Book Mail: Grief, magic, rap, necromancy, vampires, and more!

As I am writing this intro, I am at Book Donation Zero. This means that, while I have a towering TBR cart, everything I have read or ended up passing on reading (because I somehow can’t actually read all the book mail I get) has gone back out the door. Thanks to all of the generous publishers who send me books to share here on TLT. Those books, if not in my current TBR, are now at my school, making their way to Minnesota families through A Book of My Own, and helping stock a new library at a Minnesota youth shelter. Things are so grim these days. But we still have books. We still have wonderful people writing diverse and inclusive stories and all kinds of people working to connect readers with those books.

All descriptions from the publishers.

The School for Invisible Boys by Shaun David Hutchinson (ISBN-13: 9780593646328 Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Publication date: 01/07/2025 Series: The Kairos Files #1, Ages 8-12)

What would you do if no one could see you? In this surreal adventure, a boy who is used to being overlooked literally becomes invisible, only to realize there may be far more dangerous threats in his school than bullies.

Sixth grade takes a turn for the weird when Hector Griggs discovers he has the ability to turn invisible. Sure, ever since Hector’s former best friend Blake started bullying him, he’s been feeling like he just wants to disappear…but he never thought he actually would. And then, Hector meets another invisible boy, Orson Wellington, who has an ominous warning: “I’m stuck here. Stuck like this. It’s been years. The gelim’s hunting me and it’ll get you, too.”

It turns out, there is more than meets the eye at St. Lawrence’s Catholic School for Boys, and if Hector is going to save Orson—and himself—from the terrifying creature preying on students’ loneliness and fear, he’ll need to look deeper. With the help of a mysterious new classmate, Sam, can Hector unravel the mysteries haunting his school, and discover that sometimes it takes disappearing to really be seen?

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson (ISBN-13: 9781547605897 Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Publication date: 02/04/2025, Ages 10-14)

# 1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor author Renée Watson explores friendship, loss, and life with grief in this poignant novel in verse and vignettes.

Sage’s thirteenth birthday was supposed to be about movies and treats, staying up late with her best friend and watching the sunrise together. Instead, it was the day her best friend died. Without the person she had to hold her secrets and dream with, Sage is lost. In a counseling group with other girls who have lost someone close to them, she learns that not all losses are the same, and healing isn’t predictable. There is sadness, loneliness, anxiety, guilt, pain, love. And even as Sage grieves, new, good things enter her life-and she just may find a way to know that she can feel it all.

In accessible, engaging verse and prose, this is a story of a girl’s journey to heal, grow, and forgive herself. To read it is to see how many shades there are in grief, and to know that someone understands.

(S)Kin by Ibi Zoboi (ISBN-13: 9780062888877 Publisher: HarperCollins Publication date: 02/11/2025, Ages 14-18)

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!

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.

Dropping Beats by Nathanael Lessore (ISBN-13: 9780316581516 Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Publication date: 02/11/2025, Ages 12-18)

“Funny, bursting with heart, goofy, wise, and did I mention– wildly wonderfully funny.”
—Jon Scieszka, First National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature and Founder of Guys Read

A hilarious and heartfelt young YA comedy about the misadventures of an aspiring young rapper as he navigates school, family, and friendship.

Thirteen-year-old Growls (aka Shaun) is an aspiring (awful) rapper who hopes to enter this year’s Raptology competition with his best friend, Shanks (aka Zachariah). After all, what better way to land his crush (Tanisha) and get the respect he finally deserves than winning the contest and going viral? 

But when a livestream practice goes epically wrong, the two friends do go viral– and not in the way they’d hoped.  

Now the laughingstock of the school, Growls is sure he’ll never have another chance to date Tanisha. Even worse, Shanks has gone MIA, leaving him terribly alone. 

But when Growls meets the new girl on the block (Siobhan), things don’t seem so terrible after all. And with some patience, a little luck, and a whole lot of practice, he just might win the Raptology competition and be a hero to both Siobhan and Shanks.

Either way, he’s ready for this. He’s steady for this. It’s comeback season and they call him comeback king for a reason.

A Home for Unusual Monsters by Shaun David Hutchinson (ISBN-13: 9780593646335 Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Publication date: 02/11/2025 Series: The Kairos Files #2, Ages 8-12)

A girl who has spent her life in disguise tackles a mission that uncovers lies and surprises around every corner. Nothing is as it seems in the next cozily creepy monster mystery from acclaimed author Shaun David Hutchinson.

Sam Osborne may have helped her new friend Hector Griggs save St. Lawrence’s Catholic School for Boys from a terrifying monster, but she is still trying to prove herself as a member of Kairos, the secretive and shadowy government agency devoted to investigating the strange and unusual. And her unique ability to control how others see her makes her the perfect agent…if she can learn to play by Kairos’ rules.

Her next mission? Use her powers of disguise to infiltrate the family of a former agent to find top secret information about monsters hiding in plain sight. But even though Sam is well versed in deception, she may not be prepared for the web of secrets she uncovers. Especially since she may not be the only one pretending to be someone—or something—she’s not. And once the clues are unraveled and the truth is revealed, the monsters she’s searching for might just be closer to home…

Bat and the Business of Ferrets by Elana K. Arnold (ISBN-13: 9780063385139 Publisher: HarperCollins Publication date: 02/11/2025 Series: The Bat Series #4, Ages 8-12)

The bestselling Bat returns! Bat and the Business of Ferrets is the fourth title in National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold’s heartfelt and widely acclaimed series featuring an unforgettable young boy on the autism spectrum.

Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed “Bat”) is about to start fourth grade—and unfortunately for him, everything is changing: There’s a new teacher, a new classroom, new seats…and new rules. Mr. Grayson, Bat’s third grade teacher, had a lovable class rabbit named Babycakes who Bat could visit anytime he needed a break. But Mr. Peña does not have a class rabbit. In fact, Mr. Peña doesn’t believe in class pets at all. And for Bat, that’s one change too many.

Bat and his best friend, Israel, know they need to convince Mr. Peña to change his mind about class pets—and when a business of friendly ferrets arrives at Bat’s mom’s veterinary clinic, they think they’ve found the perfect pet to do so. But when they discover that their classmate Lucca also doesn’t like the idea of an animal in the classroom, Bat starts to worry that things will never be the way they were again.

The beloved series that began with A Boy Called Bat continues with this fourth book featuring an unforgettable young boy on the autism spectrum.  

Halfway to Somewhere: (A Graphic Novel) by Jose Pimienta (ISBN-13: 9780593569436 Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Publication date: 02/18/2025, Ages 8-12)

New school, new country, but only half a family?! Embark on a coming of age journey with a middle school teen navigating their parent’s divorce while moving to a new country in this stunning graphic novel.

Ave thought moving to Kansas would be boring and flat after enjoying the mountains and trails in Mexico, but at least they would have their family with them. Unfortunately, while Ave, their mom, and their younger brother are relocating to the US, Ave’s father and older sister will be staying in Mexico…permanently. Their parents are getting a divorce.

As if learning a whole new language wasn’t hard enough, and now a Middle-Schooler has to figure out a new family dynamic…and what this means for them as they start middle school with no friends.

Jose Pimienta’s stunningly illustrated and thought provoking middle graphic novel is about exploring identity, understanding family, making friends with a language barrier, and above all else, learning what truly makes a place a home.

Tear This Down by Barbara Dee (ISBN-13: 9781665917674 Publisher: Aladdin Publication date: 02/25/2025, Ages 9-13)

From Barbara Dee, the critically acclaimed author of Maybe He Just Likes You, comes a middle grade novel about a girl who makes the choice to speak out against a problematic historical hometown figure no matter the cost—perfect for readers of Dress Coded.

For as long as Freya can remember, she has loved living in her cozy hometown of Wellstone. Not only is the town itself named for local and historical hero Benjamin Wellstone but everything in it: schools, beaches, and stores. There’s even a giant statue of him to remind everyone of the good things he did.

But while doing research for a big school project, Freya discovers that Benjamin isn’t the big hero everyone has been taught to believe. He had some redeeming qualities, but he also held incredibly problematic views towards women, believing they shouldn’t have the right to vote—or even to exist outside of the home. Disappointed by her revelation, Freya wonders if she could figure out a way to not only show what the hometown hero was really like but replace his statue with one of an unsung hero: local suffragette Octavia Padgett.

Though Freya knows not everyone will agree with her, she is shocked when her efforts cause even bigger issues than she could have imagined. Even her own parents seem uneasy with Freya’s cause. With the help of her beloved Nan, friends new and old, and the coolest librarian she’s ever met, can Freya stand firm and tear down outdated views?

Nat a Chance (Nat Enough #6) by Maria Scrivan (ISBN-13: 9781546104452 Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Publication date: 03/04/2025 Series: Nat Enough Series, Ages 8-12)

The sixth book in the New York Times bestselling series that began with Nat Enough!

You don’t know until you try…

Nat doesn’t think she’s an athlete, but after a series of painfully embarrassing moments, she’s determined to build her confidence and signs up for a triathlon with her best friend, Zoe. As training begins, Nat realizes she’s in way over her head, facing so many setbacks and challenges that she wonders why she ever signed up! Can Nat get out of her own way and complete the triathlon, or will she convince herself that she’s not cut out for it and quit?

The Wild Dark by Katherine Harbour (ISBN-13: 9781547613779 Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Publication date: 03/11/2025, Ages 13-17)

One last heist. One last chance at revenge.

Once an outcast and an orphan, Evie Wilder now finds herself as the new leader of the Dark Fable. But the secret group of globetrotting thieves is not the prestigious magical crew it once was, after suffering losses in their last heist. Evie must plan their next series of thefts carefully, to keep them alive until they can regain their strength and reharness the demons that control their unique magic.

But the Basilisk—the most ruthless criminal in their dark world—is set on destroying the Dark Fable. Only one of them can win, and Evie’s best chance requires a dangerous alliance between an arch enemy and a former friend . . .

In this heart-pounding finale, loyalties are tested, and no one is safe as the Dark Fable plans their biggest heist yet.

Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson (ISBN-13: 9780593810996 Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Publication date: 03/25/2025, Ages 14-18)

DARK ACADEMIA…WITH DEMONS.

A teen girl travels to an exclusive boarding school after a deadly incident at her old school, but the wood-paneled halls of Agathion are built over centuries of secrets—including an ancient society which may have ties to demonic magic—in this dark academia fantasy perfect for fans of Curious Tides.

Page Whittaker has always been an outcast. And after the deadly incident that destroyed her single friendship at her old school, she needs a fresh start. Which is why when she receives a scholarship offer from Agathion College, an elite boarding school folded deep within the moors of Scotland, she doesn’t even consider turning it down.

Agathion is everything Page has ever wanted: a safe haven full of dusty books, steaming cups of tea and rigorous intellectual debate. And for the first time in her life, Page has even managed to become part of a close group of friends. Cyrus, Ren, Gideon, Lacey and Oak help her feel at home in Agathion’s halls—the only problem is, they’re all keeping secrets from her.

Page doesn’t know it yet, but her perfect new school has dark roots—roots that stretch back to its crooked foundation, and an ancient clandestine society with rumored ties to demonic magic. Soon, Page will be forced to learn that not everyone at Agathion is who they say they are. Least of all, her friends.

Agathion claims to teach its students history…but some histories should stay buried.

Octopus Moon by Bobbie Pyron (ISBN-13: 9780593616291 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 03/25/2025, Ages 10-13)

A deeply moving middle grade novel in verse about a girl struggling with depression when she starts fifth grade amidst a sea of changes.

Pearl loves watching the majestic loggerhead turtles and octopuses glide through the water at the aquarium. Pearl finds it especially easy to identify with the octopuses, who have millions of touch receptors all over their bodies. They feel everything. Sometimes, Pearl wishes she was more like a turtle, with a hard outer shell—it hurts too much to feel everything.

And the changes at the start of fifth grade don’t feel good to Pearl at all. New teachers, lockers, and being in different classes than her friends is unsettling. Pearl tries her best to pretend she’s fine, but she starts to struggle with things that used to come easy, like schoolwork, laughing and skateboarding with her best friend, Rosie, running and even sleeping.

After a disastrous parent-teacher conference, her parents decide to bring Pearl to Dr. Jill, who diagnoses her with depression. At first Pearl is resistant to Dr. Jill’s help; she doesn’t like feeling different, but she also doesn’t want to continue feeling so bad all the time. When Dr. Jill asks Pearl to try one Impossible Thing each day, like running, skateboarding, or walking her dog Tuck, she decides to try. For each impossible thing she attempts, Pearl puts a bead on a string. Bead by bead, and with the support of family and friends, Pearl finds her way back to herself. She discovers just like the moon is always there in the sky, even if it isn’t full, she’ll always be herself even when she doesn’t feel whole.

In this tender novel-in-verse, critically acclaimed author Bobbie Pyron draws from her own experiences to tell the story of a brave girl learning to take care of and love herself.

Maxwell Dark: Nightmare Hunter #1 by Brady Smith (ISBN-13: 9780593751183 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 04/01/2025, Ages 8-12)

Maxwell Dark is on a mission to help kids hunt down and defeat the nightmares haunting them in this chilling horror graphic novel filled with monsters and mayhem.

I’m Maxwell. Please don’t call me Max. I have a gift that I was born with, although most of the time it feels like a curse.

That gift—or curse—allows twelve-year-old Maxwell to sense, experience, and enter other kids’ nightmares. He drifts from town to town, drawn by the darkest dreams, till he can help people defeat whatever is truly haunting them. With seventy-three clients and counting, he’s seen every monster there is to face.

Or so he thinks, until he meets Sid. Sid’s dreams start off as typical nightmare fare, but soon they get weirder. Creepier. Impossible to ignore. As Maxwell goes deeper and deeper into Sid’s nightmares, he starts to realize he may be trapped in one of his very own…

Candle Island by Lauren Wolk (ISBN-13: 9780593698549 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 04/22/2025, Ages 10-13)

A moving portrait of loss and the restorative power of art from Lauren Wolk, the Newbery Honor-winning author of Beyond the Bright Sea.

Lucretia Sanderson has a secret.

Lucretia and her mother have come to tiny Candle Island, Maine (Population: Summer, 986; Winter, 315) to escape—escape memories of the car accident that killed her father and escape the journalists that hound her mother, a famous and reclusive artist. The rocky coast and ocean breeze are a welcome respite for Lucretia, who dedicates her summer days to painting, exploring the island, and caring for an orphaned osprey chick.

But Candle Island has secrets of its own—a hidden room in her new house, a mysterious boy with a beautiful voice—and just like the strong tides that surround the shores, they will catch Lucretia in their wake.

With an unforgettable New England setting and a complex web of relationships old and new, Candle Island is a powerful story about art, loss, and the power of being true to your own voice.

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner (ISBN-13: 9781547616398 Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Publication date: 04/29/2025, Ages 9-14)

Bestselling and award-winning author Kate Messner takes readers on a heart-filling journey as a boy finds his path to healing.

One summer.

46 mountain peaks.

A second chance to make things right.

Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn is about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now.

Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he’s in big trouble for knocking down some dead old lady’s headstone. Turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer: she’ll drop all the charges if he agrees to climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks in a single summer. And there’s just one more thing—he has to bring along the dead woman’s dog.

In a wild three months of misadventures, mountain mud, and unexpected mentors, Finn begins to find his way on the trails. At the top of each peak, he can see for miles and slowly begins to understand more about himself and his dad. But the mountains don’t care about any of that, and as the clock ticks down to September, they have more surprises in store. Finn’s final summit challenge may be more than even a hero can face.

Stuck Up and Stupid by Angourie Rice, Kate Rice (ISBN-13: 9781536239034 Publisher: Candlewick Press Publication date: 05/06/2025, Ages 14-17)

An ordinary girl. A Hollywood star. A love story that could change everything. Pride and Prejudice gets a modern twist from two debut authors who know their material—and deliver it with heart and hilarity.

Lily has the whole summer stretched out before her—endless days of sunshine and friends at beautiful Pippi Beach. Then superstar Dorian Khan arrives, with his party of Hollywood types. While most of the locals, including Lily’s glamor-obsessed mum, are thrilled to be so close to the A-listers, Lily can’t help but see them as superficial and arrogant, especially Dorian, the most famous of them all. But as Lily’s and Dorian’s paths continue to cross, she begins to wonder if she’s got him all wrong. Playwright Kate Rice and her daughter, Hollywood actor Angourie Rice, team up to write a teen romance novel from those who know firsthand what the international film industry is really like. Inspired by the ever-popular Austen fandom, Stuck Up and Stupid is for a generation of teens who are definitely NOT looking for love.

Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales (ISBN-13: 9781250352491 Publisher: St. Martin’s Publishing Group Publication date: 06/03/2025, Ages 13-18)

Young Royals meets The Prince and Me when a disgraced princess falls for a new student at their all-girls boarding school, but the two must hide their forbidden love at all costs.

Princess Rosemary of Henland can’t afford distractions. She’s working tirelessly to repair her image following a scandal that lost the trust of both her country and her best friend. Unfortunately, when a beautiful and funny new student joins her boarding school, Rose finds herself quite distracted indeed.

Attending Bramppath College on a music scholarship, talented pianist Danni expects to be an outcast amongst the wealthy children of the elite, but she is pleasantly surprised to be taken in by the ex-best friend of the princess. The more Danni gets to know her new classmates, the more intrigued she becomes by Rose.

When somebody sees something they shouldn’t and rumors circulate throughout Henland, Rose and Danni must either find a way to deflect the ever-increasing eyes on their relationship, or end it altogether. Because one thing is clear: if Rose’s fragile reputation takes any more hits, the palace will do whatever they must to separate Rose and Danni. Forever.

We Can Never Leave by H.E. Edgmon (ISBN-13: 9781250853653 Publisher: St. Martin’s Publishing Group Publication date: 06/10/2025, Ages 14-18)

Sweet Tooth meets The Raven Boys in this queer young adult contemporary fantasy about what it means to belong from H.E. Edgmon.

You can never go home…

Every day, all across the world, inhuman creatures are waking up with no memory of who they are or where they came from–and the Caravan exists to help them. The traveling community is made up of these very creatures and their families who’ve acclimated to this new existence by finding refuge in each other. That is, until the morning five teenage travelers wake to find their community has disappeared around them overnight.

Those left: a half-human who only just ran back to the Caravan with their tail between their legs, two brothers–one who can’t seem to stay out of trouble and the other who’s never been brave enough to get in it, a venomous girl with blood on her hands and a heart of gold, and the Caravan’s newest addition, a disquieting shadow in the shape of a boy. They’ll have to work together to figure out what happened the night of the disappearance, but each one of the forsaken five is white-knuckling their own secrets. And with each truth forced to light, it becomes clear this isn’t really about what happened to their people–it’s about what happened to them.

Codebreaker by Jay Martel (ISBN-13: 9781250355560 Publisher: St. Martin’s Publishing Group Publication date: 07/22/2025, Ages 13-18)

This original, interactive thriller from debut author Jay Martel follows a brilliant teenage girl as she races across D.C. to decode the clues her father left behind, which may just be the key to saving the country from a devastating tragedy.

Mia Hayes has peaceful plans for the summer—find a part-time job at a coffee shop and work on her college applications. Those plans are shattered one night when government agents arrive unannounced at her home seeking something they believe her father has taken. When the dust settles, her mother is dead and her father is gone, a fugitive on the run.

Three weeks later, and still reeling from her father’s betrayal, Mia spends her seventeenth birthday at a protest in the heart of D.C., where she meets Logan, a rebellious and charming hacker. Just as she’s enjoying her first happy moment since the night her world exploded, a voicemail from her father arrives to upend everything she believed about her family, her past, and what really happened that night three weeks ago. Even more, the voicemail hides another encoded message inside which, once Mia solves it, sets her and Logan off on a mission from her sleepy suburb straight into the heart of the federal government.

With the same agents now hot on their trail, Mia and Logan must navigate their way through American history’s most iconic sites and uncover its most well-hidden secrets to reveal the truth about her family and stop a deadly attack.

In this non-stop thrill ride, the reader has the chance to test their own codebreaking skills alongside Mia, lending an exciting interactive element to this page-turning thriller packed with action, romance, and life-changing revelations.

Soul of Shadow by Emma Noyes (ISBN-13: 9781250342966 Publisher: St. Martin’s Publishing Group Publication date: 07/29/2025, Ages 13-18)

Love, magic, gods, and monsters collide in this thrilling Norse mythology inspired romantic fantasy for fans of The Vampire Diaries and Atlas Six.

Charlie Hudson is just trying to survive junior year, navigating the halls of school and the chaos of parties like a ghost. But her world is about to become seriously transformed—like world shifting altered—when a classmate mysteriously disappears into the forest, leaving only a pair of shoes and strange symbols carved into a tree.

Drawn to the disappearances by forces she can’t explain, she finds herself investigating the mysterious, alluring newcomer in town, Elias Everhart. With piercing eyes and sharp wit, he dances around her questions, only intriguing her further. Elias has a secret. More than one.

But what Charlie doesn’t know is that those secrets will lead her to a place she never imagined: a world hiding in plain sight, filled with enchantments, mythic beings, hidden dangers—and a first love fated to fall apart.

In Emma Noyes’s Soul of Shadow, truths and temptations lurk in the darkness, and for Charlie, the only thing more dangerous than facing her past, is the boy with the power to change her future.

Mistress of Bones by Maria Z. Medina (ISBN-13: 9781250888235 Publisher: St. Martin’s Publishing Group Publication date: 08/05/2025, Ages 13-18)

An epic and romantic debut adventure fantasy, where a necromancer trying to resurrect her sister gets embroiled in bigger, world-ending plans instead

It’s been thousands of years since the gods lifted the continents into the air so humanity could thrive, chaining the lands down with their bones and turning them into Anchor.

Azul del Arroyo doesn’t care about gods or Anchor; she cares about being responsible for her sister’s death and getting her bones from the capital so she can bring her back to life. Again. But in her way stands the Emissary of the Lord Death, who will do anything in his power to stop her, because a necromancer like her shouldn’t exist—no matter how alluring.

As Azul and the Emissary’s cat-and-mouse game leads them to the dangerous Court of Cienpuentes, their fate becomes entwined with a count who begrudgingly works for a child king, a faceless witch who transforms Anchor into dreams she can peddle, and a long-lost half-brother with a secret of his own. It’s a time of enlightenment, of rapiers and scientific prowess, in a country where Anchor ceased to be something worth revering a long time ago, and people have forgotten the gods’ sacrifice.

But the gods haven’t. Because the gods want their bones back, and they’re not opposed to becoming players in their own game.

Swashbuckling, grand, and tragically romantic, Mistress of Bones is a can’t-miss debut about love, about loss, and, of course, about death.

Woven From Clay by Jennifer Birch (ISBN-13: 9781250365460 Publisher: St. Martin’s Publishing Group Publication date: 08/12/2025, Ages 13-18)

In this fresh and imaginative contemporary fantasy, a golem must master the magic that binds her together and finds an unexpected ally in the mysterious boy sent to ensure her demise.

Terra Slater might not know anything about her birth family or where she comes from, but that’s never stopped her, and she fully intends her senior year to be her best yet. Until the dark and mysterious Thorne Wilder—a magical bounty hunter—moves to town, bringing revelations that wreck all of her plans.

When Terra learns she is a golem, not born but crafted from mud and magic by a warlock, her world is upended. Worse, Cyrus Quill, the warlock who made her, is a fugitive, on the run from the witches who want to hold him accountable for his past crimes. But Quill’s sentence is death, which would unravel the threads of magic that hold Terra—and all of the other golems that he crafted—together.

Desperate to save herself and her friends, Terra strikes a deal with Thorne and his coven to preserve the warlock’s life and his magic. If she can prove her worth to the coven by mastering the magic within her, the golems will survive. If she can’t, they’ll perish along with Cyrus. As Thorne helps her to see and manipulate the tapestry of magic that surrounds them, their unexpected alliance evolves into something more and Terra comes to understand the depths of her magic, her humanity, and her love for the people most important to her.

Ghost Circus by Adrienne Kress, Jade Zhang (Illustrator) (ISBN-13: 9781454948292 Publisher: Union Square Kids Publication date: 08/19/2025, Ages 8-12)

For fans of M.T. Anderson and Sheets, here is a middle-grade graphic novel tale of understanding, compassion, and friendships that cross the line between life and death.

Casey is a young boy wandering the world as a spirit . . . but he’s not dead, as far as he knows. Stumbling upon the Ghost Circus, a bizarre traveling show filled with phantom performers who entertain other ghosts, Casey meets Creepy Girl, a ghost who cannot move on, and Polterghost, a silent sheet ghost. The three strike up a tentative friendship, and realize that none of them truly fit in at the circus. Sensing a common cause, Casey and Creepy Girl agree to work together to find out why Casey has crossed over to the ghost realm, and what happened in Creepy Girl’s past that is holding her back. But as they investigate, they discover that the Ghost Circus itself is not all that it seems, and a bigger mystery is at hand. Will the spectral trio be able to free the souls trapped in the Circus, or will they all go down in the end?

The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood & Boyfriends by Jamie D’Amato (ISBN-13: 9781250321206 Publisher: St. Martin’s Publishing Group Publication date: 08/26/2025, Ages 13-18)

Heartstopper meets Buffy in this queer paranormal rom-com where a college freshman must navigate suddenly becoming a vampire, the underground society he’s now part of, and the cute boy who discovers his secret.

It’s only natural nineteen-year-old Brennan’s life would be upended by something as ridiculous and unexpected as turning into a vampire. But if there’s one thing Brennan can do, it’s pretend everything’s fine when he’s close to losing his mind. Brennan is nineteen and just clawed his way back to Sturbridge University after recovering from a suicide attempt, and this is not the new life he was hoping for.

Brennan’s newly bloodthirsty existence gets way more complicated when Cole, the super cute librarian and everyone’s campus crush, stumbles on Brennan drinking from a stolen blood bag. Luckily, adorable Cole is happy to keep Brennan’s secret, and even seems to maybe like him? Navigating a new relationship is hard enough without the added struggles of vampire puberty, an eclectic clan of self-proclaimed “good” vampires, and growing feelings for the one person who makes Brennan feel normal. With swirling rumors of a missing student and a rise in strange “animal attacks” near campus, Brennan must uncover the secrets of the clan and figure out how to balance vampirism and humanity, or risk losing the first real friends he’s ever had.

Filled with humor and heart, The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood & Boyfriends has a gentle bite.

Go-Man: Champion of Earth by Hamish Steele (ISBN-13: 9781454955047 Publisher: Union Square Kids Publication date: 08/26/2025 Series: GO-MAN!, Ages 8-12)

Lonely latchkey kid Tobi dreams of growing up to fight the giant monsters that plague his city, just like his dad does, but when he stumbles upon the power to turn into the colossal superhero, Go-Man, he realizes he’s been wishing his childhood away.
 
Go-Man: Champion of Earth is an action-packed, highly bingeable middle grade adventure series about how one kid overcomes the differences that set him apart from his classmates in order to make friends and save his city. It’s also, at its heart, a story about an autistic kid overcoming neglect in his home. It draws on Hamish’s own childhood experiences and obsessions, making this project very close to his heart.
 
This is not just your ordinary superhero story. The superhero element in Go-Man is a metaphor for masking, the camouflaging behavior that many autistic people employ to suppress their true identity in an effort to conform with those around them. As a superhero, Tobi is more popular than ever! But this masking effort drains him of all of his energy, making him retreat into his bedroom for days.
 
Tobi’s goal is to become someone who doesn’t need his superhero side anymore. He must ultimately learn to love himself as he is, find friends who appreciate him for himself, and finally enjoy being just a kid before it’s too late.

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