3 New Books In Young Adult Fiction

by MK French

School will be out soon, and it is important to keep kids reading during the summer months. Some great young adult novels are coming out this month. (P.S. You don't have to be a teen to enjoy these books)

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

The Cove by Claire Rose

May 2026; Wednesday Books; 978-1250387127
audio, ebook, print (336 pages); YA fantasy

Lindsay Weinberg is seventeen and kicked out of yet another prep school, so she's shipped off to her uncle Levi's farm in Marbury, Maine. Her uncle is away on a trip, and his new wife is incredibly religious and has other teens staying on the farm like it's a reform school. There are no phones or computers to connect to the outside world. When Lindsay meets the twins, Phin and Cass, she discovers that they live on an island off the peninsula's coast and have internet. She and the other teens go visit and apparently have an incredible night. None of them can remember all the details, and they have seashell mementos and hangovers. One by one, kids begin disappearing, and it seems like the cove is interested in claiming them all.

Lindsay is a wild child, but her parents are hands-off and dismissive; she doesn't fit in with their high-profile lives, so she's sent away yet again. A summer of farm work with others isn't her idea of a good time, but there's no way to leave. Of course, finding some kind if outlet will draw her in, but it gets even more creepy and dangerous from there. Once it does, the book moves quickly, and we're dragged along for the ride. Lindsay might not know what's happening or who to trust, but she's trying to figure it out and refuses to go down without a fight. I really liked that about her and the other teens, that even though the adults in their lives didn't appreciate them, they still hoped for something better. There's a creepy, supernatural, and horror element to the final third of the book, with a stinger of an ending. It's a fast and fascinating read that I really enjoyed. 

Buy The Cove at Amazon

Rolls and Rivalry by Kristy Boyce

May 2026; Delacorte Romance; 978-0593899229
audio, ebook, print (384 pages); YA romance

Hazel Buchanan has her senior year planned out, but this is derailed when her former best friend and crush, Max, returns to town. Thanks to meddling parents, he’s invading her D&D game even though the two bicker every time they meet. As Dungeon Master, she’s ready to shut him down, but D&D has a way of bringing people together like nothing else. Is this rivalry masking something more?

Hazel has a lot of pressure on herself to do well as color guard captain and band section leader, especially with her mother heavily invested in her doing well. Her mother had played similar roles in high school and is only too willing to jump in and fix things for Hazel if they're not going well. Add to this a competitive streak and a tendency to bicker with Max despite their parents all being friends with each other, and she feels like she can't catch a break. The two both want the same award in band, and the two are constantly in each other's orbit.

Reading this book makes me feel like I'm back in high school. D&D becomes a great equalizer for several of the students to get to know each other and problem solve, much like the game can be in real life. Communication helps not only with getting the color guard together but also with maintaining friendships and making the game enjoyable for everyone. The grand gesture at the end was heartwarming and fit them, with a happily ever after that shows the payoff for all the hard work put into the teams.

Buy Rolls and Rivalry at Amazon

That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall 

May 2026; Random House; 979-8217117963
audio, ebook, print (352 pages); young adult mystery

Kōpaʻa Island Resort is the ultimate escape for the world's wealthy, with no cell service or Wi-Fi, a famous persimmon orchard, and promises of rejuvenation. This dream location is Lehua’s nightmare. Her twin sister, Ohia, is missing and was last seen at Kōpaʻa. The Hawaiian island’s boat leaves without her, stranding her with the resort’s lavish guests and enigmatic staff. Lehua soon finds that her missing sister isn't the only mystery on the resort. It has a dark plantation past, and Lehua has dreams haunting her every night. To uncover what happened to Ohia, Lehua will have to unearth the island’s bloody history and face the horrors that lurk within its sugarcane fields—or risk being consumed by them.

The resort is an elite digital detox with a limited roster of guests and staff. Ohia supposedly worked there for a week under an assumed name, and no one knows what happened to her. Lehua knows it's not like her usually overachiever sister, so something terrible had to have happened. There are strict rules and odd things happening in the fields at night. There are just enough clues to keep her going, and the creepy sense of wrongness gets more intense as she does. The resort is built on the bones of a plantation, with uprisings and illness in its history that are reflected in the spirits around them. Those spirits are talking to Lehua, and the skeletons are literally coming out of the ground. 

Like Hawai'i itself, the book is full of stories about the past that shift in response to the perspective of the teller. Like many diaspora children, Lehua knows little of the culture and history she comes from. The fragments haunt her as much as her missing sister and the loss of family before the book even opens. The grief and anger are an undercurrent that fuels her search for Ohia, even when warned away. The stories of spirits and the traditional practices are somewhat modified to fuel the horror aspect of the novel, but there are very real horrors baked into the story: privilege, manipulation, and taking advantage of those who couldn't fight back. It weaves together perfectly and pulls you in to experience the horrors along with Lehua. 

Buy That Which Feeds Us at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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