One of the best parts of my job is ordering new books for the Edge–reading the reviews, seeing what popular authors come up with next, or finding out about an upcoming sequel to an old favorite. Read on to find out about some of the new YA fiction titles coming to our shelves this month.

Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
Grades 8 and up
Library Catalog: All Available Formats

“Nigeria Jones is the warrior princess of her father’s Black nationalist movement, and she has never questioned her place in that world before. Her father's movement is based in Philadelphia, and Nigeria's life, from her veganism to her education, has always been carefully controlled: she is a proud Black nationalist who has never gone to either a public or private school. When Nigeria’s mother disappears, leaving behind the movement and her children, Nigeria starts to question everything about that life. Furthermore, when she finds out that her mother wanted her to go to school—specifically to a competitive private school—Nigeria feels compelled to see who she is outside of her father’s movement.” –Booklist

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog: All Available Formats

“High-school senior Imogen Scott has always been a cheerleader for her queer friends and sister, calling herself their biggest ally, never missing a Pride Alliance meeting, and supporting her best friend, Lili, when she comes out. Yet Imogen begins to struggle with her self-proclaimed straight-girl identity as she realizes most of Lili’s new college friends are LGBTQ. When Imogen musters up her courage to visit Lili on campus, she’s in for quite a few surprises…. As Imogen starts her adventure on campus, it leads to an eventful weekend of life-changing revelations, especially when she meets the kind and confident Tessa. Imogen is eminently relatable as she reevaluates an identity in which she once felt so confident.” –Booklist

If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia So
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog: All Available Formats

“It’s the summer before she starts university, and a comic enthusiast from Oxford, England, has plans. In addition to a vacation with best friend Ritika Ghosh, Elsie Lo is finally going to confess her feelings for Ada Hobbs, her long-distance crush and online fandom friend who has a Black Nigerian mum and a White English dad. Things start to shift when Elsie runs into Joan Tse, the childhood BFF who ghosted her years ago. The two start chatting, rekindle a friendship, and come out to each other as lesbian (Joan) and bi (Elsie). Elsie shares her plan to try to reunite two long-separated women—probably lesbian lovers, one of them Ada’s grandmother. She hopes this grand romantic gesture will impress Ada. Joan is game to join in, and the Cornwall vacation with Ritika turns into a three-person research trip.” –Kirkus Reviews

We Don’t Swim Here by Vincent Tirado
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog: All Available Formats

“Told in dual points-of-view, this novel features cousins Bronwyn and Anais, both second generation Black Dominicans, who are at odds as soon as Bronwyn and her family move to Arkansas to help with their abuela's end of life care. Anais is a lifelong resident of Hillwood and deeply entrenched in the dark secrets of the town, the rituals of avoiding the ghost that haunts their waking hours and navigating her increasingly complicated relationship with her ex-girlfriend, Hanna. Bronwyn is struggling after leaving her home in Illinois, where she was a competitive swimmer with Olympic dreams, now living in a town where no one is allowed to swim, the pools are drained, and the lake is haunted by a murderous ghost.” –School Library Journal

Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl by Sara Waxelbaum and Brianna R. Shrum
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog: All Available Formats

“Margo Zimmerman has it all: She is smart, gorgeous, and she’s dating one of the most popular guys in her school. When Margo plays a game of spin the bottle at a friend’s party and it lands on a girl, Margo realizes midkiss that she’s gay. With no helpful guidance from her polyamorous, pansexual older brother, Margo reaches out to the only openly queer person she can think of: Abbie Sokoloff. Abbie herself is in need of guidance, as her prospective university has rescinded their acceptance letter due to her poor grades. Abbie decides to teach Margo queer 101 in exchange for academic tutoring.” –Kirkus Reviews

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog: All Available Formats

“When Moud flies from Los Angeles to Tehran to visit his dying grandfather, it’s a welcome reprieve from his pop-culture-saturated day-to-day. Unfortunately, he’s traveling with his father, Saeed, with whom he shares a strained relationship stemming from the death of Moud’s mother and Moud coming out as gay. He has always taken his father’s coldness as a culturally derived prejudice, which he expects to see reflected in Iran. The truth reveals itself to be far more muddled as Moud explores the secret underground enjoyed by Tehran’s gay youth and is shocked to learn how his grandfather’s own homosexuality has shaped the fates of his father and himself. This story, told in three points of view from three generations of the same family, is nothing short of masterful.” –Booklist

Sequels:

Miles Morales Suspended: A Spider-Man Novel by Jason Reynolds
Grades 7 and up
Library Catalog: All Available Formats

“Picking up the day after Miles Morales: Spiderman saved the world from heinous criminal The Warden, this sequel begins with Miles suspended for telling his racist teacher, Mr. Chamberlain, that he's sick of his crap. Miles Morales is NOT a pincushion, punching bag, puppet, pet, or a pawn. He is a Boricua Black teen living in Brooklyn on a block very different from the Brooklyn Visions Academy boarding school he attends. At the Academy, Black and brown kids are discriminated against, villainized, and steered towards a pipeline leading to mass incarceration that makes statistics out of those students. When he begins seeing termites at school, his Spidey Sense alerts him to a sinister plot.” –School Library Journal

The first book in the series, Miles Morales: A Spider-Man Novel, can be found here.

The Last Canto of the Dead by Daniel José Older
Grades 7 and up
Library Catalog: All Available Formats

“In this novel that picks up where Ballad & Dagger left off, Mateo and Chela must figure out how their past as spirits connects to their godlike powers and the reemergence of San Madrigal Island from the sea. Being contained in human form makes it difficult to control their magic, and their struggles mirror a traditional coming-of-age story as they try to heal the divisions in their community from Ballad & Dagger.” –School Library Journal

The first book in the series, Ballad & Dagger, can be found here.