In Jennifer Yu’s novel Four Weeks, Five People [Harlequin TEEN], we met five high schoolers reluctantly brought together–and reluctantly bonding–at a summer camp for troubled kids. There, we got to know four of the teens, their backgrounds, and what led them to spend a summer with complete strangers. But there was one character we only got glimpses of: a mysteriously hardened veteran camper named Stella. Imagine Us Happy [Oct. 2018] is (read more…)

Editor and author Saundra Mitchell brought together an all-star cast of YA’s best LGBTQ+ authors for one magnificent historical fiction anthology, All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages [HarlequinTeen]. Authors including Robin Talley, Tess Sharpe, Alex Sanchez, and Elliot Wake contributed short stories about queer teens that span across six centuries and focus on self-discovery, first love, and adventure! “Readers searching for positive, nuanced, and authentic queer representation—or just a (read more…)

…don’t miss the lyrically eerie novel The Stranger Game [October, Hanover Square Press] by Peter Gadol. In the eponymous game, players have begun to track complete strangers in real life, initially as a form of empathy-building and connection in an increasingly disconnected world … until the game gains popularity, the rules evolve, the players grow more intense, and disappearances are suddenly being reported across the country. When one woman’s boyfriend disappears into the (read more…)

JT Ellison (Lie to Me) ratchets up the stakes in Tear Me Apart [August 28, MIRA] about a 17-year-old’s race against the clock as she desperately seeks the truth behind her birth–even as doctors are racing to save her life. Says PW in their starred review of Tear Me Apart, “Ellison is at the top of her game.” Tear Me Apart is available for request on Netgalley!   [Tear Me Apart (read more…)

Sarah Morgan is best known most recently for her sparkling “From Manhattan with Love” romance series, but her first foray into women’s fiction is already racking up rave reviews. Morgan’s How To Keep A Secret [HQN] has earned not one but two stars with her story about three generations of women who are bought together by a crisis, learning over the course of a hot summer in Martha’s Vineyard about the power (read more…)