New Releases

New Releases

Posted onAuthorAudrey
A collage of the covers for HOME HAS NO BORDERS; GET REAL, CHLOE TORRES; and ELIZA, FROM SCRATCH. Each are described in more detail in the linked post.

We have ten titles on our list for today! Which ones are you going to be taking a second look at?

Cover of the book death in the cards. A young light skinned woman with long brown hair is holding up a card to cover one side of her face. On the card is half of a skeletal head. There is an iced coffee in a plastic cup to the left and a dish with a burning piece of incense on the right. She has here mouth and eyes open wide in a show of astonishment. Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala
Delacourte Press

Danika Dizon is a natural problem-solver. Thanks to her private investigator mom and mystery author dad, she’s equipped with the skills to offer guidance to anxious classmates who come to her for a tarot reading between classes. For a price, of course.

But when one of her clients vanishes shortly after they’re dealt a death card, the girl’s younger sister Gaby begs Danika to figure out what went wrong. Danika takes on the case, thinking it’s the perfect way to prove to her parents that she should be an official investigator in the family’s detective agency.

What starts off as a compelling challenge quickly devolves into something darker as Danika and Gaby peel back layer after layer of the secret life the missing girl has been living. A life that those involved would do anything to keep from being revealed…

The cover of The Education of Kia Greer shows a young man and woman leaning their heads on each other. The background is pink. They both have black hair. Hers is in many long braids. His is in a fade. Their forms are have a bluish tint and a road scene with a palm tree can be seen through them. The Education of Kia Greer by Alanna Bennett
Knopf Books for Young Readers

Growing up in the public eye, Kia would gladly give up her privileged life as the daughter of a reality star for the freedom to find her own way—go to high school parties, gossip with the drama club, apply to college, make mistakes, and fall in love like any other teen.

Then she meets Cass, and he offers a glimpse at the ordinary life she craves. But Cass is a rising star in his own right, and what starts as something sweet and undefined soon becomes a magnet for rumor and speculation—as if first love wasn’t messy enough on its own.

The pressure of the spotlight takes its toll, chipping away at Kia’s sense of self, pushing and pulling and reshaping her—body and mind—to fit the expectations of everyone around her. But what does Kia want for herself? And can her fragile new relationship survive the fallout?

Cover of Eliza, from Scratch. A young woman with long dark hair and young man with short dark hair are sitting in the shade of a tree on a bench up against a wall. She is smiling and looking down at the book in her lap. He is wearing an apron over his clothes and is holding a box of kimbap or sushi in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other. Eliza, from Scratch by Sophia Lee
Quill Tree

Eliza Park’s senior year will be perfect: She’s going to be salutatorian, give a tear-jerking graduation speech in front of her parents, and enjoy her last year with her equally ambitious best friends. But when a scheduling mishap enrolls her in Culinary Arts, Eliza is suddenly the most clueless person in the class. Her typical title of star student belongs to the aggravatingly arrogant Wesley Ruengsomboon, a charming Thai American boy whose talent in the kitchen leaves Eliza both awed and annoyed.

With her rank on the line, Eliza’s only hope is to snatch the midterm cooking contest win from Wesley, however improbable that may be. Add in the flavor of her grandmother’s Korean recipes, the heat of being class partners with Wesley, and the sweetness of unexpected feelings—and Eliza must now rebuild everything she knew about success, love, and what it means to be herself, from scratch.

The cover of Fitting Indian is showing a group of young people wearing backpacks and is mostly purple tones. One person is looking back over her shoulder at the viewer and she is in orange and red tones. Fitting Indian by Jyoti Chand and Tara Anand
HarperAlley

All Nitasha’s parents want is for her to be the perfect Indian daughter—something she is decidedly not. Everything she does seems to disappoint them, especially her mom. They just don’t get that she’ll never be like her doctor older brother. To make matters worse, she’s never quite felt like she belongs at school either, and lately, her best friend, Ava, and her crush, Henry, seem to be more interested in the rich new girl than in her.

Alcohol takes the edge off, but when that doesn’t work, Nitasha turns to cutting. She can’t stop asking herself: Will she ever be enough for her friends or her family? Or even for herself?

This authentic and powerful teen graphic novel shines a light on how harmful the stigma of mental illness is and how lifesaving a community that is honest about mental health can be.

The cover of the book Get Real Chloe Torres has three young women lying on the grass. There are hot pink butterflies in the air around them. The person on the left has long wavy dark brown hair and tattoos. The one in the center has short hot pink hair. The one on the right has shoulder length light brown or blondish hair and has the lightest skin. Get Real, Chloe Torres by Crystal Maldonado
Holiday House

Chloe Torres’ birthday has always marked the end of summer—but as she turns eighteen and prepares to leave for her freshman year of art school, it feels like the end of more than that. It’s the end of her adolescence, which means it’s time to leave the past behind… but can she really let go of the two estranged best friends she left there?

NOPE. Chloe decides to take one more shot at healing the friend breakup she’s always regretted: planning the bucket-list trip neither girl can say no to. She’s taken care of everything: the car, the hotels, and concert tickets to see their favorite boy band’s reunion show in Las Vegas—stage seats, so close they can fangirl right in front of the boys’ faces. But first, her ex-BFFs have to say yes.

And to say yes, they’d all have to be talking… which they haven’t done since Ramona kissed Chloe, and everything imploded.

But with some clever finagling (and some undignified begging) Chloe gets them all on board. Of course, being in a car together for two weeks brings back old feelings… a lot of old feelings… and soon enough, Chloe wants Sienna, Ramona wants Chloe, and everything is on fireeeee.

This sizzling summer adventure from YA star Crystal Maldonado is a hilarious and heartfelt romcom with a little something for everyone: fat positivity, sapphic romance, a blazing love triangle, ADHD representation, a diversity of Latine identities, a once-in-a-lifetime roadtrip—and the perfect it’s-finally-happening kiss.

The cover of Home has no borders is mostly hot pink with a border of tiny yellow flowers and green leaves. In the center there is a large building with fireworks above the title. There is also a oung woman with things on her head turning with her skirts flairing out. There is a bus or long truck and a young person standing near. There is a guitar and music notes. Home Has No Borders Edited by Samira Ahmed & Sona Charaipotra
HarperTeen

From first crushes to first heartbreaks, complicated family dynamics to community relationships, this powerful collection of stories explores race, class, culture, language, and the very idea of home as both a place and a feeling.

Edited by Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra and featuring some of the most acclaimed, bestselling South Asian authors writing for teens today—this is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it means to be South Asian.

The cover of The Legend of Sensei Tsinelas has a young brown skinned boy with a high fade standing and looking down toward an older man who is reaching up about to throw something. The man is standing in front of a small food shack that has a Philippine flag for the roof. The Legend of Sensei Tsinelas by Jason Tanamor
Ooligan Press

Between a tsinelas-wielding superhero, a major social studies project, and take-out boxes of adobo and lumpia, seventeen-year-old Filipino American Victor Dela Cruz isn’t sure how to get through high school without the help of a radioactive spider. Despite his attempts to assimilate into his mostly white Portland high school, Victor has always felt like an outsider. He likes to think high school is his superhero origin story, and all he needs now are some superpowers.

His very own supervillain, Clint Robertson, Cleveland High’s golden boy, and a major project about his ancestry make Victor wish he had the power of invisibility. But when he witnesses his boss at the food truck slinging his trusty tsinelas to stop a thief in his tracks, Victor sees his chance to find the acceptance he’s always craved. He believes he’s found a hometown superhero, and he plans to convince his peers that the owner of Filipino Feast is secretly an undercover vigilante.

From the author of Love, Dance & Egg Rolls, Jason Tanamor’s poignant narrative is a testament to resilience, reminding us that true strength and pride are found in embracing the rich tapestry of our own identities.

Of Earthly Delights book cover. It features a lot of flowers around and through a circular metal form that has roman numerals around it like a clock. Of Earthly Delights by Goldy Moldavsky
Henry Holt & Co.

Aspiring artist Rose Pauly is not happy moving from her home in New York City right before her senior year of high school. But on her first miserable day in Connecticut, she meets Hart Hargrove. The two share an immediate, undeniable connection.

Hart introduces Rose to his slice of paradise–the immense private garden nestled behind the Hargrove family mansion. There, the two spend a fever dream of a summer together. But as their bond blossoms into love, Rose can’t shake the feeling that all is not as it seems.

When Rose uncovers the truth about the garden, she’s forced to question how genuine her love story truly is. But Hart can’t bear to lose Rose, and he will stop at nothing to save their relationship.

Posing haunting questions about beauty and desire, this is an atmospheric and darkly romantic tale that will enthrall readers.

The cover of The Romance Rivalry features a young man and young woman sitting near enough at a table in the library that their fingers are just touching at the edge of an open book. They are both facing forward, but they are looking at each other from the corner of their eyes. They seem to be in a library.The Romance Rivalry by Susan Lee
HarperCollins

She’s read every romance…except her own…

Irene Park loves romance novels—so much so she’s made a career of them as an online book reviewer with a massive following. But Irene’s real life dating story? Non-existent. So when she starts her freshman year of college, she sets her sights on finding true love using the one thing she really understands…romance book tropes.

If only it were that easy.

Enter Aiden Jeon, Irene’s online book review rival and biggest nemesis. When Aiden challenges her to see who can find love-by-trope first, he becomes the one person standing in her way to getting everything she wants both professionally and personally, too. So when the competition takes an unexpected turn, forcing the two of them to have to partner in the ultimate trope, fake dating, Irene is not prepared for everything she believed about romance, and Aiden, to flip on its head.

As Irene tackles the challenges of college life, struggles to figure out what she really wants for herself, all while trying to win the race for love, Irene realizes the answers may not be found in a romance novel. Happily Ever Afters seem so easy on page. But for Irene to find her ultimate HEA, she’ll have to get her nose out of the book and become the main character of her own story.

The cover of The Singular Life of Aria Patel is mostly white with little stars scattered about. In the center is a dark blue almost cave like feature with the white outline of a young woman heading into the colors. The Singular Life of Aria Patel by Samira Ahmed
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Aria Patel likes stability, certainty, predictability. It’s why she’s so into science. It’s why she dumped her boyfriend before they went to different colleges because the odds were that something would go wrong, eventually. In a life that’s already so chaotic, why obsess over complicated relationships and shadowy unknowns when the scientific method gives you direction and a straight path to avoid all the drama.

But there’s no avoiding anything when Aria finds herself suddenly falling through parallel universes and there’s no formula that can save her. She can’t explain why she’s been waking up in a new reality almost every day, or why Rohan, and a poem from her English class, seem to be following her through every new life.

As Aria desperately attempts to find a way home, she eventually ends up stuck in a parallel world very similar to her own. She cherishes this new version of her family, and she finds herself unable to deny the yearning she has for Rohan…but it’s not her life or her Rohan. It belongs to another Aria, another girl, and unless Aria can get back home, she’ll have taken this happiness away from someone else forever. And she may never find her own.

This whirlwind novel from New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed will whisk you through worlds unknown, all while putting a multiverse spin on one of BookTok’s favorite tropes: second chance romance.