check out quirk’s spring 2025 books!
Alice Chen’s Reality Check
by Kara Loo and Jennifer Young
Love is hell, even in paradise. A reality show contestant must fake date her rival while solving a murder in this sizzling romcom set on a tropical island.
Perfect for fans of Dial A for Aunties and One to Watch, this swoonworthy rivals-to-lovers romance with a murder mystery twist is your next must-read.
Alice Chen doesn’t believe in true love, but she does believe in cold, hard cash. Buckling under the weight of student debt and her mother’s medical bills, Alice will do anything to make bank–even star on Dawn Tay’s Inferno, the hot new reality TV show designed to push couples to their breaking point.
The show is Alice’s chance to sip cocktails on the beach and win a cash prize of a million dollars. Everything is going according to plan…until her jerk fiancé breaks up with her during the second week of filming. To stay in the game, Alice agrees to fake-date the other newly single contestant: her high school rival and sworn enemy, Daniel Cho.
But it turns out that all’s fair in love and reality TV, and Alice isn’t the only one who will do whatever it takes to win. When a dead body turns up, Alice and Daniel are faced with uncovering the secrets of the cast and crew to catch the killer–all while playing the loving couple on camera. As the reality show spirals out of control, Alice must confront her true feelings and crack the case if she wants to make it off the island alive.
Starring a murder mystery twist, plenty of reality show drama, and a thrilling romance, this debut by up-and-coming Asian American writer duo Kara Loo and Jennifer Young is the ultimate beach read.
Zoomi and Zoe and the Tricky Turnaround
By Corey Ann Haydu
Princess in Black meets Monsters, Inc. in this zany, heartwarming new series for early readers 4 to 8 years old!
Written by the acclaimed Corey Ann Haydu with sweet, quirky illustrations by Anne Appert, the Zoomi and Zoe series explores the wonder and anxiety of life’s first big transitions with warmth, whimsy, and plenty of silliness.
Zoe loves routine, her stuffed rhino Zoomi, and her best friend Kyla. When Kyla moves away, Zoe feels alone. Until somehow, she’s transported to a magical new world with just one sort-of-familiar face: Zoomi, who is suddenly very much real.
Zoomi loves adventure, zooming, and her best friend Moo. In her world, life is full of happy surprises, but one ritual is certain: when something hard happens, she’ll have Tricky Turnaround. And when she does, a Happy Helpful Human from the “real” world will arrive to help her through it.
But when Zoe arrives, she doesn’t seem very happy. Or helpful. Or interested in the party Zoomi threw for her—complete with toothbrushes and a rainbow mud slide. In fact, Zoe may be navigating a Tricky Turnaround of her own. Can Zoomi and Zoe come together to help each other with the trickier parts of growing up, like saying goodbye to friends and making new ones?
Keep an eye out for book two, The Sibling Situation, launching in August 2025!
Growing into You!
By Melissa Pintor Carnagey, Lbsw
For tweens of all gender identities ages 10 to 14 and their trusted caregivers, Growing into You! is a shame-busting, interactive guide to puberty and changing bodies by the founder of Sex Positive Families.
Body hair. Changing friendships, feelings, and fluids. The tween years can be awkward and confusing—but with enough information and an open mind, you can thrive! Growing into You! has all the facts you’re looking for and more. For example, did you know that . . .
- Voice changes happen to people of all genders?
- Breast buds aren’t something only girls develop?
- Sleep actually helps your bones and muscles grow?
- Everyone has their own unique relationship to gender?
By the founder of Sex Positive Families, a groundbreaking education platform dedicated to shame-free, inclusive conversations about bodies and sexuality, Growing into You! is a modern primer on the puberty years for Generation Alpha.
Packed with essential information, conversation starters, surprising facts, fun activities, and more, you’ll find plenty to take into the real world with you. After all, growing into you is a journey—so it’s time to embrace curiosity, ask questions, and treat your body with respect and care!
Gay the Pray Away
By Natalie Naudus
In this gripping queer YA romance perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Becky Albertalli, an Asian American teen longs to break free of the conservative cult she was raised in.
Valerie Danners is in a cult. She just doesn’t know it yet. But when she stumbles upon a queer romance novel at the library, everything about her life—centered around a conservative Christian homeschool cult—is thrown into question.
Worst of all, there’s a new girl in town. Riley is rebellious, kindhearted, and impossibly cool. As the two bond over being multiracial teens in their very white and very religious community, Valerie finds herself falling in love.
Soon Valerie and Riley are exchanging notes in secret and stealing kisses behind the church. But even as their romance blooms, Valerie knows that they’re trapped. If Valerie wants a chance at writing her own story, she must choose between staying with a family she fears will never accept her or running away with the girl she loves.
A Spoonful of Time
By Flora Ahn
Coming soon in paperback!
A School Library Journal Best Middle Grade Book of 2023
When You Reach Me meets Love Sugar Magic in this unforgettable middle grade novel where time travel, family recipes, and family secrets collide.
Maya’s grandmother, Halmunee, may be losing her memory, but there’s something almost magical about the way she cooks. Whether Halmunee serves salty miyeokguk or sweet songpyeon, her stories about Korea come to life for Maya.
Then one day, something extraordinary happens: a single delicious bite of patbingsu transports Maya and Halmunee back into one of Halmunee’s memories. Suddenly they’re in Seoul, and Halmunee is young.
This is just the first of many secrets Maya will uncover: that she and her grandmother can time-travel, and they aren’t the only ones with this ability. As Maya eats her way through the past, her questions multiply—until a shocking discovery transforms everything she thought she knew about family, friendship, loss, and time itself.
Brimming with heart and interspersed with seven family recipes that readers can make themselves, this is a story to savor by rising Korean American author Flora Ahn.
Outdoor Gourmet
By Robin Donovan
Bring great eating to the great outdoors with more than 100 delicious recipes you can cook at your campsite—but will want to keep making at home!
Getting in touch with nature doesn’t need to mean subsisting on energy bars, canned beans, and prepackaged meals. With these easy-to-follow recipes, you can use your camp stove or firepit to whip up restaurant-worthy food that will satisfy any gourmand.
Toss the trail mix, leave the hot dogs at home, and plan a totally new approach to outdoor eating. Outdoor Gourmet includes advice on choosing a camp stove and stocking your kitchen-away-from-home, storage strategies for fresh foods, and tips for making your new favorite camping meals in a traditional kitchen or on a backyard grill so you can keep vacation going all year.
Stuff Every Adult Should Know
A pocket guide to all the adult stuff you’re expected to know (but that nobody ever explains)—from paying your taxes to changing a tire to making new friends.
Do you ever feel like you missed the day in school where they taught you . . . literally everything you were going to need for a successful adulthood? How do you iron clothes? Where do friends come from? Why are there so many types of insurance? Does everyone else already know this stuff, and where did they learn it?
Well, you don’t have to flail around anymore, pretending like you know what you’re doing. Here’s the handbook for that day we all missed—and it fits right into your pocket! Get the background knowledge you deserve for life skills like:
- Writing a cover letter that’s confident but not overconfident
- Replacing a button or sewing a hem to rescue old clothes
- Making a budget and sticking to it
- Hosting a party—and making small talk at a party
- Holding a baby, whether it’s yours or someone else’s
- And more!
Featuring handy tips, tricks, and techniques collected from the bestselling Stuff series, Stuff Every Adult Should Know is the adulthood 101 we’ve been waiting for!