9 August 2021 YA Releases

Zoe has her eye on the prize: winning the State Championships in field hockey with her incredible team, and getting a scholarship so she can leave town. But when she’s assaulted at a party, her mission changes. Now, she and her co-captain are leading the team on nighttime vigilante missions for justice that no one else can deliver, so that no other girl has to experience what Zoe has gone through. But when one mission spins out of control, Zoe could stand to lose everything.

Elliot McHugh is a freshman at Emerson College and she’s here to experience all that college has to offer — not academically, but socially. She’s making friends, staying up all hours of the night, having sex, and generally just enjoying herself. But when reality hits, Elliot has a lot to face up to, and must figure out how to be her best, most honest self while also discovering what she wants.

In this magical novel, Paheli was sold by her mother to a man she owed a favor to, but at the last moment was rescued by a boy named Taraana, whose magic allowed Paheli to access a magical space. Now, Paheli travels the world saving other girls who were once in the same precarious position she found herself in before Taraana showed up. But when Taraana goes missing, the girls must band together to save him from a dangerous force that could come for them all.

Natalie is a Brazilian pop star whose music is soaring up the charts and whose stardom is surpassing her wildest dreams. Everything is perfect, until she’s dumped on live TV. When the breakup threatens to derail her career, her PR team comes up with a publicity stunt: fake date British indie film star William for the cameras, before moving on. But Nati is surprised to find that she actually likes William a lot…and she has to face the truth about authenticity and her own reality.

Annie is a bit of an anti-social smart aleck, and she’s fine with this, but her mom and principal definitely are not. When they join forces and coerce her into joining the cheer squad, Annie is surprised to find that she likes it…and even more surprised to find herself connecting with Beatrice, the squad’s openly trans captain. Although from the outside it seems that the squad is super supportive of Beatrice, Annie and BeBe’s friendship exposes how performative that support can sometimes be…and together the girls give each other the strength and support they need to stand up for themselves.

In this sequel to The Good Luck Girls, Aster’s sister and friends are free and safe across the border, and Aster has chosen to remain in Arketta to help ferry other girls to safety. But when she learns of a new welcome house, she realizes that her mission is larger than any single girl she can save, and she hatches an audacious and daring plan to free everyone from indentured servitude. This plan will require the Good Luck Girls to reunite, and to face their toughest challenges yet.

Katrell has the ability to talk to the dead, and while it might not be what she would have chosen for herself, she has no intention of letting it go to waste. Her mom is unemployed and her mom’s boyfriend is a deadbeat, so she has to use all of the skills at her disposal if she’s going to eat. When she accidentally raises someone from the dead, she sees this as a lucrative development…but the spirits from beyond are not happy. Katrell knows she’s not about to stop, but she’ll have to face the darkness sometime.

Edie’s mom died a year ago, but her spirit still lingers. Edie isn’t exactly thrilled by this — she misses her mom, but she’s not able to get closure. Until she finds her mom’s teenage journal, and that sends her on a magical scavenger hunt to uncover possessions that her mom once owned, and learn more about her family’s magic…and the dark secret about that magic Edie has only just discovered. She’ll have to learn how to embrace the magic if she’s to move forward.

Logan is the daughter of two famous reality TV show stars who investigate paranormal activity, but she’s privately a bit of a skeptic. When she tags along with her dads to their hometown, where strange weather patterns and disappearing teens have everyone on edge, she meets Ashley. Ashley’s boyfriend was one of the first to disappear and she’s felt haunted ever since. When Logan and Ashley team up to find the truth, they uncover more than they bargained for…and start falling for each other.