Author: Kelly Jensen

In this literary blend of Romeo and Juliet and Chinese mythology, Hunter Yee cannot escape his family’s past, even if he is an expert with the bow and arrow. It is only his brother, a cute girl at school, and a magical wind keeping him where he is. He wants to run, to escape, but he knows he cannot.

Luna Chang feels crushed by the weight of her family’s expectations for her, which have only continued to grow as she’s come closer and closer to high school graduation. Little by little, though, Luna starts to break some rules and discovers both the magical and the ominous in doing so.

But as Hunter and Luna draw closer to one another, it might be their respective families that keep them from connecting as they wish they could. Can–will–the fates intervene?

This is a queer grumpy-sunshine romance, wherein a date drafted for a wedding on the other side of a country ends up falling apart before it begins, and when Neil drafts a new date last minute, it may be more than simply a date to the wedding. It might be something much more fiery.

This story is a little bit Groundhog Day, a little bit of a mental health story, and a fascinating story about a complicated family.

Aimee Roh is 17, and she’s been diagnosed with Sensory Time Warp Syndrome. When she smells something that brings up a memory–she is instantly sucked out of the present and dropped back into the memory. Sometimes, these experiences only happen for a few seconds, but lately, they’ve been lasting for minutes or longer.

Aimee’s dad thinks that she will grow out of the disorder. Because he’s a single father–Aimee’s mother left long ago–he’s worried about her, but his own fears over her disappearances have kept him from taking her to see a specialist. Even when she disappears for nine hours into a memory of her estranged mother, Aimee’s dad still won’t get her checked out.

She won’t take it alone anymore, and Aimee starts to wonder if her mother’s disappearance from their lives is at all related to the disorder. It can be genetic, so maybe her mom struggled with STWS, too. But the only way she can ever find out is to track down her grandparents and ask. But Aimee lives in Vancouver, and her grandparents live in Korea. She does what any reasonable 17-year-old would—she books a flight and informs her father that the trip is happening. He is hardly happy, but she’s ready to get the answers he won’t give her.

Will is agender, and at 17, they are so ready for their freedom from everything that has held them back growing up. This includes leaving their small town, no longer needing to care for their mother, who struggles with addiction, and having to hide who they really are. But Will’s mother dies before they turn 18, and while Will is glad for the unexpected freedom to come early, they are not entirely prepared. Worse, Will’s mother cursed them with her dying breath, saying it was Will’s fault she was dying. 

Now worried about that curse and worried about making it before truly being granted adulthood independence, Will needs to find their foster mother Raz ASAP—they don’t want to be caught by Child Protective Services, and they definitely do not want to be found by the local drug dealers who played a role in their mother’s death. 

But how can Will figure out a future if they need to travel into their past to find it? 

Natalie and Reid are life-long enemies, and the tension between them only grows as their school’s budget cuts get sharper. Natalie is fighting to direct the first-ever school play written by students, but in order for the play to get funded, the school’s award-winning band will lose it. That would be Reid’s band, of course.

But there’s a compromise here. Even if it doesn’t feel like a compromise at all, Natalie and Reid can work together to produce a school musical, ensuring both the theater and band get some kind of funding–and if the show goes really well, perhaps it will prove to the district that both groups deserve a better budget.

But can Natalie and Reid work together? Or is this show going to be a disaster?

Marisabina Russo grew up in the 1950s, and she’s not only been raised Catholic, but she’s attending a Catholic school she loves. So when she discovers that she has Jewish heritage and several members of her family are Holocaust survivors, everything she thought she knew about herself and her history is no longer certain.

This graphic memoir is about family and growing up, and it’s a look at what it means to understand one’s past while having the opportunity to define one’s future.

Nikki is a budding photographer and is looking forward to spending five days with her father in Dubai to celebrate Diwali. However, she soon discovers that her neighbor and rival, Yash is also on the flight to Dubai.

Nikki’s family doesn’t know about the tension between the two and, with their sights on matchmaking, encourage Nikki to get cozy with Yash. But can they? Is their history too heavy?

Perhaps the celebration of light will change everything in this enemies-to-lovers rom-com.

If you’re looking for an anthology of stories by and from adoptees, look no further. The stories represent a wide range of experiences being adopted, and the author list is a knockout: Kelley Baker, Nicole Chung, Shannon Gibney, Mark Oshiro, MeMe Collier, Susan Harness, Meredith Ireland, Mariama J. Lockington, Lisa Nopachai, Stefany Valentine, Matthew Salesses, Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom, Eric Smith, Jenny Heijun Wills, and Sun Yung Shin.

If you’re into magical stories in line with Holly Black’s style, look no further for your next read.

Croi is what is known as a brownie, made up and invisible to humans. She lives in the Wilde Forest, and even though she has magic powers, they are weak. When her guardian gives her a book of magick from the Otherworld of Higher Fae, Croi realizes she’s been put under a spell that begs her to come to the Otherworld.

As she leaves on her adventure, though, it’s not just the movement that will change Croi. She will discover she’s no brownie at all, but may be something else entirely. How can she learn the truth, especially as it seems she continues to fall under spells?

This remix of the classic Wuthering Heights is set in Yorkshire in 1786. Heathcliff is the abandoned son of a sailor from India, and Catherine is the youngest daughter of an estate owner who is preparing her for a life in high society. They connect with one another as they escape to the moors, working to build not only their budding romance but their connection to their cultural heritage. If you like broody, reclaimed classics with Gothic undertones, you’ll be into this one.

Sora lost her mother to a powerful earthquake, and the strength of that quake changed the way time works in her Japanese community. Time can speed up or slow down in these zones without any rhyme or reason.

Sora’s father is a researcher trying to understand what is happening in these zones. But the longer he is gone from home doing work, the lonelier Sora becomes. She has begun her own research into the phenomenon as well, and through that work and travel to Tokyo, she finds herself meeting Maya. They bond quickly over both being hafu, and that friendship starts to feel like something more.

Then, Sora’s father disappears. Now she must go back to her town to find out what happened and where he is. Maya is joining her, and together, they might solve the mystery not only of her father but of time itself.

Irinya began feeling the need to become a flower hunter after her mother disappeared into the mist encapsulating the Rann flats one night. She uses her knowledge to keep everyone safe in the desert, and now, one of her partners has discovered a princess silver spider lily. This flower has the power to ruin kingdoms and take down armies–now Irinya sees a way for everyone to have a better life.

That’s when a smooth impostor manages to trick Irinya, and the flower is gone. Now, she must do everything she can to recover it in order to save herself, her community, and the boy she cannot stop thinking about.

There have been a number of excellent YA books that explore plant magic over the last few years, and this sounds like one worthy of sitting on that shelf, too.

Adele did not grow up in the spotlight but rather behind it. Her mom worked in Paris dance halls, and her father owned a lavish manor. When she’s forced to move to London for boarding school, Adele isn’t sad–now is the time for her own adventure.

The men in London, though, are dangerous, and their attempts to seduce Adele and her new friends are not welcome. In a bid to protect herself and others, Adele teams up with a young con woman, and the two of them become vigilantes for justice across the city.

Not only does this sound like a fun historical thriller, but it’s got queer romance, too.

This book should be required reading for all, as it delves deep into where and how we identify information and decode mis-, dis-, and mal- information that pervades all of our lives.

Dr. Yasmin’s book is a guide to information, digital, and media literacy, and breaks down how to differentiate fact from fiction in what you read. The history of how newspapers shifted between being sensational to “objective”—if objectivity is even the goal—grounds the book, and Dr. Yasmin does a stellar job exploring how we become media savvy in a culture that makes it as challenging as possible to do just that.

Dr. Yasmin won’t tell you what to think or how to think. That line, which she delivers repeatedly, is what will cause many of the purveyors of fake and misleading news to absolutely hate this book.

But really and truly, she doesn’t.

Are you looking for a diverse collection of mermaid stories? Look no further. The editor duo of Córdova and Parker, who brought you Vampires Never Get Old are back with a host of fresh tales about all things mermaid. The contributor list is out of this world, too: Darcie Little Badger, Kalynn Bayron, Preeti Chhibber, Rebecca Coffindaffer, Julie C. Dao, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Adriana Herrera, June Hur, Katherine Locke, Kerri Maniscalco, Julie Murphy, Gretchen Schreiber, and Julian Winters.

Omid feels like he can’t form the words he needs, either when it comes to talking to the girl he has feelings for, the grandfather he’s just met, his Iranian heritage, and even to explain that he does belong in Tucson, Arizona, the only place he has ever called home. All of this, despite the fact he knows Farsi, knows Shakespearean English, knows how to write those words.

It’s not until he discovers rap music that he truly finds his voice–but that voice will be rattled when a terrorist attack changes his entire world.

This one is being compared to The Poet X and A Very Large Expanse of Sea, and it’s written in verse.

Ross is 17…and she’s a master thief. She’s really good at escape plans in particular. At least she was until she tried to escape her family of thieves, and her mom’s life is at stake.

Desperate to save her mother, she decides to enter the Thieves’ Gambit, which requires her to undertake a series of international heists. She could die, and her competition is stiff. But winning the Thieves’ Gambit means getting any wish she wants granted, and she wants to save her mom’s life.

How can she win when she’s also fighting off feelings she might be developing for one of her competitors?

This is a high-stakes heist adventure being compared to Oceans Eleven and The Inheritance Games.

This is a book of 11 interconnected, cross-generational stories about the Beléns family. They are a part of the Dominican diaspora, and the stories explore topics like mental health, identity, family, and more. The book won a Pura Belpré Honor and has been compared to Elizabeth Acevedo and Sandra Cisneros, among others.

If you’re looking for a book that’s a bit thriller, a horror, and a whole lot of apocalyptic, this one’s for you.

When Joel wakes up, he finds that a massive power outage has completely changed the world around him. There’s a siren that will not stop blaring, and it seems to be changing everyone who hears it. Desperate to find his mom and sister, as well as save himself, Joel needs to figure out how to protect themselves from the sirens.

Amina Conteh is a loud, proud 16-year-old who is not afraid to say what she needs to say. This…gets her in trouble, as she’s sent to volunteer at her family’s church with Pastor Johnson after cursing out a classmate.

But that pastor is not who people think he is, and when he sexually assaults Amina, she begins to shut down. Her grades fall, her once outspoken nature disappears, and she worries no one would support her if she told the truth. So when that pastor is arrested for another crime, can Amina find her voice and share what happened to her?

This debut novel written in verse takes on a huge, meaty contemporary topic. It’s being compared to Tiffany D. Jackson and to Elizabeth Acevedo.

Welcome to the first book in a new duology by bestselling author Kendare Blake!

Aristene, the legendary order of mythical hero makers, are women warriors. Sure, the men may get credit for their heroics, but it is the Aristene who get them to that place.

Reed was orphaned as a child and was raised by the order. She’s now on the path to becoming initiated. All she needs to do is show her skills by helping her first hero succeed on the battlefield. Winning grants her entry. Losing will mean being kicked out of the only place she has ever known.

Reed’s hero-in-training is Hestion. He’s annoying, but also intriguing. As they prepare for their battle alliance, though, Reed and Hestion might be feeling something more than a strategic partnership. How can they navigate the roles they’re working toward with the feelings they cannot deny?

(Also, did you know it has been TEN YEARS since Blake’s debut, Anna Dressed in Blood? It feels like a blink of an eye – if you haven’t read it, you should!)