Sweet & Bitter Magic

Sweet & Bitter Magic
Author: Adrienne Tooley
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2021-03-09
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1534453857

In this charming debut fantasy perfect for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Girls of Paper and Fire, a witch cursed to never love meets a girl hiding her own dangerous magic, and the two strike a dangerous bargain to save their queendom. Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation. But after committing the worst magical sin, she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love. The only way she can get those feelings back—even for just a little while—is to steal love from others. Wren is a source—a rare kind of person who is made of magic, despite being unable to use it herself. Sources are required to train with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities, but Wren—the only caretaker to her ailing father—has spent her life hiding her secret. When a magical plague ravages the queendom, Wren’s father falls victim. To save him, Wren proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague, then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father. Of course, love bargains are a tricky thing, and these two have a long, perilous journey ahead of them—that is, if they don’t kill each other first.

Sofi and the Bone Song

Sofi and the Bone Song
Author: Adrienne Tooley
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2023-02-21
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 153448437X

In this gorgeous standalone fantasy with a “sweet sapphic romance” (Booklist), a young musician sets out to expose her rival for illegal use of magic only to discover the deception goes deeper than she could have imagined—perfect for fans of An Enchantment of Ravens! Music runs in Sofi’s blood. Her father is a Musik, one of only five musicians in the country licensed to compose and perform original songs. In the kingdom of Aell, where winter is endless and magic is accessible to all, there are strict anti-magic laws ensuring music remains the last untouched art. Sofi has spent her entire life training to inherit her father’s title. But on the day of the auditions, she is presented with unexpected competition in the form of Lara, a girl who has never before played the lute. Yet somehow, to Sofi’s horror, Lara puts on a performance that thoroughly enchants the judges. Almost like magic. The same day Lara wins the title of Musik, Sofi’s father dies, and a grieving Sofi sets out to prove Lara is using illegal magic in her performances. But the more time she spends with Lara, the more Sofi begins to doubt everything she knows about her family, her music, and the girl she thought was her enemy. As Sofi works to reclaim her rightful place as a Musik, she is forced to face the dark secrets of her past and the magic she was trained to avoid—all while trying not to fall for the girl who stole her future.

Bitter Night

Bitter Night
Author: Diana Pharaoh Francis
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2009-10-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1416598197

SOMETIMES YOU CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES. AND SOMETIMES, THEY CHOOSE YOU... Once, Max dreamed of a career, a home, a loving family. Now all she wants is freedom...and revenge. A witch named Giselle transformed Max into a warrior with extraordinary strength, speed, and endurance. Bound by spellcraft, Max has no choice but to fight as Giselle's personal magic weapon -- a Shadowblade -- and she's lethally good at it. But her skills are about to be put to the test as they never have before.... The ancient Guardians of the earth are preparing to unleash widespread destruction on the mortal world, and they want the witches to help them. If the witches refuse, their covens will be destroyed, including Horngate, the place Max has grudgingly come to think of as home. Max thinks she can find a way to help Horngate stand against the Guardians, but doing so will mean forging dangerous alliances -- including one with a rival witch's Shadowblade, who is as drawn to Max as she is to him -- and standing with the witch she despises. Max will have to choose between the old life she still dreams of and the warrior she has become, and take her place on the side of right -- if she survives long enough to figure out which side that is....

The Best Kind of Magic

The Best Kind of Magic
Author: Crystal Cestari
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2017-05-04
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1484758560

Amber Sand is not a witch. The Sand family magical gene somehow leapfrogged over her. But she did get one highly specific bewitching talent: she can see true love. As a matchmaker, Amber's pretty far down the sorcery food chain (even birthday party magicians rank higher), but after five seconds of eye contact, she can envision anyone's soul mate. Amber works at her mother's magic shop -- Windy City Magic -- in downtown Chicago, and she's confident she's seen every kind of happy ending there is: except for one--her own. (The Fates are tricky jerks that way.) So when Charlie Blitzman, the mayor's son and most-desired boy in school, comes to her for help finding his father's missing girlfriend, she's distressed to find herself falling for him. Because while she can't see her own match, she can see his -- and it's not Amber. How can she, an honest peddler of true love, pursue a boy she knows full well isn't her match? The Best Kind of Magic is set in urban Chicago and will appeal to readers who long for magic in the real world. With a sharp-witted and sassy heroine, a quirky cast of mystical beings, and a heady dose of adventure, this novel will have you laughing out loud and questioning your belief in happy endings.

Bitter

Bitter
Author: Akwaeke Emezi
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2023-07-18
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0593309065

From National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi comes a companion novel to PET that explores both the importance and cost of social revolution--and how youth lead the way. Bitter is an aspiring artist who has been invited to cultivate her talents at a special school in the town of Lucille. Surrounded by other creative teens, she can focus on her painting--though she hides a secret from everyone around her. Meanwhile, the streets of Lucille are filled with social unrest. This is Lucille before the Revolution. A place of darkness and injustice. A place where a few ruling elites control the fates of the many. The young people of Lucille know they deserve better--they aren't willing to settle for this world that the adults say is "just the way things are." They are protesting, leading a much-needed push for social change. But Bitter isn't sure where she belongs--in the art studio or in the streets. And if she does find a way to help the Revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: what are the costs? Acclaimed novelist Akwaeke Emezi looks at the power of youth, protest, and art in this timely and provocative novel, a companion to National Book Award Finalist Pet. Praise for PET: "The word hype was invented to describe books like this." --Refinery29 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST "[A] beautiful, genre-expanding debut. . . . Pet is a nesting doll of creative possibilities." --The New York Times "Like [Madeleine] L'Engle, Akwaeke Emezi asks questions of good and evil and agency, all wrapped up in the terrifying and glorious spectacle of fantastical theology." --NPR

Bitter, Sweet

Bitter, Sweet
Author: Laura Best
Publisher: Nimbus Pub Limited
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2010-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9781551097367

When Pru's father abandons the family and her mother dies, she and her older sister Jesse do everything they can to hide the fact that they're on their own in order to keep their siblings together.

Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemons

Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemons
Author: Matthew Fort
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2009-04-28
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1429995025

Replete with authentic Siclian recipes culled directly from the out of the way island stoves and cafe kitchens that cook them, Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemons presents a travelogue for seasoned travelers, and lovers of all things Italian. At the age of twenty-six Matthew Fort first visited the island of Sicily. He and his brother arrived in 1973 expecting sun, sea and good food, but they were totally unprepared for the lifelong effect of this most extraordinary place. Thirty years later and a bit wiser—but no less hungry—Matthew finally returns. Travelling around the island on his scooter, Monica, he samples exquisite antipasti in rundown villages and delicate pastries in towns tumbling down vertical hillsides, and goes fishing for anchovies underneath a sky scattered with stars. Once again this enigmatic island casts its spell as Matthew rediscovers its beauty, the intensity of its flavors, and finds himself digging into the darkness of Sicily's past as well as some mysteries of his own.

Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet

Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet
Author: Laekan Zea Kemp
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2021-04-06
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0316460311

I'm Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter meets Emergency Contact in this stunning Pura Belpré Honor Book about first love, familial expectations, the power of food, and finding where you belong. Penelope Prado has always dreamed of opening her own pastelería next to her father's restaurant, Nacho's Tacos. But her mom and dad have different plans—leaving Pen to choose between not disappointing her traditional Mexican American parents or following her own path. When she confesses a secret she's been keeping, her world is sent into a tailspin. But then she meets a cute new hire at Nacho's who sees through her hard exterior and asks the questions she's been too afraid to ask herself. Xander Amaro has been searching for home since he was a little boy. For him, a job at Nacho's is an opportunity for just that—a chance at a normal life, to settle in at his abuelo's, and to find the father who left him behind. But when both the restaurant and Xander's immigrant status are threatened, he will do whatever it takes to protect his newfound family and himself. Together, Pen and Xander must navigate first love and discovering where they belong in order to save the place they all call home. This stunning and poignant novel from debut author Laekan Zea Kemp explores identity, found families and the power of food, all nestled within a courageous and intensely loyal Chicanx community.

Salty, Bitter, Sweet

Salty, Bitter, Sweet
Author: Mayra Cuevas
Publisher: Blink
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2020-03-03
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0310769833

A slow-burn romance in a cutthroat kitchen! There’s more to becoming a top chef for 17-year-old Isabella Fields than just not getting chopped … especially when the chances of things heating up with an intriguing boy and becoming a food star in the kitchen are both on the line. Isa’s family life has fallen apart after the death of her Cuban abuela and the divorce of her parents. And after moving in with her dad and her new stepmom, Margo, in Lyon, France, Isa feels like an outsider in her father’s new life. She balances her time between avoiding the awkward “why-did-you-cheat-on-Mom” conversation and her diligent aspiration to become a premiere chef. Despite Isa’s world being turned upside-down, her father’s house is located only 30 minutes away from the restaurant of world-famous Chef Pascal Grattard, who runs a prestigiously competitive international kitchen apprenticeship. The prize job at Chef Grattard’s renowned restaurant also represents a transformative opportunity for Isa who is desperate to get her life back in order—and desperate to prove she has what it takes to work in an haute kitchen. But Isa’s stress and repressed grief begin to unravel further when the enigmatic Diego shows up at the house unannounced. How can Isa expect to hold it together when she’s at the bottom of her class at the apprenticeship, her new stepmom is pregnant, she misses her abuela dearly, and things with Diego reach a boiling point? Mixing up only the best ingredients, Salty, Bitter, Sweet: Is a clean and wholesome rival-to-lovers trope set in a cutthroat kitchen environment Is a perfect book for foodies ages 13 and up, and features a Latina main character who is trilingual Explores complicated family dynamics and relatable themes of friendship, acceptance, grief, and learning to care for yourself Perfect for TV fans of Top Chef, Chopped, and The Great British Bake-off, as well as YA titles such as With the Fire on High or A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow Has authentic representation of Mayra Cuevas’ background

Sweetbitter

Sweetbitter
Author: Stephanie Danler
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2016-06-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1780749163

‘A fantastic read – think Girls meets Kitchen Confidential’ Stylist ‘An adrenalised love song’ Mail on Sunday 'A stunning debut novel’ Jay McInerney, author of Bright Lights, Big City *AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR 2016 | A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A USA TODAY BESTSELLER | AN INDIE BESTSELLER* Tess is the 22-year-old narrator of this stunning first novel. Moving to New York, a place at the centre of the universe, from a place that feels like ‘nowhere to live’, she lands a job at a renowned Union Square restaurant and begins to navigate the chaotic and punishing life of a waiter, on and off duty. As her appetites awaken – not just for food and wine but also for knowledge and friendship – Tess becomes helplessly drawn into a dark, alluring love triangle. Sweetbitter is a novel of the senses. Of taste and hunger, of love and desire, and the wisdom that comes from our experiences, both sweet and bitter.