July releases for teenagers

Cinderella is dead, but Snow White fights on …

New York Times bestselling author and TikTok sensation Kalynn Bayron makes her highly anticipated return to the realm of fairy tales with this thrilling twist on the classic story of Snow White. Perfect for fans of Cinderella Is Dead.

Princess Eve was raised with one purpose: to destroy the Knight, an evil sorcerer who terrorises Queen’s Bridge with his wicked magic. Far too many of her subjects have been devastated by the Knight’s trickery but Eve’s own unique magic – the ability to conjure weapons from nature – makes her a worthy adversary.

As she approaches her seventeenth birthday, Eve is ready to battle. But her mother, Queen Regina, has been acting bizarrely, talking to a strange mirror alone every night. Then a young man claiming to be the Knight’s messenger appears and shares a shocking truth about Eve’s past. Unsure of who to trust or what to do next, Eve must find the courage to fight. But will it be enough to save her family and her queendom?

A swoony, speculative and entirely electric YA debut with a humorous and satirical take on the conventions of the superhero­verse. Fans of Michelle Quach’s Not Here To Be Liked and the Marvel Universe, including Spider-Man and Ms Marvel, will love this!

Seventeen-year-old Jenna Ray lives in the quiet coastal town of Nine Trees. Despite its picturesque nature, it is also the epicentre of a dramatic prophecy. It is said that in the year 2024 a new Hero will emerge in Nine Trees – an event that is usually accompanied by a catastrophic disaster. When Blaze, the new Hero, does arrive, Jenna has the misfortune of being the first person he saves. And, in the eyes of the public, that means one thing: Jenna Ray has already been cast as the Love Interest.

Nothing could be more repellent to Jenna than being a Love Interest, even if Blaze is cute. But her plans to defy the HPA (the Heroics and Power Authority) and turn down this new role are thwarted when she uncovers the truth about her mum, who she hasn’t seen in ten years, and is faced with a life­changing proposition: become Blaze’s Love Interest to get close to him and learn about the HPA’s secret plans, and she can see her mum again.

As Jenna takes the mantle of the next Love Interest, even if she is faking it, feelings for Blaze become real – she can’t resist his charm, good looks and the genuine connection they’ve made. And to make things even more complicated, just as Jenna starts to embrace her new-found career, she discovers she might be more on the side of the superheroes than she ever imagined …

An outstanding YA novel of family love, loss, and life lived between two cultures, by an astonishing, super-stylish new voice.

‘I’m going to tell you exactly how everything happened. Baba always says, Matimwana’ngu, I love a good story but I don’t have time for a long one, so make it short.’

When Mati and her two siblings travel from London to Zimbabwe with their father, they are forced to confront the knotty family dynamics caused by the loss of their mother. Along for the trip is Meticais, a fabulously attired gender­neutral spirit—or ghost? or imaginary friend?—who only Mati can see and talk to.

Guided by Meticais’s enigmatic advice and wisdom, Mati must come to terms with her grief and with the difficulty of a life lived between two cultures, while her family learn to forge their way in a world without their monumental mother. This is distinctive, stylish, powerful writing by a vital new voice.

A tear-jerking, heart-breakingly beautiful novel from the award winning Jenny Valentine, perfect for fans of Adam Silvera, Kathleen Glasgow and Laura Nowlin.

There is one side of that moment, and the other Before After I have dreamed about it ever since

At the start of a long, hot summer best friends Elk and Mab face the fallout of a sudden death, and the lifelong consequences of a single tragic act.

An intensely emotional story that raises questions about love, ghosts, and the unshakeable bonds of friendship.

Set in the same world as A Curse of Salt, a heartbreaking sapphic romantasy inspired by Little Red Riding Hood.

A broken treaty
A wolf in sheep’s clothing
And a love that will need to defy all odds to survive
HER RED HOOD CAN’T PROTECT HER HEART . . .

A fifty-year-old treaty between pirates and the city of Bray lies in tatters, so Mersey sets out to free her city – and herself – from the clutches of the Heartless King. But when her reckless plan fails, she finds herself captured by the world’s most notorious pirate crew.

As Mersey battles between fighting for Bray’s safety and falling into the arms of the ship’s cold-blooded first mate, Golde, she’s soon caught up in the beginnings of a war; one she knows will have disastrous consequences for the people she loves, but just might be the thing to set her free.

Amid lies, betrayal and a blossoming love for someone she is supposed to want dead, Mersey is torn between two lives.

Uncover lurking wolves prepared to pounce and a sweeping romantasy in this enemies-to-lovers fairytale twist set upon stormy seas. Perfect for fans of Lies We Sing to the Sea and Marissa Meyer.

Dancer… you should call me by my true name. I am a warrior.

Aasira can remember little of her life before the Sanctuary, a school for dancers deep in the desert. Selected for her ability to harness magic through dance, she is one of the Sanctuary’s elite students. Not only a dancer but the queen’s most powerful weapon: forced to use her powers to execute enemies of the crown. But when memories of the past begin to flood back, Aasira questions who she was before she came to the Sanctuary and whether she was truly born to kill.

A powerful debut that combines historical fiction with fantasy and explores themes of enslavement and empire.

The year is 1748. Elewa, known as ‘the Daughter of Peace’, bears a heavy responsibility on her young shoulders: to maintain the fragile truce between the warring peoples of her West African kingdom.

But as she begins to understand her role in the peace negotiations, even greater pressures emerge. Elewa discovers that she has Yeseni, a powerful gift that allows her to see events from any point in time, and to travel into the past and future.

When she experiences horrific visions of life aboard a slave ship, she realises she has to face the ultimate crossroads. She could use her gift to intervene in the past and try to prevent the transatlantic slave trade ever taking place. But that means she, as the Daughter of Peace, would be leaving her village behind at a precarious moment in the reconciliation process.

Whichever path she chooses to take, the future of her people lies on her shoulders.

What if the Knights of the Round Table had a female counterpart? An epic Arthurian fantasy reimagining from the UK’s leading and bestselling feminist writer, Laura Bates, for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J. Maas.

‘An interesting thing happens, when a man is defeated in combat by a woman . . . He tells nobody.’

Destined for an arranged marriage, Cass dreams of freedom. So when a fierce and beautiful leather‑clad woman rides up and offers to take her away, Cass doesn’t hesitate to join her. She is introduced to the Sisters of Sword and Shadow – a group of female knights training to fight, protect their community and right the wrongs of men. Drawn into a world of ancient feuds, glorious battles, and deadly intrigue, Cass soon discovers she holds a power that could change not only her own fate but that of her entire sisterhood.

Introducing Laura Bates’ fantasy debut, the first in a breathtaking and sweeping duology, exploring questions about power, courage and the stories we tell about the past.

The exhilarating highs and messy lows that encapsulate the end of high school come together in this immersive YA romance debut. With only one month of high school left, will Mina and Caplan risk their friendship for love, or stay just friends..?

Mina has a stern face, long braid, and an attitude that has only got worse since her dad died.

Caplan is the golden boy, complete with a vast social circle and an on-again/off-again girlfriend who hates Mina’s guts.

They’re neighbours and somehow, despite all their differences, have always understood each other the most. But then in the last few weeks of high school, everything turns on its head. It’s a shock when Caplan’s best-friend Quinn confesses he wants to take Mina to the prom. It’s an even bigger shock when she says yes.

With the social hierarchy out the window and everybody on the brink of a new beginning, Mina finds herself opening up in ways she was too anxious to before. It turns out, everyone thinks she’s pretty cool. But just because Mina’s relationship with the world is changing, it doesn’t mean anything has to change between her and Caplan’s relationship. . . right?

At the University of North Carolina, Ronny’s made some friends, kept his secrets, survived dorm life, and protected his heart.

Until he can’t. Ben is in some ways Ronny’s opposite; he’s big and solid where Ronny is small and slight. Ben’s at UNC on a football scholarship. Confident, with that easy jock swagger, and an explosive temper always simmering. He has a steady stream of girlfriends. Ben’s aware of the overwhelming effect he has on Ronny. It’s like a sensation of power. So easy to tease Ronny, throw playful insults, but it all feels somehow…loaded.

Meanwhile Ronny’s mother has moved to Vegas with her latest husband. And Ben’s mother is fighting advanced cancer. A bubble forms around the two, as surprising to Ronny as it is to Ben. Within it their connection ignites physically and emotionally. But what will happen when the tensile strength of a bubble is tested? When the rest of life intervenes?

The Dove in the Belly is about the electric, dangerous, sometimes tender but always powerful attraction between two very different boys. But it’s also about the full cycles of love and life and how they open in us the twinned capacities for grief and joy.

Mel loves Sasha and dreams of a day that Sasha might reciprocate her feelings (even though she’s straight) – so the fact that it’s thirty degrees outside in January and hasn’t rained for a year simply passes her by.

Mel is just about coping with being the only ‘out’ lesbian in school and all the sniping that Janis and Ella aim her way, as well as her dreary Saturday job with the stupidly posh Dorian… But when domestic animals suddenly lethally turn on the human race, and Mel finds herself stuck in a mansion with Dorian and Ella, her love life suddenly turns on its head in the most extraordinary way.

A screamingly funny LGTBQ+ love story from a brilliant new talent.

A sweet and swoony YA rom-com about two friends making a pact to find summer romance like they’ve seen in the movies—and finding love where they least expect it along the way!

Hayley always has a crush. The problem is, her crushes never like her back. After her latest unrequited love—a girl from her basketball team—gets a boyfriend, she decides she’s done falling for girls who are unavailable. Her best friend, Talia, wants romance too, but rarely gets crushes on anyone, and she’s tired of watching Hayley get her heart stomped on over and over. So the two girls make a pact: they’ll help each other find summer love by putting themselves in situations that always lead to romance in movies.

To help carry out their summer love strategy, they make a list of all the places they could find their real-life rom-com: the beach, the Pride parade, the pool, a MUNA concert, and a party. But as they go to each place and try to find the one, it seems like they just can’t catch a break—they don’t know how to talk to cute strangers, someone mistakes Hayley as straight, and Hayley does a truly unfortunate DIY haircut (that she cannot be held responsible for––it was a crisis!). But when Talia and Hayley finally manage to score dates, will they be able to get out of their own way and really dive into the romances they deserve? Or is summer love not as far off as Hayley thought?

In this YA graphic novel, a psychic teen hunts potential killers until she discovers the boy she loves is her next target

Rowan Sterling should be worrying about normal teenage things like attending college and whether her best friend, Lucas, is maybe more than a friend. . . . Instead, she’s having terrifying visions of blood and violence. As the premonitions increase in number and intensity, Rowan seeks her father’s help, but instead finds herself drugged, kidnapped, and sent to a mysterious facility called Rosewood. It isn’t long before Rowan discovers Rosewood isn’t a boarding school or an asylum: it’s a training center for teens with special abilities who are known as Harrows.

Harrows can view the actions of would-be murderers before they commit crimes, and the scientists at Rosewood believe it is their duty to use the Harrows’ powers to make the world a safer place. Rowan is immediately drawn to Rosewood’s mission; after all, she lost her mother to a random act of violence two years prior. Empowered by the skills she’s acquired and ready to change the world, Rowan returns home, but when a series of visions lead the Harrows to pursue Lucas, Rowan starts questioning everything she learned at Rosewood—and sets out to protect him at all costs.