November 3rd
If I Can't Have You by Aden Polydoros (Page Street) - moved from February 2026.
When
heartbroken seventeen-year-old Kristi scores the season’s hottest
romance simulator, the Love Interest 3000, she doesn’t expect the
perfect boyfriend to become the perfect nightmare.
Reeling from a
recent breakup, Kristi decides to take the plunge into virtual reality
after her friend, Helen, convinces her to buy a bootlegged version of
the device from Jamie, the school outcast.
At first, her
VoyfriendTM, Rowan, is a balm to her post-breakup loneliness: kind,
attentive, knows how to say all the right things. But things take a
tragic turn when Helen dies in a grisly accident involving her own
edition of the machine. In a fit of grief and rage, Kristi destroys her
LI 3000, ready to move on and live in the real world. But Rowan isn’t
willing to let her go, and soon begins appearing in her life―leaving her
menacing messages and hacking video screens.
Then Kristi learns
that Helen isn’t the only one who died in a so-called “accident” with
the bootlegged machines. If she doesn’t find out who is causing the
murders―and why―then her own life, the lives of those she cares about,
are forfeit.
November 10th
Blood of Silver by Allie Nguyen (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
Linh's mother was just buried this morning, but the guests are already clinking glasses. At the funeral organised by her indifferent father, Linh is visited by a strange boy who hints at secrets about her mother's past and urges her to follow.
Desperate to learn more about Mum and intrigued by this boy who stirs vague memories from her childhood, Linh is thrust into another world—Ebrirene, a realm governed by six ancient magics: light, fire, earth, water, nature, and space—where the mysterious boy, Elior, happens to be Crown Prince. Here, Linh learns that her mother was a space mage and princess who defended the kingdom from a demonic onslaught by sealing the portal they came through. Now, with the seal weakening, the Crown believes Linh possesses the same space magic that can prevent the portal from reopening.
Linh agrees to train with Elior to uncover secrets about her mother's past and eventually return home. But as her power grows, so too does her suspicion. Caught in a web of court intrigue and a dangerous attraction to the prince, Linh discovers much darker betrayals that forced her mother to flee from this world. Now Linh must decide: help seal the portal and return to her sad but safe existence in London or reclaim her mother's legacy to the throne and risk an all-out war.
Salt Water Blood by Manuia Heinrich (Sarah Barley Books) - moved from April 2026.
Sarah Barley at S&S/Sarah Barley Books has acquired, in a seven-imprint auction, Salt Water Blood by We Need Diverse Books mentee and Pacific Islanders in Publishing co-founder Manuia Heinrich. Pitched for fans of Firekeeper's Daughter and Moana, Salt Water Blood is a speculative YA thriller following an older sister who is able to hear the sea's prophetic thoughts and must race against time to clear her brother's name before he's blamed for his girlfriend's disappearance and eventual murder . The mystery is set against the backdrop of mounting tension over the impact of France's nuclear testing on the people of Mā'ohi Nui (French Polynesia). Publication is set for spring/summer 2026; Marin Takikawa at the Friedrich Agency sold North American rights in the two-book deal.
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