The year is marching on, and our TBR is not slowing down. This month, we are moving from big cities to small towns. We want stories that find the heart in big achievements, life-saving stories, and the grit and drama of self-discovery. More than anything, we want to explore new place, new communities, and new conflicts.
Here’s what we’re excited for in March. Do any of these titles make your list?
Limelight by Andrew Keenan-Bolger
Is 90s Broadway part of your nostalgia? Broadway star Andrew Keenan-Bolger’s YA debut is a trip back to 1996 New York City and the modern touristy glamour of Times Square.
Danny Victorio is so close to New York City he can almost taste it, but getting off Staten Island isn’t going to solve all of his problems. LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, Manhattan’s most prestigious arts school, is a competitive environment that will challenge his sense of belonging as much as his family back home.
Danny’s new world will take him to Times Square to chase tickets to Rent, find his place among the “Club Kids,” and hope he’ll find his own place in the spotlight.
If you like: Historical fiction, Broadway, coming of age
Fustuk by Robert Mgrdich Apelian
In a family of chefs, 17-year-old Fustukian is the one who can’t seem to get it right when he’s in the kitchen. Maybe it’s because he’s the only one who never met their late father, a legendary chef. Maybe it’s because Katah is destined for something else.
Katah’s mom is ill and getting worse by the day, but magic is growing inside Katah, and it might be the answer to their problems.
Does an affinity for magic mean that striking a deal with a powerful div named Az is a good idea? Katah and his siblings will have to find out as they try to make a dish that will win Az over and save their mother.
If you like: Mythology, graphic novels, sibling stories, magic
Onward: Climate Fiction to Inspire Hope Edited by Nora Shalaway Carpenter
This collection of 16 stories about the ongoing climate crisis includes prose, verse, and personal essays from authors across the world that aim to show our deep connection to our planet and how we can work together to respond to a shifting world.
If you like: Anthologies, stories, poems, essays
Few Blue Skies by Carolina Ixta
Paloma Vistamontes is facing one heartbreak after the next. Her ex-boyfriend, Julio Ramos, broke up with her after his father’s death, and now her hometown is being threatened by a massive e-commerce company.
The company, Selva, has opened warehouses all over town, destroying green spaces and polluting the air. Now, they want to put a warehouse next to Paloma’s high school. The locals, whose quiet lives have been squashed by the changes to the town, want to leave, but Paloma wants to save San Feremín and rekindle her relationship with Julio.
Can Paloma expose Selva and save her home and her relationship, or will it all go up in smoke?
If you like: Realism, romance, family, hometown stories
Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away by Ciera Burch
Olivia Gray just started seventh grade, and everyone is crushing.
While Olivia doesn’t know why everyone has suddenly shifted to boy talk and obsessing over who is with who, she knows that she doesn’t feel the same. Unfortunately, soon the whole school knows it too.
Olivia accidentally rejects the most popular boy in school when he asks her to the fall formal, and it goes viral on KruShh. Now Olivia has to navigate an identity she’s only just beginning to understand while managing the expectations of middle school if she wants to avoid being invisible—literally.
If you like: Middle school, coming of age, magi realism
