Can’t Wait Wednesday: February 2020 Book Releases

Can’t Wait Wednesday is hosted by Wishful Endings. I get to spotlight a few upcoming book releases that sound interesting to me. Here’s what’s coming out in the next few weeks.

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February 2020 Book Releases

A Galaxy Of Sea Stars by Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo

Middlegrade Contemporary

February 4, 2020

At a time when everything in her small town of Seaside, Rhode Island, seems like it’s changing, eleven-year-old Izzy Vitale wants things to stay the same. She wants her dad to start acting like he did before he was deployed to Afghanistan, she wants her mom to move back to the marina where they live, but most of all, she wants best friends Piper and Zelda (dubbed the Sea Star Posse by their kindergarten teacher) to stay best friends as they begin sixth grade at the regional middle school.

Then, Izzy’s father invites his former Army interpreter from Afghanistan and his whole family—including eleven-year-old Sitara—to move into the upstairs apartment at the marina. Izzy doesn’t know what to make of Sitara with her hijab and refusal to eat cafeteria food. She does know that her constant presence has become like a rogue wave disrupting the normally easy flow of the Sea Star Posse. But as Izzy gets to know Sitara, she can’t help but admire her self-confidence and pride in her Muslim faith. Little by little, Izzy begins to realize there exists a world much larger than her safe but insulated harbor in Seaside.

When hate messages start showing up at the girls’ school and at the marina, Izzy and Sitara team up to discover the source of the vandalism. But what Izzy ultimately learns will force her to make a choice: remain silent and betray Sitara or speak up for what she knows is right—even if it means losing the Sea Star Posse forever.

What interests me: The cover is so pretty! Actually, I’m most intrigued by the last sentence of the synopsis. I like when characters are forced to make tough choices. It also sounds like this might be a friendship breakup book? I broke up with a few friends when I was in middle school, so it’s a relevant topic for the target audience.

Buy it on Amazon

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Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed

Young Adult Contemporary

February 4, 2020

YES

Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let’s face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie’s a choke artist. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes . . . until he meets Maya.

NO

Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing—with some awkward dude she hardly knows—is beyond her.

MAYBE SO

Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer—and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely.

What interests me: Becky Albertalli! Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda is one of the few romance books I actually like. I don’t think the author’s other books are as strong as Simon, but I’m willing to give this novel a shot.

Buy it on Amazon

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Wranglestone by Darren Charlton (Wranglestone #1)

Young Adult Horror/Dystopia

February 6, 2020

In a post-apocalyptic America, a community survives in a national park, surrounded by water that keeps the Dead at bay. But when winter comes, there's nothing to stop them from crossing the ice.

Then homebody Peter puts the camp in danger by naively allowing a stranger to come ashore and he's forced to leave the community of Wranglestone. Now he must help rancher Cooper, the boy he's always watched from afar, herd the Dead from their shores before the lake freezes over.

But as love blossoms, a dark discovery reveals the sanctuary's secret past. One that forces the pair to question everything they've ever known.

What interests me: Zombies in a national park? A winter setting? A sanctuary with a secret past? Comparisons to Marcus Sedgwick and Patrick Ness? I’m game. Bring it on. This sounds brilliant.

Buy it on Amazon

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Escape Routes by Naomi Ishiguro

Adult Fantasy Short Story Collection

February 6, 2020

A space-obsessed child conjures up a vortex in his mother's airing cupboard. A musician finds her friendship with a flock of birds opens up unexpected possibilities. A rat catcher, summoned to a decaying royal palace, is plunged into a battle for the throne of a ruined kingdom. Two newlyweds find themselves inhibited by the arrival in their lives of an outsized and watchful stuffed bear.

Whether snared in traps artfully laid for them, or those of their own making, the characters in Naomi Ishiguro's delightfully speculative debut collection yearn for freedom and flight, and find their worlds transformed beyond their wildest imaginings.

What interests me: Goodreads describes this collection as “pleasingly unsettling.” That’s what I look for in a short story collection. I’m secretly always hoping to find another Karen Russell.

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on Book Depository

Are you looking forward to any February book releases?