YA Fans: It’s time to catch up the haps.
“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd from HMHTeen.
From the bestselling author of The Madman’s Daughter trilogy comes Grim Lovelies, the first in a glittering new epic YA series where secrets have been long buried, friends can become enemies, and everything—especially humanity—comes at a price. Perfect for fans of Marissa Meyers, Holly Black, and Cassandra Clare. Called “a darkly enchanting saga…bound to attract fans of Leigh Bardugo” by Entertainment Weekly.
There’s so much great YA book news to dig into this week and I can’t wait to share!
- The release date for the adaptation of The Hate U Give was moved up two weeks! And here are 5 things to know about the film.
- Laurie Halse Anderson’s upcoming YA memoir Shout has a cover, and it’s a great homage to Speak.
- This year’s long list for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature is INCREDIBLE.
- We’re getting a graphic novel adaptation of Jason Reynolds’s Long Way Down.Â
- Dolly Parton announces that Dumplin‘ is headed to Netflix. This is a really smart move on Netflix’s part.
- Renee Watson’s next book is beautiful from cover to theme and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.
- The New York Times highlighted the ways that authors for young readers are becoming leading activists and voices for change.
- Another great YA piece at the New York Times focuses on using YA books in an era of #MeToo.
- There’s a Nancy Drew drama in the works for the CW.
- Follow up that news with a piece about the not-so-hidden racism in Nancy Drew.
- A little teaser of Raven Cycle adaptation news.
- Susan Dennard’s The Witchlands is in the works to become a live action TV series.
- Another gorgeous cover for the second book in Dhonielle Clayton’s The Belles series.
- 11 ways to know you’re a YA reader, according to Goodreads users.
- I’m not a Sweet Valley reader (Er, rather, never was as a young reader), but this piece should be fun reading for those who were: the weirdness of the “evil twin” books.
- Ned Vizzini’s Be More Chill is transferring to Broadway.
- Mrs. Doubtfire, which is based on a YA book, is being made into a musical.
- Kyoshi from Avatar is getting her own YA series.
- A tiny bit more news about the Amazon pilot being done for Lauren Oliver’s Panic.
- I’m madly in love with this Slytherin wedding.
- Remember that bad Wall Street Journal article about YA (no, not that one. The other one)? There’s a nice selection of letters to the editor refuting it, including one by yours truly.
- Lena Dunham pens a lengthy love letter to SE Hinton’s The Outsiders.Â
- Let one of the masters of ghost stories in YA — Nova Ren Suma — recommend some other ghost stories to read this season.
https://twitter.com/jennyhan/status/1036670321628045312
Recent Book Mail
Lots of book mail in the last couple of weeks. You might want your TBR at the ready for this. Listed from top to bottom, left stack then right.
Unnatural Disasters by Jeff Hirsch
A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos and translated by Hildegarde Serle (This is the first YA book from publisher Europe Editions in translation).
(Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start The Conversation About Mental Health edited by Kelly Jensen (my own book!).
The Kiss Collector by Wendy Higgins
The Disasters by M.K. England
Pride by Ibi Zoboi
All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater (Out in paperback!)
You Owe Me A Murder by Eileen Cook
Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith
Tales From The Inner City by Shaun Tan
Fake Blood by Whitney Gardner (technically a middle grade graphic novel, but Garnder’s a YA author and I think this one skirts that line)
The Art of Losing by Lizzy Mason
Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement by Nadya Okamoto
Blended by Sharon Draper
Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Katherine Webber
Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich
Beneath The Citadel by Destiny Soria
We Say #NeverAgain by Parkland Student Journalists
The Deepest Roots by Miranda Asebedo
People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins
The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendrix (This is the second YA nonfiction title on Bonhoeffer in recent memory — the first was by Patricia McCormick a few years back.)
Cheap Reads
Grab ’em while they’re super affordable. Prices current as of Tuesday, September 11.
American Street by Ibi Zoboi is $2.
Savage by Nicole Conway — a dragon book! — is $2
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder is $2.
Lauren Oliver’s Vanishing Girls can be yours for $2.
Talon by Julie Kagawa is $2.
This is an oldie but a goodie: S.A. Bodeen’s The Compound is $3.
Sara Farizan’s wonderful Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel is $2.
The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma is $2.
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee is $2.
Journey To Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray is $3.
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Thanks for hanging out and we’ll kick off next week with a fun author interview!
— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Twitter and Instagram
Psst: we’re giving away a 6-month subscription to Owl Crate, Jr. You’ll want to enter this!Â