Archives de catégorie : Nos incontournables

RAMIN ABBAS HAS MAJOR QUESTIONS d’Ahmad Saber

An intensely brave, gorgeously written story about a gay Muslim teen who has to choose between being true to himself or his faith—and his realization that maybe they aren’t as separate as he thought.

RAMIN ABBAS HAS MAJOR QUESTIONS
by Ahmad Saber
Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, March 2026
(via Writers House)

Now a senior at the top-ranked high school for Muslim teenagers, Pakistani Canadian Ramin can’t wait for the fresh start of college. He’s spent his whole life following the word of Allah, his parents, and his imam. His parents immigrated from Pakistan, sacrificing everything for him and his little brother, and expect Ramin to be halal in all things, meet a nice Muslim girl, and settle into devout family life. However, Ramin’s heart wishes for something—or someone—else: the strong, athletic captain of the soccer team. But at school, being gay is definitely haram, not allowed, so Ramin limits himself to dreams of moving away to New York City.

Then Ramin learns his graduation is in jeopardy, and the only chance he’s given to get the needed physical education credits quickly is to join the school’s soccer team…and train one-on-one with Fahad, a.k.a. Captain Handsome. It’s a nightmare of temptation and resistance, compounded by threats from a longtime bully who is blackmailing Ramin, threatening to reveal a secret that could ruin him. Ramin’s only ray of light is Omar, a sweet and caring new friend whose family believes in a different, kinder Allah. He gently prods Ramin to consider his faith more deeply, challenging Ramin’s long held belief of Allah as merciless and unforgiving by introducing him to one who is instead merciful and loving.

With graduation, a championship soccer match, and the blackmail looming, the pressure on Ramin is too much to keep buried. He must decide between the consequences of speaking his truth and living a lie. He must decide which Allah lives in the little mosque in his heart.

Ahmad Saber is a medical doctor specializing in rheumatology and internal medicine. Born and raised in Pakistan, Ahmad and his family moved to Canada while he was in high school. RAMIN ABBAS HAS MAJOR QUESTIONS is his debut novel and based in part on his own life.

GIRLS WALKING WITH WOLVES de Jenna Baner

A YA fantasy/queerplatonic love story that is Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent meets Loveless by Alice Oseman. Perfect for younger YA readers and set against a dark fairytale landscape of wolves, witches, and danger behind every tree, this debut brings deep emotional resonance and high narrative stakes to a story of a young woman discovering that love doesn’t need to mean romance.

GIRLS WALKING WITH WOLVES
by Jenna Baner
Page Street YA/St. Martin’s Press, October 2026

Arden Hood, blind since birth, is not afraid of witches. Despite the cautionary tales of evil witches in the forest, every day she walks alone deep into the woods to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother. One day Arden’s small, simple life is changed by two encounters: a chance meeting with the Queen’s Hunter, who develops an interest in her that she isn’t entirely sure she likes; and being rescued from a wolf attack by a mysterious young woman named Myra, the last witch still living in the woods. The two girls form a fast friendship, but the Hunter was sent to these woods for a reason. He won’t leave until he’s captured a witch. When the Hunter imprisons Myra, Arden will have to leave home, learn magic, and discover what “love” truly means for her to save her dearest friend.

Jenna Baner is a debut author who specializes in character-driven, emotionally wrenching Young Adult and New Adult fiction, with a particular passion for spotlighting queer, ace-spec, and disabled female characters. Her years of serving as both a judge and participant in writing contests such as the Young Adult Romance Writers of America Rosemary Contest and Voyage YA have allowed Jenna to hone her craft while collaborating with fellow authors.

CHECKING YOU OUT de Jennifer Chen

XO, Kitty meets Dash & Lily in this rom com about two teens falling in love via letters left in their favorite library books – even if in real life they think they have nothing in common.

CHECKING YOU OUT
by Jennifer Chen
Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press, June 2026

Lizzie Wei is a huge book nerd, and proud of it. And when she realizes there is a mysterious reader who has been checking out all of her favorite books from the library, she can’t help but get a crush on someone she’s never even met. Her friends make it their mission to find Lizzie’s long lost book soulmate and convinces her to leave notes for her crush. But what if the person Lizzie is looking for, isn’t at all what she expects?

Dylan Lin loves reading, secretly anyway. Ever since a bullying incident at his last school, he’s hidden his love of fantasy novels, instead leaning into his jock persona. Now he’s the tennis team captain, runs every day, and actively avoids reading. So, when he decides to start volunteering at a kitten nursery, and his super cute co-volunteer Lizzie asks if he likes reading, he says no. He never expects the look of complete and utter disappointment on Lizzie’s face.

Lizzie is certain her secret crush isn’t Dylan. It can’t be! But when he accidentally makes an obscure reference to her favorite book during their volunteer shift, she’s not so sure anymore. Can Lizzie forgive Dylan for lying? And can Dylan be brave enough to be himself?

Jennifer Chen’s CHECKING YOU OUT is a contemporary romance about being true to yourself and celebrating what you love, because you just might find the perfect person to share it with.

Jennifer Chen is a freelance journalist and the author of two young adult novels, Artifacts of an Ex and Hangry Hearts. Jennifer is a proud mentor for WriteGirl, a creative writing organization and a loving foster kitten mom. She lives in Los Angeles with her TV writer husband, twins, two pugs, and two cats named Gremlin and Taro.

SPIRIT SERVICE de Sarena & Sasha Nanua

Ghostbusters meets The Baby-Sitters Club in this supremely sweet and spooky story about four seventh graders who start a small business helping their local neighborhood spirits pass on to the other side.

SPIRIT SERVICE
by Sarena & Sasha Nanua
Simon & Schuster, April 2025
(via Park, Fine & Brower)

All Raveena wants is to bring back her school’s beloved arts program. It’s been six months since her music-loving grandmother passed, and four since Hollows’ Peak Middle School cut its entire arts budget. Now Raveena has no way to practice music, and worse, no way to honor Grandmama’s memory.

But Raveena’s world turns on its head when she and her friends stumble upon an otherworldly discovery: an old-fashioned telephone with the ability to contact ghosts!

With her newfound possession, Raveena devises the perfect plan to raise funds for the arts program: Spirit Service, an agency that guides deceased townspeople to the afterlife by reconnecting them with their living loved ones. The best part? There are tons of spirits in need of assistance—and people willing to pay big bucks to communicate with them.

But not all spirits are interested in peacefully moving on…

To keep their neighborhood safe, Raveena and her friends must dive into the history of their town and the mysterious phone, and in the process, uncover secrets that are much closer to home.

“Canadian authors Sareena and Sasha Nanua have created an enjoyable story that thoughtfully explores the ways people process grief…This is an entertaining, tender-hearted read for middle graders who like their realistic fiction with a little zap of the paranormal.” —Bulletin of the Center of Children’s Books

“A perfect fit for fans of the Baby-Sitters Club series craving a haunted vibe.” —Booklist

Sarena and Sasha Nanua are twin sisters who love stories about friendship, ghosts, and all things magical. Born on Diwali ten minutes apart, they began writing books together at the age of nine. They are graduates of the English and professional writing programs at the University of Toronto and are the authors of Spirit Service, Sisters of the Snake, and Daughters of the Dawn.

GRIN de D. W. Gillespie

Full of chills and twists, a twelve-year-old boy is thrilled that he’ll get to play endless games at his family’s arcade, but soon realizes he’s in the fight of his life when he’s forced to save himself and his possessed Uncle from a sinister video game.

GRIN
by D. W. Gillespie
Delacorte Press, August 2025
(via Park, Fine & Brower)

Danny is spending a week with his Uncle Bill who runs a massive retro arcade called PixelWorks. His only plan is to play as many games as possible from open to close, but he wasn’t expecting to find the Holy Grail of arcade collectors, a gruesome looking game titled Grin.

Anyone who plays the game becomes surprisingly violent, and soon with the help of his friend Jodi and a knowledgeable videogame streamer, Danny realizes that Grin holds the soul of a dead serial killer.

Soon, the killer makes the jump into Bill’s body, and it’s up to Danny to figure out a way to stop him for good.

Born and raised in Middle Tennessee, D.W. Gillespie wrote his first short story in second grade. It involved (unsurprisingly) monsters wreaking havoc on some unsuspecting victim. Some things never change. He began writing seriously after taking a creative writing class in college, and he’s written steadily ever since. He lives in Tennessee with his wife and two kids, and on dark nights, you might find them huddled around a campfire sharing spooky tales.