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Cover Reveal

Cover Reveal for Lulu Sinagtala and the City of Noble Warriors by Gail D. Villanueva

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Today we’re thrilled to reveal the cover for Lulu Sinagtala and the City of Noble Warriors by Gail D. Villanueva! The cover was illustrated by Marianne Palita and designed by Joel Tippie. The book will be released on January 9, 2024 by HarperCollins. Preorder it here. You can receive updates about the book at lulusinagtala.com!

LULU SINAGTALA can’t wait for a fun Christmas break. She’s excited to hang out with her sister, Kitty, and best friend, Bart; to reenact her favorite legends from Tagalog folklore (like the amazing tale of Bernardo Carpio); and, of course, to eat as much yummy street-side inihaw as possible!

But when a vicious wakwak attacks her neighborhood and kidnaps Mom, Lulu discovers the creatures and deities of Tagalog myth are real and that two additional Realms exist beyond our own. To make it worse, Lulu has superhuman strength and the ability to wield magic, meaning she’s the only one powerful enough to stop the evil spirit who’s determined to rule the three Realms at all costs. No pressure, right?

Lulu, Kitty, and Bart set off on a quest to rescue Mom, where they outsmart cunning enemies, battle vengeful creatures, and form unlikely alliances. Soon, they find themselves swept into a centuries-long fight, unraveling secrets about Lulu and her past that threaten to upend everything and throw the whole universe into chaos. Can Lulu muster the strength (superhuman or not) to find out who she really is and who she can trust to save Mom and the three Realms before it’s too late?

Cover art for LULU SINAGTALA AND THE CITY OF NOBLE WARRIORS. A Filipina girl wearing a red bandana, white shirt, denim capris, a beige pack at the waist, and red-and-white sneakers with white socks holds aside moss hanging over an opening in thick, gnarled tree roots. A child in a yellow-and-pink-checked dress and pink sandals and another child in a green tee, dark cargo pants, and sneakers stand among the roots at a slight distance behind the girl, looking at the bright opening as she looks back at them.

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Headshot photo of Gail D. VillanuevaGail D. Villanueva is a Filipino writer and artist based in the Philippines. She is the author of the Panda Book Awards shortlist title, Sugar and Spite (Scholastic), and the upcoming Lulu Sinagtala and the Tagalog Gods series (HarperCollins). Her debut novel, My Fate According to the Butterfly (Scholastic), was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, an Amazon Best Book of the Month Editor’s Pick, a NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People, and a Sakura Medal nominee. Gail was born in Manila but was raised in Quezon City. She and her husband currently live in Rizal with their many pets—dogs, ducks, turtles, cats, and random birds they befriend in the backyard. Learn more at www.gaildvillanueva.com.