A whole bunch of new books out this week. Some look especially creepy, some like they’ll warm the heart, and a few sequels and next book in a series that we’ve all been waiting for. RIP my bank account.
False Face Josh Galarza
Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Rusty is positive Todd with two D’s is a figment of his troubled mind. That’s the only explanation for why he breaks into musical numbers and lurks in the school bleachers to stare unabashedly at Burt, the cutest guy in school. But when Todd’s antics go a little too far, Rusty quickly finds himself in a dangerous situation. Little does Rusty know, the boy he’s head over heels for just might be the one to save his life.
By day, Burt Espinoza is the only out kid in school who’s ever maintained his social status. But by night, he is a real hero: a secret agent rescuing vulnerable queer kids in danger. His handlers (also his adoptive moms) are concerned he’s pushing himself too hard to be the man he thinks he needs to be. Now Burt has to prove that he’s ready for his biggest mission yet: saving the only boy he’s ever hurt.
A Lake with No Bottom by H.D. Hunter
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
When Sidney Cromwell moves to rural Forsyth County, Georgia from the big city of Atlanta, all he wants is to fit in at his new high school. But when Sidney nearly drowns in Lake Lanier, an allegedly haunted lake that is the site of numerous inexplicable freak accidents and deaths, he becomes a social pariah as he starts to suffer terrifying visions from the past and hauntings by apparitions calling him to Lanier.
Sidney returns to the lake for answers, and he finds in its murky depths the spirits of former residents from Oscarville, the Black town that lies beneath the man-made lake. They enlist Sidney to remind Forsyth of its devastating history and push its citizens to make amends so that the souls in Oscarville can finally rest.
But Sidney soon learns that people will go to great lengths to avoid facing truths they’d rather not hear. The people of Forsyth County refuse to acknowledge the past, and as Oscarville’s populace starts to lose their patience, their rage and thirst for vengeance rise like a tidal wave.
Last Night I Dreamed of Home by Sophie Li
Norton Young Readers
After botching the only exam that matters in China, Alice arrives at college eager to party like the North Americans on TV—not to hang out with a studious boy who reminds her why she left home.
All Haoran wants is a business degree. His father has spent all his money sending Haoran overseas, and in return, he must graduate and find a stable job. If only he could get rid of the nagging itch to draw a comic book.
From burnt cooking, a stuck elevator, and late-night bubble tea, Alice and Haoran’s unlikely friendship promises into something more—unless their differences drive them apart. When a creative opportunity arrives, Haoran must choose between his passion and his family, and Alice must discover her own identity or lose touch with her roots altogether.
Soot & Sacrifice by Qurratulayn
Page Street YA
Evan Wilde has her revenge. Born into the persecuted Magi class and made the victim of a botched ritual sacrifice, Evan used the last of her blood and breath to call down the devil Jack to kill as many of the Necro ruling class as she can before Jack claims her life once he’s fulfilled her deal. Yet unbeknownst to her, these killings have freed many devils from their Necro masters and weakened the veil separating the devils’ world from humanity.
Now Evan must figure out how to save what she’s nearly destroyed. But she’s not the only one trying to keep the devils at bay. Rhys has spent the last three centuries preserving the veil to keep humanity safe. Knowing his old flame, Jack, is trying to break the veil so devils can rule over humanity once more, he betrays his love to help Evan.
With the help of their allies, Evan and Rhys must find a way to restore the veil between their worlds, end the system of sacrifices forever, and stop before he Jack before he can destroy them all.
The Queen’s Command by Sarah Raughley
HarperCollins
Favored by Queen Victoria, Vicky Davies has survived royal courts, financial ruin, and the loss of her mother, Sarah Forbes Bonetta — the famous African princess turned royal goddaughter — but Cheltenham Ladies’ College is about to test her in new and wicked ways.
Every Thursday evening, the senior girls play a secret game and Vicky just became their latest pawn. Truths must be confessed, commands obeyed, and whoever claims the coveted title of winner will have her wish granted, no matter how outrageous and seemingly impossible it may be.
But when the game yields frightening and fatal results, Vicky vows to put an end to this ghoulish tradition that twists minds and makes enemies out of friends. With dangerous foes closing in and truths that could shatter her world clawing to the surface, Vicky must uncover the secrets buried not only in Cheltenham but by her own mother. In a school where survival is a gamble, will she emerge victorious — or fall victim to its deadly game?
An Auction of Souls by Amber Chen
Viking Books for Young Readers
Meng Lingxi and her grandmother run a legendary auction house, Meng Wu—the House of Dreams. But when a mysterious traveler arrives bearing a fragment of a soul, all that Lingxi knows changes in an instant. Her grandmother mysteriously vanishes, and restless spirits descend upon Meng Wu.
Then two unlikely allies—Yan Jun and Yan Shan, guardians of hell itself—come to Lingxi’s aid, revealing a shocking secret about the only home she’s ever known: Meng Wu sits upon the gateway to hell, and her grandmother serves the god of the underworld himself.
Soon, Lingxi joins her two companions on a perilous journey to find her grandmother and unravel the mystery behind the dangerous fragment of soul. Along the way, the trio must outsmart humans, gods, and demons alike who try to stand in their way—before hell is let loose on earth.
Everything’s Not Lost by Frederick Joseph
Viking Books for Young Readers
As a sixteen-year-old Black girl with bipolar disorder, Ella Washington has plenty stacked against her. But following her beloved sister’s unexpected death and its turbulent aftermath, Ella is desperate to find any sense of normalcy. Worse still, someone at her school is determined to drive her deeper into despair.
It feels nearly impossible to find her way out of the fog of grief and loneliness, but through her love of art, some unlikely new friends, and the memory of her sister, Ella slowly learns that the pursuit of happiness and forgiveness is an endeavor that is more than worthwhile.
Told in Frederick Joseph’s perceptive and lyrical voice, Everything’s Not Lost is an achingly relatable story about finding points of light even in the darkest of times.
Legally Yours, Violet Lopez by Elba Luz
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Violet Lopez has planned exactly how her life will go: She’ll graduate valedictorian, attend Harvard, and become a big shot lawyer, all so that her injury-prone single dad can finally take a break.
As a member of her elite private school’s law society, Violet is proud to hold a near-perfect record of defending students against the disciplinary board. But when the popular and infuriatingly charming Theo Hudson is accused of a prank he swears he didn’t commit, Violet recuses herself from his case on the grounds of despising the school’s privileged golden boy, and not even a couple classmates’ offer of a four-figure payout to purposely tank his trial can change her mind.
Then Theo uncovers a secret Violet wants to keep under wraps and blackmails her into representing him. Sick of being pushed around by rich kids, Violet decides she can get sweet revenge on the arrogant jock and some much-needed cash at the same time. She’ll twist his alibi, lose key evidence, mislead witnesses—all while playing the perfect lawyer on the surface. Theo goes down, and Violet gets paid.
But the closer Violet gets to Theo, the more she sees beneath his devil-may-care attitude to someone caring and surprisingly sensitive…who she’s been planning to sabotage. Is it too late to change her mind? And even if she does, would Theo ever forgive her?
Violet can object to falling in love all she wants, but her heart overrules every time.
Knight of the God King by Lauren Blackwood
Wednesday Books
Calliope’s wish has always been to become a knight, an elite healer and protector who uses music to summon magic. Yet despite her exceptional skill, she’s stuck lifting up her talentless cousin, whose family begrudgingly took Cali in as a child. But when an opportunity to become the royal knight of the immortal God King arrives, Cali finally gets a chance at a fairytale life – until her cousin blackmails her.
Forced to bring her cousin to court so she won’t share Cali’s shameful past, Cali immediately snubs Beric, the alluring, handsome squire tending to her. Now she must contend with his ire, even while feeling helplessly drawn to him. If that wasn’t enough, her duty means accompanying the king into The Dark, a demonic entity that only the king’s magic is powerful enough to battle – a fight he has been waging for centuries. She must also keep the king’s secret under pain of death: He’s not a god at all, and the only thing keeping him alive is the magic held by the royal knight. It seems serving the God King isn’t a fairytale at all, and when people start dying around her, she and Beric realize that they have no choice but to take their fate – and that of an entire kingdom – into their own hands.
Huda F Would Love You?: A Graphic Novel by Huda Fahmy
Dial Books
It’s the summer after Huda’s high school graduation, and love is in the air! Or it’s about to be, anyway. Because Huda has the ingredients for a perfect love story: a butt-kicking girl power squad of new friends, and a plan to woo all the aunties into setting her up with their eligible sons. But when she finds herself caught between her friends and her heart, gender roles and ambitions, and her fears and dreams, Huda begins to realize that finding her own “happily ever after” might require changing herself—or her expectations.
Check out contributor Crystal’s review’s here: Huda F Would Love You?
On Your Way by Emily Chou
EMANATA
Wallflower Alison Wong has three constants in her life: school, studying, and clandestine guitar lessons from a ghost named Keefer. After her mom sets her up with a peer tutor to fix her unacceptable chemistry grades, Alison finds herself thrust into the thriving indie music scene of the late 90s. Finally, Allison feels like she belongs somewhere, but she has to decide if she’d rather give up on her newfound friendships in order to keep her mom happy, or if she’s brave enough to fight for the person she’s becoming.
Meanwhile, back in 1971, studious Katherine Chen lives in the shadow of her charismatic older brother, Keefer. She works tirelessly towards her dream of becoming a doctor, yet no one, least of all her father, takes her or her goals seriously. When she helps a mysterious shopkeer, she is granted a single wish as thanks. Katherine can finally have everything she ever wanted, but at what cost?
Beautiful to See You (Again) by Lygia Day Peñaflor
Sarah Barley Books / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Two years ago, she fell in love with her high school’s valedictorian Natty, the awkward boy who’d always adored her. But their summer together ended in tragedy. Now, instead of attending Columbia, Tia works as a dog walker, drifting through New York City and avoiding the future.
Then she discovers a hidden tunnel in Central Park…a tunnel that can take her back: back to Natty and their glorious summer, the summer she thought was gone forever.
But every visit comes at a cost. The more time Tia spends trying to change the past, the harder it becomes to return to the present—where the ambitious film student, Razor Ford, is determined to cast her in his short film…and maybe even pull her out of her grief and remind her that life is still waiting for her.
Caught between then and now, Tia must decide between holding on to what she’s lost—or moving forward to what might be the bravest love story of all.