This bookish meme tells the blogosphere what we’re waiting patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) for! It’s hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine!
From the award-winning author of the Lei and the Legends duology comes a sharp new fantasy about a Hawaiian boy who can transform into what people fear a shark.
Why go to school if you’re destined to die?
In a small Hawaiian village, Nohea is the latest son in a long line of male ancestors with a horrible he’s half-human, half-shark. After his father—also cursed as a shark—kills someone who is surfing and subsequently disappears, Nohea is left isolated with only his mom as company. He knows he’ll suffer the same fate one day, so he can’t go to school or make any friends.
Worse yet, when he eventually succumbs to his shark-like cravings, he’ll be put to death and his family will be kicked out of their home on the Hawaiian homelands. But when Nohea sees a flyer for a surf competition three valleys over, he realizes the prize money might be enough to move his family to a new home when he’s gone. The catch? The competition is for school teams only.
So taking the biggest risk yet, Nohea joins the local public seventh-grade class, where he makes new friends, contends with a school bully, and gets so angry, he discovers a new row of supersharp teeth in his mouth! But this is only the beginning of Nohea’s problems.
Because soon, Nohea realizes that, one by one, his surfing friends are disappearing. Is Noeha killing his classmates without knowing it? Or is something even more dangerous afoot?
Published by: Penguin Workshop
Expected Publication: May 5, 2026
Why I’m Waiting: This sounds so cool! A fantasy where a boy turns into a shark?! I NEED IT! And then there’s the “shark-like cravings” and the fact that he seems to also have all these freaking shark things happening when he is still at the public school?! This sounds crazy lmao And obviously means I can’t wait! Also, are we finally getting more native Hawaiian literature? I’ve seen like 2 YA and then I came across this and I legit flailed! I hate to use the same, some outdated books every year, so seeing all of these made me so happy! I love to see the rep!!! So yeah, this immediately went to my TBR. I really hope there’s more where this came from!
What about you? What do you think about Shark Boys? Will you read this? Let me know in the comments!
Ooh that does have an interesting premise! I hope you positively love this one once you get to read it!
Here’s my CWW
Have a GREAT day!
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