July 2026 list by Angie R.
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Black Bird of the Gallows
by Meg Kassel
A simple truth: where harbingers of death appear, tragedy follows. Angie Dovage senses there’s more to Reece Fernandez than the brooding athlete everyone admires—but she never expects his presence to signal disaster. When a supernatural force attacks her, Angie is pulled into a battle between good and evil, with Reece at the center—and he’s not human. As she uncovers deadly secrets about her town, she realizes the only thing more dangerous than the truth is falling for a harbinger of death.
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An Expanse of Blue
by Kauakanilehua Mahoe Adams
A powerful novel‑in‑verse about a Native Hawaiian girl searching for belonging. Aouli feels lost—unheard at home, disconnected at church, and drifting from friends—but finds comfort in her song journal and with her extended family at her aunt’s home, where everything briefly feels whole. When a painful truth about her father shatters her world, Aouli struggles to find her voice. But as her life closes in, a new boy, Nalu, may help her discover the words, and love, she needs to set herself free.
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A Face for Picasso
by Ariel Henley
At only eight months old, identical twin sisters Ariel and Zan were diagnosed with Crouzon syndrome -- a rare condition where the bones in the head fuse prematurely. They were the first twins known to survive it. Growing up, Ariel and her sister endured numerous appearance-altering procedures. Surgeons would break the bones in their heads and faces to make room for their growing organs. While the physical aspect of their condition was painful, it was nothing compared to the emotional toll of navigating life with a facial disfigurement. Ariel explores beauty and identity in her young-adult memoir about resilience, sisterhood, and the strength it takes to put your life, and yourself, back together time and time again.
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Goldenborn
by Ama Ofosua Lieb
Seventeen‑year‑old Akoma Addo avoids the supernatural after a mysterious light leaves her father in a coma. She works secretly investigating magical crimes—until a strange death pulls her into something far more dangerous. At the center is Anansi, the trickster god, who offers her a deal: help catch a killer and unlock the magic within her, and he’ll give her a chance to save her father. But accepting means betraying everything she believes and risking those she loves. As secrets grow and her feelings for a mysterious new boy deepen, Akoma must decide who to trust—even when she can’t trust herself.
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A House of Vipers
by Emma Jackson
A dark academia mystery set a year after a student vanishes from an elite boarding school. His brother, Sutter, refuses to believe he’s gone and uncovers clues tied to a rumored buried treasure—and a secret society known as the Order of the Vipers. As Sutter and his friends join the hunt, dangerous initiation rituals and hidden secrets pull them deeper in. Each clue brings them closer to the truth about his brother’s disappearance—but some things may be better left buried.
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The Hunger Between Us
by Marina Scott
For Liza, the black market is her lifeline, trading and stealing just enough to survive as hunger erases all sense of morality. When her best friend Aka turns to dangerous officials rumored to trade food for favors, Liza believes there must be another way—until Aka disappears. Determined to save her, Liza risks everything, caught in a web of danger with unlikely allies, where impossible choices test the limits of love and survival.
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I'm Gonna Get You Back
by Eva Des Lauriers
Reid Rousseau has always been a winner, but now he’s hiding an injury that could cost him his future. Back in town for Legacy Weekend, he’d rather avoid the girl who broke his heart. Clara Suarez, lost after graduation, sees the event as her last chance to get into film school—by interviewing former classmates, including Reid, about their explosive senior year. But as old drama resurfaces and secrets unravel, their spark still burns—strong enough to bring them together or tear them apart for good.
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Land of Hope
by Wilfred M. McClay
From its beginnings America was a land of hope, a magnet for those seeking a new beginning for themselves. The American Founders created a unique plan of government designed to realize those ideals. Implementing the plan was not easy, though, and a bloody civil war would push the American experiment to the breaking point -- and to a new birth of freedom.
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The Last Cherry Blossom
by Kathleen Burkinshaw
Yuriko is happy growing up in Hiroshima with just her Papa, but life changes when her aunt Kimiko and cousin Genji move in, and talk of a double marriage grows. As World War II nears its end, uncertainty looms since Japan hides its losses, and the war feels more real when neighbors who leave to fight don’t return. Though used to sirens and drills, everything changes when the bombs hit, and through Yuriko’s twelve-year-old eyes, we see the devastation.
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Lotus and Thorn
by Sara Wilson Etienne
Exiled from her desert community and separated from her sisters, Leica finds refuge in the Dome, where she hopes to uncover the truth behind a deadly plague and find a way home.
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The Lustrous Dark
by Loretta Chefchaouni
Orphaned as a baby, Shay has grown up as a midwife’s apprentice, longing for love and answers about her past. When she discovers her birth mother, Hind, is alive but addicted to a magical drug called Snow, Shay vows to save her—only to be betrayed and left in a deadly forest, forced to rely on ghouls for survival. As her world teeters on the edge of war over magic, Shay hears ancient spirits who claim magic was stolen and that she can restore it. With help from a fierce revolutionary and a boy she’s falling for, she uncovers the truth behind Snow and must choose whether to follow her destiny or disappear.
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Munmun
by Jesse Andrews
In an alternate world where wealth determines size, the poorest are as small as rats while the rich tower like skyscrapers. Warner and his sister Prayer are tiny and destitute, facing daily dangers bigger people never consider, with no access to basic services built for their size. Their only hope is to grow—but in a world designed against them, survival is a challenge. Both funny and heartbreaking, the story makes inequality feel real through a vivid, unforgettable adventure.
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Night Music
by Jenn Marie Thorne
Music has always been Ruby’s first love—but has it ever loved her back? After a terrible audition at the prestigious school where her father teaches, Ruby feels cut off from the classical world and unsure who she is without it. Oscar, a confident musical prodigy, won’t risk his future studying under her famous father—especially with the complications their differences might bring. But as a hot New York City summer unfolds, their connection grows, filled with energy as alive as the city itself. Can two people still finding themselves find a way to be together, or will the world decide for them?
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The Perfect Place to Die
by Bryce Moore
When her sister disappears during the 1890s Chicago World’s Fair, Zuretta leaves her quiet life in Utah to find her. Her search leads her to a mysterious hotel called The Castle, where she takes a job to uncover the truth. But as women begin to vanish, strange sounds echo through the walls, and fear closes in, Zuretta realizes she’s trapped in a deadly house of horrors—and face to face with a killer.
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Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights
by Celeste Dador
When First Daughter Abby is banished from the White House, she dives into a summer of surprises, small-town magic, and sparks with the boy who shakes up her world in this swoony, patriotic romance--just in time for America's 250th anniversary.
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That Which Feeds Us
by Keala Kendall
Kpua Island Resort promises escape for the world’s wealthy, but when Lehua arrives searching for her sister, she’s stranded without help. As she investigates, she uncovers the island’s hidden horrors, from its dark past to the warnings haunting her dreams. To save her sister, Lehua must confront the truth buried in the island—or risk being consumed by it.
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Us Dark Few
by Alexis Patton
Khalani Kanes has never seen the surface, living instead in the underground city of Apollo where hope is scarce. She dreams of Genesis, the last city aboveground, but those hopes vanish when she’s imprisoned for a crime she didn’t commit. In Braderhelm Prison, survival is a constant fight among violent inmates and brutal guards, especially under Captain Takeshi Steele. As hidden dangers and secrets close in, escape seems impossible—unless Khalani can survive long enough to reach the surface.
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You're Dead to Me, Reed Walker
by Gwenyth Reitz
A swoonworthy YA supernatural romcom where two academic rivals are trapped as ghosts to haunt the same house. They'd kill each other...if they weren't already dead.
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