Young Adult New Releases May 9th 2023

Another substantial release week! Time to celebrate the new release of many new YA books hitting shelves today! Such a big release day, sure to be something for every reader! You can look at most of May’s YA New Releases on our Bookshop page! I am constantly trying to keep the Signed Books page up to date, so check that out if you are looking for signed books!

This Is the Way the World Ends

by Jen Wilde
Published by: Wednesday Books
on May 9, 2023
Genres: LGBTQIA+, Thriller, Young Adult
Pages: 272
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Fans of One of Us Is Lying and The Hazel Wood are cordially invited to spend one fateful night surviving an elite private school’s epic masquerade ball in Jen Wilde’s debut thriller, This Is the Way the World Ends.

As an autistic scholarship student at the prestigious Webber Academy in New York City, Waverly is used to masking to fit in—in more ways than one. While her classmates are the children of the one percent, Waverly is getting by on tutoring gigs and the generosity of the school’s charming and enigmatic dean. So when her tutoring student and resident “it girl” asks Waverly to attend the school’s annual fundraising Masquerade disguised as her, Waverly jumps at the chance—especially once she finds out that Ash, the dean’s daughter and her secret ex-girlfriend, will be there.

The Masquerade is everything Waverly dreamed of, complete with extravagant gowns, wealthy parents writing checks, and flowing champagne. Most importantly, there’s Ash. All Waverly wants to do is shed her mask and be with her, but the evening takes a sinister turn when Waverly stumbles into a secret meeting between the dean and the school’s top donors—and witnesses a brutal murder. This gala is harboring far more malevolent plots than just opening parents’ pocketbooks. Before she can escape or contact the authorities, a mysterious global blackout puts the entire party on lockdown. Waverly’s fairy tale has turned into a nightmare, and she, Ash, and her friends must navigate through a dizzying maze of freight elevators, secret passageways, and back rooms if they’re going to survive the night.

And even if they manage to escape the Masquerade, with technology wiped out all over the planet, what kind of world will they find waiting for them beyond the doors?

They Hate Each Other

by Amanda Woody
Published by: Viking Children's Books
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
Pages: 352
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Jonah and Dylan get along like oil and water. Until a fake dating ploy gives them new perspective, and they realize that "falling for your enemy" isn't as impossible as it seems.

There are plenty of words Jonah Collins could use to describe Dylan Ramírez. "Arrogant," "spoiled," and "golden boy" to name a few. Likewise, Dylan thinks he has Jonah accurately labeled as an attention-seeking asshat who never shuts his filthy mouth. Their friends are convinced Jonah's and Dylan's disdain for one another is just thinly veiled lust--a rumor that surges like wildfire when the two wake up in one bed after homecoming. Mutually horrified, Dylan and Jonah agree to use the faux pas to their advantage by fake dating. If they can stay convincing long enough to end their "relationship" in a massive staged fight, they can prove their incompatibility to their friends once and for all. But the more time they spend together, the more their plan begins to fall apart--and the closer they come to seeing each other clearly for the first time.

If Tomorrow Doesn't Come

by Jen St. Jude
Published by: Bloomsbury YA
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 416
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We Are Okay meets They Both Die at the End in this YA debut about queer first love and mental health at the end of the world-and the importance of saving yourself, no matter what tomorrow may hold.

Avery Byrne has secrets. She's queer; she's in love with her best friend, Cass; and she's suffering from undiagnosed clinical depression. But on the morning Avery plans to jump into the river near her college campus, the world discovers there are only nine days left to live: an asteroid is headed for Earth, and no one can stop it.

Trying to spare her family and Cass additional pain, Avery does her best to make it through just nine more days. As time runs out and secrets slowly come to light, Avery would do anything to save the ones she loves. But most importantly, she learns to save herself. Speak her truth. Seek the support she needs. Find hope again in the tomorrows she has left.

If Tomorrow Doesn't Come is a celebration of queer love, a gripping speculative narrative, and an urgent, conversation-starting book about depression, mental health, and shame.

Only This Beautiful Moment

by Abdi Nazemian
Published by: Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, Historical Fiction, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
Pages: 336
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From the Stonewall Honor–winning author of Like a Love Story comes a sweeping story of three generations of boys in the same Iranian family. Perfect for fans of Last Night at the Telegraph Club and Darius the Great Is Not Okay.

2019. Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new understanding of his history, his culture, and himself.
1978. Saeed is an engineering student with a promising future ahead of him in Tehran. But when his parents discover his involvement in the country’s burgeoning revolution, they send him to safety in America, a country Saeed despises. And even worse—he’s forced to live with the American grandmother he never knew existed.

1939. Bobby, the son of a calculating Hollywood stage mother, lands a coveted MGM studio contract. But the fairy-tale world of glamour he’s thrust into has a dark side. Bobby is forced to hide his sexuality for fear of losing everything.

Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this tale of intergenerational trauma and love is an ode to the fragile bonds of family, the hidden secrets of history, and all the beautiful moments that make us who we are today.

You Don't Have a Shot

by Racquel Marie
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
Pages: 384
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A queer YA romance about rival soccer players from author Racquel Marie, perfect for fans of She Drives Me Crazy.

Valentina “Vale” Castillo-Green’s life revolves around soccer. Her friends, her future, and her father’s intense expectations are all wrapped up in the beautiful game. But after she incites a fight during playoffs with her long-time rival, Leticia Ortiz, everything she’s been working toward seems to disappear.

Embarrassed and desperate to be anywhere but home, Vale escapes to her beloved childhood soccer camp for a summer of relaxation and redemption…only to find out that she and the endlessly aggravating Leticia will be co-captaining a team that could play in front of college scouts. But the competition might be stiffer than expected, so unless they can get their rookie team’s act together, this second chance―and any hope of playing college soccer―will slip through Vale’s fingers. When the growing pressure, friendship friction, and her overbearing father push Vale to turn to Leticia for help, what starts off as a shaky alliance of necessity begins to blossom into something more through a shared love of soccer. . . and maybe each other.

Sharp, romantic, and deeply emotional, You Don’t Have a Shot is a rivals-to-lovers romance about rediscovering your love of the game and yourself, from the author of Ophelia After All .

" You Don't Have a Shot has every ingredient that makes rivals-to-lovers such a great trope, but it's also so much more. It's a story of grief and loss, of legacy, of culture, of holding the things and people that bring us joy close. I don't think anyone will be surprised when I say that Racquel Marie has done it this is truly young adult contemporary at its best." ―Jonny Garza Villa, author of the Pura Belpré Honor Book Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun

The Last One to Fall

by Gabriella Lepore
Published by: Inkyard Press
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Pages: 368
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Six friends. Five suspects. One murder.

Savana Caruso and Jesse Melo have known each other since they were kids, so when Jesse texts Savana in the middle of the night and asks her to meet him at Cray’s Warehouse, she doesn’t hesitate. But before Savana can find Jesse, she bears witness to a horrifying murder, standing helpless on the ground as a mysterious figure is pushed out of the fourth floor of the warehouse.

Six teens were there that night, and five of them are now potential suspects. With the police circling, Savana knows what will happen if the wrong person is charged, particularly once she starts getting threatening anonymous text messages.

As she attempts to uncover the truth, Savana learns that everyone is keeping secrets—and someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep those secrets from coming to light.

I'm Not Supposed to Be in the Dark

by Riss M. Neilson
Published by: Henry Holt & Company
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 400
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From the author of Deep in Providence comes a paranormal young adult romance that follows a teen convinced that her best friend–turned-enemy is possessed by a ghost, perfect for fans of White Smoke and Twilight.

Seventeen-year-old Aria Cayetano dreams of ghosts. She used to see them too, but thanks to a special tea brewed by her grandfather, Aria’s connection to the spirit world has been severed. Until a decades old rosebush suddenly dies across the street, convincing Aria that something supernatural is happening in her neighborhood.

She aches to investigate it, but the rosebush sits on her ex best friend Derek Johnson’s front lawn, and she can't question him because he hates her now. Aria doesn't know what drove them apart years ago, but she does know Derek's been acting strange for weeks, sneaking out in the dead of night to who knows where.

Then, days after the rosebush dies, Derek begins speaking to her again. At least Aria thinks it’s him. Until she discovers there’s a ghost inside of Derek that will take his life if it doesn’t find what it’s searching for. As Aria and Derek race to uncover the mystery, another kind of magic takes them by surprise: love. But Aria has to decide how far she’s willing to go to save Derek, especially when helping the ghost means tapping into whatever the tea has buried inside of her.

Bone-chilling and spellbinding, I’m Not Supposed to Be in the Dark is an alluring ghost story that’s about exorcising the past to find a future to believe in.

The Rules of Us

by Jennifer Nissley
Published by: Labyrinth Road
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
Pages: 336
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Come out. Break up. Stay friends? In this heartwarming queer love story about love of all kinds, exes navigate new crushes, new feelings, and a newly uncertain future after unexpectedly coming out to each other on prom night turns their lives--and their friendship--upside down. Can they figure out how to move on without losing each other?

Jillian and Henry are the kind of couple who do everything together. They take the same classes, have the same hobbies, and applied for the same super-competitive scholarship so they can go to the same dream college. They even come out as gay to each other on the same night, after junior prom, prompting a sudden breakup that threatens their intertwined identities and carefully designed future. Jillian knows the only way to keep everything on track is to approach their breakup with the same precision and planning as their scholarship application. They will still be "Jillian and Henry"--even if they're broken up.

Except they hadn't planned on Henry meeting the boy of his dreams or Jillian obsessing over a cool girl at school. Jillian is desperate to hold on to her best friend when so much else is changing. But as she and Henry explore what--and who--they really want, it becomes harder to hold on to the careful definitions she has always lived her life by. Stuck somewhere between who she was with Henry and who she might be on her own, Jillian has to face what she can't control and let go of the rules holding her back.

Nigeria Jones

by Ibi Zoboi
Published by: Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 384
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Warrior Princess.

That’s what Nigeria’s father calls her. He’s raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is homeschooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals that connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother—the perfect matriarch to their Movement—disappears, Nigeria’s world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping into a role she doesn’t want.

Nigeria’s mother had secrets. She wished for a different life for her children, which includes sending her daughter to a private Quaker school outside of their strict group. Despite her father’s disapproval, Nigeria attends the school with her cousin, Kamau, and Sage, who used to be a friend. There, she slowly begins to blossom and expand her universe.

As Nigeria searches for her mother, she starts to uncover a shocking truth. One that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about her life and her family.

From award-winning author Ibi Zoboi comes a searing, powerful coming-of-age story about discovering who you are in the world—and fighting for that person—by having the courage to remix the founding tenets of your life to be your own revolution.

Revelations (Belle Morte Series #2)

by Bella Higgin
Published by: Wattpad Books
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 368
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Truth comes at a cost.

Ever since Renie Mayfield survived the merciless attack on Belle Morte that killed donors and vampires alike, she is forever changed. Now a vampire, the agonizing transformation of her body and mind is rivaled only by uncovering the horrific truth about her sister, June, who has escaped the mansion in her rabid form, adding even more chaos to Renie’s reality.

As the vampire responsible for Renie’s change, and now her distress, Edmond Dantes remains in his own desperate place. He’s confined in the secret cells of Belle Morte, awaiting the arrival of the council and the subsequent punishment for his actions. Edmond questions if what he did was right and deeply regrets what has become of his home.

Desperate to free Edmond, find June, and bring justice to whoever is behind the recent violence, Renie is out for blood in more ways than one. The smell of corruption is embedded in the walls of Belle More, but behind the walls are even more secrets that may lead to the truth and to justice.

The Iron Vow (The Iron Fey: Evenfall, #3)

by Julie Kagawa
Published by: Inkyard Press
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 384
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The extraordinary finale to Julie Kagawa's New York Times and internationally bestselling Iron Fey series is here...and the fate of the Nevernever and all the world hangs in the balance. Join Meghan, Ash, Puck, Grimalkin, and the entire Iron Fey cast for this final epic journey into worlds where imagination knows no boundaries...

After leaping through the portal to Evenfall, Meghan and her companions find themselves in a terrifying new world where Nightmares roam and glamour is nearly nonexistent. As their magic wanes and the creatures of Evenfall rise against them, the race to find the Nightmare King grows ever more desperate. But what they discover--about Evenfall, about the Nightmare King, about themselves--will shake everything they thought they knew to the core.

The Nightmare King stirs. A world hangs in the balance. And as twilight descends upon all the realms of Faery, Meghan and her allies must make one more impossible choice.

Cursed Crowns (Twin Crowns, #2)

by Catherine Doyle, Katherine Webber
Published by: Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
on April 27, 2023
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 512
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Bestselling authors and real-life sisters-in-law Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber join forces on a compelling YA fantasy bursting with high-stakes adventure, romance and humour. Two queens, one throne. What can possibly go wrong . . .?

Twin queens Wren and Rose have claimed their crowns . . . but not everyone is happy about witches sitting on Eana's throne.
Cool-headed Rose sets off on a Royal Tour to win over the doubters, but soon finds herself drawn to the Sunless Kingdom. Here secrets are revealed about those closest to her, and Rose finds her loyalties divided.

Meanwhile rebellious Wren steals away to the icy north to rescue their beloved grandmother, Banba. But when she accepts King Alarik's deadly magical bargain in exchange for Banba's freedom, the spell has unexpected - and far-reaching - consequences . . .

As an ancient curse begins to arise from the darkness, the sisters must come together and unite the crown. Their lives - and the future of Eana - depend on it.

Break the ice to free the curse,
Kill one twin to save another . . .

Every Gift a Curse (All Our Hidden Gifts #3)

by Caroline O'Donoghue
Published by: Walker Books US
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 432
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Magic-sensitive Maeve wants to save the innocent from a dangerous cult. But how much can she delve into darkness without becoming what she fears? The exciting conclusion to the Gifts series.

Big things are happening for Maeve and her tight-knit coven in Kilbeg, Ireland. Fiona lands a role on a TV show, Roe’s band is poised to hit the big leagues, and Lily is embracing a new style and outlook. Then there’s Maeve, whose magic is growing stronger all the time. Yet she finds herself increasingly lashing out, doing and saying cruel things without knowing why. When her recurring dreams begin to involve her physically manifesting in other places, including enemy-turned-maybe-friend Aaron’s bedroom, Maeve realizes the power she wields might not be entirely under her control. She tries to keep her struggle a secret, even if it means pushing her friends away. But when she learns the religious cult the Children of Brigid is kidnapping and torturing vulnerable teenagers, Maeve realizes the only way to free their prisoners is to risk letting an older magic consume her. This enthralling story of friendship and identity is also a story of being at a crossroads between youth and adulthood and picking your path forward.

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich (A Graphic Novel)

by Deya Muniz
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Graphic Novel, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 256
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A nobleman with a secret and a princess on a mission find love—and lots of grilled cheese sandwiches—when they least expect it, in this funny, heartfelt graphic novel rom-com.

Lady Camembert wants to live life on her own terms, without marriage. Well, without marrying a man, that is. But the law of the land is that women cannot inherit. So when her father passes away, she does the only thing she can: She disguises herself as a man and moves to the capital city of the Kingdom of Fromage to start over as Count Camembert.

But it’s hard to keep a low profile when the beautiful Princess Brie, with her fierce activism and great sense of fashion, catches her attention. Camembert can’t resist getting to know the princess, but as the two grow closer, will she able to keep her secret?

A romantic comedy about mistaken identity, true love, and lots of grilled cheese.

Breakup, Makeup

by Stacey Anthony
Published by: Running Press Kids
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Graphic Novel, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
Pages: 384
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Glow Upmeets Comic Con in this bold, queer second chance romance where a special effects makeup artist must compete against their ex-boyfriend in a unique makeup and cosplay competition to win the scholarship of their dreams . . . and maybe their ex's heart.

Eli Peterson is a self-taught, up-and-coming makeup artist in the cosplay scene who is just barely making ends meet. While they might be slaying it with their breath-taking, innovative looks, they're also trying to save up enough money for top surgery and convince their parents that taking a gap year to focus on their dream of being a makeup artist is worthwhile. During a convention, Eli hears about Makeup Wars, a cosplay makeup competition that could change everything because the grand prize is a scholarship to Beyond, the best SFX school on the West Coast. The problem is that they be going head-to-head with some of the most talented up-and-coming makeup artists--including rival influencer Zachary Miller, who also happens to be their ex-boyfriend.

As the competition gets underway, Eli pushes themselves to be the best in the competition, while also trying not to get tangled up in the complicated feelings they have for Zach. Now Eli will have to juggle their makeup brushes, their rekindled feelings for Zach, and their self-doubt, in order to win and achieve everything they have ever wanted: a chance to chase their dream and the courage to accept that maybe they deserve a second chance at love after all.

Breaking In

by Tyler Schwanke
Published by: Blackstone Publishing
on May 9, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Pages: 350
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When a crooked Hollywood director announces his next big premiere, aspiring filmmaker Millie Blomquist is shocked to learn that he's stolen her script.

Millie uses her college savings to attend a summer program at the Manhattan Movie Academy, run by her favorite director, Ricky O'Naire, whose short-film contest promises the winner a Hollywood production. But before she can finish her film, a tribute to her late father, O'Naire is convicted of embezzlement and the academy closes. Six months later, slogging through her senior year in Fargo, North Dakota, Millie sees a preview for O'Naire's comeback film--a full-length version of her summer-camp short. Outraged, she reunites a diverse trio of academy students and convinces them to steal O'Naire's film just days ahead of its high-profile premiere.

Putting movie techniques into practice, they pull off the heist in extravagant fashion, but when a manipulative femme fatale uncovers their plan to collect ransom, it's not long before a gang of quirky criminals cut in on the action, threatening Millie's life and stumbling upon an ominous connection to her father.

With the stakes now higher than ever imagined, Millie has no choice but to lead this bizarre cast through an electrifying series of moves and countermoves that result in an outcome not even Hollywood could see coming.