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Sweet Valley Twins: Three’s a Crowd by Francine Pascal, illustrated by Claudia Aguirre and adapted by Nicole Andelfinger, leads holds this week. “Teen Librarian Toolbox” features their most anticipated YA books of 2026, two of which come out this week: Beth Is Dead, a thrilling reimagining of Little Women, and 16 Forever, about a teen who repeats his 16th year while the rest of the world moves on. Kate DiCamillo and Kelly Yang announce their new podcast, StoryKind.

SLJ chats with the Pura Belpre–winning artist about the creative process for this year’s December Best Books cover.

The YA author shares how laughter through tears is a survival tactic employed by her protagonists—and Indigenous people—to get through difficult times.

In these five titles for new readers, pairs of friends share in adventures and have twice the fun.

The author/illustrator's work shines a light on Latinx icons who haven't always appeared in our history books. Here we celebrate Menéndez's illustrations in the Spanish and English editions of the excellent poetry collection Hopeful Heroes by Margarita Engle.

With every book, Jashar Awan comes a little closer to establishing himself as the chronicler extraordinaire of what most people see as childhood's mundane moments, and it's magic.

Bestselling author Rory Power’s new YA novel Kill Creatures is a tour de force of teenage friendship, crushes, and revenge. Here, she discusses it with SLJ. 

In this Q&A series, SLJ poses five questions and a request for a book recommendation to a debut YA author. Leon Egan shares about Lover Birds in this latest installment.

Beloved YA author Tiffany D. Jackson, winner of this year’s Margaret A. Edwards Award, speaks to SLJ about the award, her expansive work, and how real life influences her stories.