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.

Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog

 “A superhuman teen reluctantly teams up with a vampire to avenge her family and kill the monsters who enslaved her. Set during the U.S. Civil War, in an alternate universe where the real-life horrors of chattel slavery and the supernatural coexist, this story follows Jerusalem, a fearsome Black 18-year-old who recently escaped the plantation where she was held captive. She’s a Saint—a member of a group of monster slayers who possess extraordinary strength and speed and who aid the Union Army in the war, hoping to abolish slavery. But Jerusalem is also personally motivated to kill the woman who enslaved and brutalized her and murdered her family.” –Kirkus Reviews

Thirsty by Jas Hammonds
Grades 10 and up
Library Catalog

 “Blake and Ella, her girlfriend of four years, desperately want to be accepted into the exclusive Serena Society. Best friend Nettie is also trying to snag a coveted spot, but with tempered enthusiasm once the hazing starts. It's the beginning of summer after high school graduation, with the girls working part-time jobs and spending most nights partying hard with other Serena hopefuls as part of pledging. But the intense drinking highlights a substance abuse problem Blake firmly denies. Feeling abandoned by her parents, Blake is lonely, lost, and frantic to flee her loathed childhood image, using alcohol to numb the edges, drown the self-hatred, and bring out Big Bad Bee, her fun party persona. But life's demands are piling up, and Blake can't keep running.” –School Library Journal

Blood at the Root by Ladarrion Williams
Grades 8 and up
Library Catalog

 “Black diaspora magic manifests in a boy on the worst day of his life—but later, things only get more complicated. When Malik Baron was 7, his mother vanished in the explosive moment his powers manifested while he defended them from mysterious cloaked figures. Ten years (and many foster homes later), the short-tempered Malik isn’t much better at controlling his powers, but he’s ready to leave Helena, Alabama, and start over with Taye, his foster brother. Reuniting with Mama Aya, the maternal grandmother in New Orleans he never knew, wasn’t part of the plan, but fate draws Malik to her—and into a secret world of magic. He discovers Caiman University—a sort of magical historically Black college—which may be where he’ll find answers to what happened to his mother.” –Kirkus Reviews

Love, Off the Record by Samantha Markum
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog

 “A collegiate newsroom rivalry leads to romance. Headstrong Éowyn “Wyn” Evans is set on landing a staff position on her college newspaper, a step toward one day winning a Pulitzer Prize. Her nemesis and fellow freshman intern, the handsome, privileged, frat pledge Nathaniel ‘Three' Wellborn III, is equally determined to get the reporter role. (Readers met Three in Markum’s 2022 novel, This May End Badly, but this work stands alone.) The race is on—and Wyn won’t let classes or a miserable campus job stand in the way.” –Kirkus Reviews

Sequels:

Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adeyemi
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog

 “In this much-anticipated trilogy closer following 2019’s Children of Virtue and Vengeance, an enemy from a land across the sea carries out conquests to fulfill a prophecy that threatens the entire world. The war between the maji and the crown of Orïsha ends when the Skulls, a tribe of masked, pale-skinned invaders, interrupt the pivotal battle, abducting Zélie, Tzain, Amari, Inan, and dozens of maji from their homeland. Caged on a ship and cut off from their magic, they have no choice but to set aside their bitterness and distrust to fight for their freedom.” –Kirkus Reviews

The first book in the series, Children of Blood and Bone, can be found here.

Icon and Inferno by Marie Lu
Grades 8 and up
Library Catalog

 “Pop superstar Winter Young is again drawn into the world of secret agent Sydney Cossette in this follow-up to Stars and Smoke (2023). Though constantly on one another’s minds, Winter and Sydney have resisted making any contact with each other since narrowly surviving a mission in which Panacea, the secret organization Sydney works for, tapped Winter to use his megastar status to infiltrate a wealthy and powerful criminal underworld. Ratcheting up the tension in this enemies-to-lovers romantic thriller is the fact that Sydney is being sent to Singapore to extract Tems, a fellow agent who also happens to be her ex.” –Kirkus Reviews

The first book in the series, Stars and Smoke, can be found here.

Blood & Fury by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland
Grades 8 and up
Library Catalog

 “Talon struggles to follow his brother’s goal of bringing peace to Pyrlanum in this duology closer following 2023’s Chaos & Flame. After Caspian, regent of House Dragon, declared an end to the Dragons’ imperialistic war, he transformed himself and Darling into an empyreal dragon and phoenix, respectively. Talon, Caspian’s brother, is left to keep the unstable peace, while the Dragons refuse to return their captured lands and the newly released magical boons cause chaos across Pyrlanum. When his aunt Aurora and her cursed blood magic threaten the newly awakened empyreal regents, Talon races to stop her.” –Kirkus Reviews

The first book in the series, Chaos & Flame, can be found here.