That’s where our Riot Roundups come in! Our contributors are each sharing their favorite book they read in the least quarter. It wasn’t necessarily necessarily published then: some of these are backlist and some haven’t even come out yet. They represent a range of genres and age categories, so there’s something for everyone! Let’s jump in! —Chris M. Arnone —Liberty Hardy —Lucas Maxwell —Alison Doherty —Annika Barranti Klein —Margaret Kingsbury When struggling celebrity Bettie Hughes accidentally plays a vinyl of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” backwards, she summons Hall — a humanized spirit of the holidays. The more Bettie and Hall spend time together, the happier she becomes — and the more she falls in love with him. But if Bettie becomes happy enough, Hall’s mission will be fulfilled and he will have to return to the realm of holiday spirits. —CJ Connor —Summer Loomis —R. Nassor —Susie Dumond —Nikki DeMarco —Mara Franzen —Elisa Shoenberger Imagine finding out one day your parents are spies working for a world organization. Now imagine that at 14, you’re given your first assignment, because this is the Hail Mary and you’re the only person in the organization who fits the age range and can pass as white. That’s Andréa Hernández-Baldoquín’s life right now. She’s moved to California with her mom to go undercover at a high school in order to befriend the estranged son of a white nationalist. But stripping her identity, even for a good cause, comes with a lot of questions and soul searching for Andréa, who immediately has to drop the accent from her name, keep her mouth shut about xenophobic comments, and shelve her Spanish. Cue crush on target’s Latino roommate… You get so much from this book, including action, friendship, a first crush, a tight family unit, spies, and fandom. Bonus: Victoria Villarreal does a great narration on the audiobook! —Jamie Canavés —Ashley Holstrom —Leah Rachel von Essen —Steph Auteri
