Dwight Foster Public Library: Young Adult Books: July 2026

The Heirs
by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Five prodigies, one dead father, a mansion full of suspects… Octavius the Maestro. Fola the Brain. Bilal the Olympian. Perdita the Artist. Romeo the Failure. These are the five heirs of the illustrious billionaire Leontes Button. Adopted and viciously trained with their father’s infamous “Button Method” to prove his hypothesis for creating prodigies―child geniuses―the Button siblings have had no choice but to be brilliant according to their father's impossibly high standards. Until he is murdered at his annual Prodigy Ball. Now, all who attended the ball are required to stay in the Button Manor while the police investigate. But the officers have their work cut out for them―each of the Button siblings has something to hide, but The Heirs aren't the only ones with secrets. After all, Leontes Button was especially good at making enemies.

Goldenborn
by Ama Ofosua Lieb

Akoma Addo has one rule: don’t get too close to the supernatural. Ever since a blazing orb of light left her father in a coma, she’s buried herself in her secret job investigating magical crimes in San Francisco’s AfricaTown -- just enough to keep her grief at bay. But when a body turns up in a pool of molten gold and ash, Akoma’s pulled into something much bigger -- and far more dangerous. At the center of it all is Anansi, the trickster god of stories, who makes her an impossible offer: help him catch a killer and awaken the ancestral magic buried deep in her blood... and in return, he’ll give her a chance to bring her father back. To take the deal, Akoma will have to lie to everyone she loves and embrace the very power she’s spent years trying to deny. And as her connection grows with Xander, the new guy in town with secrets of his own, Akoma must decide who she can trust -- especially when she’s no longer sure she can even trust herself. Rooted in Ghanaian mythology and packed with mystery, danger, and slow-burning romance, Goldenborn is a gripping fantasy about legacy, lies, and what it really means to rewrite your story.

How to Lose Yourself Completely
by Peter Bognanni

Ever since Sean’s death, Case’s anxiety has been spiraling. Sean wasn’t just his older brother―he was also Case’s best friend. The only person who really got him. When his parents suggest “adventure therapy,” Case is desperate enough to agree. Maybe roughing it in the woods with a group of anxious strangers will help him find a way forward. After he boards the bus, he sees the one person he’s been trying to avoid: Diana. Sean’s girlfriend. Once they set off, there is the expected cringey singing and forced sharing. But when their counselor mysteriously disappears, the trip suddenly turns into a journey of survival. This group of kids, with nothing in common but their prescriptions and lack of social skills, will have to band together to make it back home. In the process, they will change each other’s lives forever.

You, Me, and Infinity
by Deb Caletti

When Margaret sees Mars for the first time, it doesn’t feel like love at first sight so much as future at first sight—she just knows right away that he will loom large in her life. When her job delivering pizzas brings Margaret right to Mars’s doorstep, she can’t deny their connection, even as the anxious voice in her head warns her about everything that could go wrong. Soon they’re giving in to fate as their romance deepens over stargazing and moments under the endless night sky, where Mars shares his passionate interest in the Voyager’s Golden Record—a time capsule of humanity preserved indefinitely in space. Together, they are absorbed by the unknowable questions we all face: How will we be remembered? What will we leave behind? And can anything truly be infinite? But even for someone who can’t help but anticipate the worst, when the worst actually happens, Margaret is shattered. How can she move forward from tragedy when it feels like the world has stopped spinning? Somehow, she has to let go of the gravity of grief pulling her down and find her way back to the stars. But only if she can let the whole of the universe in—all the beauty and all the pain.

A Smile Like Yours
by Emily Thomas

For fans of Heartstopper and Bloom, a sweet YA graphic novel about first love - and navigating life when you see things differently. Rhys Moore is worried as he starts his first year of university. And not just about the usual things. Rhys has face blindness, which means he struggles to recognize and remember people's faces. He has ways of coping, but they don't always work, so he isn't sure how to manage being around so many new people. There is one bright note, though. Malcolm. He's caring and kind, and he's empathetic when Rhys finally reveals his disability to him. Could Malcolm be just what Rhys needs to get through the year?Emily Thomas's debut graphic novel offers a delightfully fresh take on falling in love and learning how to truly see another person. It's both a compelling queer romance and a pitch-perfect coming-of-age story that keenly captures the ups and downs of university life. Readers are sure to be swept up in the romance as Rhys navigates his new feelings and experiences. The book deftly explores themes of disability, friendship, love, mental health and queer identity. A note about prosopagnosia, known as face blindness, and an author's note are included at the end.