New Releases

If your child’s teacher or you’re a teacher who is requiring free reading books (like me) then here are there more options for your TBR list.

Palestine: A Primer by Rashid Khalidi
Godwin Books

Come for a walk with me, if you would, along the streets of Jerusalem.

My family has walked has walked these streets for more than a thousand years…

Rashid Khalidi invites readers to learn more about Palestine in what is both a deeply personal and yet expansive account of the last hundred years of the country’s history. By blending detailed research with firsthand experiences, this book is equal parts compelling and informative—the perfect educational resource for all ages. From the Balfour Declaration to Israel’s siege of the Gaza strip, Khalidi delivers a thorough portrait of the intricacies of the geopolitical conflict occurring in the middle east while keeping the text broadly accessible.

This edition features beautifully designed patterned edges along with a plethora of maps, photographs, and illustrations. There has never been a more engaging way to learn about the history of this region.

Keep reading

new releases weneeddiversebooks young adult books

Book cover of The Oks are Not OK. A young Asian American woman is looking over her sun glasses. She is wearing a gold necklace. Next to her is a young Asian American man with short dark brown hair and sunglasses. he is wearing a jacket over a white t-shirt and is holding a pitchfork. There is a white building with a pointed roof behind them. They are in a field and there is a blue sky with white puffy clouds above them. There is a slightly older looking woman in the background with a shovel and she is next to a man in a button up white shirt with a long tie hanging around his neck but not tied.

Review: The Oks are Not OK by Grace K. Shim

Publisher summary: Seventeen-year-old Elena Ok (pronounced “Oak”) has mastered the art of being both a Los Angeles party girl and financially savvy influencer, but her family doesn’t see the brilliance behind her carefully curated image. Instead, they endlessly praise her older brother, Gavin, whose most impressive achievement is consistently forgetting his homework. All of Elena’s hard work and social clout disintegrates when the Oks, founders of the wildly popular (and now bankrupt) fast-fashion brand It’s Ok! (pronounced “OKAY”), lose their fortune overnight.

With their empire crumbling and an investigation underway, the Oks flee to Blaire, CA—a farming town that’s as glamorous as Temu. Mr. Ok, a now-disgraced retail mogul, and Mrs. Ok, a now-also-disgraced fashion-forward matriarch, realize they’ve spent decades perfecting their public personas at the expense of actually knowing their kids. Meanwhile, Elena and Gavin are stuck in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to distract them from their family’s unraveling dynamics—or each other’s annoying habits.

But life in Blaire isn’t all bad. As the family reconnects with their Korean farming heritage, Elena discovers a hidden gem: the Blaire Fair, the local market brimming with untapped potential. Applying her business savvy, she helps the small-town vendors thrive and sees how they put their profits back into the community. For the first time, Elena begins to question her own definition of success.

The Oks Are Not OK offers humor and drama to tell a story about family, self-discovery, and the fine line between building a brand and building a life.

Keep reading

young adult books ya lit book review

Illustrated cover for Death Card by Jasmine Smith. A Black teenage girl peers out from behind the Death card, which she holds in between two fingers while the card obscures her right eye. She looks intently at the viewer even though her face is partly turned away, and there are golden butterflies or moths in the foreground along with a pair of skulls. There are what looks like swirls of black and purple magic around her, and the full moon hovers in the background.

Illustrated cover for Heavensent & Hellbent. A pair of large, white wings hovers over a long, winding snake. Fire swirls between the two as they emerge from what looks like an open door.

Collage style cover for My Killer Family Reunion by Dinesh Thiru. The title is scrawled across a whiteboard in dark pink all caps, except for the word KILLER, which is assembled from cut out letters. A black and white photo of an older woman is near the center, with tire tracks across her face leading to a white truck. A photo booth strip of a couple is tied with red string to a kitchen knife that's plunged into the white board. A photo of a large mansion is connected to a silver key by more red string. In the bottom right hand corner is a post-it note that says NOTHING BRINGS FAMILY TOGETHER LIKE ATTEMPTED MURDER.

Illustrated cover for Nest of Tongues. Two teenagers stand in the center looking at the viewer, one in front of the other, both with large, bat wings emerging from their backs. Over the wings on the left side is either a sun or a full moon, and on the right is a crescent moon. The cover is almost entirely in shades of red and black.

Illustrated cover for Such Great Heights. An Indian-American teenage girl is at the center of the cover from the shoulders up. She has shoulder-length wavy hair and is haloed in golden light. Sheets of paper flutter down around her. At the top of the cover is the question, Does the truth matter if no one believes it?

Illustrated cover for Stepping up. A Black teenage girl glances back over her shoulder at the viewer. She's holding school books in her arms and is wearing a gray sweatshirt that says SLAM on the back and Valdez 12 on the right arm. She is wearing a black pleated skirt. In the background are three students leaving a white and brown school building.

Illustrated cover for Everything Comes Back to You. A teenage girl is lying in the grass. She is wearing a camisole and has her arms behind her head as she looks up at the sky. Her wavy hair is loose, and a couple strands are across her face. The illustration features muted, cool colors, which pair well with the thoughtful expression on her face.

We wanted to highlight five new books that are out today, plus two we missed last week. There’s a fun mix of genres here–what are you looking forward to?

Keep reading

new releases young adult books ya lit weneeddiversebooks death card heavensent & hellbent my killer family reunion nest of tongues such great heights stepping up everything comes back to you

Book Review: Doe

Title: Doe

Author: Rebecca Barrow

Genres: Thriller

Pages: 368

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books

Review Copy: ARC from publisher

Availability: Available Now

Summary: Maris Larsen is the captain of the West Eaton High cheer team. She’s Coach’s favorite and the team worships her. Being on the team makes her feel special—powerful. When she’s leading the girls on the mat, Maris doesn’t have to think about her dead-end life in a dead-end town. She can forget about her depressed mother and absent father and the fact that her girlfriend doesn’t really love her. But when newcomer and Coach’s new golden girl, Genevieve Ray, joins the team, the only thing going right in Maris’s life is suddenly in jeopardy. A bitter rivalry develops between the two, but Maris is determined to take Genevieve down. The knife she needs to wield comes to Maris in her dreams.

While sleepwalking, Maris is visited by a monstrous, decaying beast in the shape of an enormous deer. Doe is an ancient, tired creature who has been wandering, trapped in her current form for decades. She cannot die, but she cannot go on living as she has. Only a girl related by blood to those who bound her in this form can free her, but those girls she loved died years ago—murdered in a fire.

But Maris is somehow linked to Doe’s beloved girls—linked by blood—and so she has the power to free Doe, to unleash her immense power. In Maris’s dreams, she and Doe form a bond, but Maris doesn’t know the creature from her dreams is real. Maris doesn’t understand the danger she’s in. She only knows Doe has promised her a way to win her battle with Genevieve. But for Maris to win, someone has to die, and the only real winner in the end will be Doe.

Review: The premise of this novel is such a unique horror story but what made the novel even more interesting was that it was told in verse. And I have to say that the use of verse is what truly drew me into the story. One would think using verse would take away from the horror, but it actually changes it, makes it more stylistic rather than just straight scary horror. There were moments that were disturbing but they weren’t scary or disgusting, but rather heartbreaking - the type of horror that humans inflict on each other that is very real.

The story is told in mainly 4 POV’s, Maris, Doe, Genevieve and “Team”, which was my favorite. The “Team” POV was essentially the young girls from the cheerleading team that did include Maris from time to time. The way the team’s perspective was written as if they were a hive mind, a collective, and gave a unique view to the events in the novel. They almost felt like a Greek chorus as they observed, participated, and commented on their roles in the town, on the team, and within the tension between Maris and Genevieve. I feel like they also serve as representation of Doe’s set of girls who bound her to the Earth and whom she misses. There is a similarity to Doe’s set and the team in that they are girls bound to each other and often move as one. There is love among both sets of girls and when one of their own gets hurt, they will fight for each other. Both sets of girls are “invisible” and seen as outcasts in their town, but together they are strong and that is how they all survive.

One would think that Doe is the antagonist in this novel, but it really is society and how its treats it’s girls. How society expects certain behaviors from girls and how it reacts when girls choose not to conform. How society punishes and how this creates a feminine rage that is often not enacted upon. In Doe, however, this rage is enacted upon in ways that are both horrifying and satisfying.

Lastly, you know I love plot twists and this one had a good one that I didn’t see coming which left me with a sense of heaviness at the end, but when looking back, it fits with the “feel” of this novel. I’m not saying this novel is sad, nor is it happy (it is after all a thriller/horror novel) but more melancholy and the novel keeps that feeling until the very last page. This is very unusual in a YA novel and I loved this novel for that exact reason. Barrow decided to break some convention rules with Doe and did it beautifully.

book review weneeddiversebooks young adult books lgbtqia thriller

Two people are in the center of this book cover. The young woman has long flowing black hair and light skin. She is wearing a racing uniform and holding a helmet. There is a track of racing cars behind them. The young man is also in a uniform and is smiling and looking intently at her. He has short brown hair that is wind tousled and appears to be white. There is a yellow and hot pink swoosh of color to the right side of the characters.

Book cover of A Clash of Carnivores. There is a fox floating in the center of a dark purple background. There is a mist swirling around and the dark shadow of a very large bird is behind the fox.

Book cover of Find My Way Down to You. There are two young men with short hair in the center of the book. One is standing at the bottom and one is upside down directly above the other. They are reaching towards each other with one hand outstretched almost touching. The one on top is standing at a shore with light blue and light pink clouds in the sky. He is wearing a white t shirt and a green button up shirt that is open. The one at the bottom is also at a shore, but the waves are darker and the sky is purple and hot pink. There are rocky outcroppings around him and he is wearing dark close and is still.

Book cover for The Hardest Ones to Fool has the title in white capital letters that seem to be painted over a rugged beach with a huge white house up on a cliff above. There are blood splatters here and there and lights along the ridge in the background.

New Releases - August 4, 2026

We found four books for this week. We’ve got a couple fantasies, a thriller, and a contemporary sports book for you to check out.

Keep reading

young adult books new releases ya lit weneeddiversebooks

New Releases

It’s those hot days of summer where all we want to do is sit in the shade with a cool drink and good book. Luckily there are more books this week for us to purchase or check out from the library to add to summer reading pile.

Too Perfect to Die by Juliana Goodman
Feiwel & Friends

With competition this fierce, bodies are bound to hit the mat…

All Jonty has ever wanted is to lead her cheerleading team, The Exalted Ones, to win a NCA championship. Cheer is not just a sport, it’s her legacy. Her mother cheered for T.E.O. before she died, and Jonty would do anything to snatch the crown and honor her mother’s memory. This year she has a real shot, finally beating her rival Tommie and becoming the team captain.

But Jonty’s perfect season is shattered when Tommie shows up dead on the first day of practice. Now the team is down a flyer and everyone is convinced that Jonty killed her. Everyone except Adam, her co-captain, who was with her the night that Tommie died.

As the season progresses, girls keep dropping like flies, and one thing becomes clear: Someone is sabotaging The Exalted Ones, and they’re willing to commit murder to get their way. But with the police still convinced it’s her, will Jonty be able to save herself, her team, and her perfect season?

Evamar by Margarita Engle
Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Just before she was transformed
into an invisible spirit
my grandmother whispered her last wishes
into my ear:

Sprinkle my ashes in a patch of girasoles,
wait patiently, harvest the seeds,
fly to la isla, find el jardín,
plant las semillas.
Then and only then—
read my diaries.

Evamar has arrived in Cuba with her abuela’s ashes and her mother’s warnings: Don’t talk politics, boil the tap water before you drink, y por favor absolutamente, don’t fall in love. But then she meets Río, a captivating drummer whose music and presence she can’t ignore.

Río bears his own scars, separated from his family in the United States. As their bond deepens, Evamar discovers an ancestral treasure that could change her future—and the lives of millions of Caribbeans.

Black Girls Don’t Cry by Alex Travis
Sourcebooks Fire

Ida and JJ could have been the ultimate power couple of Banneker High. As the VP and president of their Black Student Union, the two seemed destined to be yearbook legends. But that was before JJ learned Ida was equally attracted to girls. JJ is already deep in a new relationship, which infuriates Ida―almost as much as when a sexist “hot list’ starts circulating the school. It’s bad enough anyone rated the girls on their looks, but the list has only white students. Seriously?

There has never been any racial diversity among the prom queen candidates at Banneker, so the BSU decides to make their own statement on beauty and run a candidate. Now Ida and JJ’s new girlfriend are both competing for the title. Ida wants to make a point more than win the crown, but having smart, savvy Amayah as her campaign manager might just help her do both. She’s already winning Ida’s heart.

Competition is fierce. Suddenly the prom queen candidates start getting picked off one by one…dropping out and dropping dead. Forget winning a tiara. Who will live to see prom?

You Only Live Twice
Autumn Allen

Barely one week into senior year of high school, Boston native Zakiyyah is making her 2012-2013 Get Free Plan.

Step one: quit high school. (PSA: There are other ways to get to college!)

Step two: live like it’s Ramadan year-round.

As she gets deeper into her Plan, she starts to wonder if there’s someone out there who would be a good companion. To everyone’s surprise, Zakiyyah decides she wants to get married. But there are some complications.

Problem one: she’s never met a guy she liked. Zakiyyah’s family (reluctantly) and friends (eagerly) agree to support the search.

Problem two: what’s the secret to choosing a good life partner?

Enter Musa, by way of mutual friends. With marriage in mind, Zakiyyah and Musa get to know each other, progressing from email to instant messaging to phone calls. Things are going well… thrillingly well… until tragedy strikes Boston. In a moment of heightened emotion and stress, Zakiyyah and Musa have their first major disagreement.

Zakiyyah can call the whole thing off. But with or without Musa, what does it mean to live on her own terms?

new releases weneeddiversebooks young adult books

On the cover of Fledgling, a person is covered with a red hood and possibly a cape blowing in the breeze. They are wearing long sleeves with a belt that seems to hold many weapons. The background is mostly light blue at the top and an orangish red at the bottom. There is one small bird on each side of the person and they are both flying away.

A person in a purple cape is in the center of this book cover. Their face is in shadow. and they are wearing a purple mask over their eyes. Orange flames are in the background and the title is superimposed on the front of the character in golden letters. The question ready to go up to take them down? is to the right of the person.

The Keeper’s Records of Revolution Duology by S.K. Ali

I just went to the library and picked up a copy of Fledgling earlier today to start a re-read. Last year I read it with a group of people for the Ramadan Read-a-thon and it was amazing. S.K. Ali made me cry, but I’m willing to weep once more.

I don’t remember every detail of the story, but one small thing did change my tea drawer. Some of the characters drink cinnamon rose tea so of course I bought some to enjoy while finishing the book. Of course I had time to do that because this has 500+ pages. The tea was a delight and I have continued to drink it throughout the year especially in the winter. And while this dystopian wasn’t sweet and calming like the tea, it did feel like a gift. The writing is incredibly well done and the characters burrowed their way into my heart.

Keep reading

young adult books ya lit weneeddiversebooks dystopian duology

Illustrated cover for Funerals Are For the Living by Sami Ellis. Two teenage girls peer down into an open grave while the full moon looms over them in a purple sky. The white girl appears to be just standing there, but the Black girl is reaching down to the person who is in the grave--apparently another Black girl, who has a red manicure and dark cracks through the skin on the back of her hand and into her wrist, like she is in the process of falling apart or decaying.

Illustrated cover for I Didn't Do It by Elle Gonzalez Rose. Scraps of paper and black and white photographs are scattered over the cover, pinned in place with thumb tacks and connected by red string. There are what looks like official reports, time tamps, finger prints, a cabin, a mug shot of Dina Soto age 17, a group photo, and more. The background is purple with blood splattered along the edges.

Illustrated cover for The Revenge Playbook. Two Black girls in what look like white and blue school uniforms gaze at the viewer from the edges of the cover. The girl on the left isn't wearing her jacket and has her collar undone and her tie loose while carrying books or notebooks. The one on the right is wearing her jacket. Behind them and between them is what looks like a brown and green two-story school building.

Illustrated cover for Take It To Your Grave by Louangie Bou-Montes. The cover is a close up of half of boy's face. He has one hand pressed to the side of his face, covering most of his cheek and his ear, and he stares directly at the viewer. In his eye, you can see a white, human-shaped reflection. There's something like a colored bar a static effect in the background, bleeding into the boy's hand and face.

If you haven’t already, you should check out these four books that published yesterday!

Keep reading

weneeddiversebooks young adult books new releases funerals are for the living i didn't do it the revenge playbook take it to your grave

Book Review: Breakout

Title: Breakout

Author: Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon

Genres: Contemporary/Thriller

Pages: 353

Publisher: Quill Tree Books

Review Copy: ARC from publisher

Availability: Available Now

Summary: For Thurgood Marshall Academy’s best and brightest–five friends who’ve been thick as thieves since kindergarten–this spring break is all about forgetting: they want nothing more than to wash away last year’s tragedy, and the human-shaped hole it left in their friend group.

It’s a hole the new kid, Anthony Brooks, seems to fit right into. So when he invites the Five to join him on a private island for a week at his dad’s luxury resort, they agree with zero hesitation. No one’s counting on a freak tropical storm swooping in and killing the vibe. And speaking of killing, they’re also ill-prepared for the mounting collection of dead bodies… including (another) one of their own.

As their dream trip unravels, everything they tried to leave behind–secrets, lies, betrayals, dead best friends–seems to be washing up on the shore of their lives for everyone to see. Will any of them make it out alive?

Keep reading

book review young adult books weneeddiversebooks thriller

A brown skinned young woman with long dark brown hair is staring up into the eyes of a slightly lighter skinned young man who is tilting her chin up at him. She is wearing a dusty rose colored dress that is flowing behind in the breeze like her hair. Her arms are bare except for some gold jewelry. He is wearing a white suit with gold trim and a golden crown. It is night with some stars and a large moon in the background. There are also small moons at the bottom of the cover showing different phases of the moon.

Cover of the book What lies beneath the flowers. The cover is dark with one single flower at the center. There are four petals on each side of the stem. There is room between each for the words of the title in white. The flower petals are curved up to the sides like the letter u. They are all fuchsia. There are three or four petals left at the top of the stem.

Illustrated cover of Lovestuck. A dark cover has a blue heart with pink edges in the center. Around the edges the title is written in what seems to be red string with Love above the heart and a wavy ling going down to the word Stuck below the heart. Within the heart is a young woman with dark hair and glasses sitting down with crossed legs. She is wearing green hightop, capris and a short cropped shirt. She has light skin and has a pensive look and is staring away from a bouquet of multicolored flowers that is held out to her by a light brown arm. There are small yellow flowers outside the heart.

New Releases - July 14, 2026

There are three books we were watching for today. From the titles, descriptions, and covers, they look intriguing to me. What do you think?

To Dance the Moon and Stars (A Graphic Novel) by Tasia MS and Barbara Perez Marquez
Joy Revolution

Eighteen-year-old Myra has spent her entire life training to succeed her grandmother as high priestess. But with her ascension rapidly approaching, she’s worried about the path ahead. How can she become the herald of the god Alrun when he forbids the thing she loves most: dancing?

Her people can’t afford her self-doubt, though. A peace treaty is dependent on Myra receiving Alrun’s wisdom, and the forces of darkness are seeping through the barrier between worlds. The only source of light Myra has is her childhood best friend, the crown prince. Without his support and … love, she may not be able to stop what’s coming.

Myra must dig deep into her kingdom’s forgotten history for answers, even if it means defying the law. But the key to saving her people may require her to make the biggest sacrifice of all.

What Lies Beneath the Flowers by Natasha Diaz
Delacorte

It girl Estella Aubergine is everything Pippa and Bidi are not: wealthy, popular, influential, missing. Finding her and collecting the reward money Estella’s reclusive mother is offering could turn their lives around. They’d be able to pay off the overdue bills on Pippa’s family’s store, and all the media attention would only help Bidi’s chances of becoming the youngest elected official in San Francisco.

But to uncover what happened to Estella, they’ll have to enter her wealthy world. Namely, the prestigious Beaumont Academy, where Estella’s classmates and teachers all seem to have dark secrets and enough money to hide them.

The deeper Pippa and Bidi dig, the more questions come up about Estella’s disappearance. Worse, someone seems to be clocking their every step. And as cracks form in the girls’ friendship, they begin to see that maybe the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

Lovestuck by Farah Naz Rishi
Quill Tree Books

Of all her sisters, only Riya inherited the full powers of their peri ancestor, a fey creature specializing in emotion magic…especially the sacred power of love.

Riya has never been interested in love—much to the disappointment of her best friend, Mel, who really, really wants Riya to get Mel and her crush together before senior year’s over. The only thing Riya cares about, truthfully, is forgetting the last, disastrous time she used her powers.

So, when Mel finally convinces her to give her crush a tiny push, she’s horrified when the peri magic lashes out of control yet again. Instead of a casual love spell, she’s placed an accidental love curse on the school bad boy, Kian Kho. Riya doesn’t like Kian one bit—but if the curse isn’t reversed by the next full moon, his unrequited love could leave him literally heartbroken.

As the letters, public declarations, flowers, and songs pile up, there’s only one way out: master her peri magic and break the curse—before they’re both love-stuck forever.

new releases young adult books ya lit

See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

New Releases

Book Review: Doe

New Releases

Book Review: Breakout