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Tessa Yang is releasing her debut novel The Jellyfish Problem is out June 2, 2026

The forthcoming novel is "about finding your way out of grief and back to what you love," Yang tells PEOPLE in an exclusive statement

PEOPLE can reveal the cover The Jellyfish Problem

Tessa Yang ’s debut novel is a story about grief — and the reef!

The Jellyfish Problem , out next June, “is a sea monster story, but to me it’s really about finding your way out of grief and back to what you love (with a little help from a sea monster),” the New York-based author tells PEOPLE in an exclusive statement.

“The protagonist, Jo, has suffered a big loss, and she’s shut herself away in order to deal with it,” Yang adds. “I think that’s a state a lot of people can relate to, which is one of the

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