New YA Book Releases for January 14, 2026

When the Storm hit, Liz holed up in the now-abandoned bookstore where she’d once worked. In it, she trades books for supplies, hoping to survive. It feels like the safest place to be when the world outside has become more than dangerous. In addition to trying to stay safe, Liz is mourning that her former coworker Eva has left her alone, which is just another loss in a long line of losses Liz has experienced…and has avoided acknowledging and mourning. 

But as a second Storm brews, a girl named Maeve barges into the bookstore hoping for safety. Immediately, she and Liz are at odds until they realize that each holds a special skill that can help them survive. Maeve is difficult, unfriendly, and, well, she barged into Liz’s space without asking and refuses to find her own shelter–or at least that’s the perspective we get from Liz. As readers, we pretty quickly see that Liz’s perspective might not be the truthful one, but one marred by some of her own difficulties and sometimes-challenging and, well, unlikable characteristics. But then Liz realizes Maeve has some skills that make her stay appealing, namely that she might be able to help fix up the store and prepare it for whatever storm will come next. Liz says she can stay. 

Perhaps it’s the fact they’re potentially witnessing the end of the world, and perhaps it’s the fact that opposites can attract, and perhaps it’s the fact they are holed up in an abandoned bookstore together, but Liz and Maeve are weathering the storm together and growing closer and closer. 

But Liz’s inner demons are roaring, and Maeve’s secrets are also showing up, all thanks to a trip the two of them make outside the bookstore to gather more supplies. Despite the growing feelings between the girls, their potential relationship might be over before it begins. Can they set their pasts behind them and hold on to one another through the rapidly devolving world around them, potentially surviving not only the storm but also long enough to have a genuine, meaningful relationship? 

This is a compelling sapphic dystopian climate change novel.