Author: Kelly Jensen

It’s been a bloody summer across the Midwest. Or, rather, it hasn’t been, though there’s been a lot of death. Each of the murders has been bloodless, with victims found with a handful of slashes but without blood remaining in their bodies. Now the killer — or killers — has turned to Michael Jensen’s town in Minnesota, killing a mother, father, and high school student, and standing among them, pooled in blood, is Marie.

All signs point to Marie as the killer, but she refuses to talk to anyone except Michael. He’s an aspiring journalist and sees this as his opportunity to break a huge story. But the longer he talks with Marie, the less he begins to believe what happened to be clear, true, or easy. She’s convinced him that she worked alongside a vampire — nameless, faceless, long gone from the crime scene — and she can’t help locate him. But the legal system in Nebraska is hot on the case, pressing for more and more details, hoping to extradite Marie back to Nebraska in order to charge her. The law there allows for the conviction of accomplices to murder, not just the murderer, and this would bring peace and closure.

But as the truth….or the supposed truth…unravels, it becomes much more complex. Who is Marie? Where did she come from? What happened to her family, and what did her stepfather do to her? And is that story or her relationship to her stepfather the narrative she wants in the news?

This is a clever take on vampires, but it’s also based loosely on two separate murder sprees in the Midwest during this time. It’s got Midwest Gothic vibes, wrapped in an In Cold Blood style true fictionalized crime narrative.

Cori, Maz, and Sam were inseparable growing up. They hung out all of the time, shared a deep love for Halloween and arcade games, among other things, but when they were in middle school, things started to change. 

Fast forward to 1993, and Sam has been gone for six years. Cori and Maz are seniors, and they run across one another by chance…and that chance meeting resurrects not only the feelings of their broken friendship but it also brings Sam back. Sam, who comes back not as a senior himself but as his 12-year-old self. Still believing it is 1987. 

What unravels is a story of secrets the best friends kept from one another, as well as what both Cori and Maz believe happened to Sam.

This is a fun, funny paranormal mystery for readers who love Stranger Things.

Right before the pandemic started, I did an event in the Bay area. As part of that, I was invited alongside two other YA authors to speak with teenagers who were in a juvenile detention facility about writing and books. McNeil was one of those other authors, and the absolute passion these students had for her and for this book series was incredible–and it was something that really made me take note of this book in a way I hadn’t before.

The prison island of Alcatraz 2.0 is where viewers can tune in via The Postman app. The app streams executions of the most dangerous and notorious criminals in the country.

Dee Guerrera, 17, wakes up in a terrifying warehouse and immediately realizes she’s going to be part of this dangerous “entertainment.” While she hadn’t thought too much about it before, she certainly does now. Especially because she’s being accused of a crime she absolutely did not commit. Now it’s up to Dee and her newly formed group of friends, dubbed the Death Row Breakfast Club, to prove her innocence.

The problem? The Postman needs to provide to its users.

This is the first in a series, and all of the books are out and available to read. It’s perfect for readers who enjoy Squid Game and/or Black Mirror.

Molly Bauer is off to college, but it is starting out to be a disaster. All of the money she was promised in the form of financial aid disappeared. But she’s scoured the papers and policies of her school and discovered something: if she and nine other art students can win one game of softball, they’ll all be able to enjoy a full athletic scholarship.

Of course, they’re going for it! Who cares if they don’t know a thing about the sport?

Iggy is an Ohio-born Colombian American. Once he bumps into Marisol, he becomes quickly infatuated. Marisol, however, is way too busy with her own life—including getting her legal papers—to engage. Iggy is desperate to catch her attention, and then he is quickly approached by his abuelo with suggestions.

The problem? His abuelo is dead and also gives terrible advice.

Kai Song wants to follow in the footsteps of her father and become a warrior. The problem is she’s a girl, and society isn’t keen on female warriors.

She’s also been subject of rumors that she is the granddaughter of Gumiho, the legendary nine-tail fox that her father killed.

When Kai finds out a huge secret about her mother’s past, Kai finds herself unraveling, worried that everything she thought she knew about herself, her history, and her family are all untruths.

I would have eaten this book up as a high schooler and have, in my adulthood, read several comics that cover this terrain: moving away to college.

This is Sarah’s graphic memoir of leaving her home in Wisconsin to attend college in Minnesota. It’s about all of the expectations and anticipation she has and what happens when those things butt against the realities of what college life is actually like.

This is the second comic in a series that brings a fresh twist to Shakespeare. In King Cheer, we get a queer twist on King Lear (one of my fav Shakespeare plays!).

Leah is the cheerleading captain but decides to call it quits just before graduation. She is struggling with a lot of things, including her identity, with being waitlisted at her dream college, and more.

A pair of twins have now stepped in to replace Leah as co-captains and the situation for the team is not good. They’ve put the cheer squad in such a position that now, they’re fighting the basketball team.

One person can solve the problem. But for Leah, that first requires untangling her own.

This one is pitched as The Fast and the Furious but with broomsticks, and it follows a group of 6 diverse teens who participate in a forbidden broom race, which allows them to embrace their magic as witches. It’s set in 1930s Mississippi, giving the story of magic and witchcraft a historical spin.

Ivy is chronically ill and has decided to spend the summer away from social activities since that triggers her anxiety. But her mom and her sister urge her to join a support group, and she does—reluctantly at first, then a little more willingly, once she meets an attendee named Grant. He is cute, he is sweet, and he truly understands her. They share the same juvenile rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis.

But as Ivy begins to feel sicker and grows tired of the work it takes to manage her illness, can she hope that even someone who understands the experience will stick around?

I talked about this one in the January 15 edition of this newsletter, so I won’t say much more because it’s straightforward—this is a rad collection of stories about girls in sports. Also rad? Some of those girls are disabled.

Maisie is attending her first fan convention, and she is stoked to meet one of the heroes of her favorite superhero show. That hero, like her, has a lower leg amputation.

But what Maisie does not anticipate is meeting a cute volunteer at the event named Ollie. As the day goes on, Maisie is unable to stop thinking about how much she is falling for Ollie and how that meeting might be the surprise she did not know she needed.

Poisoned water changed the landscape of Ian’s West Virginia town. Those who drank the water were turned into zombies, and Ian, who has dealt with chronic migraines and seizures, has relied on his best friend (maybe more than best friend) Eric to help kill the infected around them.

So when a mandate from the government requires everyone in town to evacuate, Ian is not only injured in the rush, he’s devastated to discover Eric has left him on his own.

Now Ian will team up with two others left behind to find out what happened to Eric.

That is, if Eric doesn’t kill them first.

Phoebe is stuck in a time loop. It is August 6 every day, down to the same doctor appointments that do not help manage her IBS.

But then a car accident sends Jess into the same time loop. Jess, who happens to be Phoebe’s childhood crush. Jess, who convinces Phoebe to take advantage of their repeating days and take chances without consequences.

As Phoebe falls harder and harder for Jess, she begins to worry that the fun they’re having in the time loop will disappear if they ever get out of it.

This book has everything: a historic setting, the Suffragist movement, a girl on an Antarctic exposition, and a survival story.

Clara Ketterling-Dunbar is part of The Resolute, a team of 28 crew members on an Antarctic exposition. It is November 1914, and the ship is stuck on ice 100 miles from the continent. How will the team survive? How will Clara figure out who she is amid a crew who is not necessarily happy there is a woman on board?

As a heads up: this book has sexual assault and harm to animals–the first is not unpunished, and the second is not out of gross cruelty but survival.

If you love survival, discussions of feminism and what it does or does not entail, and reading about the perceptions held by people around the globe about Americans in this era, don’t miss this one.

Harper thought she knew her entire life and had a plan with her best friend: they’d been ballerinas forever. When they graduated, they’d get positions in the San Francisco Ballet, a loft downtown, and they’d live their dreams. Together.

Things don’t turn out that way, though, which is how Harper ends up in Antarctica. It was some string-pulling and some creative truth-telling that got her there, but it’s an opportunity to rethink her future. To make plans and unmake some, too.

One of the largest tech companies in the world is sponsoring an internship for teens to study climate change in Antarctica. Riley Kowalski jumps at the chance, along with three others. Riley hoped it could be a restart, as she’d had a very public panic attack at school and could not escape the ridicule of classmates.

But when the teens get to the research station, they don’t seem to be alone. Riley thinks she sees something, but she can’t be sure. Her anxiety can play tricks on her.

As their research leader experiences some bizarre physical changes, though, the teens are realizing that there is something out there and it wants to take them down.

Clara’s got magic. It’s never been dangerous, though. Then, one day, she touches her father’s chest, and from it blooms poisonous flowers. She knows the only way to help him is to cast a spell. It’s the kind of spell that requires precision and perfection, and it’s the kind of spell that will require her to seek help from Xavier. Xavier is her childhood friend, and he’s asking a heavy price for his help. Clara accepts, even though she’s nervous to do so.

But what Clara discovers about Xavier is the truth of why he’s changed so much between childhood and now. Clara may be the only one with the power to heal him.

This graphic novel is about a teen witch who helps out at her grandmother’s bookshop, where she often hands out spell books and assists in looking into supernatural occurrences in her small town. During one of those investigations, she stumbles upon her childhood crush and wants to not only rekindle feelings, but also to help him reclaim his power. It’s about family, about the ways history can tie a family and romantic relationship together, and for readers who don’t usually like “horror,” it’s not especially gory. It’s about super-magical powers and spirits.

Xu’s art is perfectly suited to the story, with a wide color palette.

It might sound like a dream gig, but for 17-year-old Aurelie, Basil’s Bakery is tough work. She keeps to herself, even though she’s overworked as an apprentice. Then a stranger walks in and gives her a set of Seeking stones. Seeking, an old-fashioned way of magic, is a skill Aurelie has, even though most people in her world do not.

The stranger is a bounty hunter and has a request of Aurelie: help rescue Prince Hapless from the Underwood. She agrees and quickly finds herself drawn into Hapless’s world full of portals, trolls, and more.

Soon, she finds herself falling hard for Hapless and his wild world. Should she stay or return to her dependable, if boring, life at the bakery?

Bri has a gift where she can grow plants from nothing into something with a single touch. When her aunt dies and leaves her estate in the hands of Bri and her family, they decide to spend the summer there. She’s hoping to learn to contain her gift but, soon learns through the estate’s old apothecary and walled garden packed with deadly botanicals that her family’s magic is what can help solve the dark secrets of the land. Oh, and there’s a nefarious group coming after Bri, as they discover she has a pretty magical hand for creating elixirs, including one for immortality…

This one is a spin on The Secret Garden and Greek mythology, and it’s also a queer, gothic delight.

Mona is 14, and while everyone around her seems to have an amazing magic, hers is…not. Her familiar is a sourdough starter, and that’s the only thing her magic seems to work on.

It’s a quiet life, but Mona keeps herself busy enough in her aunt’s bake shop. That is, until she finds a dead body on the floor. There is a killer on the loose, and all signs point to Mona being the next possible victim.

Who can she turn to for help? It might just be her own form of magic.