LAST DAY POOL PARTY de Emma Steinkellner

From the bestselling author of the Okay Witch series, dive into a hilarious and heartwarming contemporary graphic novel about friendship, popularity and the messiness of growing up, for fans of Real Friends.

LAST DAY POOL PARTY
by Emma Steinkellner
Labyrinth Road/PRH, April 2026
(via Writers House)

The only thing standing between the kids of Orange Grove Junior High and summer break is one party. . . and a whole lot of drama.

After being left off the roll call during her class graduation ceremony, Rose is done being invisible. She has a foolproof plan for how to stand out, and it all starts with going to the last day pool party. But she’s not the only one who is going to make a splash. . . Liv is on the search for a new BFF after learning that her friend Juhi is totally ruining her life by moving. And even though Maya would rather be caught dead than at unpopular Dustin’s party, her mom says she has to be nice. . . which as it turns out, might not be the same as being cool.

Soon, cliques collide and drama goes off the deep end. Rose and her classmates will face unexpected twists and hilarious (or maybe just embarrassing) mishaps and miscommunications. From cake collisions to best friend blowouts, this party is about to go off the deep end.

Emma Steinkellner is an illustrator, writer, and cartoonist living in Los Angeles, California. She is a graduate of Stanford University and the illustrator of the Eisner-nominated comic Quince. She is the author and illustrator of The Okay Witch graphic novel series.



FINDING LOST de Holly Goldberg Sloan

A stray dog leads to major change for Cordy and her grieving family in this heartwarming new novel by the beloved author of Counting by 7s.

FINDING LOST
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Rocky Pond Books, October 2025
(via Writers House)

Cordy is looking for good luck, looking for the feeling of safety she lost when her father died in a fishing boat accident, maybe even looking for a hint of magic—anything that will stop her mom from wanting to leave the coastal town she and her brother have always called home. What Cordy finds is a muddy, hungry little dog who ends up bringing all the luck she could want, and more.

Holly Goldberg Sloan writes family stories that wrap around your heart and make you laugh out loud—stories about people you dearly wish lived next door to you. You will fall in love with Cordy and her family as quickly as they fall in love with the stray pup named Lost. Full of unexpected, unforgettable moments, this is a tender and endearing tale of coping with loss and making peace with the inevitable truth that change is a constant.

Holly Goldberg Sloan graduated from Wellesley College and spent some time as an advertising copywriter before she began writing family feature films, including Angels in the Outfield and Made in America. She was the first woman to direct a live action film for the Walt Disney Company when she directed (and wrote) The Big Green. She is the author of seven previous novels, including the E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor Book Counting by 7s, the New York Times Bestseller Short, and the New York Times Editors’ Choice Pick To Night Owl from Dogfish (cowritten with Meg Wolitzer). The mother of two and grandmother of five, Holly lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Gary Rosen.

THE TRESPASSERS de Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

A house party turns deadly in this tightly wound thriller set against an icy Alaskan winter.

THE TRESPASSERS
by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
Delacorte, October 2025
(via Sterling Lord Literistic)

Finley, Mya, River, and Eli were inseparable as kids, running wild on Alaska’s vast wide-open spaces. Then tragedy struck, and Finley moved to the lower 48. But now it’s Senior year, and Finley’s back in Anchorage. When Mya throws a house party on a snowy Valentine’s Day night, it’s supposed to be a chance for the friends to heal old wounds. But an encounter with a mysterious stranger quickly turns the evening into a nightmare.

As the group scrambles to cover up what they’ve done, the fault lines they’ve grown so good at ignoring begin to crack as the police investigate and the media hounds them. Are they the most vicious teens in America, or deeply misunderstood? Everyone wants to know—even the teens themselves.

Fast-paced and thrillingly tense, THE TRESPASSERS explores guilt, loyalty, and the complex nature of friendship.

Jennifer Lynn Alvarez earned her BA in English Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, and went into finance, of all things before she accomplished her childhood dream of becoming an author. Jennifer grew up in Alaska and now divides her time between Northern California and Middle Tennessee with her husband, kids, and more than her fair share of pets. THE TRESPASSERS is her 11th novel.

GRIMLORE MANOR de Kalyn Josephson

New York Times bestselling author Kalyn Josephson’s new middle grade is The Inheritance Games meets The Addams Family.

GRIMLORE MANOR
by Kalyn Josephson
Delacorte, 2026
(via Laura Dail Literary)

Every three years on April 13th, a Devlin dies. Fourteen-year-old Kit Devlin knows this because she lost both her parents to the family curse one afterthe other, sending her on an endless carousel of short-lived stints with estranged cousins and forgotten uncles. So when the news arrives that the eccentric grandfather she’s never met is the latest to kick to the bucket, she’s not surprised. What she doesn’t expect is the invitation to his funeral that comes with it—something no Devlin ever has.

Along with her current guardian, Aunt Something or Another (or Aunt Soraas Kit calls her), she arrives at the darkly whimsical Grimlore Manor in the strange and dreary town of Hearthstone, Scotland, only to discover she’s one of a select few Devlins invited to partake in a very special game. Whoever can solve the series of riddles and mysteries her grandfather left behind will inherit his fortune. With the money he left behind for Kit’s care swiftly dwindling, Aunt Sora makes it clear that without that inheritance, Kit will be out of a home. But as she burrows deeper into the game her grandfather left behind, she begins to uncover the truth behind the curse that took her parents—and how to break it. Kit throws herself into the competition, but in a house full of hidden rooms and secret doors that never lead where they’re supposed to, getting lost is the least of her worries.

Because her family members will do whatever it takes to win that inheritance—even kill…

Kalyn Josephson is a New York Times bestselling fantasy writer living in the California Bay Area. She loves books, cats, books with cats, and making up other worlds to live in for a while. Her YA debut, The Storm Crow, was one of Indigo’s Best YA Books of 2019, B&N’s Best YA books of July 2019, and Goodreads’s most popular 2019 debuts. Her debut adult fantasy, The Library of Amorlin, is set to be published by Kensington in 2027.

MISCHIEF GIRLS d’Aashna Avachat

Every school has its secrets—but at the exclusive Ellison College, the past might prove deadly—in this twisty puzzlebox mystery perfect for fans of Maureen Johnson’s Truly Devious series.

MISCHIEF GIRLS
by Aashna Avachat
Delacorte Press, September 2026
(via KT Literary)

THIRTY YEARS AGO: three students walked into the woods surrounding Ellison College, and only one came out. They became known as the Mischief Girls, and their case was never solved.

HALLOWEEN WEEK, MODERN DAY: Ellison freshman Raina isn’t interested in digging into the past. To combat her personal demons, she volunteers at Night Walk, a campus program dedicated to helping students get home safely. Until one night, Raina escorts a fellow freshman to her dorm…only to learn that the girl disappeared before she ever made it through the door.

NOW: With the help of the missing girl’s stepbrother, Raina begins to investigate. But when the pair of them discover that she’d been looking into the Mischief Girls murders prior to her vanishing, the case suddenly becomes much more complicated.

From professors’ offices to state penitentiaries, Raina relentlessly hunts down the truth. But if she wants to find it, she’ll have to accept that maybe what happened to the missing girl didn’t begin the night she disappeared.

Maybe it all started thirty years ago, in the woods.

Aashna Avachat is a writer, reader, and lawyer from California. She studied English and Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley and law at Harvard Law School. She is also the author of Love Craves Cardamom. When she’s not working, she’s probably reading on a sunny patch of grass, going on long walks to grocery stores, or being cozy with one of her many foster cats. Visit her online at aashnaavachat.com.