transferring to Slayton Catholic, Yami has new priorities: keep her brother out of trouble, make her mom proud, and, most importantly, don't fall in love. Granted, she's never been great at any of those things, but that's a problem for Future Yami.  The thing is, it's hard to fake being straight when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so annoyingly perfect. And smart. And talented. And cute. So cute. Either way, Yami isn't going to make the same mistake again. If word got back to her mom, she could face a lot worse than rejection. So she'll have to start asking, WWSGD: What would a straight girl do?  Told in a captivating voice that is by turns hilarious, vulnerable, and searingly honest, The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School explores the joys and heartaches of living your full truth out loud.