The Steps by Wendelin Van Draanen

---

✦ BLURB ✦

Fourteen-year-old chess whiz Ruby Vossen tries to keep to herself. She refuses to be a pawn in her wealthy family’s web of deception.

But ever since Ruby’s mother and aunt died in a car wreck, the battle lines drawn within the Vossen clan have ruled her life. Ruby’s father and uncle became irreparably estranged, and within months, Ruby’s cousin/BFF was banished from her life, her father remarried, and she wound up with a gold-digging stepmom who has two teens of her own—The Steps.

So when strange and dangerous things begin happening on the Vossen estate, Ruby sees only one logical explanation: The Steps are scheming to inherit the Vossen fortune. And as things get more and more intense, it seems like killing is in their playbook.

Luckily, Ruby has her own playbook, and she’s not about to go down without a fight. She’ll even break her dad’s rules to get her cousin back on her side of the chessboard . . . It’s time to check-mate The Steps before they can finish the Vossens off.

Secrets, lies, and lethal threats abound in this clever, quirky thriller by the award-winning, bestselling author of Flipped and the Sammy Keyes mysteries.

Happy #BookBirthday! 14 Aug 2025

Happy Thursday! This week there are FIVE books on our lists publishing!

Torchfire by Moira Buffini

---

✦ BLURB ✦

Welcome back to a world where songlight - or telepathy - is either your greatest power or your greatest curse.

Elsa has fled Northaven and is urgently seeking a safe haven.

Nightingale is being held Captive by Sister Swan and forced to use her songlight against her own people.

Piper has been promoted up the ranks of the Airmen, where nothing but bloodshed is demanded of him.

Rye has stumbled across an incredible airship, the likes of which has never been seen before . . .

All four are united by their desire for peace.

But peace between the Aylish and Brightland feels more fragile than ever now that evil Brother Kite has seized power.

And there is a new threat, not just to Brightland, but to Ayland and the world beyond. The airship that Rye has discovered is owned by the Teroans, a race of elite Torches that left Earth after its destruction. Back on a reconnaissance trip, they are keen to resettle on their recovering planet, but mere human beings are seen as second class citizens and accepted collateral damage.

The future of civilisation is on a knife edge, with those from Brightland wanting to stamp out songlight, those from Ayland wanting harmony and those from Teroa wanting songlight to rein, whatever the costs . . .

A sequel to rival all others, proving this to be the most exciting trilogy to have been published for decades!

for the rest of us ed by Dahlia Adler

---

✦ BLURB ✦

This YA anthology from a host of talented, award-winning authors features a year of festive stories from a variety of perspectives, shining a light on the celebrations of many cultural and religious groups.

For too long, “holiday story” has been synonymous with “Christmas story.” But from Lunar New Year to Solstice, Día de los Muertos to Juneteenth, and all the incredible days in between, it’s clear that Americans don’t just have one holiday. In this delightful and meaningful anthology for teens, fourteen acclaimed authors reclaim the phrase “holiday” to showcase the beautiful and diverse ways that people celebrate.

Edited by the esteemed Dahlia Adler and authored by creators who have lived these festive experiences firsthand, this joyful collection of stories shows that there isn’t one way to experience a holiday.

Break Room by Miye Lee with Sandy Joosun Lee, translator

---

✦ BLURB ✦

Eight unsuspecting people receive an invitation to participate in a mysterious new reality show called Break Room. But what starts as an opportunity for fame is quickly revealed to be something far more unsettling when they learn how they were chosen – voted in by their own co-workers as the people they’d least like to share a break room with.

But there’s another twist. Among them is an imposter – a mole planted by the show’s producers. The only way to win the prize money is to uncover the saboteur before time runs out.

Labelled as “villains”, the participants are left to grapple with the alarming realisation that their actions might be perceived differently by others. As alliances shift and paranoia festers, the contestants begin to realise that the true challenge isn’t surviving the show – it’s facing their own selves.

Welcome . . . Step into the world of the reality show, Break Room, where every smile hides suspicion, and every word could be a clue.

Oxford Blood by Rachel Davis Featherstone

---

✦ BLURB ✦

Love, Lies, Legacy...High-achieving state-school pupil Eva has one dream – reading English at Oxford. If she gets in, not only will she receive a world-class education at an elite university, but she will be fulfilling the dreams of her mother and gain some independence from her father, the overprotective Inspector Dawkins.

At the same school, Eva's best-friend George is also hoping to go to Oxford. The attraction between him and Eva is undeniable, but they’ve agreed to put any romance on hold until their places at Oxford are secured. Eva cannot be distracted from her goal – although when they are both invited for interview week, their future together feels oh-so close.

Until George shows up dead.

The police rule his death an accident, but the behaviour of some of the other interview candidates has Eva suspecting foul play. When a shocking secret about George is revealed, Eva finds suspicion falling on her. What was meant to be one of the most important weeks of her life is fast turning into a nightmare.

All eyes are now on Eva, including the anonymous posters behind OxSlay, a gossipy social media forum exclusively for Oxford students. But amongst the conspiracy theories, lurk hidden clues. Could they help Eva clear her name - and catch the killer?

Happy #BookBirthday! 7 Aug 2025

Happy Thursday! This week there are  books on our lists publishing!

Blog tour: Girls of Dark Divine by E. V. Woods

---

✦ BLURB ✦

In the legendary ballet theatre of New Kora, the girls on stage enchant the audience each night with their grace and divine beauty. Before Emberlyn became the show's star, it was her dream to become one of the ballerinas… until she learned the price of their living nightmare.

A curse has bound the girls to the show's mastermind, Malcolm, so they must obey his every command. They are controlled by the magic’s invisible strings that has the power to wield their limbs like marionette dolls. Only the commands don’t stop when the curtain comes down, and the girls live a life of fear from Malcolm’s wickedness and the twisted truth that each dancer is destined to turn to dust when the curse finally consumes her.

When the troupe is invited to perform in the glitzy city of Parlizia, Emberlyn knows this could be her best chance to save them all. She meets an elusive boy made of shadows with a magical connection to the girls. Together, they work to unravel the haunting truth about their creation and fight for their survival. But the cost of freedom might be too high, and as she dances closer to the edge of darkness she realizes she might break the curse… or break her own heart forever.

How Bad Things can Get by Darcy Coates

✦ BLURB ✦

Prosperity Island. Its history is filled with shipwrecks, cannibalism, and a string of unexplained deaths. And now... it hosts the party of the century.

A content creator millionaire and more than a hundred of his fans land on the beach. The plan: five days of elaborate games, drinking, and suntanned fun. Among the guests are a woman trying to hide from her bloody and notorious past, and a video journalist hunting for the next big scandal.

The celebrations have barely started when the first guests go missing. Games take a deadly turn. And attendees are forced to question whether they've really been invited to paradise...or whether something much darker is boiling just under the surface.

Traitors in Space by Tim Collins + Steven Wood

---

✦ BLURB ✦

Catch the aliens before they catch you in this exciting extraterrestrial choose-your-own-adventure featuring illustrated puzzles perfect for fans of the Among Us game.

Imagine you are a brilliant young scientist who has been chosen for a research mission to a distant planet. On your way back to Earth, you are woken early from cryosleep by the ship’s computer. It has detected an alien lifeform, but you don’t see any sign of one.

You look at your fellow crewmates and wonder if one of them has been taken over by an alien intelligence. Can you work out who can be trusted and who the aliens are before they take over your mind too?

Approximately twenty illustrated puzzle missions are woven into the narrative at key turning points for full immersion in the story. Featuring over forty-five potential endings, gripping plot twists, and atmospheric illustrations, this alien adventure is truly out of this world.

All the Tomorrows After by Joanne Yi

---

✦ BLURB ✦

Each night, Winter Moon counts her earnings dreaming of escape. Once she’s saved enough, she and her grandmother can finally take flight and disappear. But when her spiteful mother steals her money and blows through it all in one day, Winter is forced to turn to her estranged father, who recently reappeared in her life after being absent for more than a decade. They agree upon a simple contract: she spends time with him in exchange for payment.

It’s not easy reconciling the past and the present, though, and when she’s struck with a sudden loss, Winter flounders in grief and rage. The only person offering a hand is Joon, the new boy at school who sees Winter when no one else does.

When Winter discovers a secret her father has been keeping from her, things get even more complicated. As she navigates grief, first love, and forgiveness, Winter begins to forge connections, new and old, that make her question everything: her future, her conviction to disappear, and what it really means to be family. Winter knows that broken things can never be fixed, but can they come back together in a different way?