Starred Review: ALL THE NOISE AT ONCE by DeAndra Davis

May 152025
 

Booklist: Aiden Wright, a Black and autistic teenager, wants nothing more than to play football like his older brother Brandon, a quarterback, and to be on a team with Brandon before he leaves for college. Despite some challenges with the sensory experience and ableist discrimination, Aiden makes it onto the team. Unfortunately, one of Aiden’s bullies starts a fight, and the police are called. When Brandon tries to shield his brother from police violence, he gets arrested and wrongly accused of assaulting a police officer. As Brandon’s resulting trial edges closer, Aiden must figure out a way to uncover what exactly happened that day—and help clear Brandon’s name in time. Aptly named after the feeling an autistic person might experience during sensory overload, thisis a stunning debut that empathetically captures the nuances of being both Black and autistic with care and love. Aiden and Brandon’s relationship as brothers is complex and layered, and readers will root for both of them and hope they reconcile their differences. At its heart, this is a story about brotherhood, family, the fight against police brutality and the carceral system, racism and anti-Blackness, and ableism through the autistic experience—all in all, it is essential reading about activism and collective action. Aiden’s voice will linger long after you finish this riveting work.

Starred Review: OUT OF AIR by Rachel Reiss

May 142025
 

School Library Journal: Phoebe, nicknamed Phibs by her friends, has lived in Boca Chica Key, FL, with her grandmother since her mother mysteriously disappeared. She’s always felt connected to the ocean, is an expert diver and underwater photographer, and seems to possess a sixth sense about the underwater world. She often feels out of place among her wealthier Key West friends, but her unique gift brings them unexpected social media fame, leading to a dream dive trip to Marimont, off the coast of Australia. This trip offers Phibs a chance to spend a final, glorious summer with her friends, including Gabe, whom she secretly hopes will become more than a friend. On a dive in Marimont, Phibs feels the ocean calling her to explore a crack she sees in the seabed, which leads to a magnificent underwater cave. It’s like nothing she’s ever seen, but Phibs and her friends soon learn some things are best left undisturbed. The story unfolds through alternating time lines, weaving together present-day events with flashbacks that reveal details about what happened to the group before Marimont. This narrative technique, paired with an engaging writing style and some shocking twists and turns, is sure to thrill. Romance, mystery, horror, adventure, treasure hunting, and a love letter to diving all combine to make this a compelling read. Fans of The Outer Banks will find themselves hooked from the first page. VERDICT A refreshing, original debut, this book is a must-have addition to any YA collection.

THE EMILIE ADVENTURES by Martha Wells

May 132025
 

Emilie and the Hollow World

Running away from home and stowing away on the wrong ship, Emilie embarks on a fantastic adventure.

Emilie learns that the crew hopes to use an experimental engine to journey to the interior of the planet, but when the ship becomes damaged on arrival and evidence points to sabotage, they encounter the treacherous Lord Ivers, along with a strange new race.

Can Emilie and her new-found friends possibly reach the surface world again?

Emilie and the Sky-World

When Emilie arrives in Silk Harbor, Professor Abindon, an old colleague of her friend Lady Marlende, warns them of something strange and potentially deadly in the sky, a disruption in an upper air aether current. On further investigation they realize it’s a ship from another aetheric plane.

How to determine if it’s a friendly explorer, or something far more sinister? Nothing less than a journey into the dangerous air currents will do.

Join Emilie and she navigates the strange landscapes of the upper air, and the deadly menace that inhabits the Sky World.

OUT OF AIR by Rachel Reiss

May 132025
 

The deeper you go, the darker you fall.

Phoebe “Phibs” Ray is never more at home than when she’s underwater. On a dive six months ago, she and her four closest friends discovered a handful of ancient gold coins, rocketing them into social media fame. Now, their final summer together after high school, they’re taking one last trip to a distant Australian island to do what they love most – scuba dive.

While diving a local reef, Phibs discovers a spectacular underwater sea cave, rumored to be a lost cave with a buried treasure. But when Phibs and her best friend Gabe surface from the cave, they notice that they’re undergoing strange changes. Oozing gashes that don’t heal. Haunting whispers in their heads… Something has latched onto them, lurking beneath their skin, transforming them from the inside out.

When treasure hunters arrive, desperate to find the location of the cave and hold Phibs’ group for ransom, she’ll do anything to keep her friends safe. In the process she learns that, of all the dreadful creatures of the sea, she might be the most terrifying of them all.

2025 Locus Awards Finalists!

May 092025
 

The finalists for the 2025 Locus Award finalists were announced and several DMLA clients made the list!

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

  • Rakesfall, Vajra Chandrasekera (Tordotcom)

FANTASY NOVEL

  • The Tainted Cup, Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey; Hodderscape UK)
  • Asunder, Kerstin Hall (Tordotcom)
  • The Siege of Burning Grass, Premee Mohamed (Solaris UK)

YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • The Feast Makers, H.A. Clarke (Erewhon)
  • Sheine Lende, Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)

NOVELLA

  • The Butcher of the Forest, Premee Mohamed (Tordotcom)
  • Countess, Suzan Palumbo (ECW)

NOVELETTE

  • “A Stranger Knocks“, Tananarive Due (Uncanny 9-10/24)
  • “By Salt, By Sea, By Light of Stars“, Premee Mohamed (Strange Horizons 6/9/24)

SHORT STORY

  • “The Night Birds”, Premee Mohamed (Northern Nights)

COLLECTION

  • Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions, Nalo Hopkinson (Tachyon)

2025 Aurora Awards Ballot

May 082025
 

The 2025 Aurora Awards Ballot have been announced and we’re excited to share that the following DMLA authors have made the list! Congratulations everyone!

Best Novel

  • The Siege of Burning Grass, Premee Mohamed, Solaris
  • The Tapestry of Time, Kate Heartfield, Voyager
  • Blackheart Man, Nalo Hopkinson, Saga Press

Best Novelette/Novella

  • The Butcher of the Forest, Premee Mohamed, Tordotcom
  • Countess, Suzan Palumbo, ECW Press

Best Fan Related Work

  • Scintillation 2024, co-chair, Jo Walton, Montreal

Deal: Melissa K. Roehrich

May 072025
 

Melissa K. Roehrich’s Legacy series, a dark fantasy romance featuring a woman bound to the heir of death who fights not only the fate thrust upon her, but the temptation to lose herself to desire, including three previously self-published books and one original title, to Alexandra Sunshine at Kensington, in a major deal, in a four-book deal, by Katie Shea Boutillier (NA).

Review: THE LAST VIGILANT by Mark A. Latham

May 052025
 

Library Journal: Children are disappearing, but only the loss of a lord’s son forces Holt Hawley into action. Once a proud soldier of the elite battalions, Hawley is now embittered and despised by his men. Tasked with finding a True Vigilant (mythical figures said to possess extraordinary powers), Hawley knows he’s tracking a tall tale. Yet, bound by duty, he ventures into the forest, where a brutal attack leads him to Enelda Drake. While far from the stuff of legend, the old woman might be their only hope to find the children. Latham (The Red Tower), known for his steampunk novels and Sherlock Holmes pastiches, skillfully brings his knack for plotting mysteries and investigations into an epic fantasy setting. The multilayered machinations and propulsive pacing will grip readers, but the book’s greatest strength lies in its characters. Enelda and Hawley form a unique and unusual pairing, and Hawley’s struggle captures the dedication of broken soldiers yearning for lost honor. VERDICT: With warmongering, political intrigue, and themes of standing up for the weak, this marks the start of a compelling fantasy series that is perfect for fans of David Dalglish and Justin Lee Anderson.

Children’s Book Council’s 2025 Librarian Favorites!

May 022025
 

Congratulations to Jose Iriarte and Shaun David Hutchinson as both BENNY RAMIREZ AND THE NEARLY DEPARTED and SCHOOL FOR INVISIBLE BOYS made the Children’s Book Council’s 2025 Librarian Favorites list, and their 2025 Teacher Favorites list!

April Subsidiary Deals

Apr 302025
 

a pair of black ear budsAudio rights to Victoria Goddard’s THE HANDS OF THE EMPEROR and AT THE FEET OF THE SUN, to Kim Budnick at Tantor Media, in a two-book deal, by Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure and Dylan Haston (World English).

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