Seventh Period Girl

by Joya Goffney

From Joya Goffney, author of Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry and Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl, both of which received starred reviews and stellar buzz, comes her fourth riveting YA romance novel about a book-smart wallflower who suddenly wins the attention of the school hottie—but only during seventh period. Perfect for fans of the hit rom-com John Tucker Must Die and filled with Joya's signature humor, complex characters, and searing romance.
Sunnaya Bates can’t stop thinking about Omari Walker… and neither can six others.
Sunnaya starts her junior year like every other year: invisible—until she finds herself sharing seventh period with uber popular Omari Walker. Everywhere Omari goes, he finds a girl to flirt and play make-believe with because everyone knows Omari Walker does NOT date. When Omari claims Sunnaya during seventh period, it’s as though his hypervisibility rubs off on her. People can see her, and they finally remember her name…

In comes the new girl from California, who instantly wins the hearts of everyone at school, including Omari—to the point that she turns him monogamous. Omari drops his flirtationship with Sunnaya, dropping her back into the ghost realm.

But Sunnaya’s is not the only territory that the new girl usurps. She’s made an enemy of a lot of powerful Black girls—powerful and status-seeking Black girls who had Omari right where they wanted him until “that California girl” came into the picture. In order to regain their crowns and their rightful positions on top, the scorned seven, an unlikely band of clique-ish mean girls, team up to take down their rival.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary

400 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication April 27, 2027

About the author

Joya Goffney grew up in New Waverly, a small town in East Texas. In high school, she challenged herself with to-do lists full of risk-taking items like ‘hug a random boy’ and ‘eat a cricket,’ which inspired her debut novel. With a passion for black social psychology, she moved out of the countryside to attend the University of Texas in Austin, where she still resides.

Reviews

[Ashley]

Because ANYTHING Joya write imma read!!!!

[rachel x]

no blurb? 😥

[Sofia]

unreleased

[jas | 1girl1library]

Joya Goffney is truly a queen of YA stories! She truly knows how to take a specific perspective, and I’m sure young Black girls who feel invisible will feel seen with this book🥹❤️ can’t wait for her next book!

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's 3/3 with joya goffney right now. you can tell she put her soul into this book. i could feel it, also with how relatable it was. 10/10 across the board RTC

[ky]

look at how quickly my manifests work😭🤏🏽

[shana (travelersguidetobooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think anyone will ever understand how much I relate to and love this author. Every time I read one of her book, I can sense my teenage self finally feeling seen and being at peace. Getting to experience Sunnaya’s journey was so relatable because I think we’ve all experienced having a crush that makes us get a bit out of character. It was nice that she had people in her life that were able to ground her and show that she is more than just “Ghost Girl”. I absolutely loved the friendships of The Seven, it was so real and beyond beautiful. Lastly, Naeem is such a green flag and you have read this to understand what I mean. Once again, Joya surpassed my expectations and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!!

[Brooklyn]

waiting

[Poppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is in my top books of the year, for sure. joya goffney, once again, did her magic.

[Cammy]

This is like Tumblr feminism for the children of today [positive]