So much to read and so much time! Well, sorta, if you’re not the parent of school age kids. Believe it or not, though, the books just keep on coming, so, here’s a selection of some of the newest ones.

Jacqueline Woodson does it again, this time with illustrator Rafael Lopez, in her back-to-school story, The Day You Begin. Although it was published in 2018, it feels appropriate right now as children return to familiar places and friendly faces but maybe not really there, where they are supposed to be, and not even all the time. 

“Supposed to be” is a theme she carries on in her brand-new middle grade/young adult novel, Before the Ever. After all, ZJ’s dad has been a professional football player for as long as the boy can remember, and the dad the neighborhood kids all love — he’s big and strong and fun and a football hero. Then things change, and a new reality arrives, named Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, and all that is supposed to be turned into what now?

Rachel Beanland’s new novel, Florence Adler Swims Forever, takes on another popular sport but with a long distance focus. It’s based on real events, and don’t let the title misguide you, but do note the link to the previous book, The Notion of Ever After.

Finally, William Kent Krueger’s, This Tender Land takes you on a journey of discovery in the North Woods of Minnesota. His detective, Corky O’Connor, sports Irish and Ojibwe ancestors, which will certainly aid him in his search for four young runaways headed for the freedom of the mighty Mississippi.

Go ahead and get lost in a good book, and if you’re one of those parents of school age kids, travel the book journey together.