Sharon Creech treats the topic of grief and family dynamics delicately and beautifully, painting a profound picture that will speak to readers of all ages.
Beautiful, complex and affirming, Ash’s Cabin will prompt deep conversations about how best to support one another and our environment, at a time when the future is uncertain and peace can be hard to find.
Beloved for The Sky is Everywhere (which received an A24-produced film adaptation in 2022) and I’ll Give You the Sun, Printz Award-winner Jandy Nelson is back with When the World Tips Over, which brings readers to California wine country, where the three Fall siblings, still affected by the loss of their father years prior, have a life-changing encounter with a mysterious rainbow-haired girl.
The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature from 2020-2022 and winner of the Kirkus Prize (among countless other accolades), Jason Reynolds promises to charm readers with his usual sweet, exuberant prose in the story of Neon, a teenager facing his first time. Judy Blume has already chimed in to give her approval, calling this novel “fresh from start to finish.”
Erin A. Craig is a master at developing her characters, giving them real-world obstacles to work through while adding a hint of magic to keep readers on their toes.
Stephanie Garber gives fans of the wildly popular Caraval series plenty to rejoice over this holiday season with Spectacular, a novella that brings back beloved characters as they prepare to celebrate the Great Holiday. Garber promises whimsy and magic in this new adventure illustrated by Rosie Fowinkle.
The Henna Wars, Adiba Jaigirdar’s debut novel, was named one of Time’s 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time, and readers haven’t been disappointed by subsequent offerings such as Hani & Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating. In this new sapphic romance, two Bangladeshi Irish girls—and rivals—discover they’ve been dating the same boy, and join forces to compete at the European Young Scientist Exhibition with an app designed to expose cheaters. But what if in the course of their revenge plot, their frenemy relationship starts turning into something more?
We adored Gwen & Art Are Not in Love, Lex Croucher’s “quirky, queer Arthurian remix with serious undertones.” In Not For the Faint of Heart, the bestselling author moves onto the legend of Robin Hood—well, specifically Robin Hood’s granddaughter, Mariel, a new captain of the Merry Men.
Heir offers a welcome blend of mystique and weightiness—plus a dollop of romance—that will delight anyone seeking more complexity in young adult fantasy.
Based on Jewish mythology concerning the dybbuk, a disembodied spirit that inhabits the body of a living person, The Forbidden Book is a fantastic coming-of-age tale with resonant political themes.
George M. Johnson made waves with their critically acclaimed debut, All Boys Aren’t Blue, which became a bestseller—as well as the second-most challenged book in the United States in 2022 and 2023. Their new young adult nonfiction book, Flamboyants, spotlights queer Black icons from the 1920s such as Zora Neale Hurston and Josephine Baker. The biographies are accentuated by colorful illustrations from Charly Palmer, winner of the 2018 Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award.
Readers won’t want to put down The White Guy Dies First, a creative and creepy collection in which expectations are subverted and underrepresented groups claim their power from ghouls and demons both real and supernatural.
Readers looking for a sweet, moving love story will enjoy getting to know Phoebe and Jess in Time and Time Again, a fun, speculative queer romance.
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