Young Adult
- On My Journey Now: Looking at African-American History Through the Spirituals
On My Journey Now: Looking at African-American History Through the Spirituals
Nikki Giovanni
$9.99With the passion of a poet and the knowledge of a historian, Nikki Giovanni tells the story of Africans in America through the glorious words of spirituals.
Ever since she was a little girl attending three different churches, poet Nikki Giovanni has loved the spirituals. With the passion of a poet and the knowledge of a historian, she paints compelling portraits of the lives of her ancestors through the words of songs such as "Go Down, Moses" and "Ain’t Got Time to Die," celebrating a people who overcame enslavement and found a way to survive, to worship, and to build.
Back matter includes a glossary, a bibliography, source notes, recommended recordings, an index of song titles, and an index. - PRE-ORDER: Breath of the Dragon: Breathmarked (Breathmarked, 1)
PRE-ORDER: Breath of the Dragon: Breathmarked (Breathmarked, 1)
Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee
$21.00PRE-ORDER. ON SALE DATE: January 7, 2025
Featuring beautiful sprayed edges!
A young warrior dreams of proving his worth in the elite Guardian Tournament, fighting not only for himself but the fate of everything he loves.
Sixteen-year-old Jun dreams of proving his worth as a warrior in the elite Guardian’s Tournament, held every six years to entrust the magical Scroll of Heaven to a new protector. Eager to prove his skills, Jun hopes that a win will restore his father’s pride―righting a horrible mistake that caused their banishment from his home, mother, and twin brother.
But Jun’s father strictly forbids him from participating. He believes there is no future in Jun honing his skills as a warrior, especially considering Jun is not breathmarked, born with a patch of dragon scales and blessed with special abilities like his twin. Determined to be the next Guardian, Jun stows away in the wagon of Chang and his daughter, Ren, performers on their way to the capital where the tournament will take place.
As Jun competes, he quickly realizes he may be fighting for not just a better life, but the fate of the country itself and the very survival of everyone he cares about.
- PRE-ORDER: Needy Little Things
PRE-ORDER: Needy Little Things
Channelle Desamours
$20.00PRE-ORDER. ON SALE DATE: Feburary 4, 2025
In this debut speculative YA mystery, a Black teen with premonition-like powers must solve her friend's disappearance before she finds herself in the same danger, perfect for fans of Ace of Spades.
Sariyah Lee Bryant can hear what people need―tangible things, like a pencil, a hair tie, a phone charger―an ability only her family and her best friend, Malcolm, know the truth about. But when she fulfills a need for her friend Deja who vanishes shortly after, Sariyah is left wondering if her ability is more curse than gift. This isn’t the first time one of her friends has landed on the missing persons list, and she’s determined not to let her become yet another forgotten Black girl.
Not trusting the police and media to do enough on their own, Sariyah and her friends work together to figure out what led to Deja’s disappearance. When Sariyah’s mother loses her job and her little brother faces complications with his sickle cell disease, managing her time, money, and emotions seems impossible. Desperate, Sariyah decides to hustle her need-sensing ability for cash―a choice that may not only lead her to Deja, but put her in the same danger Deja found herself in.
- PRE - ORDER: Somadina
PRE - ORDER: Somadina
Akwaeke Emezi
$19.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE DATE: April 15, 2025
From the National Book Award finalist and author of Pet comes a novel set in a magical West African world, about a teen girl who must save her missing twin while learning to navigate her own terrifying new powers.
Somadina and her twin brother, Jayaike, are practically the same person: they finish each other's sentences and make each other whole. When the twins come of age, their magical gifts begin to develop, but while Jayaike's powers enchant, Somadina's cause fear to ripple through her town.
Always an outsider, Somadina now faces blatant--and dangerous--hostility. And things go from bad to worse when her brother—the one person she trusted—vanishes. Somadina knows that no matter the dangers, she must track him down. Even if it means entering the Sacred Forest. Even if it means grueling, otherworldly travel she may not survive. Even if it means finding the hidden places where those closest to the spirit world don't dare to go. Does Somadina have the strength --within both her body and her soul -- for the trying journey ahead?
National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi masterfully weaves a tale of family, identity, and the power of the past, in a world where the extraordinary is ordinary.
- PRE - ORDER: Wander in the Dark
PRE - ORDER: Wander in the Dark
Jumata Emill
$12.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE DATE: January 14, 2025
The pulse-pounding thriller from the author of The Black Queen! Two brothers must come together to solve the Mardi Gras murder of the most popular girl in school after one of them is caught fleeing the scene of her death.
Amir Trudeau only goes to his half brother Marcel’s birthday party because of Chloe Danvers. Chloe is rich, and hot, and fits right into the perfect life Marcel inherited when their father left Amir’s mother to start a new family with Marcel’s mom. But Chloe is hot enough for Amir to forget that for one night.
Does she want to hook up? Or is she trying to meddle in the estranged brothers’ messy family drama? Amir can’t tell. He doesn’t know what Chloe wants from him when, in the final hours of Mardi Gras, she asks him to take her home and stay—her parents are away and she doesn’t want to be alone.
Amir never finds out, because when he wakes up, Chloe is dead—stabbed while he was passed out on the couch. And in no time, Amir becomes the only suspect. A Black teenager caught fleeing the scene of a rich white girl’s murder? All of New Orleans agrees: the case is open-and-shut.
Amir is innocent. He has a lawyer, but unless someone can figure out who really killed Chloe, things don’t look good for him. His number one ally? Marcel. Their relationship is messy, but Marcel knows that Amir isn’t a murderer—and maybe proving his innocence will repair the rift between them.
To find Chloe’s killer, Amir and Marcel need to dig into her secrets. And what they find is darker than either could have guessed. Parents will go to any lengths to protect their children, and in a city as old as New Orleans, the right family connections can bury even the ugliest truths.
- PRE - ORDER: Dear Manny
PRE - ORDER: Dear Manny
Nic Stone
$19.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE DATE: March 4, 2025
From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin comes the thrilling final installment of the series, set in college. Jared (white, Justyce's roommate, woke) is running for Junior class president. With his antiracism platform, he's a shoo-in. But he's up against the new girl, Dylan. Will Jared have to choose between his head and his heart?
Jared Peter Christensen is running for president (of the Junior Class Council at his university, but still). His platform is solid—built on increased equity and inclusion in all sectors of campus life—and he’s got a good chance of beating the deeply conservative business major he’s running against.
But then a transfer student enters the race and calls Jared out for his big-talk/little-action way of moving. But what’s the right way to bring about change? As the campaign heats up, feelings are caught, and juicy secrets come to light, and Jared writes letters to his deceased friend Manny, hoping to make sense of his confusion. What’s a white boy to do when love and politics collide?
New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone writes from a new perspective in this exciting final chapter of the Dear Martin series that examines privilege, love, and our political climate.
- PRE - ORDER: Bemused
PRE - ORDER: Bemused
Farrah Rochon
$18.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE DATE: January 7, 2025
The untold origin story of the 5 Muses from Disney’s Hercules is revealed in this rollicking YA fantasy filled with mythical adventure, music, and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
The Muses narrated Hercules’s story. Now, in this novel for fans of the New York Times bestsellers Go the Distance and Fire & Fate, they’ll narrate their own "gospel truth."
Living in a quiet seaside village with their overprotective mother, teenaged sisters Calliope, Clio, Melpomene, Terpsichore, and Thalia are talented performers with no audience. If Calli had her way, she'd pursue her dream of writing epic stories in the city of Thebes. But family comes first, and as the eldest, she'd never leave her beloved sisters behind.
Then, following a disastrous public music performance, their mother reveals a shocking secret: she is Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory, and for nearly two decades, she’s been on the run from the gods of Mount Olympus, desperate to keep her daughters safe from their machinations. Before she can share more, she is kidnapped . . . and though the girls don’t know it yet, the villain pulling the strings is none other than Hades, fiery God of the Underworld.
Under Calli’s leadership, the sisters embark on a journey to save their mother and to learn more about their own divine origins. But the path ahead is filled with mythical trials and tribulations, and they’ll need to rely on both their individual talents and the strength of their sisterhood to ensure that they ascend from "zeroes" to "heroes"--or more accurately, heroines.
Penned by New York Times bestselling author Farrah Rochon, this YA fantasy uniquely blends a twist on a Disney classic with a fresh take on Greek mythology.
- PRE-ORDER: This Ends in Embers (The Divine Traitors, 2)
PRE-ORDER: This Ends in Embers (The Divine Traitors, 2)
Kamilah Cole
$19.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE: February 4, 2025
Perfect for fans of Raybearer and Fourth Wing, this astonishing sequel to the bestselling novel So Let Them Burn doesn't hold back. After all, there are no easy endings in war—especially when sisters are forced to fight on opposite sides.
Faron Vincent was once the saint of San Irie. Now, she’s done the unthinkable: betrayed her country. Alone, disgraced, and kidnapped, Faron is forced to help Iya grow his bloody empire. With her soul bonded to a ruthless killer, Faron has become an enemy to her people… and she fears they might be right.
Elara Vincent—the new Empyrean—must undo the damage her sister has caused. San Irie has been brought back to the brink of war as Iya proclaims no nation will be safe from his brutal invasion. But how can Elara save her sister, her best friend, her country, and her world when she’s already cracking under the pressure?
This heart-pounding conclusion to the Divine Traitors duology pushes these unforgettable heroines to their breaking point and beyond. Because when the lines between hero and villain are blurred, deadly sacrifices must be made."Both a brilliant sequel and an epic finale, This Ends in Embers is a gut punch of a novel that will stay with you long after its ending. Cole balances breathtakingly high stakes with poignant character moments to craft a narrative so passionate it will burn a path straight to your heart." —Chelsea Abdullah, award-winning author of The Stardust Thief
- PRE-ORDER: Soy Sauce!
PRE-ORDER: Soy Sauce!
Laura G. Lee
$18.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE: January 7, 2025
A joyful picture book for kids and foodies of all ages (with real soy sauce as paint!) that celebrates the iconic kitchen staple and the magical way food connects family and friends across the world.
Salty, savory, rich, and even sweet, soy sauce is as fascinating to make as it is delicious to eat!
Luan makes a classic Chinese soy sauce. Haru uses his own recipe at his family’s traditional Japanese brewery. And Yoo-mi’s Korean soy sauce features special ingredients to make it spicy and sweet.
With unique ingredients that reflect different Asian cultures, and a brewing process that can take years, even decades, soy sauce holds deep meaning and flavorful history in every drop.
Praise for Soy Sauce!:
✭ "Lee’s lively watercolor illustrations of the children gleefully celebrating each stage of the long process pair beautifully with the upbeat text for an informative, engaging story.... A joyful ode to soy sauce that’s delicious to the last drop." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Soy Sauce! is a charming celebration of one of our favorite condiments. Delicious!" —Grace Lin, author of Chinese Menu and A Big Mooncake for Little Star
"I can’t wait for children and families to learn about the colorful history and process of soy sauce." —Kristina Cho, James Beard–winning author of Chinese Enough and Mooncakes and Milk Bread
"A loving ode to the ways we connect at the table through taste and tradition….A perfect read for your budding epicurean." —Cecily Wong, author of Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer's Guide
- PRE-ORDER: So Let Them Burn (Standard Edition) (The Divine Traitors)
PRE-ORDER: So Let Them Burn (Standard Edition) (The Divine Traitors)
Kamilah Cole
$12.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE: January 7, 2025
This bestselling Jamaican-inspired fantasy follows a gods-blessed heroine who’s forced to choose between saving her sister or protecting her homeland—perfect for fans of Iron Widow and The Priory of the Orange Tree.
Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She’s a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbors.
When she’s forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn’t expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon—or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister.
As Faron’s desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other’s lives, as well as the fate of their world."By turns hopeful and devastating, So Let Them Burn is a masterful debut with a blazing heart. I was captivated from beginning to end by Cole’s sharp, clever prose and by her protagonists—two remarkable sisters with an unforgettable bond." — Chelsea Abdullah, author of The Stardust Thief
- PRE-ORDER: So Let Them Burn (Limited Edition) (The Divine Traitors, 1)
PRE-ORDER: So Let Them Burn (Limited Edition) (The Divine Traitors, 1)
Kamilah Cole
$12.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE: January 7, 2025
** This paperback includes a swoonworthy bonus chapter, plus a sneak peak of book two!
An INSTANT National Bestseller!
Whip-smart and immersive, this Jamaican-inspired fantasy follows a gods-blessed heroine who’s forced to choose between saving her sister or protecting her homeland—perfect for fans of Iron Widow and The Priory of the Orange Tree.
Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She’s a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbors.
When she’s forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn’t expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon—or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister.
As Faron’s desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other’s lives, as well as the fate of their world."By turns hopeful and devastating, So Let Them Burn is a masterful debut with a blazing heart. I was captivated from beginning to end by Cole’s sharp, clever prose and by her protagonists—two remarkable sisters with an unforgettable bond." — Chelsea Abdullah, author of The Stardust Thief
- PRE-ORDER: The Broposal
PRE-ORDER: The Broposal
Sonora Reyes
$17.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE: January 21, 2025
From the author of The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, two best bros fake an engagement–but will their friendship survive?
It’s about time roommates Alejandro and Kenny get married. Or at least, that’s what all their close friends and family think when they announce their engagement. The kicker? The two are faking their whole relationship so Alejandro can get a green card. But if Han was going to marry anyone, it would be his ride or die since second grade.
Han has never been able to put down roots, and the only one who truly breaks through his walls is Kenny. Sweet, sensitive Kenny is newly single, and what better distraction from his soul-sucking relationship than proposing marriage to Han? Kenny can’t think of anything more fun than spending his life with his best friend, even if it’s just for a piece of paper. But as Kenny keeps up the charade, he’s soon struggling to resist their sizzling chemistry.
The line between fact and fiction begins to blur the closer they get to their wedding date. With all eyes on Han and Kenny—including a meddling ex and immigration officers—will these two bros make it down the altar for real?
- PRE-ORDER: If We Were a Movie
PRE-ORDER: If We Were a Movie
Zakiya N. Jamal
$19.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE DATE: April 22, 2025
Booksmart meets Phantom of the Megaplex in Zakiya N. Jamal's debut enthralling enemies-to-lovers queer romance, set against the backdrop of a historic Black-owned movie theater, the quirky employees who work there, and the suburbs of Long Island. Perfect for fans of Leah Johnson and Today Tonight Tomorrow.
Lights. Camera. Love?
Rochelle “the Shell” Coleman is laser focused on only three things: becoming valedictorian, getting into Wharton, and, of course, taking down her annoyingly charismatic nemesis and only academic competition, Amira Rodriguez. However, despite her stellar grades, Rochelle’s college application is missing that extra special something: a job.
When Rochelle gets an opportunity to work at Horizon Cinemas, the beloved Black-owned movie theater, she begrudgingly jumps at the chance to boost her chances at getting into her dream school. There’s only one problem: Amira works there… and is also her boss.
Rochelle feels that working with Amira is its own kind of horror movie, but as the two begin working closely together, Rochelle starts to see Amira in a new light, one that may have her beginning to actually… like her?
But Horizon’s in trouble, and when mysterious things begin happening that make Horizon’s chances of staying open slimmer, it’s up to the employees to solve the mystery before it’s too late, but will love also find its way into the spotlight?
- PRE-ORDER: Messy Perfect
PRE-ORDER: Messy Perfect
Tanya Boteju
$19.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE DATE: April 1, 2025
Perfect for fans of Mason Deaver and Becky Albertalli, this tender, raucous novel follows a rule-following, perfectionist teen who starts an underground GSA club at her conservative Catholic high school, from the acclaimed author of Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens.
Cassie Perera is a star student in St. Luke's junior class. But the new school year brings an unwelcome surprise—the return to St. Luke's of Cassie's former friend, Ben, who left a few years ago after a homophobic bullying incident Cassie knows she didn't do enough to prevent.
Still harboring guilt from her inaction, Cassie decides, in her usual, overzealous way, to team up with the neighboring public school to found an underground Gender and Sexuality Alliance—as a complicated strategy for making things up to Ben. Secretly, Cassie is also tempted by the possibility of opening up about her own sexuality for the first time.
As Cassie’s new friends urge her out of her comfort zone, she unlocks a kind of joy and freedom she’s never felt before—even as she struggles to balance these experiences with her typical tightrope of being the perfect daughter, student, and Catholic.
Cassie’s perfectly curated life unravels into turmoil, but can she embrace the mess enough to piece together something new?
- PRE-ORDER: (S)Kin
PRE-ORDER: (S)Kin
Ibi Zoboi
$19.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE DATE: February 11, 2025
From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes her groundbreaking contemporary fantasy debut—a novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore—about the power of inherited magic and the price we must pay to live the life we yearn for.
“Our new home with its
thick walls and locked doors
wants me to stay trapped in my skin—
but I am fury and flame.”
Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors.… While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past—her mother.
Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies’ constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn’t even thought to ask.
But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.
- PRE-ORDER: Togetha (A Pritty Novel)
PRE-ORDER: Togetha (A Pritty Novel)
Keith F. Miller Jr.
$21.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE DATE: January 7, 2025
Perfect for fans of Angie Thomas and Jason Reynolds, this highly anticipated sequel to Lambda Literary Award finalist Pritty finds Jay and Leroy togetha again as they fight to save not only their home but themselves from the powerful Bainbridge family’s treacherous endgame to retake Savannah for themselves, no matter the cost.
After finally reuniting, Jay and Leroy have never been in more danger. Caught in the crosshairs of the affluent Bainbridge family, who they’ve learned is determined to reshape Savannah in their own image, the duo has only just survived a series of near-death experiences before reaching the safety of the Black Diamonds. But the BDs’ ability to protect the Black neighborhoods of their city is slipping….
Missing the key piece of evidence that could have broken the Bainbridges’ hold over Savannah, everyone is scrambling for options. But when one of their own is kidnapped, Jay and Leroy realize they can’t rely on anyone but themselves to save them. Recruiting old friends, former enemies, and their most risky ally, Jay’s once-upon-a-time crush, Will, they set out to do the impossible: find the evidence they lost in order to finally expose the Bainbridges’ corruption to the world, by any means necessary.
But even as their plans bring them closer to revealing the Bainbridges’ treacherous endgame, Jay and Leroy’s own secrets from each other threaten to pull their love apart, just as old feelings between Jay and Will begin to blossom again. And as the battle for a brighter future boils over into the streets, to save their homes—and everyone they love—Jay, Leroy, and Will must decide: When the cost of justice might be each of their happiness, will they be able to make the sacrifice togetha?
- PRE-ORDER: No Purchase Necessary
PRE-ORDER: No Purchase Necessary
Maria Marianayagam
$18.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE DATE: January 14, 2025
The wannabe-cool, Tamil-nerd vibes of Never Have I Ever meets the hidden life of Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim in this funny, poignant coming-of-age middle grade debut from Maria Marianayagam. A Sri Lankan boy’s life spirals out of control when he wins a prize in a stolen candy bar, pushing him to navigate his identity amid his ever-watchful family.
Ajay Anthonipillai has a million-dollar problem.
Ajay has lived his life dutifully following the rules set by his Tamil parents.
Rule #3: Straight As only
Rule #5: There is no such thing as a no-homework day.
Rule #10: Never watch scary movies.
However, moving to a new school gives Ajay a new rule to follow: Get on seventh-grade all-star Jacob Underson’s good side.
When Jacob asks him to steal a Mercury bar from Scary Al’s convenience store, Ajay feels this is his chance to finally “get cool” and stop eating alone. But Jacob rejects the stolen chocolate bar, leaving Ajay to unwrap it and discover that it contains Mercury’s Twenty-fifth Anniversary Grand Prize…one million dollars.
Faced with an extreme dilemma, Ajay will have to bear the weight of his actions and battle his morality in deciding whether to claim the prize that may change the life of his family forever.
- Batgirl: Possession (DC Super Heroes)
Batgirl: Possession (DC Super Heroes)
Jade Adia and Charly Palmer
$19.99Batgirl™ is on the case when strange attacks start happening at Gotham Academy. The long shadows of Gotham City stretch deeper than she imagined when evidence points to black magic and something more sinister still in this original suspense novel!
Thanks to a scholarship to the prestigious Gotham Academy, Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, gets to experience how some of the city’s wealthiest teens live with fast cars, expensive clothes, and more. But when these advantages and luxuries are not enough, Barbara discovers that the some of them have turned to dabbling in black magic to get their kicks . . . setting off a series of strange events and deaths. Batgirl quickly steps in to investigate, but finding the killer proves to be more difficult than usual. The prime suspect’s brother is an irresistible distraction from the case at the same her growing relationship with Robin, the Boy Wonder, is hitting an all-time low. If all that wasn’t troubling enough, the hard facts aren’t to be lining up. Batgirl isn’t one to believe in black magic, but there seem to be forces in Gotham City’s shadows growing hungrier and stronger, and if she doesn’t find a way to shed some light on the case soon, the creeping darkness just might take possession of her . . . forever!
Batgirl and supernatural thriller fans will love the mystery and horror lurking in this action-packed original novel! - PRE-ORDER: The Summer I Ate the Rich
PRE-ORDER: The Summer I Ate the Rich
Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
$19.99PRE-ORDER: ON SALE April 22, 2025
A bone-chilling contemporary YA horror about what happens when a Haitian American girl uses her previously hidden zombie abilities to exact revenge on the wealthy elites who’ve caused her family pain.
Brielle Petitfour loves to cook. But with a chronically sick mother and bills to pay, becoming a chef isn’t exactly a realistic career path.
When Brielle’s mom suddenly loses her job, Brielle steps in and uses her culinary skills to earn some extra money. The rich families who love her cooking praise her use of unique flavors and textures, which keep everyone guessing what’s in Brielle’s dishes. The secret ingredient? Human flesh.
Written by the storytelling duo Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, The Summer I Ate the Rich is a biting, smart new horror inspired by Haitian zombie lore that scrutinizes the socioeconomic and racial inequity that is the foundation of our modern times. Just like Brielle’s clients it will have you asking: What’s for dinner?
- PRE-ORDER: Love in 280 Characters or Less
PRE-ORDER: Love in 280 Characters or Less
Ravynn K. Stringfield
$19.99PRE-ORDER: ON SALE April 15, 2025
Black college student Sydney Ciara navigates academics, love, and the online realm, in this coming-of-age romance told through her blog posts, messages, social media, and more!
Sydney Ciara Warren is excited as she starts her first year of college, but also nervous. With her best friend Malcolm attending a different university, she'll have to make new friends. And despite her interests in writing and fashion, she has no idea what path will ultimately be right for her.
As Sydney Ciara tries to figure out her place on campus and in the world, she finds solace in blogging about her life, putting together outfits with meaning, and spending time online. It’s within the digital space that she connects with someone who goes by YoungPrinceX. She may not know “X” in real life, but that doesn’t stop her from developing a crush on him. Except things get complicated, as she also navigates her first romantic relationship with a sweet boy on campus named Xavier (who maybe could be X?).
Can Sydney Ciara not only make it through her first semester, but thrive in real life, as much as she seems to be thriving online?
Here is a swoony love letter to Twitter, to Black girls who think they won’t get chosen, and to those who take too long finding the perfect words!
- PRE-ORDER: Where Shadows Meet: A Novel
PRE-ORDER: Where Shadows Meet: A Novel
Patrice Caldwell
$20.00PRE-ORDER: ON SALE DATE: April 1, 2025
The dark and thrillingly romantic debut vampire fantasy that questions what it truly means to sacrifice for love.
You have no idea what I’ve done for love. Just as you have no idea what you may one day do.
Once long ago, a girl named Favre sacrificed her wings for love. Thana, the young goddess she so willingly gave them up for, sacrificed that same love for power. But everything has a cost.
Favre never got over the loss of her wings. And Thana’s choices led to a life of eternal night, and later, their destruction. Favre has bided her time ever since, waiting for the chance to resurrect the girl she loves who turned her into the creature she hates.
Now, a thousand years later, Leyla, the crown princess of a vampire nation, must travel to Nekros, the island of the dead, when her best friend is captured during an attack on her nation’s capital. But nothing is as it seems. The closer she gets to her goal, the more she risks awakening an ancient evil and destroying everything she holds dear.
Set in the aftermath of a war between vampires, humans, and the gods that created them, Patrice Caldwell’s devastatingly romantic fantasy debut, Where Shadows Meet, centers the heart-wrenching pain of loss and the struggle of self-discovery to ask: do we choose our fates, or do our fates choose us?
- This Ravenous Fate
This Ravenous Fate
Hayley Dennings
$18.99The first book in a decadent fantasy duology set in Jazz Age Harlem, where at night the dance halls come to life―and death waits in the dark.
It's 1926 and reapers, the once-human vampires with a terrifying affliction, are on the rise in New York. But the Saint family's thriving reaper-hunting enterprise holds reign over the city, giving them more power than even the organized criminals who run the nightclubs. Eighteen year-old Elise Saint, home after five years in Paris, is the reluctant heir to the empire. Only one thing weighs heavier on Elise's mind than her family obligations: the knowledge that the Harlem reapers want her dead.
Layla Quinn is a young reaper haunted by her past. Though reapers have existed in America for three centuries, created by New World atrocities and cruel experiments, Layla became one just five years ago. The night she was turned, she lost her parents, the protection of the Saints, and her humanity, and she'll never forget how Elise Saint betrayed her.
But some reapers are inexplicably turning part human again, leaving a wake of mysterious and brutal killings. When Layla is framed for one of these attacks, the Saint patriarch offers her a deal she can't refuse: to work with Elise to investigate how these murders might be linked to shocking rumors of a reaper cure. Once close friends, now bitter enemies, Elise and Layla explore the city's underworld, confronting their intense feelings for one another and uncovering the sinister truths about a growing threat to reapers and humans alike.
- PRE-ORDER: Under the Neon Lights
PRE-ORDER: Under the Neon Lights
by Arriel Vinson
$19.99PRE-ORDER. ON SALE DATE: June 3, 2025
Sixteen-year-old Jaelyn Coleman lives for Saturdays at WestSide Roll, the iconic neighborhood roller rink. On these magical nights, Jae can lose herself in the music of DJ Sunny, the smell of nachos from the concession, and the crowd of some of her favorite people—old heads, dance crews, and other regulars like herself. Here, Jae and other Black teens can fully be themselves.
One Saturday, as Jae skates away her worries, she crashes into the cutest boy she’s ever seen. Trey’s dimples, rich brown skin, and warm smile make it impossible for her to be mad at him though. Best of all, he can’t stop finding excuses to be around her. A nice change for once, in contrast with her best friend’s cold distance of late or her estranged father creeping back into her life.
Just as Jae thinks her summer might change for the better, devastating news hits: Westside Roll is shutting down. The gentrification rapidly taking over her predominantly Black Indianapolis neighborhood, filling it with luxury apartments and fancy boutiques, has come for her safe-haven. And this is just one trouble Jae can’t skate away from.
- How to Lose a Best Friend
How to Lose a Best Friend
by Jordan K. Casomar
Sold outFor as long as anyone can remember, Zeke Ladoja and Imogen Parker have been best friends. Their classmates, their parents, and even the school custodian think that they’re meant to be together. And that’s exactly what Zeke wants: for Gen to be his girlfriend. Now that she’s about to be sixteen (and allowed to date), Zeke is finally going to tell her how he feels—in front of everyone at her birthday party.
Imogen loves Zeke with all her heart, but only as a friend. The pressure to be with Zeke has sometimes been overwhelming, but up to this point, she’s been able to manage it. Then she falls for the new boy, Trevor Cook, and she knows the news will devastate Zeke. The last thing she wants to do is hurt her best friend, but she also resents the fact that no one seems to care about what she wants.
The night of Gen’s party, everything goes wrong. There’s backlash, most of it directed at Gen, and Zeke feels emboldened. He isn’t about to give up on his feelings, and he’ll do whatever it takes to prove that she made the wrong choice…even if it means destroying their friendship. But Gen isn’t about to give up on fighting for herself and the freedom to love the boy she wants, not the boy she’s expected to be with. - If You're Not the One
If You're Not the One
by Farah Naz Rishi
Sold outThis funny, electric rom-com follows a teen struggling to reclaim her perfect life and the perfectly wrong guy who sees through her facade, from the acclaimed author of It All Comes Back to You.
Anisa Shirani is…well, perfect. A fact, not an opinion. Of course, it’s all a front to feed her own praise-obsessed ego. Behind closed doors, she is—some might say—a little slobbish and snobbish, and she works obsessively to maintain her God-given talents. Fate has favored her, but Ani knows better than anyone that fate is made by effort.
But she must, especially when all signs point to her being a top-notch lawyer with a top-notch education and being destined to marry Isaac, total heartthrob and eldest son of the richest family in the community. A perfect girl deserves a perfect life, and Ani’s perfect life is going exactly the way it should…
Until Ani’s parents announce they’re getting divorced.
Until Isaac shows all the signs of…cheating. Sort of.
Until she starts catching feelings for Marlow, an overly friendly weirdo she’s hated since the moment she laid eyes on him in class.
How can fate be so wrong?
- Immortal Dark (Standard Edition)
Immortal Dark (Standard Edition)
by Tigest Girma
$19.99The Cruel Prince meets Ninth House in this dangerously romantic dark academia fantasy, where a lost heiress must infiltrate an arcane society and live with the vampire she suspects killed her family and kidnapped her sister.
It began long before my time, but something has always hunted our family.
Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the arcane society she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the very vampire bound to their family, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.
To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires and inherit their family legacies. Kidan must survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything he can to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs.
When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat—and June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires. - I Was Told There Would Be Romance
I Was Told There Would Be Romance
by Marie Arnold
$18.99For fans of Never Have I Ever and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before comes a hilarious and heartfelt novel about a young Haitian girl navigating high school, friendship, and crushes.
Fifteen-year-old Fancy Augustine is a Haitian American girl with simple desires. She’d like to trade in her floppy, oversize boobs for cute, perky ones. She’d love a boyfriend. And she’s desperate for an invite to the biggest event of the school year: Imani Park’s birthday party. When Fancy learns her BFF, Tilly, has received a coveted invite and has a secret boyfriend, she is (understandably) devastated and wholeheartedly determined to do whatever it takes to get her own happily ever after.
So what if she makes a deal with the devil (Imani) that guarantees her an invite—but only if she can bring a boyfriend? And what’s so bad about letting her crush, Rahim, believe that she can create a voodoo potion for him in exchange for him posing as her boyfriend? And, yeah, maybe she’s destroying her friendship with Tilly and falling hopelessly behind in her schoolwork, but Fancy knows it’ll all be worth it in the end. Plus, it’s not like Fancy’s parents would really make good on their threats of sending her back to Haiti...right?
- I Am the Dark That Answers When You Call (I Feed Her to the Beast, 2)
I Am the Dark That Answers When You Call (I Feed Her to the Beast, 2)
by Jamison Shea
$19.99Monsters and mortals, rejoice! Acheron is back . . .
Though Laure has tried to close the lid on her ballet shoes and the feelings she once held for dance since the Palais Garnier incident two months ago, Laure is spinning out. Between partying, drinking, and avoiding anything and, well, everyone, she has no time to be anything but a monster. But when Laure stumbles across a mysterious dead body during one of her nights out, she’s forced to notice the cracks stretching beyond herself.
Below the streets of Paris, Elysium is dying, and Acheron and Lethe’s influence is spilling into the streets like a blight. Laure isn’t the only of Elysium’s beasts to rise from the ruins of Palais Garnier, and someone is mobilizing an army of monsters with plans greater than Laure, Andor, and Keturah could have ever guessed. While Laure is warring between her wants and Acheron’s ever-demanding appetite, she and her circle of monsters are left to reckon with a not-so-simple question: how do you save yourself from oblivion?
Jamison Shea's sharp and unflinching voice will bring readers to terrifying new heights in this vicious sequel to the "relentlessly gory and almost euphoric in its embrace of the horrific" (NPR) I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me.
- The Changing Man
The Changing Man
by Tomi Oyemakinde
$12.99The overly privileged classmates at Ife's new boarding school become the least of her worries when there might be truth to the rumors of a dangerous entity targeting students―and Ife or her new friends could be next.
"You'll be pulled headfirst into Ife's world as she and her friends discover that the Changing Man isn't the only malevolent entity stalking the ivied gardens and darkened halls of Nitercott...and the reality may be way more terrifying than any urban legend." ―Ginny Myers Sain, New York Times-bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies
In hidden rooms…from shadows of the night…his steps come soundless…his eyes glow bright...
Ife Adebola hasn’t been at Nithercott, her new prestigious boarding school, for long, but she’s already over the petty gossip, the silly lore of a being known as the Changing Man, and the classmates who won’t let her forget she’s in the Urban Achievers scholarship program. Bijal, another student in the program, is the only one trying to befriend her, but Ife doesn’t need new friends. After all, she’s perfectly happy with the ones at her old school.
As Ife settles in at Nithercott, she starts to notice strange mushrooms and an earthy yet unsettling smell that lingers on―and even off―campus. Then a classmate shows up dressed in a way that’s very unlike her, and hangs with girls she said she never would. And there are the whispers among the teachers. As things get weirder, Ife can’t help but wonder if there could actually be any truth to the decades-old lore of the mysterious Changing Man. Or if there’s any connection between him and the missing brother of her classmate Ben.
Needing answers, Ife has no choice but to team up with Ben and Bijal to investigate. But can the trio act quickly enough to uncover who―or worse, what―is behind the Changing Man, before they become
his next victims? - We Are Hunted
We Are Hunted
by Tomi Oyemakinde
$19.99A boy must work with his family and other resort guests to make it off an island after the animals turn feral in Tomi Oyemakinde's We Are Hunted, where White Lotus meets Jurassic Park for the young adult audience and exploring guilt, spectacle, and the dangers of capitalism!
Experience paradise, reimagined.
When 17-year-old Femi Fatona and his older brother are forced to accompany their dad to an island resort, Femi is not looking forward to it. After all, he hasn't exactly been getting along with either of them lately. Not much is known about the resort they'll be staying at, as it’s on a newly-discovered island and shrouded in nondisclosure agreements, but at least it promises to be full of all the extravagant luxuries they're used to.
Once they arrive, Femi is thrilled to find that the island is bursting with new and spectacular species of plants and animals. But he soon realizes that sometimes pretty exteriors hide ugly truths―truths that are begging to come to light.
But those truths come with a price. And, when the island is thrown into chaos from animals suddenly becoming feral, what was meant to be a peaceful bonding experience quickly becomes the stuff of nightmares. Femi will have to put aside tension with his family and work with other guests, in order to escape the animals, the island, and his own guilt at the part he may have played in all of it.
- Tangleroot
Tangleroot
by Kalela Williams
$19.99Noni Reid has grown up in the shadow of her mother, Dr. Radiance Castine, renowned scholar of Black literature, who is alarmingly perfect at just about everything.
When Dr. Castine takes a job as the president of the prestigious Stonepost College in rural Virginia, Noni is forced to leave her New England home and, most importantly, a prime internship and her friends. She and her mother move into the “big house” on Tangleroot Plantation.
Tangleroot was built by one of Noni’s ancestors, an enslaved man named Cuffee Fortune―who Dr. Castine believes was also the original founder of Stonepost College, and that the school was originally formed for Black students. Dr. Castine spends much of her time trying to piece together enough undeniable truth in order to change the name of the school in Cuffee’s honor―and to force the university to reckon with its own racist past.
Meanwhile, Noni hates everything about her new home, but finds herself morbidly fascinated by the white, slaveholding family who once lived in it. Slowly, she begins to unpeel the layers of sinister history that envelop her Virginia town, her mother’s workplace, her ancestry―and her life story as she knew it. Through it all, she must navigate the ancient prejudices of the citizens in her small town, and ultimately, she finds herself both affirming her mother’s position and her own―but also discovering a secret that changes everything.
- Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I'd Known
Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I'd Known
by George M. Johnson and Charly Palmer
$18.99From the New York Times–bestselling author of All Boys Aren’t Blue comes an empowering set of essays about Black and Queer icons from the Harlem Renaissance.
In Flamboyants, George M. Johnson celebrates writers, performers, and activists from 1920s Black America whose sexualities have been obscured throughout history. Through 14 essays, Johnson reveals how American culture has been shaped by icons who are both Black and Queer – and whose stories deserve to be celebrated in their entirety.
Interspersed with personal narrative, powerful poetry, and illustrations by award-winning illustrator Charly Palmer, Flamboyants looks to the past for understanding as to how Black and Queer culture has defined the present and will continue to impact the future. With candid prose and an unflinching lens towards truth and hope, George M. Johnson brings young adult readers an inspiring collection of biographies that will encourage teens today to be unabashed in their layered identities.
Stay Informed. We're building a community committed to celebrating Black authors + artisans. Subscribe to keep up with all things Kindred Stories.