Fortune Tellers by Lisa Greenwald (May 7, Katherine Tegen Books)
MG | Timeless story | For fans of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and That’s So Raven
What if your fortunes really came true?
Once upon a time, Millie, Nora, and Bea were best friends who loved slumber parties, exploring their Manhattan neighborhood, and making fortune tellers with their Magic Markers. Now, in the summer before seventh grade, they haven’t spoken in over a year—thanks to a big fight, the pandemic shutting down their school, and each girl moving away for different reasons. The girls routinely check each other’s social media, but none of them can muster the courage to reach out, even if they might want to.
Then their long-ago paper fortune tellers start popping up in the most unexpected places. The fortunes carry some eerily accurate wisdom for each girl: Your future is hidden in your past. Hold on to the memories. Go back to where you started. Could this be the push the girls need to reconnect and reunite? Or is the gap between them too wide to mend?
“Greenwald sensitively captures the social dynamics of middle school, where popularity can take precedence over friendship. Tears and cheers abound in this endearing take on friendship.” — Kirkus Reviews
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants meets That's So Raven in this 90s throwback!
Grace Notes by Naomi Shihab Nye (May 7, Greenwillow Books)
Poetry collection | Ages 10+ | Familial themes
With themes of family, love, kindness, empathy, grief, growing up, and resilience, these one hundred never-before-published poems by the beloved poet, speaker, and teacher Naomi Shihab Nye will resonate with a wide audience.
National Book Award Finalist and former Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye’s Grace Notes: Poems about Families celebrates family and community. This rich collection of one hundred never-before-published poems is also the poet’s most personal work to date. With poems about her own childhood and school years, her parents and grandparents, and the people who have touched and shaped her life in so many ways, this is an emotional and sparkling collection to savor, share, and read again and again.
- Gift package–perfect for gifts for any occasion but especially Mother’s Day!
- Naomi is a beloved author and poet, and an immensely popular and sought-after speaker both nationally and internationally.
- Crossover appeal for kids and adults!
- This is a tribute to her mother, who died in 2021, and explores the mother/daughter
relationship.
True Love and Other Impossible Odds by Christina Li (May 14, Quill Tree Books)
YA | Sapphic | AAPI
College freshman Grace Tang never meant to rewrite the rules of love. She came to college to move on from a grief-stricken senior year and to start anew. So she follows a predictable routine: Attend class, study, go home and visit her dad every weekend. She doesn’t leave any room in her life for outliers or anomalies.
Then, Grace comes up with an algorithm for her statistics class to pair students with their perfect romantic partners. Though some people are skeptical, like Julia, Grace’s prickly coworker, Grace is confident that her program will take all the drama out of relationships. That’s why she keeps trying to make things work with her match, a guy named Jamie. But as the semester goes on and she grows closer to Julia, Grace starts to question who she’s really attracted to.
In award-winning author Christina Li’s YA debut, Grace will have to make a choice between the tidy equations she knows will protect her from heartbreak or the possibility that true love doesn’t follow any formula.
An incredible roster of author praise includes:
“A reminder that love and joy can be found in the most unexpected places, and that there is no pain or tragedy that precludes us from finding our way to the happy ending.” —Sonora Reyes, National Book Award finalist and bestselling author of The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School
"Every now and then you read a book that you know will stay with you for a long time. True Love and Other Impossible Odds is one of those books. Honest, raw, and breathtakingly real." —Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick, New York Times bestselling authors of She Gets the Girl
"The blueprint for contemporary coming-of-age. True Love and Other Impossible Odds navigates the complex, beautiful time of burgeoning adulthood, where imperfect understandings of love inspire the greatest plunge toward growth." —Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights
The Only Light Left Burning by Erik J. Brown (May 28, Balzer + Bray)
YA | Postapocalyptic | For fans of Heartstopper and They Both Die at the End
After a long and treacherous journey south, Andrew and Jamie have finally found safety in the Florida Keys. But they soon learn that safety doesn't always mean happily ever after.
Settling into life in the Islamorada colony with other survivors of the bug, Andrew believes they've finally found themselves a home, even a family. But anxious Jamie is less comfortable in their new community and is eager to return north to keep the promise they made to their friend Henri—to bring her to the colony and reunite her with her daughter. Besides, would it really be so bad to find someplace just for the two of them?
When a hurricane and a shocking betrayal force them to leave the colony in search of new shelter, it brings their tensions to a head—and puts them in the path of some old enemies. Andrew and Jamie must set aside their differences to survive once more and find a new home. But what if "home" means different things to each of them?
*An LGBTQ Reads Most Anticipated Pick!
- A SEQUEL FULL OF WIT AND HUMOR: Though the premise is harrowing, this story is smart, absorbing, and funny. Readers can't help but be charmed by Andrew and Jamie’s banter even as they root for them to survive, and the compulsive readability of the first book has made Erik a breakout debut, appealing to fans of Adam Silvera and Alex London.
- BESTSELLING COMPS: This series is best described as What If It's Us meets the apocalypse—two teen boys find unexpected romance after a deadly pathogen wipes out most of the world population—and Jamie and Andrew’s sweet, banter-y chemistry calls to mind a teen version of Patrick and David from Schitt’s Creek.
- HOPING FOR A HAPPILY EVER AFTER: In All That's Left in the World, readers fell head over heels for Andrew's wry humor and Jamie's gentle heart and affinity for made-for-TV romances. But while the two found safety—and each other—now they must face new dangers...including tension in their growing relationship. Readers will be on the edges of their seats wondering if Jamie and Andrew will finally find their happily ever after. Perfect for fans of Heartstopper!
- AN AUTHOR ON THE RISE: Erik J. Brown's debut, All That's Left in the World, earned a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, a spot on the Waterstones Children's Book Prize shortlist, and an incredibly enthusiastic—and growing!—readership.
One Killer Problem by Justine Pucella Winans (June 4, HarperTeen)
Campy YA | Mystery/thriller | For fans of Only Murders in the Building
When Gianna “Gigi” Ricci lands in detention again, she doesn’t expect the glorified study hall to be her alibi.
But when she and her friends receive a mysterious email directing them to her favorite teacher, Mr. Ford’s room, they find him lying in a pool of blood. But calling the math teacher’s death an accident doesn’t add up, and Gigi needs all the help she can get to find the truth. Luckily, she’s friends with her high school’s “mystery club,” and so with her best friend, Sean, and longtime crush, Mari, Gigi sets out to solve a murder. But it turns out, murderers are extremely unwilling to be caught, and the deeper Gigi gets in this mystery, the more dangerous things become. Between fending off a murderer, continual flare-ups of her IBS, and her archnemesis turning flirtatious . . . making it out of junior year is going to be one killer problem.
With a wry, hilarious voice and a main character who is the walking definition of a disaster bi, this book is an ode to cozy mysteries, queer found families, and fighting for the people you love, no matter what.
An incredible roster of author praise includes:
“One Killer Problem is a fun, endearing, and delightfully quirky murder mystery, with a sleuth whose hilarious voice leaps off the page and fantastic IBS representation that will make kids living with chronic stomach pain feel SEEN.” — Diana Urban, award-winning author of All Your Twisted Secrets
“Punny, thrilling, and oh so charming, One Killer Problem weaves suspense and queer feels into a heart-pounding, laugh-out-loud mystery that proves why Justine Pucella Winans is a must-read name for all queer YA fans.” — Emery Lee, award-winning author of Meet Cute Diary
“Voicey and immersive, this witty, fast-paced YA mystery was a one-sitting read. With its cast of lovable, well-rounded characters and emotionally charged mystery, it kept the pages turning long into the night.” — Wendy Heard, author of She's too Pretty to Burn and We'll Never Tell
“This book slays—an emotionally complex and queer cast, an edgy murder, and loads of campy banter. Winans has once again cunningly crafted a laugh-out-loud mystery.” — Page Powars, author of The Borrow a Boyfriend Club
“My lawyers will be in touch with Justine Pucella Winans for the damages caused by this book. My abs hurt from laughing, my throat hurts from screaming, and my heart hurts from melting. None of this is okay. Five stars.” — Sonora Reyes, National Book Award Finalist and bestselling author of The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School
