High Stakes Competitions, A Terrifying Deer, and More New YA Books for June 24, 2026

If the words “Sapphic reimagining of Wizard of Oz” excite you, then pop this on your TBR ASAP.

Thia was orphaned young, but she’s always felt the pressure to live up to her mother’s legacy. Her mom was a doctor, and Thia is now a successful and promising medical student. But Thia feels like something is missing from her life, no matter how “right” it is. When she learns her grandmother has been lying to her about her mother, Thia begins to discover that her mom was quite successful… as a supernatural scholar. Among the artifacts Thia discovers is a mirror from her mother that her grandma is convinced is dangerous.

In a fit of anger at her grandmother, Thia stomps off and falls through the mirror into another world. She’s not just fallen through. Thia’s killed a witch and quickly learns the cruel Mage King rules this land.

Joined by three companions, Thia and her crew are off to find the Mage King. He’s the only person with the power to get her home and to grant her fellow travelers their wishes. Along the way, Thia learns that her mother’s real legacy was trying to overthrow the Mage King. As she wrestles with her family’s history and legacy, Thia slowly falls under the spell of one of her travel companions. She’s also struggling amidst it all to figure out where she belongs.

Whats Up in YA

Sign up for What’s Up In YA? to receive all things young adult literature.

Elara Rousseau is from the slums of Anespérer. It’s a world where magic comes through artistic skill, and as much as Elara wants to be selected for the highly competitive Objet d’Art–baking competition–she doesn’t think she has a chance. The competition elects a Souverain each year to join the ruling council. Lucky for Elara, a person from her past offers to sneak her into the competition. She just has to keep this all a secret.

Nikolas Dupont’s father is a powerful Souverain, and he wants nothing more than to impress his dad. Nikolas’s dad doesn’t even recognize him as a son, so he hatches a plan: make sure the person who wins the Objet d’Art is someone who will be his father’s right-hand person and do all his bidding. What Nikolas did not anticipate was Elara.

The two of them are butting heads, and feelings are sparking between them. Elara is becoming a hero to her lower-class community and a symbol of the rebellion. Meanwhile, Nik is beginning to question why he wants his father’s approval so fiercely. Does he try to win dad’s heart or has he found that following his own heart is better?

Maris Larsen is her high school’s cheer captain, and it’s given her life meaning in a way she’s never felt before. Captaining means she doesn’t need to think about her home life or the girlfriend who doesn’t treat her well. So when Genevieve Ray joins the team and becomes the Coach’s gold girl, there’s a fierce rivalry developing between them. Maris can’t let everything that’s holding her together fall away from her.

Maris is going to take Genevieve down. All it takes is one dream, and Maris holds the key to getting the job done now.

In her dreams, Maris is visited by a disgusting, decaying creature in the shape of a deer. Doe has been trapped in her current form for a long time, unable to die or continue living as she is. The trick is that she needs a girl who is related by blood to those who murdered her to be freed. Those girls are long dead, though.

Maris is that link, though, and she has the power to unleash Doe. The two form a unique bond in Maris’s dreams, even though Maris has no idea that Doe is real. Very real. Maris has no idea she’s in great danger, especially since Doe has promised to give her the very thing she wants: an end to Genevieve.

Jaliya’s always faded into the background, despite being valedictorian. She’s never had a relationship, never been kissed, never really adventured. So she’s bound and determined to do it this summer after graduation.

She’s heading to Jamaica to visit her aunt and uncle. Her goal is fun, of course, but also to understand who her mother is–mom’s been estranged and is an unspoken mystery to her. It’s been seven years since Jaliya last visited Jamaica, and a lot has changed in that time. Her family is different. Her cousin is less interested in hanging out with her. Then there’s India, a girl who is making Jaliya feel and experience things she has never felt or experienced before.

It’s a summer of untangling family secrets and mysteries, and of coming to understand how important it is to listen to your heart.

Here’s the first of two simultaneous paperback/hardcover releases this week. It follows Lizzie Wei, a giant book nerd who begins to notice that her favorite library books are being checked out by someone else. It’s giving her crush-like feelings, even though she’s never met the mysterious borrower. Lizzie’s friends plan to track down the person to get them together.

Dylan Lin is a book nerd, but no one knows that except him. He’s new at school, following a bullying incident last year, and he’s elected to use this fresh start to lean into being an athlete, not a reader. He also begins volunteering at a local kitten nursery and lies to his cute co-volunteer, Lizzie, when she asks if he likes to read (“no”). She’s bummed, and he reads it on her face immediately.

Lizzie knows her secret crush can’t be Dylan. Her crush is a reader. But when Dylan accidentally drops a deeply nerdy joke from a favorite book of Lizzie’s, she begins to wonder if her instincts are wrong. So now she has to wonder: does she trust someone who has lied to her? Can Dylan fess up to his passion for books and explain why he’s not exactly telling Lizzie the truth?

This one’s for book lovers.

Noelle and Yumi were besties for 10 years, and one of the biggest things they bonded over was reality TV. Their junior year went off the rails, though, when one bad night and one attempted bad kiss ended their friendship.

Now, a year later, the two of them are offered a spot on their favorite reality show. The problem is that the season is for couples only, and filming begins in two days. Noelle needs the money badly, and she realizes that the need is so great that she could fake-date Yumi for the possibility of a cash-out.

Of course, Real Feelings may be on their way before too long–and in front of a national TV audience.

Ivy Yu’s parents got divorced six months ago, and it feels like her whole life is falling apart. Her mom decides to do something: she’s booked them a trip to Japan on a bus tour. Ivy’s cool with the first part, kinda, and less cool with the second. This summer was supposed to be when she and Connor figured out whether or not they were going to have a real relationship.

When Ivy and her mom arrive in Japan, they discover they’re the only people who aren’t seniors on the bus tour. Well. Kinda. There’s a father-son duo on the trip, too, Keith and Mateo.

Ivy’s mom is growing close to Keith, and Ivy and Mateo are having Feelings about this. They make a pact to keep their parents apart as much as possible. But as Ivy learns that Connor is building a new relationship at home and she’s spending more time with the only person her age around, Ivy and Mateo begin to catch sparks neither could have imagined.

This one’s being pitched as Gilmore Girls meets a reverse Parent Trap. It sounds fun, and it could definitely fit on the list of this year’s microtrend of international road trips. You can pick it up in hardcover or paperback.