Stop! Bot!
James Yang. Viking, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-425-28881-8

The action in this urban interlude unfolds in front of a city apartment building whose narrow shape is echoed by the book’s tall, thin trim size.A family strolls by the building’s entrance, the younger brother flying a remote-controlled toy. “I have a bot!” he announces to the doorman. Suddenly the bot starts rising: “Stop! BOT!” the family cries. more

Clever Little Witch
Muon Thị Văn, illus. by Hyewon Yum. S&S/McElderry, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4814-8171-7

Văn sets this magical caper on Mãi Mãi Island, where Little Linh shows readers the items every witch needs (a broomstick, spell book, and winged mouse), then presents her problem: “Do you know what a clever little witch does not need? A baby brother.” Baby Phu, it seems, squalls, chews on spell books, and messes with his sibling’s broomstick. more

Marigold Star
Elise Primavera. HarperCollins, $16.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-06-056949-5

Marigold lives in magical Bramblycrumbly with her parents, baby sister, and talking pet dragon, and she has a number of problems. There’s the star over her head that has everyone convinced Marigold is “marked for greatness” and that has recently begun blinking, but Marigold doesn’t seem great at anything. more

Five Midnights
Ann Dávila Cardinal. Tor Teen, $17.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-250-29607-8

Biracial “Gringa-Rican” Lupe lives in Vermont but visits Puerto Rico for the summer to see her father’s family in this riveting novel. Soon, her love of true crime bleeds into reality when she visits the first of several peculiar crime scenes overseen by her police-chief uncle. When she discovers that someone—or something—is targeting five estranged friends who once called themselves los cangrejos, she’s intrigued. more

The Haunted
Danielle Vega. Razorbill, $17.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-451-48146-7

This spooky supernatural tale by Vega follows a well-trod horror arc: high school student Hendricks moves with her parents from Pennsylvania to a small New York town, where she senses a sinister presence in rambling old Steele House—the infamous site of a murder-suicide. Vega maintains psychological tension up until the uncertain conclusion. more