A World-Saving Pickpocket, This Year’s Best YA, and More YA Book News and Talk: December 1, 2022

Described as Six of Crows meets The Cruel Prince, this fantasy adventure follows a pickpocket named Rags captured by a sorcerer who wants to take over the world. Rags is tasked with capturing ancient relics of the fae world…but come to find out, those “relics” are people. Rags and his newfound allies will need to work their magic in order to take down the sorcerer. Sinister sorcery + queer romance.

I try not to highlight titles here that are also being advertised in the newsletter — the more titles you get to know about the better — but this one sounds so good that it’s getting a shout out here, too.

Avery’s been forced to move from her home in DC to the home of her ailing grandmother in small town Bardell, Georgia. Avery’s mother and grandmother have a challenging relationship, but every time Avery tries to learn about why, she’s met with hostility herself. As Avery begins to befriend two locals, she starts to learn about the dark racist history of the community…and how her family is connected to it. She’s got to decide how much she pushes to learn about the secrets her family is suppressing and whether or not it’s worth upsetting the community. It’s a story about racism, trauma, coming out, and so much more.