Release date not yet known
I Put a Spell on You by Claire Edge (HarperCollins)
David Linker at HarperCollins has acquired, in an exclusive submission, I Put a Spell on You by Clare Edge.
In this contemporary YA fantasy-romance, a heartthrob enby spellcaster
must teach the new girl in school how to wield magic in order to save
their emerging powers in a rivals to lovers game of wits. Publication is
slated for fall 2025; Jennifer Azantian at Azantian Literary Agency
brokered the deal for world rights.
Pizza Witch by Sarah Graley and Stef Purenins (Skybound Comet) - YA graphic novel, traditionally published edition not yet added to Goodreads.
Alex Antone at Skybound Comet has acquired world rights in an exclusive submission, to Pizza Witch by Sarah Graley (Glitch) and Stef Purenins, a YA graphic novel by the creators of Donut the Destroyer and Our Super Adventure, in which pizza magic trainee Roxy journeys to be the best Pizza Witch that's ever lived as she navigates unsupportive parents, a lackadaisical boss, and finding confidence in herself. Publication is set for September 2025; Steven Salpeter at Assemble Media negotiated the deal while at Curtis Brown Ltd.
September 2nd
Grave Flowers by Autumn Krause (Peachtree Teen)
A twisty, dark-royalcore YA fantasy that takes the courtly intrigue of Hamlet and infuses it with the vicious ambition of the Boleyn family. For fans of House of the Dragon and readers who love The Cruel Prince, Red Queen, and Sara J. Maas.
Marry the Prince, then kill him…
Princess Madalina and her twin sister Inessa were born attached at the hand and separated right after. That’s the only time the sisters ever held hands. The girls’ personalities have been shaped in the Sinet family’s drive to make their kingdom more than it is: unrespectable and loathsome, a damp place where deceit fills the palace walls like mold.
Madalina is different from her family. She’s considered the weak one and only finds peace in the garden, tending the flowers, which are pejoratively called grave flowers because they are ideal for tortures and torments. Secretly, she dreams of escape and a new life.
Then Inessa, who was betrothed to Prince Hadrian, the heir of a wealthy kingdom, appears to Madalina as a ghost. She decries her murder and begs Madalina to free her from Bide, a terrifying place where souls get caught. Now Madelina must take her sister’s place and carry out her secret mission: Inessa wasn’t just sent to marry Prince Hadrien, but to kill him, too, and solidify a pact with his uncle.
On behalf of her family, Madelina must finish the job, knowing that whoever wanted Inessa dead is sure to wish her dead as well.
Falling Like Leaves by Misty Wilson (Margaret K. McElderry Books) - moved from August 2025.
Bramble Falls might be charming, but it's also full of distractions. Like local barista Cooper Barnett, Ellis's one-time best friend—and first kiss—who has not only majorly glowed up but wants nothing to do with Ellis.
Then there's the Falling Leaves Festival, a month-long tourist attraction run by Ellis's aunt—celebrating everything autumn. The festival seems nice and all, but Ellis doesn't have time to be roped into her aunt's enthusiastic planning. Dragged to each event, she can't stop bumping into Cooper, the one person she's hoping to avoid.
But the longer she stays in Bramble Falls, the harder it is to pretend she's not falling for this town and the people in it. As her return to Manhattan gets pushed further and further out, Ellis is forced to confront exactly what she wants for her future—and what that means for her present.
Oxford Blood by Rachael Davis-Featherstone (Wednesday Books) - previously titled Oxford Slays, description not yet updated on Goodreads.
Love, Lies, Legacy...High-achieving state-school pupil Eva has one dream – reading English at Oxford. If she gets in, not only will she receive a world-class education at an elite university, but she will be fulfilling the dreams of her mother and gain some independence from her father, the overprotective Inspector Dawkins.
At the same school, Eva's best-friend George is also hoping to go to Oxford. The attraction between him and Eva is undeniable, but they’ve agreed to put any romance on hold until their places at Oxford are secured. Eva cannot be distracted from her goal – although when they are both invited for interview week, their future together feels oh-so close.
Until George shows up dead.
The police rule his death an accident, but the behaviour of some of the other interview candidates has Eva suspecting foul play. When a shocking secret about George is revealed, Eva finds suspicion falling on her. What was meant to be one of the most important weeks of her life is fast turning into a nightmare.
All eyes are now on Eva, including the anonymous posters behind OxSlay, a gossipy social media forum exclusively for Oxford students. But amongst the conspiracy theories, lurk hidden clues. Could they help Eva clear her name - and catch the killer?
Bad In the Blood by Matteo L. Cerilli (Tundra)
In the city of Puck’s Port, where motorized vehicles fill the streets and new technological marvels abound, something rotten is lurking under the surface. A violent murder at the docks seems to point to a fey killer, igniting a powder keg of distrust between the city’s humans and its fey inhabitants — folks who wield wonderful but often uncontrollable magical power.
Gristle Senan Maxim Junior finds himself caught in the middle. Forced into the reluctant role of private investigator, like his late father, he’s working to solve the mystery of this fiery murder... mainly because his sister, Hawthorne Stregoni, is a fey herself with an unfortunate penchant for setting things ablaze.
Hawthorne is part of an experimental study to control feyism but struggles to keep her powerful magic in check in a country that hates what she is. Can she and Gristle work together to find the true instigator of the murder before it’s too late?
Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley (Henry Holt)
Ever since Lucy Smith’s father died five years ago, “home” has been more of an idea than a place. She knows being on the run is better than anything waiting for her as a “ward of the state”. But when the sharp-eyed and kind Mr. Jameson with an interest in her case comes looking for her, Lucy wonders if hiding from her past will ever truly keep her safe.
Five years in the foster system has taught her to be cautious and smart. But she wants to believe Mr. Jameson and his “friend-not-friend”, a tall and fierce-looking woman who say they want to look after her.
They also tell Lucy the truth her father hid from She is Ojibwe; she has – had – a sister, and more siblings; a grandmother who’d look after her and a home where she would be loved.
But Lucy is being followed. The past has destroyed any chance of normal she has had, and now the secrets she’s hiding will swallow her whole and take away the future she always dreamed of.
From the internationally-acclaimed and bestselling author Angeline Boulley comes an explosive story about seeking vindication from a past that won't let you go.
When We Were Monsters by Jennifer Niven (Knopf)
At an elite New England boarding school, eight students are selected for an exclusive storytelling workshop with the one and only Meredith Graffam—an enigmatic writer, director, and actress. For sixteen days, they will live in the isolated estate of the school’s founder, surrounded by snowy woods and a storm-tossed seas. Only one of the chosen will walk away with a lifechanging opportunity to realize their creative dreams.
Everyone, including Graffam, has a compelling reason to be there—Effy, the orphan, Isaac, the legacy, Ness, the wallflower, Ramon, the outsider, and Arlo, whose unexpected arrival leaves Effy spiraling—but only the most ambitious will last the term. Graffam’s unorthodox methods push the students past the breaking point, revealing their darkest secrets, taking unthinkable risks, and slowly starting to turn on one another. But Graffam never expected they would turn on her...
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places comes a psychological thriller about the monsters who walk among us—even in the glittering upper echelons of society—and the ways in which we seek redemption for the wrongs we’ve done.
Season of Fear by Emily Cooper (Christy Ottaviano Books)
In the Bavarian village of Heulensee, women feed their terror to an ancient Saint of Fear. In return, it protects them from the monsters of the Hexenwald, the haunted forest on their doorstep. Born unfearing, Ilse Odenwald has felt like an outsider all her life. When the Saint discovers Ilse’s divergence, it levels a She must find her fear, or the Saint will devour her sister, Dorothea—the only person who loves Ilse unconditionally.
Unwilling to lose Thea, Ilse enters the Hexenwald. She hopes that its horrors will finally unleash her fear and, in turn, save her sister. But during her quest Ilse inadvertently uncovers something more sinister than the monsters that hunt a darkness within herself. As the forest closes in, Ilse’s hopes for a normal future begin to slip away, as well as the chance to save not just Thea, but all women in Heulensee.
Bewitching and timely, this gripping debut novel is a dark fairy tale about the fate of girls and women in a world grown accustomed to sacrificing them.
Daughter of the Underworld by Katharine Corr and Elizabeth Corr (Candlewick Press) - previously published in the UK, description and cover not yet updated on Goodreads.
Deina is trapped. As one of the Soul Severers serving the god Hades on earth, her future is tied to the task of shepherding the dying from the mortal world—unless she can earn or steal enough to buy her way out. So when the tyrant ruler Orpheus offers both fortune and freedom to whoever can retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice, from the Underworld, Deina jumps at the chance. To succeed, however, she must enter an uneasy alliance with a group of fellow Severers that she neither likes nor trusts. As their perilous journey into the realm of Hades begins, with the reward of freedom ahead, what will it take for Deina to reach her prize?
From the authors of A Throne of Swans and A Crown of Talons comes a stunning new YA duology set in a world inspired by the mythology of ancient Greece, perfect for fans of Alexandra Bracken’s Lore and Jessie Burton’s Medusa.
The Deep Well by Laura Creedle (Quill Tree Books) - moved from 2024.
When April Fischer was five, the voice from the well told her to fly.
Ever since April survived the strange and brutal massacre at the Copperton mine twelve years ago, she has been in the spotlight. At first, as the subject of internet urban legend. Then, as a horror movie inspiration. And most frighteningly, as the darling of a cult that believes that on her seventeenth birthday she will come into universe-altering power.
April has unanswered questions about what really went down at the mine—most of all, what happened to her father, the foreman on the drill site, who disappeared on that day. Until the week before her birthday, when she is given a collection of documents and the words He’s alive.
As April uncovers more about her childhood at the mine, the cultists’ beliefs don’t feel as impossible as she once thought, and she begins to hope that she truly can bring her father back. But even though she never wants to go near the edge of the open-pit mine again, there are forces in Copperton who want to see her fail . . . or watch her fly.
In this tense, atmospheric novel where shadows flit across each page, Laura Creedle unfolds a story about legends, paranoia, and the horror that hides just below the surface.
Keep Your Friends Close by Cynthia Murphy (Delacorte)
Chloe Roberts is on top of the world at Morton Academy. She’s a shoo-in for Head Girl and the lead spot in the school’s secret Jewel and Bone. But then her best friend, Nikhita Patel, betrays her, and life comes crashing down.
Things take a darker turn when Chloe stumbles upon the Book of Crime and Punishment – a record of every misdeed committed by Morton students and the fitting penalty. And it’s not long before entries in the book start to match up with murders of Jewel and Bone members. Anyone could be a suspect.
Can Chloe get to the bottom of this twisted game before she’s next on the killer’s hit list...?
And the River Drags Her Down by Jihyun Yun (Knopf) - title changed from "You" to "Her".
It began with an ancestor who buried a chicken bone in the dirt and inadvertently brought the bird back to life, saving her family from starvation. The sisters have always heeded their late mother’s warning never to resurrect anything larger than a small animal. But when Mirae is found mysteriously drowned, Soojin is unable to resist the temptation to bring her back to life.
At first, the sisters are overjoyed to be reunited, but Soojin’s happiness is overshadowed by the burden of keeping the resurrect- ed Mirae hidden from the world, especially from her father. When Soojin rekindles a relationship with a childhood friend, Mark, he ecomes her reluctant co-conspirator, but also her conscience, questioning the wisdom of keeping Mirae tied to a world where she doesn’t belong.
Meanwhile, Mirae is having trouble remembering her own name and is plagued by an insatiable hunger and lust for vengeance. As Mirae’s bloodlust grows, Soojin is forced to reckon with the fact that the sister she brought back isn’t the one she knew.
Livewire by Sarah Raughley (Blackstone) - description not yet updated on Goodreads.
Amanda McKee is a psiot, an evolved subspecies of humanity with mysterious psychic powers. According to billionaire Toyo Harada and his secret research organization, the Harbinger Foundation, she has the ability to talk to machines, control technology, and even see into a secret parallel world that exists inside computers: the Digital World. But Harada wants Amanda to keep that last bit under wraps—along with the fact that she’s his adopted daughter.
But when a man from the twenty-seventh century named Matsuoka Sho appears, intent on killing her to save his future, she realizes her days of hiding who she really is are over. Especially after Matsuoka gives her an ominous warning: “One day, you and Toyo will destroy humankind.” At first, Amanda doesn’t want to believe it. But when techno-soldiers from the future kidnap her father and drag him into the Digital World, she has no choice but to follow. Going into the Digital World with her hot, time-traveling frenemy and fighting off mecha soldiers with her psiot powers? That’s one thing. But can she handle learning the truth about who Toyo Harada really is?
For the Rest of Us by Various YA Authors (Quill Tree Books)
From Lunar New Year to Solstice, Día de Los Muertos to Juneteenth, and all the incredible days in between, it’s clear that Americans don’t just have one holiday. Edited by the esteemed Dahlia Adler and authored by creators who have lived these festive experiences firsthand, this joyful collection of stories shows that there isn’t one way to experience a holiday.
Rules for Fake Girlfriends by Raegan Revord (Wednesday Books)
As their quest takes them all over Brighton, Avery finally starts to connect with the mother she always loved but never really understood. Before long, pretending to be Charlie’s girlfriend starts to feel like more than just an illusion. But when long-hidden secrets come to light, Avery grapples with an uncertain future and whether or not love is worth the risk.
Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch by Rhianna Pratchett, Gabrielle Kent and Paul Kidby (HarperCollins) - YA graphic novel/tie-in book.
A practical, full-color guide to being a witch in Terry Pratchett’s bestselling Discworld, covering everything you've ever wanted to know from dealing with elves to making deals with demons, and from tending the flocks to fending off invasions from other worlds. A comprehensive volume, narrated by young witch Tiffany Aching, and amended by such renowned practitioners as Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg—as well as by Rob Anybody Feegle—each of whom offers their own perspectives on all things witchcraft, this book will delight fans, as it inspires and empowers both new and seasoned witches alike.
Silenced Voices by Pablo Leon (HarperAlley) - YA graphic novel, moved from 2024.
Langley, Maryland, 2013.
Brothers Jose and Charlie know very little about the life their mother lived before she came to Maryland. In fact, Clara avoids even telling people she’s from Guatemala. So when Jose grows curious about the ongoing genocide trial of former military leader Efrain Rios Montt, at first the questions he asks Clara are shut down—he and Charlie were born here, after all, and there’s no reason to worry about places they haven’t been. But as the trial progresses, Clara begins to slowly open up to her sons about a time in her life that she’s left buried for years.
Dos Erres, Guatemala, 1982.
Sisters Clara and Elena hear about the civil war every day, but the violence somehow seems far away from their small village of Dos Erres, a Q’eqchi Maya community tucked away in the mountains of Guatemala. They spend their days thinking of other things—Clara, of gifts to bring her neighbors and how to perfect her mother’s recipes, and Elena, of rock music and her friend Ana, whose family had to flee to the US the year before. But the day the Kaibiles come to Dos Erres and destroy everything in their path, the sisters are separated as they flee through the mountains, leaving them to wonder…Have their paths diverged forever?
A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon J. Spann (Mayhem Books) - description not yet updated on Goodreads.
Caraval meets The Serpent and the Wings of Night in this YA romantasy, where 18-year-old Riven Hesper infiltrates a mysterious theater run by irresistible and deadly godlike beings, and mortals compete for immortality in a ruthlessly lethal competition.
The Sun and the Starmaker by Rachel Griffin (Sourcebooks Fire)
Nestled deep in the snowy mountains of the Lost Range, the small village of Reverie endures on a miracle. Beyond the reach of the Sun, Reverie is dependent upon the magic of the mysterious Starmaker: every morning, he trudges across a vast glacier and pulls in sunlight over the peaks, providing the village with the light it needs to survive.
Aurora Finch grew up on tales of the Starmaker’s magic, never imagining she’d one day meet him. But on the morning of her wedding, a fateful encounter in the frostbitten woods changes everything. The Starmaker senses a powerful magic within her and demands she come study under his guidance. With her newfound abilities tied to the survival of the village, Aurora is swept away to his ice-covered castle at the mountain’s peak.
The Starmaker is as cold and distant as the dark woods, leaving Aurora to explore his enchanted castle with only an immortal rabbit for company. Yet the more she discovers about the sorcerer, the stronger their ruinous attraction grows, pulling her closer to the secrets he refuses to share. A deadly frost approaches, and Aurora must uncover what the Starmaker is hiding before she is left in an endless winter that even the Sun cannot touch.
The Steps by Wendelin Van Draanen (Holiday House) - description not yet updated on Goodreads.
Riverdale meets The Queen’s Gambit in this fun, twisty thriller by an Edgar Award-winning author, featuring a deliciously dysfunctional family with dark secrets and shifting alliances.
Fourteen-year-old chess whiz Ruby Vossen tries to keep to herself. She refuses to be a pawn in her wealthy family’s web of deception.
But ever since Ruby’s mother and aunt died in a car wreck, the battle lines drawn within the Vossen clan have ruled her life. Ruby’s father and uncle became irreparably estranged, and within months, Ruby’s cousin/BFF was banished from her life, her father remarried, and she wound up with a gold-digging stepmom who has two teens of her own—The Steps.
So when strange and dangerous things begin happening on the Vossen estate, Ruby sees only one logical explanation: The Steps are scheming to inherit the Vossen fortune. And as things get more and more intense, it seems like killing is in their playbook.
Luckily, Ruby has her own playbook, and she’s not about to go down without a fight. She’ll even break her dad’s rules to get her cousin back on her side of the chessboard . . . It’s time to check-mate The Steps before they can finish the Vossens off.
Secrets, lies, and lethal threats abound in this clever, quirky thriller by the award-winning, bestselling author of Flipped and the Sammy Keyes mysteries.
Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald (Sourcebooks Fire) - previously published in the UK.
To hell with love, this goddess has other plans...
Thousands of years ago, the gods told a lie: how Persephone was a pawn in the politics of other gods. How Hades kidnapped Persephone to be his bride. How her mother, Demeter, was so distraught she caused the Earth to start dying.
The real story is much more interesting.
Persephone wasn't taken to hell: she jumped. There was no way she was going to be married off to some smug god more in love with himself than her.
Now all she has to do is convince the Underworld's annoyingly sexy, arrogant and frankly rude ruler, Hades, to fall in line with her plan. A plan that will shake Mount Olympus to its very core.
But consequences can be deadly, especially when you're already in hell . . .
A fierce, fresh and enormously fun YA fantasy re-imagining from a growing TikTok superstar.
Wake Now in the Fire by Jarrett Dapier and AJ Dung (Chronicle Books) - YA graphic novel, moved from 2023.
In this empowering graphic novel based on a true story, a group of high schoolers in Chicago work to overturn the system-wide ban of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis.
It starts as an update at one Chicago high copies of a certain book are no longer allowed in the classrooms or the library. But it’s not just one high school—it’s all Chicago public schools. Not even the principals know why this is happening; they just know they must comply with the order. One thing is The book, which tells a story of oppression, survival, and resistance against authoritarian power, is seen as a threat, dangerous enough to ban.
One other thing is Some of the students aren’t going to let this go without resistance of their own.
As the extent of the ban becomes known, the students rise up. They organize a school-wide walkout and library sit-in. They publicize the banning in every forum they social media, the press, classes, clubs, the school paper. And most of all, they get everyone they know to read the Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi.
Told from multiple perspectives, based on extensive interviews with the real-life students and teachers who were affected, and written by the librarian who exposed key information about the Chicago Public Schools censorship decision, Wake Now in the Fire is a fictionalized account of a true event that galvanized a community. With illustrations by Alex Award-winner AJ Dungo that perfectly capture the everyday joys, heartbreak, and stresses of high school, this graphic novel is an inspiring portrayal of student activism taking on one of most urgent issues of our time, and a passionate reminder of why protecting the books we love matters.
Witchkiller by Ashlee Latimer (Scholastic)
What becomes of the girl who kills a witch? Be prepared to question everything you once knew in this Hansel & Gretel retelling for fans of Kalynn Bayron and Jennifer Donnelly.
Gretel loves her brother, Hansel, but lately she barely recognizes him. It's been months since that terrible day in the cottage, when she found her brother in grave danger and had to kill the witch. Her life has changed completely since then--she now lives in a big castle with Hansel and their father, forced to wear corsets and dance with boring, old men at balls.
One day, while wandering in the woods next to their new property, Gretel comes across a community of witches. But what she sees is nothing like the stories she's heard. These witches are healers, helping those in need.
Gretel must dig deep to find the truth of what really happened that day in the cottage. And when she's forced to confront everything she knows about her family and the world around her, she must decide where her true alliances lay.
By Invitation Only by Alexandra Brown Chang (Margaret K. McElderry Books) - description not yet updated on Goodreads.
A hard-working teen hoping to land a college scholarship and a nepo baby looking to prove herself collide at the world’s most high-profile debutante ball in Paris in this young adult romance perfect for fans of American Royals and Better Than the Movies.
Every year, a hand-selected group of young women travel to Paris to make their debuts into high society at La Danse des Débutantes, the most exclusive debutante ball in the world. Being wealthy, royal, or famous gets you into the pool of potential debutantes, but only La Danse decides who is truly worthy of attending.
Chapin Buckingham, the daughter two Hollywood legends, is one of the lucky few chosen to attend. Chapin’s not usually a society girl, but she has her reasons for wanting to be crowned Debutante of the Year. Her chances seem good…until a fellow debutante creates a PR nightmare that has the eat-the-rich cohort calling for La Danse’s cancellation.
Enter Piper Woo Collins. As the daughter of an EMT and winner of the International Science Fair Prize with a profile in Teen Vogue, Piper is the perfect, down-to-earth person who could restore La Danse’s reputation. But Piper isn’t interested in becoming a debutante—until they offer her a college scholarship…if she wins Debutante of the Year.
In competition for the crown, Piper and Chapin have every reason to clash. But at La Danse, everyone wants something. Piper and Chapin might just need each other to go from pawns in a game to ruling the board…
Into the Deep Blue by Jennifer E. Archer (Marble Press) - moved from 2024, then from July 2025.
Nick Bennet is an expert at messing up. Maybe not as much as his older sister, but he really upped his game by getting a DUI, a license suspension, and mandatory grief counseling after their mom died. Now, he’s trying to put the pieces of his life together. He wants to go to school in New York to be a writer, but his dad is betting against him. Nick will mess up again—it’s what he does best.
The last thing he needs is to fall for Fiona, his only friend from therapy. His only friend—period. With Fiona, he can be himself, darkly funny, lonely, a closet optimist, and more honest than he’s ever been in his life. Fiona gets it—this rollercoaster called grief—she’s stuck on it too.
Fiona’s everything he’s not. She socializes in therapy, her gymnastics students adore her, and she has actual friends who care about her. But as Nick’s world grows, Fiona’s falls apart and her friends turn out to be not so great after all. It’s a good thing Fiona is the stable one. She would never do anything crazy, the way he has—right?
Reasons to Hate Me by Susan Metallo (Candlewick) - description not yet updated on Goodreads.
A hilarious and heartfelt novel about a neurodivergent theater nerd that tackles slut-shaming, what it means to be a friend, and the power of forgiving others—and yourself.
There are countless good reasons to hate seventeen-year-old Jess Lanza, Stone Bridge High’s premier autistic theater nerd and Champion of Questionable Life Choices. Unfortunately, the cyberbullies that hounded her all summer are stuck on last year’s life-ruining mistake, the one that earned Jess the title “Boyfriend Stealing Slutbag.”
To relieve the bullies of their stale content, Jess vows to dazzle them with online posts about her own ridiculous fails and embarrassing character traits. But somehow, all of Jess’s posts circle back to her friendship with Chloe—the friendship her alleged sluttiness pulverized—and the gaping hole she left in Jess’s life. As Jess chases Chloe’s forgiveness, she must confront some of her darkest weaknesses—and darker still, the truth of what happened with Chloe’s boyfriend, a story neither of them wants to hear.
Told through a series of blog posts and short scripts, this cleverly staged and structured debut novel crackles with spot-on dialogue, features a range of fully developed neurodiverse characters, and sharply evokes high school in all its hilarious and agonizing complexity.
Sunderworld Vol. 2: The Unfortunate Responsibilities of Leopold Berry (Dutton)
The second installment in the instant NYT bestselling new fantasy series from Ransom Riggs, author of the #1 global phenomenon Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series.
Sunderworld isn’t finished with Leopold Berry—not by a long shot. In the aftermath of the incredible cliffhanger that ended Vol. 1, Leopold, Emmet, and Isabel will begin to unravel the mysteries of Sunder and the secret history of Leopold’s family. Vol. 1 left readers breathless, and Vol. 2 promises even more magic and suspense.
September 9th
House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt (Viking)
So Violet does what no one else seems willing to do: transfers to Emoree’s fancy school so she can dig into the Cards’ murky history and find out what really happened to her friend. She knows the truth might not be pretty, but what she doesn’t bargain for is the obnoxiously privileged (and frustratingly alluring) boy at the center of it all… and the vengeful ghost that’s haunting his family.
The Heights: Balancing Act by Paula Chase (Wednesday Books) - moved from 2022.
When Chyna gets a scholarship to the newest, most prestigious sports school in the city, it’s the best opportunity to do the gymnastics she loves. But between caring for her ailing mother and dealing with the elitist girls on her gymnastics team, she’s not sure she belongs.
Meanwhile, Jamaal is reeling from the death of his brother—who was also secretly Chyna’s boyfriend. Becoming star of the Power Panthers basketball team is his way to honor his brother’s memory and nothings going to stand in his way. Not even his health.
Filled with gossip, high-stakes sports drama, and tons of heart, BALANCING ACT is the first in a riveting new series about teens fighting for their dreams in a city where picking a side is no game.
Split the Sky by Marie Arnold (Little, Brown) - previously titled Jump House.
Fifteen-year-old Lala Russell is doing a bad job at being a Black girl. She has social justice fatigue, and she doesn't want to join the Black Alliance Club at her school (even though she agrees with them). A gifted cellist, she’s focused on leaving her small town and accomplishing her goals and dreams. But Lala has also inherited another gift, her grandmother Sadie's gift of foresight. She has visions of the future—and they always come true.
In Davey, the Texas sundown town she lives in, there is growing tension, as a black organization attempts to diversify the nearly all-white part of town. Amidst violent protests, Lala has a vision. In it, a Black teenage boy is shot in the chest by a white homeowner. Now Lala has a find the boy and save him.
But Grandma Sadie has a vision too. After the boy's murder, a wave of protests breaks out. And the outrage over the casual and frequent slaying of unarmed Black children will result in unprecedented change. Change that won’t happen if the vision is altered. Lala is faced with an existential question—can she allow herself to sacrifice one life to, in turn, save many? And if so, whose life will she choose?
You've Goth My Heart by LC Rosen (Little, Brown)
When Gray gets a text from a wrong number, he’s pretty sure it’s a serial killer—or worse, his ex—on the other end of the line. But, the anonymous texter shares his same taste in music and movies, and Gray’s bored while stuck at home all summer, so why not respond? Being anonymous actually helps them open up to each other, and Gray finds himself hopeful that this could be his dream goth crush. All they have to do is meet—on Halloween, the night of Sleepy Hollow’s big house-decorating contest, and the perfect opportunity for Gray to show his mystery texter his true feelings.
But between Gray’s closeted ex coming back into the picture, a cute but obnoxious new goth kid vying to win the contest, and a maybe serial killer lurking around and killing local gay teens, Gray’s prospects are looking grim. Come Halloween, he’ll either get his dream guy or die trying…
You’ve Goth My Heart is the romantic and hilarious accidental-connection romance you don’t want to miss!
An Embroidery of Souls by Ruby Martinez (Knopf)
Jade Aguilar can kill a man with nothing more than a needle and thread. Like her mother, a thread speaker in the queendom of Mérecal, she has the unique ability to stitch love, beauty, intelligence and to unravel even death. When her mother goes missing, the queen orders Jade to find her or be conscripted into a life of servitude.
Lukas Keller is desperate to feed his family and makes a deal with a vicious gang leader. Though he swore never to seek the help of a thread speaker, he’s in over his head and it might be his only option.
Jade and Lukas form a mistrustful alliance. But as Mérecal erupts into chaos and the killer closes in, they must cling to one another for survival—and perhaps...something more?
From debut author Ruby Martinez comes a wildly romantic, heart pounding mystery set in a lush fantastical world inspired by Mexican and German lore.
Everything She Does Is Magic by Bridget Morrissey (Delacorte)
Darcy Keller, resident ray of sunshine and town spirit princess, loves every moment of Fableview’s fall festivities. But she’s also really ready to leave for college next year, even though her parents expect her to stay and take over their Halloween empire.
Enter brooding new girl Anya Doyle, a real-life witch and almost a full member of her coven. In order to be initiated, she has to choose a mortal ally to act as her “protector.” But having moved around so much, Anya is completely friendless. So she does what any self-respecting teenage almost-witch would—she lies and tells her coven her secret crush, Darcy, is willing to do the job.
Desperate to solve their personal problems, they agree to help each other out, attending everything from a costume parade to a pumpkin patch party to an apple bobbing contest together. But with Anya’s magical powers and Darcy’s future independence on the line, the last thing they need is the added complication of pesky feelings...
The House of Quiet by Kiersten White (Delacorte)
To save her sister, she must enter the House.
In the middle of a deadly bog sits the House of Quiet. It’s a place for children whose Procedure triggered powers too terrible to be lived with—their last hope for treatment. No one knows how they’re healed or where they go afterward.
Birdie has begged, bargained, and blackmailed her way inside as a maid, determined to find her missing sister, Magpie. But what she discovers is more mysteries. Instead of the destitute children who undergo the Procedure in hopes of social advancement, the house brims with aristocratic teens wielding strange powers they never should have been burdened with.
Though Birdie wants to ignore them, she can’t help being drawn to stoic and silent Forest, charmed by clever River, and concerned for the youngest residents. And with fellow maid Minnow keeping tabs on everything Birdie does, danger is everywhere.
In her desperate search for Magpie, Birdie unearths terrifying threats and devastating truths, forcing her to confront just how much she’s willing to sacrifice to save her own sister. Because in the House of Quiet, if you find what’s lurking beneath . . . you lose everything.
Unravel the mystery. Ignite the rebellion.
Everything About You by Robby Weber (HarperCollins/Storytide) - description not yet updated on Goodreads.
Milo is determined to have the most magical summer in Paris after winning an apprenticeship at a prestigious fashion house. The plan is simple: work hard, impress the team, and land a permanent job. With his best friend Celeste by his side, nothing will stand in his way of getting what he wants—especially not a boy.
Enter Rhodes Hamilton: London’s resident tabloid magnet and the son of a famous footballer. Milo is devastated to learn that Rhodes’ connections have also landed him an apprenticeship, which means he’s now the competition. Milo knows he has to win at any cost, so he can’t risk getting close to Rhodes, no matter how nice and charming and cute he is...
Elsewhere: Deluxe Edition by Gabrielle Zevin (FSG) - anniversary edition of a 2005 release, description not yet updated on Goodreads.
Is it possible to grow up while getting younger?
Welcome to Elsewhere. The beaches are marvelous. It’s quiet and peaceful. You can’t get sick, and you’ll never turn even a day older . . .
This is where fifteen-year-old Liz Hall ends up, after she has died. It is a place so like Earth yet completely different. Here, Liz will age backward from the day of her death until she becomes a baby and returns to Earth.
But Liz wants to turn sixteen, not fourteen again. She wants to get her driver’s license. She wants to graduate from high school and go to college. Now that she’s dead, though, Liz is forced to live a life she doesn’t want with a grandmother she has never met before. And it isn’t going well. How can Liz let go of the only life she has ever known and embrace a new one? Is it possible that a life lived in reverse is no different from a life lived forward?
A book that transcends genre and category, Elsewhere is a modern YA classic. This deluxe edition features stained edges, a new Q&A from the author, and personal black-and-white photographs.
Thorn Season by Kiera Azar (HarperCollins/Storytide) - description not yet updated on Goodreads, UK cover released but not US.
A persecuted few are Wielders, able to exert a physical power that extends beyond their visible body: magically projecting their Spectre to caress, to pick a lock... even to kill. Feared for this ability, Wielders have always been Hunted.
Alissa Paine, heiress of a noble lineage, daughter of a Hunter family... is also a Wielder. As she approaches her 18th Season, Alissa knows she has escaped execution so far only through painful self-control, and the fragile efforts of her beloved father. Summoned to the harsh and glittering royal court for the debutante season, Alissa finds herself caught in a web of hidden intentions—and between two equally dangerous men. One is a brutal ruler with the handsome face of a fairytale prince, who would see her destroyed in an instant if the truth were known—and the other a beguiling foreign ambassador with secret agendas of his own. It’s Rose Season at the palace, but Alissa knows that survival will depend on being the most vicious of the thorns.
The Princess in the Piazza by Ben Hatke (Roaring Brook Press) - moved from September 2022, then from February and September 2024, release date not yet updated on Goodreads but confirmed on publisher website.
Roaring Brook has bought The Princess in the Piazza, a YA novel from Ben Hatke. The book follows Sebastian, an American teenager spending the summer in Italy, who falls in love with a Renaissance princess who has been dead for 500 years, and finds himself swept up in her ages-old conflict with a sinister wizard.
September 16th
If Looks Could Kill by Julie Berry (Simon and Schuster)
It’s autumn 1888, and Jack the Ripper is on the run. As London police close in, he flees England for New York City seeking new victims. But a primal force of female vengeance has had enough. With serpents for hair and a fearsome gaze, an awakened Medusa is hunting for one Jack.
And other dangers lurk in Manhattan’s Bowery. Salvation Army volunteers Tabitha and Pearl discover that a girl they once helped has been forced to work in a local brothel. Tabitha’s an upstate city girl with a wry humor and a thirst for adventure, while farmgirl Pearl takes everything with stone-cold seriousness. Their brittle partnership is tested as they team up with an aspiring girl reporter and a handsome Irish bartender to mount a rescue effort, only to find their fates entwine with Medusa’s and Jack’s.
Hekate: The Witch by Nikita Gill (Little, Brown) - description and cover not yet updated on Goodreads.
Hekate sings the story of its eponymous heroine. Born into a world on fire and at war, she and her mother are left behind by the menfolk of their Titan family as the battle against the new Gods–the Olympians–begins. Soon, Hekate and her mother are forced to flee their home as the Olympians overpower and enslave the Titans, including Hekate’s father, Perses, and gain dominion over the universe. In a bid to protect Hekate from the clutches of Zeus and Poseidon, her mother leaves her in the underworld with the goddess Styx and king of the underworld, Hades, where she must make a life for herself and discover her divine purpose.
Here begins Nikita Gill’s beautiful and propulsive reimagining of Hekate’s myth which unfolds into a coming-of-age adventure story and quest in which our young protagonist – not yet a goddess – sets out to discover what has happened to her parents, heal from the trauma of her separation from them, make a new home for herself in the underworld, and, eventually, step into her true power as a woman and goddess, before it’s too late.
Love and Video Games by Zachary Sergi (Running Press Kids) - previously titled Don't Love the Player, Love the Game.
In the real world, Keegan Thomas is a gay, eighteen-year-old mythology nerd with undiagnosed chronic pain. But in the myth-inspired, online video game world of Pantheonic, he is the glorious and powerful K.Odyssia, slaying legions of enemies and completing quests for honor and glory along with his team, the Epic Hearts. Despite his closeness to his gamer friends--and the secret crush he has on his teammate, Alix--no one knows that he is struggling with the sudden onset of chronic pain in his lower back and fears it will hinder his ability to move to NYU in the fall.
When a quest in Pantheonic turns out to be a secret invitation to an in-person tournament in New York City, Keegan has to battle his fears of concealing and managing his pain so that his team can attend this once-in-a-lifetime event. Competing against six other teams, members of the Epic Hearts must work together to outwit and outplay the others to win the tournament and the hefty cash prize. But can Keegan as K.Odyssia be one of the heroes that Pantheonic needs while he's laser-focused on his own epic battle? Will he be able to level up his relationship with Alix and lead his team to victory? It's time for the games to begin!
The Others by Cheryl Isaacs (Heartdrum)
Only weeks ago, Avery pulled her best friend, Key, from the deadly black water. The cycle from her family’s Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) stories is finally broken, the black water is now a harmless lake, and her problems are far from All Avery wants is a normal summer with Key, her now-boyfriend.
The trauma, however, casts a long shadow over the town. Some victims never returned. Terrifying memories threaten to resurface, but Avery pushes them down. Who she’s really worried about is Key. The two are supposed to be closer than ever—so why does he feel so distant?
Wracked by anxiety, Avery begins to see a chilling reflection in every mirror, one that moves on its own—and she’s not the only one. With her family’s safety in the balance, Avery must Run away to the safety of normal life with Key, or return to lake’s edge and face her reflection, before her home is subsumed by darkness once and for all….
The Silenced by Diana Rodriguez Wallach (Delacorte)
Welcome to The Farm.
Hazel Perez thought her school project on the defunct Oakwell Farms School for Girls—or “The Farm”—would be just another assignment. But when a late-night research trips ends with her falling unconcious, she reawakens with a thirst for revenge that isn’t her own. Desperate to free herself from these sudden violent urges, Hazel begins to investiagte.
As Hazel delves deeper into Oakwell Farms’ past, she discovers the harrowing experiences of the girls who once lived there—and the sinister forces that still linger. With the help of some unlikely allies, Hazel must navigate a treacherous path of corruption, history, and the supernatural to bring peace to the restless spirits and uncover the truth about her family’s involvement.
The Silenced is a riveting exploration of a haunted past that collides with the traumatized present, revealing truths that were meant to stay hidden.
Who's All Going (to Die)? by Lisa Springer (Delacorte)
Ariana could use a vacation. Her dreams of being a collegiate volleyball player have been crushed by an injury. So, when a new friend invites her and two guests to an all-expenses paid resort off the coast of Barbados, she accepts. Her only thoughts now should be about booking a masseuse, lounging on the beach, and maybe seeing what happens with Jadon, the cute guy in her villa.
But charismatic, self-help guru Juniper-Moon has other plans for the group. She keeps preaching lofty ideas on how to better oneself through unorthodox mindfulness activities, intense wellness treatments, and psychedelic microdosing. Plus, “accidents” seem to befall one guest after another, and yet Ari and Jadon are the only ones ready to run for the shores.
Once Juniper-Moon makes it clear that everyone must give back to this new community, Ariana and Jadon decide to team up to expose her web of lies and deceit before their loved ones become trapped in an iron-clad grip no one can free them from.
I Killed the King by Andrea Hannah and Rebecca Mix (HarperCollins/Storytide)
After a decade of war, the kingdoms of Avendell and Istellia have finally agreed to peace. As nobles and magic wielders from both countries arrive at remote Castle Avendell for a historic all-night masquerade to celebrate, King Costis summons an unlikely group to his the crown prince, his Istellian bride-to-be, his personal guard, a wild beast teamer, and the palace’s questionable new healer. But before Costis can reveal why he has gathered them, the castle goes dark.
When the lights come back, the king is dead—murdered with the princess’s knife, in a weak spot only his guard knew of, and with venom from one of the beast tamer’s monsters lacing the blade.
With no clear killer—and everyone a suspect—they make a risky Tell no one until the treaty is signed. But when a winter storm seals everyone inside and someone aware of the king's untimely death begins to pick off guests one by one, the six suspects must work together to discover who killed the king... before one of them is next.
The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes (HarperCollins)
Seventeen-year-old Cesar Flores is finally ready to win back his ex-boyfriend. Since breaking up with Jamal in a last-ditch effort to stay in the closet, he’s come out to Mami, his sister, Yami, and their friends, taken his meds faithfully, and gotten his therapist’s blessing to reunite with Jamal.
Everything would be perfect if it weren’t for The Thoughts—the ones that won’t let all his Catholic guilt and internalizations stay buried where he wants them. The louder they become, the more Cesar is once again convinced that he doesn't deserve someone like Jamal—or anyone really.
Cesar can hide a fair amount of shame behind jokes and his “gifted” reputation, but when a manic episode makes his inner turmoil impossible to hide, he’s faced with a stark burn every bridge he has left or, worse—ask for help. But is the mortifying vulnerability of being loved by the people he’s hurt the most a risk he’s willing to take?
The Map That Led to You by Ella McLeod (Little Bee Books) - description not yet updated on Goodreads.
A long time ago, a witch burst into flames. A pirate and a mermaid fell in love. A map was marked with a glowing X. And a Republic was born.
Levi and Vega are the children of the fearsome pirate captain of The Sea Dragon. They have been raised on tales of daring feats and seafaring adventures, but there are stories they haven't been told--stories about witches and mermaids and magical maps. When tragedy strikes, the siblings land on the Pirate Republic, a self-governed island of freedom and adventure. Levi uncovers the secrets of his past as he works with his sister, a sea nymph, the pirates, and witches to protect the island from the conquering Empire. But he must learn to accept himself before he can even begin to help his friends.
In the present day, two girls are given a history assignment: to try and piece together the rise and fall of the famous and corrupt Pirate Republic, which once formed their island home. As Reggie and Maeve's tentative friendship deepens into something more, they realize that a magical world could be on their very doorstep--if only they can find the map.
This is an intoxicatingly rich fantasy that blends high-seas, swashbuckling adventure and lyrical poetry.
Through Our Teeth by Pamela N. Harris (Quill Tree Books)
Hope Jackson is dead. Everyone is convinced she took her own life, but Liv, one of Hope’s best friends, isn’t so sure. Hope’s boyfriend, Brendan, was always jealous and possessive, and his alibi doesn’t really check out. But in the town’s eyes, Hope was just some nobody who was going to drag down golden boy Brendan.
So with the help of Hope’s other two best friends, Kizzie and Sherie, Liv is determined to bring Brendan’s actions to light. Together, they vow to make him pay.
But as their plans keep escalating, Liv begins to have second thoughts—especially as she’s realizing that Brendan may not be the only one with the motive or opportunity to kill Hope. Is Liv really getting justice for Hope, or is she just helping one of Hope’s so-called friends cover up their lies?
The Dead of Summer by Ryan La Sala (Scholastic)
Welcome to the Island of Anchor's Mercy.
For generations, Anchor’s Mercy has welcomed visitors from all over the world to revel in the island’s pristine beauty and queer culture. But something is wrong. Very wrong. And Ollie Veltman is going to have to figure it out if he wants to stop his island, and everyone upon it, from drowning within a supernatural, radiant plague rising from the waves.
Take a deep breath...
Told as a kaleidoscopic drama between past and present, narration and interview, text and pictures, The Dead of Summer is a story within a scavenger hunt for truths so dangerous they will make your skin crawl and your lungs ache for air. Get ready to scream!
This Is How We Roll by Various YA Authors (Page Street) - moved from October 2025.
The magic of tabletop RPGs lives in the creativity of the players. Given the chance to explore gender, relationships, and queer existence across vast worlds with completely different sets of rules, queer players throughout the years have found acceptance, camaraderie, and joy by rolling the dice and kicking ass.
This anthology celebrates that TTRPG rite of passage with a diverse lineup of queer authors who are just as mighty with their pens as with swords? and shields? and spells! This collection of fourteen stories includes critically acclaimed authors such as New York Times Bestseller Marieke Nijkamp, New York Times Bestseller Andrew Joseph White, Pura Belpré Honor winner Jonny Garza Villa, LAMBDA Literary Award winner Rebecca Podos, LAMBDA Award finalist Linsey Miller, Indie Bestseller Margaret Owen, and Morris Award finalist Akemi Dawn Bowman.
Lemons and Lies by Alexis Castellanos (Bloomsbury) - moved from 2024, description not yet updated on Goodreads.
A sweet meet-cute or a scheme destined to turn sour? Fake dating, family drama, and foodie fun combine in this YA paperback original.
Valeria Morales' senior year is not off to a great start. Her twin brother Adrian isn't talking to her, she's realizing all of her friends were actually his friends, and now she's failing math. Enter Gage Magnussen. Gage isn't looking to take on any tutoring gigs now that his standing as valedictorian is at risk after letting a catastrophic breakup distract him—not to mention his demanding parents expect Gage to coordinate their yearly charity auction alongside his cheating ex. So Valeria offers him a deal: If he helps her pass, she'll take over event planning AND pretend to be his girlfriend. A win-win-win!
But as their study sessions move to deep conversations and their fake dates begin feeling realer and realer, is it possible the lemons they've been dealt will turn to lemonade? Or will this arrangement only sting?
Few Blue Skies by Caroline Ixta (Quill Tree Books)
September 23rd
A Steeping of Blood by Hafsah Faizal (FSG) - moved from 2023.
White Roaring is sharpening its fangs after the deadly night that left the city in shambles. The press are dead, the public calls for justice, vampires are in danger, and amid the turmoil, the Ram announces a celebration.
Still reeling from the bloodshed, Arthie Casimir has no time to mourn the death of anyone, let alone her own. She has no time for love, either, but it had saved her life. As Arthie navigates new emotions and new allies, she must reassemble her scrambled crew and scrape what little they have left to fight one last time—and she will need to face the ghosts of her past to do it.
In Ceylan.
Unending by Ivelisse Housman (Inkyard Press) - moved from March 2024, then from June 2024 and July 2025, publisher confirms this date.
In this high-octane conclusion to the Unseelie
duology, which Andrew Joseph White calls “a portal to a world of
glimmering fae and blistering magic,” two sisters discover that the
things that make them different can lend them more power than they ever
imagined.
Isolde Graygrove has always put her changeling twin
sister first. But ever since Seelie returned from the faerie realms with
a newfound confidence in her magic and secrets she’s keeping even from
her twin, Isolde can’t help but wonder: who is she, if not her sister’s
protector?
Seelie knows there are some problems even magic can’t
solve. Like the distance between her and Isolde, the terror of her
growing and unfamiliar emotions for Raze, or the fact that the world’s
last firedrake has imprinted on her like a baby duckling. Still, she
can’t help but try.
When Seelie accidentally splinters the three
realms, tangling the human and faerie worlds together into something
new, the vicious faerie Gossamer is determined to take full advantage of
the chaos unleashed. Seelie and Isolde will need to spill their
secrets, decide who they can trust, and navigate the sinister glamour of
the faerie courts to save humankind and fae alike.
Moonsick by Tom O'Donnell (Wednesday Books)
High school senior Heidi Mills seemingly has it all: a charming (arrogant) boyfriend, loving (wealthy) parents, and an acceptance letter to Harvard (well, not yet). With her mom and stepdad away on vacation, she’s going to host a rager at their mansion to celebrate the end of high school.
The party is tomorrow. But the full moon is tonight—when the worldwide werewolf epidemic that has run rampant for the past few years turns deadly, and the infected transform into beasts.
Safe in her home, with its state-of-the-art lockdown system to keep the monsters out, Heidi expects to wait out the night. But when two intruders show up to rob what they think will be an empty home, the life of privilege, ease, and safety that Heidi has taken for granted comes crashing down. Suddenly exposed to the realities of this virus and the way that the rest of the world has been living all this time, Heidi embarks on a dark adventure accompanied by the mysterious--but intriguing--boy who broke into her house. As she fights to survive the underbelly of a post-pandemic society, she'll learn that not all monsters have fangs.
With flourishes of Wes Craven and The Purge, this comedic horror novel is perfect for fans Grady Hendrix, Adam Cesare, and things that go bump in the night.
My Mother, The Mermaid Chaser by Jamie Jo Hoang (Crown) - moved from May 2025.
San Jose, 2008: Paul yearns to know more about the mother who abandoned his family, but she is the only topic no one discusses. Now’s he’s in Vietnam, feeling displaced and considered an outsider. Plus, a ghost is haunting him even though he doesn’t believe in ghosts. His cousin and the grandmother he’s never met before now keep telling him that he’ll get answers only if he’s willing to open his ears.
Vũng Tâu, 1975: Ngọc Lan is eleven when her family breaks apart: her brother is drafted into the army; her father leaves on the last helicopter to the US. She and her sister are sent from Vietnam on a harrowing journey by boat. Only Ngọc Lan will survive. But what is the American dream when you are haunted by the death of your sister, missing your homeland; seeing ghostly mermaid sightings; lost in an abusive marriage; struggling as a parent?
Told in the alternating perspectives of Paul and Ngọc Lan, My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser is a haunting story about the intergenerational effects of war, estranged family bonds, and how a teenager discovers a new connection to a lost part of himself.
Watch Us Crack by Gabriella Lepore (Storytide)
Sadie Morelli and Cason Tano were friends in middle school, back before Cason’s mom died and Sadie transferred to a new school. When they meet again as high school juniors at the local ice rink where Sadie waitresses and Cason’s hockey team plays, what was once friendship blooms into something more. Given the intensity of the rivalry between their schools, their budding romance is a secret for them alone.
But then Sadie’s friend and Cason’s hockey rival, Kai, turns up dead at the local train station. Sadie and Cason were both at the station the night that Kai was killed, and both have motive to hurt him. With accusations flying and secrets being held close to the chest, Sadie and Cason must decide the lengths they’re willing to go to to clear their own names—and to protect each other.
Try Your Worst by Chatham Greenfield (Bloomsbury)
Sadie Katz and Cleo Chapman have been rivals since birth. Literally. They entered the world competing to be the first baby born in the new year, a title Cleo ultimately won. And she’s been nonchalantly winning at just about everything since—much to Sadie’s chagrin. Now in the fall of their senior year, Sadie and Cleo are neck-and-neck for valedictorian. But when a string of increasingly serious pranks take over their school, the perpetrator deliberately sets up Sadie and Cleo to take the fall.
Suddenly expulsion is on the line, and the only way to clear their names is to join forces and search for the culprit. As their investigation progresses, the girls begin to question more than suspects. Sadie, struggling with depression and academic burn out, finds that her ivy league dream doesn’t seem as appealing as it once did. Meanwhile, Cleo wonders if it's time she start fighting for what she wants, rather than passively accepting whatever comes easiest.
With their futures on the line, the two grow closer, and both start to ask themselves: Are they really meant to be rivals? Or were they always destined to become something more?
Flip! by Ngozi Ukazu (First Second) - YA graphic novel.
Chi-Chi Ekeh has one huge problem: She keeps having crushes on rich white boys who have no idea she exists. Enter Flip Henderson, the most popular boy at school, who receives Chi-Chi’s private video proposal to go to senior prom.
But when Flip rejects Chi-Chi in front of their entire class, what happens next is completely unexpected: Chi-Chi—shy nerd and scholarship student—switches bodies with Flip. Suddenly Chi-Chi is 6’1” and cool, while Flip gets a crash course on Chi-Chi’s life—that is, k-pop, hair- braiding, and being a poor kid of color at a rich white private school.
With graduation looming and their body swaps lasting longer and longer, Chi-Chi and Flip must form the most unlikely friendship their school has ever seen. But will they survive senior year? And, most importantly, can they find a way back to themselves?
From bestselling author of Check, Please! comes Flip, a thrilling and fantastical tale about self-acceptance, black girlhood, and how walking a mile in someone else’s shoes can teach you how to finally see yourself.
Truth Is by Hannah V. Sawyerr (Abrams)
Seventeen-year-old Truth Bangura wants nothing more than to know a life beyond her hometown. Writing and performing is her only solace in a life overwhelmed by a drifting relationship with her best friend, an emotionally turbulent home environment, and the reality that her below average grades make her true dream—escaping her mother’s grasp after graduation—uncertain.
When Truth learns she’s pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, she makes one decision she’s finally sure about: an abortion.
Determined to move forward, Truth turns to the pages in her notebook with the support of her slam poetry team—including the poet with a voice smooth as summer jazz, who’s been catching her eye during practice.
At an open mic night, Truth finally gains the courage to perform a piece that dives into her rocky relationship with her mother–and reveals the choice she never told her. But when a video of Truth’s performance is posted online and starts going viral, her decision quickly becomes everyone’s business–including her mother’s.
Told through searing free-verse, journal entries, and interspersed fill-in-the-blank poetry prompts, Hannah V. Sawyerr’s Truth Is reminds us there is always a choice. There is always hope. And there is always a way forward.
This Raging Sea by De Elizabeth (Holiday House) - moved from September 3rd.
Historic Loch Creek is a witchy New England tourist trap—but it’s just a trap for Briar, who’s convinced she’ll die there among the waves that devoured her twin brother thirteen years ago. But when her best friend who she’s loved since childhood, Finn, vanishes from the seaside carnival, there’s only one person who can help Briar find him: Morgan, the standoffish goth girl everyone calls the town witch.
But as Briar uncovers secrets as deep and dark as the water that haunts her, it quickly becomes clear that Finn has gone much further than an out-of-state college. He’s lost in time, and neither of them are safe. The seductive yet evil underwater entity that intended to claim Briar’s body in more ways than one still needs its sacrifice...
And it’s too hungry to go unsated.
Equal parts steamy epic romance and pulse-pounding horror, This Raging Sea is a dark fantasy as sweepingly powerful as the ocean that threatens to consume everything and everyone Briar has ever loved—prepare to be devoured.
Hello Sunshine by Keezy Young (Little, Brown) - YA graphic novel, Goodreads lists a December 2025 release date, but the publisher confirms this September 2025 release, description not yet updated on Goodreads.
Noah is heartbroken. He returns from bible camp to find that Alex, his secret boyfriend, has had a breakdown and disappeared. He wishes more than anything that he hadn’t left that day.
Sky is determined. She’ll stop at nothing to find her childhood friend, even if it means alienating the people she loves.
Izzy is ashamed. She knew something weird was going on with Alex, and she didn’t say anything to her boyfriend, Jamie—Alex’s twin brother. If she had, would Alex still be here?
Jamie is angry. Angry at Alex for being gone, angry at himself for not noticing something was wrong, and angry at his long-dead mother, Desdemona, who had problems of her own.
But what if there was something more to Desdemona’s demons than just mental illness? Why is Jamie seeing her ghost? And can he get past his hatred of her if it means finding out what happened to his brother?
Extraordinary Quests for Amatuer Witches by Kayla Cottingham (Delacorte)
Kieran has never had much luck in love or magic. Other than being freed from a family curse that would have killed him and doomed his twin sister, life isn’t going his way.
So, after getting put on notice by his boyfriend and accidentally writing a poem so bad (and magically hazardous) that it makes the guy forget who he is, of course Kieran returns home to find the Witches Council sitting in his living room, demanding he complete his magical training. Panicked, he blurts out that his Calling—a kind of magical thesis—will be to find a magical cure-all that can break any curse... an enormous task that he absolutely doesn’t have the power to pull off.
Nevertheless, Kieran sets off on this dangerous journey, accompanied by his sister Briar, her girlfriend Delilah, and a swoony new crewmate, Sebastian. If he survives, he may just learn how to turn his luck around and figure out what kind of witch, person, and boyfriend he wants to be.
The Guardians of Dreamdark: Windwitch by Laini Taylor (Amulet) - re-packaging of a 2007 release from G.P. Putnam and Sons.
When the ancient evil of the Blackbringer rises to unmake the world, only one determined faerie stands in its way. However, Magpie Windwitch, granddaughter of the West Wind, is not like other faeries. While her kind live in seclusion deep in the forests of Dreamdark, she's devoted her life to tracking down and recapturing devils escaped from their ancient bottles, just as her hero, the legendary Bellatrix, did 25,000 years ago.
With her faithful gang of crows, she travels the world fighting where others would choose to flee. But when a devil escapes from a bottle sealed by the ancient Djinn King himself—the creator of the world—she may be in over her head. How can a single faerie, even with the help of her friends, hope to defeat the impenetrable darkness of the Blackbringer?
At a time when fantasy readers have an embarrassment of riches in choosing new worlds to fall in love with, this first novel by a fresh, original voice is sure to stand out.
Exquisite Things by Abdi Nazemian (HarperCollins)
From Stonewall Award–winning author Adbi Nazemian (Only This Beautiful Moment) comes the epic queer love story of a lifetime. Perfect for fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Shahriar believes he was born in the wrong time. All he’s ever wanted is to love and be loved, but 1895 London doesn’t offer him the freedom to be his true self, and Oscar Wilde’s trial for gross indecency has only reaffirmed that. But one night—and one writer—will grant Shahriar what he’s always wished the opportunity to live in a time and place where he can love freely. Rechristened as Shams and then as Bram, he finds what feels like eternal happiness. But can anything truly be eternal?
Oliver doesn’t feel that 1920s Boston gives him a lot of options to be his full self. He knows he could only ever love another boy, but that would break his beloved mother’s heart. Oliver finds freedom and acceptance in the secret queer community at Harvard that his cousin introduces him to. When he meets a mysterious boy with eyes as warm as a flame, his life is irrevocably changed, forever.
Spanning one hundred and thirty years of love and longing, this tale of immortal beloveds searching for their perfect place and time is a vibrant hymn to the beauty of being alive, a celebration of queer love and community, and a reminder that behind every tragic thing that ever existed, there is something exquisite.
These Bodies Ain't Broken by Various YA Authors (Page Street YA) - description not yet updated on Goodreads.
Madeline Dyer, editor of Being Ace, developed this anthology to challenge expectations about who can be a hero. Centering disabled and chronically ill teenagers protecting others from ancient evils, vanquishing ghosts, and defying death, these stories explore horror sub-genres including paranormal, gothic, psychological, and body horror. With a diverse array of own-voices representation for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Crohns Disease, Diabetes, PTSD, and more each entry complicates traditional horror with new perspectives. Contributors include bestselling and award-winning as well as emerging authors: Dana Mele, Lillie Lainoff, Soumi Roy, Fin Lavoie, S.E. Anderson, Donyae Coles, C. G. Moore, Mo Netz, Emily Colin, P.H. Low, and Carly Nugent.
Torchfire by Moira Buffini (HarperCollins/Storytide)
September 30th
You've Found Oliver by Dustin Thao (Dutton)
I’ve missed you every day since you left. But I’m sure you already knew that. It’s time to let you go now. I’ll miss you all the time, Sam.
It’s been a year since his best friend, Sam, died. Even though Oliver knows he won’t get a response, he can’t stop texting Sam’s number, especially as the anniversary of his death approaches.
Then one day he accidentally hits the call button, and someone picks up.
The voice on the other end isn’t Sam. Sam’s number was reassigned and a stranger has been receiving Oliver’s private and vulnerable messages for months. But Ben, a college student in Seattle, won’t remain a stranger for long. Oliver knows he should stop communicating now that he knows the truth—but he can’t get Ben out of his head.
Fake Skating by Lynn Painter (Simon and Schuster)
From play dates on the playground to sneaking into movie theaters, Dani and Alec were inseparable as kids. Until Dani moved away. Years later, Dani is back in Minnesota, and exited to reconnect with the nerdy and comforting Alec. But teenage Alec is NOTHING like the boy she remembers. He's the hockey STAR in a town where hockey players are worshipped as gods – and he loves it.
When one thing leads to another and Dani and Alec find themselves thrown together and playing the role of boyfriend and girlfriend, “complicated” becomes an understatement. In this Minnesota town, hockey may rule, but romance is about to take its place.
Showstopper by Lily Anderson (Henry Holt)
From Printz Honor winning author Lily Anderson comes a young adult horror about seventeen-year-old Faye and her friends who try to survive the summer when their theater camp turns into a real-life horror show.
This summer’s production is to die for.
The Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp isn’t the best program in the world, but to Faye, it’s home. Every summer since junior high, Faye and her friends have come together for a month-long musical intensive. For her last year before graduation, Faye’s finally ready to take center stage as her true Afro-Latina self and break out of her good-girl princess roles.
But as Faye steps into her spotlight, complications arise. Suddenly, she's competing with her BFF for lead roles, and distracted by the attentions of the new camp hottie.
Even when the drama turns deadly, Faye remains determined to make this the best production the Ghostlight has ever seen. It must be a coincidence that the stagehands keep disappearing and having gruesome accidents, right? But dark secrets are hiding behind the scenes, and opening night might turn out to be a bloodbath. Lights, curtains...murder!
Seven for a Secret by Mary E. Roach (Disney) - moved from August 2025.
When she arrives, she expects to be alone in a town of smiling churchgoers and surrounded by a looming forest that seems to whisper to Nev. Or maybe that’s just the PTSD her social worker kept talking about. Instead, she is met with familiar faces—other girls who had lived in the group home, and the men who ran the home, who are going missing and turning up dead, one by one.
As Nev is pulled deeper into Avan’s secrets—and more bodies pile up—Nev must unravel the mysteries locked in her own mind as they hunt down a killer who is willing to do anything to make sure the past stays buried.
The Moss by Lisa Lueddecke (Simon and Schuster) - previously published in the UK.
Her return to New England brings her little comfort or closure. Her father seems convinced she should have stayed away, and the family’s old farmhouse that stands by the bog―known as the Moss―seems particularly upset to see her again. Darkly familiar shadows and specters fill her dreams, her periphery, the quiet spaces between her thoughts.
But something else is following her, pulling her in to the Moss, and it’s growing stronger by the day. With the help of a local boy, who had confessed his feelings for her just before she went away, Emma delves deeper and deeper into the mystery of the growing hauntings―and learns that not only might her sister still be alive, but if she’s willing to put herself in grave danger, there might just be a chance to save her.
“It reads like a long-lost fable, rich with beauty and imagination. A world you won’t forget.” Samantha Shannon, international bestselling author of The Bone Season, on A Shiver of Snow and Sky.
The Sleepless by Jen Williams (Wednesday Books)
Meet Elver, who was saved by the Queen of the Serpents when she was just a child, and Artair, who spends his nights shut up in a tower because of the dangerous spirit that overtakes his body when he sleeps.
When Artair is sent on a mission to steal a monster cub that is under Elver's protection, he - and Lucian, the other spirit inhabiting his body - are set on a collision course with the monster girl that will challenge everything they think they know about their world.
Get ready to fall hopelessly in love with the first epic YA romantasy from multi-award-winning fantasy author Jen Williams.
Joy to the Girls by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick (Simon and Schuster) - description not yet updated on Goodreads.
For Alex and Molly, the last three years have felt like Christmas every day. So what better way to celebrate winter break of their senior year than a romantic getaway in a town right out of a Christmas card?
Aside from sampling all the holiday cheer Barnwich has to offer, Alex and Molly have an important mission this weekend: to help their friend Cora get her crush to fall for her. But in between ice skating, snowball fights, and matchmaking schemes, it becomes obvious that Alex and Molly have another mission this weekend: to not reveal the huge secrets they’re keeping from the other. Secrets about their post-college plans that threaten to tear them apart.
Will these two be able to help Cora get the girl and keep theirs—or will this be the last Christmas of Alex and Molly’s love story?
Make Me A Monster by Kalynn Bayron (Bloomsbury) - moved from Spring 2025.
New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron puts a modern twist on Frankenstein in her haunting new novel about the lengths we'd go for the people we love.
Meka has always lived her life surrounded by death. As a newly certified mortician's assistant at her parents' funeral home, her days are not for the faint of heart. Luckily her boyfriend Noah isn't squeamish, and their closeness has Meka finally feeling ready to say the three little words that have been on her mind.
But then tragedy strikes, and Meka's world is torn apart. Nothing makes sense, especially when strange things start happening. Strangers following her. Mysterious items left at her door. Ravens circling her home. And the dead don't seem to be staying dead.
When a shocking family secret is revealed, Meka must unravel the truth to save herself and her family--and what she finds defies everything she's always believed about life and death.
Bitten by Jordan Gray (Little, Brown) - moved from July 2025, publisher confirms this date.
After a vicious werewolf attack on the night of her seventeenth birthday party, Vanessa Hart loses everything she loves in a split second. Her best friend, her father, and even her home.
Bitten and imprisoned without explanation, Vanessa endures an agonizing transformation into the very beast that maimed her, and her captors make it clear she cannot escape: she will either swear her life to the Wolf Queen’s Court, or she will die.
With no other choice, Vanessa joins their enchanted Castle Severi—where flowering vines grow through the walls, gifts are bestowed by the stars, and a claw can break through skin as easily as silk—but she hasn’t forgotten what they stole from her.
Vanessa still seeks vengeance, scheming in the shadows even as she finds herself mesmerized by the golden prince Sinclair Severi, who threatens to steal her heart though he is promised to her nemesis. And by his brooding, disgraced cousin, Calix, whose smoldering gaze hides even darker secrets. Immersed in the magic of their whimsical yet cruel society, Vanessa soon learns not all is as it seems.
The Court is at war, and she may simply be a pawn in its lethal game.
Every Spiral of Fate by Taherah Mafi (HarperCollins)
The highly anticipated fourth novel in the Woven Kingdom romantasy series, brimming with fiery romance, spectacular magic, and breathtaking secrets, from Tahereh Mafi, the award-winning and bestselling author of the Shatter Me series. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, and Sabaa Tahir.
At long last, the wedding day has arrived.
The Jinn queen and the enigmatic ruler of Tulan are to be married in a magical, enchanted ceremony—but Cyrus, tethered by a blood oath to his bride-to-be, can find nothing to celebrate in this union. He’s falling ever more deeply in love with the one person oathbound to kill him.
Sworn to an ancient, unbreakable magic, Alizeh can only fulfill the prophecy to free her people by ensuring Cyrus dies by her own hand. And Cyrus is forced to await his end all while Prince Kamran inches closer, ready to take his place by Alizeh’s side.
The countdown to murder coils tensions ever tighter, but the historic wedding has already drawn deadly attention. To prepare for war and protect her people, Alizeh must finally discover her magic—and outrun the enemies trying to stop her.
Alizeh and Cyrus, along with Kamran and their friends from Ardunia, must flee on dragon-back to begin the perilous journey into the legendary mountains of Arya, where a firestorm of revelations, magical discoveries, and fresh allies awaits them. Every allegiance will be tested, every darkness uncovered, and when the shattering secrets of the Tulanian king are finally revealed . . .
Nothing, and no one, will be the same.
Desperate confessions, impossible decisions, unfathomable magical power—and a love so devastating it rewrites destinies—Every Spiral of Fate is the shimmering, breathtaking fourth volume in a saga that continues to transcend expectations.
The Transition by Logan-Ashley Kisner (Delacorte) - moved from September 10th.
Hunter’s life is at a turning point: After years of fighting his father for it, he’s gotten top surgery. He’s finally starting to feel comfortable in his own skin . . . only to be attacked by a strange creature in his backyard.
The encounter should kill him, but his best friend Gabe intervenes, and Hunter is able to walk away from the incident with his life—and new body—mostly intact. Still, something isn’t right. First, his wounds are healing quickly—too quickly. Then there are the feverish nightmares, the sudden return of his period, and his teeth... they’re falling out of his head.
Enter Mars, Hunter’s other best friend. A horror movie devotee, Mars points out the obvious: That mysterious creature was a werewolf, and Hunter is becoming one too—unless they can figure out a cure, which basically means they have to kill the creature that bit him.
Now, Hunter, Gabe, and Mars are in a race against time. A voice that could only belong to the creature itself is worming its way into Hunter’s head, and as the days pass, it’s only getting louder. It promises revenge on Hunter’s transphobic peers if he succumbs to his lycanthropic transformation. Or he can reject the monster and fight alongside his friends before the body—and life—he’s fought so hard for slips away for good. The choice is Hunter’s.
All the Way Around the Sun by XiXi Tan (Quill Tree Books)
Stella Chen’s life ground to a halt when her brother unexpectedly passed away a year ago. Raised together by their grandmother in the Chinese countryside before rejoining their parents in the United States, his absence destroys the connective tissue in her family. With another jarring move her senior year, from rural Illinois to unfamiliar surroundings in San Diego, she is left alone and adrift in her family’s suffocating silence and the void of unanswered questions around her brother’s death.
So when Stella’s parents force her to join her estranged childhood friend Alan Zhao for a college tour all over California, Stella dreads it. Alan is a reminder of everything Stella wishes she could be — popular, gregarious, unburdened — and a reminder of how lost she is.
As this road trip takes Stella and Alan down beautiful coastlines and through fraught family dynamics, Stella can’t help but feel the spark of why she and Alan were once so close. Before long, they find themselves pulled into each other’s orbits, forcing unspoken feelings and long-hidden truths into the light.
Hollow by Taylor Grothe (Peachtree Teen) - moved from October 2025.
After a meltdown in her school cafeteria prompts an unwanted Autism diagnosis, Cassie Davis moves back to her hometown in upstate New York, where her mom hopes the familiarity will allow Cassie to feel normal again. Cassie’s never actually felt normal, but she craves the ease she used to have with her old friends.
Cassie’s friends aren’t so eager to welcome her back. Though they extend an olive branch by inviting her on their backpacking trip to Hollow Ridge, in the upper reaches of the Adirondacks. But when a fight breaks out their first night, Cassie wakes to a barren campsite—her friends all gone.
Cassie hurries along the trail, but as severe weather approaches, she nears sensory overload and is saved by a boy named Kaleb. He takes her to a compound of artists and outcasts called The Roost. As Kaleb tends to her injuries, Cassie begins to feel as if she can truly be herself. But as the days pass, the Roost’s other residents make Cassie question her instincts, with their mask-like faces and cryptic whispers. Noises in the trees grow louder, begging the question: Are the dangers in the forest, on the trail, or in the Roost itself?
In a world where autistic characters rarely get to be the hero of their own stories, Cassie Davis’s one-step-back, two-steps-forward journey to unmasking makes HOLLOW as much a love letter not neurodiversity as it is a haunting tale you’ll want to read with the lights on.
Bad Boy: A Graphic Memior by Walter Dean Myers and Dawud Anyabwile (HarperCollins) - YA graphic memior.
Legendary author Walter Dean Myers was once a troublemaker and a truant.
Just how bad was he? From instigating mischievous pranks at home to fighting in the classroom—especially when teased about his speech impediment—irrepressible Walter was more than a handful. Underneath it all, he had a tremendous love for books, and by high school he longed to become a writer. But financial troubles at home made him feel his options were so limited that he dropped out of school. Still, his desire to write was as irrepressible as Walter himself. If he could only be given the chance…
Walter recounts what growing up in Harlem was like in the 1940s and 1950s—when seeing Langston Hughes and Sugar Ray Robinson on the street was the norm and Jackie Robinson ruled the baseball field.
Gripping. Funny. Heartbreaking. Walter Dean Myers's memoir is unforgettable. This is the award-winning story of one of the strongest voices in children’s and young adult literature.
Grim and Oro by Alex Aster (Amulet)
Two brand-new romantasy novellas bound into one deluxe, novel-length volume written from the perspectives of Grim and Oro, from #1 New York Times-bestselling author and #BookTok sensation Alex Aster
True love knows no bounds. This premium, dual-sided volume includes two complete novellas bound together to create one can’t-miss collector’s item. The first novella—told from Grim’s perspective—gives readers insight into his the motivations and events that cemented his fate as Isla’s eventual love interest. The second is narrated by Oro and offers a window into his complex that of a king torn between desire for justice and passion for the woman he loves more than anything. Grim and Dueling Crowns Edition includes key moments from the rulers’ love stories with Isla, expanded upon in their own voices.
This gorgeous dual-sided Lightlark companion book from #1 New York Times bestselling author Alex Aster contains two full novellas bound together in one breathtaking package that boasts a suite of premium Dual-sided slipcase with two unique cover designs Die cuts and foil stamping in two colors on both sides of slipcase Full-color case with illustrations on both sides Full-color, stenciled edges Full-color endpapers with never-before-seen illustrations Grim and Oro is certain to thrill readers and test allegiances, leaving new and longtime fans second-guessing who they’re rooting for in the breathtaking battle for Isla’s heart.
To the Stars and Back by Peglo (Little Brown Ink) - previously a webtoon.
Introverted university student Kang Dae spends most of his time alone, and he prefers it this way. So he’s initially unhappy when bubbly new student Bo Seon moves into his apartment complex and sets out to befriend him. But before Kang Dae realizes it, his life has changed irrevocably.
As the two become closer, they slowly realize they have romantic feelings for each other; but neither has been in a real relationship before and both have trauma in their pasts. Will they be able to embrace the possibilities of what could be, or will they find that a new romance is a bridge too far?
A top ten slice-of-life WEBTOON with over one million subscribers, this beloved webcomic is now available in a breathtaking new format, where you can see episodes 1-101 of Kang Dae and Bo Seon’s relationship unfold— in all its beautiful, awkward, and heartwarming glory—with this can’t-miss collectible edition that also includes a brand-new, exclusive story
Holly by Adalyn Grace (Little, Brown) - moved from October 2025.
Never, Ever After by Sue Lynn Tan (Little, Brown) - description not yet updated on Goodreads.
Yining stopped believing in dreams the day her beloved uncle died. Driven to survive, she’s become a good thief and an even better liar. When she acquires an enchanted ring that could yield the key to a better life, it is stolen by her grasping step-aunt, and Yining must venture into the imperial heart of the Iron Mountains to seize it back.
Amid the grandeur of the palace, Yining catches the eye of the ruthless and ambitious Prince Zixin, who tempts her with a world she’s never imagined. But nothing is as it seems as she’s soon trapped in a tangle of power, treachery, and greed—her only ally a cunning advisor from a rival court who keeps dangerous secrets of his own. Desperate to secure her freedom, Yining embarks on a perilous quest where she must choose who to trust, unravel the mystery of her past, and fight for a future that both frightens and calls to her.
This sweeping fantasy romance, the first in an enthralling new series, is the young adult debut of the acclaimed author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior.
Fireblooms by Alexandra Villasante (Nancy Paulsen Books) - description not yet updated on Goodreads.
An absorbing speculative Queer YA romance set in a town that uses technology to prevent hate speech and bullying. From the LAMBDA Award-winning author of The Grief Keeper.
When seventeen-year-old Sebastian agrees to come to New Gault to care for his absent and abusive mother after her cancer diagnosis, he is not prepared for the strange new community that awaits him or the distressing state he finds his mother in. He tries to help, but despite being ill, her tongue is as sharp as ever, finding all Sebas’s tender places. But he promised his Abuela he’d try to make this work.
Unfortunately trying also means attending TECH, New Gault’s high school. His first day, he’s assigned to enthusiastic TECH student ambassador, Lu, who introduces him to all TECH can offer—a safe space, free from bullying. But all this safety and technology comes with a catch—not only do you have to watch what you say, but you have to stay within a strict word limit. Sebas declines. To him New Gault feels more like the Stepford Wives than freedom.
For Lu, who suffers from anxiety and has a history of being bullied, TECH is a lifeline somewhere they can be safe. They can’t understand why Sebas would refuse. When Sebas rejects TECH, it feels as if he’s rejecting Lu.
But when Sebas learns if he doesn’t accept the TECH phone and abide by the rules, his mother will be denied cancer treatment, he changes his tune. Slowly, Lu and Sebas form a friendship that morphs into something more, but the closer they get, the more Sebas challenges Lu’s beliefs about TECH and what it means to be safe. Meanwhile, Sebas contemplates how to forgive his dying mother for being no mother at all.
This thought-provoking, tender love story examines what we’re willing to give up to feel safe as two broken teens navigate emotional trauma and discover what blooms may come from the ashes.
These Stolen Words by Tori Bovalino (Page Street YA)
Liam has been dead for ten months, haunting the house he used to share with his family, and facing intermittent and terrifying encounters with an eldritch entity called The Beast, who seems determined to consume his soul. Besides that complication in Liam’s new existence, he’s actually adjusted well enough to boredom. But all of that changes when a new family moves in and Liam finds himself sharing a room with Drew Tarpin, who is all of the things Liam never was when he was athletic, queer, and effortlessly cool.
Except, Liam and Drew do have something in their hopeless attraction to Hannah Steward, the nerdy captain of the school mock trial team. After Drew stands in to protect Liam from the Beast, he agrees to help her win Hannah over if Drew keeps Liam from spending the entirety of his afterlife as demon food. It shouldn’t be hard, since Liam was in unrequited love with Hannah for his entire natural life, and her best friend until his untimely death. But the Beast will not be satisfied no matter how much Drew fights back on Liam’s behalf—and when Hannah catches on that Liam might not be totally gone, it puts all of their lives at risk.
What We Did to Each Other by Josuee Hernandez (Flux)
It’s the early 2010s, and seventeen-year-old Yesenia Rivera hates everything about her brown skin and wide nose, her curly hair and hand-me-down clothing, and her inability to fit in with either the Mexican girls or the white girls at her school. So when her mother’s new job requires them to uproot their lives and move to the Pacific Northwest, Yesenia devises a plan to remake herself completely. Cloaked in skin lightening cream, blue contact lenses, dyed-blonde hair, and a “whiter” name, Yesenia’s–aka Jessie’s–newfound ability to pass as white in her new school gets her the popularity she’s always dreamed of. Yet as her brazen confidence morphs into hubris, all it takes is a couple of slip-ups for someone to take notice.
Guillermo Rivera—aka Willy, an easier-to-pronounce nickname bestowed upon him by his classmates—is no stranger to sticking out at their predominantly white high school, right down to his too-small wrestling shoes. Bothered by how little he’s able to help his low-income mother and seduced by the prospect of financial stability, he reluctantly settles into a flattened, stereotyped version of himself in exchange for being needed by his white peers. But when selling to Jessie's new friends pushes him farther out of his comfort zone and, dangerously, into theirs, both he and Jessie begin to suffer the mounting cost of what whiteness demands of them. The more they’re forced together, the more their tenuously crafted double lives threaten to crumble. Until one day, when those lives collide.
Hi there! Where did you see that I Put a Spell on You would be released in September 2025? I haven't been able to find any information on the book!
ReplyDelete