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It’s Award Season. Hip Hip Hoor-YA!: YA Book Talk, November 2, 2023

Hey YA Readers!

I used to be such a November hater, but as I’ve gotten older and have come to appreciate the cozy season, it’s become a month I look forward to. I take an annual retreat for a long weekend after the clocks change up north, and even though I am not a snow/cold person, it’s an opportunity to be present with it. Something about that helps shift my perspective and allows me to embrace what’s to come.

It doesn’t hurt that I know there are several months to come where it is far easier to permit myself a weekend with blankets, candles, warm beverages, and stacks on stacks of books, too. This is reading season.

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Bookish Goods

fall library bookmark

Path to a Fall Library bookmark by EmilyCromwellDesigns

Halloween may be over, but we’ve still got nearly two full months of fall to enjoy. This bookmark is everything perfect about the season, celebrating autumnal colors and the delights of the library. $3 and up.

New Releases

Let’s dive into this week’s new paperback releases. We’ve got two very different genres to highlight by two authors who have been making some rad YA careers over the last few years. As always, the full list of fall YA paperback releases is here, and you may need to toggle your view to see the paperback edition when you click the links below.

an arrow to the moon book cover

An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan

In this literary blend of Romeo and Juliet and Chinese mythology, Hunter Yee cannot escape his family’s past, even if he is an expert with the bow and arrow. It is only his brother, a cute girl at school, and a magical wind keeping him where he is. He wants to run, to escape, but he knows he cannot.

Luna Chang feels crushed by the weight of her family’s expectations for her, which have only continued to grow as she’s come closer and closer to high school graduation. Little by little, though, Luna starts to break some rules and discovers both the magical and the ominous in doing so.

But as Hunter and Luna draw closer to one another, it might be their respective families that keep them from connecting as they wish they could. Can–will–the fates intervene?

the feeling of falling in love book cover

The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver

This is a queer grumpy-sunshine romance, wherein a date drafted for a wedding on the other side of a country ends up falling apart before it begins, and when Neil drafts a new date last minute, it may be more than simply a date to the wedding. It might be something much more fiery.

YA Book News

The best books and annuals book awards season is beginning, so expect to see some great reading lists in the coming weeks. We will begin today!

As always, thanks for hanging out. We will see you on Saturday with a batch of great YA book deals.

Until then, happy reading!

–Kelly Jensen, currently reading Extremely Online by Taylor Lorenz