Amanda Ramirez

2 days ago | publishersweekly.com | Amanda Ramirez

XO, Kitty screenwriter Alanna Bennett draws on her experience as an entertainment journalist in her pop culture–infused debut YA novel, The Education of Kia Greer. As one of four daughters born to a Black actor and his white manager wife, 17-year-old Kia is no stranger to the spotlight. For 11 seasons, Kia’s older sisters have ruled the set of their family’s reality TV show Growin’ Up Greer with their on-camera tantrums and messy breakups.

3 weeks ago | publishersweekly.com | Amanda Ramirez

Frederick Joseph—poet, philanthropist, and author of The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person—makes his solo fiction debut with contemporary YA novel This Thing of Ours. Arriving back at predominately white Braxton Academy for senior year following a career-ending injury, basketball star Ossie Brown feels like “just another Black kid” from south Yonkers, ghosted by his friends and dumped by his girlfriend.

3 weeks ago | publishersweekly.com | Amanda Ramirez

Calista Brill—picture book author and editorial director at First Second Books—makes her graphic novel debut with middle grade comic Creaky Acres, illustrated by Nilah Magruder. Star equestrian Nora is sad to leave behind her friends upon moving to the rural town of Greenville. There, she butts heads with the owner of Creaky Acres, the rundown barn where she houses her horse, Hay Fever. And as the only Black kid in her new class, she’s bombarded with microaggressions from her peers.

Dec 17, 2024 | publishersweekly.com | Amanda Ramirez

Taiwanese American author Gloria Chao travels to Taipei for the first time on the page in her new YA romance, Ex Marks the Spot. When 18-year-old Gemma Sun is contacted by an attorney, who tells her that her Taiwanese grandfather recently died—and that he’d left Gemma old newspaper clippings with a secret message urging her to visit his apartment in Taipei—the news causes a rift between Gemma and her mother, who’d told Gemma that he died a long time ago.

Dec 3, 2024 | publishersweekly.com | Amanda Ramirez

Natasha Preston, the bestselling author of The Cellar, The Cabin, and other titles for teens, whips up another YA suspense novel, The Party. To ensure that no adults can derail their spring break plans, friends attending an English boarding school lie to the administration and their parents about their destination: an ancient castle, complete with a moat, that belongs to the wealthy family of 16-year-old narrator Bessie’s friend—and lead party planner—Allegra.