Thomas Tiffany

When the Avengers assemble, they defeat Thanos. When six bestselling YA authors assemble, they create a spine-tingling thriller for fans of White Lotus and Knives Out.

Breakout (due out June 6, 2026 from Quill Tree Books, an imprint of Harper Collins) is the latest collaboration from bestselling authors Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk and Nicola Yoon. Fresh off the success of their bestselling romances Blackout and Whiteout, these powerhouse writers are back with a singular novel that promises “intrigue, betrayal and heart-stopping romance.”

In Breakout, the conclusion to their work together, the team are tackling the thriller genre as they follow a group of “elite teens” who are “trapped at a luxurious resort off the coast of Florida” for spring break. The book’s synopsis chillingly reveals that not all of the five childhood friends will survive the trip.

After experiencing a tragedy in their friend group, they welcome newcomer Anthony Brooks, who seems to fill the hole left by another. He invites the group on a spring break getaway to a private island at his dad’s luxury resort, and they immediately agree.

But thanks to a “freak tropical storm” and a “mounting collection of dead bodies including (another) one of their own,” the group and their trip begin to unravel.

“Everything they tried to leave behind — secrets, lies, betrayals, dead best friends — seems to be washing up on the shore of their lives for everyone to see,” the synopsis teases. “Will any of them make it out alive?”

Romance author and publisher Yoon calls the novel a “spring break murder mystery with a side of kissing.”

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Clayton, author of The Belles and Tiny Pretty Things, tells PEOPLE that Breakout is “the grand finale of our Black love story project,” adding that the team of authors “wanted to shake things up with imperfect and messy teens thrown into the twists and turns of a murder mystery with a dash of drama and love.”

While a thriller might not be the obvious first choice for the authors who have previously penned the romance-centered series, Woodfolk, the author of The Beauty That Remains, notes, “Black kids deserve to star in stories full of intrigue and excitement as much as they deserve stories where they’re falling in love, and we hope they love this book which has a bit of both.”

Angie Thomas, the author of The Hate U Give, mirrors the sentiment. “Breakout is the kind of novel I would’ve devoured back when I was a teenager," she says. "Getting to see Black kids in this type of story would’ve made a lasting impact on me. I’m honored to be able to do this again and do it with these amazing authors.”

Stone says that this project involved lots more collaboration from the six authors, making for a singular experience.

"This book felt extra special to work on with my friends because, unlike with writing a series of short stories, we had to collaborate on a level that I don't think any of us had ever done before, and it taught us a lot about the beauty of recognizing one another's strengths,” Stone explains. “It made me think a lot about how much better the world would be if people learned to prioritize co-creating something beautiful and mutually beneficial above all other objectives."

Or, as Jackson, the author of The Scammer, so succinctly puts it: “You’re in for a ride, y’all. *evil laughter*"