Hi guys!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we're shining the BOOK SPOTLIGHT on a few titles that have made their way (or are JUST about to) to a bookstore or virtual shelf near you. That's right. It's time to set our sights on JULY RELEASES and we've got a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. So, have your TBR at the ready, here come the books!
The first two titles are ones that caught my attention, for one reason or another, but I've not indulged in the story between the pages. Will I? Perhaps, but at the very least, I wanted to draw your eye to them as well and see what YOU think! I love how the first one draws a connection between two people at two very different times, while the second one feels like an edge of your seat mystery that will keep you turning pages!
by Brittney Morris
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
About the book...
Two moments in time. Two very different girls. And one story that connects them both.
It’s the year 2024, and Zinnia Davis is on a mission to ace her personal essay. But when an admissions rep hints that her adoption story is “lacking heart,” she has to figure out a new spin. Frankly, Zinnia doesn’t know much about her birth parents; that is, until her favorite author releases a new novel—Little Heart—about a princess with a heart-shaped birthmark on her forehead and separated from her mother at birth…just like Zinnia. Could this be her birth mother?
Flashback to 2006, and teenager Tuesday Walker is barely making it through high school after experiencing a loss that had her on leave for months. To cope, Tuesday writes a series of entries in a journal, but when the journal is lost, it feels like reliving the trauma all over again. Tuesday’s search for the journal uncovers dangerous secrets about her past, her crush, and her own mother’s story.
If Tuesday isn’t careful in her search, Zinnia will have to reap the consequences in the present.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
by Tiffany D. Jackson
Scholastic Press
About the book...
Brooklyn girl Kaylani McKinnon feels like a fish out of water. She's spending the summer with family friends in their huge house on Martha's Vineyard, and the vibe is definitely snooty. Still, there are beautiful beaches, lots of ice cream, and a town full of fascinating Black history. Plus a few kids her age who seem friendly.
Until the shocking death of a popular teenage boy rocks the community to its core. Was it a drowning? A shark attack? Or the unthinkable--murder?
Kaylani is determined to solve the mystery. But her investigation leads her to uncover shocking secrets that could change her own life as she knows it... if she survives.
🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞
Now for our next set of titles, I have delved between their pages, paper or electronic, and they've BOTH got stories to tell.
.jpeg)
by Christy Mandin
Orchard Books
This is a story about embracing the darkness and allowing it as much space as the light. There are things that can only be done in the dark, places that can only be visited, thoughts only thought, dreams only dreamed, life that can only grow AND glow when the lights go out. Millie reminds us that while many shy away from darkness, it's generally out of misunderstanding versus actual desire. I mean, who doesn't fear the unknown in some fashion? But if we give it time, get to know it little by little, and it never hurts to have a friend at hand, we can be as much friends with the darkness as we are with the light, and celebrate the unique things that only it can bring. Filled with wondrous illustrations and so many delightful ideas to create your own twilight garden, I can see readers of all ages taking this one to heart and making the dark their new friend.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
by Derrick Barnes
Illustrated by Shamar Knight-Justice
Nancy Paulsen Books
On Sale: 07/15/2025
This is a story of family, of the bonds forged between siblings, and the boundless love that carries on from generation to generation. When Anthony becomes a big brother, he showers this new addition to the family with love, pearls of wisdom, and that precious commodity of TIME. As they grow, so does their relationship, but they always come back to one another because through thick and thin, they've got each other. When one day the family dynamics change once again, Rasheed gets the chance to be the big brother Anthony was to him, but to the new little addition, continuing the circle of love, growth, and understanding that cements a family at heart. It was a touching story that I think really gets to the heart of what having a brother or sister (or multiples of each!) really means. It's not just someone to place the blame on. It's not just someone to ignore when it's convenient. It's not just someone there to take up the space you were already occupying. It's someone to share the good times and bad, someone to create memories with and share traditions learned, someone that will always be there through life's ups and downs, and that's truly something worth cultivating.
🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞
Special thanks to the publishers, publicists, and authors listed above for the chance to bring these titles to you! For more information, feel free to click through the links provided above. The first three are currently available now, and the last follows suit in a few days time (as of this post).
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
