| The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan DouglassWhat it's about: Being gay, closeted, the only Black student in his class, and a medium who can see dead people, 16-year-old Jake already has to deal with a lot just to survive prep school. So when he's targeted by the malevolent spirit of a school shooter, Jake refuses to go down without a fight.
Book buzz: Debut author Ryan Douglass has already reached bestseller status with this atmosphere-drenched horror story. |
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| Run: Book One by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin; illustrated by L. Fury and Nate PowellWhat it is: a graphic novel memoir from John Lewis, the longtime civil rights activist who served as a U.S. Congressman until his death in 2020.
What's inside: Detail-rich illustrations and thoughtful writing capture the turbulence that came after the Voting Rights Act of 1965, from the Vietnam War to the Watts uprising to the splintering of Black activist groups.
Series alert: Run kicks off a follow-up series to the popular, multi-award-winning March trilogy. |
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| The Perfect Place to Die by Bryce MooreStarring: determined Zuretta, who arrives in 1890s Chicago in search of her missing sister, Ruby.
What happens: After getting a job at The Castle -- the eerie hotel where Ruby and many other women disappeared -- Zuretta follows a gruesome maze of clues that all point to the hotel's owner, H.H. Holmes.
For fans of: historical true crime, who might want to read about the real Holmes in Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City. |
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| Up All Night: 13 Stories Between Sunset and Sunrise by Laura Silverman, editorWhat it is: 13 short stories that take place in a single night, with contributions by authors including Brandy Colbert, Karen M. McManus, Maurene Goo, Marieke Nijkamp, and Julian Winters.
What's inside: a party game turned murder mystery; a hunt for the Loch Ness Monster; a gay superhero with a crush; friendships ending and rekindling.
You might also like: Blackout, another contemporary story collection featuring a wide variety of characters in a single period of time. |
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| The River Has Teeth by Erica WatersStarring: Natasha, a wealthy girl who's desperate to understand her sister Rochelle's disappearance, and Della, a neighboring witch who fears that Rochelle has fallen victim to her magical family's darkest secret.
What happens: When Natasha asks Della for help, Della agrees, hoping to mislead her. But that plan grows more difficult as the girls grow closer to each other -- and to exposing Della's family.
For fans of: A.R. Capetta's The Lost Coast, Claire Legrand's Sawkill Girls, and other tales of eerie enchantment. |
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| Sorry For Your Loss by Jessie Ann FoleyWhat it's about: As the youngest sibling of eight, Pup Flanagan comes from a big family, and yet none of them see how much he's struggling after the sudden death of his older brother, Patrick. It's not until Pup discovers a gift for photography that he begins to see things -- including his family's shared grief -- through a different lens.
Read it for: a likable, reflective teen guy character and a quietly hopeful story of grief, recovery, and self-expression. |
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| How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen GlasgowWhat it's about: When 16-year-old Tiger's mom, her only family member, dies suddenly after a bitter argument, Tiger is overwhelmed by grief and guilt.
How it's told: with a tight focus on Tiger's first two weeks without her mom, following her through funeral planning, foster homes, and aching loneliness.
Is it for you? This "gritty, raw account of surviving tragedy" (Kirkus Reviews) might be too much for some readers, though others will be drawn to its intimate intensity. |
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| Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha MabryStarring: Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa Torres, three sisters who feel trapped not only by their controlling father and their old San Antonio neighborhood, but also by the restless spirit of their older sister Ana, who died a year ago.
Why you might like it: Told from multiple perspectives, Tigers, Not Daughters offers a moving, unsettling, and otherworldly portrait of grief and sisterhood.
For fans of: the haunting magical realism and complex Latinx characters in Anna-Marie McLemore’s books. |
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| Opposite of Always by Justin A. ReynoldsStarring: high school senior Jack, whose romance with college freshman Kate is clearly meant to be -- why else would her sudden death send him back in time to the night they met, kicking off a cycle of do-overs in which he tries, again and again, to save her?
Who it’s for: Combining time travel with witty dialogue and heart-twisting emotion, The Opposite of Always will grab science fiction fans and realistic fictions fans alike. |
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| I Felt A Funeral, in My Brain by Will WaltonWhat it's about: With a pile of poetry books and a journal of his own, Avery uses writing to cope with his injured leg, his alcoholic mother, the possibility of sex with his best friend, and his grandfather's heartbreaking death.
Why you might like it: This compelling story in verse doesn't offer false hope or neat conclusions, but rather immerses you in a surreal slice of life.
For fans of: Nina Lacour, A.S. King, and Adam Silvera. |
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