Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Bessie Flores Zaldívar
LIBERTAD
Summer 2024, Dial/Penguin Young Readers, TBD pp
Seventeen-year-old Libertad Morazán finds solace in writing politically-charged poetry for her anonymous Instagram account, and in her longtime friend Camila, who she almost-kissed but it was never di...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Ellen Oh
YOU ARE HERE
March 2023, Allida/HarperCollins, 272 pp
An incident at a TSA security check point sows chaos and rumors, creating a chain of events that impacts twelve young Asian Americans in a crowded and restless airport. As their disrupted journeys cri...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kacen Callender
THE INFINITY ALCHEMIST
Winter 2024, Tor Teen/Macmillan, TBD pp
Ash Woods isn’t supposed to perform alchemy. Only students or those with a license—usually the wealthy elite—are legally permitted to use alchemy in the state of New England. But when he’s rejected by...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Justin A. Reynolds
HOUSE PARTY
June 2023, Joy Revolution/Random House, 384 pp
Welcome to HOUSE PARTY. The biggest event of the year is happening tonight, and you’re invited! Join us for Florence Hills High seniors’ last hurrah before graduation. Over a few wild, transformativ...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kathryn Ormsbee
VIVIAN LANTZ' SECOND CHANCES
June 2023, HarperCollins, 320 pp
Vivian Lantz is cursed. Every year, terrible things happen on her first day of school—and her first day of eighth grade makes the rest of them look like child’s play. Her family’s house floods in a su...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Camryn Garrett
OFF THE RECORD
May 2021, Knopf/Random House, 320 pp
Ever since seventeen-year-old Josie Wright can remember, writing has been her identity, the thing that grounds her when everything else is a garbage fire. So when she wins a contest to write a celebri...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Camryn Garrett
FULL DISCLOSURE
December 2020, Knopf/Random House, 320 pp
Simone Garcia-Hampton is absolutely positive that having a crush is more dangerous than having HIV; after all, she’s got her viral load under control. Simone knows that her status isn’t a death senten...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Camryn Garrett
FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE
January 2023, Knopf/Random House, 288 pp
A love letter to romantic comedies, sweet sixteen blowouts, black joy and queer pride—this is a novel about finding yourself, falling in love, and celebrating what makes you you. Sixteen-year-old Mah...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Lin Thompson
THE HOUSE THAT WHISPERS
Winter 2023, Little, Brown, 366 pp
From the author of The Best Liars in Riverview comes a subtle exploration of gender identity, family, and the personal ghosts that haunt us all, perfect for fans of Kyle Lukoff and Ashley Herring Blak...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Shveta Thakrar
THE DREAM RUNNERS
June 2022, HarperTeen/HarperCollins, 431 pp
Seven years ago, Tanvi was spirited away to the subterranean realm of Nagalok, where she joined the ranks of the dream runners: human children freed of all memory and emotion, charged with harvesting ...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kacen Callender
LARK AND KASIM START A REVOLUTION
September 2022, Abrams, 336 pp
From National Book Award–winner Kacen Callender, a contemporary YA that follows Lark's journey to speak the truth and discover how their own self-love can be a revolution Lark Winters wants to be a w...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kacen Callender
MOONFLOWER
September 2022, Scholastic, 272 pp
The award-winning author of Hurricane Child and King and the Dragonflies brings another unflinching story of identity and hope to young readers. Every night, twelve-year-old Moon leaves for the spiri...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Lin Thompson
The Best Liars in Riverview
March 2022, Little, Brown/Hachette, 336 pp
In the woods of a small Kentucky town, Aubrey sets off on a journey about growing up, self-discovery, and acceptance while searching for their missing best friend—perfect for fans of KING AND THE DRAG...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Mimi Yu
Empress of Flames
August 2021, Gollancz/Hachette UK, 496 pp
As the late-Emperor's first-born, Princess Lu knows the throne rightfully belongs to her. She also can't forget her promise to shapeshifter Nok, the boy she loves, to win justice for his now powerless...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kathryn Ormsbee
The House in Poplar Wood
August 2018, Chronicle Books, 344 pp
Simultaneously heartwarming and delightfully spooky, The House in Poplar Wood is a story about a boy's desire to be free, a girl's desire to make a difference, and a family's desire to be together aga...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kathryn Ormsbee
CANDIDLY CLINE
November 2021, HarperCollins, 320pp
Born in Paris, Kentucky and raised on her Gram’s favorite country music, Cline dreams of making it big with her own songs—even if her mother has always told her that music won’t pay the bills. So whe...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kat Cho
VICIOUS SPIRITS
August 2020, Putnam/Penguin, 416 pp
Miyoung and Jihoon are picking up the pieces of their broken lives following the deaths of Miyoung’s mother, Yena, and Jihoon’s grandmother. The events at the end of Wicked Fox have upended the forces...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kat Cho
WICKED FOX
June 2019, Putnam/Penguin, 448 pp
An addictive fantasy-romance set in modern-day Seoul. Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret--she's a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so fe...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Justin A. Reynolds
OPPOSITE OF ALWAYS
March 2019, Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins, 464 pp
Debut author Justin A. Reynolds delivers a hilarious and heartfelt novel about the choices we make, the people we choose, and the moments that make a life worth reliving. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yo...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kathryn Ormsbee
LUCKY FEW
June 2016, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 384 pp
A quirky black comedy about oddball teens facing mortality. Focused on strong friendships and madcap adventures, this is a John Hughes movie in novel form. The life of homeschooler Stevie Hart gets a...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kathryn Ormsbee
TASH HEARTS TOLSTOY
June 2017, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 384 pp
A refreshing LGBTQ+ coming-of-age novel about Internet fame, peer pressure, and YouTube. After a shout-out from one of the Internet’s superstar vloggers, Natasha “Tash” Zelenka suddenly finds herself...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kathryn Ormsbee
THE GREAT UNKNOWABLE END
February 2019, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 400 pp
A humorous, lightly speculative novel for fans of “Welcome to Nightvale” with points of view from two teens with opposing beliefs who come together at what might be the end of the world in a small Ame...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kathryn Ormsbee
THE SULLIVAN SISTERS
May 2020, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 384 pp
For readers who were riveted by mysteries like SADIE by Courtney Summers and TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET by Karen McManus. The Sullivan Sisters used to be close, sharing secrets inside homemade blanket cas...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Ashley Woodfolk
THE BEAUTY THAT REMAINS
March 2018, Delacorte/Penguin Random House, 336 pp
Autumn always knew exactly who she was: a talented artist and a loyal friend. Shay was defined by two things: her bond with her twin sister and her love of music. And Logan has always turned to writin...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Ashley Woodfolk
FLYY GIRLS
TOBYN: THE IT GIRL
Book 4 - August 2021, Penguin Workshop/Penguin, 144 pp
Meet the Flyy Girls. The group of girls who seem like they can get away with anything. Veteran author Ashley Woodfolk pens a gorgeous and dynamic series about four Harlem highschoolers, each facing a ...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Randy Ribay
PATRON SAINTS OF NOTHING
June 2019, Kokila/Penguin Random House, 304 pp
A powerful coming-of-age story about grief, guilt, and the risks a Filipino-American teenager takes to uncover the truth about his cousin’s murder. Jay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Mimi Yu
THE GIRL KING
January 2019, Bloomsbury Children’s, 432 pp
With three revolving points-of-view, this diverse, epic, richly-imagined Asian fantasy is set against a world of ancient magic and political intrigue. Assertive Lu has always expected to be named her...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Shveta Thakrar
STAR DAUGHTER
August 2020, Harperteen/HarperCollins, 448 pp
The daughter of a star and a mortal, Sheetal is used to keeping secrets. Her mother returned to the constellation Pushya when Sheetal was just a child, and since then, Sheetal has hidden her true iden...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Justin A. Reynolds
EARLY DEPARTURES
September 2020, Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins, 320 pp
Jamal’s best friend Q does not know he’s about to die . . . again. He also doesn’t know that Jamal tried to save his life, rescuing him from drowning only to watch Q die in the hospital. Even more co...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kacen Callender
HURRICANE CHILD
March 2018, Scholastic, 224 pp
A lyrical, debut middle grade novel with a touch of magical realism and LGBTQ+ themes, about first friendship, first love, and finding self-acceptance. 12-year-old Caroline Murphy is a Hurricane Chil...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kacen Callender
THIS IS KIND OF AN EPIC LOVE STORY
October 2018, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 304 pp
A fluffy romantic comedy that plays with the friends-to-lovers and second-chance tropes featuring diverse LBGTQ+ teens. Nathan Bird is a film buff, but he’s a firm disbeliever in real-life happy endi...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kacen Callender
KING AND THE DRAGONFLIES
February 2020, Scholastic, 272 pp
From the Stonewall and Lambda Book Award-winning author of Hurricane Child comes a novel about loss, grief, and finding the courage to discover one’s identity. Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure ...
Sorted By: Beth Phelan
Kacen Callender
FELIX EVER AFTER
May 2020, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 368 pp
From Stonewall and Lambda Literary Award-winning author Kacen Callender comes a poignant story of identity and self-discovery, layered with romance. Felix Love has never been in love, and he’s painfu...