Archives de catégorie : Young Adult

SPARKS FLY de Hazel Henry

Three girls, one summer—and the perfect beach read for fans of Gilmore Girls, Jenny Han, and Elin Hilderbrand!

SPARKS FLY
by Hazel Henry
Avon/HarperCollins, May 2026

The Hollidays are having a summer to remember . . .

Georgia can’t wait to get back to Laurel Lake, where she’ll be too busy lifeguarding to miss her boyfriend, Rhys. Besides, he’ll visit every weekend. It’ll be perfect. She certainly won’t get distracted by the local boy who seems determined to catch her eye …

Daisy is finally old enough for a summer job at the local club, which is good because it will take her mind off the confusing way she and Owen said goodbye—by kissing. A lot. Are they dating now? And if so, should she not be spending time with Mateo, the hot older guy who’s always available to give her a ride home from work?

Eden is on thin ice with her parents, who think that learning to survive in the woods will “fix” her. Sure, being at the lake with Georgia and Daisy is great. A backpacking class? No. A backpacking class with her ex infatuation and forever arch nemesis, Leo? She’d rather hike all the way back to New York City.

The Holliday sisters have so many questions: about love, friendship, and who they want to be. Luckily, they also have each other.

Hazel Henry spends her summers close to several beautiful lakes, though she rarely meets cute boys there. Her favorite warm-weather traditions are beach bonfires, sunset ice cream runs (strawberry, but only if it’s with real strawberries), and lazing in the hammock with a good book.

THE MUSEUM OF MODERN LOVE de Mariko Turk

Sold in a rapid US pre-empt, an irresistible instant classic about the thrilling, often infuriating, rush of first love, guaranteed to sweep you off your feet. With a dash of the dreamy atmosphere of Anna and the French Kiss, a twist of Jenny Han’s heartfelt honesty and wit, and a heap of Lynn Painter’s authentic and magnetic characters, with a flair and heart that is wholly Mariko’s own, this new novel is destined to become a vital addition to the pantheon of YA romance greats.

THE MUSEUM OF MODERN LOVE
by Mariko Turk
Henry Holt, October 2026
(via Writers House)

Tonight, inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art—somewhere between the hours of 8 PM and 5 AM—Auden Peck will fall in love with Miki Kawamura.

That’s Miki’s plan, anyway. And the plan is destiny.

See, Miki’s grandparents fell in love after accidentally being locked in the Met overnight in 1965. And now, after too many almost-confessions, hopeless romantic Miki will finally tell her best friend Auden that she loves him by retracing the path through the museum that her grandparents took that fateful night.

But destiny has other plans. For it’s not Auden who joins Miki on her midnight tour, but Lou McSweeney—the world’s most jaded cynic, and Miki’s ex. How can she possibly confess her feelings for Auden when she’s stuck sparring with this arrogant jerk? And is it possible that her original plan was not destiny’s true course after all?

Mariko Turk is the author of The Other Side of Perfect and I’ll Be Waiting for You. She received her PhD in English from the University of Florida, with a concentration in children’s literature and lives in Colorado with her husband and daughter.

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.