The author of Maame is back with an exploration of friendship, a trend I’ve been seeing (and loving) lately. Let’s start with Remy, whose debut novel about her three besties was instatnly successful upon release. She’s lucky in that way, but on the other hand, now that she’s looking for inspiration for her next book, she can’t seem to find any…nor can she seem to find her friends, who have each drifted away from her. Then there’s Simone, a successful kindergarten teacher who is so busy with her main job and side hustle that she doesn’t have much in her left for a social life. Once the two literally bump into each other in a bookstore, they each might be just what the other needs. If they can get over their secrets, that is.

More lit fic out this month: American Fantasy by Emma Straub, Inheritance by Jane Park.

From the author of The Water Outlaws comes a new thought-provoking sci-fi novel. Ro is a spy, a body jumper who learns all about Star Eaters by inhabiting them to learn their secrets to help his own dwindling civilization. But what if instead he continues to be one of them? — Liberty Hardy

Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein broke onto the literary scene with her debut, The Disordered Cosmos. Now she is back with The Edge of Space-Time, where she argues that physics is for everyone. Physics allows us to see the big picture of the universe. Informed by her background in postcolonial, Black feminist thought, Prescod-Weinstein’s new book is a must-read rumination on the cosmos. —Kendra Winchester

From the author of Only for One Week comes the second book in the Forever Falling series. Model-turned-influencer Dani Jenkins wants nothing to do with her ex, Micah, the artist who broke her heart. But then her mentor Tanya dies, and Tanya’s will requires Dani and Micah to join forces and complete a cross-country scavenger hunt. Did Tanya know what she was doing? Could this be their second chance at finding a happily ever after with each other? —Emily Martin

More romances out this month: Enemies to Lovers by Alisha Rai, More Like Enemigas
by Stephanie Hope.

Even vicious assassins need emotional support. That is the premise behind this new series, which follows unrepentant killers who are each struggling with a catastrophic fall from grace. The past haunts them all, but for one of the group members, the danger might be more physical than psychological… —Eileen Gonzalez

For fans of dark humor, contract killers, and Korean crime novels!

As a widow responsible for caring for her, family Mrs. Shim needs to find a job immediately after losing work at a butcher shop. But when she goes to interview for what she thinks is a cleaning job, she discovers they’re only interested in the skills she learned at the butcher shop. Turns out they want her to be a contract killer… —Jamie Canaves

More mystery, thriller, and true crime out this month: A Killer in the Family by Amin Ahmad

In this debut Caribbean-inspired fantasy featuring pirates and mermaids, lovers Lu and Nnenna are at odds when Nnenna works to protect the key that can help her find her people, while Lu has been sent on a mission to hunt it down and retrieve it. They’ll have to come to an arrangement before the ancient gods destroy them all. — Liberty Hardy

Young-Ja’s gift for imbuing food with emotions brings joy to everyone she meets. But when her family faces violent consequences for their defiance against the Japanese Empire in Korea, her joy turns to grief. Joining a resistance movement in Manchuria, where she can put her gift to use once again helps, but it’s not until her young, Tokyo-born granddaughter begins exhibiting magical abilities of her own that she truly begins to confront the pain of her past and enjoy life again. —Rachel Brittain

It’s 2026, and Lee Turner doesn’t know why he killed his college roommate. What he does know is that he needs to get out of New York, and that his father’s new house in Japan might make the perfect hideout. But there’s something wrong with the place— the bedroom window isn’t always a window, and a sword-wielding woman appears at night. Then there’s Sen, who, in 1877, is also in exile. She hides from the imperial soldiers in her family’s house, and, on top of everything else, there’s now a young foreign man who appears outside her window.
And the gag is? “One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie.” —Erica Ezeifedi

More horror out this month: Aviary by Maria Dong.

Kang Siying is a priestess whose job is to guide the dead home, and it helps her earn a living. It’s helped her not be afraid of death. But when her own dad becomes ill, Siying finds her fear and knows she needs to do everything within her power to get her dad the medicine he needs. She’s offered a really lucrative job that comes with plenty of danger: go to an unfriendly state to retrieve the corpse of a missing prince. She needs the money, so she takes the gig.

Things are not normal once she arrives, though. Putting her talisman on the corpse of the prince reanimates him, rather than simply putting him under a spell that forces him to obey her orders. Siying knows he won’t stay alive long if he doesn’t have enough life force within him.

So the prince makes her an even better offer than the one she’s already taken. She’ll help him find and purify evil spirits to build his life force. But as she’s on this quest with him, battling all kinds of evil spirits, Siying starts to learn what caused the prince to go missing, and it might be coming for her now, too.

The Chinese folk practice of necromancy inspires this one. Necromancy in general has been an interesting theme in several YA books over the last year. — Kelly Jensen

Bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is back with a new spooky middle grade mystery, perfect for fans of Harriet the Spy! Olive Oakes carries a notebook to record everything around her. When she and her family visit the town of Whispering Woods, Olive learns about a creepy carnival and missing kids, and decides to investigate the disappearances herself. — Liberty Hardy

This is a comprehensive and thoughtful explanation of the imprisonment of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor, based on Tonai’s own experiences. — Liberty Hardy