February 1st
Hex and Havoc by Nilah Magruder and Sonia Liao (HarperCollins) - YA graphic novel, previously dated October 2023, release date not yet updated on Goodreads.
Stephanie Guerdan at HarperCollins has bought world rights to the queer YA fantasy duology Hex and Havoc, written by Nilah Magruder (Reel Love; M.F.K.), illustrated by Sonia Liao (Thief in the Trees; The Marie Curie Society). The books follow two girls in a caste-based magical society as they fall in love and spark a revolution. Publication is planned for summer 2023 and 2024; Tricia Lawrence at Erin Murphy Literary represented the author, and the illustrator represented herself. Magruder is now represented by Patrice Caldwell at New Leaf Literary.
February 6th
These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang (Razorbill)
Being an apprentice for 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 just how much can she really trust Callum Solomon?
Nothing is as it seems in this quick-witted and fantastical murder mystery.
Clarion Call by Cayla Fay (Simon and Schuster)
Neve and her sisters failed in protecting the mortal world against the legions of hell when the Veil they had spent their lives guarding split and the vengeful cousin they forgot ever existed, Aodh, managed to slip through. Dangerous and bitter, Aodh is on a mission to free the rest of their family still trapped behind the veil and set them loose on the mortal world.
Still injured from her last battle, Neve is not only working to track Aodh, but also trying to navigate painful memories that keep rising to the surface. Memories of her past lifetimes protecting the Gate…and of her first life, before she and her sisters scrubbed it from their minds. More questions arise when a new family member reveals themself, someone Neve and her sisters have been missing. Someone who might just be able to save them all.
Neve must face the sins of her past while navigating the dangers of the present. The more she remembers, the more it seems like everything she was raised to believe was a lie, and the fallout might decimate everything she has worked so hard to build in the present, including her relationship with Alexandria.
Caught between humanity and divinity, the past and the present, Neve must try to strike a balance between the warring forces both within and without, because if she doesn’t, it might not just be her relationship at stake, but the whole world.
Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories by Various YA Authors (Inkyard Press)
In classic stories remixed, Latinx characters take center stage
Pride and Prejudice is launched into outer space, Frankenstein is plunged into the depths of the ocean, and The Great Gatsby floats to an island off the coast of Costa Rica.
A shape-shifter gives up her life to save the boy she loves from an evil bruja. La Ciguapa covets a little mermaid’s heart of gold. Two star-crossed teens fall in love while the planet burns around them.
Whether characters fall in love, battle foes, or grow through grief, each story will empower readers to see themselves as the heroes of the stories that make our world.
The Cursed Rose by Leslie Vedder (Razorbill)
Not all curses should be broken. Not all fairytales end happily ever after.
Fi is a prisoner. Briar, a monster.
Shane's a warrior. And Red is a traitor.
What was once a formidable group of four fighting to reawaken the kingdom is now ruptured, torn apart by the wicked Spindle Witch.
Confined to a tower with the monstrous Briar Rose, Fi is caught in the Spindle Witch’s ever-tightening web. With the Spindle Witch on the verge of finding the Siphoning Spells and crushing Andar—with Fi’s help, no less—Fi’s only hope lies in decoding the ancient riddle of the Rose Witches before she loses Briar forever.
Shane is desperate to save Andar—and her partner. She’s on the hunt for a weapon left by the mysterious Lord of the Butterflies, which holds the key to the Spindle Witch’s demise. Her love for Red has only fortified. But Red’s betrayal puts her in danger from a new enemy—the Spindle Witch’s executioner, the Wraith, a witch as powerful as he is cruel.
The future of Andar lies in the secrets of its past. Fi and Shane must take on the greatest lost ruin of them all—the Tomb of Queen Aurora.
Filled with vicious bone monsters, new alliances, and surprises at every turn, prepare to be swept away by this taut, clever, and heart-filled series conclusion.
Bless the Blood by Walela Nehanda (Kokila) - YA poetry collection.
When Walela is diagnosed at twenty-three with advanced stage blood cancer, they're suddenly thrust into the unsympathetic world of tubes and pills, doctors who don’t use their correct pronouns, and hordes of "well-meaning" but patronizing people as they try to raise funds online. But Walela's diagnosis also becomes a catalyst for their self-realization.
As they fill out forms in the Medicaid office in downtown Los Angeles or travel to therapy in the wealthy part of town, it becomes clear that cancer is where all forms of their oppression intersect: Disabled. Fat. Black. Queer. Nonbinary.
In the tradition of Audre Lorde's The Cancer Journals , the author details a galvanizing account of their survival despite America's medical system, and of the struggle to face death unafraid.
ASAP by Axie Oh (HarperTeen) - moved from November 2023.
Sori has worked her whole life to become a K-pop idol, until she realizes she doesn’t want a life forever in the spotlight. But that’s not actually up to Sori—she’s caught between her exacting mother’s entertainment company and her father’s presidential aspirations. And as the pressure to keep her flawless public image grows, the last person she should be thinking about is her ex-boyfriend.
Nathaniel is off limits—she knows this. A member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world and forbidden from dating, he isn’t any more of an option now than he was two years ago. Still, she can’t forget that their whirlwind romance was the last time she remembers being really happy. Or that his family welcomed her into their home when she needed it most. . . .
So when Nathaniel finds himself rocked by scandal, Sori offers him a hideaway with her. And back in close quarters, it’s hard to deny their old feelings. But when Sori gets an opportunity to break free from her parent’s expectations, she will have to decide: Is her future worth sacrificing for a second chance at love?
Even If It Breaks Your Heart by Erin Hahn (Wednesday Books) - moved from Spring 2023.
The only thing keeping nineteen-year-old Case Michaels together after the death of his best friend, Walker, is a list Walker left behind of things he wants Case to accomplish in his absence. So far, though, Case hasn’t even been able to continue riding bulls in the rodeo circuit, something he’s done his entire life, balking at the thought of competing without Walker by his side. But the list? Case is determined to follow it to the letter– and he follows it all the way to Winnie Sutton.
Eighteen-year-old Winnie Sutton just wants to keep her family together. She graduated high school early to work long shifts at the Michaels family ranch so she can support her younger siblings and a father who’s more than happy to let Winnie fill the responsible parent role. If she sometimes sneaks out to ride the horses herself and forget about life for a while– well, that’s no one else’s business– until the day she crashes headfirst into Case Michaels. Case sees her riding skills and immediately ropes her into competing for the ranch and becoming his friend.
Winnie and Case couldn’t be more different, but Case can’t help but be inspired by Winnie’s badly-hidden passion for riding and competition. And there’s something about Case that makes Winnie want to try grasping onto a dream for herself, whether that’s a shot at a rodeo trophy, the annoyingly handsome rancher’s son who won’t leave her alone, or maybe both.
Out of Body by Nia Davenport (Balzer + Bray) - moved from 2023, details not yet updated on Goodreads.
Seventeen-year-old Megan Allen has been jumping from friend group to friend group in her high school, trying on identities like outfits. Nothing ever seems to fit—until she meets LC, the adventurous, charismatic girl who appears at her favorite coffee shop one day like magic. Finally, Megan feels like she’s becoming the person she’s meant to be: someone like LC.
On the night of
their friendiversary, what was supposed to be a bonding experience ends
in a waking nightmare. Suddenly, Megan is no longer herself.
Too late, she realizes that LC has secrets—dangerous ones. Betrayed by
her best friend, thrust into another girl’s life, and targeted by LC’s
enemies, she must claim what makes Megan Megan to get her life back... or die trying.
Photographer and film buff Daniel Mendes learned a long time ago that the only way to get by in an allistic world is to mask his autism and follow the script. Which means he knows that boisterous, buff, and beautiful volleyball superstars like his best friend, Mona Sinclair, shouldn’t be wasting time hanging out with introverts who prefer being behind the camera.
So when Daniel meets a new classmate, Gabe, who is tall, mysterious, gender-fluid, and—somehow—as cool as Mona, Daniel knows exactly how this is going to play out. Mona and Gabe will meet cute, win their nominations for Homecoming Court, and ride off into the sunset together. Daniel just needs to do a little behind-the-scenes directing.
But matchmaking means stepping into the mystifying and illogical world of love, dating, and relationships, where nothing is as it seems and no one knows their lines. And when Daniel finds himself playing a starring role in this romance, he’ll question everything he thought he knew about himself and his place in the world.
The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton (Peachtree Teen)
For Sybil Clarion, the Belle Époque city of Severon is a wild, romantic dream, filled with cafés, cabarets, and glittering nightclubs. Eager to embrace the city’s freedom after running away from home, she’s traded high-society soirées for empty pockets and barren cabinets. At least she has Esme, the girl who offered Sybil a home, and maybe—if either of them dared—something more.
Ever since Esme Rimbaud brought Sybil back to her flat, the girls have been everything to each other—best friends, found family, and secret crushes. While Esme would rather spend the night tinkering with her clocks and snuggling her cats, Sybil craves excitement and needs money. She plans to get both by stealing the rare posters that crop up around town and selling them to collectors. With rent due, Esme agrees to accompany—and more importantly protect —Sybil.
When they’re caught selling a poster by none other than its subject, Maeve, the glamorous girl doesn’t press charges. Rather, she invites Sybil and Esme to The Absinthe Underground, the exclusive club she co-owns, and reveals herself to be a Green Faerie, trapped in this world. She wants to hire thieves for a daring heist in Fae that would set her free, and is willing to pay enough that Sybil and Esme never have to worry about rent again. It’s too good of an offer to pass up, even if Maeve’s tragic story doesn’t quite add up, and even if Sybil’s personal ties to Fae could jeopardize everything she and Esme have so carefully built.
Jamie Pacton, author of The Vermilion Emporium , dazzles in this lavish and decedent LGBTQ+ fantasy romance that will leave readers utterly enchanted!
No Time Like Now by Naz Kutub (Bloomsbury)
It's been one year since Hazeem's father passed away unexpectedly, and one year since Hazeem got his special He can grant any living thing extra time. Since then, he's been randomly granting people more years to his old friend Holly, his study buddy Yamany, his crush Jack. . . . The only problem is, none of them wanted to spend any of that time with Hazeem.
Now, Hazeem spends most of his days with his grandmother. When she experiences a heart attack, Hazeem is quick to use his power to save her--until Time themself appears and tells Hazeem he has accrued a time debt, having given away more life than he has left to live and putting the entire timeline in serious danger of collapse. In order to save the timeline and himself, Hazeem must take back some of the life he has granted other people. Suddenly, Hazeem is on a journey through and against time, but as he confronts the events of the past, he must confront the mistakes he made along the way. Hazeem will come to realize that when it comes to time, quality is more important to quantity--but is it too late to reclaim the life he's given away so he can really start living?
No Time Like Now is timely twist on A Christmas Carol that takes readers on a thought-provoking adventure, asking what matters most in life.
I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang (Scholastic)
Sadie Wen is perfect on paper: school captain, valedictorian, and a "pleasure to have in class." It’s not easy, but she has a trick to keep her model-student smile plastered on her face at all times: she channels all her frustrations into her email drafts. She'd never send them of course -- she'd rather die than hurt anyone's feelings -- but it's a relief to let loose on her power-hungry English teacher or a freeloading classmate taking credit for Sadie's work.
All her most vehemently worded emails are directed at her infuriating cocaptain, Julius Gong, whose arrogance and competitive streak have irked Sadie since they were kids. "You're attention starved and self-obsessed and unbearably vain . . . I really hope your comb breaks and you run out of whatever expensive hair products you've been using to make your hair appear deceptively soft..."
Sadie doesn't have to hold back in her emails, because nobody will ever read them... that is, until they're accidentally sent out.
Overnight, Sadie’s carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It's her worst nightmare -- now everyone at school knows what she really thinks of them, and they're not afraid to tell her what they really think of her either. But amidst the chaos, there's one person growing to appreciate the "real" Sadie -- Julius, the only boy she's sworn to hate...
Skater Boy by Anthony Nerada (Soho Teen)
Stonebridge High’s resident bad boy, seventeen-year-old Wesley “Big Mac” Mackenzie, is failing senior year—probably because of his unchecked anger problem, rowdy friends, and a recurring tendency to ditch his homework to fill his camera roll with random photos. So when his mom drags him to a winter production of The Nutcracker, Wes isn't interested at all...until he sees Tristan Monroe. Mr. Nutcracker himself.
Wes knows he shouldn’t like Tristan; after all, he’s a ballet dancer, and Wes is as closeted as they come. But when they start spending time together, Wes can’t seem to get Tristan out of his head.
Driven by a new sense of purpose, Wes enters a photography contest at school, determined to better himself before the end of the school year. When a falling out with his friends becomes inevitable, Wes realizes he has to take a stand—in more ways than one—and learn that being himself means meeting somewhere in the middle of who he is and who he wants to be.
Can Wes trade his skateboard in for textbooks, ditch his friends for the photography kids he once bullied, and blow up the bad-boy reputation he never wanted in the first place?
How the Bogeyman Became a Poet by Tony Keith (Katherine Tegan Books) - YA memior in verse.
I’m terrified that The Boogeyman is gonna hear
what I’ve been thinking about certain boys,
and what happens to my heartbeat when I’m around some of them.
Tony dreams about life after high school, where his poetic voice could find freedom on the stage and page. But the Boogeyman has been following Tony since he was six years old, taking up residence in his closet. First, the Boogeyman was after his Blackness, but Tony has learned It knows more than that—Tony wants to be the first in his family to attend college, but there’s no path to follow. He is also having feelings for boys, desires that don’t align with the script he thinks is set for him and his girlfriend Blu.
Despite a supportive network of family and friends, Tony doesn’t
breathe a word to anyone about his feelings. As he grapples with his
sexuality and moves from high school to college, he struggles with
loneliness and isolation while finding occasional solace in gay chat
rooms and writing poetry. But how do you find your true poetic voice
when you are hiding the most important parts of yourself? And how do you
escape the Boogeyman when Its lurking inside you?
Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender (Tor Teen)
For Ash Woods, practicing alchemy is a crime.
Only an elite few are legally permitted to study the science of magic—so when Ash is rejected by the Lancaster Mage’s College, he takes a job as the school’s groundskeeper instead, forced to learn alchemy in secret.
When he’s discovered by the condescending and brilliant apprentice Ramsay Thorne, Ash is sure he's about to be arrested—but instead of calling the reds, Ramsay surprises Ash by making him an offer: Ramsay will keep Ash's secret if he helps her find the legendary Book of Source, a sacred text that gives its reader extraordinary power.
As Ash and Ramsay work together and their feelings for each other grow, Ash discovers their mission is more dangerous than he imagined, pitting them against influential and powerful alchemists—Ash’s estranged father included. Ash’s journey takes him through the cities and wilds across New Anglia, forcing him to discover his own definition of true power and how far he and other alchemists will go to seize it.
Featuring trans, queer, and polyamorous characters of color, Infinity Alchemist is the hugely anticipated young adult fantasy debut from the extraordinary author of Felix Ever After, King and the Dragonflies, Queen of the Conquered and more.
All This Twisted Glory by Taherah Mafi (HarperCollins)
As the long-lost heir to the Jinn throne, Alizeh has finally found her people—and she might’ve found her crown. Cyrus, the mercurial ruler of Tulan, has offered her his kingdom in a twisted exchange: one that would begin with their marriage and end with his murder.
Cyrus’s dark reputation precedes him; all the world knows of his blood-soaked past. Killing him should be easy—and accepting his offer might be the only way to fulfill her destiny and save her people. But the more Alizeh learns of him, the more she questions whether the terrible stories about him are true.
Ensnared by secrets, Cyrus has ached for Alizeh since she first appeared in his dreams many months ago. Now that he knows those visions were planted by the devil, he can hardly bear to look at her—much less endure her company. But despite their best efforts to despise each other, Alizeh and Cyrus are drawn together over and over with an all-consuming thirst that threatens to destroy them both.
Meanwhile, Prince Kamran has arrived in Tulan, ready to exact revenge…
Layered with exquisite tension and heart-stopping romance, All This Twisted Glory is the explosive third book in the captivating, bestselling This Woven Kingdom series.
Dead Girls Don't Say Sorry by Abby Elenko (Knopf/Wendy Lamb Books) - previously titled What Comes After, moved from 2023.
Friendship, at least for me, has never been anything but complicated.
One year ago, best friends Nora and Julia were starting their senior year of high school, with plans to apply to the same university so they wouldn't be separated. When Dillan Fletcher comes back to town, life as Nora knows it begins to unravel. And then, the unthinkable happens.
Months after surviving the accident that killed her best friend, Nora Radford is stagnating. Dillan has remained by her side, but he and other friends are starting university, while Nora is still trying to unravel the lies that Julia told, lies disguised as friendship.
DEAD GIRLS DON’T SAY SORRY is an absorbing page-tuner told in two timelines about how friendships evolve, how growing up can reveal the dark side of those you trust most. And it’s about how even in the face of tragedy, we can find our way out of the dark and have the courage to step into something better.
Bright Red Fruit by Safia Elhillo (Random House/Make Me a World) - YA novel in verse, moved from October 2023.
Bad girl. No matter how hard Samira tries, she can't shake her reputation. She's never gotten the benefit of the doubt--not from her mother or the aunties who watch her like a hawk.
Samira is determined to have a perfect summer filled with fun parties, exploring DC, and growing as a poet--until a scandalous rumor has her grounded and unable to leave her house. When Samira turns to a poetry forum for solace, she catches the eye of an older, charismatic poet named Horus. For the first time, Samira feels wanted. But soon she's keeping a bigger secret than ever before--one that that could prove her reputation and jeopardize her place in her community.
In this gripping coming-of-age novel from the critically acclaimed author Safia Elhillo, a young woman searches to find the balance between honoring her family, her artistry, and her authentic self.
Pangu's Shadow by Karen Bao (Lerner/Carolrhoda Lab)
Just after midnight (lunar time) at Biological Laboratories, in the Pangu Star System, a fire alarm interrupts academic rivals Ver Yun and Aryl Fielding’s science experiments. When the blaring stops, their egotistical but brilliant teacher is sprawled on the floor, dead. Murdered. A few minutes later, they’re the prime suspects.
Their motives are obvious. Prickly and ambitious Ver left her home moon to study the life-threatening disease wracking her body, and her classmates know she’ll stop at nothing for the breakthrough she needs. Aryl is only researching for the résumé boost, and most people assume she’s the type to have a fling with a married supervisor. The only foreseeable future for these “no-good” migrant girls is a double life sentence in prison. Unless they can somehow put aside their suspicion of each other and team up long enough to clear their names.
But the truth proves stranger than (science) fiction. Everywhere Ver and Aryl look, someone has a secret worth killing to protect: their delinquent labmates, their teacher’s genius wife, even their respective childhood friends. As the girls rush to collect chemical traces and soundbites while fleeing across the star system, it’s a race against the cosmic clock. Even if they can uncover the truth in time, will a system designed to protect only the privileged allow them to live?
February 10th
Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli (Wednesday Books) - moved from March 2023, then from March 2024, previously titled The Crimson Moth.
In the aftermath of a revolution, witches have
been diminished from rulers to outcasts. They are now hunted due to
their waning magic. Rune, a young socialite, moonlights as the
mysterious Crimson Moth—a vigilante who rescues witches from being
purged. When a rescue goes wrong, Rune decides to throw the witch
hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by
courting Gideon Sharpe—a notorious witch hunter loyal to the revolution.
Gideon
loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he
learns that the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to
smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into
her social circles by pretending to court her back.
Trouble arises when they fall for each other and Gideon discovers the not-so-shallow Rune is the very villain he’s hunting.
This Day Changes Everything by Edward Underhill (Wednesday Books)
Abby Akerman believes in the Universe. After all, her Midwest high school marching band is about to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City—if that’s not proof that magical things can happen, what is? New York also happens to be the setting of her favorite romance novel, making it the perfect place for Abby to finally tell her best friend Kat that she’s in love with her (and, um, gay). She’s carefully annotated a copy of the book as a gift for Kat, and she’s counting on the Universe to provide an Epic Scene worthy of her own rom-com.
Leo Brewer, on the other hand, just wants to get through this trip without falling apart. He doesn’t believe the Universe is magical at all, mostly because he’s about to be outed to his very Southern extended family on national TV as the trans boy he really is. He’s not excited for the parade, and he’s even less excited for an entire day of sightseeing with his band.
But the Universe has other ideas. When fate throws Abby and Leo together on the wrong subway train, they soon find themselves lost in the middle of Manhattan. Even worse, Leo accidentally causes Abby to lose her Epic Gift for Kat. So to salvage the day, they come up with a new mission: find a souvenir from every location mentioned in the book for Abby to give Kat instead. But as Leo and Abby traverse the city, from the streets of Chinatown to the halls of Grand Central Station and the top of the Empire State Building, their initial expectations for the trip—and of each other—begin to shift. Maybe, if they let it, this could be the day that changes everything, for both of them.
February 13th
The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna (Delacorte) - moved from 2023.
Mere weeks after confronting the Gilded Ones—the false beings she once believed to be her family—Deka is on the hunt. In order to kill the gods, whose ravenous competition for power is bleeding Otera dry, she must uncover the source of her divinity. But with her mortal body on the verge of ruin, Deka is running out of time—to save herself and an empire that’s tearing itself apart at its seams.
When Deka’s search leads her and her friends to the edge of the world as they know it, they discover an astonishing new realm, one which holds the key to Deka’s past. Yet it also illuminates a devastating decision she must soon make…
Choose to be reborn as a god, losing everyone she loves in the process. Or bring about the end of the world.
Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear by Robin Wasley (Simon and Schuster)
High school is hard enough to survive without an apocalypse to navigate.
Sid Spencer has always been the most normal girl in her abnormal hometown, a tourist trap built over one of the fault lines that seal magic away from the world. Meanwhile, all Sid has to deal with is hair-ruining humidity, painful awkwardness, being one of four Asians in town, and her friends dumping her when they started dating each other-just days after one of the most humiliating romantic rejections faced by anyone, ever, in all of history.
Then someone kills one of the Guardians who protect the seal. The earth rips open and unleashes the magic trapped inside. Monsters crawl from the ground, no one can enter or leave, and the man behind it all is roaming the streets with a gang of violent vigilantes. Suddenly, Sid's life becomes a lot less ordinary. When she finds out her missing brother is involved, she joins the remaining Guardians, desperate to find him and close the fault line for good.
Fighting through hordes of living corpses and uncontrollable growths of forest, Sid and a ragtag crew of would-be heroes are the only thing standing between their town and the end of the world as they know it. Between magic, murderers, and burgeoning crushes, Sid must survive being a perfectly normal girl caught in a perfectly abnormal apocalypse.
Only - how can someone so ordinary make it in such an extraordinary world?
The Fox Maidens by Robin Ha (Balzer + Bray)
Kai Song dreams of being a warrior. She wants to follow in the footsteps of her beloved father, the commander of the Royal Legion. But while her father believes in Kai and trains her in martial arts, their society isn’t ready for a girl warrior.
Still, Kai is determined. But she is plagued by rumors that she is the granddaughter of Gumiho, the infamous nine-tailed fox demon who was killed by her father years before.
Everything comes crashing down the day Kai learns the deadly secret about her mother’s past. Now she must come to terms with the truth about her identity and take her destiny into her own hands. As Kai desperately searches for a way to escape her fate, she comes to find compassion, and even love, in the most unexpected places.
Set in 16th century Korea and richly infused with Korean folklore, The Fox Maidens is a timeless and powerful story about fighting for your place in the world, even when it seems impossible.
Jude and Ari are working at a record store, when during open mic night Jude gets up to sing a song about luck. After that he is magically gifted incredible luck. Not long after, he wins tickets to a concert and asks out Maya, whom he has had a crush on for ages. They start dating, but it isn't long before Jude starts to realize that Maya isn't The One for him after all. In fact, he thinks might be in love with Ari! Unfortunately, it turns out his "gift" is actually Beginner's Luck, and any attempts he makes to woo Ari (after he and Maya break up) end in disaster. Can he break the curse, or is he destined to be unlucky in love forever?
Fans of Instant Karma, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Love & Gelato will be drawn to this clean teen romance, seasoned with Marissa Meyer’s special brand of magic.
A Suffragist's Guide to the Antarctic by Yi Shun Lai (Atheneum)
November 1914.
Clara Ketterling-Dunbar is one of twenty-eight crew members of The Resolute —a ship meant for an Antarctic expedition now marooned on ice one hundred miles from the shore of the continent. An eighteen-year-old American, Clara has told the crew she’s a twenty-one-year-old Canadian. Since the war broke out, sentiment toward Americans has not been the most favorable, and Clara will be underestimated enough simply for being a woman without also giving away just how young she is. Two members of the crew know her nationality, but no one knows the truth of her activities in England before The Resolute set sail.
She and her suffragist sisters in the Women’s Social & Political Union were waging war of a different kind in London. They taught Clara to fight. And now, even marooned on the ice, she won’t stop fighting for women’s rights…or for survival. In the wilderness of Antarctica, Clara is determined to demonstrate what a woman is truly capable of—if the crew will let her.
Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson and Ekua Holmes (Kokila) - YA poetry collection.
New York Times -bestselling author Renée Watson writes about her experience growing up a young Black girl at the intersections of race, class, and gender in this semi-autobiographical collection of poems with full color art throughout by celebrated fine artist Ekua Holmes.
Using a mixture of poetic forms from haiku and tanka to prose poems and free verse, Watson shares recollections of her childhood in Portland, tender odes to the Black women in her life, and urgent calls for Black girls to step into their power. This is both a gift and a tool for anyone who reads it. Black Girl You Are Atlas encourages young readers to embrace their future with a shared sense of anger, celebration, and sisterhood.
Call Me Iggy by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado (First Second) - YA graphic novel.
Call me Iggy tells the story of Iggy searching for his place in his family, his school, his community, and ultimately—as the political climate in America changes during the 2016 election— his country. Focusing on familial ties and budding love, Call me Iggy challenges our assumptions about Latino-American identity while reaffirming our belief in the hope that all young people represent. Perfect for lovers of multigenerational stories like Displacement and The Magic Fish.
Bunt! The Modern Act of Financial Aid by Ngozi Ukazu (First Second) - YA graphic novel.
The author of the New York Times best-selling Check, Please series, Ngozi Ukazu returns with debut artist Madeline Rupert to bring an energetic young adult story about authenticity, old vs. new, and college failure. It also poses the question: “Is art school worth it?”
Freshman Year by Sarah Mai (Little, Brown/Ottaviano) - YA graphic novel.
Everyone gets a fresh start. Who do you want to be?
Sarah is leaving suburban Wisconsin for her freshman year in Minnesota. She has high hopes to impress her professors, meet interesting new people, stay close to her best friends and boyfriend back home, flourish as an artist, and shed her lingering high school anxieties. What seems manageable at first quickly unravels into a Sarah’s high-achieving roommate puts her to shame, her summer love dissolves, and she is quickly overwhelmed by the freedom, the isolation, and all the possibilities that await in this new environment.
Based on the author’s personal college journal and comics, Freshman Year navigates the inner workings of an 18-year-old girl in witty, honest, and heartfelt detail. Whether you’re anxiously looking forward or nostalgically looking back, this is the perfect read for anyone who loves realistic graphic novels about the laughable growing pains of almost-adulthood, like Check, Please! and Bloom.
My Big, Fat, Desi Wedding by Various YA Authors (Page Street) - moved from November 2023.
In this collection that centers hope, love, and family, readers will enjoy eight stories from both award-winning and debut authors.
The Boyfriend Wish by Swati Teerdhala (Katherine Tegan Books)
Deepa’s a hopeless romantic. And even though Deepa’s checklist for the perfect boyfriend is a mile long, her mom and dad’s fairy-tale love story makes her feel like romantic success ought to be a family trait. It’s why when her grandmother gives her a jasmine flower with the promise that it will fulfill her heart’s greatest desire, and then a new boy moves in across the street, Deepa knows—he must be her wish come true. Rohit checks off every box on Deepa’s timelessly handsome, a thoughtful listener, and a romantic who knows his flowers. Deepa’s next-door neighbor (and constant tormentor) Vik also surprisingly approves, though she knows it shouldn’t be a mark against Rohit. Is it luck or is it magic?
Deepa doesn’t want to take chances, so when her grandmother warns her that the wish is only permanent if she seals it with a kiss, she knows she needs to move quickly. Rohit is the right boy in every way, so then why does Deepa not feel like he might not be the right choice?
This Is How You Fall In Love by Anika Hussian (Bloomsbury) - UK cover revealed but not US.
Zara and Adnan are just friends. Always have been, always will be. Even if they have to pretend to be girlfriend and boyfriend...
Zara loves love in all forms: 90s romcoms and romance novels and grand sweeping gestures. And she's desperate to have her own great love story. Crucially, a real one. So when her best friend Adnan begs her to pretend to date him to cover up his new top-secret relationship, Zara is hesitant. This isn't the kind of thing she had in mind. But there's something in it for Zara too: making her parents, who love Adnan, happy might just stop them arguing for a while. She may not be getting her own love story, but she could save theirs.
So Zara agrees and the act begins: after all, how different can pretending to be in a relationship with your best friend be to just hanging around with them like usual? Turns out, a lot. With fake dating comes fake hand-holding and fake kissing and real feelings... And when a new boy turns up in Zara's life, things get more confusing than ever.
The course of true love never did run smooth, but Zara's love story is messier than most...
A hilarious and heartfelt romcom, told with a light touch, perfect for fans of TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE, EXCUSE ME WHILE I UGLY CRY and HANI AND ISHU'S GUIDE TO FAKE DATING.
February 15th
The Voice of the Wretched by Kester Grant (Knopf) - moved from 2021, then from May 2022, December 2022 and November 2023, unlikely to be the final release date.
February 20th
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal (FSG) - moved from Spring 2022, then from October and November 2022, then from September 2023. Some editions dated February 2025, but think this is likely the UK release date.
On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—and she can’t do the job alone.
Calling upon a band of misfits, Arthie formulates a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not every member of her crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.
For the Stolen Fates by Gwendolyn Clare (Feiwel and Friends)
Now in possession of the most dangerous book ever scribed, Willa and Saudade settle into the nineteenth century and start planning how to avert the cataclysm that will soon break the laws of physics and render Earth uninhabitable.
Faraz only wants his best friend, Leo, to have the time to come to terms with the death of his father—even if his father was a power-hungry villain who had to be stopped. But someone has stolen the editbook again, and now Faraz and his friends must track down Willa and challenge her for control of the editbook.
Meanwhile, Leo’s older brother Aris contemplates a path toward redemption after using the editbook to destroy the city of Napoli. Can he salvage his remaining relationships, after a lifetime of following their father?
But as far as Willa and Saudade are concerned, all these people are suspects in a crime that hasn’t happened yet.
The Diablo's Curse by Gabe Cole Novoa (Random House)
Dami is a demon determined to cancel every deal they've ever made in order to tether their soul to earth and become human again. There's just one person standing in their Silas. An irresistibly (and stubborn) cute boy cursed to die young, except for the deal with Dami that is keeping him alive. If they cancel the deal, Silas is dead. Unless... they can destroy the curse that has plagued Silas's family for generations. But to do so, Dami and Silas are going to have to work together. That is, if the curse doesn't kill them first...
The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert (Flatiron Books) - moved from December 2023.
In the course of a single winter’s night, four people vanish without a trace across a suburban town.
Nora Powell’s estranged best friend, Becca, is one of the lost. As Nora tries to untangle the truth of Becca’s disappearance, she discovers a darkness in her suburb's past, as well as a string of coded messages Becca left for her to unravel. These clues lead Nora to a piece of local a goddess folk figure of forgotten origins who played a role in Nora and Becca’s own childhood games. . . .
An arresting, crossover horror fantasy threaded with dark magic, The Bad Ones is a poison-pen love letter to semi-toxic best friendship, the occult power of childhood play and artistic creation, and the razor-thin line between make believe and belief.
Disciples of Chaos by M.K. Lobb (Little, Brown)
Damian Venturi isn't aware of it yet. But as small shifts start to crack the foundations of the Ombrazian power structure after the Rebellion's attack, cracks are beginning to show in Damian's own facade. Uncontrollable anger is bubbling to the surface and can't always be pushed down. Can he keep everyone safe, even from himself?
Rossana Lacertosa should feel victorious. She accomplished everything she set out to do, and more. The Rebellion's attack set countless prisoners free and brought attention to the unfairness in the Palazzo's structure. And Damian is back by her side where he belongs. Yet the war with Brechaat rages on and government officials are hellbent on keeping the status quo.
Then an Ombrazian general arrives from the front lines, and orders dozens of arrests, shipping Roz and Damian's friends up north. Determined to free those who matter most, Roz and Damian set their sights on Brechaat. But on their journey to hell on earth, Roz will need to face the fact that Damian is not just shifting further from the boy she used to know, but down a dark path into chaos.
The complications of love, magic, faith, and war will keep readers eagerly turning the pages as they head towards the gripping conclusion in the Seven Faceless Saints duology.
Conditions of a Heart by Bethany Mangle (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
Brynn Kwan is desperate for her high school persona to be real. That Brynn is head of the yearbook committee, the favorite for prom queen, and definitely not crumbling from a secret disability that’s rapidly wearing her down. If no one knows the truth about her condition, Brynn doesn’t have to worry about the pitying looks or accusations of being a faker that already destroyed her childhood friendships. She’s even willing to let go of her four-year relationship with her first love, Oliver, rather than reveal that a necessary surgery was the reason she ignored his existence for the entire summer.
But after Brynn tries to break up a fight at a pep rally and winds up barred from all her clubs and senior prom, she has nothing left to prop up her illusion of being just like everyone else. During a week-long suspension from school, she realizes that she doesn’t quite recognize the face in the mirror—and it’s not because of her black eye from the fight. With a healthy sister who simply doesn’t understand and a confused ex-boyfriend who won’t just take a hint and go away like a normal human being , Brynn begins to wonder if it’s possible to reinvent her world by being the person she thought no one herself.
We Got the Beat by Jenna Miller (Quill Tree)
So it’s a total blow when Jordan discovers that she not only didn’t get the editor-in-chief spot, but she’s been assigned the volleyball beat instead. And who is the star and new captain of the volleyball team? Mackenzie West. But words are Jordan’s weapon, and she has some ideas about how to exact a long-awaited revenge on her nemesis.
Then things get murky when forced time together has Mack and Jordan falling back into their friendship, and into something more. And when Mack confesses the real reason she turned on Jordan freshman year, it has Jordan questioning everything—past, present, and future. If Jordan lets her guard down and Mack in, will she get everything she wants, or will she be humiliated all over again.
The Someday Daughter by Ellen O' Clover (HarperTeen)
While the world considers Audrey lucky to have Camilla for a mother, she knows a different side of being the someday daughter. Audrey's always felt more like a promotional tool than a member of Camilla's family, and she's determined to create her own identity starting at the prestigious summer premed program she'll attend with her boyfriend before heading to college.
But when Camilla asks Audrey to go on tour with her to promote the book's anniversary, instead, Audrey can't help but think that this is the last, best chance to figure out how they fit into each other's lives not someday, but today, just as they are. What Audrey doesn't know is that spending the summer with Camilla and her tour staff — including the disarmingly honest, distressingly cute video intern, Silas — will upset everything she's so carefully planned for her life.
From the critically acclaimed author of Seven Percent of Ro Devereux comes another heartrending and nuanced novel about family, love, and figuring out who we really are.
February 27th
Daughter of the Bone Forest by Jasmine Skye (Feiwel and Friends)
Rosy is a bone familiar, gifted with the power to shift into animals marked with exposed bone. She spends most of her days in the magical Bone Forest, caring for her feral grandmother and hiding her powers to avoid conscription by the Witch King’s army. Until the day that Princess Shaw, a witch known as Death’s Heir, visits the Forest. When Rosy saves Shaw’s life, the princess offers her the chance to attend the prestigious school, Witch Hall, as payment. Though Rosy is wary of Shaw’s intentions, she cannot pass up the opportunity to find the cure for her grandmother’s affliction.
But at Witch Hall, Rosy finds herself embroiled in political games she doesn't understand. Shaw wants Rosy for her entourage, a partner to help lead the coming war. All Rosy wants is to stay out of trouble until she can graduate and save her grandmother, but she can't deny her attraction to Shaw or the comfort Shaw’s magic gives her. Will Rosy give in to her destiny, or will the Bone Forest call her home once and for all?
Where the Dark Stands Still by Ania Poranek (Margaret K. McElderry) - previously titled The Czantory, some editions dated January 2024.
Raised in a small village near the spirit-wood, Liska Radost knows that Magic is monstrous, and its practitioners, monsters.
After a deadly mistake, Liska delves into the dangerous spirit-wood, guarded by a demon to steal a mythical fern flower. Pluck it, and she can use its one wish to banish her own power.
Everyone who has sought the fern flower has fallen prey to the horrors of the Czantory, so when Liska is caught by the demon warden of the wood - The Leszy - a bargain seems better than death: one year of servitude in exchange for the fern flower and its wish.
Whisked away to his crumbling manor, Liska soon makes an unsettling discovery. She is not the first person to strike this bargain. And If Liska wants to survive the year and return home, she must unravel her taciturn host’s spool of secrets and face the ghosts—figurative and literal—of his past.
Something wakes in the woods, killing off villagers one by one. Something that Frightens even The Leszy … something that cannot be defeated unless Liska embraces the monster she’s always feared becoming.
Tender Beasts by Liselle Sambury (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
Sunny Behre has four siblings, but only one is a murderer.
With the death of Sunny’s mother, matriarch of the wealthy Behre family, Sunny’s once picture-perfect life is thrown into turmoil. Her mother had groomed her to be the family’s next leader, so Sunny is confused when the only instructions her mother leaves is a mysterious “Take care of Dom.”
The problem is, her youngest brother, Dom, has always been a near-stranger to Sunny…and seemingly a dangerous one, if found guilty of his second-degree murder charge. Still, Sunny is determined to fulfill her mother’s dying wish. But when a classmate is gruesomely murdered, and Sunny finds her brother with blood on his hands, her mother’s simple request becomes a lot more complicated. Dom swears he’s innocent, and although Sunny isn’t sure she believes him, she takes it upon herself to look into the murder—made all the more urgent by the discovery of another body. And another .
As Sunny and Dom work together to track down the culprit, Sunny realizes her other siblings have their own dark secrets. Soon she may have to preserve the family she’s always loved or protect the brother she barely knows—and risk losing everything her mother worked so hard to build.
Fate Breaker by Victoria Aveyard (HarperTeen)
Change your fate—or kneel to it.
The Companions are scattered and hopeless, torn from each other. After Corayne barely escapes with her life, she must forge on alone, leaving her blade broken and her allies behind her. Her only consolation – Corayne now has Taristan’s sword, the only Spindleblade left in existence. Without it, he can’t rip open any more Spindles. Without it, he can’t end the world.
But Taristan and Queen Erida will not be defeated so easily. Both will burn the world to bring down Corayne – and bring forth their demon god, What Waits, ready to claim the realm of Allward for his own.
In a final clash between kingdoms and gods, all must rise to fight – or be destroyed.
Everything has come to this. Prepare for a larger-than-life, unforgettable finale to the instant New York Times bestselling Realm Breaker series, where a shattered alliance must rise from the ashes to make their final stand against a ruthless enemy… and the dark god who looks to shroud the entire world in darkness.
The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black (Little, Brown)
After the shocking events of The Stolen Heir, Prince Oak is in deeper trouble than ever before. As his situation grows more precarious, Oak is desperate to find a way out, before all of Elfhame is caught in the coming storm.
Hope Ablaze by Sarah Mughal Rana (Wednesday Books) - previously titled Letters for My Brown Self.
All My Rage meets The Poet X in this electric debut that explores a Muslim teen finding her voice in a post-9/11 America.
Nida has always been known as Mamou Abdul-Hafeedh’s niece - the poet that will fill her uncle’s shoes after he was wrongfully incarcerated during the war on terror. But for Nida, her poetry letters are her heart and sharing so much of herself with a world that stereotypes her faith and her hijab is not an option.
When Nida is illegally frisked at a Democratic Senatorial candidate’s political rally, she writes a scathing poem about the politician, never expecting the letter to go viral weeks before Election Day. Nida discovers her poem has won first place in a national contest, a contest she never entered, and her quiet life is toppled. But worst of all, Nida loses her ability to write poetry. In the aftermath of her win, Nida struggles to balance the expectations of her mother, her uncle, and her vibrant Muslim community with the person she truly wants to be.
With a touch of magic and poetry sprinkled throughout, Sarah Mughal Rana's Hope Ablaze is heartbreaking, often funny, and ultimately uplifting, not only celebrating the Islamic faith and Pakistani culture, but simultaneously confronting racism and Islamophobia with unflinching bravery.
My Throat an Open Grave by Tori Bovalino (Page Street) - moved from January 2024, release date not yet updated for some editions on Goodreads.
Leah has no hope for a future outside of Winston, and her only remaining solace is her music. She’s on the verge of dropping out of high school, barely balancing her job at the gas station with her duty to care for her baby brother, Owen. But when Owen is taken by the Lord of the Wood, Leah must face the dangers of the forest to write a song that will win Owen back—and discover the truth of how her life went so very wrong.
Illusions of Fire by Nisha Sharma (Union Square & Co.)
Then Ahvi, the new boy in town, arrives and immediately seeks out Laila. He happens to be a descendant of a demi-god. Both his and Laila’s origin stories (found in the Mahabharata, an ancient Hindu epic poem about the great war between demi-gods, witches, and demons) come crashing to the forefront. Magical powers are activated, dark forces converge, and it looks like Laila’s quiet town in upstate New York might be the setting of the next epic battle.
Author Nisha Sharma deftly weaves together romance, magic, and mythology in this contemporary young adult urban fantasy novel.
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