12 must-read September YA releases to pair with your PSL

young people who meet at the grocery store just as California is going into lockdown in response to the growing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while their personal lives undergo significant changes – Maxine’s part time job at the store is about to become essential worker hell, while Jonah’s anxiety goes into overdrive – the two still manage to form a deep connection. (Even though they can’t exactly see each other at the moment.) 

A story of falling in love amid (very) difficult conditions, Hello (from Here) also wrestles with many of the difficult questions our society is still facing after a year and a half of living with the pandemic: Classism and privilege, who is tasked with being “essential” and who isn’t, who can easily access mental health services in times of strife, and what we owe to one another as a society.

The official synopsis describes the story as fol

September 2021 release; Hello (from Here) – Chandler Barker and Wesley King

Young love in the midst of quaranteine? There’s a YA story for that.

Hello (from Here) comes from New York Times bestselling authors Chandler Barker and Wesley King, and is described as a cross between Anna and the French Kiss and Five Feet Apart, but with the added bonus of a global pandemic thrown on top.

The story follows Maxine and Jonah, twolows.

"Maxine and Jonah bump into each other in the canned goods aisle of the grocery store just as the state of California is going into lockdown, when everything changes completely. Could there be a worse time to meet? Max’s part-time job at a supermarket is about to transform into a hellish gauntlet. Jonah’s preexisting anxiety is about to become an epic daily struggle. As Max, Jonah, and their friends live together but apart through hijinks, humanity, and heartbreak, Hello (From Here) cuts across urgent matters much bigger than a teenage crush. Differences of class, privilege, mental health, and sacrifice are thrown into stark relief by the profound and personal stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic. As thoughtful, probing, and informed as it is buoyant, romantic, and funny, Hello (From Here) looks at the first two months of the quarantine and adds falling hopelessly in love to the mess."

Hello (from Here) is available on September 7.