Hana Banana Reads

The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu Age Range: 8-12 Release Date: February 12, 2019 Walden Pond Press 9780062275097 “[M]ost of all, this is a story of the two sisters, and what they did when the monsters really came.”* Anne Ursu has certainly been busy lately. The important work she has been doing to make the book industry a better place for women is impressive and this work is marvelously reflected in her newest novel, making it a truly important tale for boys and girls alike to read. Don’t misread me. The Lost Girl is not a preachy message wrapped up in the guise of a story. It is a story, a fabulous story of the best kind. The sort with a purpose and a message so strong and profound that it is truly the tale’s heartbeat. The sort of story that should make its reader strive to be better. But let’s start at the beginning. Iris and Lark are identical twins. This is all anyone ever seems to know about them. They are the same because they look the same. They must have ES...

Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamillo Age Range: 8-12 Release Date: October 2, 2018 Candlewick Press 9780763694630 In April of 2016, the incomparable Kate DiCamillo introduced us to Raymie Clarke. Raymie was trying to find her way, as so many of us do, and she found a kinship with two girls along the way. One of these girls was Louisiane Elefante (daughter of the Flying Elefantes, you know), and she has her own winding path ahead of her. When Louisiana’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night and they hit the road, Lousiana is not overly worried. Granny gets these ideas in her head now and then, and she figures they’ll be back home sooner or later. Only this time, it doesn’t look like Granny will rethink things. How will Louisiana convince Granny to go back home, where everything and everyone she cares about most in the world are waiting for her? Louisiana’s story is the journey I didn’t know I needed. Kate DiCamillo has a wonderfully thoughtful way ...

Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen Age Range: 12 & up Release Date: September 5, 2017 Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers 9781101940440 “‘Sometimes it doesn’t take much for what’s dormant to bloom.’” Fourteen-year-old Wren Clemens is alone. At least, that’s how it feels. She’s railing at her parents, railing at her sister, regularly getting drunk and high. She is in way too deep with shady friends-who-are-not-friends, and is now being dragged out of her bed at 4am and whisked off to wilderness therapy camp. Like that’s going to help. Wild Bird is a whirlwind of the best kind, the kind only Wendelin Van Draanen ( Sammy Keyes , Flipped , The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones ) can bring to life. Wren (yes… like the bird) has a tremendously difficult journey ahead of her, and while at first she fights and screams and rages, it soon becomes clear that the harsh Utah desert will eat her alive if she doesn’t slow down and accept a little help. She will make progres...

***Upcoming Release!*** A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland 9780399546594 Age Range: 14 & up Release Date: September 5, 2017 G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers Everyone is afraid of something.  Whether it be heights or snakes or small spaces, there’s an entity that triggers a nerve for everyone. For this reader, it’s spiders and what I like to call a very healthy respect for the ocean (It’s an incredibly complex and fascinating place, but let’s be realistic here. Anything that lives there can move a lot faster than I can and will undoubtedly see me before I see it.). Esther Solar doesn’t know what her great fear is, but she has a list of fifty possibilities. For the Solar family is cursed, and each member is destined to die by the hand of their fear. Therefore, as long as she keeps a list of possible fears to avoid, Esther can never develop a full-on phobia and risk death by, say…lobster. A Semi-Definitive List of Wor...

The Someday Suitcase by Corey Ann Haydu Age Range: 8-12 Release Date: June 27, 2017 Katherine Tegen Books 9780062352750 Some stories are just special. They manage to wriggle their way into your heart, find a place to hunker down, and simply stay there. The Someday Suitcase is one of those stories. Clover and Danny have been best friends their entire lives. The close-your-eyes-and-know-exactly-what-the-other-is-doing kind of friends. But everything they know is derailed when Danny comes down with a mysterious illness. Test after test after test and the doctors are flummoxed. Luckily, Clover is a scientist, and she intends to figure out exactly what is wrong with her best friend. As Danny’s illness progresses and Clover takes meticulous notes, she begins to see the common denominator, the one thing that always makes Danny feel better: her. How is this possible? Her scientist brain is on overdrive, trying to figure out how this could be. But she can’t ignore the truth...

The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah Age Range: 13 & up Release Date: May 9, 2017 Scholastic Press 9781338118667 The people we love have a profound effect on us. The way we are raised influences our beliefs and our values, whether we end up agreeing with them or not. And very often, meeting another person can alter steadfast beliefs for the better and open you up to a whole new way of thinking. The Lines We Cross showcases this beautifully, telling the story of one teen’s eyes opening for the first time, and of another learning that not everyone is who they first seem to be. Mina is a refugee from Afghanistan. Though her family has lived in Australia for a decade now, she still feels boxed in this way by the community, and the traumatic experiences of her young life sit with her. This feeling is exacerbated even more when Mina and her family move across town so she can attend a prestigious prep school on scholarship. This is a major opportunity, despite the...

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia Age Range: 13 & up Release Date: May 30, 2017 Greenwillow Books 9780062290137 Eliza Mirk is an angsty teen. That’s certainly nothing new. She has a mom, a dad, and two younger brothers who drive her up the wall. She’s always being asked to come out of her room, to put her phone away, to get off the internet, to pull herself out of her own head and spend time with real people. What is unusual about Eliza is her art, an immensely popular webcomic called Monstrous Sea . Eliza keeps her identity anonymous, preferring to interact with the enthusiastic Monstrous Sea online community from the peripheral. Her creation is even lucrative enough to put her through school in the future. This popularity does not accompany her during school hours. As we all know, high school is rough. Teenagers can be judgmental and mean, and Eliza is weird from a traditionally social standpoint. She much prefers her online community. Then she meets ...