New Book Palooza: YA Book Talk, April 1, 2024

Bookish Goods

Open Book Stud Earrings by MooniqueDesigns

For those of you with pierced ears or who know someone who loves books and has pierced ears, these open book studs are just tiny enough to not be super obvious what they are (which is how I like my jewelry), but the second you look closer, you know they’re open books. Grab a pair for $12.

New Releases

Your giant roundup of new releases for spring won’t hit until later this week, so I won’t be able to link to it right here for the newsletter. But trust me when I say it’s worth keeping an eye out for because there are so many books hitting shelves this month that you’ll want on your TBR. That is part of why this newsletter is dedicated to all things new books on shelves—find two novels below, and then in the next section, you’ll find even more new reads.

Something Kindred by Ciera Burch

This book sounds so good, as it is pitched as a “Magical realism meets Southern Gothic.”

It’s the summer before senior year of high school, and Jericka Walker planned to spend it hanging out on the Jersey Shore. But those plans are upended when her grandmother is dying, and Jericka’s mother drags her to spend time with grandma in Coldwater, Maryland. Jericka doesn’t know her grandmother at all, as she abandoned Jericka’s mother and uncle when they were growing up.

But as much as Jericka’s struggling to form any kind of bond with her grandmother, it’s the town of Coldwater that’s more of a struggle. The vibes of it are off, and there is so much drama. Jericka does meet Kat, though, a “ghost girl” who helps her find some fun in Coldwater.

Coldwater is full of secrets, though, and Jericka might find herself sucked into some pretty big ones.

Trajectory by Cambria Gordon

Seventeen-year-old Eleanor’s hero is her name-twin. Eleanor Roosevelt. But this Eleanor is nothing like her—or is she, in her own way?

World War II is raging in Europe, and Eleanor is worried about her Jewish family abroad. She’s also hiding a secret that accidentally gets let out: she’s a math genius and just the kind of person who would be perfect on the job of helping the US Army with a secret weapon that could put an end to the war.

Eleanor is traveling the country and the world as part of this team. It’s a lot of work but she knows she’s involved in a good cause—the only problem is she still doesn’t know or believe in herself, and before she can help with the war, she needs to get to know herself.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

April Comics

Let’s keep talking new books and highlight the wealth of awesome comics hitting shelves for YA readers in April. There’s fiction and nonfiction and truly, something for every kind of reader—even if you don’t think of yourself as a comics reader, this is a month to try something out.

If there is not an illustrator listed, it’s because it was also illustrated by the author.

The Harrowing by Kristen Kiesling, illustrated by Rye Hickman (4/16)

Rowan Sterling lost her mother to violence two years ago. At this point, she’s hoping to just into a normal groove of things. But she can’t stop having visions of violence and blood. When she tells her dad, she expects to get help. She does not expect to be drugged, then kidnapped and taken to Rosewood.

Rosewood is a training center for teens who, like Rowan, have these bloody visions. The facility trains them to become Harrows, or people who use those skills to anticipate violence and put an end to other people’s actions before the worst happens.

It sounds great. But…is it even ethical? Can you cry crime before one is even committed? Rowan will have to face these questions when she returns home and her best friend/maybe more than best friend ignites her visions—is he truly capable of committing the violence she’s picturing?

Here I Am, I Am Me by Cara Bean (4/2)

I had the opportunity to read and blurb this incredible comic late last summer and I want to press it into the hands of every single person who wants a powerful, engaging, and enlightening work about teen mental health. It’s rooted in Bean’s own experiences with her brain, and it dives into all of the different components of our mental health. This includes looking at what’s normal and what happens when our brains take a path different from the “normal” one.

The comic format is the perfect medium here, as it’s relatable, super-readable, and yet packed with facts and insights that will help any reader—teen or adult—better understand their brain.

Homebody by Theo Parish (4/23)

This is a memoir about Parish and their experience growing up and navigating their nonbinary identity. The focus is on the thousands of binary experiences that so many of us who identify on the binary take for granted.

Just Another Story by Ernesto Saade (4/2)

At 19, Carlos’s mother decided she needed to El Salvador and begin fresh in the United States. Carlos doesn’t want to go, but he also doesn’t want his mom to go alone, so he joins her. This is a comic/memoir-as-told-to-Carlos’s-cousin about the experience of migrants from Central America and all that they experience on the harrowing journey.

Pillow Talk by Stephanie Cooke, illustrated by Mel Valentine Vargas (4/30)

This looks like such a fun comic, and I have definitely put it on my to-read list. Grace Mendes is a college freshman and despite not wanting to, she makes the decision to try out for the Pillow Fight Federation (PFF). This is part roller derby, part professional wrestling. Despite her own reservations about her body and her skills, Grace makes the team, and she quickly becomes one of the fiercest PFF fighters on her team and in the league.

Punk Rock Karaoke by Bianca Xunise (4/23)

Summer is here, and Ariel Grace Jones has one goal: get her friends jamming again with their garage punk band Baby Hares and see their band launch out of the south side of Chicago and into the bigger world.

But having just graduated has made things so much more complicated. Everyone’s realizing that this summer can’t be one like every other. There’s not necessarily a new school year to look forward to. Is it too late for them to make their dreams happen with so many questions about what’s next?

But then Ariel meets a fellow punk rocker and local music industry legend. It might not just be a chance to break into the music world. It might be what saves her and her bandmates from breaking up before their careers ever launch.

Keep your eyes peeled for a nonfiction roundup of new April releases in the newsletter later this month. We have enough of both comics and nonfiction to make it make sense to split them up.

As always, thanks for hanging out. We’ll see you on Thursday with your YA paperback releases and YA book news.

Until then, happy reading!

–Kelly Jensen