Jasmine Is Haunted

Spirits have repeatedly chased eighth grader Jasmine Garza and her mami from their rental homes, so they’ve moved multiple times since Papi died. While trying to fit in at her new school, she meets queer and genderqueer Bea Veracruz and Jorge Barrera, who is gay. Bea, whose parents are professional supernatural investigators, is immediately intrigued by Jasmine’s claim that she’s haunted and invites her to join the Gay Supernatural Alliance (“We renamed it,” Jorge explains). As members of the GSA, Bea and Jorge investigate paranormal events in their school—and they’re certain they can help Jasmine not only figure out what is haunting her but, more importantly, get it to stop. Jasmine soon finds herself at a crossroads and must decide if she’s ready to forge her own path. Empathy plays a key role in this captivating and emotionally nuanced paranormal adventure by Oshiro (You Only Live Once, David Bravo) that explores themes of family secrets and heritage. Spine-tingling descriptions of the trio’s experiences with things beyond the veil such as pulsating and oozing shadows add tension to meditations on life and death as seen through a Latinx narrator’s eyes. Ages 8–12. Agent: DongWon Song, Howard Morhaim Literary. (Oct.)