Young Adult New Releases June 20th 2023

Happy New Release Tuesday, today’s list has so many good books to choose from, if you want to see what’s else was released this month check out the June’s YA releases on our Bookshop page.

And remember, our original Signed Books page is no longer working it stops with early May – so if you bookmarked it or linked to your blog – please update your links to our new SIGNED BOOKS page – which includes June releases and more!!

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight

by Kalynn Bayron
Published by: Bloomsbury YA
on June 20, 2023
Genres: Horror, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
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At Camp Mirror Lake, terror is the name of the game . . . but can you survive the night?

This heart-pounding slasher by New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Fear Street.
Charity Curtis has the summer job of her dreams, playing the “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests pay to be scared in this full-contact terror game, as Charity and her summer crew recreate scenes from a classic slasher film, Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. The more realistic the fear, the better for business.

But the last weekend of the season, Charity's co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity's role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they'll need figure out what this killer is after. Is there is more to the story of Mirror Lake and its dangerous past than Charity ever suspected?

Where Echoes Die

by Courtney Gould
Published by: Wednesday Books
on June 20, 2023
Genres: LGBTQIA+, Paranormal, Thriller, Young Adult
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Beck Birsching has been adrift since the death of her mother, a brilliant but troubled investigative reporter. She finds herself unable to stop herself from slipping into memories of happier days, clamoring for a time when things were normal. So when a mysterious letter in her mother’s handwriting arrives in the mail with the words Come and find me, pointing to a town called Backravel, Beck hopes that it may hold the answers.

But when Beck and her sister Riley arrive in Backravel, Arizona it’s clear that there’s something off about the town. There are no cars, no cemeteries, no churches. The town is a mix of dilapidated military structures and new, shiny buildings, all overseen by the town’s gleaming treatment center high on a plateau. No one seems to remember when they got there, and the only people who seem to know more than they’re letting on is the town’s enigmatic leader and his daughter, Avery.

As the sisters search for answers about their mother, Beck and Avery become more drawn together, and their unexpected connection brings up emotions Beck has buried since her mother’s death. Beck is desperate to hold onto the way things used to be, and when she starts losing herself in Backravel and its connection to her mother, will there be a way for Beck to pull herself out?

In her sophomore novel Courtney Gould draws readers into the haunting town of Backravel and explores grief, the weight of not letting go of the past, first love, and the bonds between sisters, mothers and daughters.

Garden of the Cursed (Garden of the Cursed, #1)

by Katy Rose Pool
Published by: Henry Holt & Co. (BYR)
on June 20, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Thriller, Young Adult
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In this thrilling YA fantasy/mystery duology from award-winning author Katy Pool, cursebreaker Marlow Briggs reluctantly pretends to be in love with one of the most powerful nobles in Caraza City to gain entry into an illustrious—and deadly—society that holds clues to her mother's disappearance. Perfect for fans of Veronica Mars, These Violent Delights, and Chain of Iron.

Since fleeing the gilded halls of Evergarden for the muck-filled canals of the Marshes, Marlow Briggs has made a name for herself as the best godsdamn cursebreaker in Caraza City. But no matter how many cases she solves, she is still haunted by the mystery of her mother’s disappearance.

When Adrius Falcrest, Marlow's old friend and scion of one of Caraza's most affluent spell-making families, asks her to help break a life-threatening curse, Marlow wants nothing to do with the boy who spurned her a year ago. But a new lead in her mother’s case makes Marlow realize that the only way to get the answers she desperately seeks is to help Adrius and return to Evergarden society—even if it means suffering through a fake love affair with him to avoid drawing suspicion from the conniving Five Families.

As the investigation draws Marlow into a web of deadly secrets and powerful enemies, a shocking truth emerges: Adrius’s curse and her mother’s disappearance may just be clues to an even larger mystery, one that could unravel the very foundations of Caraza and magic itself.

A Crooked Mark

by Linda Kao
Published by: Razorbill
on June 20, 2023
Genres: Horror, Paranormal, Thriller, Young Adult
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A dark and sinister debut YA novel about a teen boy who must hunt down those marked by the devil - including the girl he has fallen for.
Perfect for fans of Neal Shusterman and Kendare Blake.

Rae Winter should be dead.

Some say that walking away from the car crash that killed her dad is a miracle, but seventeen-year-old Matthew Watts knows that the forces of Good aren’t the only ones at work. The devil, Lucifer himself, can mark a soul about to pass on, sending them back to the land of the living to carry out his evil will.

Matt has grown up skipping from town to town alongside his father hunting anyone who has this mark. They have one purpose: Find these people, and exterminate them.

After helping his father for years, Matt takes on his own mission: Rae Winter, miracle survivor. But when Matt starts to fall for Rae, to make friends for the first time in his life, he’s not sure who or what to believe anymore. How can someone like Rae, someone who is thoughtful and smart and kind, be an agent of the devil? With the lines of reality and fantasy, myth and paranoia blurred, Matt confronts an awful truth....

What if the devil’s mark doesn’t exist?

Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam

by Thien Pham
Published by: First Second
on June 20, 2023
Genres: Graphic Novel, Non-Fiction, Young Adult
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A moving young adult graphic memoir about a Vietnamese immigrant boy's search for belonging in America, perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and The Best We Could Do!

Thien's first memory isn't a sight or a sound. It's the sweetness of watermelon and the saltiness of fish. It's the taste of the foods he ate while adrift at sea as his family fled Vietnam.

After the Pham family arrives at a refugee camp in Thailand, they struggle to survive. Things don't get much easier once they resettle in California. And through each chapter of their lives, food takes on a new meaning. Strawberries come to signify struggle as Thien's mom and dad look for work. Potato chips are an indulgence that bring Thien so much joy that they become a necessity.

Behind every cut of steak and inside every croissant lies a story. And for Thien Pham, that story is about a search-- for belonging, for happiness, for the American dream.

Ode to My First Car

by Robin Gow
on June 20, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, In Verse, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
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By the critically praised author of A Million Quiet Revolutions, this YA contemporary sapphic romance told in verse is about a bisexual teen girl who falls in and out of love over the course of one fateful summer.

It’s a few months before senior year and Claire Kemp, a closeted bisexual, is finally starting to admit she might be falling in love with her best friend, Sophia, who she’s known since they were four.

Trying to pay off the fine from the crash that totals Lars, her beloved car, Claire takes a job at the local nursing home up the street from her house. There she meets Lena, an eighty-eight-year-old lesbian woman who tells her stories about what it was like growing up gay in the 1950s and ’60s.

As Claire spends more time with Lena and grows more confident of her identity, another girl, Pen, comes into the picture, and Claire is caught between two loves–one familiar and well-worn, the other new and untested.

This Town Is on Fire

by Pamela N. Harris
Published by: Quill Tree Books
on June 20, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
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From the critically acclaimed author of When You Look Like Us comes a page-turning YA contemporary novel about what happens when the latest “Becky” on the internet is your best friend.

A lot is up in the air in Naomi Henry’s life: her spot as a varsity cheer flier, her classmates’ reaction to the debut of her natural hair, and her crush on the guy who’s always been like a brother to her. With so much uncertainty, she feels lucky to have a best friend like Kylie to keep her grounded. After all, they’re practically sisters—Naomi’s mom took care of Kylie and her twin brother for years.

But then a video of Kylie calling the cops on two Black teens in a shopping store parking lot goes viral. Naomi is shaken, and her town is reeling from the publicity. While Naomi tries to reckon with Kylie, the other Black students in their high school are questioning their friendship, and her former friends are wondering where this new “woke” Naomi came from. As much as Naomi wants to stand by her best friend, she now can’t help but see everything in a different light.

So when the tension across town reaches a boiling point, will Naomi be caught in the center of the blast?

We Ship It

by Lauren Kay
Published by: HarperTeen
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
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Olivia Schwartz has a plan. It’s even color-coded.

The plan is this: get a perfect SAT score, attend a prestigious college, and make a straight path toward her dream of becoming a doctor.

The last thing she wants to do—the summer before her senior year of high school, no less—is go on a cruise. Especially with her parents, younger brothers, and all the unspoken things between them since her older brother’s death so many years ago.
Then Olivia meets Sebastian. He’s everything she’s not: charming, exciting, willing to take risks and run with them. For the first time, Olivia feels like she can have fun.

But there’s a lot bubbling up under the surface on this cruise, and when past secrets begin to come to light, Olivia must face all the truths that she’s ignored for so long: about herself, Sebastian, her brother, the past she thought she understood, and the future she’s always planned.

A fun, romantic summer adventure and an emotionally powerful journey of growth, exploration, and acceptance all in one, We Ship It is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Becky Albertalli, and will transport readers to the thrilling magic of an unpredictable summer.

Best Vacation Ever

by Jessica Cunsolo
Published by: Wattpad Books
on June 20th 2023
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult
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Two best friends, five hot guys, one dream vacation. What could possibly go wrong?

Lori is beautiful, smart, and athletic. The one thing she can't do is speak up for herself: she can't stand up to a creepy guy at the gym, she can't speak to her crush, and she certainly can't tell her parents that she wants to take a year off to backpack around Europe rather than follow family tradition and go to med school. When her best friend, Faye, invites her on an all expenses paid, weeklong trip to a sunny destination with Faye's brother, Adam, and four of his friends, she jumps at the chance to leave all her problems behind.

Faye is Lori's opposite in a lot of ways--maybe that's why they're such good friends. In fact, the only problem in Faye's life is that her brother hates her, and she's hooking-up with his best friend, Kellan, behind his back. She can't let Adam find out. as that'll only make their relationship worse. At the same time, she doesn't want a hook-up; she wants a real relationship with Kellan. This vacation is her chance to figure out if he's in this for real or not.

When Faye hatches a scheme designed to make Kellan jealous, she drags everyone else into her drama--including Lori and her gym crush, who just happens to be on this trip too! Soon everyone is fighting with everyone else and relationships are being ripped apart as secrets are revealed. Going on the Best Vacation Ever may turn out to be the Worst Decision Ever.

This delightful, stand-alone novel from YA superstar Jessica Cunsolo deals with romance and friendship, but it's also about learning to stand-up for yourself and be who you want to be.

And Break the Pretty Kings (Sacred Bone, #1)

by Lena Jeong
Published by: HarperTeen
on June 20, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Young Adult
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A crown princess. A monster the gods fear. A destiny no one can outrun.

Inspired by Korean history and myths, the first book in the Sacred Bone series is a rich and evocative high-stakes fantasy that is perfect for fans of Gallant and Six Crimson Cranes.

Mirae was meant to save her queendom, but the ceremony before her coronation ends in terror and death, unlocking a strange new power within her and foretelling the return of a monster even the gods fear. Amid the chaos, Mirae's beloved older brother is taken--threatening the peninsula's already tenuous truce.

Desperate to save her brother and defeat this ancient enemy before the queendom is beset by war, Mirae sets out on a journey with an unlikely group of companions while her unpredictable magic gives her terrifying visions of a future she must stop at any cost.

The Wicked Unseen

by Gigi Griffis
Published by: Underlined
on June 20, 2023
Genres: Horror, Thriller, Young Adult
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The new girl in town is having trouble fitting into a community that believes there's a secret Satanic cult conducting rituals in the woods. When her crush goes missing, she starts to wonder if the town's obsession with evil isn't covering up something far worse. Perfect for fans of Fear Street!

To say sixteen-year-old Audre doesn't fit in would be the understatement of the century. She's a city kid who's found herself in a rural town. The only girl at school who'd rather kiss a girl than a boy. Not to mention that the whole town believes there's a secret Satanic cult conducting rituals in the nearby woods--and Audre is a born skeptic.

When the preacher's daughter and Audre's secret crush, Elle, goes missing on Halloween weekend, the town is quick to point fingers--in Audre's direction. While they harass Audre's family for being newcomers and nonbelievers, Audre realizes she might be the only person here who can find her friend.

The deeper she goes, though, the weirder it gets. What happened to Elle--and is the evil this town is hiding really what Audre thinks it is?

An Echo in the City

by K.X. Song
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
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Two star-crossed teenagers fall in love during the Hong Kong protests in this searing contemporary novel about coming-of-age in a time of change.

Sixteen-year-old Phoenix knows her parents have invested thousands of dollars to help her leave Hong Kong and get an elite Ivy League education. They think America means big status, big dreams, and big bank accounts. But Phoenix doesn't want big; she just wants home. The trouble is, she doesn't know where that is...until the Hong Kong protest movement unfolds, and she learns the city she's come to love is in danger of disappearing.

Seventeen-year-old Kai sees himself as an artist, not a filial son, and certainly not a cop. But when his mother dies, he's forced to leave Shanghai to reunite with his estranged father, a respected police officer, who's already enrolled him in the Hong Kong police academy. Kai wants to hate his job, but instead, he finds himself craving his father's approval. And when he accidentally swaps phones with Phoenix and discovers she's part of a protest network, he finds a way to earn it: by infiltrating the group and reporting their plans back to the police.

As Kai and Phoenix join the struggle for the future of Hong Kong, a spark forms between them, pulling them together even as their two worlds try to force them apart. But when their relationship is built on secrets and deception, will they still love the person left behind when the lies fall away?