Cancel Your Plans - April Was Filled with Must-Read Releases

Our wish lists have been filled this month. We're building a blanket fort and hiding to read.

Does It Fart? by Dani Rabaiotti

You may laugh, but Does It Fart? is real science. Discover which animals fart and which don't. Birds don't (but they can), and herrings communicate via farts. We don't know if spiders can or do. The book was inspired by a question from the zoologist author's teen brother. Dani Rabaiotti put it to social media with the hashtag #doesitfart with experts offering answers. The answers are here in the book.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

This new book by New York Times bestselling author Meg Wolitzer is one of the most talked about for 2018. The Female Persuasion is about Greer Kadetsky, a shy college freshman with her love life mapped out, but not the rest. She meets the dazzling 68-year old mentor, Faith Frank, who introduces Greer to excitement and meaning for her life, but one that doesn't include her love. It's a novel about power, friendship, and the search for who we want to be.

Factfulness by Hans Rosling

When asked simple questions about global trends we systematically get the answers wrong. These are things like what percentage of the world's population live in poverty, why the world's population is increasing, and how many girls finish school. This includes experts such as Nobel laureates and teachers. Hans Rosling looks at the ten reasons why this happens and the unconscious biases we have in even information selection. Read Factfulness to change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

In this alternate historical fiction, Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, derailing the War Between the States and changing the nation forever. The laws like the Native and Negro Education Act forced certain children into combat school and to fight the undead. This is tipped to be one of 2018's biggest Young Adult novels. It explores race and class all based on history, but with zombies.

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albetalli

Have you seen Love, Simon yet? Or should we ask how many times have you seen Love, Simon? The Love, Simon movie, or more accurately its original book, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda has a new story. Leah Burke's story. If you don't recall, she's Simon's best friend and a drummer who's always on the beat, except in her personal life. That's on the offbeat. It's her senior year and time for first love.

The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman

Despite Canada's friendly reputation, in 1950's Quebec there French and English-speaking populations are divided. Fifteen-year-old Maggie's English-speaking father has ambitions for his daughter that don't include marriage to the poor French boy on the next farm over. But Maggie's in love and soon pregnant. Elodie was given up to the impoverished orphanage system. Their lives intertwine, but will they meet?

Read more by Bianca Smith