"Ready Player One meets Heartstopper in this "fun, fast, and fabulous read" (M. K. England) as a myth-loving video game player competing in a tournament with his gamer friends and handsome crush discovers there isn't a cheat code to life-or love.
In the real world, Keegan Thomas is a gay, eighteen-year-old mythology nerd with undiagnosed chronic pain. But in the myth-inspired, online video game world of Pantheonic, he is the glorious and powerful K.Odyssia, slaying legions of enemies and completing quests for honor and glory along with his team, the Epic Hearts. Despite his closeness to his gamer friends--and the secret crush he has on his teammate, Alix--no one knows that he is struggling with the sudden onset of chronic pain in his lower back and fears it will hinder his ability to move to NYU in the fall.
When a quest in Pantheonic turns out to be a secret invitation to an in-person tournament in New York City, Keegan has to battle his fears of concealing and managing his pain so that his team can attend this once-in-a-lifetime event. Competing against six other teams, members of the Epic Hearts must work together to outwit and outplay the others to win the tournament and the hefty cash prize. But can Keegan as K.Odyssia be one of the heroes that Pantheonic needs while he's laser-focused on his own epic battle? Will he be able to level up his relationship with Alix and lead his team to victory? It's time for the games to begin!"
"One can never ask too many questions in this contemporary horror about a teen girl who gets invited to the soft launch of a luxury resort and finds their wellness practices disturbing--and deadly.
Ariana is ready to get away. From the chill of a New York winter. From the anxiety around her volleyball injury and what that means for her future.
Thanks to her new friend Oakley, she can do just that. Oakley has offered Ariana an all-expenses-paid trip to her parents' wellness retreat on an island off Barbados.
The Dream resort seems like the per-fect escape. At least, it did before lifestyle guru Juniper-Moon started introducing sus-pect activities like psychedelic mushroom tea ceremonies and bee venom facials.
And as disturbing accidents start happen-ing around the island and tension between the guests and staff builds, Aria realizes she and her friends might not be in paradise after all. Now it's no longer a question of when but if they can make it home alive."
"The Pura Belpré Honor Award winning author of Aniana del Mar Jumps In makes her YA debut with a powerful novel-in-verse about a Texas teen who is battling racism in her theatre program and book banning efforts by her town's school board.
Yulieta Lopez is angry. Angry at her racist drama teacher who refuses to cast Black students in lead roles. Angry at the school board threatening her favorite teacher for teaching works of literature that they deem "controversial." Angry that she has to keep quiet until she can head to college and leave Texas forever.
Yuli is accustomed to playing various roles: the diligent daughter, the honorable hija, the good girl who serves everyone else before serving herself. But as the fire of Yuli's rage spreads and lights her up, she can no longer be silent. Determined to find a way to fight back, Yuli and her friends start a guerilla theatre club which stirs things up and gets people talking, and finally, Yuli steps into the role she was always meant to play."
"Gorgeous in its sincerity and its precision-in its raw, honest depiction of what it feels like to be a gay teen in a world that says that you don't deserve a home.
Gloria Forman and Xia Harper go to the same high school in a small South Carolina town, but they couldn't be more different. While Gloria is part of the popular, Christian crowd, Xia sleeps through class, antagonizes anyone who dares talk to her, and buries herself in books that help her pretend she's somewhere else-anywhere that being lesbian wouldn't be a waking nightmare.
When the two form an accidental friendship, they begin noticing each other in ways they promised themselves they'd avoid. After all, Xia's isolation is self-imposed for a reason, and the last thing Gloria needs is more upheaval, especially after her parents kicked her out of the house for being gay. Ever since, she has spent her nights under the stage in the school auditorium and her days terrified of being discovered.
Xia just wants to keep her head down until the end of senior year. Gloria just wants to keep her living situation quiet until her parents come around. But as their feelings for each other intensify and the truths they've hidden work their way to the surface, what they truly want will change forever."
"From the internationally bestselling author of Firekeeper's Daughter comes an explosive story about seeking justice for a past that won't let you go.
Seventeen-year-old Lucy Smith is on the run. Years of hell as an Ojibwe child in foster care have taught her to be smart, cautious. But when the kind-eyed Mr. Jameson tracks her down and shows interest in her case, Lucy begins to wonder if things could be different.
Still, you can’t escape the past, no matter how fast you are. Soon Lucy is under investigation with the police. She knows she can clear her name from the chaos that has followed her everywhere, but saving the people she loves could cost Lucy her life."
"Seventeen-year-old Faye and her friends find themselves thrust into a real-life horror show when a series of murderous attacks plague their theater camp's cast and crew.
TAKE YOUR FINAL BOW
The Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp isn't the best program in the world, but to Faye, it's home. Every summer since junior high, Faye and her friends have come together for a month-long musical-theater intensive. For her last year before graduation, Faye's finally ready to take center stage as her true Afro-Latina self and break out of her white-passing roles.
But as Faye steps into her spotlight, complications arise. Suddenly, she's competing with her BFF for lead roles and distracted by the attentions of the new camp hottie. Even when the drama turns deadly, Faye remains determined to make this the best production the Ghostlight has ever seen. It must be a coincidence that the stagehands keep disappearing and having gruesome accidents, right? But dark secrets are hiding behind the scenes, and opening night might turn out to be a bloodbath."
"She deserved more. They all did. A gripping and emotional new suspense novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends.
A terrible accident. A horrible loss. A regrettable tragedy. That's all anyone in Fenix can talk about when a fire consumes the local high school, taking the life of a student. The town mourns, except who really knew—let alone cared about—Eden when she was alive? And why was she in the building that night?
Five teens each hold a piece of the truth about what happened. They also have their own secrets, secrets they will fight to protect with the same fury as the blaze that killed Eden. But silence is meant to be broken, and this story can't be extinguished …"
""You never know what's going to happen, Milo. No matter how hard you try to control things, this is our summer in Paris, and it might just be unpredictable. There might just be boys."
Milo is determined to have the most magical summer in Paris after winning an apprenticeship at a prestigious fashion house. The plan is simple: work hard, impress the team, and land a permanent job. With his best friend Celeste by his side, nothing will stand in his way of getting what he wants-especially not a boy.
Enter Rhodes Hamilton: London's resident tabloid magnet and the son of a famous footballer. Milo is devastated to learn that Rhodes' connections have also landed him an apprenticeship, which means he's now the competition. Milo knows he has to win at any cost, so he can't risk getting close to Rhodes, no matter how nice and charming and cute he is . . ."
"'Cait Levin’s Imposter is far more than a novel—it’s a testament to the transformative power of STEM education and an ode to the courage and tenacity of young innovators.'—Alicia Gavin, Director of Communications and Marketing at RoboNation
'Imposter is emotionally resonant. Levin expertly captures the anxiety of the unfortunate realities of gender inequities in STEM balanced with the joy of friendship, the thrill of learning something new, and the triumph of taking a stand against injustice.'—Erin Bond, Code.org engineer
imposter syndrome (noun): doubts about your abilities or accomplishments along with fears about people thinking you’re a fraud despite evidence of your ongoing success
High school sophomore Cam has always created techie things, like a ring she implanted with an NFC chip. This semester, she finally gets the chance to take a computer science elective. Cam tries to ignore the obnoxious boys who don't believe she should be in the class at all.
Cam conspires with her quick-witted best friend, Viv, and they engineer their way onto the extracurricular RoboSub team. That ultimately lands them at a national competition as the only two girls on their team. Will Cam rise to the occasion and confirm—not to others, but to herself—that she belongs?"
"Mirabella Owens grew up with legends of wolves that traveled to her midwestern town to protect humans from vampires. Of a werewolf that fell in love with one of the undead, unraveling a blood-soaked history. But Mira stopped believing in those fairy tales years ago. She stopped believing in a lot of things after her mom left without a trace when she was only thirteen.
As Mira begins her freshman year at Lakeland University, she’s ready to leave the past behind her. Only the past isn’t finished with her yet. Strange animal attacks are occurring around campus, reopening cold cases tied to her mother’s disappearance. And the only person who seems to know anything is Julian Santos, the boy who is hell-bent on getting Mira to leave campus for reasons she can’t begin to understand. But Mira refuses to let him keep his secrets, not when the truth is the difference between life and death.
Mira will have to accept that there is much more to the old town myths, and her growing feelings for Julian, than she ever could have anticipated. And as the Blood Moon rises, she will come to know a world that will shatter her past and change her future."
"Riverdale meets The Queen’s Gambit in this fun, twisty thriller by an Edgar Award-winning author, featuring a deliciously dysfunctional family with dark secrets and shifting alliances.
Fourteen-year-old chess whiz Ruby Vossen tries to keep to herself. She refuses to be a pawn in her wealthy family’s web of deception.
But ever since Ruby’s mother and aunt died in a car wreck, the battle lines drawn within the Vossen clan have ruled her life. Ruby’s father and uncle became irreparably estranged, and within months, Ruby’s cousin/BFF was banished from her life, her father remarried, and she wound up with a gold-digging stepmom who has two teens of her own—The Steps.
So when strange and dangerous things begin happening on the Vossen estate, Ruby sees only one logical explanation: The Steps are scheming to inherit the Vossen fortune. And as things get more and more intense, it seems like killing is in their playbook.
Luckily, Ruby has her own playbook, and she’s not about to go down without a fight. She’ll even break her dad’s rules to get her cousin back on her side of the chessboard . . . It’s time to check-mate The Steps before they can finish the Vossens off.
Secrets, lies, and lethal threats abound in this clever, quirky thriller by the award-winning, bestselling author of Flipped and the Sammy Keyes mysteries."
