Eb & Flow

by Kelly J. Baptist

YA FIC BAPTIST

Ebony and De’Kari (aka Flow) do not get along. How could they when their cafeteria scuffle ended with De’Kari’s ruined shoes, Ebony on the ground, and the both of them with ten days of at-home suspension. Now Eb and Flow have two weeks to think about and explain their behavior - to their families, to each other, and to themselves.

Rhythm & Muse

by India Hill Brown

YA FIC BROWN

Darren Johnson lives in his head. There, he can spend time thinking about Delia Dawson, his dream girl, without his friends or family’s opinions. When Delia announces a theme song contest for her popular podcast, Darren’s friends secretly submit one of his projects to the contest. Of course, this anonymous submission catches Dillie’s attention. Will Darren come clean or will he continue to live in the shadows?

Chlorine Sky

by Mahogany L. Browne

YA FIC BROWNE

Skyy is a typical black teenager living in California. Except she is constantly in the shadows of her best friend, Lay Li. The only place she feels like home is the basketball court going head-to-head with the boys. When Skyy and Lay Li have a falling out, Skyy must begin to learn to love herself, stand in her truth, and determine her own worth.

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

YA FIC DOUGLASS

Jake Livingston is one of the only Black students at his preppy high school. It’s already hard enough fitting in, but to make things more complicated, Jake can see the dead. In fact, he sees the dead around him all the time. Most of the time, they are harmless and don’t interact often with people. But then, Jake meets Sawyer, a school shooter who killed six kids and himself last year. Now, Sawyer is a vengeful ghost and begins to haunt Jake. His life soon becomes a survival game.

Home is Not a Country

by Safia Elhillo

YA FIC ELHILLO

Nima is misunderstood - by her mother, by her town - and feels like an outsider. The only thing Nima has is her childhood friend, Haitham, with whom she can be herself. Until she doesn’t. One day, the ground is pulled from under her, and Nima must deal with the phantom of a life not chosen.

The Seventh Raven

by David Elliott

YA FIC ELLIOTT

Robyn and his brothers are turned into ravens through the work of an unlucky curse. Their only hope to become human again is a sister they’ve never met. April, will stop at nothing to help her brothers turn back into humans. But, what about Robyn, who has always felt like he belonged more to the air than to the earth?

High Spirits

by Camille Gomera-Tavarez

YA FIC GOMERA-TAVAREZ

This is a collection of 11 short stories about an extended family. The stories span multiple generations, and move from Santo Domingo to Washington Heights. It explores real-life topics that families face: machismo, mental health, and identity.

Baby Teeth

by Meg Grehan

YA FIC GREHAN

It all starts when Claudia offers Immy a yellow rose. Immy has been in love before, many times, and across many lifetimes. But never as deeply and as intensely as this. Claudia has never been in love like this before, either. But then again, this is her first time with a vampire.

Manuel is 12-years-old. He lives in a small town in Mexico, and his older brother lives in Los Angeles. He decides to leave Mexico and move to the US with his brother. To cross the border, Manuel has to become a “beast rider,” someone who hops on a train. At his first attempt, he is stopped by the Mexican police, arrested, and beat. During his second attempt, he’s attacked by a Mexican gang and left for dead. He finally arrives in LA with his brother, but the longer he is there, the more he realizes that something isn’t right…

City of Villains

by Estelle Laure

YA FIC LAURE

Mary Elizabeth Heart is a high school senior by day, and an intern at the Monarch City police department by night. For years, tension has simmered between the city’s wealthy elite, and their plans to gentrify the decaying neighborhood called the Scar. When the daughter of one of the city’s most powerful businessmen goes missing, Mary Elizabeth is put on the case. But what begins as one missing person’s report soon multiples, leading her down the rabbit hole of a city in turmoil.

No One Left to Come Looking For You

by Same Lipstye

YA FIC LIPSTYE

Manhattan’s East Village, 1993. Dive bars, music venues, shady weirdos, and hard drugs are plentiful. Crime is high but rent is low. Jack is a young New Jersey rock musician. Just a few days before his band’s biggest gig, their lead singer goes missing with Jack’s prized bass. Jack’s search for his bandmate uncovers a sinister entanglement of crimes tied to local real estate elites.

It’s 2003, several months since the US officially declared war on Iraq, and the American political world has changed. Tensions are high, hate crimes are on the rise, FBI agents are infiltrating local mosques, and the Muslim community is harassed more than ever. Shadi, who wears hijab, keeps her head down. Shadi is named for joy, but she is haunted by sorrow. Her brother is dead, her father is dying, her mother is falling apart, and her best friend has dropped out of her life. Shadi tries to navigate her crumbling world by staying quiet. Each day she retreats farther inside herself, until finally, she explodes.

Me (Moth)

by Amber McBride

YA FIC MCBRIDE

Moth has lost her family in an accident. She lives with her aunt, yet she feels alone and uprooted. One day she meets Sani, a boy who is searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he’ll be able to understand his ongoing depression. If Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she too will discover the history she carries in her bones. Moth and Sani take a road trip that has them chasing ghosts and searching for ancestors. The way each moves forward is surprising, powerful, and unforgettable.

Colorful

by Eto Mori

YA FIC MORI

“Congratulations, you’ve won the lottery!” shouts an angel, to a body-less soul. The soul has just lost its body and instead of going to heaven or hell, it has been given a second chance at life. He must recall the biggest mistakes of his past life, while in the body of 14-year-old Makoto Kobayashi, who has just attempted suicide. It seems like Makoto doesn’t have a single friend, and his family doesn’t care about him at all. But as the soul begins to live Makoto’s life on his own terms, he grows closer to the family and the people around him.

Out of nowhere, a lady comes up to Anamaria and claims she is her, from the future. But Anamaria is 13 now and she knows better than to talk to a stranger. Girls need to be careful, especially in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The cases of kidnapped girls and women have become alarmingly common. This 30-year-old woman from the “future” doesn’t seem to be dangerous, but she won’t stop bothering Anamaria. Maybe Thirty is right, maybe she’s not supposed to be so exhausted with her life, but how can she ask for help when her city is mourning the much bigger tragedy of its stolen girls?

Different For Boys

by Patrick Ness

YA FIC NESS

Ant isn’t sure when he stopped being a virgin, or if he even has. The rules aren’t always very clear when it comes to boys who like boys. In fact, relationships of all kinds feel complicated, even with some of his oldest friends. There’s Charlie, who’s both wildly homophobic AND in a secret physical relationship with Ant. There’s Jack, the drama kid, who may be gay and has become the target of Charlie’s rage. And there’s Freddie, who wants Ant to try out for the rugby team. Follow along with Ant’s story as he navigates friendship, masculinity, and sex.

As Long As We’re Together

by Brianna Peppins

YA FIC MORI

Even though she has 6 six siblings, 16-year-old Novah still knows what it’s like to feel lonely. Her friends never invite her anywhere because they assume she will be too busy helping her younger siblings. She wouldn’t mind it so much if her older sister, Ariana, wasn’t excused from helping out. She’s the star of the volleyball team and has tons of college scholarships waiting for her. Then, one terrible night, Novah’s parents are killed in a car accident, leaving 7 kids alone with no family to help. Novah will do whatever it takes to keep her family together, but will she find her voice and summon the strength to do the impossible?

The Rhythm of Time

by Questlove & S.A. Cosby

YA FIC QUESTLOVE

Seventh grader Rahim loves testing out the gadgets invented by his brilliant best friend, Kasia. First there were x-ray glasses. Now there’s the new cell-phone she built for his birthday, even though his parents won’t let him have one. Rahim is finally excited to use his new phone to watch videos. What he doesn’t know is that the phone has a special battery that interfaces with a secret government satellite. Suddenly, Rahim is transported back to 1997. Almost immediately, he learns what every time traveler before him has: actions in the past jeopardize the future.

Look Both Ways

by Jason Reynolds

YA FIC REYNOLDS

This story was going to begin like all the best stories. With a school bus falling from the sky. But no one saw it happen. They were all too busy. Talking about boogers. Stealing pocket change. Skateboarding. Executing complicated handshakes. Making jokes. Finding comfort. But mostly, too busy walking home. Follow this book of 10 short stories that take place on each block of a neighborhood. See what happens after the dismissal bell rings…

We Light Up the Sky

by Lilliam Rivera

YA FIC RIVERA

Pedro, Luna, and Rafa may go to high school together, but they exist in different circles. Pedro is “too much” and usually seeks refuge from his home life in a local drag bar. Luna is pretending to go along with the popular crowd, but is still grieving the death of her cousin, Tasha. Then there’s Rafa, the quiet new kid who is hiding from everyone that his family is homeless. One day, Pedro, Luna, and Rafa, find themselves thrown together when an alien visitor lands in their city and takes the form of Luna’s cousin Tasha. Who is their true enemy - the alien or their fellow humans?

Just Ash

by Sol Santana

YA FIC SANTANA

Ash Bishop has always known who he is: a guy who loves soccer, has a crush on his friend Michelle, and is fascinated by his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts. He’s also always known that he’s intersex, born with both male and female genitalia. But it’s never been a big deal until his junior year when he gets his first period in front of the entire boys’ soccer team. Now his friends and teachers see him differently, and his mom thinks he should “try being a girl.” Ash realizes that he needs to find a way to stand up for who he really is, or the cost of his silence might destroy his life.

Dead Wednesday

by Jerry Spinelli

YA FIC SPINELLI

Worm Tarnauer has spent most of eighth grade living down to his nickname - he prefers to be out of sight, underground. He’s happy to let his best friend, Eddie, lead the way and rule the day. Today, Dead Wednesday, is going to be awesome. Dead Wednesday is an event where the school assigns each eighth grader the name of a teenager who died in the past year, have them wear black shirts, and become invisible to contemplate their own mortality. Of course, being invisible means you can get away with anything. But Worm didn’t count on Becca Finch. Letting her into his head is about to change everything.

Fast Pitch

by Nic Stone

YA FIC STONE

Shenice Lockwood has her eyes set on the Fastpitch World Series. As the team captain, she wants nothing more than to take home the trophy and the $10,000 prize money. And as one of the few brown faces on the field, it’s a personal triumph to show up her rich, white opponents. But then Shenice’s focus gets shaken when her Uncle Jack reveals that a family crime may have been a set-up all along. Shenice will stop at nothing to uncover the past, but the closer she gets to the truth, the farther she gets from her future.

The Haunted

by Danielle Vega

YA FIC VEGA

Hendricks Becker-O’Malley is new in town, and she’s bringing baggage with her. With a dark and wild past, she doesn’t think the small town she’s moved to has much to offer her to. She tries to lay low, but is suddenly thrown into the popular crowd at school. There, she learns from her friends that her new house is notorious in town… for being haunted. Hendricks doesn’t believe it, until things happen. Blood-curdling screams from the basement, her little brother covered in scratches, her dad pushed down the stairs by no one. With help from the mysterious boy next door, Hendricks will try to take the ghosts down… if they don’t take her first.

The Days of Bluegrass Love

by Edward van de Vendel

YA FIC VENDEL

Tycho Zeling feels like he is drifting through his life. Everything - school, friends, girls, his future - just happens to him. It’s like a movie he presses play on, but doesn’t direct. So, Tycho decides to run away from everything and move to America. He becomes a counselor at a summer camp for international kids. It is there that Oliver, another counselor from Norway, walks in. And it is there that Tycho feels his life stop, and begin again, finally, as his.

Beauty Mark

by Carole Boston Weatherford

YA FIC WEATHERFORD

From the day she was born into a troubled home to her reigning days as a Hollywood icon, Marilyn Monroe lived a life that was often defined by others. Revisiting Marilyn's often traumatic early life--foster homes, loneliness, sexual abuse, teen marriage--through a hard-won, meteoric rise to stardom that brought with it exploitation, pill dependency, and depression, the narrative continues through Marilyn's famous performance at JFK's birthday party, three months before her death.

Remember Us

by Jacqueline Woodson

YA FIC WOODSON

It seems like Sage’s whole world is on fire the summer before she starts seventh grade. As house after house burns down, her Bushwick neighborhood gets referred to as “The Matchbox” in the local newspaper. And while Sage prefers to spend her time playing basketball with the boys, she’s also still trying to figure out her place inside her circle of girls she’s known since childhood. But it’s also the summer of Freddy, a new kid who truly gets Sage. Together, they reckon with the pain of missing the things that get left behind as time moves on and buoy each other up in the face of destruction.