Historical Korean Romance, Ghostly Scammers, and More New YA Books for May 27, 2026

Yasir al-Azzawi’s life has not gone as his parents had hoped. He is 17 years old, a single father, and about to drop out of high school. He is two clicks away from being deported to Iraq, the war-torn country that is his parents’ homeland. Then there’s his best friend, Khalid. Khaled is at the opposite end of the spectrum. He is a devout Shiite Muslim, has straight A grades, and is active in after-school activities. However, his parents do not want him to be with Yasir. As their friendship is revealed, other truths about the family are revealed as the boys enter adulthood as Muslims in modern-day America. —Erica Eseifedi

I will definitely be adding this to my pile of perfect summer YA for 2026. Normally, Maya loves spending her summers at her favorite cabin on Spruce Lake, but she is currently depressed since she confessed her love to her best friend Rashida. She is in contrast to Gabe, who was sent to Spruce Lake for the summer due to illness. bathed. Gabe thinks the quaint little lake town is pretty boring, but then he meets Maya and the two decide to stir up a little chaos. He pretends to be on a date to make Rashida jealous, while simultaneously convincing Gabe’s mother that he has changed his ways. But then, through protests and some romantic happenings, Gabe and Maya realize that being together might be what they want after all. —Erica Eseifedi

If I have a bookish weakness, it’s slice-of-life graphic novels. To the stars and back It is one of the most popular genres on WEBTOON. This work features the romance metaphor of neighbor and lover. You don’t see this often, but it makes perfect sense as a slice-of-life story. In it, introverted Kang-dae is happy spending hours in his own little isolated bubble, but then a ray of sunshine, Bo-sung, moves into the same apartment building and begins trying to befriend him. that friendship changes quickly boyHowever, the two have never been in a real relationship before and don’t know how to overcome their trauma. Experienced. —Erica Eseifedi

A lot of things are happening to Maite, a third-year high school student, in a bad way. She can’t even think about going to college because her disabled half-sister, who has cancer and has a disability named Abuelita, moves in with her. However, she keeps her problems to herself at school and still tries to go on dates and do all sorts of social things. So she ends up on a bad, bad, very bad date with Auggie, who ends up attending a prestigious creative writing program. Never mind that he can’t even write a short story for a college application. But then he became closer to Mayte and was inspired to write about the tragedy that befell her. The question is should he write it and are his intentions pure? —Erica Eseifedi

Love is bottled and sold as Desire on the Greek island of Zakynthos by Leander, a powerful descendant of Eros. Leander’s wife suddenly dies, leaving his twins Eileen and Phoebe in danger. The only way to protect Pheoby from Leander is for Eileen to complete four complex tasks. However, the mission involves Leander’s daughter Lamy, and he has her imprisoned. Not only that, but something hungry and deadly attacks the night and the twins must fight it in order to escape from the island. —Erica Eseifedi