Hey, YA Readers!
We might be a few weeks out from official summer here, but it’s full on here in terms of busy weekends, plenty of things to do around town, and the cicadas. The cicadas! I love them, though I know a lot of folks don’t. It’s been fun to watch it go from searching for where they might be to seeing the first one and now to listening to their screaming all day long.
But you’re not here to listen to me talk about wanting to find an elusive blue-eyed cicada. You’re here for books, so let’s get to that.
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First (lol), I’ve got a personal ask! I am the co-president of my local senior pet rescue’s associate board, and we’ve got a rad fundraiser coming up. From Saturday, June 8 through Thursday, June 13, if you do any online shopping at Barnes & Noble and enter the code 12765574 in the payment section under the “Add Bookfair ID” box, we’ll get a percentage back of sales. It’s good on anything. Thank you—I’m dropping a photo of me and one of the senior kitties from Young at Heart at the bottom as gratitude.
Bookish Goods
Read Queer Books Sticker by MileLongTBRBoutique
It’s June and while every single month is the right month to read queer books, this month it is especially important to highlight and champion them. One way? A bright rainbow book stack sticker. Choose from several sizes, beginning at $2.50.
New Releases
It’s a great week for new releases, both in hardcover and in paperback. I’ve pulled three paperback releases out to share below, but you can see the whole roundup of the week’s releases over here. As always, you might need to toggle your view in order to see the paperback edition.
The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar
Shireen Malik might be mourning the breakup she’s had with Chris, but it’s not prolonged once she learns that she’s been accepted as a contestant on a new teen baking competition television show. Not only is Shireen stoked for the potential prize money but it’ll also bring attention to her family’s donut shop.
But you know this isn’t going to be easy.
See, Chris is also a contestant on the show.
And Shireen is starting to become close with the good-looking Niamh, first as friends and then as maybe something more.
Can she keep her eyes on the prize and avoid sabotage to win the competition? Or will love take all?
House Party edited by justin a. reynolds
If you love creative anthologies, look no further. What happens during one epic party? That’s the premise, with ten excellent YA authors telling interconnected stories of that magical night.
Florence Hills High School seniors are having a party at a megamansion in the Chicago suburbs. DeAndre Dixon, the school’s golden boy, is the host, and everyone is invited, whether they’re popular, jocks, nerds, or something else altogether. What transpires is loud music, lots of kissing, new friends, relationships crumbling, and much more.
Contributors to this book include Angeline Boulley, Jerry Craft, Natasha Díaz, Lamar Giles, Christina Hammonds Reed, Ryan La Sala, Yamile Saied Méndez, justin a. reynolds, Randy Ribay, and Jasmine Warga
Spin by Rebecca Caprara
Love verse novels and Greek mythology? This one is for you!
Arachne has been outcast, except for her family and best friend, Celandine. By learning how to weave, Arachne is able to find herself, her talents, and even her voice. When her family is tragically lost, and she and Celandine leave for the city of Colophon, wherein Arachne is challenged by Athena. Arachne refuses to give in to Athena, so the two of them will engage in a weaving contest that will alter both of their fates.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
YA Book News
- Here’s a peek at the forthcoming new George M. Johnson book, a work of nonfiction celebrating queer Black creatives of the Harlem Renaissance.
- Geek Girl hit Netflix and the reviews for the YA adaptation aren’t bad!
- Reese Witherspoon’s YA book club picks are back, and she’s using the insights of her teenage nieces for the picks.
- A little more casting news for the adaptation of We Were Liars has come out.
- The headline on this story is a little misleading, but the history of the popular ’80s teen thriller/horror series Cheerleaders is interesting. (It was not uncommon for long series like this to use so many authors at the time—so “surprising” feels a little overblown when “interesting” is more accurate!).
- The Crime Writers of Canada awarded Cherie Dimaline the title of best juvenile or YA crime book for Funeral Songs for Dying Girls.
As I promised in the intro, here’s a photo of one of the Young at Heart rescues. It’s from a couple of summers ago, and the kitty with me is Jay. Jay loved climbing up on me like that and snoozing for as long as I’d let him—and the only reason we stopped doing this together is because Jay was adopted!
Thanks as always for hanging out. We’ll see you on Saturday with some rad book deals.
Until then, happy reading!
–Kelly Jensen