It’s the summer before college and Blake Brenner and her girlfriend, Ella, have one goal: join the mysterious and exclusive Serena Society. The sorority promises status and lifelong connections to a network of powerful, trailblazing women of color. Ella’s acceptance is a sure thing―she’s the daughter of a Serena alum. Blake, however, has a lot more to prove.

As a former loner from a working-class background, Blake lacks Ella’s pedigree and confidence. Luckily, she finds courage at the bottom of a liquor bottle. When she drinks, she’s bold, funny, and unstoppable―and the Serenas love it. But as pledging intensifies, so does Blake’s drinking, until it’s seeping into every corner of her life. Ella assures Blake that she’s fine; partying hard is what it takes to make the cut . . .

But success has never felt so much like drowning. With her future hanging in the balance and her past dragging her down, Blake must decide how far she’s willing to go to achieve her glittering dreams of success―and how much of herself she’s willing to lose in the process.

A powerful exploration of the lengths we go to feel seen, and the devastating consequences of an unquenchable thirst.

A bag of chips. That's all sixteen-year-old Rashad is looking for. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter, mistakes Rashad's pleadings that he's stolen nothing for belligerence, mistakes Rashad's every flinch at every punch the cop throws as further resistance and refusal to STAY STILL as ordered. But how can you stay still when someone is pounding your face into the pavement?

There were witnesses: Quinn - a varsity basketball player and Rashad's classmate who has been raised by Paul since his own father died in Afghanistan - and a video camera. Soon the beating is all over the news and Paul is getting threatened with accusations of prejudice and racial brutality. Quinn refuses to believe that the man who has basically been his saviour could possibly be guilty. But then Rashad is absent. And absent again. And again. And the basketball team - half of whom are Rashad's best friends - start to take sides. As does the school. And the town. Simmering tensions threaten to explode as Rashad and Quinn are forced to face decisions and consequences they had never considered before.

Uncle Kelly is a drag performer who lives with his nephew Eli. Eli is about to start school and he has a birthmark on his face that he is afraid he will be bullied about. Uncle Kelly helps Eli find his confidence and encourages him to love himself as he is.

Eli finds a creative way of owning his insecurity and with his new confidence makes friends and inspires other children to accept their peers, and to even express their own creativity.

A book that encourages love and acceptance and embraces otherness, What’s Wrong With Glitter is a rhyming book that is filled with bright illustrations.

New York Times bestseller Karina Yan Glaser brings everyone’s favorite Harlem family back in this poignant fourth novel in the “delightful and heartwarming” (New York Times Book Review) Vanderbeekers series.

When autumn arrives on 141st Street, the Vanderbeekers are busy helping Mr. Beiderman get ready for the New York City Marathon and making sure the mysterious person sleeping in the community garden gets enough to eat.

But when they discover the true identity of the person making a home in the community garden’s shed, their world turns upside down as they learn what it means to care for someone in an impossible situation.

In this fourth book in the Vanderbeekers series, return to 141st Street with Isa, Jessie, Oliver, Hyacinth, and Laney as they attempt to make their neighborhood a better place, one heartfelt plan at a time.

They Both Die at the End
On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. Through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.

The First to Die at the End
Adam Silvera revisits the world of Death-Cast 7 years before the events of They Both Die at the End in this story about the lasting impact that people have on each other. It’s the night before Death-Cast goes live, and there’s one question on everyone’s mind: Can Death-Cast actually predict when someone will die, or is it just an elaborate hoax? Orion Pagan has waited years for someone to tell him that he’s going to die, but Valentino Prince only just registered for Death-Cast, prompted in part because his twin sister nearly died. When the first round of End Day calls goes out their lives are forever changed—and, through one unforgettable day together, they learn how life is always worth living to the fullest.

The Wave is based on a nightmarish true episode in a Californian high school, when a teacher wanted to demonstrate the dangers of propoganda and group-think.

Laurie isn't sure what to make of 'The Wave'. It had begun as a simple history experiment to liven up their World War II studies and had become a craze that was taking over their lives. Laurie's classmates are changing from normal teenagers into chanting, saluting fanatics. 'The Wave' is sweeping through the school - and it is out of control.

Laurie's friends scoff at her warnings but she knows she must make them see what they have become before it's too late.

Be prepared to be scared again in the nail-biting sequel to HappyHead.

FRIENDS, WELCOME TO ELMHALLOW. YOU ARE THE CHOSEN TEN.

By some miracle, Seb has survived the HappyHead programme, only to find himself stranded on a remote island under the guidance of a freakishly beautiful couple.

Far from home, Seb reluctantly teams up with Eleanor again and the pair are forced to compete in a series of ever stranger trials to prove their connection. All the while, he can’t stop thinking about Finn. Determined to find him, Seb’s search uncovers an even darker reality.

Can he escape the island and expose the sinister truth behind HappyHead?

A gripping, genre-blending YA horror about what happens when a Haitian American girl uses her previously hidden zombie abilities to exact revenge on the wealthy elites who've caused her family pain. Brielle Petitfour loves to cook. But with a chronically sick mother and bills to pay, becoming a chef isn't exactly a realistic career path. When Brielle's mom suddenly loses her job, Brielle steps in and uses her culinary skills to earn some extra money. The rich families who love her cooking praise her use of unique flavours and textures, which keep everyone guessing what's in Brielle's dishes. The secret ingredient? Human flesh. Written by the storytelling duo Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, The Summer I Ate the Rich is a biting, smart horror inspired by Haitian zombie lore that explores themes of vengeance, family, and young love - and scrutinizes the socioeconomic and racial inequity that is the foundation of our modern times. Just like Brielle's clients it will have you asking: What's for dinner?

While not much is known about the life and legacy of Anna de Koning, this children’s book aims to make her a household name and have her story taught at schools – of how an enslaved child arrived in the Cape Colony from Bengal and would remarkably become one of the wealthiest and most influential women of her time.

Anna lived in a village surrounded by a thick rainforest filled with striped tigers that roared at night. Her mother had grown up in that village, and she would have too until strangers came and sold her family to the captain of a big ship with large white sails. When the ship finally arrived at the shores of the Cape of Good Hope, Anna’s life changed, and she was no longer free.

Woman of Freedom brings to life the historically accurate journey of a young enslaved girl who became one of the wealthiest and most respected women in the early Cape Colony.

Teaching children about one of South Africa’s matriarchs in an inspiring narrative true to the culture and history of our land.

A sprawling, evocative, and groundbreaking autobiographical novel told in the unforgettable and hilarious voice of a young Iranian refugee. It is a powerfully layered novel that poses the questions: Who owns the truth? Who speaks it? Who believes it?

“A patchwork story is the shame of the refugee,” Nayeri writes early in the novel. In an Oklahoman middle school, Khosrou (whom everyone calls Daniel) stands in front of a skeptical audience of classmates, telling the tales of his family’s history, stretching back years, decades, and centuries. At the core is Daniel’s story of how they became refugees—starting with his mother’s vocal embrace of Christianity in a country that made such a thing a capital offense, and continuing through their midnight flight from the secret police, bribing their way onto a plane-to-anywhere. Anywhere becomes the sad, cement refugee camps of Italy, and then finally asylum in the U.S.

Implementing a distinct literary style and challenging western narrative structures, Nayeri deftly weaves through stories of the long and beautiful history of his family in Iran, adding a richness of ancient tales and Persian folklore. Like Scheherazade of One Thousand and One Nights, Daniel spins a tale to save his own life: to stake his claim to the truth.

A tale of heartbreak and resilience and urges readers to speak their truth and be heard.

There’s power in a book… They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened. Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who knows she’s going to go home and marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who. Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid…and it’s usually paid in blood. In Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, the author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group delivers another searing, completely original novel and further cements his status as a “horror master” (NPR).

SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD WINNER NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD WINNER Shaindy is a twelve-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl who struggles in school and has no good friends. She watches with envy as her next-door neighbor, GAYIL, excels socially and academically. They have little to do with each other, and it comes as a surprise when Shaindy looks out her window one September evening and sees Gayil staring out at her from her own window with a sign reading want to know a secret? The secret (at first) is that Gayil has a key fob that will allow them to break into their school after hours. Together, they set up a harmless prank in their classroom. But under Gayil’s instigation the mischief becomes malice, and Shaindy sees that the pranks and humiliations are targeted only at certain girls. But what could they have in common? With the fear of Gayil’s fury and her own reluctance growing, Shaindy comes to the terrifying conclusion that if she can’t figure out how to stop it, the next target could be her.

Velile, bullied at school because of being much older than the other children in his grade, hates school. Instead, he goes to the forest to hunt for birds and other animals. After his mother dies, her sister takes him in, but Emihle, his cousin, remains unaccepting of him.

Velile becomes one of the top students in their district, but unfortunately bad choices and friends involving him in illegal mining and gambling result in suspension from high school. After being spat on by a snake (meant to make him successful and wealthy) Velile is hospitalised, where he bumps into one of his old friends, now a priest. He convinces Velile to return to school and attend ABET classes.

When he meets ex-classmate Lawukazi, who had gone to Cuba to study medicine, Velile is inspired to change his ways.

Let's get one thing straight: this is a love story.

Said Hossain hates Tiwa Olatunji. And Tiwa would happily never see Said again in her life. Growing up, the two were inseparable, but they have barely spoken since the incident many Eids ago and both of them would like to keep it that way. But when Said comes home for a funeral and the town's Islamic Centre burns down on the same day, they have to face each other again and sparks fly.

Both of them want to see the Islamic Centre rebuilt. For Tiwa, it represents the community that she loves and a way to keep her fractured family together. For Said, it's an opportunity to build his portfolio for his secret application to art school, where he hopes that he'll be able to pursue his dreams of becoming an artist, rather than a doctor.

Working with your sworn enemy is never easy, and this could be the hardest thing that Said and Tiwa have ever done. But in trying to save the Islamic Centre and Eid, could these enemies become something else...?

Khanyisile is devastated when his mother dies unexpectedly. When his father takes him from their Eastern Cape village to Cape Town, his life is turned upside down even more.

At his new school, Harmony High, Khanyisile meets Given, who invites him to join the amaVura gang. But how far is he prepared to go to be part of them? And how does Given know Matchstix, the mysterious stranger his father takes him to meet in prison?

When Khanyisile finds out the truth, it is almost too late for him to turn back from the dangerous path he has chosen …

A wild night of partying and a run-in with one of the most notorious drug dealers in Gauteng turns Barries’ life upside down.

The police give him one simple choice – if he wants to stay out of jail, he has to spend the next six weeks on a farm, near a small coastal town in the Eastern Cape, right in the middle of nowhere. With his estranged father.

Slowly but surely, Barries comes to realise that the bottle of brandy stashed under the bed is not the only – or the darkest – secret his father is hiding.

Breath, a translation of the best-selling Asem, is a gripping novel for teens that doesn’t hesitate to tackle difficult themes.

Cover2Cover Books is delighted to announce the publication of an anthology of short stories written in isiXhosa, Akusayi Kuphind, by emerging author Sonwabiso Ngcowa.

The stories in Akusayi Kuphind are written in language that comes straight from the daily lives of young people from urban and rural communities all over South Africa. The characters respond to the kinds of challenges faced by many South African youth.

These include families where one of the parents had to work far from home; poverty; being a single parent; abuse of women and girls; bullying in schools and loss of self-esteem; arranged marriages; HIV and AIDS; as well as same sex relationships and the way they are looked at in the communities.

Beloved author Gary D. Schmidt expertly blends comedy and tragedy in the story of Doug Swieteck, an unhappy "teenage thug" first introduced in The Wednesday Wars, who finds consolation and a sense of possibility in friendship and art.

At once heartbreaking and hopeful, this absorbing novel centers on Doug, 14, who has an abusive father, a bully for a brother, a bad reputation, and shameful secrets to keep. Teachers and police and his relatives think he's worthless, and he believes them, holding others at arm's length. Newly arrived in town, he starts out on the same path—antagonizing other kids, mouthing off to teachers, contemptuous of everything intimidating or unfamiliar. Who would have thought that the public library would turn out to be a refuge and an inspiration, that a snooty librarian might be a friend, or that snarky redheaded Lil would like him—really like him?

With more than his share of pain, including the return of his oldest brother from the Vietnam War, shattered and angry, will Doug find anything better than "okay for now"?

Goue reeks is een van die heel bekendste en gewildste inheemse leesreekse met beproefde sukses oor dekades. Derduisende onderwysers en ouers het self daarmee leer lees – en dit werk steeds! Op publieke aanvraag is die volledige reeks nou weer beskikbaar. Dit volg ’n basiese benadering tot leesonderrig deur klank- en woordbouvaardighede en is gebaseer op herhaling, herkenning en inoefening. Goue reeks se hersiene uitgawe (2009) bied alles wat nodig is om jong leerders te ontwikkel in jong lesers.

Sometimes it only takes a stranger in a dark place... to say we have the right to be here, to make us warm in the coldest season.

In 2019, Neil Gaiman asked his Twitter followers: "What reminds you of warmth?" Over 1,000 responses later, Neil began to weave replies from across the world into a poem in aid of the UNHCR's winter appeal. It revealed our shared desire to feel safe, welcome and warm in a world that can often feel frightening and lonely.

Now publishing in hardback and illustrated by a group of artists from around the world, What You Need to Be Warm is an exploration of displacement and flight from conflict through the objects and memories that represent warmth. It is about our right to feel safe, whoever we are and wherever we are from. It is about holding out a hand to welcome those who find themselves far from home.

Featuring new, original illustrations from Chris Riddell, Benji Davies, Yuliya Gwilym, Nadine Kaadan, Daniel Egnéus, Pam Smy, Petr Horácek, Beth Suzanna, Bagram Ibatoulline, Marie-Alice Harel, Majid Adin and Richard Jones, with a thought-provoking cover from Oliver Jeffers.

Sales of every copy of this book will help support the work of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, which helps forcibly displaced communities and stateless people across the world.

Barbara Dee explores the subject of #MeToo for the middle grade audience in this heart-wrenching—and ultimately uplifting—novel about experiencing harassment and unwanted attention from classmates.

For seventh-grader Mila, it starts with some boys giving her an unwanted hug on the school blacktop. A few days later, at recess, one of the boys (and fellow trumpet player) Callum tells Mila it’s his birthday, and asks her for a “birthday hug.” He’s just being friendly, isn’t he? And how can she say no? But Callum’s hug lasts a few seconds too long, and feels…weird. According to her friend, Zara, Mila is being immature and overreacting. Doesn’t she know what flirting looks like?

But the boys don’t leave Mila alone. On the bus. In the halls. During band practice—the one place Mila could always escape.

It doesn’t feel like flirting—so what is it? Thanks to a chance meeting, Mila begins to find solace in a new place: karate class. Slowly, with the help of a fellow classmate, Mila learns how to stand her ground and how to respect others—and herself.

From the author of Everything I Know About You, Halfway Normal, and Star-Crossed comes this timely story of a middle school girl standing up and finding her voice.

Aldan Valentyn is niemand nie.

Hy plaas ʼn foto van homself sonder sy hemp, op Instagram. En word die bespotting van die skool.

Maar dit sal binnekort verander. In die gym. Met gewigte. En die KRAG in die naalde.

“Wat is die ergste wat kan gebeur?”.

This dynamic and joyous exploration of difference helps young children learn to respond in a kind and equal way to everyone, regardless of shape, size, age, physical and mental ability, gender, ethnicity, beliefs, language, culture, background, and so on. With topics ranging from clothes, music and food to homes, festivals and families, there is plenty for children to talk about as they find out about what makes people different and what makes them unique.

HBO's Emmy-winning Last Week Tonight with John Oliver presents a children's picture book about a Very Special boy bunny who falls in love with another boy bunny.

Meet Marlon Bundo, a lonely bunny who lives with his Grampa, Mike Pence - the Vice President of the United States. But on this Very Special Day, Marlon's life is about to change forever...

With its message of tolerance and advocacy, this charming children's book explores issues of same sex marriage and democracy. Sweet, funny, and beautifully illustrated, this book is dedicated to every bunny who has ever felt different.

100% of Last Week Tonight's proceeds will be donated to The Trevor Project and AIDS United.

In this inspiring picture book from New York Times-bestselling author Meena Harris, a young girl sees words like "too ambitious" and "too assertive" being yelled at a strong woman on TV and it sends her on a journey of discovery through past, present, and future about the limits put on women and girls and the ways in which they can resist, assist, coexist, and excel.

As Ambitious Girl says:

No "too that" or "too this"
will stop what's inside me from flowering
From now on, when I hear "too that" or "too this"
I won't mind - it's empowering!

And as Meena writes in her author's note in the back of the book, after she heard a member of her own family deemed "too ambitious" in the media:

"I felt a new sense of urgency to make sure my young daughters-and girls all over-would have the tools and language to reframe, redefine, and reclaim what they will inevitably hear in the 'real world.' In writing this book, my greatest hope is that girls dare to define their own unique purpose in the world, and that they grow into strong, ambitious women."