Young Power

Fate - is it written in the stars from the moment we are born, or is it a bendable thing that we can shape with our own hands? Jepp of Astraveld needs to know. He left his countryside home on the empty promise of a stranger, only to become a captive in the strange, luxurious prison that is Coudenberg Palace, the royal court of the Spanish infanta. Nobody warned Jepp that, as a court dwarf, daily injustices would become his seemingly unshakeable fate. If the humiliations were his alone, perhaps he could endure them, but it breaks Jepp’s heart to see his friend Lia suffer.

Seventeen-year-old Ellie had no hope left. Yet the day after she dies by suicide, she finds herself in the midst of an out-of-body experience. She is a spectator, swaying between past and present, retracing the events that unfolded prior to her death. But there are gaps in her memory, fractured pieces Ellie is desperate to reassemble.

Twin Falls Academy — a seething hub of overprivileged trust-fund babies and indulged elite — and my new alma mater. I’m an orphan. I am the unwashed masses that they can’t stand and they never miss an opportunity to grind that message home. Especially Rosalie Evers, the queen bee who rules with a manicured grip wrapped around the throats of everyone trapped beneath her. But I don’t care what they think. I’m just doing time at Twin Falls until I can get back to California for college.

Hamilton had his future planned out. Everything was right on track with college...until his father had a heart attack, and every dime of Hamilton’s savings went to paying off the medical bills. Now, he’s desperate to earn it back so he can head off to school like he’s always wanted. His method is selling homemade jerky from his father’s RV. The only problem is the person parked on the other side of the street.

When Charlotte wins a scholarship to a writing workshop in Venice with the charismatic and brilliant Luca Bruni, it’s a dream come true. Writing is her passion, she loves Bruni’s books, and going to that romantic and magical sinking city gives her the chance to solve a long-time family mystery about a Venetian poet deep in their lineage, Isabella Di Angelo, who just might be the real author of a very famous poem.

Micah and Sesame are true best friends. They safeguard each other’s secrets and entwine their dreams. Micah wants to save his parents from the cult leader who calls himself “the Prophet.” Sesame recently lost the last of her own family - her grandmother - and, to avoid foster care, plans to keep a low profile until she turns 18. Together, they never doubt they can build the futures they want. Until Micah disappears. The Prophet has taken Micah, his parents, and the rest of his followers underground.

Ruth Fitz is surrounded by activism. Her mother is a senator who frequently appears on CNN as a powerful Black voice fighting for legislative social change within the Black community. Her father, a professor of African American history, is a walking encyclopedia, spouting off random dates and events. And her beloved older sister, Virginia, is a natural activist, steadily gaining notoriety within the community and on social media. Ruth, on the other hand, would rather sit quietly reading or writing in her journal.

Everything Koda Rose knows about her father she’s learned from other people. Moving to New York City with her mom won’t change that, even if New York was Mack Grady’s city - where he became famous, where he wrote his music, and also where he died. Koda has more important things on her mind. Like how she’s in love with her best friend, Lindsay, and doesn’t have the courage to tell her. Agonizing over how to confess her feelings leads Koda to explore Mack’s enigmatic history in search of answers.