Josephine Hemlock has been living in two worlds. To most everyone in Willow’s End, she’s just another teenage girl who may or may not be dating the school’s hottest boy. But Jo is also a witch, living with her grandmother in an ivy-covered house. They are the last of the Hemlock line since a mysterious curse killed Jo’s mother years ago. When the curse returns, Jo must fight to keep her family alive, and her secret safe. But doing both may be impossible…

House of Ivy & Sorrow mixes gothic withcraft traditions with modern-day romance and humor. The tone and language seems to lean towards older Middle Grade rather than Young Adult, but it is still a fun, fulfilling read.

Penelope lost everything in the Earth Shaker, and post-apocolyptic Los Angeles is now populated by giants, sirens, and a handful of human survivors. With the distant hope that her family is still alive, Pen roams her decimated city, picking up companions along the way. Unconventional romances blossom among the wanderers as they search for meaning in a world where everything that once seemed meaningful has been destroyed.

Francesca Lia Block’s latest is inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, which will give you an idea of how epic this novel is. Without adhering too closely to the classic, Block uses it as a guide that grounds the narrative in the familiar while the characters and reader walk through a refreshingly original dystopian landscape. The romantic relationships—none of which are traditional, heterosexual pairings—are as compelling as the journey plot, and one prominent character is transgender, a rarity in YA literature. An uncommon world, a thrilling adventure, fiery love stories . . . This is one of those novels that has it all.

Sixteen years ago, Lennie Walker’s mother dropped her and her older sister, Bailey, at their grandmother’s house and never came back. Four weeks ago, Bailey collapsed from an arrhythmia and never got up.  Today, Lennie is back at school, surrounded by classmates but alone in her grief. The only person with whom she can connect is Bailey’s boyfriend, Toby. And the only person who can see past her sadness (and lift her out of it) is the sublimely sunny new boy in town, Joe.

The Sky Is Everywhere is a heart-wrenching novel that explores the myriad feelings that come with first love and first loss. Jandy Nelson’s lyrical writing is reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson and Ava Dellaira, with a dash of Rainbow Rowell.

Not one to balk at the idea of waiting in line to meet an author or illustrator, I was lucky enough to pick up an early copy of Hug Machine at last week’s Book Expo America. (Just look at that cover! It gives me all kinds of feels.) Scott Campbell—creator of The Great Showdowns series and illustrator of Zombie in Love and If Dogs Run Free—makes his first solo foray into picture books with this quirky, adorable gem.

It’s true what they say: sometimes you just need a hug. These are words the Hug Machine, a cute, spiky-haired little boy with a candy-cane-striped shirt (and suspenders!), lives by. He knows his hugs are the best, and he will hug anyone and anything to prove it—literally. (He hugs everything from a balloon to an ice-cream truck.) Even though he inevitably meets characters in need of some affection who make hugging more challenging than usual, the Hug Machine always finds a way. And at the end of the day, he is rewarded with a hug from the one person whose embrace matters most.

I can’t get enough of Scott Campbell’s watercolor illustrations, which perfectly capture the equal parts of charm and humor that emanate from this book. Its short length and punchy text make it a great pick for reading aloud to little ones one who fancy themselves Hug Machines in their own right.