Today’s post is sponsored by Walker Books US and Yours From The Tower!
Title Yours From The Tower
Author Sally Nicholls
Intended Target Audience Young Adult
Publication Date January 30th 2024 by Walker Books US
Find It On Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Bridgerton fans rejoice! This epistolary confection — told in letters among three school friends — is perfect for devotees of gossipy costume drama.
Tirzah, Sophia, and Polly are best friends who’ve left boarding school and gone back to very different lives. The year is 1896, and Polly is teaching in an orphanage, Sophia is scouting for a rich husband at the London Season, and Tirzah is stuck acting as an unpaid companion to her grandmother. In a series of letters buzzing with atmosphere and drama, the friends air their dreams, hopes, frustrations, and romances. Can this trio of very different young women — one industrious, one artful, and one in exile — find happiness and love near the dawn of the Edwardian era?
From the award-winning author of the Carnegie Medal–nominated historical romance The Silent Stars Go By comes a playful, feel-good story of friendship and aspiration pitched just right for fans of Jane Austen and her contemporary disciples.
Hot Off The Press is a regular feature on Pop! Goes The Reader in which I share a selection of new books being published in the forthcoming month.
Another new month has begun, and you know what they say: New month, new books! And by ‘they’, I mean me, because it’s time for another edition of Hot Off The Press! With 50 new YA releases in today’s post, there’s no shortage of choices from a variety of different genres, and I sincerely hope you can discover at least one new title that’s right for you!
While Hot Off The Press will continued to be shared each month on Pop! Goes The Reader, these posts will now only include young adult novels. If you’re interested in a more complete list of 200+ new releases each month, including books for middle grade and adult audiences as well, this can now be found on Pop! Goes The Reader’s Patreon, along with a number of other exciting rewards, for a monthly pledge of $5! The Hot Off The Press posts take hours, if not days, to create, and I sincerely hope you can understand why I feel this change is necessary. Happy reading!
Publication Date January 2nd 2024 by PUSH
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
From the bestselling author of I Wish You All The Best, the story of a cupid who thinks they know everything about love…until they fall in love themselves.
As a cupid, Jude thinks they understand love a little bit more than the average human. It makes sense – Jude’s been studying love their whole teen life. And, yes, there have been some bumps in the road, and they’re currently on probation for doing something that they absolutely, definitely shouldn’t have done…but they’re ready to prove they can make matches without ever getting involved.
Only…Jude’s next assignment isn’t about setting up two adults. No, this time Jude has to go to high school, with kids their own age. And the assignment is a tough one: two best friends who are meant to be more than just best friends…but who aren’t currently speaking to each other after a huge falling out.
Jude thinks they’ve got this one all under control, and that they won’t get involved whatsoever.
Which proves that maybe Jude hasn’t learned the first lesson of humans and love…It’s complicated.
Publication Date January 2nd 2024 by Inkyard Press
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
From the author of Counting Down With You and A Show For Two comes a new YA contemporary about a girl who accidentally sabotages an up-and-coming local band and falls for the guitarist while secretly trying to make up for her mistake.
Liana Sarkar lives and breathes music, hoping to follow in the footsteps of her A&R coordinator father. Maybe if she succeeds, he’ll finally give her the time of day instead of drowning himself in work to distract from the grief of her mother’s passing.
When Liana accidentally sabotages an up-and-coming local band, Third Eye, she makes it her mission to steer them towards success — without them discovering her role in their setback. But as she gets closer to Third Eye, especially their enigmatic leader Skyler Moon, it becomes harder to hide the truth.
With both her heart and their futures on the line, will Liana be able to undo the damage she’s caused?
Publication Date January 2nd 2024 by Scholastic Inc.
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
The Blood Moon marks the start of the Immortal Games.
The Gods of Olympus randomly select humans as their tokens and then gamble with their lives. The stakes are high and survival is unlikely.
16-year-old Ara is seeking revenge on the Gods for allowing her sister to die in the games. She’s determined to be selected as a token, but when she is, she realizes that it isn’t just her life at stake, but also her heart. With the odds stacked against her, it will take an unlikely hero to twist her rage into something much more complicated. Ara is playing in the games of life and death… and love. What will she sacrifice?
Publication Date January 2nd 2024 by Delacorte Press
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
The epic sequel to the book Song of Silver, Flame Like Night, is a fast-paced, riveting YA fantasy inspired by the mythology and folklore of ancient China.
The Demon Gods have risen. Skies’ End has fallen to the colonizers. And Lan and Zen have chosen sides.
But they will not fight together.
Though Lan inherited the power of the Silver Dragon, she understands the path she must take. She believes the Demon Gods to be the cause of war, conflict, and turmoil, and that the future of the Last Kingdom depends on their being eliminated forever. Worse, she knows that if the Elantians manage to bind one of the legendary beings, their army will be unstoppable. To save her kingdom and her people, Lan will need to find the only mythical weapon capable of destroying the Demon Gods: the Godslayer.
Zen is sure that the only way to free the Last Kingdom is to use the power of the Demon Gods. When he bound the Black Tortoise, he paid the ultimate price: to inherit its strength, he will forfeit his body, his mind, and his soul. Yet one Demon God is not enough against the might of the colonizers. In the ruins of the northern Mansorian lands slumbers a magical army of demonic practitioners capable of facing off against the Elantians — but Zen must find the Seal to awaken them to fight by his side.
At the center of both Lan’s and Zen’s journeys is one city: Shaklahira, a former stronghold of the Imperial Court that vanished without a trace when the Elantians invaded. Its location is a mystery, and both are sure that it holds the answers they need, but the past it hides might be more dangerous than anything they’ve faced yet.
The battle for the Last Kingdom rages on. But to win the war, Lan will have to decide: Can she face the boy she loves again? And when she does, can she kill him to free her people?
Publication Date January 2nd 2024 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
For fans of Casey McQuiston and Alice Oseman, a girl falls for her best friend’s crush in Cupid’s Revenge, a queer young adult rom-com from Wibke Brueggemann that’s equal parts hilarious and swoon-worthy.
It was never Tilly’s intention to fall in love, but Cupid will get you when you least expect it. That’s exactly what happens when Tilly’s best friend, Teddy, ropes Tilly into a plan to woo his dream girl, aspiring actress Katherine Cooper-Bunting. It turns out Teddy’s not the only one who finds her dreamy.
But Katherine is off-limits. The only thing more important than Tilly’s feelings for someone she just met is not hurting Teddy, whose heart has been broken in the past.
Avoiding temptation is easier said than done, as Teddy convinces Tilly to help him audition for a local play as a way to get to know Katherine better ― a complete horror for someone who grew up in an artsy family but doesn’t have a creative bone in her body. On top of dealing with her growing feelings for the girl she shouldn’t like (but who may like her back), Tillie is still grieving a loss while navigating her grandfather’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis. So yeah, that’s a lot for any sixteen-year-old to handle without Cupid’s vengeful arrows getting involved.
Publication Date January 2nd 2024 by Versify
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Ghost Roast delivers a paranormal adventure full of first crushes, lost histories, and the impossible task of fitting in when your dad is a professional ghosthunter. A stand-alone YA graphic novel from authors Shawneé and Shawnelle Gibbs and artist Emily Cannon!
For as long as she can remember, Chelsea Grant has tried everything she can think of to distance herself from the disastrous damage her father does to her social life. It’s not easy to shake her reputation as Ghost Girl when Dad keeps advertising his business as a “paranormal removal expert” in big, bold, loud letters all over New Orleans!
This year, Chelsea’s all grown up, attending one of the most prestigious high schools in the city, and she’s finally made friends with the popular crowd. Things are looking up — until a night on the town backfires spectacularly, landing her in hot water at home. Her punishment? Working for her dad at Paranormal Removal Services. All. Summer.
Worst of all, her new job reveals an unexpected secret she has to keep: While Dad hunts ghosts with his own DIY tech, Chelsea can actually see them. And when she meets Oliver, a friendly spirit, at the fancy mansion her dad is getting a handsome fee to exorcize, she realizes she has to save his after-life, even if it risks everything her father’s worked for.
Publication Date January 2nd 2024 by Wednesday Books
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
In this romantic fantasy of manners from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft, a magical dressmaker commissioned for a royal wedding finds herself embroiled in scandal when a gossip columnist draws attention to her undeniable chemistry with the groom.
Niamh Ó Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric is the same magic that will eventually kill her. Determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family, Niamh jumps at the chance to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in the neighboring kingdom of Avaland.
But Avaland is far from the fairytale that she imagined. While young nobles attend candlelit balls and elegant garden parties, unrest brews amid the working class. The groom himself, Kit Carmine, is prickly, abrasive, and begrudgingly being dragged to the altar as a political pawn. But when Niamh and Kit grow closer, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more ― until an anonymous gossip columnist starts buzzing about their chemistry, promising to leave them alone only if Niamh helps to uncover the royal family’s secrets. The rot at the heart of Avaland runs deep, but exposing it could risk a future she never let herself dream of, and a love she never thought possible.
Transporting readers to a Regency England-inspired fantasy world, A Fragile Enchantment is a sweeping romance threaded with intrigue, unforgettable characters, and a love story for the ages.
Publication Date January 2nd 2024 by HarperTeen
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
In this YA standalone perfect for fans of Tobly McSmith and Meredith Russo, the first out trans girl at an all-girls school must choose between keeping her head down or blazing a trail.
Tara just wants to be treated like any other girl at Ainsley Academy.
That is, judged on her merits — not on her transness. But there’s no road map for being the first trans girl at an all-girls school. And when she tries to join the Sibyls, an old-fashioned Ainsley sisterhood complete with code names and special privileges, she’s thrust into the center of a larger argument about what girlhood means and whether the club should exist at all.
Being the figurehead of a movement isn’t something Tara’s interested in. She’d rather read old speeches and hang out with the Sibyls who are on her side — especially Felicity, a new friend she thinks could turn into something more. Then the club’s sponsor, a famous alumna, attacks her in the media and turns the selection process into a spectacle.
Tara’s always found comfort in the power of other peoples’ words. But when it comes time to fight for herself, will she be able to find her own voice?
Publication Date January 2nd 2024 by Peachtree Teen
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Plummet into a kill-or-be-killed competition where a scrappy underdog hell-bent on revenge must claw his way to the top in this thrilling YA fantasy debut.
Exiled to live as a Low, sixteen-year-old Conrad refuses to become heir to his murderous uncle. But Meritocracy is a harsh and unforgiving rule on the floating island of Holmstead, and when his ailing mother is killed by monstrous gorgantauns, Conrad cuts a deal to save the only family he has left. To rescue his sister from his uncle’s clutches, Conrad must enter the Selection of the Twelve Trades.
Hunter, the deadliest of all the Trades, gains a fresh recruit with Conrad. Now he must endure vigorous training, manipulative peers, and the Gauntlet — a brutal final test that yields riches and status to whichever skyship crew kills the most gorgantauns. Forced to serve in the lowest of stations and unseen by all, Conrad overhears whispers of rebellion in the dark. Conrad had never known anything existed below the toxic black clouds of the Skylands…until now.
Grab your copy of Book One of the Above The Black trilogy today! This fast-paced series is reminiscent of Attack on Titan and will appeal to fans of Pierce Brown. It’s a great pick for those who love action-adventure.
Publication Date January 2nd 2024 by Bloom Books
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
From USA Today bestselling author Leia Stone, House of Ash and Shadow is the first book in the addictive Gilded City series, about a girl who must battle curses, dark powers, and her own heart. This world of dazzling fae magic and romantic pining is perfect for fans of Wednesday and Holly Black.
Seventeen-year-old Fallon Bane was born with a devastating curse: a single touch from another person will cause her excruciating pain. Thus, she has accepted that she will die without ever being kissed, without even hugging her own father, though it breaks her heart every day.
But when her beloved father falls ill, she breaks into the magical Gilded City to find a healer fae that can save him. When handsome healer Ariyon Madden agrees to help, everything she knows about herself and her curse changes. Because during her father’s healing, Ariyon reaches out and touches her bare skin. She waits for the agony…but it never comes. For the first time in her life, she imagines a new future for herself. However, that fantasy is quickly destroyed, because not only does Ariyon flee from her in disgust when he learns of her curse; he also reveals her existence to powerful fae who want to hurt her.
Fallon is then swept away to a magical academy, where she learns the terrifying truth about her family history and her dark magic. Her life and the future of fae everywhere hang in the balance, and all the while Fallon can’t help but wonder if she will get to touch Ariyon Madden one more time before she dies…
Publication Date January 9th 2024 by Delacorte Press
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
When it comes to romance, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to play games. A fun YA romcom full of fake dating hijinks!
Musical lover Riley has big aspirations to become a director on Broadway. Crucial to this plan is to bring back her high school’s spring musical, but when Riley takes her mom’s car without permission, she’s grounded and stuck with the worst punishment: spending her after-school hours working at her dad’s game shop.
Riley can’t waste her time working when she has a musical to save, so she convinces Nathan — a nerdy teen employee — to cover her shifts and, in exchange, she’ll flirt with him to make his gamer-girl crush jealous.
But Riley didn’t realize that meant joining Nathan’s Dungeons & Dragons game…or that role playing would be so fun. Soon, Riley starts to think that flirting with Nathan doesn’t require as much acting as she would’ve thought…
Publication Date January 9th 2024 by Wednesday Books
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Save The Date meets Never Have I Ever in this sparkling debut rom-com about a high school senior whose life suddenly gets a Bollywood spin when her sister gets engaged.
Shaadi preparations are in full swing, which means lehenga shopping, taste testing, dance rehearsals, and best of all, Arya’s sister Alina is home. The Khannas are together again, finally, and Arya wants to enjoy it. So she stifles her lingering resentment towards Alina, plays mediator during her sister’s fights with their mother, and welcomes her future brother-in-law with open arms. (Okay, maybe enjoy isn’t exactly right.)
Meanwhile at school, Arya’s senior year dreams are unraveling. In between class and her part-time gig as a bookshop assistant, Arya struggles to navigate the aftermath of a bad breakup between her two best friends and a tense student council partnership with her rival, the frustratingly attractive Dean Merriweather.
Arya is determined to keep the peace at home and at school, but this shaadi season teaches Arya new realities: Alina won’t always be in the bedroom down the hall, Mamma’s sadness isn’t mendable, friendships must evolve, and life doesn’t always work out like her beloved Bollywood movies. But sometimes, the person you least expect will give you a glimpse of your dream sequence just when you need it most.
Structured like a Bollywood film (entertaining intermission included!) Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment will make you swoon, laugh, cry, think, nod your head in agreement, and quite possibly make you get up and dance.
Publication Date January 9th 2024 by Quill Tree Books
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
An unforgettable YA debut about two Latina teens growing up in East Oakland as they discover that the world is brimming with messy complexities, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Erika L. Sánchez.
Belén Dolores Itzel del Toro wants the normal stuff: to experience love or maybe have a boyfriend or at least just lose her virginity. But nothing is normal in East Oakland. Her father left her family. She’s at risk of not graduating. And Leti, her super-Catholic, nerdy-ass best friend, is pregnant — by the boyfriend she hasn’t told her parents about, because he’s Black, and her parents are racist.
Things are hella complicated.
Weighed by a depression she can’t seem to shake, Belén helps Leti, hangs out with an older guy, and cuts a lot of class. She soon realizes, though, that distractions are only temporary. Leti is becoming a mother. Classmates are getting ready for college. But what about Belén? What future is there for girls like her?
From debut author Carolina Ixta comes a fierce, intimate examination of friendship, chosen family, and the generational cycles we must break to become our truest selves.
Publication Date January 9th 2024 by Disney Press
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Journey to Never Land in the second book in the Disney Villains-focused Dark Ascension series, which shares the untold story of teenaged Captain Hook and his twin sister Marlene, penned by New York Times bestselling author Lauren DeStefano.
Before Captain Hook became Never Land’s villain, there were two siblings seeking a home…
James and Marlene have always felt out of place in their humdrum fishing village, longing to escape the quiet lives their parents envision for them. But when Marlene’s birthday wish transports them both to an unsettling, magical paradise called Never Land, they discover an unexpected alternative: the chance to stay forever with the charismatic Peter and his Lost Boys.
As the twins delve into the island’s violent secrets, their actions reignite a conflict between the fractured Lost Boys — and for the first time in their lives, James and Marlene find themselves at odds. With a war brewing and their memories slipping away every minute they spend in Never Land, they must choose whether to stay or go. But even if the twins stand together, Never Land – and Peter – won’t allow them to leave so easily.
How far are James and Marlene willing to go to chart their own destinies? And if the price for freedom is losing their true selves – and each other – is it worth the cost?
Publication Date January 9th 2024 by First Second
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Graphic novel superstars Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham join forces in this heartwarming rom-com about fate, family, and falling in love.
She was destined for heartbreak. Then fate handed her love.
Val is ready to give up on love. It’s led to nothing but secrets and heartbreak, and she’s pretty sure she’s cursed ― no one in her family, for generations, has ever had any luck with love.
But then a chance encounter with a pair of cute lion dancers sparks something in Val. Is it real love? Could this be her chance to break the family curse? Or is she destined to live with a broken heart forever?
Publication Date January 9th 2024 by HarperTeen
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Atlas has lost her way.
In a last-ditch effort to pull her life together, she’s working on a community service program rehabbing trails in the Western Sierras. The only plus is that the days are so exhausting that Atlas might just be tired enough to forget that this was one of her dad’s favorite places in the world. Before cancer stole him from her life, that is.
Using real names is forbidden on the trail. So Atlas becomes Maps, and with her team — Books, Sugar, Junior, and King — she heads into the wilderness. As she sheds the lies she’s built up as walls to protect herself, she realizes that four strangers might know her better than anyone has before. And with the end of the trail racing to meet them, Maps is left counting down the days until she returns to her old life — without her new family, and without King, who’s become more than just a friend.
Publication Date January 9th 2024 by Sourcebooks Fire
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
From the author of Monsters Born and Made comes an action-packed South Asian inspired fantasy that will have your heart racing at every turn.
Seventeen-year-old Krescent Dune is buried under the weight of her dead parents’ debt and the ruinous legacy they left behind. The only way she can earn enough money to escape her unforgiving island is by battling monstrous creatures in an underground fighting pit.
After a fight goes terribly wrong, she’s banned from the pits. Now hopeless, she is offered a deal: in exchange for the erasure of her debts, she must join and protect a hunting party for a rescue mission deep within the mining caves beneath the island.
Krescent is determined to keep her head down and fulfill her role as the dutiful bodyguard, even though she is trapped underground with her childhood enemy and a company of people who would gladly kill her if they knew who her parents were. As they come across creatures she believed only existed in legends, it becomes clear they are in far more danger than she could have imagined.
But someone doesn’t want her to make it out alive. And she’ll have to figure out who before she’s left alone…in the dark.
Publication Date January 16th 2024 by Page Street YA
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Desi Wedding Must-Haves: Drama. Food. Fashion. More Drama. More food. And, of course, nosy aunties and uncles.
A family curse that turns spoken prophecy into truth.
A world where your soulmate’s feelings appear as words on your skin.
A boy who has to decide whether or not to attend his brother’s wedding even though their parents have forbidden it.
A girl who encounters the boy she loved and lost and realizes where her heart truly lies.
These genre-bending stories focus on the magic (and tension) of the biggest family gathering. Both award-winning and debut authors share stories of broken hearts, rekindled flames, unlikely romances, and one particular auntie who loves to meddle.
From jewel-toned kurtas, music and dancing, to the aromas of cardamom and sugar, one thing is for certain: It’s going to be an incredible season.
Publication Date January 16th 2024 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
From the acclaimed author of Flygirl and the bestselling author of Code Name Verity comes the thrilling and inspiring true story of the desegregation of the skies.
In the years between World War I and World War II, aviation fever was everywhere, including among Black Americans. But what hope did a Black person have of learning to fly in a country constricted by prejudice and Jim Crow laws, where some previous Black aviators like Bessie Coleman had to move to France to earn their wings?
American Wings follows a group of determined Black Americans: Cornelius Coffey and Johnny Robinson, skilled auto mechanics; Janet Harmon Bragg, a nurse; and Willa Brown, a teacher and social worker. Together, they created a flying club and built their own airfield on Chicago’s South Side. As the U.S. hurtled toward World War II, they established a school to train new pilots, teaching both Black and white students together and proving, in a time when the U.S. military was still segregated, that successful integration was possible.
Complete with black-and-white photographs throughout, American Wings brings to light a hidden history of pioneering Black men and women who, with grit and resilience, battled powerful odds for an equal share of the sky.
Publication Date January 16th 2024 by HarperTeen
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
In this fresh reimagining of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel by acclaimed author L. L. McKinney, Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason must save each other from the horrifying machinations of Mr. Rochester in this intrigue-filled, empowering young adult romance.
Jane Eyre has no interest in a husband. Eager to make her own way in the world, she accepts the governess position at Thornfield Hall.
Though her new employer, Edward Rochester, has a charming air — not to mention a handsome face — Jane discovers that his smile can sharpen in an instant. Plagued by Edward’s mercurial mood and the strange wails that echo through the corridors, Jane grows suspicious of the secrets hidden within Thornfield Hall — unaware of the true horrors lurking above her very head.
On the topmost floor, Bertha Mason is trapped in more ways than one. After her whirlwind marriage to Edward turned into a nightmare, he locked her away as revenge for withholding her inheritance. Now his patience grows thin in the face of Bertha’s resilience and Jane’s persistent questions, and both young women are in more danger than they realize.
When their only chance at safety — and perhaps something more — is in each other’s arms, can they find and keep one another safe before Edward’s dark machinations close in around them?
Publication Date January 16th 2024 by Entangled: Teen
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
The Secret Garden is gorgeously reimagined in this deliciously dreamy urban fairytale about a dryad who risks immortality for love, from debut author Devin Greenlee.
All seventeen-year-old Quill wants is a break from the family business. Flowers, plants, the generations-old garden. What he wouldn’t give for a taste of the outside world. Normalcy. But his mom won’t let him out of the house, telling him he’s just not ready…
All because he’s a dryad. Well, not just any dryad, but a male dryad ― the first ever. And unlike everyone else in his family, he hasn’t a lick of magic. Just a shock of green hair, matching green eyes, and a growing frustration that there’s an entire world out there waiting to be discovered. Until the night when the outside world ― specifically his new neighbor ― discovers him.
Liam Watson lives in a culture filled with electronics, mobile devices, and social media ― where there is no magic or even the belief in it. And as much as Quill finds Liam irritating (he’s so cute it’s annoying), he can’t help himself.
Now Quill’s getting a taste of the outside world and of Liam…and he wants more. But all is not well in this magical, urban garden, and someone ― or something ― is changing the very essence of it.
And wherever Quill goes, the danger grows…
Publication Date January 16th 2024 by Roaring Brook Press
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Maggie Nichols’s official memoir is an inspirational tell-all about the abuse she suffered under the US national gymnastics team and how she managed to redefine herself in the face of adversity.
With an introduction from Simone Biles.
In 2015, Maggie Nichols’s gymnastics career was on fire.
Having spent most of her young life training as an elite-level gymnast, Maggie carried the team all-around at the 2015 World Championships, helping to cinch the team gold medal. Next in her sights was the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She was eagerly looking forward to training for the 2016 Olympic Games along with teammates such as Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, and Laurie Hernandez. But on the verge of achieving her lifelong Olympic dream, her world came crashing down.
That summer Maggie revealed to her coach that USAG doctor Larry Nassar had been sexually abusing herself and other athletes under his care. What followed was an extensive investigation that would capture the nation’s attention and illuminate for the world the trauma and massive cover-up behind the scenes of one of the country’s most celebrated sports institutions.
Ultimately, Maggie would go on to become an 8-time NCAA champion and an outspoken advocate for the protection of young children, especially young athletes.
This inspirational tell-all offers an intimate look into the world of elite gymnastics, the sexual abuse scandal that shattered lives and dreams, and how Maggie Nichols risked everything in the name of justice. Maggie now tells this story in her words: a story of hope, trauma, reclamation, and above all, triumph.
Publication Date January 16th 2024 by Feiwel & Friends
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
In the Remixed Classics series, authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own cultural lens to subvert the overwhelming cishet, white, and male canon. This bittersweet Pride & Prejudice remix follows a trans boy yearning for the freedom to live openly, centering queerness in a well-known story of longing and subverting society’s patriarchal and cisheteronormative expectations.
London, 1812. Oliver Bennet feels trapped. Not just by the endless corsets, petticoats and skirts he’s forced to wear on a daily basis, but also by society’s expectations. The world ― and the vast majority of his family and friends ― think Oliver is a girl named Elizabeth. He is therefore expected to mingle at balls wearing a pretty dress, entertain suitors regardless of his interest in them, and ultimately become someone’s wife.
But Oliver can’t bear the thought of such a fate. He finds solace in the few times he can sneak out of his family’s home and explore the city rightfully dressed as a young gentleman. It’s during one such excursion when Oliver becomes acquainted with Darcy, a sulky young man who had been rude to “Elizabeth” at a recent social function. But in the comfort of being out of the public eye, Oliver comes to find that Darcy is actually a sweet, intelligent boy with a warm heart. And not to mention incredibly attractive.
As Oliver is able to spend more time as his true self, often with Darcy, part of him dares begin to hope that his dream of love and life as a man could be possible. But suitors are growing bolder ― and even threatening ― and his mother is growing more desperate to see him settled into an engagement. Oliver will have to choose: Settle for safety, security, and a life of pretending to be something he’s not, or risk it all for a slim chance at freedom, love, and a life that can be truly, honestly his own.
Publication Date January 16th 2024 by Rick Riordan Presents
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Circe goes YA in this unapologetically feminist retelling of the Medusa myth steeped in Indian mythology, a YA epic fantasy addition to the Rick Riordan Presents imprint.
All monsters and heroes have beginnings. This is mine.
Sixteen-year-old Manisha is no stranger to monsters — she’s been running from them for years, from beasts who roam the jungle to the King’s army, who forced her people, the naga, to scatter to the ends of the earth. You might think that the kingdom’s famed holy temples atop the floating mountains, where Manisha is now a priestess, would be safe — but you would be wrong.
Seventeen-year-old Pratyush is a famed slayer of monsters, one of the King’s most prized warriors and a frequent visitor to the floating temples. For every monster the slayer kills, years are added to his life. You might think such a powerful warrior could do whatever he wants, but true power lies with the King. Tired after years of fighting, Pratyush wants nothing more than a peaceful, respectable life.
When Pratyush and Manisha meet, each sees in the other the possibility to chart a new path. Unfortunately, the kingdom’s powerful have other plans. A temple visitor sexually assaults Manisha and pushes her off the mountain into a pit of vipers. A month later, the King sends Pratyush off to kill one last monster (a powerful nagin who has been turning men to stone) before he’ll consider granting the slayer his freedom.
Except Manisha doesn’t die, despite the hundreds of snake bites covering her body and the venom running through her veins. She rises from the pit more powerful than ever before, with heightened senses, armor-like skin, and blood that can turn people to stone. And Pratyush doesn’t know it, but the “monster” he’s been sent to kill is none other than the girl he wants to marry.
Alternating between Manisha’s and Pratyush’s perspectives, Sajni Patel weaves together lush language, high stakes, and page-turning suspense, demanding an answer to the question “What does it truly mean to be a monster?”
Publication Date January 16th 2024 by Nancy Paulsen Books
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
In this epic conclusion to her New York Times bestselling series, Ayana Gray delivers a heart-pounding fantasy adventure filled with mythos, monsters, and mortal heroes who are astoundingly human.
Once a prisoner to Fedu, the vengeful god of death, Koffi has regained her freedom, but she is far from safe. Fedu will stop at nothing to hunt her down and use her power to decimate the mortal world. Koffi knows when Fedu will strike: during the next Bonding, a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event. To survive, Koffi will have to find powerful new allies quickly, and convince them to help her in the terrible battle to come.
Once a warrior-turned-runaway, Ekon has carved out a new life for himself outside Lkossa, but the shadows of his past still haunt him. Now, alongside unexpected friends, Ekon tries to focus on getting Koffi to the Kusonga Plains before the next Bonding. If he fails, Koffi will be consumed, either by her own dangerous power, or the terrible fate Ekon is doing everything he can to prevent. Ekon devotes himself to protecting Koffi, but the lingering threats from his own past are more urgent than he knows.
As Koffi and Ekon race to the Kusonga Plains — and try to garner the help of Eshōza’s ancient gods along the way — they must face a slew of dangerous beasts old and new. In the end, destiny may unite Koffi and Ekon for the last time — or tear them apart for good.
Publication Date January 16th 2024 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Whip-smart and immersive, this Jamaican-inspired fantasy follows a gods-blessed heroine who’s forced to choose between saving her sister or protecting her homeland — perfect for fans of Iron Widow and The Priory of the Orange Tree.
Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She’s a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbors.
When she’s forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn’t expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon — or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister.
As Faron’s desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other’s lives, as well as the fate of their world.
Publication Date January 16th 2024 by Algonquin Young Readers
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Hold Still meets You’ve Reached Sam in this lyrical novel about one young woman’s journey through the Paris fashion scene as she chases promises, overcomes grief, and falls in love.
Alix Leclaire has a plan: graduate high school and land her dream job as a feather artist at Mille et une Plume, where her creations will help define high fashion. Her best friend Jeanne will get a record contract and they’ll take over the Paris art scene together.
But then Jeanne dies.
Alix is lost, until the day she feels Jeanne pushing her to the feather boutique. Soon, Alix is living a life she hardly recognizes — pursuing a passionate affair with an alluring artist, stealing feathers for her own creations, risking everything as Jeanne once did. But then Alix meets Blaise, the dreamy musician who comforts her, centers her, challenges her.
Torn between two beautiful boys and coping with grief, Alix’s art takes on a frightening and wild beauty. Living like Jeanne has given her everything she thought she wanted — but she must decide whether to hide in Jeanne’s shadow or soar on her own wings.
Publication Date January 16th 2024 by Delacorte Press
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
A teen girl and her family return to her mother’s childhood home, only to discover that the house’s strange beauty may disguise a sinister past, in this contemporary gothic horror from the author of What We Harvest.
The house was supposed to be a fresh start. That’s what Libby’s mom said. And after Libby’s recent bipolar III diagnosis and the tragedy that preceded it, Libby knows she and her family need to find a new normal.
But Libby’s new home turns out to be anything but normal. Scores of bugs haunt its winding halls, towering stained-glass windows feature strange, insectile designs, and the garden teems with impossibly blue roses. And then there are the rumors. The locals, including the mysterious boy next door, tell stories about disappearances tied to the house, stretching back over a century to its first owners. Owners who supposedly hosted legendary masked séances on its grounds.
Libby’s mom refuses to hear anything that could derail their family’s perfect new beginning, but Libby knows better. The house is keeping secrets from her, and something tells her that the key to unlocking them lies in the eerie, bug-shaped masks hidden throughout the property.
We all wear masks — to hide our imperfections, to make us stronger and braver. But if Libby keeps hers on for too long, she might just lose herself — and everyone she loves.
Publication Date January 23rd 2024 by Feiwel & Friends
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
A compelling YA anthology from editors Dahlia Adler and Jennifer Iacopelli about the trials and triumphs of girls in sports.
A January/February 2024 Kid’s Indie Next Pick!
A Junior Library Guild SelectionAmbition. Drive. Determination. Talent. Courage. Teamwork.
Every athlete knows what it takes to win. But for players who are teen girls, the stakes are so much higher. In this anthology, the voices of these athletes come alive, highlighting the ferocity of those who are often shunted to the side. From navigating rampant misogyny to forging a sisterhood through sweat or just reveling in the love of the game, the stories in Out of Our League address the phenomenal physical and emotional power of teenage athletes as they compete, persevere, and thrive, on and off the field.
Publication Date January 23rd 2024 by Crown Books for Young Readers
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
When a Korean American teenage artist gets sucked into the world of her own web comic, she must find a way out with the help of a cute boy all while facing off against a villainous corporation. Inspired by the A-ha’s “Take on Me” music video, this entertaining YA novelis a grounded speculative fiction adventure from a founding member of We Need Diverse Books.
Mina has become the hero of her own story. Literally.
When Mina Lee woke up on Saturday morning for SAT prep, she did NOT expect to:
1. Nearly be fried by a superhero who turned out to be a supervillain.
2. Come face to face with Jin, the handsome boy of her dreams.
3. Discover a conspiracy involving the evil corporation Merco that she created.And it’s all happening in her fictional world. Mina is trapped in the story she created. Now it’s up to her to save everyone. Even if it means losing Jin forever.
From the award-winning author of Finding Junie Kim and co-founder of We Need Diverse Books, Ellen Oh. In the speculative fiction adventure The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee, a teenage artist grapples with her first love, grief, and learning how to take charge of her own life.
Publication Date January 23rd 2024 by Balzer + Bray
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
My Fair Lady meets the classic teen film She’s All That in this charming and swoony new rom-com from Brian D. Kennedy, author of A Little Bit Country. Perfect for fans of What If It’s Us and She Gets The Girl.
Wade Westmore is used to being in the spotlight. So when he’s passed over for the lead in the spring musical, it comes as a major blow — especially when the role goes to his ex-boyfriend, Reese, who dumped him for being too self-involved.
Shy sophomore Elijah Brady is used to being overlooked. Forget not knowing his name — most of his classmates don’t even know he exists. So when he joins the stage crew for the musical, he seems destined to blend into the scenery.
When the two have a disastrous backstage run-in, Elijah proposes an arrangement that could solve both boys’ problems: If Wade teaches Elijah how to be popular, Wade can prove that he cares about more than just himself. Seeing a chance to win Reese back, Wade dives headfirst into helping Elijah become the new and improved “Brady.”
Soon their plan puts Brady center stage — and he’s a surprising smash hit. So why is Wade suddenly less worried about winning over his ex and more worried about losing Elijah?
Publication Date January 23rd 2024 by Wednesday Books
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Inescapably romantic and brimming with New York Times bestselling author Emma Lord’s signature cheer, The Getaway List is an uplifting and romantic read that will settle into your heart and never leave.
The day of her high school graduation, Riley realizes two things: One, that she has spent the last four years trying so hard to be a Good Kid for her mom that she has no idea who she really is anymore, and two, she has no idea what she wants because of it. The solution? Pack her bags and move to New York for the summer, where her childhood best friend Tom and co-creator of The Getaway List ― a list of all the adventures they’ve wanted to do together since he moved away ― will hopefully help her get in touch with her old adventurous self, and pave the road to a new future.
Riley isn’t sure what to expect from Tom, who has been distant since his famous mom’s scriptwriting career pulled him away. But when Riley arrives in the city, their reconnection is as effortless as it was when they were young ― except with one, unexpected complication that will pull Riley’s feelings in a direction she didn’t know they could take. As she, Tom, and their newfound friends work their way through the delightfully chaotic items on The Getaway List, Riley learns that sometimes the biggest adventure is not one you take, but one you feel in your heart.
Publication Date January 23rd 2024 by Bloomsbury YA
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
In the thrilling conclusion to the Defy the Night series, New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer crafts heartrending twists and devastating turns that will keep readers breathless to the very end.
Left for dead, but desperate to survive…they have one last chance to save their kingdom.
Prince Corrick is out of options. Held captive by the vicious Oren Crane, he’s desperate to reunite with Tessa, but will need to ally with the rebel leader Lochlan, who until now wished him dead. An unlikely but deadly pair, Corrick and Lochlan must plot their next moves carefully…
An island away, Tessa Cade is heartbroken and angry. Grieving Corrick, and unsure how to find a way back to Kandala, she doesn’t know who to trust. Until Rian – the man she trusts least – makes an offer: aid in a plot to finally oust Oren Crane and see what the future holds…
Meanwhile in Kandala, Harristan is dethroned and on the run. He’s struggling to unite the rebels in his fractured kingdom, but he finds support – and maybe more – in unexpected places.
Can Harristan be the king his people need? Can Corrick and Tessa find their way back to each other? As outside threats loom and the fires of revolution burn from within, time is running out to save their kingdom.
Publication Date January 23rd 2024 by HarperTeen
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Perfect for fans of Fable and House of Salt and Sorrows, this spectacular YA fantasy adventure debut is like nothing else, featuring a unique twist on Treasure Island, a magnetic second chance romance, and a thrilling heist where the reward is great—but the risks are even greater.
In the slowly sinking city of Coconino, Arizona, the days are long, the money is tight, and the rain never stops.
For Jin Haldar, this life is nothing new — ever since her father died in a diving accident, she’s barely made ends meet for her and her younger sister, Thara.
Enter Bhili: a drifter who offers Jin and Thara the score of a lifetime — a massive stash of gold hidden in the sunken ruins of Las Vegas.
Jin knows it’s too dangerous. She stopped diving after her father’s accident. But when her sister decides to go, Jin’s left with only one choice: to go with her.
A ragtag crew is assembled — including Jin’s annoyingly hot ex-boyfriend. From there, a high-stakes heist ensues that’s beyond even Jin’s wildest fears. Crumbling ruins, sea beasts, corsairs, and a mysterious figure named João Silva all lie in wait. To survive, Jin will have to do what she promised herself she’d never do again: dive.
Publication Date January 23rd 2024 by Viking Books for Young Readers
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Girl In Pieces meets Cracked Up To Be in this raw and candid look at trauma about a girl who is being haunted and stalked by her definitely dead ex-boyfriend.
Charlotte survived the car crash that killed her boyfriend Jerry, but that night, everything changed. Charlotte wants desperately to get back to “normal,” – whatever that means now – and start reconnecting with friends she hasn’t spoken to in months. And she’s trying to work through her PTSD with the help of her therapist, only she can’t tell the truth about Jerry or what really happened the night he died.
Just when Charlotte thinks she might be moving on, someone starts sending her threatening messages claiming to be Jerry, saying things only he would know. But it can’t really be Jerry because there’s no such thing as ghosts. The cold spots in her room must be a draft and the noises she hears must be the house creaking. There has to be a logical explanation for all of it. Because if ghosts are real, then Jerry came back for her — just like he always said he would.
Not Dead Enough is a gripping exploration of trauma from debut author Tyffany D. Neiheiser about a girl who realizes that running from the past will help you survive, but everything you try to escape will eventually find you in the end. Perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Kathleen Glasgow! Authors note included.
Publication Date January 23rd 2024 by Roaring Brook Press
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
This captivating sequel to The Buried and The Bound draws readers into the twisted and irresistible world of the Fair Folk ― perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince and The Hazel Wood.
As a new coven, Aziza, Leo, and Tristan faced evil and triumphed. All that’s left is to put their lives back together, a process complicated by the fallout from painful secrets, the emotional and physical scars they now carry, and the mysteries that still haunt them.
But with the approach of the solstice comes the arrival of strange new visitors to Blackthorn: the Summer Court, a nomadic community of Fair Folk from deep in Elphame. They’ve journeyed to the border between the human world and fairyland, far from their usual caravan route, to take back something that belongs to them ― something Leo’s not willing to lose.
Refusing to give up without a fight, he makes a risky deal with the Summer Court’s princess and regent. The challenge she proposes sends Coven Blackthorn into the farthest, wildest reaches of Elphame.
But when you play games with the Fair Folk, even winning has a cost.
Publication Date January 23rd 2024 by Hodder & Stoughton
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
No more quiet rebellions.
An explosive cyberpunk SF thriller from the author of Mindwalker, set in a world of corporate intrigue and dangerous technology.
Born into a religious cult on the fringe of society, Indra Dyer lives a simple, tech-free existence. But when an illicit trip to the city leaves her with a debilitating – and terminal – condition, Indra must make a choice: die faithful or betray her Order and accept the cure Glindell Technologies is offering.
Forced to sign over full ownership of her life, Indra is horrified to learn the true nature of Glindell’s plans. Instead of saving her body, they upload her mind to a first-of-its-kind MindDrive, housed in a fully robotic shell.
On the outside, Indra still looks the same; on the inside, she’s not so sure. She keeps finding herself in places she really shouldn’t be, with no memory of how she got there, and dangerous abilities she can’t explain. So when news breaks of an attack against Glindell’s biggest rival, Indra suspects the worst.
With the help of Tian – a research assistant with questionable morals and a smile that won’t quit – Indra must uncover the truth behind the procedure that saved her life, before Glindell can use it to change the face of technology, and what it means to be human, forever…
Publication Date January 30th 2024 by Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Jimena Ramos had no idea she was undocumented.
Now she’s seventeen, and she needs to figure out a way to stay in New York City, the only home she can remember. There’s only one possibility that will get her a green card quickly enough: Jimena is going to find an American to marry her.
She’s got one excellent candidate: Vitaly, her next-door neighbor and friend, the only person she trusts with her secret. But Vitaly’s got his own plans for the future. He’s a definite no.
So Jimena tries online dating. She decides to approach this marriage like a business transaction. She figures out a plan that just might save her and make her a citizen at last.
But of course, she can’t stop thinking about Vitaly.
Publication Date January 30th 2024 by Union Square & Co.
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
A Christian girl is stigmatized by her peers after seeking an abortion in this modern retelling of The Scarlet Letter for the #MeToo era.
Moving to Hawthorne was something Tess and her mom never anticipated, but after Tess’s mom loses her job, it’s their only option. Tess’s grandparents welcome them into their home, on the condition that Tess and her mom attend church, something Mom isn’t too pleased about. But Tess enjoys the church community, finding a place in youth group and the church choir. Faith fills a void Tess didn’t know she had.
After a very personal decision goes public, Tess faces daily harassment and rejection by her former friends, and singing in the church choir is no longer an option. When she meets some kids in the music room, her only place of solace in the school, she finds they don’t judge her for what’s happened, and she learns to find her voice again. Against the backdrop of the Spirit Light Festival, Tess will need to find the strength to speak out if she is to have any chance of ending a silent cycle of abuse in Hawthorne.
Perfect for fans of YA books like Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, or Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E. K. Johnston, Red is a timely and relevant young adult novel about finding your voice and rising above shame. Anyone looking for teen girl books that explore the complex themes of reproductive rights, religious hypocrisy, and overcoming adversity will appreciate this story of judgment and redemption.
Publication Date January 30th 2024 by Walker Books US
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Bridgerton fans rejoice! This epistolary confection — told in letters among three school friends — is perfect for devotees of gossipy costume drama.
Tirzah, Sophia, and Polly are best friends who’ve left boarding school and gone back to very different lives. The year is 1896, and Polly is teaching in an orphanage, Sophia is scouting for a rich husband at the London Season, and Tirzah is stuck acting as an unpaid companion to her grandmother. In a series of letters buzzing with atmosphere and drama, the friends air their dreams, hopes, frustrations, and romances. Can this trio of very different young women — one industrious, one artful, and one in exile — find happiness and love near the dawn of the Edwardian era?
From the award-winning author of the Carnegie Medal–nominated historical romance The Silent Stars Go By comes a playful, feel-good story of friendship and aspiration pitched just right for fans of Jane Austen and her contemporary disciples.
Publication Date January 30th 2024 by Disney Hyperion
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
In this sequel to the spellbinding A Ruinous Fate, more action, romance, and magic abound as Calla and friends must deal with their losses and come to grips with their own part to play in the Fates’ War ahead.
After the heart-wrenching death at the end of book 1, Calla and the other witches are sent reeling. Still stuck in the deadly Neverending Forest, the group must decide their next steps as the Fates’ War looms near. Calla, torn between past allegiances and new circumstances, finds herself pushing away the one person who can unlock her future.
With the still-beating heart in her hand, Amina is finally able to return to her home in the Land of the Valkyries. But when she finds that everything she left behind has irrevocably changed in the six years she’s been gone, she turns her sights to revenge on the one who banished her all those years ago: the Valkyrie Queen.
Meanwhile, everyone’s favorite siren, Delphine, has been dragged down into the depths of the sea, and is imprisoned by the ruthless Siren leader. As past lovers turn into enemies and former foes into allies, Delphine must navigate the dangerous court and her play her part until she’s able to escape and return to the surface.
From deep within Siren’s Sea to the skies above the Land of the Valkyries, A Reckless Oath takes readers on a new journey where stunning revelations will have them questioning everything.
Publication Date January 30th 2024 by WaterBrook
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
A mysterious manor house hides the keys to shocking family secrets — and rapidly fading portals to other worlds — in the richly woven opener to bestselling author Sarah Arthur’s young adult fantasy series.
When fourteen-year-old American Eva Joyce unexpectedly finds herself spending the summer at the mysterious manor house of the English grandmother she’s never met, she soon discovers that her family, the manor staff, and even the house itself are hiding secrets.
With odd things happening in the gardens at night, Eva embarks on a search for answers. Astonishingly, she learns that the Hall’s staff believe portals to other worlds exist — though hidden and steadily disappearing — and that Eva’s grandmother was once a queen in one of those worlds. But her grandmother’s heart is closed to the beauty and pain of the past. Now it’s up to Eva to discover what really happened — and to decide if it’s possible that her favorite childhood fairy tales are true. As she starts unraveling the dangerous secrets around the grandmother who is more than she appears, Eva begins to wonder if she, too, is more than she understood herself to be.
Publication Date January 30th 2024 by HarperTeen
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection pick!
Starring thirty-seven poets, with contributions from acclaimed authors, including Kwame Alexander, Ibi Zoboi, and Nikki Giovanni, this breathtaking Black YA poetry anthology edited by National Book Award finalist Amber McBride, Taylor Byas, and Erica Martin celebrates Black poetry, folklore, and culture.
Come, claim your wings.
Lift your life above the earth,
return to the land of your father’s birth.
What exactly is it to be Black in America?
Well, for some, it’s learning how to morph the hatred placed by others into love for oneself; for others, it’s unearthing the strength it takes to continue to hold one’s swagger when multitudinous factors work to make Black lives crumble. For some, it’s gathering around the kitchen table as Grandma tells the story of Anansi the spider, while for others it’s grinning from ear to ear while eating auntie’s spectacular 7Up cake.
Black experiences and traditions are complex, striking, and vast — they stretch longer than the Nile and are four times as deep — and carry more than just unimaginable pain — there is also joy.
Featuring an all-star group of thirty-seven powerful poetic voices, including such luminaries as Kwame Alexander, James Baldwin, Ibi Zoboi, Audre Lorde, Nikki Giovanni, and Gwendolyn Brooks, this riveting anthology depicts the diversity of the Black experience by fostering a conversation about race, faith, heritage, and resilience between fresh poets and the literary ancestors that came before them.
Edited by Taylor Byas, Erica Martin, and Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner Amber McBride, Poemhood will simultaneously highlight the duality and nuance at the crux of so many Black experiences with poetry being the psalm constantly playing.
Publication Date January 30th 2024 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
A teenage sorcerer’s apprentice must solve her boss’s murder in order to prove her innocence in this twisty, magic-infused murder mystery perfect for fans of Knives Out and The Inheritance Games.
Being an apprentice to one of the world’s most famous sorcerers has its challenges; Tabatha Zeng just didn’t think they would include solving crime. But when her boss, the infamous fortuneteller Sorcerer Solomon, predicts his own brutal death — and worse, it comes true — Tabatha finds herself caught in the crosshairs.
The police have their sights set on her and Callum Solomon, her murdered boss’s youngest son. With suspicion swirling around them, the two decide to team up to find the real killer and clear their own names once and for all.
But solving a murder isn’t as easy as it seems, especially when the suspect list is mostly the rich, connected, and magical members of Sorcerer Solomon’s family. And Tabatha can’t quite escape the nagging voice in her head asking: just how much can she really trust Callum Solomon?
Nothing is as it seems in this quick-witted and fantastical murder mystery.
Publication Date January 30th 2024 by Nancy Paulsen Books
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
From the author of New York Times bestseller House of Hollow comes a darkly seductive witchy thriller where, though both men and demons lurk in shadows, girls refuse to go quietly into the night.
Three girls, one supernatural killer on the loose…
Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to consider — that her murdered sister is gone forever and there is nothing she can do about it. Rather than grieving and moving on, Zara decides she will do whatever it takes to claw her sister back from the grave — even trading in the occult.
Jude Wolf may be the daughter of a billionaire, but she is also undeniably cursed. After a deal with a demon went horribly wrong, her soul has been slowly turning necrotic. It’s a miserable existence marred by pain, sickness, and monstrous things that taunt her in the night. Now that she’s glimpsed what’s beyond the veil, Jude’s desperate to find someone to undo the damage she’s done to herself.
Enter Emer Byrne, an orphaned witch with a dark past and a deadly power, a.k.a. the solution to both Zara’s and Jude’s problems. Though Emer lives a hardscrabble life, she gives away her most valuable asset — her invocations — to women in desperate situations who are willing to sacrifice a piece of their soul in exchange for a scrap of power. Zara and Jude are willing, but they first have to find Emer.
When Emer’s clients start turning up dead all over London, a vital clue leads Zara and Jude right to her. If a serial killer is targeting her clients, Emer wants to know why — and to stop them. She strikes a tenuous alliance with Zara and Jude to hunt a killer before they are next on his list, even if she can’t give them in return what Zara and Jude want most: a sister and a soul.
Publication Date January 30th 2024 by Bloomsbury YA
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Magical heists. Deadly secrets. Come along for the ride…if you dare. This heart-stopping, seductive fantasy is perfect for fans of Six of Crows.
Evie Wilder is an orphan who has gone through most of her life unnoticed…until she’s caught up in a dramatic heist and captures the attention of the Dark Fable. They have chosen her for a reason: she can turn invisible. This skill would make Evie a treasured asset to the legendary group of thieves known for spiriting away obscure and occult artifacts.
Evie cannot resist their allure and is eager to join this newfound family. But she discovers there are more skeletons in the Dark Fable’s past than she could have ever imagined. And these secrets might be the answer to her own tragic past.
No one is who they seem to be and the price of uncovering the Dark Fable’s cryptic history just might be fatal…
Publication Date January 30th 2024 by Delacorte Press
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
In this new pulse-pounding thriller from the author of The Black Queen, two brothers must come together to solve the murder of the most popular girl in school after one of them is caught fleeing the scene of her death.
Amir Trudeau only goes to his half brother Marcel’s birthday party because of Chloe Danvers. Chloe is rich, and hot, and fits right into the perfect life Marcel inherited when their father left Amir’s mother to start a new family with Marcel’s mom. But Chloe is hot enough for Amir to forget that for one night.
Does she want to hook up? Or is she trying to meddle in the estranged brothers’ messy family drama? Amir can’t tell. He doesn’t know what Chloe wants from him when, in the final hours of Mardi Gras, she asks him to take her home and stay — her parents are away and she doesn’t want to be alone.
Amir never finds out, because when he wakes up, Chloe is dead — stabbed while he was passed out on the couch. And in no time, Amir becomes the only suspect. A Black teenager caught fleeing the scene of a rich white girl’s murder? All of New Orleans agrees: the case is open-and-shut.
Amir is innocent. He has a lawyer, but unless someone can figure out who really killed Chloe, things don’t look good for him. His number one ally? Marcel. Their relationship is messy, but Marcel knows that Amir isn’t a murderer — and maybe proving his innocence will repair the rift between them.
To find Chloe’s killer, Amir and Marcel need to dig into her secrets. And what they find is darker than either could have guessed. Parents will go to any lengths to protect their children, and in a city as old as New Orleans, the right family connections can bury even the ugliest truths.
One Response
Thank you for featuring OOOL, Jen! <3