Three Sides of a Heart

More than a dozen YA writers take swings at the classic love triangle in this 16-story anthology edited by Parker (Beware the Wild), which features an array of genres and settings. Katie Cotugno kicks off the collection with a poignant story about a newly out lesbian pining for her brother’s longtime best friend. In Rae Carson’s tense “Omega Ship,” the last three teens in the universe—only one of whom is a girl—consider how to continue the human race. Julie Murphy’s funny-sexy “Lessons for Beginners” is a highlight: her heroine’s moneymaking enterprise as a kissing instructor (aka the “Kisser Fixer”) gets personal when she falls for one half of a couple she is coaching. Renée Ahdieh turns in a seductive escapist tryst in Buenos Aires, and Justina Ireland offers a fierce tentative romance set in the zombie-riddled post–Civil War era of her forthcoming Dread Nation. Offerings from Brandy Colbert, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Garth Nix, Veronica Roth, Sabaa Tahir, and others bring additional romantic entanglements to a volume that has something for readers of all genders and orientations. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary (Dec.)