Solo by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess is a New York Times bestseller! Kirkus Reviews said Solo is, A contemporary hero's journey, brilliantly told. Through the story of a young Black man searching for answers about his life, Solo empowers, engages, and encourages teenagers to move from heartache to healing, burden to blessings, depression to deliverance, and trials to triumphs.
Blade never asked for a life of the rich and famous. In fact, he'd give anything not to be the son of Rutherford Morrison, a washed-up rock star and drug addict with delusions of a comeback. Or to no longer be part of a family known most for lost potential, failure, and tragedy, including the loss of his mother. The one true light is his girlfriend, Chapel, but her parents have forbidden their relationship, assuming Blade will become just like his father.
In reality, the only thing Blade and Rutherford have in common is the music that lives inside them. And songwriting is all Blade has left after Rutherford, while drunk, crashes his high school graduation speech and effectively rips Chapel away forever. But when a long-held family secret comes to light, the music disappears. In its place is a letter, one that could bring Blade the freedom and love he's been searching for, or leave him feeling even more adrift.
Solo:
If you enjoy Solo, check out Swing by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess.
No matter how young you are or where you're starting from, you are a future millionaire. Declare it. Know it. Demand it. And, with help from bestselling author and self-made millionaire Rachel Rodgers, start working toward it. Future Millionaire is filled with insights on how to develop the right mindset and build smart money habits that will allow you to follow your dreams, build your wealth, and maximize your potential.
Rachel Rodgers--author of We Should All Be Millionaires and creator of her own eight-figure business--knows what it's like to be broke. She also knows what it's like to rise above your circumstances and radically change your future. Now, in her first book for young adults, Rodgers empowers readers 13 and up to do the same.
Future Millionaire unpacks all the financial concepts you never learned about in school, like creating a budget, managing debt, investing your savings, and more. Rachel also discusses how to think like a millionaire--creating a healthy money mindset, boundaries, and goals--and act like a millionaire, using your money to support causes that you believe in and upending systems that favor the 1% over marginalized communities.
You'll also learn how to:
From Schneider Award-winning author Shannon Stocker comes a moving and empowering YA novel that explores what it means to find your voice and learn to advocate for yourself. Twyla has always believed things happen for a reason, but when she starts having severe health issues and doctors won't listen to her concerns, she finds herself questioning everything, including her diagnosis ... and wondering if her mother's death holds the answer.
Twyla enters high school sure of three things: Her best friends will always be there for her, the next four years will be amazing, and her mom was right when she said there's a reason behind everything. Then she gets extremely nauseous and has trouble concentrating during a field hockey game. The doctors say it's only a mild digestive issue, but Twyla is convinced they're wrong. Making things worse, her friends start ghosting her outside of school, even though they tell her everything is fine, and her dad is becoming more distant each time she asks about her mom's life before she died.
As Twyla's illness intensifies and her diagnosis stays the same, she finds herself feeling like her world is unraveling. It's not until she begins researching her symptoms herself--and discovers something in her mom's old records that could hold the answer to her condition--that she believes there could be some sort of reason for everything she's facing. But will anyone listen to her in time?
Stronger at the Seams:
Schneider Family Book Award, Best Teen Honor Book 2020
Contemporary fiction fans will find it hard to put down The Silence Between Us--a YA novel that doesn't shy away from real-life issues including the challenges faced by those in the Deaf culture, relationship struggles, communication problems, and complicated families.
Deaf teen Maya moves across the country and must attend a hearing school for the first time. As if that wasn't hard enough, she also has to adjust to the hearing culture, which she finds frustrating. As Maya looks past graduation and focuses on her future dreams, nothing, not even an unexpected romance, will derail her pursuits or cause her to question her own self worth.
The Silence Between Us:
The Silence Between Us is eminently un-put-down-able. (NPR)
Gervais deftly renders both the nuanced, everyday realities of life with disability and Maya's fierce pride in her Deafness, delivering a vibrant story that will resonate with Deaf and hearing audiences alike. - Booklist
A solid addition to middle/high school fiction that allows for deep discussion about stereotypes concerning disabilities. School Library Journal
This is a great YA contemporary (clean) romance that follows Maya as she navigates a new school and plans for her future. The addition of representation by a Deaf character was really beautifully done. Highly recommend for people looking for a sweet, engaging, and educational romantic read. (YA and Kids Book Central)
From award-winning YA author Alison Gervais comes a contemporary mystery about a teen writer determined to discover what happened to a missing classmate, who finds herself caught up with a pair of very familiar detectives named Watson and Holmes. All her awakening powers of observation will be put to the test as she finds that the thing she thought was holding her back just might be her greatest strength.
Attending the prestigious Ashford College's writing seminar is a dream come true for Jules Montgomery, but the summer isn't unfolding as she hoped. Navigating London with her recent hearing loss is difficult, and hiding it from her classmates is a challenge. Even worse, she can't seem to shake a case of writer's block. When a fellow student goes missing, neither the police nor their teacher, Professor Watson, seem that concerned. Jules and her new friends Percy and Suruthi are determined to get to the bottom of the case and they're not alone: the strange man who frequents Jules' aunt's antique shop is eager to help--and his name is none other than Sherlock Holmes.
Now there are two mysteries to solve. What happened to their missing classmate? And how can it be that Watson and Holmes--two fictional characters from the Victorian era--are alive and well in the 21st century? The only way to find answers might lie in a quote from one of Watson's old stories: You see, but you do not observe. Jules may not be able to hear all that well, but without her hearing aids, she can certainly see more than the average person. And nothing about this is case is average.
A Game Most Foul:
Dad, I just want to know how to not become a hashtag. In this gripping read, biracial siblings Reed and Olive hadn't planned on navigating racial inequality or being roughed up by police on the subway, but as they face the truths and pains of being a person of color, they also lean into knowing their rights and fostering conversations about change and acceptance.
In Come Home Safe, Brian Buckmire has crafted a story that looks the reality of police brutality in the eye and still manages to come away with hope. It is a powerful book about the necessity of 'the talk' and what it means to be a teenager in our times.--New York Times bestselling author and ABC News anchor Linsey Davis
On the subway ride home, Reed just wants to watch videos of his soccer idol, but reality crashes in when police officers question him about a suspect who matches his description. With tact and poise, Reed defends himself, but ultimately knows there is no easy way out of this conflict.
At a café, a woman accuses Olive of stealing her phone and demands to see it. Startled and indignant, Olive watches as the crowd forms and does nothing to help, even as the woman attempts to weaponize the police against her.
This read will keep you on the edge of your seat as each teen asks themself: What should I do? What can I do? What's going to get me home safe?
Come Home Safe is perfect for:
From ABC News legal analyst and NYC Legal Aid Society public defender Brian Buckmire, this compelling story draws from real-life advice, lessons, and conversations with attorneys, law enforcement, and the wrongfully accused to help turn the whispers and family discussions about racial inequality and mistreatment into wider conversations, healing, and one day ... change.
Tome Society Book Award Winner 2025 - 2026
A sweeping YA fantasy inspired by Scottish history and folklore, Our Divine Mischief takes readers on a journey told in three voices: a determined heroine, an outcast young man, and a wish-granting canine. Their adventure spans an island fishing village to the king's court in a story about identity, belonging, and the love between a human and her dog.
The Goddess Trial is designed to push young people to their edge and mark their coming of age, but Áila LacInis is ready for whatever it brings. She sets sail from her small fishing village to the island of the goddess Yslet, fully expecting a divine encounter, but what she finds is ... nothing at all. The goddess is completely absent, and the only thing on the island is a dirty, mangy dog. Suddenly, everything Áila has ever known and believed is upended and her future becomes shrouded in uncertainty.
Hew already completed the Goddess Trial and received the designation of Unblessed. He is an outcast in the village, until he is tasked with assisting Áila through a series of Ordeals the town elders designed to compensate for her failed Trial. For the first time, he has hope he can make something of his life.
Orail isn't quite sure who or what she is. She remembers little before Áila's arrival on the island, and now all she knows is that she'll never leave Áila's side. But as she begins to realize and remember, she discovers powers--and an identity--she never could have imagined.
Told from three perspectives, Our Divine Mischief is an epic fantasy inspired by Scottish history and mythology that includes political intrigue, a sweeping love story, and an exploration of the powerful bond between dogs and humans.
Our Divine Mischief is:
This thrilling YA fantasy debut follows seventeen-year-old Etta Lark as she navigates the underworld of Craewick to pull off the heist of a lifetime. A YALSA (The Young Adult Library Services Association) Teens' Top Ten Book for 2020, Mansy crafts a grim reality where memories are worth their weight in gold.
In the city of Craewick, memories reign.
The power-obsessed ruler of the city, Madame, has cultivated a society in which memories are currency, citizens are divided by ability, and Gifted individuals can take memories from others through touch as they please.
Seventeen-year-old Etta Lark is desperate to live outside of the corrupt culture, but she grapples with the guilt of an accident that has left her mother bedridden in the city's asylum. When Madame threatens to put her mother up for auction, a Craewick practice in which a criminal's memories are sold to the highest bidder before being killed, Etta will do whatever it takes to save her. Even if it means rejoining the Shadows, the rebel group she swore off in the wake of the accident years earlier.
To rescue her mother, Etta must prove her allegiance to the Shadows by stealing a memorized map of the Maze, a formidable prison created by the bloodthirsty ruler of a neighboring Realm. Etta faces startling attacks, unexpected romance, and, above all, her own past as she uncovers a conspiracy that challenges everything she knew about herself and the world around her.
In a place where nothing is what it seems, can Etta ever become more than a memory thief?
Perfect for fans of high-stakemagical heists such as:
Mansy's debut will delight fantasy readers who revel in fully developed settings and unusual powers.- Booklist
A welcome addition to the YA fantasy canon, The Memory Thief is a suspenseful page-turner, delightfully chock full of unexpected twists and turns.- Shelf Awareness
If you knew you had to do the right thing, but that something bad may happen to you because of it, would you do it anyway? This hard-hitting, emotional, YA story of pain and love; right and wrong; and life and death is a masterful mix of suspense, romance, the paranormal, and the though-provoking questions we all ask surrounding the difficult subject of suicide.
Hadley Jamison is shocked when she hears that her classmate, Archer Morales, has committed suicide. She didn't know the quiet, reserved guy very well, but that doesn't stop her from feeling there was something she could have done to help him.
Hoping to find some sense of closure, Hadley attends Archer's funeral. There, she is approached by a man who calls himself Death and offers her a deal. If Hadley accepts, she will be sent back twenty-seven days in time to prevent Archer from killing himself. But when Hadley agrees to Death's terms and goes back to right the past, she quickly learns her mission is harder than she ever could have known.
Time ticks away as Hadley looks for ways to not only talk to Archer but to know him on a deeper level. But just as she and Archer connect, a series of dangerous accidents starts pushing them apart. Hadley must decide whether she is ready to risk everything--including her life--to keep Archer alive.
In 27 Days:
A twist on Groundhog's Day meets Death, this paranormal tale [In 27 Days] will have readers turning the pages to see if Hadley stops Archer from making a tragic mistake. --YA Books Central
This thrilling YA fantasy debut follows seventeen-year-old Etta Lark as she navigates the underworld of Craewick to pull off the heist of a lifetime. A YALSA (The Young Adult Library Services Association) Teens' Top Ten Book for 2020, Mansy crafts a grim reality where memories are worth their weight in gold.
In the city of Craewick, memories reign.
The power-obsessed ruler of the city, Madame, has cultivated a society in which memories are currency, citizens are divided by ability, and Gifted individuals can take memories from others through touch as they please.
Seventeen-year-old Etta Lark is desperate to live outside of the corrupt culture, but she grapples with the guilt of an accident that has left her mother bedridden in the city's asylum. When Madame threatens to put her mother up for auction, a Craewick practice in which a criminal's memories are sold to the highest bidder before being killed, Etta will do whatever it takes to save her. Even if it means rejoining the Shadows, the rebel group she swore off in the wake of the accident years earlier.
To rescue her mother, Etta must prove her allegiance to the Shadows by stealing a memorized map of the Maze, a formidable prison created by the bloodthirsty ruler of a neighboring Realm. Etta faces startling attacks, unexpected romance, and, above all, her own past as she uncovers a conspiracy that challenges everything she knew about herself and the world around her.
In a place where nothing is what it seems, can Etta ever become more than a memory thief?
Perfect for fans of high-stakemagical heists such as:
Mansy's debut will delight fantasy readers who revel in fully developed settings and unusual powers.- Booklist
A welcome addition to the YA fantasy canon, The Memory Thief is a suspenseful page-turner, delightfully chock full of unexpected twists and turns.- Shelf Awareness
Olivia Twist is an innovative reimagining of Charles Dickens' classic tale Oliver Twist, exploring what might have happened if Oliver had actually been a girl disguised for her own safety, who grows up to confront her tangled past. Perfect for fans, young and old, of Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, and Edgar Allan Poe.
Olivia Brownlow is no damsel in distress. Born in a workhouse and raised as a boy among thieving London street gangs, she is as tough and cunning as they come. When she is taken in by her uncle after a caper gone wrong, her life goes from fighting and stealing on the streets to lavish dinners and soirees as a debutante in high society. But she can't seem to escape her memories ... or forget the teeming slums where children just like her are still scraping by just to survive.
Jack MacCarron rose from his place in London's East End to become the adopted nephew of a society matron. Little does society know that MacCarron is a false name for a boy once known among London gangs as the Artful Dodger, and that he and his aunt are robbing them blind every chance they get. When Jack encounters Olivia Brownlow in places he least expects, his curiosity is piqued. Why is a society girl helping a bunch of homeless orphan thieves? Even more intriguing, why does she remind him so much of someone he once knew? When a villain from his past threatens Olivia's future, Jack finds himself wondering if going legit and risking it all might be worth it for love.
This clever retelling of Dickens' Oliver Twist is perfect for readers who love romance, adventure, historical settings, and heroines who can kick butt in formal gowns. - Booklist, starred review
In this YA novel in verse from bestselling authors Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess (Solo), which Kirkus called lively, moving, and heartfelt in a starred review, Noah and Walt just want to leave their geek days behind and find cool, but in the process discover a lot about first loves, friendship, and embracing life . . . as well as why Black Lives Matter is so important for all.
Best friends Noah and Walt are far from popular, but Walt is convinced junior year is their year, and he has a plan that includes wooing the girls of their dreams and becoming amazing athletes. Never mind he and Noah failed to make their baseball team yet again, and Noah's crush since third grade, Sam, has him firmly in the friend zone. While Walt focuses on his program of jazz, podcasts, batting cages, and a Hug Life mentality, Noah feels stuck in status quo ... until he stumbles on a stash of old love letters. Each one contains words Noah's always wanted to say to Sam, and he begins secretly creating artwork using the lines that speak his heart. But when his art becomes public, Noah has a decision to make: continue his life in the dugout and possibly lose the girl forever, or take a swing and finally speak out.
At the same time, American flags are being left around town. While some think it's a harmless prank and others see it as a form of protest, Noah can't shake the feeling something bigger is happening to his community. Especially after he witnesses events that hint divides and prejudices run deeper than he realized.
As the personal and social tensions increase around them, Noah and Walt must decide what is really important when it comes to love, friendship, sacrifice, and fate.
Swing:
If you enjoy Swing, check out Solo by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess.
Within These Lines is a moving story of love, hope, and family set against the dark history of Japanese internment in America. This book had me captivated --Maureen McQuerry, YALSA award-winning author of The Peculiars
Evalina Cassano's life in an Italian-American family in 1941 is quiet and ordinary ... until she falls in love with Taichi Hamasaki, the son of Japanese immigrants. Despite the scandal it would cause and the fact that interracial marriage is illegal in California, Evalina and Taichi vow they will find a way to be together. But anti-Japanese feelings erupt across the country after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Taichi and his family are forced to give up their farm and are incarcerated in a Japanese internment camp.
Degrading treatment at Manzanar Relocation Center is so difficult, Taichi doubts he will ever leave the camp alive. Treasured letters from Evalina are his sole connection to the outside world. Embracing the boldest action she can to help Taichi, Evalina begins to radically speak out at school and at home, shining a light on this dark and shameful racial injustice.
With their future together on the line, Evalina and Taichi can only hold true to their values and believe in their love against all odds to have any hope of making it back to one another.
Within These Lines is:
Within These Lines is a moving story of love, hope, and family set against the dark history of Japanese internment in America. This book had me captivated --Maureen McQuerry, YALSA award-winning author of The Peculiars
Evalina Cassano's life in an Italian-American family in 1941 is quiet and ordinary ... until she falls in love with Taichi Hamasaki, the son of Japanese immigrants. Despite the scandal it would cause and the fact that interracial marriage is illegal in California, Evalina and Taichi vow they will find a way to be together. But anti-Japanese feelings erupt across the country after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Taichi and his family are forced to give up their farm and are incarcerated in a Japanese internment camp.
Degrading treatment at Manzanar Relocation Center is so difficult, Taichi doubts he will ever leave the camp alive. Treasured letters from Evalina are his sole connection to the outside world. Embracing the boldest action she can to help Taichi, Evalina begins to radically speak out at school and at home, shining a light on this dark and shameful racial injustice.
With their future together on the line, Evalina and Taichi can only hold true to their values and believe in their love against all odds to have any hope of making it back to one another.
Within These Lines is:
In this sequel to Doon, Kenna Reid has made a horrible mistake--choosing to follow her dreams of Broadway instead of staying in the enchanted land of Doon. But when Duncan, prince of Doon, appears with an urgent message from Veronica, MacKenna is given a second chance at Doon and true love. With an evil magic lurking across Doon, and MacKenna's destiny entwined with the cure, can she make peace with her decisions, or will she succumb them.
One year after the events that took MacKenna and her best friend Veronica to the magical land of Doon, Kenna is rethinking her decision to walk away from her friend, Doon, and the highland prince of her dreams - Duncan. To make everything worse, she's received her Calling--proof she and Duncan are each other's one true love-- especially when visions of the very alluring Doonish prince appear right before she goes on stage. When Duncan appears and tells Kenna that Doon needs her, that Veronica needs her, she doesn't hesitate at second chances.
Not all is right in Doon, though Jamie and Veronica have blossomed into a full romance, Kenna can't help but sense that Duncan is yet to forgive her for breaking his heart and abandoning him to pursue her Broadway dreams. As they investigate the dark magic plaguing Doon from the inside, they discover that the witch has left her mark, and not all wounds heal. MacKenna's fate and destiny are entwined with defeating the dark magic, but can she learn to forgive herself and release Doon from this plague? And even if she can defeat the evil, her happily ever after may still be in peril.
Perfect for young adult fans of Gail Carson Levine, Meagan Spooner, or Morgan Rhodes, Destined for Doon features:
Don't miss out on the other Doon titles:
In the third and final volume of the Remnants series, the power of the Remnants and their people are growing, threatening Pacifica's careful plans for domination. Among the Trading Union, village after village, outpost after outpost, and city after city are drawn to people of the Way, and agree to stand against those who hunt them. But Pacifica intends to ferret out and annihilate the Remnants--as well as everyone who hasn't sworn allegiance to the empire--setting the stage for an epic showdown that will change the course of a world on the brink ... forever.
A slow-burn romance in a cutthroat kitchen! There's more to becoming a top chef for 17-year-old Isabella Fields than just not getting chopped ... especially when the chances of things heating up with an intriguing boy and becoming a food star in the kitchen are both on the line.
Isa's family life has fallen apart after the death of her Cuban abuela and the divorce of her parents. And after moving in with her dad and her new stepmom, Margo, in Lyon, France, Isa feels like an outsider in her father's new life. She balances her time between avoiding the awkward why-did-you-cheat-on-Mom conversation and her diligent aspiration to become a premiere chef.
Despite Isa's world being turned upside-down, her father's house is located only 30 minutes away from the restaurant of world-famous Chef Pascal Grattard, who runs a prestigiously competitive international kitchen apprenticeship. The prize job at Chef Grattard's renowned restaurant also represents a transformative opportunity for Isa who is desperate to get her life back in order--and desperate to prove she has what it takes to work in an haute kitchen. But Isa's stress and repressed grief begin to unravel further when the enigmatic Diego shows up at the house unannounced.
How can Isa expect to hold it together when she's at the bottom of her class at the apprenticeship, her new stepmom is pregnant, she misses her abuela dearly, and things with Diego reach a boiling point?
Mixing up only the best ingredients, Salty, Bitter, Sweet:
Season of Fire is bestselling author Lisa T. Bergren's second book in the Remnants series.After tackling her first mission and coming to terms with her power of empathy, Andrei and her fellow Remnants discover their first battles were only a taste of what is to come. As the Sons of Sheol continue their assault on the world, planning to keep all hope dead, the Remnant finds itself battling within its ranks. With everyone pursuing what they feel is the best course of action, trouble mounts--and Andrei finds herself in terrible danger at the hands of Kellach. The Remnants must travel to Italy and find a way to fight as one before it is too late.
Emilie Day believes in playing it safe: she's homeschooled, her best friend is her seizure dog, and she's probably the only girl on the Outer Banks of North Carolina who can't swim.
Then Emilie's mom enrolls her in public school, and Emilie goes from studying at home in her pj's to halls full of strangers. To make matters worse, Emilie is paired with starting point guard Chatham York for a major research project on Emily Dickinson. She should be ecstatic when Chatham shows interest, but she has a problem. She hasn't told anyone about her epilepsy.
Emilie lives in fear her recently adjusted meds will fail and she'll seize at school. Eventually, the worst happens, and she must decide whether to withdraw to safety or follow a dead poet's advice and dwell in possibility.
From Golden Heart award-winning author McCall Hoyle comes The Thing with Feathers, a story of overcoming fears, forging new friendships, and finding a first love, perfect for fans of Jennifer Niven, Robyn Schneider, and Sharon M. Draper.
Payton Brave's twin sister, Dylan, has been missing for more than a year. So has Payton's memory.
Amid the turmoil of her sister's disappearance, Payton feels lost as the one left behind. Her mental state wrought and reckless, she tumbles from the graces of popularity to the outskirts of high school society, where she attracts a rag-tag group of friends--and a troubling romance with her sister's boyfriend, Cole.
Though Payton remembers nothing of the day Dylan disappeared, she must pry into her own mind when another missing girl's body is recovered from a nearby lake, the victim's features eerily similar to Dylan's. The further Payton presses into the recesses of her memory, the more danger surrounds her. The darkness around her sister's disappearance grows and the truth becomes more and more unbearable.
What she finds might just cost Payton her life.
Losing Brave: