2025 Tayshas Reading List

All that's left to say

Lord, Emery,


Booklist starred reviews, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal starred, Reeling from the death of her cousin, Hannah concocts a risky plan to enroll in her cousin's elite private school and find who gave her the lethal pills, but the deeper Hannah goes the more she risks losing everything.
Date Published:2023

The Blackwoods

Colbert, Brandy,


School Library Journal, December 2023. Pub Weekly, August 2023. Kirkus Starred, August 2023. Booklist, September 2023. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), October 2023. Told from multiple points of view, Ardith and Hollis Blackwood's lives are upended when their great-grandmother, legendary actress Blossom Blackwood, passes away, and family secrets emerge.
Date Published:2024

The breakup artists

Mather, Adriana,


August and Valentine, seventeen-year-old best friends, run a business called Summer Love, Inc. They hire themselves out to unhappy parents whose kids are in bad relationships, adopting fake identities and going undercover to break up these relationships by any means necessary. Valentine, the brains of the operation, believes that they're making the world a better place by steering people away from a relationship precipice so they can someday find true love. But for August, every case is personal--another chance to prove that true love doesn't exist. He blames his sister's manipulative boyfriend for her death, and--unlike Valentine--he doesn't believe in soulmates. No, he thinks the idea of falling head-over-heels is ridiculous at any age. But then August meets Ella, who suddenly turns everything he thought he believed about love upside down. The problem is that she's their new case, which means that everything he's told her about himself is a lie--including his name.
Date Published:2024

August and Valentine, seventeen-year-old best friends, run a business called Summer Love, Inc. They hire themselves out to unhappy parents whose kids are in bad relationships, adopting fake identities and going undercover to break up these relationships by any means necessary. Valentine, the brains of the operation, believes that they're making the world a better place by steering people away from a relationship precipice so they can someday find true love. But for August, every case is personal--another chance to prove that true love doesn't exist. He blames his sister's manipulative boyfriend for her death, and--unlike Valentine--he doesn't believe in soulmates. No, he thinks the idea of falling head-over-heels is ridiculous at any age. But then August meets Ella, who suddenly turns everything he thought he believed about love upside down. The problem is that she's their new case, which means that everything he's told her about himself is a lie--including his name.

Date Published:2024

The Brightwood code

Hesse, Monica,


Booklist, Horn Book Guide starred, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly starred, School Library Journal starred, Seven months ago Edda was on the World War I front lines as one of two hundred "Hello Girls," female switchboard operators employed by the US Army, where she spent her nights memorizing secret connection codes to stay ahead of spying enemies and her days connecting calls between army generals and their men. But when her actions led to a terrible tragedy, she returned home to Washington, D.C., where she is now working as an American Bell Telephone operator. Soon, her past comes back to haunt her when Edda receives a panicked phone call from someone who utters the fateful code word "Brightwood," and she realizes someone knows about her mistake. With the help of Theo, a young man with his own World War I scars, Edda finds herself in a race against the clock to uncover the truth about the secrets that followed her back home.
Date Published:2024

Booklist, Horn Book Guide starred, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly starred, School Library Journal starred, Seven months ago Edda was on the World War I front lines as one of two hundred "Hello Girls," female switchboard operators employed by the US Army, where she spent her nights memorizing secret connection codes to stay ahead of spying enemies and her days connecting calls between army generals and their men. But when her actions led to a terrible tragedy, she returned home to Washington, D.C., where she is now working as an American Bell Telephone operator. Soon, her past comes back to haunt her when Edda receives a panicked phone call from someone who utters the fateful code word "Brightwood," and she realizes someone knows about her mistake. With the help of Theo, a young man with his own World War I scars, Edda finds herself in a race against the clock to uncover the truth about the secrets that followed her back home.

Date Published:2024

The calculation of you and me

Kaylor, Serena,


Booklist, Kirkus Reviews Starred, School Library Journal, Calculus-obsessed STEM nerd Marlowe was as surprised as anyone when Josh, a hot, popular boy from school asked her out. She was equally surprised when a few months later, she was unceremoniously dumped by him for being emotionally unavailable. Determined to win him back, she asks the help of Ashton Hayes, a boy she's paired with for an English assignment, who wears eyeliner and black clothes, and is in a band. In exchange for using her algorithm skills to help his band gain exposure, she asks him to use his songwriting prowess to help her express her love to Josh. Though things track in right direction for the new friends, Marlowe is surprised yet again, when she realizes she's falling for Ashton, and she doesn't have to try to be something she's not to win him over.
Date Published:2024

Booklist, Kirkus Reviews Starred, School Library Journal, Calculus-obsessed STEM nerd Marlowe was as surprised as anyone when Josh, a hot, popular boy from school asked her out. She was equally surprised when a few months later, she was unceremoniously dumped by him for being emotionally unavailable. Determined to win him back, she asks the help of Ashton Hayes, a boy she's paired with for an English assignment, who wears eyeliner and black clothes, and is in a band. In exchange for using her algorithm skills to help his band gain exposure, she asks him to use his songwriting prowess to help her express her love to Josh. Though things track in right direction for the new friends, Marlowe is surprised yet again, when she realizes she's falling for Ashton, and she doesn't have to try to be something she's not to win him over.

Date Published:2024

The color of a lie

Johnson, Kim, 1979-,


After a tragedy in Chicago forces the family to flee, they resettle in an idyllic all-white suburban town in search of a better life. Calvin’s father wants everyone to embrace their new white lifestyles, but it’s easier said than done. Hiding your true self is exhausting — which leads Calvin across town where he can make friends who know all of him…and spend more time with his new crush, Lily. But when Calvin starts unraveling dark secrets about the white town and its inhabitants, passing starts to feel even more suffocating–and dangerous–than he could have imagined.
Date Published:2024

After a tragedy in Chicago forces the family to flee, they resettle in an idyllic all-white suburban town in search of a better life. Calvin’s father wants everyone to embrace their new white lifestyles, but it’s easier said than done. Hiding your true self is exhausting — which leads Calvin across town where he can make friends who know all of him…and spend more time with his new crush, Lily. But when Calvin starts unraveling dark secrets about the white town and its inhabitants, passing starts to feel even more suffocating–and dangerous–than he could have imagined.

Date Published:2024

The dark becomes her

Lin, Judy I,


At head of title: Rick Riordan presents. When a ghost from the spirit world transforms her sister, Ruby Chen confronts the dark upheaval in Vancouver's Chinatown as she enters into an ancient battle over the gateway to the underworld as she attempts to save her sister and her community.
Date Published:2024

The fall of Whit Rivera

Maldonado, Crystal,


Booklist, Kirkus Reviews Starred, Publishers Weekly, Seventeen-year-old Whit, a plus-sized Puerto-Rican girl, is forced to plan the school's Fall Formal with her handsome ex. Frenemies Whit and Zay have been at odds for years (ever since he broke up with her in, like, the most embarrassing way imaginable), so when they're forced to organize the fall formal together, it's a literal disaster.
Date Published:2023

The half-life of love

Bourne, Brianna,


Flint Larson has known when he was going to die since he was eight because of the Half-Life Institute, and he is spending the last forty-one days quietly with his divorced parents; September is a vibrant aspiring scientist who wants to cure "half-life", especially since she has met Flint--but their time together is getting short.
Date Published:2023

The invocations

Sutherland, Krystal,


Booklist, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly starred, School Library Journal starred, Zara Jones is still haunted by the murder of her sister, and she will stop at nothing to bring her back from the dead. After a deal with a demon went sideways, Jude Wolf was cursed and now her soul is slowly dying. Zara and Jude both seek out the help of Emer Byrne, an orphaned witch with a dark past who gives her invocations to women in desperate situations who are willing to sacrifice a piece of their soul in exchange for power. But when Emer's clients start turning up dead all over London, she fears a serial killer is targeting witches, so she enlists the help of Zara and Jude to stop the murderer before they strike again.
Date Published:2024

Booklist, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly starred, School Library Journal starred, Zara Jones is still haunted by the murder of her sister, and she will stop at nothing to bring her back from the dead. After a deal with a demon went sideways, Jude Wolf was cursed and now her soul is slowly dying. Zara and Jude both seek out the help of Emer Byrne, an orphaned witch with a dark past who gives her invocations to women in desperate situations who are willing to sacrifice a piece of their soul in exchange for power. But when Emer's clients start turning up dead all over London, she fears a serial killer is targeting witches, so she enlists the help of Zara and Jude to stop the murderer before they strike again.

Date Published:2024

The Narrow

Marshall, Kate Alice,


School Library Journal, September 2023. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starred, September 2023. Publishers Weekly, June 2023. Kirkus dtarred, June 2023. Booklist, August 2023. Everyone has heard the story of the Narrow. The river that runs behind the Atwood School is only a few feet across and seemingly placid, but beneath the surface, the waters are deep and vicious. It's said that no one who has fallen in has ever survived. Eden White knows that isn't true. Six years ago, she saw Delphine Fournier fall into the Narrow--and live. Delphine now lives in careful isolation, sealed off from the world. Even a single drop of unpurified water could be deadly to her, and no one but Eden has any idea why. Eden has never told anyone what she saw or spoken to Delphine since, but now, unable to cover her tuition, she has to make a deal: her expenses will be paid in return for serving as a live-in companion to Delphine. Suddenly Eden is waking up to wet footprints tracking to the end of her bed, the sound of rain on the windows when the skies are clear, and a ghostly silhouette in her doorway. Something is haunting Delphine--and now it's coming for Eden, too.
Date Published:2023

School Library Journal, September 2023. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starred, September 2023. Publishers Weekly, June 2023. Kirkus dtarred, June 2023. Booklist, August 2023. Everyone has heard the story of the Narrow. The river that runs behind the Atwood School is only a few feet across and seemingly placid, but beneath the surface, the waters are deep and vicious. It's said that no one who has fallen in has ever survived. Eden White knows that isn't true. Six years ago, she saw Delphine Fournier fall into the Narrow--and live. Delphine now lives in careful isolation, sealed off from the world. Even a single drop of unpurified water could be deadly to her, and no one but Eden has any idea why. Eden has never told anyone what she saw or spoken to Delphine since, but now, unable to cover her tuition, she has to make a deal: her expenses will be paid in return for serving as a live-in companion to Delphine. Suddenly Eden is waking up to wet footprints tracking to the end of her bed, the sound of rain on the windows when the skies are clear, and a ghostly silhouette in her doorway. Something is haunting Delphine--and now it's coming for Eden, too.

Date Published:2023

The reappearance of Rachel Price

Jackson, Holly, 1992-,


Publishers Weekly, February 2024. Eighteen-year-old Bel reluctantly participates in a true crime documentary about her mother Rachel's disappearance sixteen years ago, but when Rachel returns seemingly from the dead, skeptical Bel intends to uncover why.
Date Published:2024

The Rosewood hunt

Reed, Mackenzie,


Booklist, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly starred, School Library Journal, Seventeen-year-old Lily Rosewood lives with her Gram, the head of Rosewood Inc., her family's luxury coat company. Lily wants nothing more than to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in Paris and work her way up through the ranks to follow in Gram's footsteps. However, when Gram unexpectedly dies, Lily is banished from their home and sent to live with an uncle. Grieving and confused, Lily receives a letter from her grandmother with clues leading her and three other teens around town in search of a treasure. They soon discover others also are hunting for the treasure and must think quickly if they are to succeed.
Date Published:2023

Booklist, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly starred, School Library Journal, Seventeen-year-old Lily Rosewood lives with her Gram, the head of Rosewood Inc., her family's luxury coat company. Lily wants nothing more than to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in Paris and work her way up through the ranks to follow in Gram's footsteps. However, when Gram unexpectedly dies, Lily is banished from their home and sent to live with an uncle. Grieving and confused, Lily receives a letter from her grandmother with clues leading her and three other teens around town in search of a treasure. They soon discover others also are hunting for the treasure and must think quickly if they are to succeed.

Date Published:2023

The space between here & now

Suk, Sarah,


Booklist, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly starred, Ever since seventeen-year-old Aimee Roh's mother left her and her father for Korea when she was a child, Aimee has suffered from Sensory Time Warp Syndrome (STWS), in which certain smells from her past trigger her to time travel to the place where the memory occurred. Lately, her episodes have become more frequent and are lasting longer, but her father refuses to get her the help she desperately seeks. When a latest time travel involving her mother disputes the story her father told her about why she left, she decides to travel to Korea to track down her mother and try to gain insight into what she's experiencing. Reconnecting with an old friend, she meets others with STWS and learns she must reconcile with the past in order to find peace in her future.
Date Published:2023

Booklist, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly starred, Ever since seventeen-year-old Aimee Roh's mother left her and her father for Korea when she was a child, Aimee has suffered from Sensory Time Warp Syndrome (STWS), in which certain smells from her past trigger her to time travel to the place where the memory occurred. Lately, her episodes have become more frequent and are lasting longer, but her father refuses to get her the help she desperately seeks. When a latest time travel involving her mother disputes the story her father told her about why she left, she decides to travel to Korea to track down her mother and try to gain insight into what she's experiencing. Reconnecting with an old friend, she meets others with STWS and learns she must reconcile with the past in order to find peace in her future.

Date Published:2023

The summer she went missing

Ichaso, Chelsea,


Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly starred, School Library Journal, The previous summer, sixteen-year-old Paige's best friend Audrey Covington went missing from Clearwater Ridge, a small vacation destination where Paige and her family spend the summers with the wealthy Covington family. This year, her family decides to return, but things have grown distant between Paige and Audrey's older brother Dylan, who were romantically together the night Audrey disappeared. When Paige finds a hidden cellphone in Audrey's room, she and Dylan begin investigating Audrey's case, which had gone cold. Soon the pair are drawn into the town's dark underbelly and its history of missing girls.
Date Published:2024

Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly starred, School Library Journal, The previous summer, sixteen-year-old Paige's best friend Audrey Covington went missing from Clearwater Ridge, a small vacation destination where Paige and her family spend the summers with the wealthy Covington family. This year, her family decides to return, but things have grown distant between Paige and Audrey's older brother Dylan, who were romantically together the night Audrey disappeared. When Paige finds a hidden cellphone in Audrey's room, she and Dylan begin investigating Audrey's case, which had gone cold. Soon the pair are drawn into the town's dark underbelly and its history of missing girls.

Date Published:2024

Sunrise nights

Zentner, Jeff,


Booklist starred reviews, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly starred, Florence, a dancer losing her eyesight, and Jude, a photographer going through painful family changes, meet on the last night of a sleepaway arts camp. Seizing the moment, they set out into the night together to talk and explore town until the sun rises, with one rule--no contact afterwards. At least, that is, until next summer. Their story is told in verse and through conversational dialogue.
Date Published:2024

Booklist starred reviews, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly starred, Florence, a dancer losing her eyesight, and Jude, a photographer going through painful family changes, meet on the last night of a sleepaway arts camp. Seizing the moment, they set out into the night together to talk and explore town until the sun rises, with one rule--no contact afterwards. At least, that is, until next summer. Their story is told in verse and through conversational dialogue.

Date Published:2024

Swarm

Lyle, Jennifer D.


Originally published in 2017 under the title "Contribute"--Title page verso. Booklist, When Shur sees mysterious giant butterflies outside of school one day, they seem too beautiful and strange to seem like a threat, but she and her classmates soon discover that there is something very wrong with these creatures. Despite emergency warnings to stay indoors, Shur leaves school with her twin brother, Keene; her toddler brother, Shawn; and their two best friends, and they soon learn just how dangerous these butterflies are when they witness one attack a person on their way home. As Shur tries to protect the ones she cares about most, they realize that the butterflies carry a horrifying infection, turning people into angry, grotesque, and zombie-like creatures, but they soon realize that the butterflies are not the only threat they face.
Date Published:2023

Originally published in 2017 under the title "Contribute"--Title page verso. Booklist, When Shur sees mysterious giant butterflies outside of school one day, they seem too beautiful and strange to seem like a threat, but she and her classmates soon discover that there is something very wrong with these creatures. Despite emergency warnings to stay indoors, Shur leaves school with her twin brother, Keene; her toddler brother, Shawn; and their two best friends, and they soon learn just how dangerous these butterflies are when they witness one attack a person on their way home. As Shur tries to protect the ones she cares about most, they realize that the butterflies carry a horrifying infection, turning people into angry, grotesque, and zombie-like creatures, but they soon realize that the butterflies are not the only threat they face.

Date Published:2023

Sync

Hopkins, Ellen.


School Library Journal starred, August 2024. Booklist, July 2024. Told in dual perspectives through unsent letters, this novel follows 17-year-old twins Storm and Lake, separated in the foster care system, as they each take different paths--one incarcerated and one living on the streets--and fight to find their way back to each other.
Date Published:2024

That's not my name

Lally, Megan,


Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there―or who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station, and not long after, a frantic man arrives. He's been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos. He is her father. Her name is Mary. Or so he says. When Lola slammed the car door and stormed off into the night, Drew thought they just needed some time to cool off. Except Lola disappeared, and the sheriff, his friends, and the whole town are convinced Drew murdered his girlfriend. Forget proving his innocence, he needs to find her before it's too late. The longer Lola is missing, the fewer leads there are to follow…and the more danger they both are in.
Date Published:2024

Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there―or who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station, and not long after, a frantic man arrives. He's been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos. He is her father. Her name is Mary. Or so he says. When Lola slammed the car door and stormed off into the night, Drew thought they just needed some time to cool off. Except Lola disappeared, and the sheriff, his friends, and the whole town are convinced Drew murdered his girlfriend. Forget proving his innocence, he needs to find her before it's too late. The longer Lola is missing, the fewer leads there are to follow…and the more danger they both are in.

Date Published:2024

This dark descent

Josephson, Kalyn.


Map on endpages. The Rusel family is famous throughout Enderlain as breeders of enchanted horses, but their prestige is no match for their rising debts. To save her family's ranch, Mikira Rusel is left with only one option: enter the Illinir, a treacherous, cross-country horserace known for its high death rate as much as its flashy prize money.
Date Published:2023