Sponsored by the 2k22 Debuts: 22 YA & MG books releasing in 2022.
Check out the Winter and Spring Releases: The Bone Spindle, a YA Sleeping Beauty-inspired retelling; The Witch, The Sword and The Cursed Knight, a King Arthur-inspired MG fantasy; The Turning Point, an emotional dance-infused YA set in the 80s; Drew Leclair Gets a Clue, a modern Harriet the Spy MG mystery; A Magic Steeped in Poison, a YA fantasy inspired by Chinese mythology; Remember Me Gone, a keeps-you-guessing YA speculative thriller; Hotel Magnifique, a decadent, darkly enchanting YA fantasy; Grow Up, Tahlia Wilkins! a fun MG romp about growing up.
Hey YA Readers!
There’s a fun microtrend in 2022 YA books, and that’s marching bands. There are at least three forthcoming titles this year that put marching at the heart and center of a book.
Let’s take a look at those titles, along with some excellent backlist marching band fiction. While I want to say that I’m surprised how white these books are in terms of authorship, I’m not entirely surprised. Despite the fact some of the most tremendous marching ensembles are inclusive and Black marching bands have a long and fascinating history, that hasn’t yet translated to fiction for young adults. I hope that the books hitting shelves this year help usher in more diverse marching band titles (and I won’t lie: I want to see some killer Black rhythm dancing on YA book covers–some of these covers get me excited for the potential here!).
Famous In a Small Town by Emma Mills
Sophie lives in a small town which has one claim to fame: it’s the former home of famous country singer Megan Pleasant. When Sophie — who has never felt limited by the small town — learns her marching band has been selected for the Rose Parade, she finds herself in charge of raising the funds to make the trip possible . . . and she hopes she can enlist Megan Pleasant’s help.
Forward March by Skye Quinlan (March 9)
A queer, asexual marching band book sound like your cuppa? Then add this one to your TBR.
Harper hopes to just survive her senior year of high school and marching band, as well as the Republican presidential campaign of her father. But then she discovers someone has created a fake gay dating profile for her online, pretending to be her. While she doesn’t want anyone to discover this, she can’t help but be intrigued by the drum major who decided to swipe right.
Full Flight by Ashley Schumacher (February 22)
Enfield, Texas, is much like so many other tiny Texas towns in that football reigns supreme. But for the marching band, it’s competition season, and new saxophone player Anna, it’s her time to prove her place on the line. When she’s paired with a mellophone player for a duet — a boy everyone in town sees as nothing but trouble — she’s eager to put together the performance and skeptical about working with him. But she might find herself falling for who he really is as well as coming clean to her strict parents about their secret relationship.
It Sounds Like This by Anna Meriano (August 2)
Yasmín Treviño’s freshman year was a wash thanks to a hurricane. But now she’s eager to work hard and beat her best friend for the role of first flute in the school’s marching band. When Yasmin reports an anonymous gossip site, though, she ends up getting the entire low brass section of the band suspended, which doesn’t bode well for her hopes of a better year. She decides then she’ll learn how to play tuba, alongside a number of freshman boys. It looks good, but that gossip site rears its head again and now things might be too hard to handle . . . and she may lose her best friend in the process.
Major Crush by Jennifer Echols
We’re going back to 2006 with this one, but readers who love an enemies-to-lovers romance will want to snatch this up.
Virginia is forced to share the role of drum major with Drew, who is arrogant and the two of them are constantly arguing. It turns into a pretty steamy romance, though as much as they’re finally getting along, rumors about them may end up ruining the marching band itself.
The Trouble With Destiny by Lauren Morrill
Liza Sanders’s school marching band has lost funding, and she believes she’s found the solution. Destiny, a luxury cruise ship, offers a $25,000 talent contest, and Liza is bound and determined to win.
The problems begin, though, when her former crush shows up and he looks good. And then there’s another good looking guy who shows up whose girlfriend is leader of the show choir — the band’s biggest competition for funding at the school.
But when Destiny breaks down, the competition and challenges might go from bad to worse to downright dire.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
As always, thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you again on Thursday for your YA book news and new releases roundup.
Happy reading!
— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram.