Anastasia Suen - Developmental Editor

Marcel with a Splash
by Julia Sørensen (Author / Illustrator) and Shelley Tanaka (Translator)
@ Amazon* | Bookshop*

Booktalk: When Marcel is born, the first thing the midwife notices is his webbed toes. Otherwise, he eats, he sleeps, he eats again, just like any baby. And then the doctors start to notice Marcel’s almond-shaped eyes, weak muscle tone and unusually shaped ears. They come to a conclusion: Marcel has Down syndrome. Marcel’s parents don’t know what to do with this medical terminology, so they bury it in the bottom of the garden, where it can grow in its own time and they can keep an eye on it.

But Marcel doesn’t care about words yet. He grows and learns, taking to life like a fish in water. In many ways, Marcel is just like any child. He loves to laugh, be silly with his friends and go swimming during summer vacation.

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Meet Me at Wonderland
by Julia DeVillers (Author)
@ Amazon* | Bookshop*

Booktalk: Fourteen-year-old Coco is Morty the Moose for the summer—the official mascot for her family’s business, Wonderland Adventure Park. Her first shift in the claustrophobic and stinky moose costume comes in the middle of a heatwave, and of course it’s when she emerges a sweaty mess that her manager introduces her to the new hire, Henry…the cutest boy Coco has ever seen.

Henry can’t believe his parents are forcing him to work at this dorky theme park. He’d much rather be hanging with his friends and working on his soccer game, but recovery from a bad injury would have kept him sidelined anyway. Being deathly afraid of heights, Henry hopes he can at least do his job without going on any of the rides.

After their first awkward meeting, Coco and Henry start to warm up to each other, and Coco confides in him about the park’s financial struggles. Soon, she thinks she like likes Henry…a lot. As the weeks go on, Henry’s dad starts asking oddly specific questions about his job, and Henry starts to suspect there’s more to his parents insisting on him working at the park than he thought. When a malfunctioning new ride leaves Henry and Coco stranded at the top, Henry’s worst nightmare comes true and secrets get revealed.

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