Handmade Crochet Flower Bookmarks by MaPetiteFeeGift
These crochet flower bookmarks are so cute, unique, and spring-coded. $20+
These crochet flower bookmarks are so cute, unique, and spring-coded. $20+
Hey, YA Readers!
Kelly J. is still out, which means you’re getting a bit of a different flavor of YA goodness today. We decided to switch it up even more by making this a team effort: I’m hitting y’all with a couple of new releases, while my colleague Danika Ellis serves some great recs.
Looking to elevate your reading life? Tailored Book Recommendations is here to help with handpicked recommendations. Tell the Bibliologists at Tailored Book Recommendations about what you love and what you don’t. You can get your recommendations via email or receive hardcovers or paperbacks in the mail. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Plans start at just $18! Subscribe today.
Below, we’ve got a messy online vs. IRL aroace situation, a magical Lipan Apache mystery, and two books to honor Autism Acceptance Month.
This bookmark with anime-style art is low-key but also super cute. $6
I’m loving the recent college-life YA books I’ve been seeing lately, and here, two aromantic and asexual students find themselves in a messy online situation. Sophie Chi is a first-year student at Wellesley College, and, though she’s very comfortable in her aromantic and asexual identities, she knows she’ll never fall in love. Despite this, she starts an Instagram account (“Dear Wendy”) where she — follow me — gives relationship advice. Yeah. Then, there’s Jo Ephron, another first-year student at the same school, who has created the “Dear Wanda” account, which sorta kinda rivals Dear Wendy. As Sophie and Jo bond over their shared aroace identities and get closer, neither of them knows they’re secretly online rivals, which is just the best setup for some delicious messiness.
This is part of the Elatsoe series (which I loved) but actually takes place before the first book. Here, torn away from their traditional home by a devastating flood, Shane and her mother work with their pack of ghost dogs to track down missing people. When Shane’s mother and a boy from the neighborhood both go missing after interacting with a fairy ring, Shane gathers up a crew to find them. Her brother, friends, and an untrustworthy grandparent all hit the road to find the two missing people, but soon realize that it may not just be a matter of where they are, but when they are.
I loved how the first book incorporated Lipan Apache traditions with other lore, and I’m excited to see that at play in this new book.
Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!
April is Autism Acceptance Month! Here are a couple of YA books by and about autistic people to pick up this month — or any time. You find more at this great website: Autism Books by Autistic Authors.
Jessie is 15 years old, just starting high school, and has recently been diagnosed with autism. She has a plan for the year, including hiding her diagnosis, being a part of the school play, and getting her first kiss. What she wasn’t expecting, though, was falling for two guys at the same time.
Jessie, like the author, is also Palestinian Canadian. If you’d like to read more Palestinian authors from across the diaspora, this is a great choice.
Silas is an autistic trans guy living in 1883 London, which is already a difficult position to be in. To make it worse, he has violet eyes, which means he can communicate with spirits — and it also makes him a valuable marriage prospect. That sounds like a nightmare to Silas, who wants to become a surgeon, but when his attempts to escape his arranged marriage are unsuccessful, he’s placed in Braxton’s Finishing School and Sanitorium. The ableism, transphobia, and misogyny are horrific enough — but then a spirit contacts him, and he realizes girls are being killed at Braxton’s. He’ll have to take down this institution…or be its next victim. This is an extremely gory, unsettling YA horror novel, and I mean that in the best way!
That’s it for today, and thanks for reading! Kelly will be back this week with more YA tea.
Hi, YA Readers!
I’m standing in for Kelly while she’s taking some time off. I’ve written this newsletter in Kelly’s stead before, and it’s always been a good time. And today, I’ve got a fab bookmark, a couple deliciously extra paperbacks, and a few news stories for you.
Looking to elevate your reading life? Tailored Book Recommendations is here to help with handpicked recommendations. Tell the Bibliologists at Tailored Book Recommendations about what you love and what you don’t. You can get your recommendations via email or receive hardcovers or paperbacks in the mail. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Plans start at just $18! Subscribe today.
Because reading is what? FUNDAMENTAL! $4 for this essential bookmark.
The theme of today’s paperback releases is “Lipsync for Your Life!”
I mean, the protagonists below aren’t literally lipsyncing for their lives, but they are fighting for their lives in competitions that are about as extra (and fun!) as Drag Race.
Also, I’m just in a Drag Race kinda mood today.
This has such a unique magic system that goes so well with its bloody competition. In it, Ning is still gripped by guilt surrounding her mother’s death, and now, the same poison tea that killed her mother may also take her sister, Shu. The only way Ning can think to save her sister’s life is to enter the kingdom’s magical tea-brewing competition; but to win, she’ll have to contend with backstabbers, messy court politics, and handsome strangers.
This has a lot going on…in the way that we like, of course. Here, 17-year-old Ross Quest is a master thief prodigy, descended from a long line of thieves. Thing is, she just wants to live a normal teen life, free of the odd trappings of her heisting family. But then her mother’s life is threatened, and the only way for her to save her that she can see is to enter the Thieves’ Gambit, a dangerous international heisting competition. The plot thickens, of course, once we learn that among her competitors is a smooth-talking cutie…
Here’s the much larger roundup of paperback releases for spring.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
There hasn’t been too much going on, news-wise, in the world of YA. That is, except for censorship, of course.
Thanks for reading, and of course, we’ll be back this weekend with some YA deals!
-Erica
This sticker represents our energy for all of April (Poetry Month), and beyond, of course. $5+
Happy Beyoncé week to all who’ve been celebrating this past weekend! If you’ve been loving the visuals from the new album, this bookmark eats. $10
We love a good pun, and this t-shirt delivers in that arena and more: fans of Taylor Swift and Sailor Moon are eating big time with this! Sizes go up to 3x and there are a lot of colors to choose from. $19+
Ever wanted to just jump into a picture? Well, once you complete this jigsaw puzzle — while listening to an audiobook, maybe? — you will definitely want to jump in and stay awhile. $24
These book review notepads will help you engage with your reading more deeply, and come in a few different colors (pastel brown, pink, and sky blue). $8
We’ve officially the first month of spring, and these pressed flower bookmarks are very sping-coded. $14+
These art prints of book covers and authors are gorgeous, and you can choose from a long list. $27+