Today’s post is sponsored by Candlewick and Made Glorious!
Title Made Glorious
Author Lindsay Eagar
Intended Target Audience Young Adult
Publication Date April 2nd 2024 by Candlewick
Find It On Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
In a vicious, delicious contemporary novel inspired by Shakespeare’s Richard III, the lauded author of The Family Fortuna lifts the curtain on a high school thespian who’ll stop at nothing to land the lead.
Rory is an antihero for the ages. Like Shakespeare’s Richard III, she confides in her audience, telling us exactly the lengths she’ll go to to secure the leading role in Bosworth Academy’s senior musical, confessing without shame that she is charming and conniving and brutally ambitious, that we will watch and root for her even as she manipulates and endangers those around her. And we do. Perhaps it’s because we don’t want to believe that she’s as relentless as she claims. Rory is an underdog, after all, a scholarship kid teased for her weight. Surely there will be redemption? Surely our dread and patience will be rewarded?
Intricately plotted with an ingenious narrative that blends multiple viewpoints with script excerpts and an original musical score, Lindsay Eagar’s whip-smart, precision-crafted, and gleefully compulsive page-turner taps into the dark side of high school theater production. A diabolically good read, it forces our complicity as we wince and cheer for an arresting drama queen who just can’t help going full-tilt nasty in the pursuit of her dreams.
I look forward to making Pop! Goes The Reader’s most-anticipated lists every single year! While being a mood reader means I’m not always able to strictly stick to a to-be-read list, it’s exciting to explore what’s being published in the months ahead. Posts like this help me better organize my thoughts and decide what I ideally want to prioritize and read first, not to mention give me lots to look forward to!
That said, I am doing things a little differently this year! Ordinarily my most-anticipated lists cover a six month time period (i.e January-June, July-December) but this year the lists I share will cover only three months at a time. This is not only because I find it extremely time-consuming and labour-intensive to cover such an enormous number of books at one time (For example, 2022’s January-June YA list was 100 books long!) but also because I think making these into slightly smaller posts will makes it easier for readers to consume. It can be really overwhelming to see a list of 100+ books, and because my goal is to specifically highlight the titles selected for my most-anticipated posts, this seems a little counter-productive. That said, I welcome all feedback about this issue. Did you like it better when the most-anticipated posts covered six months, instead? Please let me know in the comments!
Please Note: If you’re a young adult author with a novel being published in 2024 and don’t see your book on one of Pop! Goes The Reader’s Most-Anticipated lists, please don’t be hurt or upset! These lists are entirely subjective and based on my own personal reading taste. My favourite genres are contemporary and realistic fiction fiction, horror and historical fiction, which is why you won’t see many books outside of these genres on this list. While I try my best to remain up-to-date about upcoming releases, it’s also entirely possible that I simply haven’t learned about your book yet! If you’re the author of a 2024 young adult novel that you think might make a good fit for me and Pop! Goes The Reader, please don’t hesitate to reach out – I would love to hear from you!
For even more wonderful young adult novels being published in 2024, please check out this Goodreads list which currently includes over 700 YA novels being published this year for you to choose from. Hopefully you’ll be able to find the perfect book for you. Happy reading!
The publication dates listed below might be subject to change.
Publication Date April 2nd 2024 by Peachtree Teen
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Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants goes to the French Open in an emotionally honest and openhearted novel for fans of Yamile Saied Méndez and Mary HK Choi.
Three teen girls compete at an elite tennis tournament for a shot at their dreams — if only they knew what their dreams were.
Alice is on her own for the first time. She has no coach. No friends. Not even clothes that meet the Bastille Invitational’s strict dress code. There’s only the steady drumbeat of guilt inside — pressure to make the tournament’s costly expense “worth it” in the wake of Ba’s unexpected passing. But will a win on court justify the price she paid to get here?
Violetta is Bastille’s darling: social media influencer, coach’s pet, and daughter of a former tennis star who fell from grace. Bastille is her chance to reclaim the future her mother gave up to raise her. But is that what she wants for herself?
Leylah hasn’t competed in two years, thanks to a back-stabbing ex-friend. Bastille is her last chance to prove she’s ready for a life of professional tennis. But will her fixation on past wrongs keep her from reclaiming her rightful place at the top?
One week at the elite Bastille Invitational tennis tournament will decide their futures. If only the competition between them stayed on the court.
The Misdirection of Fault Lines is an incisive coming-of-age story, infused with wit and wisdom, about three Asian American teen girls trying to find their ways forward, backward, and in some cases, back to each other again. Anna Gracia, acclaimed author of Boys I Know, delivers with a refreshingly true-to-life teen voice that perfectly captures the messiness of adolescence and the pressures of expectation.
Publication Date April 2nd 2024 by Flatiron Books
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A YA anthology of horror stories centering Black girls who battle monsters, both human and supernatural, and who survive to the end.
Be warned, dear reader: The Black girls survive in this one.
Celebrating a new generation of bestselling and acclaimed Black writers, The Black Girl Survives In This One makes space for Black girls in horror. Fifteen chilling and thought-provoking stories place Black girls front and center as heroes and survivors who slay monsters, battle spirits, and face down death. Prepare to be terrified and left breathless by the pieces in this anthology.
The bestselling and acclaimed authors include Erin E. Adams, Monica Brashears, Charlotte Nicole Davis, Desiree S. Evans, Saraciea J. Fennell, Zakiya Dalila Harris, Daka Hermon, Justina Ireland, L.L. McKinney, Brittney Morris, Maika & Maritza Moulite, Eden Royce, and Vincent Tirado. The foreword is by Tananarive Due.
Publication Date April 2nd 2024 by Candlewick
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In a vicious, delicious contemporary novel inspired by Shakespeare’s Richard III, the lauded author of The Family Fortuna lifts the curtain on a high school thespian who’ll stop at nothing to land the lead.
Rory is an antihero for the ages. Like Shakespeare’s Richard III, she confides in her audience, telling us exactly the lengths she’ll go to to secure the leading role in Bosworth Academy’s senior musical, confessing without shame that she is charming and conniving and brutally ambitious, that we will watch and root for her even as she manipulates and endangers those around her. And we do. Perhaps it’s because we don’t want to believe that she’s as relentless as she claims. Rory is an underdog, after all, a scholarship kid teased for her weight. Surely there will be redemption? Surely our dread and patience will be rewarded?
Intricately plotted with an ingenious narrative that blends multiple viewpoints with script excerpts and an original musical score, Lindsay Eagar’s whip-smart, precision-crafted, and gleefully compulsive page-turner taps into the dark side of high school theater production. A diabolically good read, it forces our complicity as we wince and cheer for an arresting drama queen who just can’t help going full-tilt nasty in the pursuit of her dreams.
Publication Date April 2nd 2024 by Delacorte Press
Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
From the author of the multimillion-copy bestselling A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder series and Five Survive comes a gripping mystery thriller following one teen’s search for the truth about her mother’s shocking disappearance — and even more shocking reappearance — during the filming of a true crime documentary.
Lights. Camera. Lies.
Eighteen-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.
But the case is dredged up from the past when the Price family agrees to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.
Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And — could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead…
From world-renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl’s search for the truth, and the terror in finding out who your family really is.
Publication Date April 2nd 2024 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
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Magical realism meets Southern Gothic in this commanding young adult debut from Ciera Burch about true love, the meaning of home, and the choices that haunt us.
Welcome to Coldwater. Come for the ghosts, stay for the drama.
Jericka Walker had planned to spend the summer before senior year soaking up the sun with her best friend on the Jersey Shore. Instead she finds herself in Coldwater, Maryland, a small town with a dark and complicated past where her estranged grandmother lives ― someone she knows only two things about: her name and the fact that she left Jericka’s mother and uncle when they were children. But now Jericka’s grandmother is dying, and her mother has dragged Jericka along to say goodbye.
As Jericka attempts to form a connection with a woman she’s never known, and adjusts to life in a town where everything closes before dinner, she meets “ghost girl” Kat, a girl eager to leave Coldwater and more exciting than a person has any right to be. But Coldwater has a few unsettling secrets of its own. The more you try to leave, the stronger the town’s hold. As Jericka feels the chilling pull of her family’s past, she begins to question everything she thought she knew about her mother, her childhood, and the lines between the living and the dead.
Publication Date April 9th 2024 by Wednesday Books
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When a Mariachi star transfers schools, he expects to be handed his new group’s lead vocalist spot ― what he gets instead is a tenacious current lead with a very familiar, very kissable face.
In a twenty-four-hour span, Rafael Alvarez led North Amistad High School’s Mariachi Alma de la Frontera to their eleventh consecutive first-place win in the Mariachi Extravaganza de Nacional; and met, made out with, and almost hooked up with one of the cutest guys he’s ever met.
Now eight months later, Rafie’s ready for one final win. What he didn’t plan for is his family moving to San Antonio before his senior year, forcing him to leave behind his group while dealing with the loss of the most important person in his life ― his beloved abuelo. Another hitch in his plan: The Selena Quintanilla-Perez Academy’s Mariachi Todos Colores already has a lead vocalist, Rey Chavez ― the boy Rafie made out with ― who now stands between him winning and being the great Mariachi Rafie’s abuelo always believed him to be. Despite their newfound rivalry for center stage, Rafie can’t squash his feelings for Rey. Now he must decide between the people he’s known his entire life or the one just starting to get to know the real him.
Canto Contigo is a love letter to Mexican culture, family and legacy, the people who shape us, and allowing ourselves to forge our own path. At its heart, this is one of the most glorious rivals-to-lovers romance about finding the one who challenges you in the most extraordinary ways.
Publication Date April 9th 2024 by Blackstone Publishing Inc
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A queer YA Mamma Mia! with a dash of Maureen Johnson, The Last Love Song celebrates the music of an uncertain heart—perfect for fans of Nina LaCour, Laura Taylor Namey, and Emma Lord.
After high school graduation, Mia Peters faces a summer full of painful goodbyes. Songwriting is her only solace. Everyone she knows is moving on, including Britt, her biggest supporter…and kind-of-sort-of girlfriend. Britt keeps pushing Mia to go bigger and do better than their small town, but Mia can’t imagine a life beyond Sunset Cove. Besides, she refuses to follow in the footsteps of her late mother — country music star Tori Rose — who abandoned her family to pursue her dream, leaving Mia and her two grandmothers alone.
Desperate for a sign of what might lie ahead, Mia finds the opposite — a mysterious letter from the past, addressed to her in her mother’s handwriting. It turns out to be the first of many. One by one they lead Mia on a wild scavenger hunt through a Sunset Cove she never knew, buried under the memorializing that has frozen her mother in time. Each new discovery brings Mia closer to the real Tori Rose, but with the clock ticking on Britt’s departure, Mia knows she is running out of time.
With the summer winding down, Mia must decide if she is ready to face the present, confront her feelings, and forge the destiny she truly wants. A dazzlingly soulful debut, The Last Love Song is perfect for anyone who’s ever tried to decode the clues in the lead-up to a new Taylor Swift album.
Publication Date April 16th 2024 by Feiwel & Friends
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Perfect for fans of Nina LaCour, This is Me Trying is a profound and tender YA contemporary novel exploring grief, love, and guilt from author Racquel Marie.
Growing up, Bryce, Beatriz, and Santiago were inseparable. But when Santiago moved away before high school, their friendship crumbled. Three years later, Bryce is gone, Beatriz is known as the dead boy’s girlfriend, and Santiago is back.
The last thing Beatriz wants is to reunite with Santiago, who left all her messages unanswered while she drowned alone in grief over Bryce’s death by suicide. Even if she wasn’t angry, Santiago’s attempts to make amends are jeopardizing her plan to keep the world at arm’s length―equal parts protection and punishment―and she swore to never let anyone try that again.
Santiago is surprised to find the once happy-go-lucky Bea is now the gothic town loner, though he’s unsurprised she wants nothing to do with him. But he can’t fix what he broke between them while still hiding what led him to cut her off in the first place, and it’s harder to run from his past when he isn’t states away anymore.
Inevitably drawn back together by circumstance and history, Beatriz and Santiago navigate grief, love, mental illness, forgiveness, and what it means to try to build a future after unfathomable loss.
Publication Date April 16th 2024 by Feiwel & Friends
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Dear Wendy’s Sophie and Jo, two aromantic and asexual college students, engage in an online feud while unknowingly becoming friends in real life, in this dual POV Young Adult contemporary debut from Ann Zhao
Sophie Chi is in her first year of college (though her parents wish she’d attend a “real” university rather than a liberal arts school) and has long accepted her aroace (aromantic and asexual) identity. She knows she’ll never fall in love, but she enjoys running an Instagram account that offers relationship advice to students at her school. No one except her roommate can know that she’s behind the incredibly popular “Dear Wendy” account.
When Joanna “Jo” Ephron (also a first-year aroace college student) created their “Sincerely Wanda” account, it wasn’t at all meant to take off or be taken seriously―not like Wendy’s. But now they might have a rivalry of sorts with Wendy’s account? Oops. As if Jo’s not busy enough having existential crises over gender identity, whether she’ll ever truly be loved, and the possibility of her few friends finding The One then forgetting her!
While tensions are rising online, Sophie and Jo grow closer in real life, especially once they realize their shared aroace identity and start a campus organization for other a-spec students. Will their friendship survive if they learn just who’s behind the Wendy and Wanda accounts?
Exploring a-spec identities, college life, and more, while perfect for fans of Alice Oseman’s Loveless, this is ultimately a love story about two people who are not―and will not―be in love!
Publication Date April 16th 2024 by Dutton Books for Young Readers
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#1 NYT Bestseller E.K. Johnston returns to contemporary feminist YA. This story of a small town, fierce friendships, and revenge served cold is a perfect companion to Exit, Pursued by a Bear.
In the small town of Eganston, Ontario, five good girls have had enough. They’ve experienced the best of what their community has to offer, but they’ve seen the darker side too. Together, they’ve decided that it’s time for a reckoning and that justice is their privilege to give.
Publication Date April 16th 2024 by Quill Tree Books
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HBO’s Insecure meets Dazed and Confused in this messy, tender YA novel about a friendship breakup, set against the backdrop of a chaotic night at a music festival, from rising talent Tracy Badua.
Jana Rubio and her best friend, Maddy Parsons, have an epic senior year finale queued up: catching their favorite band at the Orchards, an outdoor music festival a two-hour drive away. When a blowup over Maddy’s time-sucking boyfriend exposes a rift that may have already been growing between them, Jana calls off their joint trip and gets a lift to the festival from her church friend Nathan…only to realize Maddy and her boyfriend are along for the ride, too.
All Jana wants is to enjoy the concert and get home as soon as possible. But then Nathan loses his car keys crowd-surfing, and it’s up to Jana and Maddy to find them. As they navigate stolen phones and missing friends, scale Ferris wheels and crash parties, the two of them are forced to reckon with the biggest obstacle of all: repairing their friendship.
Will Jana and Maddy find their way home—and also back to each other?
Publication Date April 23rd 2024 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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A bisexual teen girl tries to make her ex jealous by faking an Instagram romance that leads to surprisingly real feelings in this hijinks-filled rom-com perfect for fans of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and She Gets the Girl.
Ava “Fitz” Fitzgerald has worked hard to create the picture-perfect life she’s always wanted. She spent her junior year transforming her passion for sustainable fashion and upcycling into a viral online platform, maintaining a 4.0 GPA, and spending every free second with her soon-to-graduate girlfriend, Danica. And this summer she plans to take it all to the next level by attending a prestigious summer fashion program in New York City and convincing Dani that they can survive a year of long distance.
But when Dani dumps her before classes even start, accusing Fitz of being more invested in growing her online persona than deepening their relationship, she’s left not only heartbroken, but also creatively blocked.
Fitz will do anything to win Dani back, even if that means taking a break from the platform that she’s worked so hard to build. But just as she decides to go all-in on a hiatus, a chance encounter reunites her with Levi Berkowitz, her childhood best friend that she hasn’t seen since elementary school. Levi is struggling with heartbreak of his own, and this cosmic coincidence sparks a new use for her social media savvy. Fitz offers to help Levi craft a fake relationship online to make his person jealous…if in return he can pretend to be her boyfriend in front of Dani to make her jealous. If all goes according to plan, by the end of the summer they’ll both be reunited with their perfect partners and get to rekindle their friendship in the process.
Sometimes even the most carefully designed plans can come apart at the seams, though. And when real history leads to not-so-fake feelings, Fitz will have to decide if she’s finally willing to let go of what she thought was picture-perfect and choose what might actually be right for her.
Publication Date April 23rd 2024 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl comes a YA murder mystery noir set in 1930s Los Angeles’s Chinatown.
LOS ANGELES, 1932: Lulu Wong, star of the silver screen and the pride of Chinatown, has a face known to practically everyone, especially the Chow sisters — May, Gemma, and Peony — Lulu’s former classmates and neighbors. So the girls instantly know it’s Lulu when they discover a body one morning in an out-of-the-way stable, far from the Beverly Hills home where she lived after her fame skyrocketed.
The sisters suspect Lulu’s death is the result of foul play, but the police don’t seem motivated to investigate. Even worse, there are signs that point to a cover-up, and powerful forces in the city want to frame the killing as evidence that Chinatown is a den of iniquity and crime, even more reason it should be demolished to make room for the construction of a new railway depot, Union Station.
Worried that neither the police nor the papers will treat Lulu fairly — no matter her fame and wealth — the sisters set out to solve their friend’s murder themselves, and maybe save their neighborhood in the bargain. But with Lulu’s killer still on the loose, the girls’ investigation just might put them square in the crosshairs of a cold-blooded murderer.
Publication Date April 30th 2024 by Crown Books for Young Readers
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A Korean American teen tries to balance her dream to become a chef with the cultural expectations of her family when she enters the competitive world of a TV cooking show. A hilarious and heartfelt YA novel from the award-winning author of Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim and Re Jane.
Jackie Oh is done being your model minority.
She’s tired of perfect GPAs, PSATs, SATs, all of it. Jackie longs to become a professional chef. But her Korean American parents are Ivy League corporate workaholics who would never understand her dream. Just ask her brother, Justin, who hasn’t heard from them since he was sent to Rikers Island.
Jackie works at her grandparents’ Midtown Manhattan deli after school and practices French cooking techniques at night — when she should be studying. But the kitchen’s the only place Jackie is free from all the stresses eating at her — school, family, and the increasing violence targeting the Asian community.
Then the most unexpected thing happens: Jackie becomes a teen contestant on her favorite cooking show, Burn Off! Soon Jackie is thrown headfirst into a cutthroat TV world filled with showboating child actors, snarky judges, and gimmicky “gotcha!” challenges.
All Jackie wants to do is cook her way. But what is her way? In a novel that will make you laugh and cry, Jackie proves who she is both on and off the plate.
Patricia Park’s hilarious and stunning What’s Eating Jackie Oh? explores the delicate balance of identity, ambition, and the cultural expectations to perform.
Publication Date April 30th 2024 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
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Perfect for fans of the tearjerker You’ve Reached Sam, this emotional will-they-won’t-they romance follows Natalie and Leander, two teens who navigate love, loss, and everything in between during a fateful summer internship.
Natalie and Imogen are inseparable, and wildly different — Imogen is infuriatingly humble and incredibly intelligent, while Natalie is brave, jumping into danger and new adventures. Still, one thing ties them together: their love of the supernatural. Every summer, they vacation with their parents at the famously haunted Harlow Hotel. Imogen is a true believer, while Natalie sees ghost stories as nothing but pure fun.
Then, Imogen suddenly passes away from an undiagnosed heart condition that no one saw coming, and Natalie is left to take on the summer before senior year alone.
Without Imogen, Natalie throws herself into her senior project. Her passion is still horror, so she plans to spend her summer back at The Harlow Hotel recording fun fake footage that will get her on the teen ghost hunting show of her dreams. And her plans would be a lot less complicated if Leander, her irritatingly attractive arch rival from school, wasn’t working on his senior project at the very same hotel.
The longer Natalie stays at the Harlow Hotel, the more she realizes that Leander might be helpful for her project. After all, she could use an extra hand to help record her fake footage.
But, when strange things start happening at the Harlow, Natalie wonders, could there really be something to these ghosts after all?
Readers of Emily X.R. Pan, Nina LaCour, and Dustin Thao will fall for this story that explores what it means to believe — in ghosts, in the people you love, and in yourself.
Publication Date April 30th 2024 by Crown Books for Young Readers
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A reserved Chinese American teen at a Southern performing arts boarding school comes into her own under the tutelage of a glamorous new piano teacher. A moving coming-of-age-novel from a debut novelist about first love, adolescent angst, and academic pressures.
Claire Wu isn’t sure that she has what it takes to become a successful concert pianist.
It’s the fear of every student at Greenwood School for the Performing Arts: becoming a washed-out performer who couldn’t make it big. And Claire’s no Rocky Wong, the ace pianist at their boarding school.
Then Dr. Li shows up. She’s like no other teacher at Greenwood: mysterious, sophisticated, fascinating. Under Dr. Li’s tutelage, Claire works harder and dreams bigger than ever. And her crush Rocky finally seems interested. Maybe she’ll even be “Chinese enough” to join the elusive Asian Student Society.
Everything is falling into place until eerily personal notes about Claire’s bond with Dr. Li appear. Claire starts to feel the pressure. But she isn’t the only one. Everyone is feeling the strain. Especially Rocky, whose extreme perfectionism hides something more troubling.
As the Showcase tension crescendos, Claire must decide if she’s ready to sink or swim. Only then can she discover who she really is and learn if she’s ready to give her all for a shot at greatness.
The Notes is a powerful and poignant debut YA novel from award-winning writer Catherine Con Morse about dealing with academic pressures, falling in love for the first time, and finding yourself.
Publication Date April 30th 2024 by Delacorte Press
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A queer coming-of-age about three teenage boys in small town Alabama who set out to get revenge on their ex-boyfriends and end up starting a student rebellion. Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Jason June!
Ezra Hayes has always felt like a background character compared to BFFs Lucas and Finley. He would do anything to be seen as a romantic lead, even if it means keeping his boyfriend, Presley, a secret. But when he discovers that Presley is a lying cheater, and his best friends are having boy problems of their own, they want revenge.
Their plans to get even involve sabotaging the largest party of the year, entering a drag competition, and even having Ezra run against his ex for Winter Formal King. Then the school district starts to actively censor queer voices with their Watch What You Say initiative. Taking to TikTok to vent frustrations, Ezra begins “The Last Boyfriends Student Rebellion.”
Between ex-boyfriend drama and navigating viral TikTok fame, Ezra realizes this rebellion is about something more important than revenge. It’s a battle cry to fight back against outdated opinions and redefine what it means to be queer in small town Alabama.
Publication Date April 30th 2024 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
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From the author of Some Girls Do comes another heartfelt YA sapphic romance — starring a baseball pitcher and a student umpire who are definitely not supposed to fall for one another.
June is the star pitcher of her elite club baseball team — with an ego to match — and she’s a shoo-in to be recruited at the college level, like her parents have always envisioned. That is, if she can play through an overuse injury that has recently gone from bad to worse.
Ivy isn’t just reffing to pay off her athletic fees or make some extra cash on the side. She wants to someday officiate at the professional level, even if her parents would rather she go to college instead.
The first time they cross paths, Ivy throws June out of a game for grandstanding. Still, they quickly grow from enemies to begrudging friends…and then something more. But the rules state that players and umpires are prohibited from dating.
As June’s shoulder worsens, and a rival discovers the girls’ secret and threatens to expose them, everything the two have worked so hard for is at risk. Now both must choose: follow their dreams…or follow their hearts?
Publication Date April 30th 2024 by Bloomsbury YA
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When Jo-Lynn Kirby ‘s former best friend – pretty, nice Maddie Price – comes to her claiming to be in trouble, Jo assumes it’s some kind of joke. After all, Jo has been an outcast ever since her nude photos were leaked – and since everyone decided she deserved it. There’s no way Maddie would actually come to her for help.
But then Maddie is gone.
Everyone is quick to write off Maddie as a runaway, but Jo can’t shake the feeling there’s more to the story. To find out the truth, Jo needs to get back in with the people who left her behind – and the only way back in is through Hudson Harper-Moore. An old fling of Jo’s with his own reasons for wanting to find Maddie, Hudson hatches a fake dating scheme to get Jo back into their clique. But being back on the inside means Jo must confront everything she’d rather forget: the boys who betrayed her, the whispers that she had it coming, and the secrets that tore her and Maddie apart. As Jo digs deeper into Maddie’s disappearance, she’s left to wonder who she’s really searching for: Maddie, or the girl she used to be.
Not Like Other Girls is a stunning debut that takes a hard look at how we treat young women and their trauma, through the lens of a missing girl and a girl trying to find herself again.
Publication Date April 30th 2024 by Page Street YA
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When her best friend is sacrificed to the devil, she’ll go to hell and back for him.
Plain, poor, plus-size, and autistic, Alesta grew up trying to convince her beauty-obsessed kingdom that she’s too useful to be sacrificed. Their god blessed their island Soladisa as a haven for his followers, but to keep the devil at bay, the church sends a child sacrifice to hell’s entrance every season ― often poor or plain girls just like Alesta.
With a head full of ideas for inventions, Alesta knows her best shot at making it to adulthood is to design something impressive for the festival exhibition so she might win a spot in the university ― acceptance could guarantee her safety. But Alesta’s flying machine demonstration goes awry, a failure that will surely mean death. What happens is worse: Her best friend and heir to the throne, Kyrian, takes the blame expecting leniency but ends up sacrificed in her place.
To stop the sacrifices forever, Alesta plans to kill the monster that killed her friend. Prepared to save her kingdom or die trying, she travels to the depths of hell only to find Kyrian ― alive, but monstrously transformed.
There is no escaping hell or their growing feelings for one another, and the deeper they descend into hell, the closer they come to uncovering a truth about the sacrifices that threatens to invoke the wrath of not only monsters but the gods as well.
Publication Date May 7th 2024 by Amulet Books
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Ray Stoeve’s Summer Love Strategy is a sweet and swoony YA rom-com about two friends making a pact to find summer romance like they’ve seen in the movies — and finding love where they least expect it along the way!
Hayley always has a crush. The problem is, her crushes never like her back. After her latest unrequited love — a girl from her basketball team — gets a boyfriend, she decides she’s done falling for girls who are unavailable. Her best friend, Talia, wants romance too, but rarely gets crushes on anyone, and she’s tired of watching Hayley get her heart stomped on over and over. So the two girls make a pact: they’ll help each other find summer love by putting themselves in situations that always lead to romance in movies.
To help carry out their summer love strategy, they make a list of all the places they could find their real-life rom-com: the beach, the Pride parade, the pool, a MUNA concert, and a party. But as they go to each place and try to find the one, it seems like they just can’t catch a break — they don’t know how to talk to cute strangers, someone mistakes Hayley as straight, and Hayley does a truly unfortunate DIY haircut (that she cannot be held responsible for – it was a crisis!). But when Talia and Hayley finally manage to score dates, will they be able to get out of their own way and really dive into the romances they deserve? Or is summer love not as far off as Hayley thought?
Publication Date May 7th 2024 by Disney Hyperion
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Acclaimed author of Last Tang Standing and Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic in her YA debut: a sharp yet sweet rivals-to-romance romp through Kuala Lumpur — perfect for fans of Emiko Jean, Abigail Hing Wen, and Kat Cho.
Agnes Chan never expected to be the punchline of her own life…
But how else do you explain getting accidentally run over and seeing a lifetime of careful preparation, endless training, and all your hopes of a track scholarship to college destroyed in a split second? Not to mention the only witness to your humiliation being your #1 archnemesis, Royce Taslim.
So, when Agnes finds a new answer to her scholarship predicament in the form of an international stand-up comedy contest for teens, the last person she expects to be up against is also the last person she wants to see: Royce. Because for years Royce has represented everything Agnes loathes: extreme privilege, popularity, and physical perfection (ok maybe she doesn’t hate that part so much).
Behind the scenes, though, Royce’s flawless façade fades away, revealing someone Agnes never expected — someone who shows her that perhaps the best parts of life are the ones you aren’t prepared for — and as the competition heats up, so do things between these two rivals. But will the pressure to win be too much for them to handle — or will Agnes (and Royce) get the last laugh?
Publication Date May 7th 2024 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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From New York Times bestselling author Morgan Matson comes a sweeping romantic novel about love, fate…and that one night that can change everything.
Darcy believes in love at first sight.
Even though it’s never happened to her, she’s spent her whole life waiting for that perfect, magical moment. But right now, her life is anything but perfect. In the aftermath of a music festival, she’s stranded at a bus station until morning — the day before she leaves for college. Her phone is dead, she has no cash, and she’s convinced nothing good can come of this night…but then she meets Russell.
Russell. Cute and nice, funny, and kind. She knows this is the moment — and the guy — she’s been waiting for. And they have until sunrise to walk and talk and connect.
Over the course of this one fateful night — filled with football field picnics, night swimming, and escape-artist dogs — Darcy and Russell’s lives will change forever. They’ll discover things they never imagined about each other…and about themselves.
But can you really know someone after only a handful of hours? Is it possible to fall in love in just one day?
And is it worth saying hello…when you know you’re destined for a goodbye?
Publication Date May 7th 2024 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
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From the New York Times bestselling author of Internment comes a timely and gripping social-suspense novel about book banning, activism, and standing up for what you believe.
After her dad abruptly abandons her family and her mom moves them a million miles from their Chicago home, Noor Khan is forced to start the last quarter of her senior year at a new school, away from everything and everyone she knows and loves.
Reeling from being uprooted and deserted, Noor is certain the key to survival is to keep her head down and make it to graduation.
But things aren’t so simple. At school, Noor discovers hundreds of books have been labeled “obscene” or “pornographic” and are being removed from the library in accordance with a new school board policy. Even worse, virtually all the banned books are by queer and BIPOC authors.
Noor can’t sit back and do nothing, because that goes against everything she believes in, but challenging the status quo just might put a target on her back. Can she effect change by speaking up? Or will small-town politics — and small-town love — be her downfall?
Publication Date May 14th 2024 by Holiday House
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Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, this inventive queer romance asks what it means to be truly happy.
Tegan Masters is dead.
She’s sixteen and she’s dead and she’s standing in the parking lot of the Marybelle Motor Lodge, the single most depressing motel in all of New Jersey and the place where Tegan spent what she remembers as the worst weekend of her life.
In the front office, she meets Zelda, an annoyingly cute teen angel with a snarky sense of humor and an epic set of wings. According to Zelda, Tegan is in heaven, where every person inhabits an exact replica of their happiest memory. For Tegan, Zelda insists, that place is the Marybelle — creepy minigolf course, sad breakfast buffet, filthy swimming pool, and all.
Tegan has a few complaints about this.
When Tegan takes these concerns up with Management, she and Zelda are sent on a whirlwind tour through Tegan’s memories, in search of clues to help her understand what mattered most to her in life. If Zelda fails to convince Tegan (and Management) that the Marybelle was the site of Tegan’s perfect moment, both girls face dire eternal consequences. But if she succeeds…they just might get their happily-ever-afterlife.
A tender and edgy take on coming of age in the afterlife.
Publication Date May 14th 2024 by Joy Revolution
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There are more than 10 things to hate about prom, but the worst thing is when your lovable best friend wants to go with someone else. Don’t miss this sweet, charming rom-com from the author of Caught In A Bad Fauxmance!
Ivelisse Santos has had Joaquin Romero’s back since their first playdate. Not just next-door neighbors, they’re platonic soulmates.
At least, that’s what Ive thinks, until Joaquin decides to ask Tessa Hernandez, the same girl who stole Ive’s boyfriend, to prom. Sure, the head cheerleader and the star baseball player going to prom together makes more sense than Joaquin and Ivelisse — leader of tech crew — would. But that doesn’t mean it should actually happen.
What’s worse, Joaquin wants Ivelisse’s help planning an elaborate promposal. As much as she wants to say no, she’ll take all the quality time with Joaquin she can get before graduation. Even if it means watching her best friend fall for somebody else. Somebody who isn’t her.
Publication Date May 14th 2024 by Roaring Brook Press
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From Jas Hammonds, award-winning author of We Deserve Monuments, comes an unflinching novel about addiction that Courtney Summers, New York Times bestselling author of Sadie and I’m The Girl, called “sensitively wrought and gorgeously written.”
It’s the summer before college and eighteen-year-old Blake Brenner and her girlfriend, Ella, have one goal: join the mysterious and exclusive Serena Society. The sorority promises status and lifelong connections to a network of powerful, trailblazing women of color. Ella’s acceptance is a sure thing ― she’s the daughter of a Serena alum. Blake, however, has a lot more to prove.
As a former loner from a working-class background, Blake lacks Ella’s pedigree and confidence. Luckily, she finds courage at the bottom of a liquor bottle. When she drinks, she’s bold, funny, and unstoppable ― and the Serenas love it. But as pledging intensifies, so does Blake’s drinking, until it’s seeping into every corner of her life. Ella assures Blake that she’s fine; partying hard is what it takes to make the cut…
But success has never felt so much like drowning. With her future hanging in the balance and her past dragging her down, Blake must decide how far she’s willing to go to achieve her glittering dreams of success ― and how much of herself she’s willing to lose in the process.
Publication Date May 14th 2024 by Quill Tree Books
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Inventing a formula to predict people’s perfect partners doesn’t equate to love in this contemporary YA novel that New York Times bestsellers Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick call “honest, raw, and breathtakingly real.”
College freshman Grace Tang never meant to rewrite the rules of love. She came to college to move on from a grief-stricken senior year and to start anew. So she follows a predictable routine: Attend class, study, go home and visit her dad every weekend. She doesn’t leave any room in her life for outliers or anomalies.
Then, Grace comes up with an algorithm for her statistics class to pair students with their perfect romantic partners. Though some people are skeptical, like Julia, Grace’s prickly coworker, Grace is confident that her program will take all the drama out of relationships. That’s why she keeps trying to make things work with her match, a guy named Jamie. But as the semester goes on and she grows closer to Julia, Grace starts to question who she’s really attracted to.
In award-winning author Christina Li’s YA debut, Grace will have to make a choice between the tidy equations she knows will protect her from heartbreak or the possibility that true love doesn’t follow any formula.
Publication Date May 21st 2024 by Delacorte Romance
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Two total opposites. One race through the Great Outdoors. In this grumpy-sunshine teen romance from the author of Love From Scratch and Not Here To Stay Friends, the trail to true love doesn’t always come with a map.
Natalie Hart has always been loud, unfiltered, and unapologetically herself. But then comes her freshman year of college, when she loses her merit scholarship and gains one pesky little anxiety diagnosis.
Hesitant to take out more student loans, Natalie decides to shoot her shot and applies to Wild Adventures, a popular outdoorsy reality show. Sure, Natalie prefers her twelve-step skincare routine to roughing it on the Appalachian Trail while competing in challenges against other college kids, but that scholarship prize money is calling her name. High risk, high reward, right?
Enter Finn Markum, her randomly assigned, capital-O Outdoorsy teammate whose growl could rival a black bear. These partners have more friction than a pair of new hiking boots. Or is it flirtation? Turns out falling in love might be the wildest adventure of all…
Publication Date May 21st 2024 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
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To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before meets You’ve Reached Sam ― with all the feels of a Taylor Swift song ― in this love story in which explosive secrets threaten to tear everyone apart, including best friends (or maybe more?), Natalia and Ethan.
It’s Senior Sunrise, the epic overnight at the beach that kicks off senior year. But for Natalia and Ethan, it’s the first time seeing each other after what happened at junior prom―when they almost crossed the line from best friends to something more and ruined everything. After ghosting each other all summer, Natalia is desperate to pretend she doesn’t care and Ethan is desperate to fix his mistake.
When the senior class carries out their tradition of writing private letters to themselves ― what they wish they would do this year if they were braver ― Natalia pours her heart out. So does Ethan. So does everyone in their entire class. But in Natalia’s panicked attempt to retrieve her heartfelt confession, the wind scatters seven of the notes across the beach. Now, Ethan and Natalia are forced to work together to find the lost letters before any secrets are revealed ― especially their own.
Seven private confessions. Seven time bombs loose for anyone to find. And one last chance before the sun rises for these two to fall in love.
Publication Date May 21st 2024 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
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From the two-time Sydney Taylor Honor author comes another sweet Nantucket-set summer romance, perfect for fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon and K.L. Walther.
Jordan Edelman’s messy dating days are over. After a few too many broken hearts, and a father who worries a bit too much, she’s sworn off boys — at least for the summer. And since she’ll be tagging along on her father’s research trip to Nantucket, she doesn’t think it’ll be too hard to stick to her resolution.
But hooking up with the cute boy on the ferry doesn’t count, right? At least, not until that cute boy turns out to be Ethan Barbanel. As in, her father’s longtime research assistant Ethan Barbanel, the boy Jordan has hated from afar for years. And to make matters worse, Jordan might actually be falling for him.
As if that didn’t complicate her life enough, Jordan’s new summer job with a local astronomer turns up a centuries-old mystery surrounding Gibson’s Comet — and as she dives into her research, what she learns just might put her growing relationship with Ethan in jeopardy.
Publication Date May 21st 2024 by Page Street YA
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Lisa’s father kidnapped her to keep her in a cult at age seven. Nine years later, she has the chance to live a new life ― but is she ready to leave the cult behind?
After her parents’ divorce, seven-year-old Lisa’s father convinces her to leave home in the middle of the night. After all, according to their radical religious beliefs, she belongs to him, and it is her duty to obey him. Ever the dutiful daughter ― at least outwardly ― and confused by the sinful changes in her mother, Lisa complies.
For the next nine years, Lisa and her father go from place to place ― hiding out in a rural town populated by the cult, living on the streets, and preaching the Word. She is taught that her mother, who divorced her father and left the cult, is deemed “dead” by the Word’s doctrine ― a shell without a soul. The only school she’s allowed to attend is one run by one of the cult’s community leaders. They forbid reading books or watching television. She has to be small, quiet, and modest.
When the police finally catch up with them, Lisa returns to her mom’s home in Oregon ― a home with freedoms that Lisa has never really known. But her father has a plan to take back what’s his ― a plan that was set in motion the moment the police arrived at his home. Now Lisa must make a decision: follow the plan and go home with the hope that she’ll see her father again, or risk everything to figure out what life could be when she makes her own choices.
Publication Date May 21st 2024 by Wednesday Books
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Survivor meets The Bachelor in Attached At The Hip, an irresistible, romantic adventure by New York Times bestselling author Christine Riccio.
Orie Lennox has spent her entire life prepping for her happily ever after – and now that she’s graduated, she’s low-key wondering, when the heck is it gonna hit. Her love life, her new job, her relationship with her sister: none of it is quite what she envisioned it to be.
One evening, on a whim, she applies for a reality show where she’ll be stranded on an island, with a bunch of strangers, to play a game of human chess for a shot at a million dollars. What better way to force herself to break up with the things that aren’t bringing her joy, than to abandon them all on short notice to live off the grid on a beach in the South Pacific!
Orie’s shocked when she ends up cast in an experimental romantic edition of the show: and even more surprised to find that her old high school crush, Remy, has been cast as well. Orie’s one of ten contestants, set to compete in formidable challenges, while speed dating, in the wilderness: without deodorant, toilets, shaving cream, or showers. (How!?)
She finds herself tied up ― literally ― in a game of risky alliances as she navigates ever-growing feelings for her one that got away, alongside an exciting array of budding new relationships.
Publication Date May 21st 2024 by HarperTeen
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Fans of Courtney Summers and Tess Sharpe will devour this standalone YA thriller following a nonbinary teen investigating a series of copycat murders targeting girls in their small town — murders based on their serial killer dad’s MO.
Another girl has gone missing in Cardinal Creek.
Sid knows their dad didn’t do it — this time. He’s currently serving a life sentence for the five girls he murdered ten years ago. Girls whose bodies he dumped into the lake. The same lake where June Hargrove was just found. And while Sid’s dad couldn’t have done it, suspicion is now directed at Sid. The only person who doesn’t suspect Sid is the new girl, Mavis — as long as Sid doesn’t let her find out about their past.
But Sid has another secret: They’re being haunted by the ghosts of the five girls their father killed. Except now there are six. And unlike the others, June isn’t content to just whisper in Sid’s ear. She wants them to find out who’s killing again, especially as another girl goes missing. If Sid wants any chance of solving the current disappearances, they’re going to have to face what their father did — or risk being haunted forever.
Critically acclaimed author of Who I Was With Her Nita Tyndall delivers a page-turning thriller that will captivate fans of Sadie and Monday’s Not Coming.
Publication Date May 28th 2024 by HarperTeen
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We Are Okay meets The Lesbiana’s Guide To Catholic School in this heartfelt, queer coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of a small town’s evangelical megachurch culture.
The end of Daya Keane’s junior year in Escondido, Arizona, is anything but expected.
And it starts when her longtime swoon-worthy crush, Beckett Wild, actually talks to her at a party neither of them should’ve been at.
But as Daya’s best friends, Stella and B’Rad, are quick to point out, smart, cute, artistic Beckett is also the poster girl for the wildly popular youth group at Grace Redeemer, the megachurch Daya’s mom prays at and pushes her daughter to attend.
Amid the concert-worthy light shows, high-energy live band, and pastor preaching to love thy neighbor so long as thy neighbor “gets right with God” first, Daya struggles to find her place in a house of worship that doesn’t seem to create space for someone like her. Then again, she never planned to fall this hard for a girl like Beckett Wild.
Now Daya has to decide how far she’s willing to surrender to Beckett’s world of Grace Redeemer, and who she’s willing to become to be with her.
A fearless and profound tale ideal for readers of Jeff Zentner and Jennifer Dugan, The Redemption of Daya Keane gives an intimate and unforgettable look into a world that demands to be seen.
Publication Date May 28th 2024 by Wednesday Books
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Castillo Torres, Student Body Association event chair and serial planner, could use a fairy godmother. After a disastrous mishap at her sister’s quinceañera and her mother’s unexpected passing, all of Cas’s plans are crumbling. So when a local lifestyle-guru-slash-party-planner opens up applications for the internship of her dreams, Cas sees it as the perfect opportunity to learn every trick in the book so that things never go wrong again.
The only catch is that she needs more party planning experience before she can apply. When she books a quinceañera for a teen Disneyland vlogger, Cas thinks her plan is taking off…until she discovers that the party is just a publicity stunt ― and she begins catching feelings for the chambelán.
As her agenda starts to go way off-script Cas finds that real life may be more complicated than a fairy tale. But maybe Happily Ever Afters aren’t just for the movies. Can Cas go from planner to participant in her own life? Or will this would-be princess turn into a pumpkin at the end of the ball?
Publication Date May 28th 2024 by Page Street YA
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Two rival drag kings competing for a crown might just win each other’s hearts.
When eighteen-year-old Briar Vincent’s mental health takes a turn for the worst, her parents send her to spend the summer in New York City with her older brother, Beau, also known as the drag queen Bow Regard.
Backstage at the gay bar where Beau performs, Briar just wants to be a fly on the wall, but she can’t stand by when the cute but conceited drag king Spencer Read tries to put down another up-and-coming performer. To prove to him that even a brand-new performer could knock him off his pedestal, Briar signs up for the annual drag king competition.
There’s just one flaw in her plan: Briar has never done drag before.
With the help of her brother and a few new friends, Briar becomes Edgar Allan Foe, a drag king hellbent on taking Spencer down. But unless she can learn how to shake her anxiety and perform, she doesn’t stand a chance of winning Drag King of the Year, overcoming her depression and inner demons, or avoiding falling for her enemy, who might not be so bad after all.
Publication Date May 28th 2024 by Feiwel & Friends
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The Soler sisters are infamous in polite society ― brazen, rebellious, and raised by their fashionable grandmother who couldn’t care less about which fork goes where. But their grandmother also knows the standards that two Latina young ladies will be held to, so she secures them two coveted places at the Alarie House, a prominent finishing school that turns out first ladies, princesses, and socialites.
Younger sister Isla is back home within a day. She refuses to become one of the eerily sweet Alarie girls in their prim white dresses. Older sister Renata stays. When she returns months later, she’s unfailingly pleasant, unnervingly polite, and, Isla discovers, possibly murderous. And the same night she returns home, she vanishes.
As their grandmother uses every connection she has to find Renata, Isla re-enrolls, intent on finding out what happened to her sister. But the Alarie House is as exacting as it is opulent. It won’t give up its secrets easily, and neither will a mysterious, conniving girl who’s either controlling the house, or carrying out its deadly orders.
Tautly written, tense, and evocative, this is a stunning YA novel by award-winning and critically acclaimed author Anna-Marie McLemore.
Publication Date June 4th 2024 by Feiwel & Friends
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Ex-best friends, Tiwa and Said, must work together to save their Islamic Center from demolition, in this romantic story of rekindling and rebuilding by award-winning authors Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé & Adiba Jaigirdar!
The town of New Crosshaven has it all ― even its own infamous love story.
These days, Said Hossain spends most of his time away at boarding school. But when his favorite hometown librarian, Ms. Barnes, dies, he must return to New Crosshaven for her funeral and for the summer. Too bad being home makes it a lot harder to avoid facing his ex–best friend, Tiwa Olatunji, or facing the daunting task of telling his Bangladeshi parents that he would rather be an artist than a doctor.
Tiwa doesn’t understand what made Said start ignoring her, but it’s probably that fancy boarding school of his. Though he’s unexpectedly staying at home through the summer, she’s determined to take a page from him and pretend he doesn’t exist. Besides, she has more than enough going on anyway, between grieving her broken family and helping her mother throw the upcoming Eid celebration at the Islamic Center ― a place that means so much to Tiwa.
But when the Islamic Center accidentally catches fire, it turns out the mayor plans to demolish the center entirely. Things are still tense between the ex-friends, but Tiwa needs Said’s help if there’s any hope of changing the mayor’s mind, and on top of everything, Said needs a project to submit to art school (unbeknownst to anyone).
Will all their efforts be enough to save the Islamic Center, save Eid, and maybe even save their relationship?
Publication Date June 4th 2024 by HarperTeen
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A darkly funny and thoroughly queer mystery thriller with a touch of camp, for fans of Kara Thomas and Kit Frick by way of Only Murders In The Building.
When Gianna “Gigi” Ricci lands in detention again, she doesn’t expect the glorified study hall to be her alibi.
But when she and her friends receive a mysterious email directing them to her favorite teacher, Mr. Ford’s, room, they find him lying in a pool of blood. But calling the math teacher’s death an accident doesn’t add up, and Gigi needs all the help she can get to find the truth. Luckily, she’s friends with her high school’s Mystery Club, and so with her best friend, Sean, and longtime crush, Mari, Gigi sets out to solve a murder.
But it turns out that murderers are extremely unwilling to be caught, and the deeper Gigi gets in this mystery, the more dangerous things become. Between fending off a murderer, continual flare-ups of her IBS, and her archnemesis turning flirtatious, making it out of junior year is going to be one killer problem.
With a wry, hilarious voice and a main character who is the walking definition of a disaster bi, this book is an ode to cozy mysteries, queer found families, and fighting for the people you love, no matter what.
Publication Date June 4th 2024 by Viking Books for Young Readers
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All’s fair in love and Color War.
Juliette doesn’t hate Priya Pendley.
At least, not in the way teen movies say she should hate the hot popular girl. They don’t do cat fights, love triangles, or betrayal. To survive their intertwined small town lives, they’ve agreed to a truce. They complete group projects without fighting, never gossip to mutual friends, and stand on opposite sides of photos so it’s easy to crop each other out.
Priya seems to have everything during the school year — social media stardom, the handsome track captain boyfriend, and millions of adoring fans — and Juliette is at peace with that. Because Juliette has the summer, and the one place she never feels like “too much”: Fogridge Sleepaway Camp.
But her hopes for a few Priya-free weeks are shattered when her rival shows up at Fogridge on move-in day… as her cabinmate, no less. Juliette is determined to enjoy her final summer, even if it means (gag) tolerating her childhood rival, but everything that can go wrong, does.
If Juliette can’t find something to like about her situation — and about Priya — she risks hating the only home she’s ever had, right before she says goodbye to it forever.
Publication Date June 4th 2024 by Scholastic Press
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This amazing collaboration brings together two inspirational Black artists, New York Times bestselling author Ashley Woodfolk and actress Lexi Underwood, for a story about the transformative power of art as protest and its capacity to change the world.
When Jordyn Jones transfers to Edgewood High, it’s her opportunity to forget everything that happened at her old school. To forget what she and her friends did. To forget who she used to be. That was a different person ― this is a fresh start. Now she’s someone new, someone better.
Except it’s the very first day of school, and somehow everyone already seems to know who she is. But Jordyn soon finds a group of friends, and she even starts talking to Izaiah, a soccer star who shares her love of art. Life is good. That’s until an anonymous podcast called Tomcat Tea begins revealing humiliating secrets about Edgewood students, ruining their reputations and in some cases their futures. Jordyn and her friends know they have to do something ― and this is Jordyn’s chance to prove to herself that she’s changed.
Jordyn’s plan to take down the podcast throws her into the spotlight, and as the momentum builds, so do the risks ― because Jordyn has a secret of her own, one that could ruin everything…and that a mysterious harasser online is threatening to expose.
With riveting prose, New York Times bestselling author Ashley Woodfolk and acclaimed actress Lexi Underwood balance an insightful depiction of the power of art as protest with asking some of the biggest questions facing teenagers today ― in an era where mistakes can be picked over endlessly online, who is worthy of forgiveness? Can someone ever really change?
Publication Date June 4th 2024 by Heartdrum
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In her powerful debut novel, Looking For Smoke, author K. A. Cobell (Blackfeet) weaves loss, betrayal, and complex characters into a thriller that will illuminate, surprise, and engage readers until the final word. A must-pick for readers who enjoy books by Angeline Boulley and Karen McManus!
When local girl Loren includes Mara in a traditional Blackfeet Giveaway to honor Loren’s missing sister, Mara thinks she’ll finally make some friends on the Blackfeet reservation.
Instead, a girl from the Giveaway, Samantha White Tail, is found murdered.
Because the four members of the Giveaway group were the last to see Samantha alive, each becomes a person of interest in the investigation. And all of them — Mara, Loren, Brody, and Eli — have a complicated history with Samantha.
Despite deep mistrust, the four must now take matters into their own hands and clear their names. Even though one of them may be the murderer.
Publication Date June 4th 2024 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
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From the author of How To Survive Your Murder comes a propulsive thriller about two teens who return to Camp Lost Lake, site of the cold case that sealed their fates.
Most people’s births aren’t immortalized in a police report — but Olivia was born during the infamous Camp Lost Lake murders. Seventeen years later, Olivia’s life looks pretty perfect…until she discovers the man she calls dad is not her biological father. Now she wants answers about her bloodline, and the only place she knows to look is Camp Lost Lake.
Most people don’t spend their formative years on the run with an alleged murderer — but Reagan did. In the court of public opinion, her mom was found guilty of the deaths at Camp Lost Lake, and both of them have been in hiding ever since. But Reagan believes in her mother’s innocence and is determined to clear her name.
Luckily for Olivia and Reagan, Camp Lost Lake is finally reopening, providing the perfect opportunity to find answers. But someone else is dead set on keeping the past hidden, even if it means committing murder.
Publication Date June 11th 2024 by Page Street YA
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There’s nothing more thrilling than being behind the wheel when the flag drops, a stretch of track ahead and her foot on the gas. Racing is in Jojo’s blood. Or at least…it was.
Jojo Emerson-Boyd should be on the fast track to her own wildly successful racing career. Instead, she’s spending the seemingly endless summer working at her grandmother’s auto shop in the small town of Dell’s Hollow. Everything changed when Jojo lost her mom, a celebrity NASCAR racer, in a tragic racing accident. Now, according to her dad, even getting her license is out of the question, so she might as well forget about racing. For the first time, her future seems foggy. But something comes into focus when Eliana “El” Blum turns up at the shop with an adorable scowl, a tough-girl vibe, and a mystery to solve.
A Motorcyle Girl™ at heart, El grew up on the sidelines of the motocross circuit, watching Maxine, her idol of an older sister, compete. When she suddenly loses all contact with Max, El won’t give up until she’s found. She’s determined to follow Max’s trail of clues, the first of which leads straight to the auto shop and to Jojo.
Jojo and El form a quick bond, and their relationship only deepens as they investigate Max’s disappearance together. Falling for each other feels effortless ― El the steady, measured pace to Jojo’s fast lane. Impromptu road trips, heists, street races, and ever heightening stakes that feel ripped from a Fast & Furious movie test their resolve and the strength of their relationship. When the final laps of their search reveal surprising emotional truths, they’ll have to trust each other and confront the grief woven into their complicated families if they hope to chase down their dreams.
Publication Date June 11th 2024 by Delacorte Press
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There’s a killer on board a luxury yacht, and two former friends must team up to figure out which of their privileged classmates has a penchant for murder before they become victims themselves. Don’t miss out on this gripping thriller from New York Times bestselling authors Kristin Cast and Pintip Dunn!
Ex–best friends Naya Morgan and Yana Bunpraserit have always felt like outsiders in their small Oklahoma town. But this year, everything changes when they’re inducted into an exclusive society of Yatesville High’s top recent graduates. Unimaginable opportunities await them, starting with a celebratory yacht trip to Bermuda. Despite the likely onslaught of microaggressions and backhanded compliments from their peers — in addition to their own rocky past — Yana and Naya are ready for an epic voyage.
Then one of their classmates is brutally murdered, leaving them stuck at sea with a killer. Yana and Naya may have avoided each other for years, yet as the body count rises, rekindling their friendship might be the only way they’ll both survive.
Publication Date June 11th 2024 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
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The Hating Game meets Alex, Approximately in this smart, chemistry-filled teen rom-com about two rival journalism students competing for the same position on their university newspaper.
Wyn is going to beat Three even if it kills her — or, preferably, him. Being freshmen staffers on the university newspaper puts them at the bottom of the pecking order — until a rare reporter spot opens up. Wyn and Three are both determined to get the position, starting a game of sabotage that pushes them to do their worst, from stealing each other’s ideas to playing twisted mind games. No road is too low when it comes to winning.
As Wyn’s search for the perfect story leads her to an anonymous, campus-wide dating app, she hits it off with a mystery man she thinks might be the cute RA from her dorm. But Wyn is all too familiar with being rejected because of her weight, and she’s hesitant to reveal her identity, even as she grows closer with someone who might be the guy of her dreams.
When Three breaks a story that’s closer to home than he or Wyn expects, the two must put aside their differences to expose the truth — and face their real feelings for each other, which threaten everything Wyn has built with her anonymous match.
Publication Date June 11th 2024 by Zando Young Readers
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An unflinching YA debut about a troubled teen who discovers a pack of feral girls in the woods and is swept up in the ensuing mystery: Are the Wild Girls of Happy Valley lost princesses from a faraway land, as they believe, or are they brainwashed victims of a deranged kidnapper?
In her ambitious debut perfect for fans of Sadie and The Hazel Wood, Madeline Claire Franklin crafts a gripping exploration of how the world teaches young girls to cage their wildness ― and what happens when they claw themselves free.
After being placed in foster care, Rhi is hungry for a fresh start and begins working at the Happy Valley Wildlife Preserve. While in the woods, she stumbles upon a surreal sight: a pack of wolves guarding four feral and majestic girls. After Rhi gains their trust, they reveal that they’re princesses from another land, raised by a magical prophet they call Mother ― and they’re convinced Rhi is their lost fifth sister.
Unsure what to believe, Rhi ushers the girls to civilization, where they’re met with societal uproar and scrutiny, dubbed by the ravenous media and true crime junkies as “The Wild Girls of Happy Valley.” Desperate to return to their kingdom, the girls look to Rhi for help. Rhi knows the girls are deluded, but at the same time she’s drawn in by their boldness and authenticity ― traits she is afraid she has lost within herself. And when Rhi witnesses strange phenomena she can’t quite explain, the line between fantasy and reality grows blurry.
As the hunt for answers intensifies, Rhi must make a decision that will change the course of her lives and the lives of her Wild Girls forever.
Publication Date June 18th 2024 by Wednesday Books
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A calculus nerd enlists her surly classmate’s help to win back her ex-boyfriend, but when sparks start to fly, she realizes there’s no algorithm for falling in love.
Marlowe Meadows understands a lot of things. She understands that calculus isn’t overwhelmingly beautiful to everyone, and that it typically kills the mood when you try to talk Python coding over beer pong. She understands that people were surprised when golden boy Josh asked her out and she went from weird, math-obsessed Marlowe to half of their school’s couple goals. Unfortunately, Marlowe was the one surprised when Josh dumped her because he’d prefer a girlfriend who’s more romantic. One with emotional depth.
But Marlowe has never failed anything in her life, and she isn’t about to start now. When she’s paired with Ashton Hayes for an English project, his black clothing and moody eyeliner cause a bit of a systems overload, and the dissonant sounds of his rock band make her brain itch. But when she discovers Ash’s hidden stash of love songs, Marlowe makes a desperate deal to unleash her inner romantic heroine: if Ash will agree to help her write some love letters to win back Josh, she’ll calculate the perfect data analytics formula to make Ash’s band go viral.
As the semester heats up with yearning love notes, a syllabus of romance novels, and late nights spent with a boy who escapes any box her brain tries to put him in, Marlowe starts to question if there’s really a set solution to love. Could a girl who’s never met a problem she can’t solve have gotten the math so massively wrong?
Publication Date June 18th 2024 by Penguin Workshop
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From James Beard award-winning author Michael Ruhlman, a coming-of-age story about finding a new life and love in the kitchen…and trying not to get burned along the way.
When high school football star Theo Claverback breaks his leg just weeks after a devastating break-up, he’s forced to call an audible on his summer plans and put his college ones on hold. He soon finds himself in the most unlikely of places for a jock on crutches: the kitchen of an upscale French restaurant, where he’ll work as a prep cook while his heart and leg heal.
But it’s in the kitchen where Theo finds new purpose and a new romance. As he becomes a trusted employee to Chef and is welcomed into his inner circle, Theo begins to discover the true costs of running a restaurant — and what happens when you get into hot water with the wrong people.
Set in Cleveland, Ohio in 1980, If You Can’t Take The Heat is a gritty look inside the belly of an upscale kitchen where love and danger boil behind closed doors.
Publication Date June 18th 2024 by Feiwel & Friends
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With Love, Miss Americanah ― the Young Adult contemporary romance debut from Jane Igharo ― sees a teenager move from Nigeria to America and navigate her senior year with the help of classic teen movies and a new crush, all while working through grief and the rigid expectations of her mother.
17-year-old Enore Adesuwa doesn’t dive into things, she walks in carefully. So when she, her mother, and her sister move from Nigeria to America shortly after her father’s death, she wants to be extremely prepared before attending an American high school. Her cousin, Adrian, doesn’t have time to explain the ins and outs to her but, luckily, he recommends the perfect research tool: teen movies.
Still dealing with grief but armed with a set of rules of survival gathered from these movies (including the crucial rule of keeping a low profile), Enore is ready for her senior year. But when she meets Davi Santiago, it may be much harder than she thought to keep to her rules. Because not only is he super thoughtful (and okay, very good looking), he constantly encourages her to share her incredible singing talent. Enore prefers the background but it just might be time for her to take center stage, even in spite of her mother’s strict expectations.
Maybe it would be easier to follow all the rules, the ones Enore set for herself and the ones her mom imposes, but as every teen movie has taught her, a coming-of-age is nothing without a little rebellion. And with help from her crush, her sister, and some new friends who don’t quite fit the roles she expects them to play, Enore’s senior year might indeed be cinematic.
Publication Date June 18th 2024 by Katherine Tegen Books
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Yellowjackets meets House of Hollow in award-winning author Kyrie McCauley’s gripping and magical YA thriller following a group of young women as they face the stress of harsh elements, a mysterious monster, and an unraveling of secrets after their yacht is wrecked off the coast of North America.
Liv Whitlock knows she doesn’t belong there. But after years of stumbling between foster homes, often due to her own self-destructive tendencies, Liv desperately needs to change the trajectory of her life…so she steals her perfect sister’s identity.
Liv starts to rewrite her story, winning a prestigious internship on a movie set filming in Alaska, and finds herself on a luxury yacht alongside pop star Paris Grace, actress sisters Effie and Miri Knight, Olympic gymnast Rosalind Torres, and social media influencer Celia Jones. Liv tries to find common ground with her famous companions, but just as the group starts to bond, a violent storm wrecks their vessel, stranding them on an island in the North Pacific Ocean.
Among the threats of starvation and exposure, they learn there is a predator lurking in the forest, unlike anything they’ve seen before — until they begin to see it in themselves. Every injury they suffer on the island causes inexplicable changes in their bodies. With little hope for rescue and only each other as their final tether to humanity, can the girls endure the ominous forces at work on the island? Or will they lose themselves to their darker natures?
Publication Date June 25th 2024 by Afterglow Books by Harlequin
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An achingly authentic, emotional summer romance about learning to color outside the lines.
You can’t have the breakthrough without the breakdown…
No one in Spring Valley recognizes Lark Woodley anymore. They only remember who she used to be. Homecoming queen. Valedictorian. And one half of Spring Valley High’s golden couple. But Lark knows that her once-perfect life wasn’t really perfect. Hell, it wasn’t even her. And in one evening, she lost it…and that perfect girl is gone forever.
Now Lark’s trying to put the fragile pieces back together, with no idea of where to start. She’s only a faint sketch of the person she was, with blurry, tentative lines — and under the constant scrutiny of her overbearing parents. The only bright spot in her life is a community art class taught by Nick Hoffman, the esoteric and unreasonably hot guy from high school. And he’s not interested in a “perfect” Lark at all…
Suddenly Lark’s world is taking shape and the colors are growing more vibrant, from afternoon margaritas with Southern-fried divorcées to late-night apple pie with chocolate ice cream and an increasingly spicy situationship with Nick.
But what she’s found comes with a “best before summer’s end” expiration date. And Lark doesn’t know if she can ever truly let go of aiming for perfect…
