Author Abdi Nazemian brings emotional depth and a dreamy soundtrack to the story of a teen love triangle set in New York during a turning point in the AIDS crisis.

It’s 1989, and Iranian teen Reza is new to the city, having recently left Toronto to live with his mom and new stepfather. Reza knows he’s gay but is terrified to say so, let alone act on it. He quickly befriends the two coolest freaks in his new high school. Judy is a skilled fashion designer, and her best friend, a photographer named Art, is the school’s only out gay student. Both Judy and Art are devoted to Judy’s uncle, Stephen, an activist who is dying of AIDS. And Judy and Art are both attracted to Reza, but in order to follow his heart, Reza will have to confront both his fears and his family.

While the main characters in this story are all fictional, the ACT UP demonstrations vividly depicted here really happened, and cameo appearances by artist Keith Haring and musical icon Debbie Harry put the reader right in the middle of it all. Uncle Stephen makes Art a collection of index cards with info about important figures in queer history—like Marsha P. Johnson—and readers will hopefully be inspired to do further research.

I was in high school a little before these kids, and the fear and isolation they go through rings painfully true, as does the unfettered joy that comes when you find your people. Like a Love Story made me cry, but it also made me feel mighty real.

It’s been a year since a stranger killed four people in Camera Cove, a small town on the Northeastern seaboard. Labeled the Catalog Killer, the murderer poisoned the victims before posing them and pinning vintage catalog art to their bodies.

One of those victims was Connor Williams, a popular high school kid. No one idolized him more than his best friend and neighbor, Mac Bell. And while the rest of the town is trying to return to normalcy, Mac can’t. On graduation day, he finds a note in a stack of comics that he and Connor would trade—a note that suggests Connor uncovered the Catalog Killer’s identity and wanted Mac’s help. Mac is devastated that he didn’t find this note earlier, so under false pretenses, he begins his own investigation to uncover what the police haven’t. Unfortunately, his snooping rips open old wounds for the victims’ families, who are desperate to move forward. Mac is forcing the townsfolk to relive the trauma so he can untangle his own complicated feelings for Connor, but can a person ever get past losing someone they loved?

Tom Ryan’s Keep This to Yourself is a gripping murder mystery on the surface, but underneath, it is an exploration of identity and grief. Each of the victims had a secret life that the killer used to their advantage, including Connor, which further muddies Mac’s ability to piece together the puzzle. Throw in some romance and an unexpected twist ending, and readers will plow through Keep This to Yourself in one sitting.

Set in a remote Australian town that’s still reeling from a recent murder, The Things She’s Seen takes the reader on an emotional and metaphysical journey to solve a crime that no one could have seen coming—or solved—without help from something beyond this world.

Beth Teller isn’t like most people. She’s a half-aboriginal girl who died in a car accident and still roams this earth. The only person who can see and hear her now is her father, Michael, a police detective who’s drowning in grief from losing his only child. Michael is investigating a suspicious case of arson, and as he keeps unearthing clues and the small town’s dark secrets, Beth keeps reminding him of his humanity while using her supernatural abilities to aid in the investigation however she can.

When Michael begins questioning witnesses, he and Beth meet Isobel Catching at the hospital, and her account of the events leading up to the fire seem too fantastical and otherworldly to be relevant to the case, much less believable. But then Isobel reveals that she, too, can communicate with Beth, and the more she shares, the more her story begins to connect with the developing investigation. Soon, Beth and her father can’t help but begin seeing the world in a whole new light.

In their first joint YA novel, brother and sister authors Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina—descendants of the aboriginal Palyku people of Western Australia—have crafted a unique, enrapturing and experimental work in The Things She’s Seen. Their combined prose and poetry explore grief, love, violence, racism, marginalization, corruption and justice through a story filled with well-layered symbolism, transcendence and survival.

What better way to start the summer than with a new Sarah Dessen novel? In the tradition of her previous bestselling novels like This Lullaby and Once and for All, The Rest of the Story captures a young woman’s first big steps on her journey to self-reliance, reconnection and first love.

Emma Saylor lost her mom to addiction at a young age, and she hasn’t seen or spoken to anyone in her mother’s family for as long as she can remember. But when her summer plans fall through, Emma’s last-minute decision to return to North Lake to visit her maternal family propels her into a summer of discovery—not only about her mother, but about herself.

As always, Dessen’s vividly defined characters—with the sprawling cast of secondary characters adding as much complexity and depth to the story as Emma herself—will feel as familiar to readers as their own friends and family. But the real strength of The Rest of the Story is the deft way Dessen handles the tough subjects of addiction, grief, anxiety and class, unpacking these topics with nuance and a gentle hand.

While her latest novel brings us to a new fictional beach town, Dessen has scattered an Easter egg or two for avid fans throughout the book. But The Rest of the Story stands apart as a perfect summer read. It’s lighthearted, poignant and sure to give readers all the feels.

In 1851, 17-year-old Roan Eddington moves to Medwyn Mill House on a Welsh mountain under the guardianship of the mysterious Dr. Maudley. She meets the prickly ward Rapley and the unusual siblings from Ireland who have been sent to the house under the guise of charity. But it is obvious that Dr. Maudley is no ordinary doctor and that Mill House is no mountain retreat. Roan has powers that she cannot wield, and the house only exacerbates her darkness.

Fast forward to the modern day, when British teen Zoey Root has run off to Mill House with her friend Poulton. Zoey believes that hidden among the ruins is a clue to her father’s madness and her own unique abilities. Although the house is in shambles, the evil that has resided there for centuries is not. Zoey is warned that if she does not leave, the house will kill Poulton, as it has done to everyone within its walls. What binds Roan and Zoey together, despite a century of separation, is an ancient and demonic curse that spans lifetimes.

Dawn Kurtagich’s Teeth in the Mist is a hefty story with numerous narratives and melodic language that leans heavily on gothic fantasy and romance tropes. Interspersed throughout the text are illustrations and art meant to resemble old documents, photographs and artifacts. Zoey’s story is told through diary entries and mixed media. Although it takes time for the story to get underway, this read is immersive and page-turning. Be prepared for a sequel.

Bex just got her ticket out of her hometown of Westmill via an internship on the hit TV teen drama “Silver Falls.” (Think “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”) However, her boss and head writer, Malcom, is none too happy to have his own intern. Nonetheless, Bex is just excited to be part of the show, even if it means getting coffee for the writing crew and green juices for cast members.

When Jane, another writer, takes Bex under her wing, she learns the ins and outs of how a TV show is put together. And later, when Malcom is stumped on how to write his assigned episode, Bex takes it upon herself to draft a script and give it to him. Malcom sneakily rewrites the script and passes it off as his own—right after writing her lesbian character off as straight in order to protect one of the show’s stars who made a homophobic statement. Having just come out of the closet herself, Bex feels the burn, and she makes it her mission to set the record right—both for the LGBTQ+ community and the fandom.

Author Jen Wilde not only gives readers a peek into the television industry, but she also offers an in-depth look at Bex’s coming-out process. Bex finds herself unexpectedly falling for Shrupty, a new actress on the show, and Wilde handles their romance with extreme heart and tenderness. Diverse characters and themes of sexuality and individuality make this an extremely timely story that readers will devour.

Perfect for the #ownvoices movement, Going Off Script is an excellent choice for teens looking to make their mark in society.

That’s too bad. How horrible. I am so sorry for your loss. These are all empty platitudes when they come from strangers, and they mean even less coming from family. In Sorry for Your Loss, written by Printz Honor-winning author Jessie Ann Foley, 16-year-old Pup Flanagan is devastated after the loss of his older brother, Patrick, and he cannot understand why no one in his family seems to care enough to even mention Patrick’s name. Not that anyone really notices Pup anyway—as the youngest of eight siblings, and one of 27 immediate family members who live in the same town and always gather for Sunday dinner, he is used to being forgotten.

Pup is also not doing well at school. He’s struggling in his classes and is about to fail art. Who fails art? Pup’s teacher gives him one final chance in the form of a photography project. A chance encounter with Luke, his older brother who is starting to drink too much, allows Pup to start seeing his family through a different lens—the camera’s lens. As Pup’s art teacher begins to see his potential and when Pup befriends Abrihet—an immigrant girl with a passion for photography who is experiencing her own loss—Pup begins to realize that everyone is dealing with their sorrows in their own way.

Sorry for Your Loss explores grief, friendship, love, heartbreak and unity among families who are with you for better or worse. Woven throughout with Pup’s irreverent humor, this book never becomes too bleak or heavy, even with the difficult themes it explores.

Her family’s unofficial motto is Katsuyamas Never Quit, but that hasn’t held true for 17-year-old CJ, who knows she’s never going to be as high-powered as her ambitious single mom. CJ prefers helping her Aunt Hannah at their family floral shop, Heart’s Desire.

Heart’s Desire is a point of family pride. CJ’s grandfather spent 30 years saving enough money to buy back the shop at an astronomical markup. When the Katsuyamas and thousands of other Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during World War II, her grandfather was forced to sell all of his property to an investor named McAllister for a fraction of its true value. But now, with Heart’s Desire struggling, CJ’s mom is threatening to sell it right back to a McAllister who currently serves as the head of the venture capital firm where she is a partner.

This outrage stokes CJ’s activist spirit, especially when she learns that the Heart’s Desire scandal is only one of many examples of the McAllister family profiting off the losses of Japanese Americans.

Misa Sugiura’s This Time Will Be Different shows CJ wrestling with her growing awareness of racism and the injustices of history while also grappling with more typical teenage concerns like an unattainable crush or a changing relationship with her best friend. With the help of a history-loving boy, CJ starts to realize that although we might never be able to fix past mistakes—both globally and personally—we can learn from them, tell their stories and try our best to avoid making them again.

Blair Thornburgh’s second novel, Ordinary Girls, is a delightful, contemporary take on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility with a bit of Brontë sprinkled in for fun.

Plum and her older sister, Ginny, live in an old house along with their widowed mom, an assortment of pets and a gay doctoral student in music whom they call “Almost-Doctor Andrew.” Unlike the sisters in Austen’s novel, it’s not the death of their father but a plumbing disaster—combined with a publishing demise—that precipitates their family’s financial ruin. Their mother learns that the popular children’s book series she illustrated is being reissued for its 25th anniversary with a new artist. The result? No more royalties.

For high school senior Ginny, who’s caught up in the pressure of college admissions, the weight of social expectations has become nearly unbearable. Like Marianne in Austen’s novel, she loses herself and even has a frightening brush with death.

Early on, however, it’s the plumbing situation that propels Plum outside her self-imposed cocoon. A loud sophomore boy named Tate Kurokawa offers Plum the use of his family’s shower. From there, Plum ends up tutoring Tate in English (her foray into governessing), and the two seemingly mismatched teens begin to make surprising discoveries about each other and themselves.

Although Thornburgh’s intended audience is young adults, Ordinary Girls is a romantic comedy that’s perfect for adult Janeites. So if you’re looking for a gift for a sister or a friend who loves books about people who love books, pick up this humorous, heartwarming tale by a very talented novelist.

Still waters run deep in With the Fire on High, the second novel from Elizabeth Acevedo, author of the award-winning The Poet X.

Emoni Santiago, known for her amazing skills in the kitchen, is a senior at her Philadelphia charter school, but her family is closer to the forefront of her mind than classes and college applications. Her 2-year-old daughter, Emma, whom Emoni calls “Babygirl,” has just started daycare. Babygirl’s father, Tyrone, is sweet to the child, but he’s a headache for Emoni. Emoni’s own father, Julio, is an activist who couldn’t handle single parenthood after Emoni’s mother, a black woman from North Carolina, died during childbirth. Now, when Julio visits from Puerto Rico, he leaves without goodbyes. And Emoni’s grandmother, ’Buela, keeps having doctor’s appointments that she doesn’t fully explain. 

But at school, a new guy is testing Emoni’s resolve not to deal with pretty boys, and then there’s the elective class she’s taking a chance on—culinary arts. When Emoni cooks at home, her dishes are inspired and have the power to bring people to tears. (Readers can try out Emoni’s dishes for themselves with the many recipes peppered throughout.) But the class assignments feature as much science as they do art, more discipline than creativity, and Emoni isn’t the school-achievement type. Plus, she’s not sure what to do about the culinary class’s study-abroad trip to Spain, which she has no money for. 

Readers will connect with Emoni as she navigates complex relationships, her irritation at being misunderstood and her self-identity with confidence and sass while trying to keep her dreams realistic and motherhood on the front burner. Although not as lyrical as Acevedo’s debut, With the Fire on High stands out for its unique, realistic subject matter and memorable characters.

Kip Wilson’s debut young adult novel, White Rose, was the first book acquired by Kwame Alexander’s new imprint at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which aims to offer a greater diversity of voices in books for young people. Fittingly, White Rose is all about voices.

Based on a true story, this novel-in-verse gives voice to German teen Sophie Scholl and her fellow members of the White Rose movement. The group spoke out against Hitler and the rise of the Nazis by distributing leaflets that encouraged Germans to rise up and join their resistance. But Sophie and her brother, Hans, were not successful in their mission, and after they were caught passing out leaflets at Munich University, they were arrested, interrogated and imprisoned.

In Wilson’s fictionalized account, Sophie is the narrator, and the story is largely hers, with an occasional letter from Hans and voices of a few other characters—like Robert Mohr, the Gestapo interrogator; Jakob Schmid, the janitor at the university who caught the Scholls and turned them in; Else Gebel, another prisoner; and Roland Freisler, the judge. The innovative narrative structure begins at “The End” in 1943, with Sophie at the Gestapo headquarters, and then the story shifts back to 1935, when Sophie was 14. The intervening years trace Sophie’s life and gradual political awakening. By writing in verse and exploring several secondary characters, Wilson offers a compelling work that will be perfect for the reader’s theater exercises in English or history classrooms, and it pairs nicely with Susan Campbell Bartoletti’s Hitler Youth and Russell Freedman’s We Will Not Be Silent.