Alethea Kontis

The science doesn't quite add up in Meredith Goldstein's debut novel about a young scientist who's continuing her late mother's work on pheromones — in an attempt to win back her ex-boyfriend.

Kate Evangelista's new book is called The Boyfriend Bracket, but it's done with the titular bracket in just a few chapters, becoming a sweet story about a high-school senior and her childhood crush.

Sandhya Menon's new young adult novel follows aspiring filmmaker Twinkle Mehta, who addresses her diary entries to female directors like Mira Nair and Ava DuVernay and longs to change lives with film.