Below are the releases for April. Be sure to check the entire list for 2018 to see what’s been added for previous months.

As always what I missed in the comments, please

Curveball by Derek Jeter. Simon and Schuster. ages 8-12
While spending the summer with his extended family in New Jersey, Derek finds a team he can play baseball with and earns money to take his best friend to a Yankees game.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland. HarperCollins. ages 12-18
At once provocative, terrifying, and darkly subversive, this is Justina Ireland’s stunning vision of an America both foreign and familiar, a country on the brink, at the explosive crossroads where race, humanity, and survival meet.

For Everyone by Jason Reynolds. Atheneum. ages 12-18
Originally performed at the Kennedy Center for the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and later as a tribute to Walter Dean Myers, this poem is a rallying cry to the dreams of the world.

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Little, Brown and Co. ages 8-12
After seventh-grader Jerome is shot by a white police officer, he observes the aftermath of his death and meets the ghosts of other fallen black boys including historical figure Emmett Till.

Inferno (Talon #5) by Julie Kagawa HarperCollins.
What if dragons walked among us in human form? Enter a modern fantasy of heroes, sacrifice, forbidden love and enemies turned allies who have no choice but to fight side by side… Don’t miss the epic conclusion as Ember, Riley and Garrett face off against Dante and the Talon dragon clones. Join them…or burn.

Isle of Blood and Stone (Isle of Blood and Stone #1) by Makiia Lucier HMH.
Nineteen-year-old Elias is a royal explorer, a skilled mapmaker, and the new king of del Mar’s oldest friend. Soon he will embark on the adventure of a lifetime, an expedition past the Strait of Cain and into uncharted waters. Nothing stands in his way…until a long-ago tragedy creeps back into the light, threatening all he holds dear.

The people of St. John del Mar have never recovered from the loss of their boy princes, kidnapped eighteen years ago, both presumed dead. But when two maps surface, each bearing the same hidden riddle, troubling questions arise. What really happened to the young heirs? And why do the maps appear to be drawn by Lord Antoni, Elias’s father, who vanished on that same fateful day? With the king’s beautiful cousin by his side-whether he wants her there or not-Elias will race to solve the riddle of the princes. He will have to use his wits and guard his back. Because some truths are better left buried…and an unknown enemy stalks his every turn.

Krista Kim Bap by Angela Ahn. Second Story. Ages 11-13
Krista is nervous about bringing her grandmother to her fifth-grade class to talk about their Korean culture.

Lost Gods by Micah Yongo Angry Robot Books. Debut Author
Neythan is one of five adolescents trained and raised together by a mysterious brotherhood of assassins known as the Shedaím. When Neythan is framed for the murder of his closest friend, he pursues his betrayer, and in so doing learns there’s far more to the Brotherhood, and even the world itself than he’d ever thought possible.

The Lost Kids by Sara Saedi Viking Books.
Just a few weeks ago, Wylie Dalton was living on a magical island where nobody ages past seventeen, and in love with Phinn, the island’s leader. Now, her home is a creaky old boat where she’s joined a ragtag group of cast-offs from the island, all dead-set on getting revenge on Phinn for betraying them. But when the Lost Kids invade Minor Island, they’re shocked to find it totally deserted, except for one survivor who reveals the shocking news: adults have discovered the island.

Love Double Dutch by Doreen Spicer-Dannelly (Random House) ages 8-12
Brooklyn middle-schooler MaKayla can only think about one thing–taking her double Dutch team all the way to the National Jump-off at Madison Square Garden. That is, until her mother breaks the news. Kayla has to spend the summer at her aunt’s house in North Carolina while her parents work out their problems . . . or decide to call it quits.

Kayla does not feel at home in the South, and she certainly doesn’t get along with her snooty cousin Sally. It looks like her Jump-off dreams are over. Hold the phone! Turns out, double Dutch is huge in the South. She and Sally just need to find two more kids for a team. And a routine. And the confidence to stand up to the double Dutch divas who used to be Sally’s BFFs. Time to show those Southern belles some Brooklyn attitude!

Lost Kids (Never Ever) by Sara Saedi. Viking. Ages 12 and up
Just a few weeks ago, Wylie Dalton was living on magical Minor Island where nobody ages past seventeen, and in love with Phinn, the island’s leader. Now, her home is a creaky old boat where she’s joined a ragtag group of cast-offs from the island, all dead-set on getting revenge on Phinn for betraying them. But when the Lost Kids invade their former paradise, they’re stunned to find that their once-secret island is no longer so secret, and that a much bigger enemy is gunning for Phinn . . . and all the Minor Island kids. Told from both Wylie’s and Phinn’s perspectives, this dramatic sequel reveals that when you Never Ever grow up, the past has a way of catching up to you.

Peasprout Chen, Future Legend and Skate and Sword by Henry Lien (Henry Holt and Co.) agest 10-14
Welcome to Pearl Famous Academy of Skate and Sword, where the blades are sharp and the competition is fierce. Peasprout Chen dreams of becoming a legend of wu liu, the deadly and beautiful art of martial arts figure skating.  As the first students from the rural country of Shin to attend Pearl Famous Academy of Skate and Sword, Peasprout and her little brother Cricket have some pretty big skates to fill. They soon find themselves in a heated competition for top ranking.

Tensions rise when the dazzling pearl buildings of the Academy are vandalized and outsider Peasprout is blamed for the attacks by her rivals … and even some friends. Now, she must uncover the true vandal to ensure peace between Shin and Pearl – all while becoming a champion.

Rebound by Kwame Alexander (HMH)
When 18-year-old Janell’s childhood-BFF-turned-rival, Alyssa, is hospitalized due to complications from diabetes, Janell sets their differences aside, defies the risks of racially mixed transplants, and volunteers as a donor. But the test results reveal that Janell is the only kidney donor match in the entire state – a fact that could save (or take) Alyssa’s life.

Running Through Sprinklers by Michelle Kim (Atheneum)ages 8-12 Debut Author
Sara and Nadine have been like two halves of the same person, but when Nadine skips a grade and begins high school first, Sara must discover who she is without Nadine.

The Secret of Purple Lake by Yaba Badoe and Bgolahan Adams. Cassava Republic. ages 9-12
The Secret of the Purple Lake is a collection of five interlinked stories that take us from Ghana to Orkney, and from Spain to Norway and Thailand. As a minor character from one story assumes a major role in the next, we meet a fascinating cast, including Imoro the magic elephant, the Walrus Prince, and the Wild Princesses of Rousay. The protagonist of the opening tale, The Fisherman’s Daughter, has to retrieve her dead father’s bones from the bottom of the sea, in order to bring harmony back to her seaside village. In fulfilling her task, she must evade the clutches of The Fish-man of the Purple Lake. The Fish-man, a monstrous creature with the body of a man and the head of a fish, was once a beautiful boy from the Sahel, and has his own story about how he became the Fish-man.

Sunny by Jason Reynolds (Atheneum)
Ghost. Patina. Sunny. Lu. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds, with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team—a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics. They all have a lot of lose, but they all have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves. Sunny is the main character in this novel, the third of four books in Jason Reynold’s electrifying middle grade series.

Ten Cents a Pound by Nhung Tran-Davies and illustrated by José Bisaillon. Second Story. Ages 9-11
A girl and her mother talk about leaving their small mountain village to go to school and hae the opportunity for more than a life of labor in the coffee trees.

Trouble Never Sleeps by Stephanie Tromly. (Penguin) ages 8-12
Digby and Zoe have been skirting around each other for so long that you might think they’d lose their magic if they ever actually hooked up. But never fear–there’s all the acerbic wit, steamy chemistry, and sarcastic banter you could possibly hope for.

Now that Digby’s back in town he’s plunged Zoe (and their Scooby Gang of wealthy frenemy Sloane, nerd-tastic genius Felix, and aw-shucks-handsome Henry) back into the deep end on the hunt for his kidnapped sister. He’s got a lead, but it involves breaking into a secret government research facility, paying a drug dealer off with a Bentley, and possibly committing treason. The schemes might be over-the-top but this Breakfast Club cast is irresistibly real as they cope with regular high school stuff from social media shaming to dating your best friend, all with a twist no one will see coming.

You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly (Greenwillow Books)
Funny and poignant, acclaimed author Erin Entrada Kelly’s You Go First is an engaging exploration of family, spelling, art, bullying, and the ever-complicated world of middle school friendships.