Release date not known
Build a Girlfriend by Elba Luz (Simon and Schuster)
Secrets of a Lost Diary by Santiago Cohen (Fantagraphics Underground Press) - YA graphic novel, not yet added to Goodreads.
Gary Groth at Fantagraphics Underground Press has acquired Secrets of a Lost Diary, a YA graphic novel by Mexican-American artist Santiago Cohen, a story of two diaries that touches on the impact of dementia in a family, historical trauma and the Holocaust, LGBTQIA+ in two generations, and immigration. Publication is scheduled for September 2024; Anna Olswanger at Olswanger Literary did the deal for world English rights.
September 3rd
Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma (Little, Brown)
Hidden in our world, a society of vampires originating in Africa, are bound to twelve human Houses. Each House represents a bloodline more cutthroat than the next. To ensure peace and inherit their House legacy, human children of these elite families must study at an elite secret university.
Lost Heiress, Kidan Adane grew up far from Uxlay University. She is obsessively protective, mildly nihilistic, and willing to do anything to save her loved ones. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—her own House vampire to be exact, the alluring yet dangerous Susenyos Sagad.
To find June, Kidan must study at Uxlay and live with Susenyos. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’ violence speaks to her own and tempts Kidan to surrender to a life of darkness. She will find her sister and kill him at all costs.
The Monstrous Kind by Lydia Gregovic (Delacorte)
Merrick
Darling’s life as daughter of the Manor Lord of Sussex is better than
most. Unlike the commoners, she is immune to the toxic fog that
encroached on England generations earlier. She will never become a
Phantom—one of the monstrous creatures that stalk her province’s
borders—and as long as the fires burn to hold them back, her safety is
ensured. She wants for nothing, yet she will never inherit her family’s
Manor. She must marry smartly or live at the kindness of her
elder sister, Essie.
Everything is turned on its head, though,
when Merrick’s father dies suddenly. Torn from her New London society
life of ball gowns and parties, Merrick must travel back to her
childhood home, the Darling estate of Norland House, and what she finds
there is bewildering. Once strong and capable, Essie is withdrawn and
frightened—and with good cause. A recent string of attacks along the
province’s borders has turned their formerly bucolic countryside into a
terrifying and unpredictable landscape. The fog is closing in and the
fires aren’t holding, which makes Merrick and Essie vulnerable in more
ways than one. Because the Phantoms are far from the only monsters in
Merrick’s world, and the other eleven Manor Lords are always watching
for weakness.
Revealing her and her sister’s current state to the
rest of the Manors is out of the question, but when Essie goes missing,
it’s clear that Merrick needs help. Only, who can she trust when
everyone seems to be scheming, and when all she holds true feels like
it’s slipping right out of her grasp?
After the death of his best friend, Eric Ly creates imaginary scenarios in his head to deal with his grief. Until one of them becomes real when a boy he met last summer in Japan finds his way back into his life. When he least expects it, Haru Tanaka walks into the coffee shop and sits down next to him. The only thing is, nobody else can see him.
In a magical turn of events, Eric suddenly has someone to connect with, making him feel less alone in the world. But as they spend more and more time together, he begins to question what is real. When he starts losing control of the very thing that is holding him together, Eric must finally confront his reality. Even if it means losing Haru forever.
Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas (Fiewel and Friends) - moved from 2023.
The sun is gone, the Obsidian gods have been released from their prison, and chaos and destruction are wreaking havoc on Reino del Sol. All because Teo refused to sacrifice a fellow semidiose during the Sunbearer Trials.
With the world plunged into perpetual night, Teo, his crush Aurelio, and his best friend Niya must journey to the dark wilderness of Los Restos, battling vicious monsters while dealing with guilt, trauma, and a (very distracting) burgeoning romance between Teo and Aurelio. Once more racing against the clock, the trio are determined to rescue the captured semidioses and retrieve the Sol Stone. With it, Sol and their protective light can return and order can be restored.
Now the future of the whole world is in their hands.
Shadows of Perl by J. Elle (G.P. Putnam and Sons)
Unleash the darkness. Claim your power.
Quell Marionne’s explosive final Rite of Induction to House Marionne sent shockwaves through the magical world, unearthing long buried secrets and her own deadly power. But she paid a steep her family and her love. Fleeing Chateau Soleil for House of Perl, for once Quell is celebrated instead of shunned. She has finally found somewhere to belong. But secrets lurk in every House, and Quell’s quest to find her mom threatens to lead her deeper into the shadows.
Assassin Jordan Wexton, second-in command of the Dragun brotherhood, must protect the source of all magic, the Sphere. Yet the biggest threat to the Sphere is Quell Marionne—the girl he loved, until she claimed the deadly, outlawed toushana. As the Sphere cracks and war brews among the Houses, can the only way to save the world be to kill his own heart?
Now, these two lovers-turned enemies must confront their competing ambitions and conflicting loyalties. Or die. The future of magic hangs on their decision.
Rebel Fire by Ann Sei Lin (Tundra Books) - previously published in the UK.
Kurara has barely escaped the grasp of Princess Tsukimi. Reeling from her Crafter mentor’s grim betrayal, Kurara and her friends are desperate to catch up with their old airship, even if it means they have to do it on foot. But after everything she’s been through, Kurara refuses to give up on understanding and freeing the shikigami, origami creatures enchanted to life, nor will she stop at anything to understand her mysterious past, no matter who tries to interfere . . . or what dark truths about her role in the war may surface, the farther south she goes. Her goal is the Grand Stream, where Suzaku, the greatest shikigami of all, likes in furious wait.
But Kurara isn’t the only one searching for Suzaku. Traveling through forests, seas and the ruins of an underground Crafter city, there is no shortage of enemies who wish to control Kurara and the shikigami of the world for their own ends. When a bloody confrontation leads to horrifying revelations about the true nature of shikigami and Kurara’s past, Kurara will need all the support she can muster just to carry on.
In this sequel to the breathless Rebel Skies, readers will return to the soaring heights, incredible twists and dark depths of Ann Sei Lin’s vivid fantasy world.
Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White (Peachtree Teen)
In 1917, Saint Abernathy—socialist, young father, and figurehead of a labor strike in the mountains of West Virginia—was publicly executed by law enforcement. In 2017, Miles Abernathy—his great-great-grandson—wakes up in the hospital, the latest casualty of a blood feud that began with the railroad spike hammered into Saint’s mouth.
Miles, a seventeen-year-old trans boy, knows he’ll never see justice. The sheriff’s son and his friends leave destruction in their wake, dead bodies and trauma too deep to dig out. If Miles speaks up, says they’re the ones that did this to him? He’ll be lucky if his parents are alive enough to flee the state.
But then Miles accidently kills one of the boys who hurt him, and Saint Abernathy is back, a century’s worth of fury and revenge, saying that Miles might be the one to end this feud once and for all. To free his family from a hundred years of cruelty, all Miles has to do is finish the job.
A Second Chance on Earth by Juan Vidal (Holiday House)
Have you ever/encountered a book that/KO’d you, Iron Mike Tyson style?
A book that made you ponder/if every other book ever written/was even good?
For sixteen-year-old poet and b-baller Marcos Cadena, that book is the beat-up copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude he finds among his late father’s possessions after Papi is killed in a motorcycle accident.
Marcos’ papi has always loomed large in his eyes. So when Marcos travels from Miami to his parents’ childhood home of Cartagena, Colombia to spread Papi’s ashes, he brings his father’s book with him, convinced that Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece holds the key to understanding Papi’s life and accepting his death.
In Cartagena, Marcos doesn’t really feel at home among the affectionate but unfamiliar Cadena clan. Instead, he befriends 18-year-old Camilo, a taxi driver and fellow García Márquez fan who appoints himself Marcos’ unofficial tour guide. Together, the two boys explore the landscape of Cartagena, from the picturesque streets of Old Town to the poor neighborhood where Camilo grew up. But when Camilo reveals a troubling secret about his former life as part of a local gang, Marcos must ask himself whether everyone deserves a second chance.
Woven through with themes of friendship, family, and forgiveness, this poignant coming-of-age novel is also a love letter to Colombia and to the books of Gabriel García Márquez.
The Ghost of You by Michael Gray Bulla (Quill Tree Books)
Everything has felt wrong since Caleb’s brother died, so when he sees a black cat that seems off, he doesn’t think anything of it. But when he looks closer, the cat doesn’t appear to have a clear face. It looks like it’s been smudged out. And he keeps following Caleb around. Haunting him. So Caleb calls him Ghost.
Caleb is trying to return to his normal life, but he can’t stop
feeling distant and numb. Even being assigned to work on a school
project with Emmett, the lead singer for a punk rock band, just feels
like another blip. But as Caleb’s feelings for Emmett grow, so does the
distance he has put between himself and his best friend, Tanya. Can
Caleb stop running from his grief in order to save his friendship and
discover Ghost’s true purpose?
A Ybarra cannot be associated with a Morales-let alone fall for one. But when Miguel offers to help Ana Maria with the competition, she is so desperate to win she can't turn him down. All she needs to do is keep Miguel at arm's length and keep their deal a secret from their families. After all, teaming up with Miguel is just business, nothing more…right?
The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig (Delacorte)
Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her many siblings. Born a thirteenth child and promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather—Merrick, the Dreaded End—to finally arrive.
When he does, he tells Hazel her future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid in her endeavors, Merrick blesses the young girl a gift.
But all gifts come with a price…
The Loss of the Burying Ground by J. Anderson Coats (Candlewick) - moved from 2025.
When the Burying Ground goes down in neutral waters, it sends the delegations from two warring nations—and the peace treaty they were about to sign—to the bottom of the ocean. The only survivors are a pair of teen girls: Cora, daughter of a Duran newspaper man, and Vivienne, lady’s maid to an Ariminthian princess. Neither has known a time when war between their two countries did not rage, but now they must learn to trust each other if they are to find sustenance, avoid dangerous pirates, and have any hope of rescue from the remote island they washed up on. However, in the midst of a conflict steeped in fierce national identity, propaganda, disinformation, and radicalization, finding a common path forward seems nearly impossible, for both Cora and Vivienne and their respective countries. But when the teens’ politically charged rescue seems likely to extend the war, Cora and Vivienne realize they do have a shared purpose: peace. If only it isn’t too late.
Luminous Beings by David Arnold and Jose Pimienta (Viking) - YA graphic novel.
When a group of teens decides to make a documentary about humanity’s recent brush with extinction (via undead squirrels), their quest for top-notch gear leads them on a 24-hour wild goose chase through rowdy nightclubs and once-familiar neighborhoods, perilous castles and off-grid RVs, and at every turn—people. Some more eccentric than others, all leading quiet lives of love and loss in a strange new world.
With nothing but their phones, the Squad documents these encounters, along with a slew of hijinks and misadventures throughout the night. The resulting footage becomes (and is indeed filled with) Luminous Beings, an accidental documentary, not about the past, or how shit hit the fan, but how people came together to answer the ultimate question: where do we go from here?
Girlmode by Magdalene Vissago and Paulina Ganucheau (Balzer + Bray) - YA graphic novel.
The last thing Phoebe Zito wants is to be noticed. The newest kid at Sally Ride High School, newly arrived in Los Angeles, and newly transitioned, she’s just trying to blend in while she figures out exactly who she is. But with her mom checked out, her dad still adjusting to having a daughter, and no guidebook to how to be a girl, that isn’t going to be easy.
Enter Mackenize Ishikawa. She’s the girl that all girls want to be, and all the boys want to be with—and, Mackenzie has decided, Phoebe’s new best friend. Macca knows what it takes to survive and thrive as a girl in high school: No matter who Phoebe wants to be, or who she wants to date, she’s going to need someone having her back while she figures it all out.
Phoebe soon realizes what Mackenzie knows too well: Being true to yourself is going to mean breaking some hearts. But as Phoebe discovers exactly what kind of girl she is—and what kind of girl everyone around her thinks she’s supposed to be—she worries one of those hearts is going to be her own.
The Enchanters: Fairy Godmother by Jen Calonita (Disney Hyperion) - not yet added to Goodreads.
The first volume in The Enchanters series from the New York Times best-selling author of A Twisted Tale and Fairy Tale Reform School features a deluxe trim size and beautiful painted edges!
Before she created carriages out of pumpkins, fashioned gowns out of thin air, and conjured one-of-a-kind glass slippers, Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother was a spirited sixteen-year-old named Renée Dubois. But how did a human girl become a fairy godmother?
A young governess with a tragic past, Renée is determined to prove that fairies are real. Yet when her young cousin follows her into the woods one night and is caught in mortal peril, Renée has no choice but to offer herself in his place. Just when she thinks this is the end, she’s saved by a mysterious duo who take Renée under their wings, and she is brought into the world of the Fée.
So begins a life Renée hadn’t dared to dream of. Studying magic, forging friendships, and stumbling upon an unlikely romance, Renée is on an exciting path. But this new path is not without its own challenges.
Renée longs to return to the mortal realm with the coveted title of godmother, a dream that seems just out of reach. And her tireless empathy, as well as her boundless determination might be just what she needs to become the Fairy Godmother the world will come to know.
The Art Thieves by Andrea L. Rogers (Levine Querido) - moved from May 2024.
FROM: Stevie Henry (shenry@gmail.com)
Thanks for coming to see me; but by the time you read this, it will be too late. No one will have started to panic, yet; but in less than two months nothing will be the same. What came first, The Chicken or the Egg Flu? I wish it mattered. But let’s just say, maybe go back to wearing a mask, bathing in sanitizer, and avoid birds and eggs for a bit…
I did not kill my brother. I did quite the opposite, really.
It’s the year 2052. Stevie Henry is a Cherokee girl working at a museum in Texas, trying to save up enough money to go to college. The world around her is in a cycle of drought and superstorms, ice and fire … but people get by. But it’s about to get a whole lot worse.
When a mysterious boy shows up at Stevie’s museum saying that he’s from the future — and telling her what is to come — she refuses to believe him. But soon she will have no choice.
From the author of the Walter Award-winning Man Made Monsters comes a YA novel that conjures our futures in startling life – the ones that we are headed towards, and the ones we can still work towards.
Us In Ruins by Rachel Moore (HarperTeen)
The mythical Vase of Venus Aurelia hasn't been seen since 1932, but Margot Rhodes is determined to change that. Drawn by the vase's supposed magical properties, Margot embarks on her school's archaeological trip to Pompeii. Sure, it's her first time holding a shovel, but she's got something no one else does: lost teenage explorer Van Keane's journal. Poring over the poetic entries that serve as a map to the vase's missing shards, Margot finds herself falling in love with the boy who wrote it a century ago. She's shocked when her search leads her to a statue that looks exactly like Van, and then the statue comes to life. Catapulted into the present, Van is nothing like the wordsmith Margot imagined. He's all sharp edges, intent on retrieving the relic for all the wrong reasons. But it takes two to survive Venus's death-defying challenges, and, together, Margot and Van must excavate the treasure-and their buried pasts-before their story ends in ruins.
With a blend of humor, magic, and love, Rachel Moore crafts another stand-alone adventure rom-com full of double- and triple-crosses, hilarious shenanigans, and frustration-fueled banter, where the best treasure is true love.
Please Be My Star by Victoria Grace Elliott (Scholastic/Graphix) - YA graphic novel.
Erika knows that people find her weird and off-putting. Instead of making friends, she finds solace in talking to herself and obsessing over handsome actors and pop stars. When she starts attending a new school, her loneliness takes on a life of its own and she develops a new the cutest boy in her theater class, Christian. For some reason, Christian is kind to her and even agrees to star in the play that she wrote for him, and Erika starts to find a creative voice that might lead to new friendship and romance. But the more time Erika spends with Christian, the more she wonders what he sees in a creep like her. Can Erika somehow write her way into the center of her own heartfelt love story? Or does Christian have an ending of his own in mind?
The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
In Fantome, a kingdom of cobbled streets, flickering lamplight, beautiful buildings, and secret catacombs, Shade-magic is a scarce and deadly commodity controlled by two enemy the Cloaks and the Daggers—the thieves and the assassins. On the night of her mother's murder, seventeen-year-old Seraphine runs for her life. Seeking sanctuary with the Cloaks, Sera’s heart is set on revenge. But are her secret abilities a match for the dark-haired boy whose quicksilver eyes follow her around the city?
Nothing can prepare Sera for the moment she finally comes face-to-face with Ransom, heir to the Order of Daggers. And Ransom is shocked to discover that this unassuming farm girl wields a strange and blazing magic he has never seen before. As the Cloaks and the Daggers grapple for control of Fantome’s underworld, Sera and Ransom are consumed by the push and pull of their magic…and the deadly spark and terrible vengeance that keeps drawing them back together.
Songlight by Moira Buffini (HarperCollins)
We’re two songs joined. And there’s a word for that. A harmony.
Elsa is used to hiding the most important parts of herself—her feelings for Rye, her distaste for a world ruled by men, and, most crucially, her gift of songlight. She buries that secret deep inside. In Brightland, those with songlight are called Unhumans and are abhorred. Rye is the only other person Elsa has known with songlight, and their shared bond has brought them together.
Elsa’s world begins to fall apart one desperate, heart-wrenching day and she doesn’t know where to turn until a girl appears before her. But the girl isn’t really there—her songlight has been drawn to Elsa’s frantic grief.
Elsa lives in a remote seaside village; Nightingale, her new friend, lives in a city hundreds of miles away with her father, a government official responsible for rooting out Unhumans. The two never expected to connect via songlight. But when they do, and when they realize the extent of their power, they’ll be thrust in the middle of a war that threatens their very existence.
From an award-winning screenwriter making her novel debut comes this powerful, page-turning trilogy.
Mismatched by Anne Camlin (Little, Brown Ink) - YA graphic novel.
Evan Horowitz has it beauty, brains, and a not-so-secret flair for matchmaking! An Insta influencer with a talent for makeup and a taste for romance, he’s no stranger to playing cupid for those hopelessly clueless in finding love.
So when shy transfer student Natalia shuffles into school one day, Evan can’t help but get his hands messy! With so many matches to choose from, it’s not long before he sets a plan in motion for Natalia—much against the better judgement of his level-headed best friend, Davi.
But he takes things too far, creating a web of drama that spirals out of his control. Can Evan learn to put the people closest to him before his misguided ambition? Or will he lose them and his own chance at romance, too?
Welcome to Fear City by Sarah Dvojack (Union Square Kids)
Sylvie Stroud is dealing with an entirely different kind of evil when she awakens a dark magic hellbent on consuming her.
Seventeen-year-old Sylvie Stroud can see the past of any building just by touching it. Her powers have always been reliable, until one day she sees the memory of a teenage girl’s murder without touching anything at all. There's a lot of violence in New York City, especially in 1977, but this is different. When the vision keeps repeating, Sylvie begins to investigate. But doing so accidentally awakens an old, parasitic magic lurking just beneath the surface of her beleaguered city. Now all it wants is Sylvie, and it will go through everyone Sylvie loves to have her.
This page-turning horror adventure is perfect for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Kendare Blake.
This Book Kills by Ravena Kaur Guron (Sourcebooks Fire) - previously published in the UK, moved from September 1st.
All Jess Choudhary wants is to keep her head down, do her work, and make it through high school without any problems. As a scholarship student—and one of only two students of Indian heritage—her future at the elite school depends on her ability to keep a low profile and spotless record. But when one of the most popular and richest kids in the school ends up dead in the exact same way as a character in a short story she wrote, Jess unintentionally finds herself at the center of the investigation.
And then Jess receives an anonymous text thanking her for the inspiration.
As rumors run rampant about who the murderer could be, Jess knows if she doesn't solve this mystery herself, she'll finally have something in common - she'll be dead too.
Repeat After Me by Jessica Warman (Entangled Teen) - previously titled Me You and the Redo.
It Don't Come Easy by Eric Gansworth (Levine Querido) - moved from 2023.
Stealing Snow #2 by Danielle Paige (Bloomsbury) - moved from 2023.
September 10th
Gita Desai Is Not Here to Shut Up by Sonia Patel (Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books)
She’s determined to death-grip her good-girl, model student rep all the way to med school, which means no social life or standing out in any way. Should be easy: If there’s one thing she’s learned from her family, it’s how to chup-re—to “shut up,” fade into the background. But when childhood memories of her aunt’s desertion and her then-uncle’s best friend resurface, Gita ends up ditching the books night after night in favor of partying and hooking up with strangers.
Still, nothing can stop the little voice growing louder and louder inside her that says something is wrong... And the only way she can burst forward is to stop shutting up about the past.
To the Bone by Alena Bruzas (Rocky Pond Books)
It’s 1609 at James Fort, and Ellis has recently arrived from England with Henry Collins and his wife, who she serves as their indentured help. To orphaned Ellis, James Fort is an opportunity – a fresh start in a new world. And now that she has fallen for the bold and glorious Jane Eddowes, she feels even more hopeful about her future. Foolishly hopeful, for soon she comes to understand the horrible realities of her home: the crimes that her fellow settlers have committed against the Native Americans there, the terrible shortage of food they are facing as winter draws near, and the cruelty of her employer, both to her and to his pregnant wife. Ellis will call upon all her fortitude, but will it be enough?
Gripping, shocking, and exquisitely told, this is crucial U.S. history seen through the eyes of an extraordinary fictional teenager.
Ida, in Trouble and in Love by Ida B. Wells (Little, Brown)
The first child of newly freed parents who thrived in a community that pulsated with hope and possibility after the Civil War, Ida had a big heart, big ambitions, and even bigger How to be a good big sister when her beloved parents perish in a yellow fever epidemic? How to launch her career as a teacher? How to make and keep friends in a society that seems to have no place for a woman who speaks her own mind? And – always top of mind for Ida – how to find a love that will let her be the woman she dreams of becoming?
Ahead of her time by decades, Ida B. Wells pioneered the field of investigative journalism with her powerful reporting on violence against African Americans. Her name became synonymous with courage and an unflinching demand for racial and gender equality. But there were so many facets to Ida Bell and critically acclaimed writer Veronica Chamber unspools her full and colorful life as Ida comes of age in the rapidly changing South, filled with lavish society dances and parties, swoon-worthy gentleman callers, and a world ripe for the taking.
How to Lose a Best Friend: An MTV Friendzone Novel by Jordan Casomar (MTV Books) - moved from Fall 2023.
Zeke’s world is crashing down around him, but there’s one thing—or rather one person—keeping him afloat. Imogen. His ride or die. His day one homie. His best friend. The only thing that has kept him from asking Imogen out is her parent’s “no dating until sixteen” rule.
Now with Imogen’s sixteenth birthday around the corner, Zeke can finally be her boyfriend. Only, Imogen doesn’t seem to be in tune the unspoken understanding Zeke thought they that in their will-they-won’t-they, they definitely would. Instead, Imogen starts going out with her crush, Trevor, and Zeke makes it his mission to show her she made the wrong choice.
Meanwhile, Imogen has been thrown off-kilter by everyone’s reactions to her move in the game she didn’t know she was playing. Suddenly, she’s hit with accusations of leading Zeke on for years, and she doesn’t even have a best friend to lean on after finding out Zeke was always counting down the days until their friendship could turn romantic—shattering her trust. Tensions reach a boiling point at a disastrous party, and Zeke insists Imogen choose between him and Trevor. Torn between the easy option and following her heart, Imogen makes the only call she can…but is she prepared for the consequences?
Desert Echoes by Abdi Nazemian (Balzer + Bray)
Fifteen-year-old Kam is head over heels for Ash, the boy who swept him off his feet. But his family and best friend, Bodie, are worried. Something seems off about Ash. He also has a habit of disappearing, at times for days. When Ash asks Kam to join him on a trip to Joshua Tree, the two of them walk off into the sunset . . .but only Kam returns.
Two years later, Kam is still left with a hole in his heart and too many unanswered questions. So it feels like fate when a school trip takes him back to Joshua Tree. On the trip, Kam wants to find closure about what happened to Ash, but instead finds himself in danger of facing a similar fate. In the desert, Kam must reckon with the truth of his past relationship—and the possibility of opening himself up to love once again.
Desert Echoes is a propulsive, moving story about human resilience and connection.
Warrior of Legend by Kendare Blake (Quill Tree Books) - title and author announced on publisher website but not yet updated on Goodreads.
Reed is officially a member of the immortal order of the Aristene. She even has a new name: Machianthe. It’s everything she’s ever dreamed of—so why isn’t she happy?
Maybe it’s because every hero she helps can only find glory at the cost of their life. Or maybe it’s because she can’t stop thinking about the prince she left behind.
Now Reed looks for any opportunity to help with low-risk hero’s trials. And a princess looking for a glorious marriage? Nothing could be less dangerous. But Hestion is one of the suitors, and while Reed is occupied trying to win him back, an old danger is gaining strength.
To battle the growing threat, the Aristene must band together, but the order has never been more divided. Will Reed be able to survive this war with her chosen family and her heart intact?
Like they did her mother.
Securing an undergraduate research role to study the collection, Nicole discovers her greatest enemy—one of The Wake’s Empyreals. Kyan McCarter is their best hunter, stationed at the manor to track and kill a deadly creature, but when they realise a painting’s been stolen by his prey, Nicole and Kyan are forced to work together to find it.
As the creature threatens to expose Nicole’s power, her tenuous alliance with Kyan threatens her heart. If Kyan finds out what she is, he’ll hunt her next—or risk execution. No one disobeys The Wake and survives. Especially not when the art they’re seeking holds the key to a conspiracy that could get them both killed, and change the lives of creatures, and humans, forever.
SERPENT AND DOVE meets A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, in this luxurious, forbidden romance.
One Step Forward by Marcie Flinchum Atkins (Versify) - YA novel in verse.
At only nineteen years old, Matilda Young is arrested for protesting in support of women’s suffrage, making her the youngest suffragist to be imprisoned and mistreated for lawful protests. But her story began years before this moment. Raised in an activist family, Matilda wondered for years if she could be as courageous as her older sisters. Could she take a stand for her own rights and those of women across the country?
For seventy years, women had been campaigning for the right to vote—the right to have an equal voice in electing officials and in determining the direction of the country. But joining the protest movement came with plenty of risk. Women were routinely harassed and arrested—and worse.
Told in powerful verse, One Step Forward follows Matilda’s coming-of-age journey as she takes her first step into action. Amid the backdrop of World War I, Matilda realizes she has no choice but to join in the fight at home for women’s suffrage. Her story vividly highlights the extreme mental, physical, and emotional battles faced by the protestors leading up to the passage of the nineteenth amendment. It also reveals the bravery and spirit of the women who paved the way for future generations to have a say in determining their own fate.
Till The Last Beat Of My Heart by Louangie Bou-Montes (HarperCollins) - previously titled Don't Fear the Reaper.
When you grow up in a funeral home, death is just another part of life. But for Jaxon Santiago-Noble, it’s also part of his family’s legacy. Most dead bodies in Jaxon’s town wind up at his house; his mom is the local mortician, after all. He doesn’t usually pay them much mind, but when Christian Reyes is brought in after a car accident, his world is turned upside down.
There are a lot of things Jaxon wishes he could have said to his once best friend and first crush—and this might be his last chance. But what was only supposed to be a short visit downstairs to the mortuary for a final goodbye turns into an accidental resurrection. If inadvertently reanimating the boy who got away wasn’t enough, Jaxon isn’t sure he’s done a great job since he didn’t know he could do it in the first place.
As Jaxon exhumes his late father’s past to uncover the truth about his abilities, the more he learns about his necromancy, the more he realizes that Christian’s running on borrowed time—and it is almost out. Navigating dark, mysterious magics and family secrets, Jaxon realizes that stepping into an inherited power may also mean opening up old family wounds if he wants keep the boy who he may have more than friendly feelings for alive for good.
Murder on a Summer Break by Kate Weston (HarperTeen)
After catching the menstrual murderer red-handed, Annie and Kerry are now the Tampon Two, Barbourough’s most famous—well, only—detective duo. So Annie (and decidedly not Kerry) is enjoying her five minutes of fame.
Except life in the spotlight seems to be a magnet for death these days. After a famous prankster is found dead with a condom stretched over his entire head, the Tampon Two are on the scene at their small village’s Festival of Fame to catch another killer.
Honestly, Kerry doesn’t know how she ended up here again, but this might be her one chance to prove to the folks at the local paper that she has what it takes to be a reporter—and to prove to herself that she doesn’t need her boyfriend, Scott, to save the day. Or even Annie, who definitely has stars and hearts in her eyes investigating all these influencers.
With Annie distracted, Kerry has to work quickly, before one more live stream can be cut off by yet another grisly death. And this time, the murderer might be following her—and not just on social media—in their quest to create some truly killer content.
This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska (Peachtree Teen)
Cursed
to haunt a river of the magical bath town in which she drowned, Gisela
is a water nymph with dreams of returning to the mortal world and
reuniting with the family she left behind. All it takes is a kiss from a
living boy or girl, and luring unsuspecting tourists should be simple
enough…except that everyone flees from her deathly pallor.
And
then there is Kazik. The broody, demon-hunting grandson of a local witch
who annoyingly strives to be rid of unholy spirits like Gisela. After
Kazik botches Gisela’s exorcism, she strikes up a deal. She won’t tell
the other spirits that he’s losing his magic, if he agrees to
help her earn a kiss. But Gisela’s plan goes awry when Kazik also falls
for the devilishly handsome young man they’ve targeted—someone who could
be linked to Gisela’s troubled past.
Roam in enchantment with a
memorably quirky cast of characters in this queer poly romantasy.
Smoothly woven with engaging, multiple perspectives, this is a perfect
pick for cozy reading!
Old Wounds by Logan-Ashley Kisner (Delacorte) - moved from 2025.
But when they find themselves stranded - and eventually separated - in the creepy woods of rural middle-America, they suddenly have much bigger problems.
First, there’s the creature that, according to legend, feeds on girls, hunting them through the shadows. And then there are the locals, who are searching for a female sacrifice. If either of them hope to survive to see the sunrise, Erin and Max will have to come together and stop running: from their attackers, from each other, and, ultimately, from themselves.
They Thought They Buried Us by NoNieqa Ramos (Carolrhoda Lab)
Yuiza starts having disturbing dreams about the school's past and discovers clues about the fate of other scholarship students. It'll take all Yuiza's knowledge of the horror genre to escape from Our Lady's grasp.
Tiger's Tale by Colleen Houck (Blackstone)
Two sisters.
One terrible choice.
Stasia and Verusha Stepanov are twin sisters, raised in the ever-expanding Kievian empire. Though their Imperial home is an opulent palace, sumptuously decorated with the finest artifacts, treasures, and discoveries, the tsarevnas spend most of their time training with the elite guard.
Because they know a choice is coming.
With their father lost in the recent war and their mother unable to rule due to a crippling illness, the young women know that one of them will have to ascend to the throne, marry, and begin producing heirs. The other would then be free to join the elite guard and seek out a destiny of her own making.
Just as the sisters decide a duel will determine their futures, the loser rising to become the next tsarina, a strange monk appears at the palace, offering them all they desire in exchange for a pair of old trinkets their father left them. When they refuse, however, the monk releases a deadly curse upon their people—one only they can break.
September 17th
We Are Hunted by Tomi Oyemakinde (Feiwel and Friends)
Experience paradise, reimagined.
When 17-year-old Femi Fatona and his older brother are forced to accompany their dad to an island resort, Femi is not looking forward to it. After all, he hasn't exactly been getting along with either of them lately. Not much is known about the resort they'll be staying at, as it’s on a newly-discovered island and shrouded in nondisclosure agreements, but it at least promises to be full of all the extravagant luxuries they're used to.
Once they arrive, Femi is thrilled to find that the island is filled with new and spectacular species of plants and animals, along with out-of-this-world technology. But he soon realizes that sometimes pretty exteriors hide ugly truths—truths that are begging to come to light.
But those truths come with a price. And, when the island is thrown into chaos from feral animal attacks, what was meant to be a peaceful bonding experience quickly becomes the stuff of nightmares. Femi will have to put aside tensions with his family and figure out who they can trust, in order to escape the animals, the island, and his own guilt at the part he may have played in all of this.
What Is This Feeling? by Robby Weber (Inkyard Press)
Theater star Teddy McGuire is ready for all his dreams to come true. He and his best friend, Annie, have been counting down the days to the end-of-the-year drama club trip to New York City. To make it even more magical, if they can win the annual scavenger hunt, they’ll get a chance to meet their popstar idol, Benji Keaton.
But the universe has other when Annie can’t go on the trip, Teddy is forced to room with tech crew loner Sebastian, who has no interest in the scavenger hunt—or Teddy—and seems to have a secret agenda of his own.On a larger-than-life adventure across the city, the boys will discover a lot more than what’s on their checklist, including masquerade mishaps, obstacles of Jurassic proportions, Hollywood starlets, and, most surprisingly of all, sparks beginning to fly between them. In a story about chasing your destiny, Teddy and Sebastian are about to learn the secret to making their own luck.
The Night Owls by A.R. Vishny (HarperTeen)
Molly is in love. And she’s tired of keeping her girlfriend, Anat, a secret. If Clara won’t agree to bend their rules a little, then she will bend them herself.
Boaz is cursed. He can’t walk two city blocks without being cornered by something undead. At least at work at the theatre, he gets to flirt with Clara, wishing she would like him back.
But when Anat vanishes, and New York’s monstrous underworld emerges from the shadows, Clara suspects Boaz, their annoyingly cute box office attendant, might be behind it all.
But if they are to find Anat, they will need to work together to face down demons and the hungers they would sooner bury. Clara will have to break all her rules—of love, of life, and of death itself—before her rules break everyone she loves.
Serpent Sea by Maiya Ibrahim (Delacorte) - moved from 2022, then from 2023.
In this romantic fantasy set in an Arabian-inspired land, Immani must use her magic to navigate the serpent sea—and her heart—to save her people from an invasion after the enchantment that once protected them has been shattered. As a Shield Immani is sworn to protect her land from the monsters across the city but as the Harrowlanders begin preparing supplies, horses and their greatest weapon—spice magic—she knows it is only a matter of time before the invasion begins…and it will be a losing battle. But Immani also knows that the only true way to fight magic is with monsters. If she can restore Qayn’s stolen powers, together they can summon an army to save Sahir. Forming an alliance with a former King turned monster might seem like the riskiest thing she can do but things are made even more dangerous by the fact that his magic is in the form of three jewels that once were encrusted in his crown but are now hidden beyond the dessert.
A forbidden quest to find the jewels might be the only way to combat the Harrowlanders but as Immani journeys across the sea, she will discover serpentines and other scaled creatures warriors have only heard about in myths…and that can strike at any moment. One wrong move could cost her life—and everyone she loves. But Immani may find there is more than meets the eye crossing the serpent sea…and betrayal cuts deeper than any dagger.
Spells to Forget Us by Aislinn Brophy (G.P. Putnam and Sons)
Luna is a powerful witch. Known for her skills and feared for her temper, she’s set to preserve her family’s legacy by becoming the head of Boston’s witch council—a job she does not want.
Aoife is a regular girl. Raised under the lens of her influencer family, she’s grown up in the public eye, trading beauty as currency. She yearns for privacy—but knows her parents would never oblige.
Aoife and Luna feel lost until they find each other and start dating. As decreed by magic law, Luna casts a spell so that, if they ever break up, Aoife will forget all about her.
Then Aoife and Luna break up. But instead of only Aoife forgetting, they both forget each other . . . until they meet again, are swept off their feet, and recover all memories of their last attempt at dating. So begins a cycle that keeps bringing Aoife and Luna together even as they push each other away. Is magic no match for a love that is fated?
Seasons of Flesh and Flame by A.G. Howard (Bloomsbury) - moved from 2023.
Lark Loring spent three years trapped in the magical world of Mystiquel, held captive by the Goblin King and forced to power the realm with her imagination. Until her sister, Nix, found her way into Mystiquel and offered herself up as a captive instead.
Now that Lark is back in the mortal world, her uncle and her former boyfriend, Clarey, are desperate to bring her sister back. The portal between the worlds only opens on Halloween night, which means they have a year to plan their rescue. But Lark's not so sure about the rescue part-because when they switched places, Lark finally discovered the truth: Lark was never meant to be the Goblin King's captive, Nix was. But Nix let him take Lark in her place.
Lark has been forever changed by her imprisonment, but she hides her growing darkness from her uncle and Clarey, letting them think she's on their side. As Halloween night approaches, she's haunted by one question: will she save Nix, or finally get her revenge?
Set in a gritty, atmospheric world filled with magical creatures, New York Times bestselling author A.G. Howard continues her thrilling fantasy series full of romance, twists, and betrayals.
If Anything Happens to Me by Luanne Rice (Scholastic) - previously titled The Girl Who Knew Too Much, moved from 2022.
Oli Parish is numb after the death of her sister Eloise. She was her other half who went missing one day and was later found buried in the woods. And the killer? He's still on the loose. This should scare Oli but nothing gets in the way of her visiting the site in the woods where her sister's body was discovered. Oli can sense Eloise's spirit there.
But on one of her visits, Oli hears a voice calling for help and then she sees a hand clawing its way through the dirt. But this is no ghost -- it's a young girl named Iris. She has no memory of what happened to her and how she ended up in the same shallow grave as Eloise. But Oli knows that Iris must in some way be connected to her sister's murder. Together, the two girls team up to try to help Iris recover her memory and unravel the mystery of who is behind the crimes.
Their detective work leads them all around Oli's seemingly idyllic small town -- and to her shock, to a classmate of hers named Harry, who may or may not be looking for a desperate way to help his ailing sister... and at the expense of other girls.
Told in Luanne Rice's breathtaking prose, and at a breakneck pace, this riveting mystery about sisters, hope, and the fight for what's right is perfect for fans of Family of Liars and A Good Girls' Guide To Murder.
Such Lovely Skin by Tatiana Scholte-Bonne (Page Street)
After spending the summer wracked with guilt about causing the accident that killed her little sister, ambitious gamer and chronic liar Viv returns to Twitch streaming. She never told her parents the truth about the accident, but she hopes that maybe making it big in streaming and giving the money to them is penance enough for her mistakes.
The weekend before school starts, Viv finds the perfect horror game to make her Twitch comeback, and during an offline practice run, an NPC asks Viv for a secret. She decides to tell them the truth about her sister’s death since a game could never share her secret―in doing so, she accidentally welcomes a demonic mimic into her life.
No one believes Viv when she tells them about her evil doppelganger. Viv has lied to get her best friend’s sympathy and has spread rumors for attention, so why should anyone trust her now? The only person who believes her is Ash, a cute social outcast whom Viv once bullied. In trying to clear her name and kill the mimic, Viv discovers that her lies have hurt people who never deserved it, herself included.
Ruin Road by Lamar Giles (Scholastic)
Cade Webster lives between worlds. He's a standout football star at the right school but lives in the wrong neighborhood--if you let his classmates tell it. Everywhere but home, people are afraid of him for one reason or another. Afraid he's too big, too fast, too ambitious, too Black.
Then one fateful night, to avoid a dangerous encounter with the police, he ducks into a pawn shop. An impulse purchase and misspoken desire change everything when Cade tells the shopkeeper he wishes people would stop acting so scared around him, and the wish is granted...
At first, it feels like things have taken a turn for the better. But it's not just Cade that people no longer fear--it's everything. With Cade spreading this newfound "courage" wherever he goes, anything can happen. Fearless acts of violence begin to escalate in both his neighborhood and at school. Something monstrous is clearly at work and it's up to Cade to stop it. But just what did he buy and what's the price to undo the damage? After all, the devil's in the details.
Forget Me Not by Gry Kappel Jensen (Arctis Books USA) - originally published in Denmark.
Chamomile, Kirstine, Victoria and Malou are back at Rosenholm Academy to start a new school year. But in addition to the lessons in runic magic, clairvoyance and Norse mythology, the girls also have something completely different to worry about. A crime from the past draws threads to the present, and the girls have committed themselves to solving the murder mystery that casts a shadow over Rosenholm.
An ominous prediction causes the seriousness to dawn on them, while the questions loom large. And each of them harbors deep secrets that threaten to tear them apart before they can fulfill the promise they made. Time is running out and it could end up being fatal...
Forget Me Not is the exciting sequel to the fantasy novel Roses and Violets and volume two in the Rosenholm trilogy.
The Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning (Tor Teen)
Ruby and her sister Wren are normal, middle-class Colorado high school students working a summer job at the local Renaissance Fest to supplement their meager college savings.
So when an eccentric old lady asks them to impersonate her long-absent grandchildren at a fancy dinner party at the jaw-dropping rate of two grand—each—for a single night…Wren insists it’s a no-brainer. Make some cash, have some fun, do a good deed.
But less than an hour into the evening at the mysterious Hegemony Manor, Ruby is sure she must have lost her mind to have agreed to this.
The hostess is dead, the gates are locked, and a magical curse ensures no one can leave until they solve both her murder and the riddles she left behind—in just three days. Because everyone else at this party is a powerful witch. And if the witches realize Ruby and Wren are imposters? The sisters won’t make it out of Hegemony Manor alive.
September 24th
Our Deadly Designs by Kalyn Josephson (Roaring Brook Press)
The Illinir may be over, but the race for Enderlain’s future has just begun. The hunt for the old king’s lost heir is on, and the first to find them will win the throne.
Mikira has allied herself with the rebels in pursuit of the lost heir, but the deeper her search takes her, the closer she gets to the royal family's wicked past.
Ari is struggling to control her own growing power as she grapples with a dark secret that may be her undoing — and the truth behind Damien's greatest foe.
Damien, the new head of House Adair, joins the race to find the heir and secure the crown. But as his influence at court grows, so does his paranoia and hunger for power.
Reid is trying his best to stay true to the friend who's always had his loyalty — and the flame who has his heart — while trapped in a web of chaos and lies.
But a darker force is festering in Enderlain’s underbelly, and Mikira, Ari, Damien, and Reid will need to find a way back to each other — and themselves — before the kingdom is torn apart. Hearts will be broken and new bonds will be forged in this explosive finale to This Dark Descent, where spellbinding fantasy meets Jewish mythology in a cut-throat race for the throne — and Enderlain’s survival.
Rabbit and Juliet by Rebecca Stafford (Quill Tree Books)
But all that changes when the sarcastic, gorgeous, and frustratingly impenetrable Juliet Bergman walks into Rabbit's life. All hard angles and James Dean bravado, Juliet throws Rabbit a life preserver just before her depression threatened to sink her.
Then one morning, Rabbit's ex-best-friend Sarah--Richard's current girlfriend--shares a horrific discovery about Richard and his crew that pitches Rabbit back into darkness. The three girls vow to enact revenge on the boys for what they've been doing to unsuspecting girls at parties. With Juliet leading the charge and demanding blind loyalty from the girls, Rabbit falls harder for her than she thought possible. It isn't until Rabbit is faced with a startling act of violence that she must decide how far she's willing to go--for herself, for Juliet, and for justice--when love and grief threaten to topple everything.
Faeries Never Die by Various YA Authors (Feiwel and Friends)
There’s something to be said for starting your first day in faerie boarding school, for chasing a faerie through Chang’an during the Tang Dynasty, for searching for the missing part of your throuple who may have run away with a faerie prince, for descending into madness after spending countless nights plagued by the same faerie dream—and much more.
Fly into this revelry filled with tricksters, lovers, monsters, and the like, in this exciting collection for those who love faeries and those who are experiencing them for the first time!
Edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker, Faeries Never Lie features short stories from beloved authors Nafiza Azad, Holly Black, Dhonielle Clayton, Christine Day, Chloe Gong, Tessa Gratton, Kwame Mbalia, Ryan La Sala, L.L. McKinney, Anna-Marie McLemore, Kaitlyn Sage Patterson, Rory Power.
Everything Glittered by Robin Talley (Little, Brown)
But after sneaking out of the Washington Female Seminary to visit a speakeasy, they return to discover that their controversial young headmistress, Mrs. Rose, has been murdered. Reeling from the death of her beloved mentor, Gertrude enlists her friends in her quest to clear Mrs. Rose’s reputation, while trying to keep her own intact.
But in Prohibition Washington, it’s difficult to sidestep grifters, bootleggers, and shady federal agents when investigating a murder. And with all the secrets being uncovered, Gertrude is finding it harder and harder to keep her attraction to her best friends hidden. A proper, upscale life is all Gertrude has ever known, but murder sure makes a gal is all that glitters really gold?
The Hysterical Girls of St Bernadette's by Hanna Alkaf (Simon and Schuster)
For over a hundred years, girls have fought to attend St. Bernadette’s, with its reputation for shaping only the best and brightest young women.
Unfortunately, there is also the screaming.
When a student begins to scream in the middle of class, a chain reaction starts that impacts the entire school. By the end of the day, seventeen girls are affected—along with St. Bernadette’s stellar reputation.
Khadijah’s got her own scars to tend to, and watching her friends succumb to hysteria only rips apart wounds she’d rather keep closed. But when her sister falls to the screams, Khad knows she’s the only one who can save her.
Rachel has always been far too occupied trying to reconcile her overbearing mother’s expectations with her own secret ambitions to pay attention to school antics. But just as Rachel finds her voice, it turns into screams.
Together, the two girls find themselves digging deeper into the school’s dark history, hunting for the truth. Little do they know that a specter lurks in the darkness, watching, waiting, and hungry for its next victim…
Aisle Nine by Ian X. Cho (HarperTeen)
This Black Friday will be the darkest yet.
Even though the world is filled with portals to hell and bloodthirsty demons pop out of them on the reg, Jasper spends his days and nights working as a check-out clerk at the Here For You discount mart. Sure, there’s even a hell portal in aisle nine, which means he could be maimed, dismembered, or even eaten whole during every shift, but at least at the mart he can be near his crush, Kyle Kuan. That she doesn’t seem to even notice that he exists seems about right to Jasper, because Jasper can’t remember anything that happened to him before his accident five months ago, either.
But when Jasper and Kyle learn they both share a frightening vision of the impending apocalypse, they realize that they have at least this common: They have to save the world. Because ready or not, on Black Friday, all hell will break loose, starting in aisle nine.
Perfect for fans of Grasshopper Jungle or The Last of Us comes Aisle Nine, the debut young adult novel from rising star Ian X. Cho.
A Constellation of Minor Bears by Jen Ferguson (Heartdrum)
Before that awful Saturday, Molly used to be inseparable from her brother, Hank, and his best friend, Tray. The indoor climbing accident that left Hank with a traumatic brain injury filled Molly with anger.
While she knows the accident wasn’t Tray’s fault, she will never forgive him for being there and failing to stop the damage. But she can’t forgive herself for not being there either.
Determined to go on the trio’s post-graduation hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, even without Hank, Molly packs her bag. But when her parents put Tray in charge of looking out for her, she is stuck backpacking with the person who incites her easy anger.
Despite all her planning, the trail she’ll walk has a few more twists and turns ahead. . . .
Discover the evocative storytelling and emotion from the author of The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, which was the winner of the Governor General's Award, a Stonewall Award honor book, and a Morris Award finalist, as well as Those Pink Mountain Nights, a Kirkus Best Book of the Year!
When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson (Dial)
The Fall siblings live in hot Northern California wine country, where the sun pours out of the sky, and the devil winds blow so hard they whip the sense right out of your head.
Years ago, the Fall kids’ father mysteriously disappeared, cracking the family into pieces. Now Dizzy Fall, age twelve, bakes cakes, sees spirits, and wishes she were a heroine of a romance novel. Miles Fall, seventeen, brainiac, athlete, and dog-whisperer, is a raving beauty, but also lost, and desperate to meet the kind of guy he dreams of. And Wynton Fall, nineteen, who raises the temperature of a room just by entering it, is a virtuoso violinist set on a crash course for fame . . . or self-destruction.
Then an enigmatic rainbow-haired girl shows up, tipping the Falls’ world over. She might be an angel. Or a saint. Or an ordinary girl. Somehow, she is vital to each of them. But before anyone can figure out who she is, catastrophe strikes, leaving the Falls more broken than ever. And more desperate to be whole.
With road trips, rivalries, family curses, love stories within love stories within love stories, and sorrows and joys passed from generation to generation, this is the intricate, luminous tale of a family’s complicated past and present. And only in telling their stories can they hope to rewrite their futures.
Pick the Lock by A.S. King (Dutton)
Jane’s mother is an artist constantly on tour to earn a living and support the family. While her mother is away, Jane lives in a Victorian mansion with her younger brother and their controlling, mendacious father and aunt, both of whom have conspired to confine Jane and Henry’s mother to a system of pneumatic tubes whenever she’s at home. Pick the Lock follows Jane’s bizarre and brilliant journey to rediscover and reconnect with her mother through punk rock and opera.
Signed Sealed Dead by Cynthia Murphy (Delacorte) - previously published in the UK.
And then notes start appearing at their dilapidated old home, about the secrets the house is keeping. The clues lead Paige to a diary concealed in the walls that belonged to one of the missing girls. Could this be the key to solving a quarter-of-a-century mystery, or will this make Paige the next target?!
Payal Mehta's Romance Revenge Plot by Preeti Chhibber (Kokila)
Payal Mehta has had a crush on popular, athletic, all-around perfect Jonathan Slate ever since he smiled at her in freshman–year Spanish class. At a party during spring break of her junior year, Payal finally works up the courage to ask Jon to hang out. However, her romantic plans are derailed when he vomits on her Keds. Twice. But when Jon offers to take her out to lunch as an apology, Payal is convinced this is the start of their love story.
Over chalupas and burritos at Taco Bell, Payal's best jokes are landing as planned. Jon is basically choking on his Coke—and then it happens. "Do you have a boyfriend?" Payal is (finally) about to get the guy. And then he tries to set her up with his Indian friend. Payal's best friends, Neil Patel and Divya Bhatt, are just as mad about the microaggression as Payal is, but they think she’s a little too hung up on him.
Determined to teach Jon a lesson by making him fall for her, Payal ropes in her archnemesis, Philip Kim, to help by ceding creative control over their psych project. It’s the perfect plan. Minus Philip’s snarky, annoying quips and lack of faith in its success. But as Payal lies to the people she loves, hides the too-Indian parts of herself in front of her crush, and learns that maybe Philip isn't the worst, she starts to wonder if what she's been looking for has been scowling at her all along...
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