With endearing chattiness and nerdy enthusiasm, this poetic tribute to “the color between red and yellow” feels perfectly poised to turn readers into orange enthusiasts. Poliquin (I Am Wind) takes readers on a meandering journey that connects art, culture, geography, history, nature, and science while discussing orange’s many manifestations (“This mineral is called crocoite. Isn’t it magnificently orange?”). Readers learn that the word is rooted in a Tamil term referring to the fragrance of orange blossoms, then explore how orange plays a starring role in flags and observances, landmarks and works of art, and uniforms that range from spacesuits to monks’ robes. Opaque watercolor, chalk pastel, and digital illustrations by Morstad (A Face Is a Poem) mix impressionistic vignettes with close-ups reminiscent of field notebook sketches, establishing a grounding visual tone that’s calmly observant—all the better to let the central color strut its stuff. By the final page, readers, their eyes opened to orange’s ubiquity, are likely to eagerly concur with the heart of the book’s message: Orange you glad the title color is finally getting its due? Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 5–9. Author’s agent: Amy Tompkins, Transatlantic Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Jr./Folio Literary. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 06/27/2025 | Details & Permalink

A Black teen and her white crush swap bodies in this nuanced Freaky Friday riff by Ukazu (Bunt!). When she’s not obsessing over K-pop boy band BGBB, Texas private school scholarship student Chi-Chi yearns to be noticed by her popular—and unattainable—classmate Flip. After being knocked unconscious in a rainy-day fall, Chi-Chi wakes up the next morning to learn that she and Flip have somehow traded bodies. Though the first switch is short-lived, the two seniors keep inexplicably swapping places. And as they attempt to determine how to change back permanently, each subsequent flip lasts longer than the prior one. The duo’s differing gender and racial experiences are playfully incorporated (their hygiene boundary is “keep tidy; don’t explore,” and Flip implores Chi-Chi not to imitate her mother’s Nigerian accent while in his body), providing laugh-out-loud moments alongside incisive examinations of personal identity and perception. In her “most autobiographical work to date,” per an author’s note, Ukazu draws from her own adolescent struggles to present an engrossing standalone graphic novel about self-acceptance rendered using clean line art, dynamic paneling, and eye-catching color palettes. References to The Bluest Eye and myriad IRL K-pop groups add texture and personality. Ages 14–up. Agent: Chelsea Eberly, Greenhouse Literary. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/27/2025 | Details & Permalink

Nguyen (The Magic Fish) spins a captivating tale of romance, grief, and community in a graphic novel that draws inspiration from “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” and Cyrano de Bergerac. High schooler Angelica Hoang does it all—manages the hockey team, runs cross-country, and participates in the school newspaper, choir, and “miscellaneous volunteer activities”—until a bout of intense burnout forces her to take a break. Her only solace is anonymously messaging the social media account of a local theater mascot, Per the Bear, who dresses like a prince. Happily, landing an internship at the same theater company puts Angelica in the mysterious bear prince’s path. But as she navigates her new internship responsibilities, the demands of her restaurateur parents, and the beginnings of a crush, grief over her late grandmother and a former friend she lost contact with years ago begin to emerge. Nguyen employs his signature dreamy, fairy tale style to depict grandiose sequences that detail Angelica’s fantasy romance with the bear prince and flashbacks from her childhood. It’s a gorgeously rendered, whimsical story about a community coming together to support one another during hardships both big and small. Angelica is of Vietnamese descent. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kate McKean, Morhaim Literary. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 06/27/2025 | Details & Permalink

Though childhood best friends Jackie and Milo—who were born on the same day at the same hospital—are dreading entering middle school, they’re comforted by the fact that they’ll have each other. Once the school year begins, however, Jackie struggles to maintain their dynamic as Milo opts to bond with his new soccer teammates. On top of feeling lonely, Jackie endures cruel critiques from her peers about her appearance: Milo’s teammates disparage her for dressing “like a dude,” while female classmates encourage Jackie to change up her style so “at least people would know you’re a girl.” She resolves to give herself a makeover for picture day, but when students ridicule her visible body hair—and Milo joins in the jeering—things begin to go downhill for the once-close besties. Slice-of-life vignettes by the Bagleys (Duel) portray Jackie’s grappling with issues surrounding puberty, body image, and shifting relationships; glimpses into Milo’s own challenges navigating toxic male environments deepens the graphic novel’s authentic presentation of kids in social transition. Characters are depicted with varying skin tones. Ages 8–12. Agent: Alexandra Penfold, Upstart Crow Literary. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/27/2025 | Details & Permalink

Expectations of a carefree summer at theater camp take a fatal turn in this splashy thriller by Anderson (Killer House Party). This year is Afro-Boricua 17-year-old Faye’s final summer attending Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp with her closest friends. As such, it’s also the last opportunity for Faye to break out of her being typecast in white-passing roles. But the camp vibes go sour before the program can even begin when its director is found dead backstage at a previous job. Though the event is ruled an accident, and Ghostlight instates a new director to replace him, subsequent deaths of the camp’s crew and actors sow further unease. Despite Faye’s suspicion that there’s something sinister at play—a feeling that’s exacerbated by the appearance of a mysterious figure wearing a commedia dell’arte mask—her fellow campers seem convinced that the situation is just a series of tragic events and theater pranks gone wrong. As the body count rises, Faye struggles to both ensure her and her friends’ safety and make it big in her final show. While the narrative’s focus on thespian drama often deflates tension throughout the murder mystery plot, Anderson effectively captures the over-the-top atmosphere of theater camp, resulting in plenty of dark humor. Ages 14–up. Agent: Laura Zats, Headwater Literary. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/27/2025 | Details & Permalink

Metallo balances acerbic comedy with insightful prose to present an intimate character study, told via blog posts, that follows an autistic theater kid’s attempts to navigate the aftermath of a friendship-ending error. After 17-year-old Jess Lanza makes out with her best friend Chloe’s boyfriend—and is subsequently dubbed a “boyfriend-stealing slutbag” in a classmate’s blog post—Jess decides to start her own blog detailing “my many embarrassing and/or hate-worthy mistakes.” In rueful, often laugh-out-loud narration, Jess addresses her apparent flaws and vulnerabilities: “I am so awkward that freshmen feel sorry for me,” “I am the Aaron Burr of Chloe’s love life,” “I am weird and pretentious.” Over the course of each entry, Jess additionally unearths personal realizations about her family, her future, and her friendship with Chloe, who is also autistic, and begins to see herself and her relationships in a new light. Characterization is a standout feature of this aching and self-aware novel; through Jess’s appealing first-person perspective, Metallo crafts interesting and realistic teens and adults, and offers a unique and nuanced view of an autistic teen experiencing high school. Chloe is Black; most other characters are white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Susan Hawk, Upstart Crow Literary. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 06/27/2025 | Details & Permalink

When Sascia was 12, a rift between Earth and a realm called the Darkworld appeared, spilling monsters and mayhem into Shanghai, and later, her hometown, New York City. Now 18, Sascia is enchanted by the Dark and its creatures, which leads her to study Darkmoths at the prestigious Umbra Program for Young Researchers. Despite her fascination with the subject, she’s disillusioned by the red tape and hurdles she must navigate in her studies. Needing funds to retain her spot at Umbra, she moonlights as a guide for thrill-seeking tourists scavenging artifacts from the Dark. But when one of these illegal excursions leads her to gender-fluid Nugau—a volatile elf princet from the Dark, who greets her with lethal intent—time and the universe as Sascia knows them begin to unravel. Nugau claims they’ve met her before—or will. As Sascia contends with the Dark’s constantly shifting reality, she and Nugau realize their fates, and that of their worlds, are inextricably entwined. Hatzopoulou (Hearts That Cut) juxtaposes the Darkworld’s court politics against human society’s corporate corruption, resulting in a dimension-crossing, time-twisting romantasy. Intriguing descriptions of the Dark’s enigmatic creatures inject atmospheric otherworldliness. Sascia has Greek ancestry. Ages 14–up. Agent: Michaela Whatnall, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 06/27/2025 | Details & Permalink

A grieving Korean American teen accesses forbidden magic and must contend with the spine-tingling results in this chilling YA debut by Yun (Some Are Always Hungry, for adults). Seven years after 17-year-old Soojin Han’s mother died in a car accident, the drowning of Soojin’s older sister Mirae leaves the teen alone with her grief as her father travels for work. When the loneliness grows too intense, Soojin uses her family’s magic to resurrect Mirae, disregarding previous warnings that she never use necromancy to reanimate anything larger than a small animal. Soojin’s joy at their reunion is short-lived: Mirae doesn’t remember her own name and seems plagued by a mournful bitterness, while Soojin struggles to recover from the physical and mental backlash of the powerful magic. Suddenly, their largely white coastal home of Jade Acre is beset by relentless rain and flooding, and drowned corpses begin mysteriously appearing throughout town. Soojin must now choose between keeping her sister by her side or saving the rest of her community in this grisly tale, which triumphs in its depiction of sisterhood and grief. Lyrical prose renders meaningful, tear-jerking sequences and propulsive horror alongside frank examinations of the cycles of generational trauma. Ages 14–up. Agent: Serene Hakim and Annie Hwang, Ayesha Pande Literary. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 06/27/2025 | Details & Permalink

A galvanizing love triangle lights up this standalone dystopian romance from Tew (The Dividing Sky). In 2190, Eden Lowell lives in the impoverished Marshes of flooded former Miami. Meanwhile, the wealthy Cruisers indulge in carefree luxury on ocean liners while hoarding the nation’s resources. When the father of Henry Turner, Eden’s best friend-turned-crush, is gravely injured while scavenging to make ends meet—and, combined with ever-increasing inflation, the financial strain from the incident threatens the family’s livelihood—she decides to fight back by overturning the system responsible for these inequities. With help from a rebel vigilante called the Ringmaster, Eden poses as a wealthy heiress to infiltrate a Cruiser dating competition that promises a cash prize sufficient to revolutionize Marsh life—plus a chance to break the heart of Theo Dejardins, heir to the corporation that controls fresh water. But when the Ringmaster raises the game’s stakes and Theo proves kinder (and more dashing) than Eden anticipates, her loyalties falter. Fake relationship tropes tantalize across Eden’s keen, cutting narration as she weighs her allegiances to the Marshes—and Henry—against her future and Theo’s magnetism. It’s an eco-aware, slow-burning love story layered with deftly distilled political intrigue. Eden is Black; supporting characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jennifer Azantian, Azantian Literary. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 06/27/2025 | Details & Permalink

Against a backdrop of 1990s nostalgia, a Black teen navigates burgeoning Y2K panic as he determines to overcome internal and external obstacles to forge a better path. In danger of falling behind, rising high school senior Pernell, who has ADHD, must attend summer school under the tutelage of bullying English teacher Ms. Harding. When Pernell’s friend and crush, Electra, surprises him with a digital recorder, Pernell distracts himself from future uncertainty, and Ms. Harding’s hellish lit lectures, by recording a spoken-word account of “how I went from a three-time summer school clown,/ head in the clouds, a mope,/ to a Summer School Cypher King.” While decompressing in the school cafeteria during breaks between classes, Pernell participates in impromptu rap battles known as cyphers. Then cyphers are shut down by school administrators for becoming “disruptive,” and Pernell is suspended for apparent insubordination, further jeopardizing his fate. Speaking directly to the future (“if you even exist”), Pernell finds his voice and place in the world via a conversational, stream-of-consciousness narrative that blends verse and dialogue. Despite a convenient and somewhat rushed resolution, this YA debut from Goodwin (Your House Is Not Just a House) resonates with a relatable celebration of finding­—and advocating for­—one’s passions and oneself. Ages 12–up. Agent: Brandi Bowles, United Talent Agency. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 06/27/2025 | Details & Permalink