Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a YA novel about a teen escaping her past, a novel about the effects of a hit-and-run, the launch of a new middle grade series, and a road trip novel featuring Pakistani-American teens.

The Disappearance of Sloane Sullivan by Gia Cribbs. Harlequin Teen, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-335-01537-2. In Cribbs’s intricately plotted debut YA thriller, high-school senior Sloane Sullivan (her 19th identity) has been in the Witness Protection Program for almost six years, after witnessing a violent crime.

Lies You Never Told Me by Jennifer Donaldson. Razorbill, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-595-14852-0. In this YA novel, Gabe Jimenez’s life turns upside down when he’s a victim of a hit-and-run and ends up in the arms of a mysterious girl, whom he believes is his savior.

Wild Rescuers: Guardians of the Taiga by Stacy Hinojosa, illus. by Vivienne To. Harper, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-279637-0. In this middle grade adventure, first in a series from the creator of the YouTube personality StacyPlays and heavily inspired by the Dogcraft story line of her Minecraft videos, an amnesiac girl raised by wolves spends her time in the wilderness rescuing animals and honing her survival skills.

Mariam Sharma Hits the Road by Sheba Karim. HarperTeen, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-06-244573-5. In this YA novel, three friends go on a road trip. Along the way they eat junk food, engage in soul-searching, and—because they’re Pakistani-American—experience prejudice and Islamophobia.

Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff. Knopf, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-1392-8. In the first volume of a new series, Kristoff (the Illuminae Files, with Amie Kaufman) delivers a fast-paced romantic sci-fi adventure in which characters struggle against the dangers of a vividly described world.

Now You See Her by Lisa Leighton and Laura Stropki. HarperCollins/Tegen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-242863-9. Leighton and Stropki’s compelling YA debut asks intriguing questions about identity and memory, when one character switches bodies with another after experiencing trauma.

Grandad Mandela by Zindzi, Zazi, and Ziwelene Mandela, illus. by Sean Qualls. Quarto/Lincoln, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-78603-136-5. Among the numerous picture books about Nelson Mandela, this title, published to honor the 100th anniversary of Mandela’s birth, is the first to have been created by his family members.

Neck & Neck by Elise Parsley. Little, Brown, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-316-46674-5. A giraffe with sky-high attitude, wildly fluctuating facial expressions, and a knack for spot-on zingers lifts this latest picture book from Parsley (If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don’t!) to hilarious heights.

Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl. Delacorte, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-399-55392-9. Bestselling adult writer Pessl’s (Special Topics in Calamity Physics) YA debut delves into questions of whether even close friends are truly knowable.

The Museum of Us by Tara Wilson Redd. Random/Lamb, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-6687-0. Sadie, 16, knows George is a figment of her imagination, but that doesn’t stop her from being drawn to him over and over again in this novel about a troubled teen.

Invisible Ghosts by Robyn Schneider. HarperCollins/Tegen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-256808-3. Since the death of her older brother, Logan, high school junior Rose has withdrawn from her drama-crowd friends. Her solitary behavior isn’t due to grieving, though; it’s because she always hurries home from school to meet a visitor: Logan’s ghost, who is invisible to everyone else.

See You on a Starry Night by Lisa Schroeder. Scholastic Press, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-338-19574-3. A looming divorce’s strain on a family forms the dramatic tension in this realistic and ultimately hopeful tale of a girl finding the courage to embrace unexpected change.

The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls by Jessica Spotswood. Sourcebooks Fire, $10.99 trade paper; ISBN 978-1-4926-2219-2. Spotswood (the Cahill Witch Chronicles) provides four stories about conventional and unconventional relationships in one contemporary problem novel featuring four teenage sisters with distinct personalities and different sets of problems.

How to Be a Lion by Ed Vere. Doubleday, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-525-57805-5. Some people think there’s only one way to be a lion, but Leonard is different. A gentle soul, he’s likely to be found on his “thinking hill,” pondering and making poems. Lions usually devour ducks, but when Leonard meets web-footed Marianne, he asks for help with a poem he’s writing, and the two become close friends, taking long walks and looking at the stars.

The Language of Spells by Garret Weyr. Chronicle, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-5958-4. This middle grade book is a slow-building, fantastical journey from Printz Honor author Weyr (My Heartbeat) that examines the effects of magic and mystery in a world where magic is waning.

For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of May, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.