New Releases by Tracy Holczer

Critically acclaimed Tracy Holczer returns with a heartrending tale about a girl descended from the Grimm brothers who sets out to break what she thinks is a family curse. Twelve-year-old Juni is convinced her family is cursed. Long ago, her ancestors, the Grimm Brothers, offended a witch who cursed them and their descendants to suffer through their beloved fairy tales over and over again--to be at the mercy of extreme luck, both good and bad. Juni fears any good luck allotted to her family she used up just by being born, so when she wakes up in the middle of the night with the horrible feeling like antlers are growing from her head, she knows something is wrong. The next day she learns her older brother Connor has gone missing during his tour in Afghanistan. Her family begins grieving his loss in their own ways but Juni can''t help but believe that his disappearance means the family curse has struck again. Juni is convinced the only way to bring her brother home is to break the family curse and so she sets out on a quest to do just that. From Charlotte Huck honoree Tracy Holczer comes a stunning new novel about the power of stories, the enormity of grief, and the brilliancy of hope.

In the midst of the Vietnam War, a young girl struggles to embrace change in this tender family story for fans of Cynthia Lord and Wendy Maas Lucy is a practical, orderly person--just like her dad. He taught her to appreciate reason and good sense, instilling in her the same values he learned at medical school. But when he''s sent to Vietnam to serve as an Army doctor, Lucy and her mother are forced to move to San Jose, California, to be near their relatives--the Rossis--people known for their superstitions and all around quirky ways. Lucy can''t wait for life to go back to normal, so she''s over the moon when she learns her father is coming home early. It doesn''t even matter that he''s coming back "different." That she can''t ask too many questions or use the word "amputation." It just matters that he''ll be home. But Lucy quickly realizes there''s something very wrong when her mother sends her to spend the summer with the Rossis to give her father some space. Lucy''s beside herself, but what''s a twelve-year-old to do? It''s a curious boy named Milo, a mysterious packet of photographs and an eye-opening mission that makes Lucy see there''s more to life than schedules and plans, and helps to heal her broken family. The latest from critically-acclaimed author Tracy Holczer is a pitch-perfect middle grade tale of family and friendship that''s sure to delight fans of One for the Murphys and Rules.

Twelve-year-old Grace and her mother have always been their own family, traveling from place to place like gypsies. But Grace wants to finally have a home all their own. Just when she thinks she''s found it her mother says it''s time to move again. Grace summons the courage to tell her mother how she really feels and will always regret that her last words to her were angry ones. After her mother''s sudden death, Grace is forced to live with a grandmother she''s never met. She can''t imagine her mother would want her to stay with this stranger. Then Grace finds clues in a mysterious treasure hunt, just like the ones her mother used to send her on. Maybe it is her mother, showing her the way to her true home. Lyrical, poignant and fresh, The Secret Hum of a Daisy is a beautifully told middle grade tale with a great deal of heart.

The Girls is a collection of five short stories about friendship, life and surviving it together. 1. Sunflower Summer by Sundee T. Frazier. 2. Trick-or-Treat on Ravine Street by Natalie Rompella. 3. The Girls by Caroline Downs. 4. The Emily Explosion by Cynthia Reeg. 5. Proof of Angels by Tracy Holczer.