Stoffels (Deep Water) traces the months leading up to a teen’s murder, to which three people confess, in this suspenseful whodunit that incorporates themes of abuse. High schooler Maria is dreading summer vacation, especially when she learns that her physically abusive brother, Ferris, is returning home from a detention center, and Mike, the man who sexually assaulted her, has arrived in town on business. Life gets even more complicated for Maria and her girlfriend, Pip, when Pip’s obsessive ex-girlfriend, Norah, and Cody, a mysterious, handsome stranger, arrive on the scene. Then Maria starts receiving text messages from someone known only as Mystery Guest, who challenges her to increasingly dangerous dares, including balancing from precarious heights and traversing busy roadways. When it becomes clear that Mystery Guest knows more about Maria than they should, she fears that it’s a matter of time until her darkest secrets surface. Spare, efficient writing lacks detail, making it difficult to connect with the characters and setting, and shocking reveals undercut the emotional impact of the novel’s exploration of familial abuse, sexual violence, and mental health struggles. Nevertheless, tension remains high across a snappy, genuinely disturbing thriller that will appeal to readers looking for a whirlwind read. Ages 12–up. (July)

Reviewed on 04/24/2026 | Details & Permalink

In alternating sections, two teens narrate this spellbinding identity-focused verse novel from Engle (Island Creatures). After her beloved folklorist grandmother, Evasol, dies, third-generation Cuban American 17-year-old Evamar sets out for Cuba with detailed instructions to return Evasol’s remains to her garden. Shorter interstitials follow 18-year-old Río, a talented percussionist who was deported to Cuba at 16 after spending most of his life in Florida. Alongside her older brother Cedro, Evamar—raised by her linguist father and archaeologist mother in Elizabeth, N.J.—makes her first trip through Cuba with other young Cuban Americans. When she meets Río, hired to translate for her tour group, their attraction is immediate: “Are we really/ reading/ each/ other’s/ translucent/ minds?” They approach their connection cautiously, mindful of their impending separation, but their bond intensifies when they discover, and vow to disseminate, a dictionary of both their ancestors’ disappearing Taíno language and its links to other vanishing Indigenous tongues. Lyrical narration is rendered with a striking mix of romanticism and reality (“The night sky becomes a waterfall/ of sound/ and/ stars”), with Spanish text—accompanied by translations—smoothly incorporated throughout. It’s an immersive love song to the power of both ancestral history and first romance. Ages 12–up. Agent: Michelle Humphrey, Martha Kaplan Agency. (July)

Reviewed on 04/24/2026 | Details & Permalink

Grove (The Waning Age) spins a historical dark feminist tale set in a patriarchal society built upon secretive necromantic magic. In 1882, tenacious teenage Clementine Quinn, who reads as white, secretly trains as a female enchanter during a time when only men “of the correct education, station, and background” are given license to practice magic. Disguising herself as a male student, Clem gains entrance to Massachusetts Commonwealth University, a school dedicated to the study of enchantments. She aims to free her late mother’s soul from the Cisneros Society, a group of powerful magic users and the most elite of Massachusetts society, who have a history of murdering and binding women’s power to their own as “spirit[s] chained to another man’s will for eternity.” Meanwhile, restless Latinx-cued ghost Sam, an aspiring enchanter recently murdered by the Cisneros Society, keeps a watchful eye on Clem, who seems unaware that the further she digs into Cisneros, the more precarious her situation becomes. Letters written from Clem to her mother punctuate Sam’s sharp first-person POV. As the protagonists join forces, their pursuit of justice and vengeance coalesces into a cunning, high-stakes adventure. Ages 12–up. Agent: Susan Hawk, Upstart Crow Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 04/24/2026 | Details & Permalink

Two tweens band together to investigate compounding mysteries throughout their neighborhood in Tern’s heartfelt contemporary debut. White-cued 12-year-old Valory combats boredom by stealing, much to the consternation of her single mother, who cleans homes for wealthy Bostonians. Accompanying her mother on one such job, Valory nicks a valuable coin and is confronted by the homeowner, Mrs. Sagara. To Valory’s shock, Mrs. Sagara’s shy, reclusive son, 12-year-old piano prodigy Rook, takes the blame, an act that kicks off an unlikely friendship between the youths. Later, Rook, who is white and Japanese, confides in Valory that a long-empty unit in the apartment building across the street from his house suddenly seems occupied. Homeschooled due to his agoraphobia, Rook hesitates to uncover the mystery by himself, so he recruits courageous Valory into his inquiry. Struggling to adjust to her mother’s new police officer boyfriend and reeling from a falling out with her best friend, Valory welcomes the distraction. As she and Rook investigate, they become convinced that a missing child may be hidden in the apartment. Depictions of Valory’s emotional growth and Rook’s anxiety feel organic and sensitively wrought across alternating third-person perspectives that follow the pair. Valory’s wit and charisma inject levity into a hijinks-fueled romp. Ages 8–12. (July)

Reviewed on 04/24/2026 | Details & Permalink

A nonmagical girl must fake her way through a magic education while uncovering her family’s complicated past in this charming middle grade debut from Kölsch (Empty Heaven). Though 12-year-old Lilac Black doesn’t believe in the supernatural, she leaps into action when a notable séance her medium uncle is hosting goes awry, pretending to channel a spirit in his stead. Afterward, she learns that ghosts are real, her family members are Seers, and now that Lilac has appeared to come into her own power, she’s ready to attend the Spindlewood School of Seeing. Lilac avoids admitting that she can’t perceive ghosts, fearful that the International Delegation of Seers would erase her memory if they knew. Instead, as she acclimates to her new school, she fakes results through misdirection, research, and quick wits. Upon befriending fellow white-cued eighth graders—powerful True Seer Emmanuelle Williams and Dreamseer Chloe Christiansen—Lilac realizes that Spindlewood is teeming with more mysteries than she anticipated, and that her late mother, a Spindlewood graduate, may have been involved in a school tragedy years ago. Now Lilac must uncover what happened, without letting her own secret slip. This delightfully unsettling tale offers captivating mystery helmed by a stubborn and fiercely practical protagonist. Snarky omniscient narration propels a wry, enjoyable entry in the magical school canon. Ages 8–12. Agent: Molly Ker Hawn, Bent Agency. (July)

Reviewed on 04/24/2026 | Details & Permalink

Cherokee Nation citizen Derr makes her debut in this cozy, lived-in fantasy novel about a magical tween baker healing from loss. Twelve-year-old Raven Miller used to love to bake, a hobby she shared with her mother, who was white. Following her parents’ deaths, however, she stops baking. Newly arrived in Bear Creek Falls, where she now lives with her aunt Coral, Raven attempts to get back into a routine. But attending school proves just as isolating as staying home, especially when popular girls start spreading rumors that Raven is a witch who killed her parents. Things start looking up when Aunt Coral allows Raven to take in a stray cat and her kittens, and Raven befriends classmates Laurel and Hazel. Together, the tweens organize against their reproachful vice principal, whom they believe is unfairly targeting BIPOC students with dress code violations. As Raven grapples with grief and guilt, she simultaneously contends with feelings of disconnect from her culinary passions and her father’s Indigenous heritage. Warm and winning interactions between family and friends buoy the somber undercurrent that runs through each smoothly layered, expertly conceived plot thread. The outcome is a gentle, uplifting portrait of a tween seeking and finding support. Includes an author’s note and Cherokee glossary. Ages 8–12. (July)

Reviewed on 04/24/2026 | Details & Permalink

In her eerie debut, Kemper puts a middle grade spin on The Stepford Wives. Twelve-year-old Joni was excited to attend summer camp with her best friends Tyler and May, until a dirt biking injury forced May to stay home. At camp, Joni worries that the time apart is creating distance among the white-cued friend group, concerns that are seemingly confirmed when, upon her return, she realizes that there’s something different about May. The girl’s previously “rock-and-roll” curls are tamed into a neat bun, and she no longer takes interest in her drum kit or the trio’s favorite comic book series. Worse is May’s overly polite new friend, Charlotte Ann Gingham, who “looks like she walked off the pages of a 1950s yearbook.” After Joni and her parents attend a book club meeting at the Ginghams’ home, Joni becomes more uneasy as she notices that Charlotte Ann’s artificial affect and retro fashion tastes seem to be spreading: more mothers and daughters are sporting the same giant pearl earrings and strange “waxy” grins. As Joni and Tyler investigate the Ginghams’ uncanny influence, they uncover information that hints at the family’s surprising past and sinister future plans. Brisk pacing and a tense, dread-filled atmosphere conjure an action-packed piece that draws on classic works of body-snatcher horror. Ages 8–12. Agent: Amy Giuffrida, Belcastro Agency. (July)

Reviewed on 04/24/2026 | Details & Permalink

Teaming up with artist Cloud, entrepreneur and model Harlow debuts with a school-day story about a fashionista with vitiligo who prioritizes being herself. After spending the summer assembling looks (“A swirl of spunk... / A splash of sass... ”), Winnie is “ready to shine.” Though she quickly makes a friend in class, Winnie’s devastated when dressing like a tiger, instead of wearing one of the tiger shirts distributed by her teacher, finds her left out of the class’s “tiger club.” A visit to her grandmother’s garden, where a lone iris blooms boldly among the roses, helps Winnie realize that standing out is something to celebrate. Inspired by this revelation, she creates fun, fashionable accessories for her classmates, catalyzing moments of connection as well as ensuring that everyone can feel unique, “simply as they are.” Appealing digital illustrations spotlight the vibrant protagonist across this inspirational telling. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. (June)

Reviewed on 04/24/2026 | Details & Permalink

One child’s school scaries manifest as mischievous ghosts in this spirited spin on facing first-day fears. “What if classes are too tough,/ with loads of tests and tricky stuff?/ The question troubling you the most... / What if—yikes!—/ your school’s got ghosts?” So churns the anxiety of a brown-skinned child imagining what could go wrong at school. The worries seem to portend plenty when, upon arrival, “a strange mist flows./ The sky is swarmed by cawing crows.” Additional evidence of haunting resolves into an interpersonal solution: bravely talking to new classmates. Using this tactic, the protagonist recruits peers to get the raucous ghosts in line by modeling best behavior and embracing the ghosts’ “awesome energy” as school spirit. A limited palette of black, gray, red, and white gives off a retro vibe suited to scenes of rosy cheeked human students, portrayed with various skin tones, enjoying story time with a group of attentive ravens and hovering ghosts. Channeling nervous energy into positive vibes, this offers a jolly relational game plan for tackling new-school-year jitters. Ages 4–8. (July)

Reviewed on 04/24/2026 | Details & Permalink

Time at home with “the sniffles” yields wild imaginings for the familiar-feeling child at the heart of Jeffers and Waldron’s madcap account. After Herbie’s parents say he can stay home from school, the excited child enjoys time in bed, breakfast in a couch fort, video games, and more, all before lunch. Wry, knowing prose captures the predictable emergence of boredom: “Although Herbie tried NOT to, he soon thought of school. He was mildly interested in the work he was avoiding.” Soon, the protagonist expands upon what he may be missing, shifting rapidly from mundane possibilities (extra playtime, a loose pet) to more far-fetched alternatives that leave him yearning to return (a pirate invasion, aliens landing). Loosely inked mixed-media illustrations amplify the child’s flights of fancy with enlivening coloration. The restorative power of boredom cures all in this audacious tale. Background characters are depicted with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. (July)

Reviewed on 04/24/2026 | Details & Permalink