February 2nd
Every Gift a Curse by Caroline O' Donoghue (Walker Books US)
With the return of the Housekeeper on the cards, Maeve must find out everything she can about the vengeful tarot spirit in order to finally defeat her. Crossing over into a parallel dimension inside the old school building, she explores the history of the Housekeeper – and spends too long in a world and a mind not her own.
With the Children of Brigid closing in once more, and Maeve's friend group now fractured across Ireland, can they hope to ultimately save the town – and Maeve – from the grip of a power greater than they ever imagined?
February 7th
Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb (Little, Brown)
Rossana Lacertosa doesn’t believe in saints. After her father’s murder at the hands of the Ombrazia military, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to dismantle the corrupt system. Even if she has to pay for it in blood—or face the boy who broke her heart.
Damian Venturi is sworn to protect the city. As the youngest captain of the Palazzo security in history, Damian is expected to be ruthless, strong, and to serve the saints with unquestioning devotion. But three years spent fighting a gruesome, never-ending war left Damian with deeper scars than he wants to admit…and too many questions he’s afraid to ask.
When a murderer begins using the city’s slums as a hunting ground, targeting the weak and unprotected, the saints and their disciples are all too happy to look the other way. That is until a disciple ends up in the morgue. Tasked with finding the disciple’s killer, Damian’s investigation leads him to Roz, his childhood friend turned enemy. Together, they will have to put their past feelings aside to find the truth hiding in the pitch-black underbelly of Ombrazia.
As they unravel the mysteries behind the murders, they will discover
that there’s something far more sinister—and far less holy—lurking
beneath the surface. With darkness closing in and time running out, will
Roz and Damian be able to save their city from an evil so powerful that
it threatens to destroy everything in its path?
These Infinite Threads by Taherah Mafi (HarperCollins)
Alizeh is the heir to the Jinn throne and fulfills a long-foretold prophecy of a Jinn sovereign destined to free her people from the half-lives they’ve been forced to live under the rule of humans.
Kamran is the heir to the human throne, and he’s being pressured to marry before he becomes king. When he falls in love with Alizeh and subsequently learns her true identity, he must question everything he’s been taught about Jinn and their future in his kingdom.
These Infinite Threads picks up at the explosive cliff-hanger ending of the New York Times bestselling novel This Woven Kingdom, and is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Tomi Adeyemi, and Sabaa Tahir.
The Severed Thread by Leslie Vedder (Putnam)
Which threads of fate will hold—and which will break?
Clever,
bookish Fi and her brash, ax-wielding partner Shane are back in this
action packed sequel to the bestselling The Bone Spindle, the
gender-flipped Sleeping Beauty retelling, perfect for fans of Sorcery of
Thorns and The Cruel Prince.
Fi
has awakened the sleeping prince, but the battle for Andar is far from
over. The Spindle Witch, the Witch Hunters, and Fi’s own Butterfly Curse
all stand between them and happily ever after.
Shane
has her partner’s back. But she’s in for the fight of her life against
Red, the right hand of the Spindle Witch who she’s also, foolishly,
hellbent on saving.
Briar Rose would do anything to
restore his kingdom. But there’s a darkness creeping inside him—a
sinister bond to the Spindle Witch he can’t escape.
All hopes
of restoring Andar rest on deciphering a mysterious book code, finding
the hidden city of the last Witches, and uncovering a secret lost for
centuries—one that just might hold the key to the Spindle Witch’s
defeat. If they can all survive that long…
Set in a world of
twisted fairytales, The Severed Thread combines lost ruins, ride-or-die
friendships, and heart-pounding romance.
The Last One to Fall by Gabrielle Lepore (Inkyard Press) - moved from October 2022.
Savana Caruso and Jesse Melo have known each other since they were kids, so when Jesse texts Savana in the middle of the night and asks her to meet him at Cray’s Warehouse, she doesn’t hesitate. But before Savana can find Jesse, she bears witness to a horrifying murder, standing helpless on the ground as a mysterious figure is pushed out of the fourth floor of the warehouse.
Six teens were there that night, and five of them are now potential suspects. With the police circling, Savana knows what will happen if the wrong person is charged, particularly once she starts getting threatening anonymous text messages.
As she attempts to uncover the truth, Savana learns that everyone is keeping secrets—and someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep those secrets from coming to light.
Wildwood by Lauren Blackwood (Wednesday Books)
Eighteen-year-old Esther is a Wildblood. Kidnapped at the age of six and manipulated by the Exotic Lands Touring Company, she's worked as a tour guide ever since with a team of fellow Wildbloods who take turns using their magic to protect travelers in a jungle teeming with all the ghostly monsters of Jamaican legend.
When the boss denies Esther the promotion to team leader that was promised to her in favor of Dean, her backstabbing ex, Esther is determined to prove herself. Her magic may be the most powerful on the team, but she's the wrong image the boss wants to send their new client, Laertes Thorn, a renowned goldminer determined to reach an untouched gold supply deep in the jungle.
Thorn is everything Esther isn't - confident, impossibly kind, and so handsome he leaves her speechless. And when he entrusts the mission to her, kindness turns to mutual respect, turns to affection, turns to love.
But the jungle is treacherous, and between hypnotic river spirits, soul-devouring women that shed their skin like snakes, and her ex out for revenge, Esther has to decide - is promotion at a corrupt company really what she wants?
A fierce, lush fantasy by New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blackwood, Wildblood tells the story of a girl who must find the strength to defeat the demons of the jungle as well as her own to find where she truly belongs.
Daughters of Oduma by Moses Ose Utomi (Atheneum) - moved from January 2023.
Eat. Dance. Fight.
This is the life of the girls who compete in the Isle’s elite, all-female fighting sport of Bowing. But it isn’t really Dirt’s life anymore. At sixteen, she is old and has retired from competition. Instead, she spends her days coaching the younger sisters of the Mud Fam and dreading her fast-approaching birthday, when she’ll have to leave her sisters to fulfill whatever destiny the Gods choose for her.
Dirt’s young sisters are coming along nicely, and the Mud Fam is sure to win the upcoming South God Bow tournament, which is crucial: the tiny Fam needs the new recruits that come with victory. Then an attack from a powerful rival leaves the Mud without their top Bower, and Dirt is the only one who can compete in the tournament. But Dirt is old, out of shape, and afraid. She has never wanted to be a leader. Victory seems impossible—yet defeat would mean the end of her beloved Fam. And no way is Dirt going to let that happen.
Borderless by Jennifer De Leon (Atheneum) - previously titled Maya.
For seventeen-year-old Maya, trashion is her passion, and her talent for making clothing out of unusual objects landed her a scholarship to Guatemala City’s most prestigious art school and a finalist spot in the school’s fashion show. Mamá is her biggest supporter, taking on extra jobs to pay for what the scholarship doesn’t cover, and she might be even more excited than Maya about what the fashion show could do for her future career.
So when Mamá doesn’t come to the show, Maya doesn’t know what to think. But the truth is worse than she could have imagined. The gang threats in their neighborhood have walked in their front door—with a boy Maya considered a friend, or maybe more, among them. After barely making their escape, Maya and her mom have no choice but to continue their desperate flight all the way through Guatemala and Mexico in hopes of crossing the US border.
They have to cross. They must cross! Can they?
This One's For You by Kate Sweeney (Viking)
After their high school graduation, former best friends Cass and Syd are gearing up for their futures. Cass has planned to go to college to become an engineer, while Syd—despite the fact that her family thinks she’s messed up her whole life—has lined up a sound internship at a historic music venue.
But Cass is keeping secrets. Though his dad has forbidden it, Cass has been playing music, taking trips to San Francisco BART stations to play and make money. Somehow, it’s become a way for Cass to connect with his mother—who was also a musician—who died in a drunk driving accident on the way back from a gig when he was one.
But after Syd catches Cass playing at the BART station, and Cass finds out his mom’s old band the Darlas is going on a reunion tour, everything changes. On impulse, Cass invites Syd to the first Darlas show, and without telling anyone, they make a break for it. Turning one show into a cross-country journey, the two former friends throw away all their plans for the future and embark on a life-altering road trip following the tour, keeping it a secret from their friends and family.
Along the way, they’ll untangle the messy threads of how they became “ex”-best friends, experience the power of nature and music, and decide what they really want their lives to be. Maybe, through it all, Cass and Syd can find a way back to each other, too.
Out of Character by Jenna Miller (Quill Tree Books)
But secretly retreating to her online life is starting to catch up with Cass. For one, no one in her real life knows her secret roleplay addiction is the reason her grades have taken a big hit. Also? Cass has started catching feelings for Rowan Davies, her internet bestie…and Taylor might be catching on.
As Cass’s lies continue to build, so does
her anxiety. Roleplaying used to be the one place she could escape to,
but this double life and offline-online love triangle have only made
things worse. Cass must decide what to do—be honest and risk losing her
safe space or keep it a secret and put everything else on the line.
This Time It's Real by Ann Liang (Scholastic)
When seventeen-year-old Eliza Lin’s essay about meeting the love of her life unexpectedly goes viral, her entire life changes overnight. Now she has the approval of her classmates at her new international school in Beijing, a career-launching internship opportunity at her favorite magazine…and a massive secret to keep.
Eliza made her essay up. She’s never been in a relationship before, let alone in love. All good writing is lying, right?
Desperate to hide the truth, Eliza strikes a deal with the famous actor in her class, the charming but aloof Caz Song. She’ll help him write his college applications if he poses as her boyfriend. Caz is a dream boyfriend -- he passes handwritten notes to her in class, makes her little sister laugh, and takes her out on motorcycle rides to the best snack stalls around the city.
But when her relationship with Caz starts feeling a little too convincing, all of Eliza’s carefully laid plans are threatened. Can she still follow her dreams if it means breaking her own heart?
Stardust in their Veins by Laura Sebastian (Delacorte) - moved from 2022.
Princesses Beatriz and Daphne have lost their older sister, but their mother's grand scheme of taking the continent of Vesteria is far from complete. With the country of Temarin now under the Empress's control, only the nations of Cellaria and Friv remain free from her rule. What's worse, an ominous prophecy has begun to shine through the constellations: the blood of stars and majesty spilled.
Usurped by conniving cousins Nico and Gigi, Beatriz fears for her life, while in icy Friv, Daphne continues her shaky alliance with the rebels even as she struggles to stay a step ahead of them. But when an unlikely ally offers Beatriz a deal, she finds herself back in her mother's sights.
With enemies around every corner and the stars whispering of betrayal, Daphne and Beatriz can't trust anyone--least of all each other. If they've learned anything, though, it's that the Empress's game is constantly changing. And the arrival of surprise visitors from Temarin just might tip the scales in the princesses' favor . . . if they manage to avoid meeting their sister's fate before they can make their next move.
The Long Run by James Acker (Inkyard Press)
Sebastian Villeda is over it. Over his rep. Over his bros. Over being "Bash the Flash," fastest sprinter in South Jersey. His dad is gone, his mom is dead, and his stepfather is clueless. Bash has no idea what he wants out of life. Until he meets Sandro.
Sandro Miceli is too nice for his own good. The middle child in an always-growing, always-screaming Italian family, Sandro walks around on a broken foot to not bother his busy parents. All he wants is to get out and never look back.
When fate—in the form of a party that gets busted—brings these two very different boys together, neither of them could’ve predicted finding a love that they’d risk everything for…
Nerdcrush by Alisha Emrich (Running Press Kids)
Ramona Lambert is a typical shy, artistic sixteen-year-old. She has a best friend whom she’s known since they were in diapers; parents who love her; a love for cosplay; and a crush on the cute boy in her class.
The only problem? Her best friend moved away; her parents don't quite understand her love of cosplay; and she is pretty sure her crush has no idea she exists.
To escape her troubles, Ramona turns to cosplay and her original character, Rel, who gives her the confidence and freedom that she lacks in real life. Embracing this confidence, she decides to strike up an email conversation with her crush, Caleb Wolfe, from her cosplay account in the hopes getting to know him . . . and maybe win his heart. Then as Caleb and Ramona are swept up in their emails back and forth to each other, and Ramona falls even harder as he opens up about his hopes, insecurities, and his own geeky loves. However, as Caleb starts to grow closer and closer to Rel, he also strikes up a friendship with Ramona, who knows she can't keep the truth about Rel from Caleb but isn't sure she is ready to risk losing him. With an important cosplay convention coming up and the anxiety of her double-life weighing on her, Ramona has to decide if she’ll hide behind her cosplay character forever or take the chance and let Caleb see the real her - because he might actually like her for who she is.
Boy In A White Room by Karl Olsberg (Scholastic) - originally published in German.
A fifteen-year-old boy wakes to find himself locked in a white, cube-shaped room. No windows. No doors. Total silence. He has no memories. No clue how he got there. No idea who he is.
A computer-generated voice named Alice responds to his questions. Through her, he is able to access the internet. As the boy uncovers snippets of his story--an attempted abduction, a critial injury, a murder -- it becomes clearer. But when some of the pieces don't fit, how can he tell what's real and what's not? Who can he trust? And who is he really?
Once a Queen by Sarah Arthu (Waterbrook)
When fourteen-year-old Eva Joyce unexpectedly finds herself spending the summer at Carrick Hall, the mysterious manor house of the English grandmother that she's never met before, troubling questions arise. Why the estrangement between her parents and her grandmother? What's going on with the Hall's employees and their guarded secrets? Why must Eva never mention trains, nor her father, nor her favorite childhood fairy tales?
After strange things start happening in the gardens at night, Eva turns to Carrick Hall's elderly housekeeper, its gardener, and the gardener's teenage great-grandson, Frankie, for answers. Astonishingly, they seem to believe the fairy tales are true--that portals to other worlds still exist, though hidden and steadily disappearing. In fact, they suspect that Eva's grandmother was once a queen in one of those worlds. Skeptical at first, Eva soon finds herself torn between the adult world of cold realism and the nostalgic longing for the childhood stories she once loved.
Meanwhile, Eva's grandmother denies it all. After a horrific family tragedy when she was a young woman, her heart is closed to the beauty and pain of her past--and to her only daughter, Eva's mother, as well. It's up to Eva to discover, with Frankie's help, what really happened, whether family relationships can be restored, and if the portals are closed forever. As she unravels generational secrets, she wrestles with her grief for a vanishing childhood--and the fear that becoming an adult means giving up fairy tales forever.
Ruling Destiny by Alyson Noel (Entangled Teen)
Afterglow by Phil Stamper (Bloomsbury) - details not yet updated on Goodreads.
Their golden years had to end someday, but if they can stay connected to each other after all this time, what happens next might be more special than they could've ever imagined.
February 14th
When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao (Viking) - moved from 2022.
Liya and Kai had been best friends since they were little kids, but all that changed when a humiliating incident sparked The Biggest Misunderstanding Of All Time—and they haven’t spoken since.
Then Liya discovers her family's wishing lantern store is struggling, and she decides to resume a tradition she had with her beloved late grandmother: secretly fulfilling the wishes people write on the lanterns they send into the sky. It may boost sales and save the store, but she can't do it alone . . . and Kai is the only one who cares enough to help.
While working on their covert missions, Liya and Kai rekindle their friendship—and maybe more. But when their feuding families and their changing futures threaten to tear them apart again, can they find a way to make their own wishes come true?
My Flawless Life by Yvonne Woon (Katherine Tegan Books)
At the most elite private school in Washington, DC., whenever anyone has a problem that they need to go away, they hire Hana Yang Lerner.
Hana is a fixer. She knows who to call, what to say, and how to make sure secrets stay where they belong--buried. She can fix anything. Except her own life, which was destroyed when her father, senator Skip Lerner, was arrested for an accident that left one woman nearly dead.
Now Hana's reputation is ruined and her friends are gone. So when she gets a job from an anonymous client called "Three" to follow her former best friend, Luce Herrera, Hana realizes this might be her way of getting back her old life.
But the dangerous thing about digging is that you never know what you'll unearth. As Hana uncovers a dark truth about her supposedly flawless classmates, she's forced to face a secret of her own.
The Pledge by Cale Dietrich (Feiwel and Friends) - moved from September 2022.
Freshman Alex believes that joining a fraternity is the best way to form a friend group as he begins his college journey. The frat he’s pledging seems welcoming and fun, and accepting of his identity as queer. It would feel better if Gray, the other queer frat boy was friendlier, but Alex can deal with that if it means being part of this popular group.
And then… one of the frat boys is killed by a masked, knife-wielding murderer. The police and the university believe it’s random – a case of a drunk kid being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But when another frat boy is murdered, Alex and Gray start to wonder if they might be the next targets, and if the pledge/hazing rituals have gone too far.
Elements of horror, mystery, and a gay hate-to-love romance make this a story readers won't want to miss.
Always the Almost by Edward Underhill (Wednesday Books) - release date not yet updated on Goodreads.
Sixteen-year-old trans boy Miles Jacobson has two New Year’s resolutions: 1) win back his ex-boyfriend (and star of the football team) Shane McIntyre, and 2) finally beat his slimy arch-nemesis at the Midwest’s biggest classical piano competition. But that’s not going to be so easy. For one thing, Shane broke up with Miles two weeks after Miles came out as trans, and now Shane’s stubbornly ignoring him, even when they literally bump into each other. Plus, Miles’ new, slightly terrifying piano teacher keeps telling him that he’s playing like he “doesn’t know who he is”—whatever that means.
Then Miles meets the new boy in town, Eric Mendez, a
proudly queer cartoonist from Seattle who asks his pronouns, cares about
art as much as he does—and makes his stomach flutter. Not what he needs
to be focusing on right now. But after Eric and Miles pretend to date
so they can score an invite to a couples-only Valentine’s party, the
ruse turns real with a kiss, which is also definitely not in the plan.
If only Miles could figure out why Eric likes him so much. After all,
it's not like he’s cool or confident or comfortable in his own skin.
He’s not even good enough at piano to get his fellow competitors to
respect him, especially now, as Miles. Nothing’s ever been as easy for
him as for other people—other boys. He’s only ever been almost enough.
So why, when he’s with Eric, does it feel like the only person he’s ever really not been enough for...is himself?
The Ruined by Renee Ahdieh (Putnam) - moved from 2022.
The stunning conclusion to the instant New York Times bestselling quartet that began with The Beautiful.
The Sylvan Vale and the Sylvan Wyld are at war. Now that the unsteady truce between them has been broken, lines must be drawn. In an effort to protect the weakened Winter Court, Bastien rallies powerful allies and friends in New Orleans to come to their aid.
Meanwhile, under protection alongside her injured mother in the Summer Court, Celine is uncertain of whom to trust. She cannot get word to Bastien, and does not understand why he has not returned. When she realizes war between the fey courts is imminent, she journeys with Ali in an effort to find the time traveling mirror and change their fate.
But when Celine's rivals realize Bastien has rallied his allies in the mortal world, they decide to take the fight to him.
And Other Mistakes by Erika Turner (Feiwel and Friends)So why, when he’s with Eric, does it feel like the only person he’s ever really not been enough for...is himself?
The Ruined by Renee Ahdieh (Putnam) - moved from 2022.
The Sylvan Vale and the Sylvan Wyld are at war. Now that the unsteady truce between them has been broken, lines must be drawn. In an effort to protect the weakened Winter Court, Bastien rallies powerful allies and friends in New Orleans to come to their aid.
Meanwhile, under protection alongside her injured mother in the Summer Court, Celine is uncertain of whom to trust. She cannot get word to Bastien, and does not understand why he has not returned. When she realizes war between the fey courts is imminent, she journeys with Ali in an effort to find the time traveling mirror and change their fate.
But when Celine's rivals realize Bastien has rallied his allies in the mortal world, they decide to take the fight to him.
For most of her life, Aaliyah's home situation hasn't been great, but she's at least had her childhood best friend and role as a cross-country star to balance it out. But once she got outed by a church elder last spring, everything came undone -- including Aaliyah.
Now, senior year is about to start and she is determined to come back faster and wiser. No more letting other people define her. No more losing herself to their expectations.
Except... well, with new friends, old flames, nosy school counselors, and teammates who don't trust her yet, the route already feels rough. And what's with the new girl, Tessa, who gives Aaliyah butterflies every time she looks at her? Regardless, she'll be fine. Because this is the year to prove to everyone—and most of all, herself—that she's more than her mistakes. After all, even Aaliyah can't outrun everything.
Revelle by Lyssa Mia Smith (Balzer + Bray) - previously titled Revelle! Revelle! and moved from May 2023, then from March 2023.
On the island of Charmant, magic flows like bootlegged champagne, and fantasies can be bought for the price of a gemstone.
Luxe Revelle, star of her family’s fantastical show, knows the splendor is just an illusion. With Prohibition threatening their livelihood, her family struggles to make a living, watering down champagne and patching holes in their sequined costumes. So when the son of Charmant’s wealthiest family makes her an offer—everything the Revelles need to stay in business, in exchange for posing as his girl and helping him become mayor—she can’t refuse.
The moment Jamison Port sets foot in Charmant, he can’t shake the feeling of familiarity. An orphan with as few memories as gemstones, he’s desperate to learn what happened to his parents. But as he delves into the island’s secrets, he risks angering the wrong person and discovering a truth that just might break his heart.
When Luxe and Jamison accidentally meet, the sparks that fly are more than her magical enchantments. But keeping secrets from powerful people is a dangerous game . . . one that could destroy them both.
Planning Perfect by Haley Neil (Bloomsbury)
Felicity Becker loves watching an event come together. Whether it's prom, graduation, or just the annual Arbor Day school dance, there's something magical about crafting an experience that people will remember. So when her mom gets engaged, Felicity sees the wedding as the perfect opportunity to show off her skills.
After Felicity's long-distance friend Nancy offers up her family's apple orchard as a venue, wedding planning gets even better. But the more time Felicity and Nancy spend together dress shopping and hunting for just-right mismatched china, the more it starts to seem like there might be something besides friendship between them. Felicity isn't sure how she feels. As someone on the asexuality spectrum, what would dating even look like for her? And would Nancy be open to dating when Felicity doesn't even know what she wants from a relationship?
Suddenly the summer is a lot more complicated. Especially when Felicity finds out that one of the wedding guests is an event planner with a prestigious internship available. Can Felicity wrangle her irresponsible mom, juggle her judgmental grandmother, figure out her feelings for Nancy, and plan the perfect wedding? Or will all of her plans come crashing down around her?
The Sweetest Betrayal by Natalie Mae (Razorbill)
War has come to Orkena.
Zahru has risen as Mestrah, and she is determined to peacefully end the escalating tensions with Wyrim, her country’s longtime enemy. Yet diplomacy proves to be futile, and when Zahru turns to Orkena’s allies for help, she finds that none are willing to come to her aid—not without Kasta ruling at her side.
As Wyrim advances on the capital, Zahru is desperate to protect her people, even if that means accepting Kasta’s help. But her enemy is merciless. And as ambushes and betrayals push Zahru to increasingly dark tactics, she wonders if perhaps Kasta had it right all along: Maybe peace was never an option ... and maybe she was never meant to do this alone.
Can Zahru spare her enemy without sacrificing her kingdom? Or will Orkena’s salvation only come if Zahru becomes the monster her people need?
The Last City by H. J. Nelson (Wattpad Books)
“Go back to the beginning, Ara. I made a mistake. It’s not too late.”
These words from her father have driven Ara forward and have given her the will to live. And they eventually helped her to find Kayden, giving him hope that if there isn’t a way out of this plague-ridden world, at least there might be an explanation for why it all happened in the first place.
Together they set out on an epic quest to do just that—go back to the beginning. To go home, to finally uncover what happened to Ara’s family. Kayden wants that more than anything for her, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen—even if it means leaving everything else behind, even his brother, Sam.
Except once they arrive, nothing is as they expect. There are no answers, only more questions. And soon they’re trapped in an underground civilization where they discover that secrets lie deeper than the city. The truth that surfaces rocks Ara to her core, and almost costs Kayden his life.
Left for dead, Sam surfaces only to get captured by a mysterious stranger—a haunting young woman with deep blue eyes who quickly becomes the key to the answers they seek—even if he doesn’t quite know it yet.
Set immediately after the events of The Last She, H.J. Nelson’s The Last City is a gripping story of three people desperate to survive against all odds, and realizing that love is the only thing worth living for.
February 21st
Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah (Wednesday Books) - moved from fall 2022.
The town of Bishop is known for exactly two things: recurring windstorms and an endless field of sunflowers that stretches farther than the eye can see. And women—missing women. So when Delilah, Jude, Whitney and Bo’s mothers go missing, no one in Bishop is surprised. The case is shut and the girls are left with a dusty old house and the shattered pieces of their lives. Until the wind kicks up a terrible secret at their mothers’ much delayed memorial.
Delilah just wants to move on. She's been looking after them all since their mothers went missing with the help of her boyfriend, Bennett. They just have one tiny problem: every time Bennett touches her she feels an unbearable pain searing through her.
Whitney would like for the women in her life to stop disappearing. Or dying. First, she lost her mother. Then, she lost her girlfriend, Eleanor. She finds some relief when she visits an old weathervane from the time the town was founded where she can hear Eleanor’s voice asking her for more. But more what?
Jude, Whitney’s twin sister, would rather stay home and ignore it all, but the wind kicks up her secret, too: her summer fling with Bennett, Delilah’s boyfriend, that feels like more than just a fling.
Bo wants answers, and she wants them now. She’s convinced something happened to their mothers and that the townsfolk know what it was. She’s sure of it. That’s why she pushed them to do a memorial for their mothers.
Bishop has always been a strange place. But what the girls don’t know is that this old town founded on blood is also deadly—and when it’s through with them, no one might survive.
Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim by Patricia Park (Crown)
Alejandra Kim doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere. At her wealthy Manhattan high school, her súper Spanish name and súper Korean face do not compute to her mostly white "woke" classmates and teachers. In her Jackson Heights neighborhood, she’s not Latinx enough. Even at home, Ale feels unwelcome. And things at home have only gotten worse since Papi's body was discovered on the subway tracks.
Ale wants nothing more than to escape the city for the wide-open spaces of the prestigious Wyder University. But when a microaggression at school thrusts Ale into the spotlight—and into a discussion she didn’t ask for—Ale must discover what is means to carve out a space for yourself to belong.
Patricia Park’s coming-of-age novel about a multicultural teen caught between worlds, and the future she is building for herself, is an incisive, laugh-out-loud, provocative read.
Project Nought by Chelsey Furedi (Clarion) - YA graphic novel.
Ren Mittal's last memory in the year 1996 is getting on a bus to visit his mystery pen pal Georgia. When he wakes up in 2122, he thinks he might be hallucinating...he's not!
Tech conglomerate Chronotech sponsors a time-travel program to help students in 2122 learn what history was really like...from real-life subjects who've been transported into the future...and Ren is one of them.
In 2122, Ren's life in the 1990s is practically ancient history--and Ren's not sure how to feel about that. On top of it all, he learns that his memory will be wiped of all things 2122 before he's sent back to the '90s. Adding to Ren's complicated feels, he's forming a crush on his student guide, Mars.
And when he crosses paths with the absolute last person he expected to see in the future, he has a bigger problem on his hands: What if Chronotech isn't the benevolent organization they claim to be, and he and his fellow subjects are in great danger?
Last Chance Dance by Lakita Wilson (Viking)
Leila is crushed when Dev, her boyfriend of four years, breaks up with her right before graduation. Just when she's thinking she wasted her entire high school experience on a dead-end relationship, her best friend Bree reminds her that Last Chance Dance is just around the corner.
A high school tradition, Last Chance Dance gives all the students one last opportunity to find love before they graduate. All Leila has to do is submit three unrequited crushes to the dance committee and if any of her crushes list her too, they'll get matched. Presto: new relationship, just like that. To her utter amazement, Leila is matched with all three of her choices--and with someone she never, ever expected, Tre Hillman, her chemistry partner and low-key nemesis.
Though at times skeptical, Leila embarks on her Last Chance Dance mission--trying out her matches and going on dates. If Dev wasn't her true love--then maybe someone else is. She knows it's definitely not Tre, even though he seems more and more determined to convince her he's right for her.
But thoughts of Dev keep sneaking back into her mind, and as graduation and the dance approaches, Leila must figure out what--and who--she really wants. It's her last chance, right?
The Beauty Trials by Dhonielle Clayton (Freeform) - moved from 2020.
With the dangerous, erratic Princess Sophia imprisoned, Queen Charlotte decides to invoke the ancient tradition of The Beauty Trials—a series of harrowing tests meant to find the one true ruler of Orleans. Edel, who has always aspired to be more than just a Belle, decides to enter and, after promising to bind her arcana to keep from having an unnatural advantage, joins a few dozen other hopefuls intent on becoming the next Queen of Orleans.
But the trials are far worse than any of them bargained for. As the women are put through dangerous tasks meant to test their strength, confidence, composure, and bravery, many perish, and Edel is mysteriously attacked by one of the other competitors—forcing her to use her powers just to survive. Will her subterfuge cost her the crown, or is there a larger conspiracy at play?
New York Times best-selling author Dhonielle Clayton returns to her sweeping, lush fantasy series with an all-new story teeming with high-stakes court intrigue and danger disguised by beauty.
February 28th
My Dear Henry: A Jekyll and Hyde Remix by Kalynn Bayron (Feiwel and Friends)
London, 1885. Gabriel Utterson, a 17-year-old law clerk, has returned to London for the first time since his life― and that of his dearest friend, Henry Jekyll―was derailed by a scandal that led to his and Henry's expuslion from the London Medical School. Whispers about the true nature of Gabriel and Henry's relationship have followed the boys for two years, and now Gabriel has a chance to start again.
But Gabriel doesn't want to move on, not without Henry. His friend has become distant and cold since the disastrous events of the prior spring, and now his letters have stopped altogether. Desperate to discover what's become of him, Gabriel takes to watching the Jekyll house.
In doing so, Gabriel meets Hyde, a a strangely familiar young man with white hair and a magnetic charisma. He claims to be friends with Henry, and Gabriel can't help but begin to grow jealous at their apparent closeness, especially as Henry continues to act like Gabriel means nothing to him.
But the secret behind Henry's apathy is only the first part of a deeper mystery that has begun to coalesce. Monsters of all kinds prowl within the London fog―and not all of them are out for blood...
The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa (Random House) - moved from November 2022.
On Mar Leon-de la Rosa's 16th birthday, el Diablo comes calling. Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice. But their magic isn't enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father and now el Diablo has come to collect his payment: the soul of Mar's father and the entire crew of their ship.
When Mar is miraculously rescued by the sole remaining pirate crew in the Caribbean, el Diablo returns to give them a choice: give up your soul to save your father by the Harvest Moon or never see him again. The task is impossible--Mar refuses to make a bargain and there's no way their magic is any match for el Diablo. Then, Mar finds the most unlikely allies: Bas, an infuriatingly arrogant and handsome pirate -- and the captain's son; and Dami, a genderfluid demonio whose motives are never quite clear. For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic. It could be their only redemption -- or it could mean certain death.
Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury (Margaret K. McElderry Books) - previously titled Butcherbirds, title change announced on twitter in June 2022.
Daisy sees dead people—something impossible to forget in bustling, ghost-packed Toronto. She usually manages to deal with her unwanted ability, but she’s completely unprepared to be dumped by her boyfriend. So when her mother inherits a secluded mansion in northern Ontario where she spent her childhood summers, Daisy jumps at the chance to escape. But the house is nothing like Daisy expects, and she begins to realize that her experience with the supernatural might be no match for her mother’s secrets, nor what lurks within these walls…
A decade later, Brittney is desperate to get out from under the thumb of her abusive mother, a bestselling author who claims her stay at “Miracle Mansion” allowed her to see the error of her ways. But Brittney knows that’s nothing but a sham. She decides the new season of her popular Haunted web series will uncover what happened to a young Black girl in the mansion ten years prior and finally expose her mother’s lies. But as she gets more wrapped up in the investigation, she’ll have to decide: if she can only bring one story to light, which one matters most—Daisy’s or her own?
As Brittney investigates the mansion in the present, Daisy’s story runs parallel in the past, both timelines propelling the girls to face the most dangerous monsters of all: those that hide in plain sight.
Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong (Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books) - moved from July 2023.
The Nightbirds are Simta’s best kept secret. Teenage girls from the Great Houses with magic coursing through their veins, the Nightbirds have the unique ability to gift their magic to others with a kiss. Magic—especially the magic of women—is outlawed and the city’s religious sects would see them burned if discovered. But protected by the Great Houses, the Nightbirds are safe well-guarded treasures.
As this Season’s Nightbirds, Matilde, Aesa, and Sayer spend their nights bestowing their unique brands of magic to well-paying clients. Once their Season is through, they're each meant to marry a Great House lord and become mothers to the next generation of Nightbirds before their powers fade away. But Matilde, Aesa, and Sayer have other plans. They know their lives as Nightbirds aren't just temporary, but a complete lie and yearn for something more.
When they discover that there are other girls like them and that their magic is more than they were ever told, they see the carefully crafted Nightbird system for what it is: a way to keep them in their place, first as daughters and then as wives. Now they must make a choice—to stay in their gilded cage or to remake the city that put them there in the first place.
Lola, At Last by J. C. Peterson (HarperTeen) - moved from March 2023.
Lola Barnes’s summer is not off to the best start.
Fresh off a scandal that tanked her social status, Lola has somehow managed to also alienate her twin sister, lose the friends she thought she had, and put a . . . fiery end to the first party of the summer.
(The boat was barely on fire, for the record—and all the partygoers were just fine.)
Lola is given an ultimatum: jail time, or spend the summer with the nonprofit Hike Like a Girl.
Everyone seems to expect Lola to fail. But even as Lola encounters bugs, blisters, and bears (oh my!), she finds something greater that she’d been missing all along: unexpected friends, a sweet romance, strength she didn’t know she had—and herself, Lola, at last.
JC Peterson breathes new life into Pride and Prejudice’s troublemaking Lydia Bennet in this unstoppably fun yet startlingly moving journey perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Emma Lord—proving that you can always find a new direction, no matter where you’re coming from.
I'll Take Everything You Have by James Klise (Algonquin)
In the summer of 1934, Joe Garbe arrives in Chicago with one goal: Earn enough money to get out of debt and save the family farm. Joe’s cousin sets him up with a hotel job, then proposes a sketchy scheme to make a lot more money fast. While running his con, Joe finds himself splitting time between Eddie, a handsome flirt on a delivery truck, and Raymond, a carefree rich kid who shows Joe the eye-opening queer life around every corner of the big city.
Joe’s exposure to the surface of criminal Chicago pulls him into something darker than he could have imagined. When danger closes in—from gangsters, the police, and people he thought were friends—Joe needs to pack up and get lost. But before he can figure out where to go, he has to decide who he wants to be.
I’ll Take Everything You Have is a vivid portrayal of queer coming of age in Depression-era Chicago, and a timeless story of trying to make your future bright when the rest of the world is dead set on keeping it hidden in the dark.
Missing Dead Girls by Sara Walters (Sourcebooks Fire)
It wasn't Tillie's choice to leave Philadelphia. But after everything that happened junior year, her mom insisted the quiet suburb of Willow Creek was the perfect place to get a fresh start, to put the trauma and rumors behind them.
Madison Frank is the perfect distraction. Beautiful, fun, and from the wealthy side of town, Madison is the kind of girl who has a pull stronger than gravity. She commands attention, even inspires obsession. And by the end of summer, Tillie's forgotten everything—everyone—she left in Philadelphia. Almost.
Then Madison goes missing. A photo of her bloody body is texted to the whole student body...from an account with Tillie's name on it. Tillie's caught in a tangled web of secrets that will destroy her if they surface...and will destroy everyone she loves if they don't.
If I Can Give You That by Michael Gray Bulla (Quill Tree Books) - previously titled A Type of Bleeding, previously dated May 2022.
When seventeen-year-old Gael Adams attends Plus, a support group for LGBTQIA+ teens, he doesn’t plan on sharing much about his life as a trans boy at a conservative Tennessean high school. Then he meets open, easygoing Declan O’Connor, and Gael is welcomed into a new circle of friends who challenge his understanding of himself.
But as Gael’s friendship with Declan develops into something more, Gael finds himself caught between his mother’s worsening mental health and his estranged father’s persistent attempts to reconnect. After tragedy strikes, Gael must decide if he can risk letting down his guard and opening up to those who care for him.
The Island by Natasha Preston (Delacorte)
They said goodbye to their friends and family for the weekend. They weren’t counting on forever.
Jagged Island: a private amusement park for the very rich—or the very influential. Liam, James, Will, Ava, Harper, and Paisley—social media influencers with millions of followers—have been invited for an exclusive weekend before the park opens. They’ll make posts and videos for their channels and report every second of their VIP treatment.
When the teens arrive, they're stunned: the resort is even better than they’d imagined. Their hotel rooms are unreal, the park’s themed rides are incredible, and the island is hauntingly beautiful. They’re given a jam-packed itinerary for the weekend.
But soon they'll discover that something's missing from their schedule: getting off the island alive.
Remind Me to Hate You Later by Lizzy Mason (Bloomsbury) - moved from September 2022, then from October 2022, then from November 2022.
Seventeen-year-old Jules grew up in her mother's spotlight. A “parenting influencer”, Britt shares details of her daughter's life-pictures, intimate stories, insecurities, all-to a point that becomes unbearable to Jules.
And suddenly she's gone.
Natalie has only barely begun to grieve her best friend Jules' death when Britt announces her plans to publish a memoir that will dissect Jules' life and death. But Nat knows the truth behind Britt's "perfect" Instagram feed-Jules hated the pressure, the inauthenticity, the persona.
There's so much more to Jules than Britt and her followers could ever know. As Nat connects with Jules's boyfriend, Carter, and their shared grief and guilt bonds them, she becomes determined to expose Britt as a fraud, to understand what really happened, who is to blame.
In a world that feels distorted by celebrity and the manipulations of social media and public opinion, Natalie and Carter need something real to hold onto. Remind Me to Hate You Later is a moving account of grief, depression, complex relationships, love, and the search for truth.
Last Violent Call by Chloe Gong (Simon and Schuster)
She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran (Bloomsbury) - previously dated January 2023.
When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. She’s always lied to fit in, so if she’s straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough, she can get out with the college money he promised.
But the house has other plans. Night after night, Jade wakes up paralyzed. The walls exude a thrumming sound, while bugs leave their legs and feelers in places they don’t belong. She finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended. And at night Jade can’t ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves her cryptic warnings: Don’t eat.
Neither Ba nor her sweet sister Lily believe that there is anything strange happening. With help from a delinquent girl, Jade will prove this house—the home her family has always wanted—will not rest until it destroys them. Maybe, this time, she can keep her family together. As she roots out the house’s rot, she must also face the truth of who she is and who she must become to save them all.
Junkyard Dogs by Katherine Higgs-Coulthard - details not yet updated on Goodreads.
Josh’s father has gone missing without a trace. Now Josh and his 9-year-old brother, Twig, are stuck living with Gran in her trailer. Problem is, Gran didn’t ask to take care of any kids, and she’s threatening to call social services unless Josh can find his dad. After paying off Gran to take in his little brother, Josh risks truancy and getting kicked off his basketball team to take to the streets and hunt for his dad. But when Josh digs too deep, he suddenly finds himself tethered to a criminal scrapping ring that his father was accomplice to. If Josh wants to keep Twig out of the system and return to some sense of normal, he’ll have to track his dad down and demand honest answers.
Kill Joy: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder Novella by Holly Jackson (Delacorte)
Six suspects. Three hours. One murder...
Pip is not in the mood for her friend's murder mystery party. Especially one that involves 1920's fancy dress and pretending that their town is an island called Joy. But when the game begins, Pip finds herself drawn into the make-believe world of intrigue, deception and murder.
But as Pip plays detective, teasing out the identity of the killer clue-by-clue, the murder of the fictional Reginald Remy isn't the only case on her mind...
Red as Blood by Sorboni Banerjee and Dominique Richardson (Wise Wolf)
When Penny Zale vanishes from the psychiatric hospital where she’s being held against her will, only her chopped-off braid and cryptic letters remain. If her friends—Raven, Aarya, Dawn, and Elle—have any chance of finding Penny, they must enter a world where money and power mean everything, and life is expendable.
The lies that built Everbeach run deep, and someone is willing to do anything to keep them hidden. The girls believe Penny’s letters point to her ex, big sugar heir Logan Steele. When Raven tries to get close to Logan to gather information, she finds herself fighting a dangerous attraction to the magnetic billionaire.
Everything begins to unravel when Aarya discovers Raven has been keeping secrets. Raven’s painful past of anxiety and addiction causes her to spiral, and everyone, including Raven herself, starts to question her version of reality. As threats and attacks ramp up against the friends, they must decipher what happened to Penny before they’re the next to disappear.
Scandalous secrets, deadly twists, and forbidden love make this series perfect for fans of Inheritance Games, Thousandth Floor, and Pretty Little Liars.
Where is the book titled The Pricess Merilla, by Dakoda Dawn and R. Hobby ? It is to be released February 1st 2023.
ReplyDeleteThere is a book title This is How you Fall in Love by Anika Hussain that is missing from this list
ReplyDelete