Tami Orendain

King Harristan and his brother, Prince Corrick, have inherited a kingdom plagued by a deadly sickness, and the only cure, an elixir made from rare moonflower petals, is in dangerously low supply. As the citizens of Kandala revolt, demanding that the cure be made more widely available, Harristan and Corrick crush all dissent with cruelty and violence.

Meanwhile, healer Tessa Cade and her partner, Wes, a mysterious thief, steal and redistribute moonflower petals to those in need. But as the sickness spreads, tensions rise between those who can afford cures and those who can’t. Desperate, Tessa sneaks into the castle—only to discover that Kandala’s corruption is far more complicated than it appears.

In alternating chapters narrated by Corrick and Tessa, Defy the Night hits the ground running and never slows down, leaping from one charged moment to the next. From horrific public executions to tense council negotiations to shocking rebel counterattacks, author Brigid Kemmerer (A Curse So Dark and Lonely) takes readers on a breakneck journey about power, deceit and the price of progress.

The book achieves a nuanced view of politics by depicting how individual characters impact and are affected by wider systemic issues in Kandala. Tessa sees how the poor struggle to stay alive and how their dissent transforms into revolution, while Corrick witnesses how those with power are willing to violate personal and moral boundaries to keep it.

Tessa and Corrick offer opposing but equally convincing perspectives on complex ethical questions. How should a limited resource be distributed? Are some people more deserving of help than others? What makes someone worthy of living, and what justifies a death? As Kemmerer’s characters wrestle with these dilemmas, readers are sure to rethink many of their own opinions.

An eventual connection between Tessa and Corrick reveals what can happen when individual people are empowered to make real, lasting change. Thoughtful, multifaceted and truly character-driven, Defy the Night is ultimately a hopeful story that shows how those who dare to envision a better future also have the power to make it a reality.

Pendt Harland has only known cruelty and indifference. Unlike her siblings and cousins, Pendt has a rare genetic ability that causes everyone on her family’s spaceship to view her existence as a waste of precious resources. So when the ship docks at Brannick Station just before Pendt’s 18th birthday, she seizes the opportunity to escape and meets the Brannick twins, Ned and Fisher, who take her in as part of their family. As Pendt’s abilities grow to their full potential, the twins realize she could be the key to changing their own fates.

Well known for her YA science fiction and fantasy novels, author E.K. Johnston (That Inevitable Victorian Thing and Exit, Pursued by a Bear) explores a new interstellar world in Aetherbound, plunging readers into a magical galaxy shaped by a history of conflict between a ruling empire and a rebellion that never truly died out. Concrete details bring this futuristic world to life, illuminating how the conflict’s legacy impacts everything from the way food is prepared to how neighborhoods are structured and how the vast universe is navigated.

Aetherbound’s characters are equally engaging. From a young age, Pendt is subject to her family’s imposed calorie counting and neglect, and her journey to safety and self-love will have readers rooting for her success. The Brannick twins are charming and complex, anchored by their affectionate relationship with one another and genuine empathy for others. Ned is a bold leader who’s dedicated to managing Brannick Station despite his secret dream to leave it all behind and join the rebellion. Fisher is willing to do anything to protect his home and the people he loves but lacks the Y chromosome the departing empire made a requirement to sustain life on the station—a requirement both twins find “antiquated and stupid.”

To keep each other and the station safe, the trio bears the burdens of a growing rebellion, the loss of loved ones and the sting of betrayal. Johnston never loses sight of the humanity at the heart of her narrative, treating readers to Ned’s one-liners, Fisher’s love for video games and Pendt’s affinity for gardening. These moments of lightness and joy contrast against the pain they must face, making this futuristic tale feel grounded and real.

Johnston often includes LGBTQ+ characters in her books, and her portrayal of Fisher is subtle, woven deeply into the author’s vision of the way characters construct and perceive gender identity as something completely separate from genetics. As Fisher and Pendt become close, he guides her toward understanding that a person’s value is so much more than the circumstances of their birth, a theme that resonates throughout the book.

The beauty of Aetherbound lies in its characters’ abilities to face painful, terrible circumstances and still fight for a better life. It’s a thought-provoking and hopeful book that encourages a closer examination of what truly makes life valuable.

Nami Miyamoto is living her dream: She is headed to college in the fall, she loves her supportive family, and she just confessed her feelings to her longtime crush—and learned that he feels the same way. It seems like everything is falling into place. Then, on her way to a graduation party, Nami is unexpectedly and brutally murdered. 

But that’s only the beginning of Nami’s story. Her consciousness is revived in Infinity, an afterlife ruled by an artificial intelligence assistant from Earth named Ophelia. (Think Siri or Alexa, but much more vengeful.) Determined to stop Ophelia’s plans to destroy humanity, Nami joins the rebellion. In the midst of their struggle, she must come to terms with what it really means to be alive. 

It’s not surprising that a book set in an afterlife would grapple with weighty, philosophical themes, but the cerebral tone of The Infinity Courts sets it apart from its YA genre fiction peers. Ethereal and thoughtful, this story is as much about emotion as it is action. Nami is motivated by her feelings, which makes her a stubborn, sometimes reluctant hero. When she first arrives in Infinity, she must wrestle with grief, loss and forgiveness, all from the other side of her own death. Her participation in the rebellion is shaped by her ever-evolving beliefs about what defines good and evil during a war and who deserves to be saved. 

Though Nami’s fellow rebels are outwardly committed to freedom, author Akemi Dawn Bowman (Summer Bird Blue) also establishes the internal desires that drive each of them. For example, Theo sympathizes with the humans Ophelia has captured, while Ahmet wants to retain as much of his humanity as he can. The narrative raises age-old questions about the individual versus the community but proposes a range of answers rather than one definitive solution. The shifting beliefs of Nami and the other rebels propel the plot forward while impressively reflecting the mutable, unpredictable nature of humanity.

Best known for realistic fiction, including her Morris Award finalist debut novel, Starfish, Bowman combines the psychological with the heart-pounding in her powerful leap into science fiction. Featuring an imaginative world, a terrifying villain and a complex heroine, The Infinity Courts is a mesmerizing series opener that’s sure to lead to a thrilling, expectation-shattering sequel.

Sixteen-year-old Izzy is content with her life—or, at least, she’s trying to be. As the younger sibling to a boisterous pair of twins, the daughter of distracted parents and the girlfriend of a popular and somewhat clingy boyfriend, Izzy tries to fit in wherever she can. That mostly means remaining silent and fading into the background, whether at school, at home or with the people she calls her friends.

So when Izzy accidentally and unwittingly stumbles into a comedy club, she seizes the opportunity to finally express herself. She forms genuine friendships with other young people she meets at the club who are as passionate about stand-up as she is and begins to build a new life outside the routine she’s always known. But keeping her two lives separate proves challenging, and Izzy is forced to reckon with who she really is and what she wants to stand for.

Katie Henry’s third novel, This Will Be Funny Someday, is a vibrant and engaging coming-of-age story. The book plunges readers into Izzy’s life as she faces new experiences and hurdles that shape her identity, from her relationship with her boyfriend to her role in her family. Told from Izzy’s perspective, the novel is shaped by her unique point of view—a perspective that’s still growing into itself. The book’s dynamic cast of characters, including not just Izzy’s friends from the club but also her former best friend, Naomi, introduce realistic conflicts that readers will find both captivating and truthful, from sexism and racism to repairing a broken bond.

Izzy’s story is about growth just as much as it is about success, and Henry demonstrates how she is subject to the consequences of her actions as well as worthy of her triumphs. Honest and hopeful, This Will Be Funny Someday will resonate with readers who crave characters who are authentic in both their struggles and their victories.

Cerys lives an idyllic life in the serene, prosperous kingdom of Aloriya. She supports her best friend, Princess Anwen; tends flowers with her father, the royal gardener; and befriends a spunky fox who’s taken a shine to her. All seems well, though Cerys wonders whether her future role as royal gardener is what she really wants. But when evil forces invade Aloriya on the day of Anwen’s coronation, Cerys flees into the Wildwood, a dark forest that has already claimed many lives. As everything she took for granted crumbles around her, Cerys must uncover the truth about herself and Aloriya to save the people she loves.

Ashley Poston’s Among the Beasts & Briars reads like a classical fairy tale in the best way. Fantasy readers will appreciate how Poston conjures familiar elements but employs them with thrilling originality and flair. She turns tropes such as the damsel in distress and the dangerous curse upside down: What if the heroic prince disappears before the action starts? Could evil creatures have noble intentions? What if the heroine’s magical power is useless in a battle between darkness and light?

Poston depicts how beautiful things such as flowers or princesses can suddenly become terrifying. She paints a vivid yet dreamlike world of regal palaces, lively festivals and foreboding forests, inviting readers to admire the beauty of ballgowns while forcing them to confront the creepiness of crawling creatures and rotting flesh. But Poston also grounds the book’s decadent atmosphere in realistic, well-drawn characters and the relationships between them, ensuring that the fantastical trappings of her story never interfere with its wholly human heart.