Hello, book lovers! Each week, dozens and dozens of new releases hit the shelves. Below are some of the reads BuzzFeed Books writers and contributors loved the most:
1. Cool for the Summer
by Dahlia Adler
At the start of her senior year, Lara arguably has everything she's wanted: a group of best friends and a hot football star who is finally flirting with her. But when Jasmine transfers to Lara's school, Lara's world is thrown askew. She's just spent a magical summer in the Outer Banks with Jasmine and wasn’t expecting her to re-enter her life. But if Lara now has everything she's always wanted...why is she so stuck on Jasmine? Adler's heartfelt contemporary romance is as bright and sweet as its cover and poignantly explores queer identity and self-discovery. —Farrah Penn
2. Illusionary
by Zoraida Córdova
Illusionary completes the Hollow Crown duology, and it is as all-consuming as the first book, Incendiary, if not more so. Renata Convida has joined forces with her former enemy Prince Castian to find the fabled Knife of Memory and kill King Fernando, a cold-blooded and brutal ruler who will stop at nothing to kill them and continue his unquestioned control over Andalucia. This is no easy task, especially with the king’s forces hot on their heels and Ren’s awakening magical powers wreaking havoc on her memory and her sense of self. This dark YA fantasy full of twists and adventure is the perfect conclusion to the series. —Margaret Kingsbury
3. From Little Tokyo, With Love
by Sarah Kuhn
When Rika locks eyes with Grace Kimura during the Nikkei Week Festival, an adventure begins. After all, clues seem to indicate that Grace, a rom-com darling actress, is Rika's long-lost mother. As Rika searches, exploring Little Tokyo alongside Hank, a cute actor, she tries not to set herself up for disappointment. But is a happy ending within her grasp? —Rachel Strolle
4. The Shape of Thunder
by Jasmine Warga
Cora and Quinn haven't spoken for a year, not since Cora lost her sister in a school shooting, carried out by Quinn's brother. Quinn, who has been carrying the guilt of what her brother did, leaves a box on Cora's doorstep with a note, explaining that she's decided the only way to fix things is to go back in time and stop her brother. Despite the impossibility, Cora wants to believe, and so the two begin to work together. —Rachel Strolle
5. Indivisible
by Daniel Aleman
When two ICE agents come asking for Pa, the early fears of Mateo and his sister Sophie — that their parents could be deported — come crashing back to the surface. Mateo returns from school one day to discover that his parents have been taken by immigration officers, and he has to not only take care of Sophie as he waits to learn his parents' fate, but he must also face questions of his identity in a country that rejects his family. —Rachel Strolle
(Released May 4.)
6. Meet Cute Diary
by Emery Lee
Noah Ramirez, a triracial trans teen, runs the Meet Cute Diary, a blog collection of trans happily afters. But when a troll exposes the blog as fiction, the only way to save it is to convince everyone the stories are true. Enter Drew. Drew is willing to fake date Noah, but as Noah's feelings grow more real, everything becomes even more complicated. —Rachel Strolle
(Released May 4.)
7. Luck of the Titanic
by Stacey Lee
British Chinese Valora Luck has smuggled herself onboard the Titanic and talked her way into first class, where she hopes to reunite with her twin brother, Jamie, who is with fellow Chinese laborers in third class. Not long after trying to convince a part-owner of the Ringling Brothers Circus to take them on as acrobats, the ship hits an iceberg, and it quickly becomes a fight for survival. —Rachel Strolle
(Released May 4.)
8. Hurricane Summer
Every six months, Tilla's father leaves their family to return to Jamaica. So when Tilla's mother says she'll be spending the summer on the island, she's conflicted. On one hand, she isn't too keen about seeing him, since it's felt like she's spent her life trying to make him love her. On the other, she might finally be able to see what Jamaica means to him. But when she gets there, her dad leaves her with extended family, just before a terrible hurricane. —Rachel Strolle
(Released May 4.)
9. People We Meet on Vacation
by Emily Henry
I absolutely adored Beach Read last year, so I was thrilled to read another one by Emily Henry this year. People We Meet on Vacation did not disappoint. I wanted to live in Poppy and Alex's world the same way I wanted to live in Connell and Marianne's world in Normal People. This book is about two best friends who are complete opposites. Poppy loves adventures and travel while Alex has learned to appreciate where he comes from. After a friendship fallout, Poppy initiates a vacation with Alex to try to fix things. With vibrant humor and incredible characters, it was over way too soon. —Farrah Penn
10. Mary Jane
by Jessica Anya Blau
Mary Jane loves to sing, but her parents would much prefer she stick to the church choir than the rock 'n' roll scene that's taking over the '70s. When she snags a summer nanny job for a "respectable" family, she realizes quickly that her employers are nothing like her straight-laced parents. Mary Jane's thrown into a world of liberalism and clutter, and, even more shocking, the psychiatrist father is secretly harboring a rock star and his movie-star wife while he kicks an addiction problem. Over the summer, Mary Jane will have a front-row ticket to a lifestyle she never knew existed, and, come September, she'll have to figure out the kind of life she wants to lead — her own or that of her parents. —Kirby Beaton
11. Incredible Doom
by Matthew Bogart and Jesse Holden
In the early days of the internet, four young adults will find connection via the World Wide Web in this graphic novel. There's Allison, who finds solace from her abusive father in a computer screen; Samir, who's always felt like an outcast in the real world; Richard, who just left everything behind for a new town; and Tina, a fierce punk with a secret. An online bulletin board and a mysterious hideaway called the "evol house" tie these characters together in a way that will make anyone who grew up in the dawn of the internet nostalgic. —Kirby Beaton
12. We Are Satellites
by Sarah Pinsker
A new technology threatens to tear a family apart in this prescient, character-driven sci-fi. Pilot is a brain implant that increases focus and cognitive abilities. Val, a teacher, first notices the Pilot’s effect in her upper-class students. Soon, her son is asking for a Pilot, as is her wife, Julie. But Val doesn’t like the idea of a brain implant, and Val and Julie’s daughter, Sophia, can’t have the implant due to her epilepsy. Pinsker explores each family member’s perspective as this new technology changes their lives. It’s a fascinating novel that explores how technologies can transform family dynamics. —Margaret Kingsbury
13. Black Water Sister
by Zen Cho
This entertaining urban fantasy is steeped in Malaysian mythology. Jess has recently graduated from Harvard but doesn't have many work prospects. Mired in medical debt, her parents decide to move back to Malaysia, and Jess goes with them, though she’s lived her entire life in the US. She leaves behind a secret girlfriend she hopes to one day join in Singapore. In Malaysia, Jess's dead Ah Ma (grandmother) possesses her, and Jess becomes a medium to both her grandmother and her grandmother's god, Black Water Sister. As a medium, she finds herself wrapped up in a gang war. Black Water Sister is a twisty, feminist, and enthralling page-turner. Content warnings for attempted rape and anti-gay prejudice. —Margaret Kingsbury
14. Son of the Storm
by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
This enthralling Nigerian-inspired epic fantasy centers on three characters: Danso, Esheme, and Lilong. Danso is a young Juri scholar shunned for being mixed race. He’s engaged to Esheme, an upper-class and deeply ambitious woman. The two see ways of achieving and escaping their life paths when skin-changing warrior Lilong appears on a quest for a magic that could save her home, the mythical Nameless Islands. This sweeping and politically charged fantasy explores race, gender, and culture in a complex and compelling world. —Margaret Kingsbury
15. A Master of Djinn
by P. Djèlí Clark
In a steampunk version of 1912 Cairo, Agent Fatma el-Sha’arawi investigates magical problems for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities. Fifty years earlier, wizard and scientist al-Jahiz rediscovered magic, and now Cairo is steeped in the supernatural. When members of a secret brotherhood are killed by a person calling himself al-Jahiz, the Ministry puts Fatma on the case, but she must solve the murders quickly to restore Cairo’s peace. Thankfully, she has the help of her girlfriend Siti and her Ministry colleagues. From the richly detailed world-building to the fun whodunit plot and engaging characters, this sprawling historical fantasy is one to get lost in. —Margaret Kingsbury
For more new release recommendations from this month, click here, or catch up on all of our weekly favorites on Bookshop. What's the best book you read this week? Tell us in the comments!
