New YA Books Hitting Shelves This Week, July 1, 2024

Ivy is chronically ill and has decided to spend the summer away from social activities since that triggers her anxiety. But her mom and her sister urge her to join a support group, and she does—reluctantly at first, then a little more willingly, once she meets an attendee named Grant. He is cute, he is sweet, and he truly understands her. They share the same juvenile rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis.

But as Ivy begins to feel sicker and grows tired of the work it takes to manage her illness, can she hope that even someone who understands the experience will stick around?

This is the book everyone who loves mythology, like Percy Jackson, will be eager for, as it’s a story of a family of valkyries fighting Ragnarök.

Bryn, 17, is the youngest and most rebellious in a family of valkyries. Her home being a Renaissance faire in Chicago is especially annoying because people think she’s just a costumed worker and not, you know, an actual powerful being. But then Bryn’s mom disappears on a mission from Odin, and Bryn begins to not only worry, but she begins to have visions of Ragnarök. Her older sisters won’t believe her, and they’re not worried about Mom because she’s so high-ranking. She knows what she’s doing.

But then all signs point to Bryn’s vision of Ragnarök being true. There’s Juniper, who crashes in, and Wyatt, the Black Knight, the latest hire at the fair, who has a secret that could destroy everything. But to survive the monsters that are emerging and becoming more vicious, the three of them will have to team up to save themselves—and the world.

Things go from bad to worse when Bryn decides not to listen to a call from Odin, demanding the delivery of Wyatt to Valhalla. Will they be able to stop the war of all wars? Will Bryn ever get what it is to be a Valkyrie?

Darius’s life has been about survival. After his parents were killed, he bounced among foster homes, shelters, and decaying neighborhoods. So when he’s taken in by the police after a drug deal he should have never been involved with, Darius believes the rest of his life will be lived in prison.

But then he’s given the chance to join the Second Chance program of the Super Justice Force. They’re people who do good in the world and he cannot believe his luck. He takes the chance and realizes that he’s got strengths here, but when an evil force threatens to destroy everything that Darius has worked for, can he still keep doing good? This is a book that explores social justice, as well as what it is to be strong and be a warrior.

Isa’s life finally feels like it is settling down. That is why she’s dreading her senior year and leaving for college—she wants to just be still. But her community is being ravaged by wildfires and a gas pipeline in town is threatening her dad’s job. She’s decided getting involved in the environmental action club at school is one thing she can do to make herself and her world a little bit better.

Too bad her club’s co-president, Darius, is so annoying. He’s a good guy, the valedictorian, angling to get every point on his growing resume possible.

Darius wants a political career and the environmental club is but one more thing he can do to get experience. It’s not that he doesn’t care about the issues. It’s that he has goals for taking the club to the next level to help gather experience in putting on a policy summit and more.

Then there’s Isa, the new co-president of the club, who is going to make Darius’s job as co-president a bit harder than it needs to be. He can’t focus entirely on what the club brings to his resume but, instead, what he can bring to the club…and, well, no doubt some ~feelings~ will emerge between Isa and Darius.

Craft’s novel is about environmental justice—especially how the work requires so many hands and experiences!—about social class, family, and more.

Hughie is excited to be volunteering this Halloween season at Harvest House, a rural attraction for horror lovers. That is, he’s excited until he learns that an actor playing the role of a vengeful “Indian maiden” will be the star of the show. It’s a local legend to the Native community, and that, paired with a series of weird happenings around Harvest House, has Hughie wondering where or how he should speak up. Does he point out the problem of such a legend — one wrapped in problems — being used to sell an attraction? And how does he do that while also investigating the strange goings on?

This one is for readers who love horror and realism, with a cast of Native lead characters at its heart.

Ocean horror? Yes, please!

Liv was given the opportunity to spend the semester in an exciting program and all expenses were paid. She’ll get to study on The Eos, a luxury cruise ship, and she’ll get to spend time with her ex-best friend Will—some would balk at that, but she’s hoping the time and confined location will help them come to an understanding about what happened.

It is clear from the start, though, that Liv is out of her depths. She cannot shake the weirdness she sees and experiences with Constantine, another semester at sea student, nor can she she avoid thinking about the three Sirens who are there as influencers. They seem to be the ones in charge here, not the actual program coordinators.

Then Liv learns the reason she has the opportunity to be aboard is because another girl disappeared when she enrolled. No one knows where she went or what her fate was, and it doesn’t seem to be something anyone aboard is particularly concerned about. One by one, Liv begins to see more disappearances on the ship…and begins to have weird visions that she can only attribute to something amiss on The Eos itself. She’s now determined to find out what secrets the luxury cruiser may hold.

It may come at the cost of her own life—but if Liv doesn’t investigate, well, she might meet that same fate anyway.

Darren is quiet, and he doesn’t mind living in his own mind. That’s where he can quietly allow himself to crush hard on Delia, host of a podcast he loves. But that crush isn’t secret. Darren’s friends and family are perfectly aware, even if he thinks he’s being stealthy about it.

So when Delia announces a songwriting contest on the show, Darren’s friends secretly submit one of his songs. Delia loves it and is now determined to track down the mysterious person behind the music.

But it’ll be up to Darren to decide whether he’s ready for the spotlight about to be shined on him…and whether he’s ready to admit to his feelings for Delia, too.