This month has already been a bit crazy – for one I just had to purchase four all new tires yesterday cause the wires in my tires were showing, which, incase you didn’t know, is really bad. I’ve had anxiety about my tires for a bit, but I’ve been on high alert the last few days for sure.
As you can see below, there’s 22 titles this month that I’m Stoked For. A few from some previous read authors as well as some debuts authors, traveling across a few decades (sometimes all in one book!), there’s a few in Hawai’i, as well as a few in some magical worlds.
Overall, a fantastic month for new releases.
May 5, 2026
A young woman finds herself teaching English literature in an all-girls boarding school in her small coastal hometown. While there, she tries desperately to figure out where in her past it went wrong.
By: Avigayl Sharp
A native Hawaiian teen travels to a luxury island resort in search of her missing twin and uncovers the dark side of paradise in this YA horror.
By: Keala Kendall
Edgar deserves to be famous, maybe then his human, Quinn, will stop being “too busy” to play. But not all attention is the same. Will Edgar choose the bright lights or someone whose right under his whiskers?
Five lives are all connected with a game created in the 1980’s.
By: Portia Elan
Derrick knows his scholarship to an elite East Coast boarding school is a once in a lifetime opportunity, even if it hurts to leave his friends and family behind in Navajo, New Mexico. While on the phone with his great-grandmother, she begs Derrick to leave Sagefield and he realizes her fear comes from her time in federal Native boarding schools, he knows he’s finally found the term paper theme he believes carrying her voice into the future, but will the pressure be too much for him?
By: Brian Lee Young
Twelve-year-old orphan, Rain is destined for a future of hard labor—until she meets a wild griffin and bonds with him. An old law says that bond entitles Rain to an education at the elite Griffin Riders Academy. But, Rain’s Rise threatens to topple Griffin Land’s fragile hierarchy, and they make her prove herself in the most dangerous way.
By: Jan M. Flynn
When Calla’s favorite teacher is accused of inappropriate conduct at his old school, she decides to take action to find the sources.
By: Chrystal D. Giles
In a small Hawaiian village, Nohea is the latest son in a long line of male ancestors with a horrible secret: He’s half-human, half-shark. He knows he can’t stay with his family forever and enters a school competition to win money.
By: Malia Maunakea
May 12, 2026
So this author is one of two authors whose books I’ve thrown across the room in the middle of reading them – not this particular one mind you but I feel like that’s usually a good starter when I pitch any of her novels 🙂 This one the story of Eng and Chang Bunker (conjoined twins) and their wives, Sallie and Addie (sisters).
By: Christina Baker Kline
After Zuzu’s dad loses his job, he is given a dated, first-generation guardian robot that Zuzu names Snap. But Snap doesn’t come with a charging station and as much as he’s okay with his reset, Zuzu is not and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep Snap alive.
By: Erin Entrada Kelly
May 19, 2026
What if a teenage girl was Mature Nature?
By: Melissa Clark
A book about the history of how the cultures around the world has used words to describe that that is around them.
Naming Nature: A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities for Word Lovers
By: T.A. Barron
Twelve-year-old Sofia lives with her mother and brother, Rafa, in their car. Days are spent finding a safe space to park for the night, but her mother says she’ll soon have her own bedroom to decorate. This is an adult novel that explores coming of age during a time of displacement.
By: Amanda Rizkalla
A middle grade novel in verse about a boy who is struggling with guilt after telling his family of his older brother’s extreme depression.
By. R.L. Toalson
When her book of spells is stolen, Little Moon is sent to the strange world of The Fault. In this stranger and simmering land, she must find allies, discover her true name, and channel the stories of her matrilineal line to battle the fearsome Shenk.
By: Candice Purwin
May 26, 2026
In this middle grade novel in verse, a young girl named Kestrel learns to stand up for herself and finds out the true meaning of home.
By: Joy McCullough
This novel is about a family of New York City crows struggling to survive the outbreak of West Nile virus during the sizzling summer of 1999.
By: Pam McGaffin
A romantic Jane Austen read-a-like set in historical Korea, about a reader and a writer who secretly fight against government book banning and find themselves drawn together.
By: June Hur
You can’t change the past, but Midnight Train can take you there and give you a chance to to re-live the moments. How will doing so change the way you see yourself?
By: Matt Haig
A middle grade novel with illustrations for those who loved Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and the graphic memoir Mexikid about a group of four friends and a magical bookstore that holds them together.
By: Laekan Zea Kemp
A new historical fiction from one of my favorite YA authors – though this is her first adult novel! In this Prohibition-era novel, Marjorie must learn about perception, reputation, and the slow understanding of truth.
By: Ruta Sepetys
Just a sci-fi novel about a robot at the end of the world whose leg was stolen and when they set out to find the thief, are accompanied by a cyborg dog and a human mechanic.
By: Suzanne Palmer
oldandnewbooksmell 