Best Books Summer 2018 from Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly

Catwoman: Soulstealer (DC Icons)

Sarah J. Maas (Random House)

The author of the Throne of Glass books turns her talents to pop-culture fiction, in this series in which bestselling YA writers portray popular superheroes. In Maas’s tale, Selina Kyle returns to Gotham City as the wealthy Holly Vanderhees, and plots to pull off a daring heist.

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How I Resist: Activism and Hope for a New Generation

Edited by Maureen Johnson (Wednesday Books)

In this timely compendium, 30 contributors offer essays, reflections, illustrations, and poems from a wide range of perspectives, sharing their experiences encountering various forms of injustice.

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Illegal

Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illus. by Giovanni Rigano (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky)

The creator of Artemis Fowl has co-written his first graphic novel, the gripping story of a boy’s journey from Ghana across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, illuminating the perils faced by refugees and immigrants.

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Monday’s Not Coming

Tiffany D. Jackson (HarperCollins/Tegen)

This suspenseful, heartwrenching followup to the author’s acclaimed debut, Allegedly, features another ripped-from-the-headlines premise: Claudia’s best friend Monday has gone missing, and while no one seems concerned, Claudia worries that she may be in real trouble, and discovers potentially dangerous secrets that Monday has been keeping.

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Puddin’

Julie Murphy (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray)

Millie Michalchuk, who also appeared in Murphy’s Dumplin’, may be a lifer at fat camp, but that doesn’t mean she buys into how the world sees her, in this tale of unexpected friendship, chasing one’s dreams, and finding love.

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Smoke in the Sun

Renée Ahdieh (Putnam)

June brings the sequel to Ahdieh’s bestselling Flame in the Mist, an elaborate fantasy duology set in feudal Japan, where a resilient young woman defies class conventions and gender roles in a quest for vengeance and autonomy.

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