In their dazzling graphic novel romantasy, debut creator MS and Marquez (Game of Code) follow a high priestess-in-training struggling to reconcile her responsibility to her family’s legacy with her passion. After a lifetime of training, teenage Myra believes that she should be ready to succeed her grandmother as the high priestess of Ah’ron, but she has yet to receive her first vision from the god Alrun. Burdened by the weight of the kingdom’s expectations and the increasing nearness of mysterious shadows plaguing the country, Myra wants to make her grandmother proud. She also yearns to explore her suppressed passion for dance, which is taboo in Ah’ron for its purported power to unleash an ancient evil. Ahead of a festival, dashing Prince Eyden—heir to the throne and Myra’s childhood friend—returns home from abroad, where he lived freely as a commoner. As he and Myra take a twilight stroll through the palace gardens, he urges her to reconsider the life and responsibilities thrust upon her. When her grandmother suddenly falls ill and the dark forces loom closer, Myra is forced into the role of acting high priestess and must figure out how to combat the progressing shadows. Each page of this luminous fantasy is alight with lush botanicals, glowing lanterns, and shimmering stars, transfixing the reader in magic and movement informed by “ancient Indian dance forms,” per a creators’ note. Fans of fairy tales and mythology will delight in this wondrous offering. Ages 12–up. (July)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

Mock (Salt Magic) considers the intersection of talent and drive in her intimate, behind-the-scenes graphic novel debut about young ballerinas. Gracie, a talented, pale-skinned ballet dancer, heads from small-town Ohio to New York City for the prestigious Youth Dance Summer Workshop. Staying with her godmother Dani in a cramped apartment shared with three energetic dogs, Gracie struggles to adjust to the city’s noises and pace. Her focus quickly narrows to dance—and to her self-proclaimed rivalry with gifted, brown-skinned peer Sariah—while she forms a close friendship with petite, red-haired Jaz. Though the workshop’s strict instructors are mindful of the girls’ growing bodies, they also push the dancers to their physical limits. As the girls endeavor to come together as a corps for the end-of-session showcase, the intensity of the training and the strain of interpersonal dynamics marred by cliques and bullying heighten both the stakes and the drama. Gracie is portrayed as a dancer with the confidence and focus of an elite performer, tempered by a relatable naivete regarding the metropolitan setting compared to her hometown. Her determination propels her through challenges, giving readers a glimpse of the sweat, triumph, and occasional heartbreak behind ballet’s refined surface. Fluid linework and a pastel palette evoke the strength and grace of the dancers, resulting in an eloquent and movement-filled portrait of ambition and self-discovery. Ages 8–12. Agent: Chelsea Eberly, Greenhouse Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

Desire to gain closure about a prior loss and save face with her peers leads a self-effacing teen on a quest in this frightening paranormal novel from Senf (Pennies). In the Pacific Northwest town of Seeker’s Rest, the unexplained is part of everyday life, including the mysterious drowning of teen Harrow’s father in the nearby lake years earlier. After classmate Shane asks about Harrow’s weekend plans in front of Harrow’s former best friend Olive, Harrow announces that she’s going to explore the strange new island that has appeared in the middle of the lake. The plan escalates as Shane invites himself along, followed by Olive and her boyfriend Ethan. Before Harrow can reconsider, family friend Mike is ferrying the white-cued teens across the lake despite his unease about the island’s sudden appearance. As soon as they arrive, their phones lose service, and the world around them begins to physically shift, the landscape warping into distorted imagery. Harrow’s attempt to escape is foiled when Mike and his boat inexplicably sink into the lake. Now stranded, the group soon discovers a disturbing “kill kit” in Ethan’s bag, forcing them to question whether the island itself is dangerous—or if the threat is one of their own. Atmospheric and unsettling, it’s a thriller that grounds its supernatural premise in emotional clarity, charting a journey that is both surreal and deeply human. Ages 14–up. Agent: Ali Herring, Spencerhill Assoc. (July)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

A ghost-hunting teen is unprepared for the violence and emotional weight of a successful spectral encounter in this chilling thriller from Bou-Montes (Till the Last Beat of My Heart). When Puerto Rican youth Joaquín and his friends break into an abandoned Massachusetts house, the group’s intrusion awakens the restless spirit of Maximiliano, a teen who, 30 years earlier, died in a presumed suicide after falling from the roof. Following Joaquín’s flight from the scene with a bracelet that once belonged to Max, the ghost becomes tethered to him. Max, who has no memory of his own death, discovers he can communicate through electronic devices, but his unstable emotions often overload or destroy anything powered by electricity. Though Joaquín’s relationship with his Deaf, Chinese Puerto Rican ex-boyfriend Marte is strained, the pair team up to tackle the haunting and help Max move on, with Marte relying on his ability to perceive ghosts and drawing on his prior experience with hostile spirits. But the more they dig into Max’s past, the more emotionally unstable he becomes, each new revelation resulting in increasingly perilous consequences for Joaquín, whose own body and health become disturbingly intertwined with the ghost. Genuine suspense, surprising revelations, and moments of real danger culminate in a gripping contemporary haunting. Ages 14–up. Agent: Saritza Hernandez, Andrea Brown Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

Blending romantic peril with escalating stakes and a steady stream of revelations, Foxfield (Getting Away with Murder) delivers a paranormal murder mystery steeped in tension and spectacle. Empowered by a generations-old pact with the devil, the white-cued, London-based Winter family has amassed extraordinary wealth and influence through supernatural abilities that are tied to a dangerous alternate realm known as the Ruin. When 19-year-old Cicely’s uncle is murdered on the family estate, it becomes clear that someone is targeting the Winters and threatening to dismantle their empire. Determined to prove her worth to her mother, Cicely plunges into the Ruin to track down the killer. Her investigation repeatedly leads her to teenage Soren, a ghost who dwells within the Ruin, having been sacrificed by the Winters in a ritual four years earlier. As Cicely and Soren become locked in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse and the death toll rises around them, their intermittent encounters ignite a volatile mix of attraction and suspicion. The deeper into the Ruin Cicely goes, the more she uncovers the sinister truths beneath her family’s polished exterior, forcing her to reckon with the cost of their power and her place among them. Gratifyingly thorny family dynamics and a case of forbidden love inject high drama into an intriguing, whirlwind narrative. Ages 14–up. Agents: Chloe Seager, Madeleine Milburn Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

Gonzalez Rose (Marisol Acts the Part) pairs a tender romance with a murder investigation in a story about a Latinx teen who feels that her life is quietly unraveling. Dina Soto’s father has recently been convicted of murder, her mother is overbearing, and the small town they live in has turned the Soto name into shorthand for scandal. The lone bright spot is Dina’s bond with transgender Afro-Latino classmate Kai Thompson, whose easy warmth toward Dina feels as surprising as it is welcoming. When Kai invites her to spend a weekend at his family’s secluded lake house, Dina jumps at the chance to escape town and spend more time with him. Kai’s sister and a group of friends round out the guest list, and it soon becomes clear that some may have ulterior motives for attending. Before long, the power goes out, the phone signal disappears, and the group finds itself cut off from the outside world. After someone is murdered, Dina must reckon with the secrets surrounding her own family if she hopes to both stop the killer and survive. Short, brisk chapters alternate between direct first-person narration and snippets of news articles, text messages, voicemail transcripts, and more presented as evidence from the murder trial that follows the events of the story. Measured pacing and familiar plot turns dilute much of the suspense, making for a mystery that’s more cozy than thrilling. Ages 14–up. (July)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

This psychologically incisive supernatural novel by Bruzas (Ever Since) blends the eerie cadence of dark fairy tales with modern suspense to probe themes of obsession. Seventeen-year-old, white-cued Sylvie travels from Seattle to the Nebraska Great Plains, desperate to escape her emotionally distant father and uncover the untold story of her late mother, whom Sylvie never knew. In Nebraska, Sylvie encounters welcoming teenage ranch hand Jack and becomes increasingly fixated on a mysterious unnamed shepherd. Yet beneath her tentative sense of belonging on the ranch lies a persistent dread. Sylvie is convinced that something monstrous moves through the landscape, but the OCD and intrusive thoughts she lives with—which she calls “the monster inside my head”—make it difficult for her to trust her own perceptions. As she pieces together fragments of her mom’s past through a box of personal items and the memories of Madeline, a lodge owner who once knew her mother, Sylvie begins to suspect that her family history is entangled with the creature she believes is haunting the locale. Sylvie’s unflinchingly self-critical yet deeply empathetic first-person narration captures both the claustrophobic logic of her OCD and the aching vulnerability of a girl desperate to be seen and loved. It all adds up to a sensitive, fully fleshed-out portrayal of one teen navigating grief alongside mental health challenges. Ages 14–up. Agent: Susan Hawk, Upstart Crow Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

A teen turned covert asset matches wits with her unsuspecting hostage-takers in this outstanding thriller from Lloyd-Jones (The Wild Huntress), set in a technologically evolved near-future Portland, Ore. The narrator is 15 when her botched hacking of a driverless car kills her boyfriend and, briefly, herself, deactivating her government-issued biometric tattoo, which is used to confirm one’s identity. At the hospital, the Identity Security Division extends an offer: get re-inked and face murder charges or let everyone think she’s dead and become Augusta Pine, an untraceable ISD operative. Three years later, homesick Augusta contrives to surveil her grandmother from the vacant apartment next door. Augusta is poolside chatting with teenager Eames and his younger sister, Piper, when cyberterrorists seize control of a nearby smartbuilding; they seek Project Persephone, a top secret government property purportedly stashed somewhere inside the building that the terrorists would kill to recover. With external communications jammed and only Eames, Piper, and sentient bumblebee spybot Edgar for backup, resourceful Augusta sets out to save Nonna—and the day. Excerpts from ISD case files intercut Augusta’s snarky present-tense narration, providing context and further developing individual character arcs of the white-cued cast. Subtle sci-fi worldbuilding complements witty, whiz-bang plotting, which ratchets up stakes while probing issues of grief and class disparity. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sarah Landis, Sterling Lord Literistic. (July)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

Recently released from a juvenile detention center, Black 16-year-old Jasmine struggles to adjust to her family’s newly affluent lifestyle in an uneven contemporary drama, McCallum’s debut. Jasmine’s overprotective mother, who recently remarried, is determined that the family move on from the teen’s past at Guiding Hearts Home for Troubled Girls. She even goes so far as to lie to Jasmine’s new stepfamily about the truth surrounding her year away and forbids Jasmine from contacting her former friends. Jasmine chafes against the deception and her mother’s strict rules, which causes tension within the household, particularly between Jasmine and stepsister Kayla. Caught between a past she is encouraged to forget and a present that refuses to accept her, Jasmine struggles to maintain balance, especially when an old flame from the center reenters her life, threatening to upend the fragile stability she’s trying to build. Occasional contradictions between character dialogue and actions somewhat undermine the impact of overarching conversations about the juvenile justice system. Still, restrained prose depicts Jasmine as a sympathetic protagonist, and readers will find it easy to root for her to find her place and voice in this straightforward coming-of-age portrait. Ages 12–up. (July)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

in this reflective romp, Korman (Hypergifted) spotlights five children who find themselves with too much time on their hands upon discovering that they no longer need to sleep. White-cued Mickey, 12, and four racially diverse classmates in the town of Shagbark—Skye, Levi, Cyrus, and Thea—have no idea why they’re inexplicably unable to sleep. At first unaware of one another’s predicament, each uses their extra waking hours to pursue personal ambitions in secret: Mickey turns to athletics, Skye becomes an academic overachiever, Levi experiments with multiple social media identities as an influencer, Cyrus immerses himself in invention, and Thea throws herself into musical theater. But when the group realizes they share the same sleeplessness, they form an unlikely friendship, meeting at night to investigate the cause of their insomnia. As they dig deeper, the quintet confronts a pressing question: Is their condition a gift or a curse? And if a cure exists, do they want it? Throughout this fast-paced tale, characters weigh the costs and pleasures of their nocturnal freedom, including its effects—both positive and negative—on identity, popularity, and achievement. While an abrupt resolution somewhat dampens the impact of the intriguing existential premise, perceptive narration nevertheless excels in its interpretation of wish fulfillment. Ages 9–12. Agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. (July)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink