WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 59Review_CHILDREN’S
continued on p. 62brethren upon the world. In Albuquerque,
N.M., 12-year-old Nizhoni Begay can
detect monsters disguised as regular
people. And no one heeds her warnings,
even when one monster—her father’s new
boss, Mr. Charles, an oil executive at a
company that “people are protesting for
putting in that pipeline”—shows interest
in her Navajo heritage. After Mr. Charles
kidnaps her father, Nizhoni, along with
her younger brother Marcus and her best
friend Davery, journey across the
American
Southwest and
into a spiritual
realm to obtain
the weapons
needed to defeat
Mr. Charles’s
army of mon-
sters. But for
Nizhoni to
follow in her
long-vanished
mother’s footsteps as a monster slayer, she
must survive a grueling series of chal-
lenges. Roanhorse (the Sixth World series
for adults), who is Ohkay Owingeh and
African-American, draws on her husband’s
heritage to reimagine Navajo stories and
characters, delivering a fast-paced,
exciting adventure. While the antago-
nists could stand further development,
Nizhoni’s blend of snark, confidence,
and humor proves as multifaceted as the
satisfying tale’s focus on friendship, family,
and cultural legacy. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sara
Megibow, KT Literary. (Jan.)★ When You Trap a Tiger
Tae Keller. Random House, $16.99 (304p)
ISBN 978-1-5247-1570-0
Making deals with talking tigers was
the one thing that biracial Lily’s glamorous
Korean grandmother, Halmoni, warned her
never to do. Yet when Halmoni falls ill, a
magical tiger offers Lily an ultimatum:
recover the stories that Halmoni stole years
ago, or lose her forever. Keller weaves
Korean folk tradition with warm scenes of
Korean-American domesticity—preparing
food for ancestral spirits, late night
snacking on kimchi. The result is a story
that seamlessly transitions from the mun-
dane to the magical, never jarring when
Lily’s contemporary America is sporadically
replaced with a mythical land of sky godsdream.” The book concludes with a
roundup of the subjects and personal
statements about their personalities,
favorite things, and ambitions, inviting
readers’ own self-reflections. A blithe
celebration of individuality, guts, and
sisterhood. Ages 5–10. Author’s agent:
Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary.
Illustrator’s agent: Marietta Zacker, Gallt &
Zacker Literary. (Feb.)Fiction
★ From the Desk of Zoe
Washington
Janae Marks. HarperCollins/Tegen, $16.99
(304p) ISBN 978-0-06-287585-3
On her 12th birthday, Zoe Washington
receives a letter from Marcus, the biolog-
ical father she’s never met, who has been
serving time for murder since just before
Zoe’s birth. Zoe’s mother and stepfather
don’t want her in touch with Marcus, but
Zoe, curious, strikes up a correspondence
with the help of her maternal grand-
mother, who believes Marcus to be “a
good person at heart.” Aspiring pastry
chef Zoe grows busy as she makes up with
her best friend Trevor, writes to Marcus,
and interns at a family friend’s bakery,
where she hopes to prove to her parents
that she could compete on Food
Network’s Kids Bake Challenge. When
Marcus tells Zoe he is innocent, and her
grandmother agrees, Zoe begins to learn
about inequality in the criminal justice
system, and she and Trevor set out to
find the alibi witness who can prove his
innocence. Debut author Marks seamlessly
weaves timely discussions about institu-
tionalized racism into this uplifting and
engaging story that packs an emotional
punch. Zoe is a relatable tween, with
friendship and familial frustrations that
will resonate with readers. Ages 8–12.
Agent: Alexander Slater, Trident Media
Group. (Jan.)Race to the Sun
Rebecca Roanhorse. Disney-Hyperion/Riordan,
$16.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-368-02466-2
In this fantasy inspired by Navajo leg-
ends, two siblings discover they’re the
latest incarnations of the famed Hero
Twins, just in time to combat a devious
monster who plans to unleash hisBuzz some-
times feels
pressured “to
keep up the
family name,”
a duty under-
scored by a
wall show-
casing portraits of his ancestors, all styl-
ishly coiffed—and all named Buzz.
Outdoors, the immaculate white dog is
kept on an exceptionally short leash, held
by his unseen owner who repeatedly
barks “No!” at any sort of houndlike
behavior. Tethered even at the dog park,
along with a passel of dour doggies, Buzz
breaks protocol to roll gleefully in a
puddle, and is taken straight to the pet
groomer. He escapes out the groomer’s
back door, inspired by a freewheeling
pink bird who accompanies him as he
takes full advantage of his freedom,
exploring, digging holes, and getting
delightfully, doggedly dirty. Coppo
(Petra) brings her droll story to an open-
ended finale: viewing flyers offering a
reward for his return, Buzz fears his
unleashed spree “wouldn’t last,” but a final
page shows Buzz, now filthy, and asks a
leading question: “Or will it?” Ages 5–8.
(Feb.)
A Girl Like Me
Angela Johnson, illus. by Nina Crews. Millbrook,
$19.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-5415-5777-2
Poet Johnson (Heaven) bridges fanciful
aspirations and attainable goals in this
inclusive portrait of girlhood. “I always
dream” opens the airy, free-verse narrative.
In collages superimposing crisp photos
against swirling abstract backdrops,
Crews (Seeing into Tomorrow) portrays a
girl flying through the air in a red cape,
another walking atop skyscrapers, and a
third swimming in the ocean, becoming
“part of the waves,” while onshore
onlookers holler, “A girl like you needs
to/ stay out of the water/ and be dry,/ like
everyone else.” The collaborators bring
the tone down to earth as the kids react
to unseen naysayers who discourage their
dreams. In affirmations of their spirit of
curiosity and adventure, the girls don
vibrant clothing and funky hats as they
skip down city streets and frolic by the
ocean, always “thinking/ way up/ high/
and making/ everything/ better than/ the