Author: Kelly Jensen

Hey YA friends! Let’s highlight some of 2019’s rad YA comics.

“What’s Up In YA?” is sponsored by If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann and Swoon Reads.

Winnie is living her best fat girl life at her Granny’s diner, Goldeen’s, in the small town of Misty Haven. She’s poised for one last perfect summer twirling around the diner floor in her 50’s-inspired uniform before starting college in the fall. And then she becomes Misty Haven’s Summer Queen, a highly anticipated matchmaking tradition that she wants absolutely nothing to do with. Newly crowned, Winnie discovers almost immediately that she’s deathly afraid of it all: the spotlight, the obligations, and the way her Merry Haven Summer King, wears his heart, humor, and honesty on his sleeve.

If you love YA books and haven’t been reading YA comics lately, I hope this roundup will convince you to pick up a new title or two. For those who already know the incredible range of talent in YA comics, this look at a handful of 2019 YA comics will also likely add some new finds to your reading lists.

My own YA comics reading this year has been lacking, despite an incredible slate of new titles, so descriptions are from Amazon while I frantically catch up. This isn’t comprehensive, of course.

Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden (September 10)

Bea is on the run. And then, she runs into Lou.

This chance encounter sends them on a journey through West Texas, where strange things follow them wherever they go. The landscape morphs into an unsettling world, a mysterious cat joins them, and they are haunted by a group of threatening men. To stay safe, Bea and Lou must trust each other as they are driven to confront buried truths. The two women share their stories of loss and heartbreak―and a startling revelation about sexual assault―culminating in an exquisite example of human connection.

This magical realistic adventure from the celebrated comics creator of Spinning and On a Sunbeam will stay with readers long after the final gorgeously illustrated page.

Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau

Now that high school is over, Ari is dying to move to the big city with his ultra-hip band―if he can just persuade his dad to let him quit his job at their struggling family bakery. Though he loved working there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away over rising dough and hot ovens. But while interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easygoing guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to escape it. As they become closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom . . . that is, if Ari doesn’t ruin everything.

Kiss Number 8 by Colleen AF Venable and Ellen T. Crenshaw

Mads is pretty happy with her life. She goes to church with her family, and minor league baseball games with her dad. She goofs off with her best friend Cat, and has thus far managed to avoid getting kissed by Adam, the boy next door. It’s everything she hoped high school would be… until all of a sudden, it’s not.

Her dad is hiding something big―so big it could tear her family apart. And that’s just the beginning of her problems: Mads is starting to figure out that she doesn’t want to kiss Adam… because the only person she wants to kiss is Cat.

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley’s dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There’s just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.

Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy’s best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium, who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it’s really Laura Dean that’s the problem. Maybe it’s Freddy, who is rapidly losing her friends, including Doodle, who needs her now more than ever.

Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnists like Anna Vice to help her through being a teenager in love.

Mera: Tidebreaker by Danielle Paige and Stephen Byrne

When the Xebellian military plots to overthrow Atlantis and break free of its oppressive regime, Mera seizes the opportunity to take control over her own destiny by assassinating Arthur Curry–the long-lost prince and heir to the kingdom of Atlantis. But her mission gets sidetracked when Mera and Arthur unexpectedly fall in love. Will Arthur Curry be the king at Mera’s side, or will he die under her blade as she attempts to free her people from persecution?

An astonishing graphic novel that explores duty, love, heroism and freedom, all through the eyes of readers’ favorite undersea royalty.

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu (October 15)

Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.

One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.

Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks

Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends.

Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say good-bye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September 1.

But this Halloween is different―Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye.

Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if―instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut―they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years . . .

What if their last shift was an adventure?

Thanks for hanging out and we’ll see you again soon!

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

Hey YA readers! Let’s catch up on the latest YA book talk.

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura, from Epic Reads.

CJ’s never lived up to her mom’s ambition, and she’s perfectly happy just helping her aunt, Hannah, at their family’s flower shop. She doesn’t buy into Hannah’s ideas about flowers and their hidden meanings, but when it comes to floral arrangement, CJ discovers a skill she can be proud of. Then her mom decides to sell the shop—to the family who swindled CJ’s grandparents when Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during WWII. Soon a rift threatens to splinter CJ’s family, friends, and their entire community; and for the first time, CJ has found something she wants to fight for.

It’s been a minute since we’ve caught up on all of the incredible YA book talk happening over on Book Riot. Let’s take this opportunity to do just that.

You’ll note so much excellent YA fantasy talk here! Likewise, don’t miss out on the start of Hey YA: Extra Credit and all things Norma Klein.

• Add a pile of new YA paperbacks to your summer reading lists.
• Want some queer YA fantasy reads? Here you go!
• Here’s what Asian Pacific American YA authors want you to know (I love this style of interview so much, as it allows so many voices to shine!).
• Royals in YA fantasy.
• Dig into the top YA horror books.
• Gilded covers in YA fantasy are trending.
• Read your way into some excellent unlikable female characters in YA fantasy.
• YA books that are set at the beach.
• On the representation in We Hunt The Flame. 
• There are never enough YA ballet books as far as I’m concerned.
• Author Tom Mitchell talks about his book How To Rob A Bank.
• Animals of Unusual Size in YA fantasy.
• YA fantasy books set in the modern world.
• These are some of your favorite unconventional YA love stories.
• How about some monster girls in YA fantasy?
• Books by UK authors of color for middle grade and young adult readers.
• Love Stephanie Garber’s “Caraval” series? Here’s what to read next.
• Add some YA fantasy themed flair to your life.
• Where can you find great YA books in translation? Let us help!
• YA books about reproductive freedom.
• More of the kinds of heroes we’d love to see in YA fantasy.
• Excellent Asian-inspired YA fantasy.
• 50+ must-read YA books about sports.
• Get your hands on these inclusive YA fantasy books.
• Diverse YA fantasy books where heroines dress like boys. Oh, and here are some more, too.
• How about some Harry Potter fanvids?
• 2019 feminist YA fantasy reads.
• What is it that adults love about YA fantasy?
• Get into some standalone YA fantasy books.
• Last, but not least, read your way into the work of YA author E. Lockhart.

Just for fun, enjoy this photo of my bunny Hollandaise and her least-favorite book in the Harry Potter series. Enjoy some more bookish pets here.

Thanks for hanging out and we’ll see you later this week!

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

Hey YA Readers: Let’s talk popular YA!

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by the audiobook edition of Birthday by Meredith Russo.

From the award-winning author Meredith Russo, comes a heart-wrenching and universal story of identity, first love, and fate. Eric and Morgan have been best friends since day one. They share nearly everything together, even their birthdays, but Morgan hasn’t been able to tell Eric his biggest secret. He knows that he’s supposed to be a girl. Six years of birthdays reveal Eric and Morgan’s destiny as they come together, drift apart, fall in love, and discover who they’re meant to be—and if they’re meant to be together. The audiobook of Birthday is read by Dana Aliya Levinson.

I’m always curious what people are most interested in, in part because as much as we talk about trends, those aren’t always defined by those who, well, actually set the trends (see the “trend” that low-rise jeans are coming back into style that’s been from Fashion, as opposed to everyday folks who are hanging on to high-waisted jeans for dear life).

This extends not to just fashion but to books and reading as well. I suspect a lot of readers feel this way — whether or not you’re a reader of everything that is popular, it’s always nice to know what it is people are interested in because it’s great for social ice breaking and also, well, determining whether or not you should look into the thing for yourself.

I’ve gone through the YA books that we have talked about at Book Riot for the first half of 2019 and rounded up the top 10 books. These are based on the number of mentions they’ve had on site and showcase a really wonderful range of genres and authors. There are front list and back list titles here. I limited to one book per author (see: Angie Thomas!) to give a nice range of titles.

This list doesn’t necessarily reflect the bestsellers list and that’s what makes it so interesting.

Because I’ve yet to read all of these YA books, I’ve used Amazon descriptions. May you be adding some more awesome reads that are reader tested and reader approved to your TBR. These are in alphabetical order.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.

Now we rise.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages–not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers–beautiful, haunted Akiva–fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Tyrants cut out hearts. Rulers sacrifice their own. Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she enlists the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death… because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago.

Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?

In this shimmering Chinese-inspired fantasy, debut author Joan He introduces a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling tells the story of the vulnerable-yet-strong Katsa, who is smart and beautiful and lives in the Seven Kingdoms where selected people are born with a Grace, a special talent that can be anything at all. Katsa’s Grace is killing. As the king’s niece, she is forced to use her extreme skills as his brutal enforcer. Until the day she meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, and Katsa’s life begins to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Internment by Samira Ahmed

Rebellions are built on hope.

On The Come Up by Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill.

But it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral…for all the wrong reasons.

Bri soon finds herself at the center of a controversy, portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. But with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri doesn’t just want to make it—she has to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.

Insightful, unflinching, and full of heart, On the Come Up is an ode to hip hop from one of the most influential literary voices of a generation. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; and about how, especially for young black people, freedom of speech isn’t always free.

Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo

Sparks fly between a K-pop starlet and a tabloid reporter in Somewhere Only We Know, a heartwarming rom-com from Maurene Goo.

10:00 p.m.: Lucky is the biggest K-pop star on the scene, and she’s just performed her hit song “Heartbeat” in Hong Kong to thousands of adoring fans. She’s about to debut on The Tonight Show in America, hopefully a breakout performance for her career. But right now? She’s in her fancy hotel, trying to fall asleep but dying for a hamburger.

11:00 p.m.: Jack is sneaking into a fancy hotel, on assignment for his tabloid job that he keeps secret from his parents. On his way out of the hotel, he runs into a girl wearing slippers, a girl who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. She looks kind of familiar. She’s very cute. He’s maybe curious.

12:00 a.m.: Nothing will ever be the same.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about.

With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

The Things She’s Seen by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina

This brilliantly written thriller explores the lives–and deaths–of two girls, and what they will do to win justice. Sure to be one of the most talked-about books of the year!

Nothing’s been the same for Beth Teller since the day she died.

Her dad is drowning in grief. He’s also the only one who has been able to see and hear her since the accident. But now she’s got a mystery to solve, a mystery that will hopefully remind her detective father that he needs to reconnect with the living.

The case takes them to a remote Australian town, where there’s been a suspicious fire. All that remains are an unidentifiable body and an unreliable witness found wandering nearby. This witness speaks in riddles. Isobel Catching has a story to tell, and it’s a tale to haunt your dreams–but does it even connect to the case at hand?

As Beth and her father unravel the mystery, they find a shocking and heartbreaking story lurking beneath the surface of a small town.

We Hunt The Flame by Hafsah Faizal

People lived because she killed. People died because he lived.

Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the sultan. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways. Both Zafira and Nasir are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya―but neither wants to be.

War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the sultan on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds―and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.

Thanks for hanging out and we’ll see you on Monday!

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

Hey YA readers: You’ve seen those movie, game, and television tie-in novels exploding lately, right? Let’s hear from one of the writers of those types of books.

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Disney Publishing Worldwide.

Freaky Friday meets She’s the Man in this hilarious contemporary YA about sworn enemies who suddenly find themselves deeply intertwined. Packed with wit and heart, Preston Norton’s second novel brilliantly explores relationships, gender identity, and non-conformity.

Micol Ostow has been writing YA for many, many years. She’s done a little of everything in terms of genre, and my introduction to her work was through her horror (she is one of the winners of this year’s YA honor for the Summer Scares program with her book The Devil and Winnie Flynn).

Micol isn’t here to talk about that, though. One of her big writing arenas is something that absolutely fascinates me: YA tie-ins. You’ve seen them and will continue seeing them — these are YA books that are related to either a movie or TV series or maybe even a video game. Micol’s written a Mean Girls tie-in, and right now, she’s elbow deep in writing the YA tie-in series for Riverdale (which is itself fascinating, as it’s gone from a comic series to a TV show and then back to print in the form of YA books!).

I’ve asked her to talk about what it’s like writing a tie-in series, and she’s here to offer up her ultimate confessions. Let’s give a warm welcome to Micol Ostow — and prepare ourselves to really love the heck out of some tie-in novels.

Confessions of a Tie-In Writer

It is occasionally hard for me to get work done.

Not because I’m a procrastinator, or a woman of a certain age whose questionable multitasking skills often deteriorate into distraction (though I assure you, I am both of those things).

In fact, one of the biggest challenges in my line of work is that, as a sometime tv and movie tie-in writer, it can be a challenge to convince people that I am working.

As a freelance writer, I often work from home. I have a cozy office with a door that closes. But I also have two small children. And when they come home from school and see me on my office couch, laptop beside me and iPad streaming the latest episode of Riverdale, it’s easy to understand how they might get confused.

“I know sometimes my work looks like watching tv,” I tell my oldest, “but I promise you, it’s actually my job.” She’s skeptical (rightly so).

On those occasions, I usher the one or the both of them out of the office and lock the door behind them without remorse. I’m very grateful for the lock on the door. But more than that, I’m amazed to have a job that does so often “look like watching tv.”

    I’ve been a published author since 2005, and a full-time writer since 2007. I began my career in children’s publishing as an editor of young adult fiction, and specifically, commercial paperbacks, many of which were based on licensed properties (some of my earliest projects included the OG “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” “Charmed,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and “Angel”).

*Another fun tidbit? In my former life as an editor, I had the pleasure of working on a Charlie’s Angels novelization written by kidlit wunderkind David Levithan himself.

I think it goes without saying that my career is objectively awesome.

    While I’ve had the privilege of publishing across a variety of genres and age bands since I first began writing professionally, in the last few years I’ve somehow found my way back to tie-in work, and happily so. An editor friend of mine reached out after acquiring the license to Mean Girls to ask if I’d be interested in working on a novel. I’d just had my second baby and my chapter book series was coming to a close, and the idea of diving head first into a fun, iconic property greatly appealed.

Tie-ins are a strange beast. One needs to be an adroit enough writer to mimic character voice, tone, and style – but not so stylized as to allow any authorial voice to pierce the veil. One needs – in most cases – to conceive of original storylines as tautly-plotted as any original work – but those plots must conform to the situational norms of the television show. And above all, one needs to defer to the creators’ vision of the property itself.

Recently, I’ve been working on original novels and comics for “Riverdale,” the teen-soap-noir drama based on the iconic Archie comic set in the eponymous town. It has been, in a word, a dream.

    (Though technically, that’s two words.)

“Riverdale” is exceptionally suited to my particular wheelhouse: I love teen drama, I love mystery, and I love a healthy dose of genre homage. In that sense, this property is no different than an original work of my own – I feel huge connection and ownership to the writing, because I feel such a kinship for the source material.

    That said, it may be my wheelhouse, but it’s not my sandbox; I just play in it. When asked during a recent interview how tempted I am to bend the characters and the storylines to my will, the answer was: Actually, not all that much. It might have to do with having spent so much time on the opposite side of the desk, but I’m all too aware that these characters and scenarios belong to someone else. Unlike fanfic (which I think is a fun and fantastic way to engage with one’s favorite imaginary worlds), this writing isn’t for me. It’s for you – all the “Riverdale” fans out there looking for a fix in between episodes. My role in this case is to be an extension of the creators’ vision, not to course-correct for a pairing I’m ‘shipping or to rewrite the canon to suit my own preferences.

Generally speaking, I’m the sort of person who takes things much too seriously. But when it comes to writing, to creating, I think the best work, ironically, tends to bubble to the surface when we’re playing, stringing thoughts and words and random tangents together with total abandon. Working with comic book characters feels like the ultimate extension of play.

At the same time, it can sometimes feel more “job-like” than writing my original stories: for one, the deadlines tend to be tighter. For another, see above re: conforming to series norms. And last but not least, a tie-in writer has to check their ego at the door. If the licensor isn’t feeling what I’ve created, that’s the final word. There are writers who might find this process too constricting. But for me, I often like having a hand to hold and a rigid-ish road map in this messy and confusing pursuit we call the writing life.

It’s true that sometimes, my work looks a lot like “just watching tv.” I’m not complaining. The only thing better than going full couch potato with my favorite show or movie is day spent with books, with reading or writing. To have made a career of all three feels just right.

Riverdale: The Day Before is available now, and Riverdale: Get Out of Town is also available now. 

Thanks so much, Micol!  And big thanks to everyone reading today. You’re the best — and we’ll see you again later this week!

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

Hey YA lovers: Welcome to June and perfect cheap ebooks for summer reading!

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by All the Books, our weekly podcast about new book releases!

Have you listened to our All the Books podcast yet? On All the Books, Book Riot resident velocireader Liberty Hardy and several rotating co-hosts discuss the week’s most exciting and intriguing new book releases from every genre. Stay up to date on the best new books with new episodes every Tuesday (and get bonus recommendations for older books every Friday with the All the Backlist drop-in episodes!). Never miss the buzz on the best new releases: listen to All the Books on Spotify, or your podcatcher of choice.

It’s finally summer here in the middle of the USA — we skipped spring and had an extended winter that led right into summer instead. Which is to say, now all I can think about is grabbing a pile of books and reading in my hammock.

For those of you with hammock reading plans, poolside reading plans, or buried-under-blankets-because-it’s-actually-winter-where-I-am plans, here are some excellent deals to snag. Prices current as of this morning!

I woke up this morning to discover my own anthology (Don’t) Call Me Crazy is $2. If I may suggest picking this book of honest essays and art about mental health, now is the time.

Trish Doller’s fabulous book Something Like Normal, about a teen returning from active duty and struggling with both his relationships and his mental health, is $2. Grab that, then grab Where The Stars Still Shine, about a girl who is given a stable home after a life of instability, also for $2. Her road trip thriller The Devil You Know is also $2.

Meredith Russo’s romance featuring a trans girl main character If I Was Your Girl is $3. An absolutely perfect Pride Month read.

Dip into the world of magical realism with Anna-Marie McLemore’s When The Moon Was Ours for $3.

Although I haven’t yet read Black Wings Beating, I’ve heard nothing but tremendous things about this first book in a series by Alex London. $3.

Jen Wilde’s Queens of Geek, which is a fabulous story about teens at their first fan convention, full of heart, an exploration of friendship and mental health, and more, is $3.

Haven’t yet read Ash by Malinda Lo? You have no excuse. It’s $3, perfect for Pride Month, and it’s a staple in queer YA.

Lois Duncan’s classic I Know What You Did Last Summer is $2.

Impostors, the first book in the spinoff to Scott Westerfeld’s “Uglies” series, is $3.

A History of Glitter and Blood by Hannah Moskowitz is $2 and supposed to be great.

Spend $4 and get Lauren Oliver’s Delirium.

Did you know that the Christina Lauren duo, known for their adult romances, wrote a teen horror romance? They did and you can pick up The House for $2.

All three of the books in Neal Schusterman’s The Skinjacker trilogy can be yours for $5. A steal of a deal and excellent collection for those still catching up on all of Schusterman’s back list.

I know y’all know Anne of Green Gables, but if you haven’t read the Emily Starr trilogy by LM Montgomery, you can pick it up for $1. Three books! $1!

Last, but not least, Marieke Nijkamp’s sophomore novel Before I Let Go is $2.

Thanks for hanging out and we’ll see you on Monday with a really great guest newsletter. Until then, happy reading!
— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

Hey YA readers! Officially, Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month may be coming to an end, but let’s keep it going even longer.

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Somewhere Only We Know from Maurene Goo and Fierce Reads.

A Cosmopolitan Best Young Adult Book of 2019 Sparks fly between a K pop starlet and a tabloid reporter in this heartwarming rom-com from Maurene Goo. 10:00 PM.: Lucky is a huge K-pop star who just performed her hit song to thousands of adoring fans. She’s tired but dying for a hamburger. 11:00 PM: Jack sneaks into a fancy hotel on assignment for his tabloid job. He runs into a cute girl wearing slippers — a girl who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. 12:00 AM.: Nothing will ever be the same.

May is Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, but rather than limit reading awesome YA by Asian American authors to one month, let’s add a few more titles to the TBR to keep the love going all year long.

These are all books that, as of this writing, haven’t published yet, so I’ve pulled descriptions from Amazon (I, too, need to add them to my TBR!). There’s a little of everything here genre-wise. I’ve noted with a “*” when the book is part of a series, and I’ve stuck to just first books in a series to avoid spoilers.

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee (August 13)

By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady’s maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, “Dear Miss Sweetie.” When her column becomes wildly popular, she uses the power of the pen to address some of society’s ills, but she’s not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender. While her opponents clamor to uncover the secret identity of Miss Sweetie, a mysterious letter sets Jo off on a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby. But when her efforts put her in the crosshairs of Atlanta’s most notorious criminal, Jo must decide whether she, a girl used to living in the shadows, is ready to step into the light. With prose that is witty, insightful, and at times heartbreaking, Stacey Lee masterfully crafts an extraordinary social drama set in the New South.

Like A Love Story by Abdi Nazemian (June 4)

It’s 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing.

Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He’s terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he’s gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media’s images of men dying of AIDS.

Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance…until she falls for Reza and they start dating.

Art is Judy’s best friend, their school’s only out and proud teen. He’ll never be who his conservative parents want him to be, so he rebels by documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs.

As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won’t break Judy’s heart—and destroy the most meaningful friendship he’s ever known.

The Magnolia Sword by Sherry Thomas (September 4)

CHINA, 484 A.D.

A Warrior in Disguise
All her life, Mulan has trained for one purpose: to win the duel that every generation in her family must fight. If she prevails, she can reunite a pair of priceless heirloom swords separated decades earlier, and avenge her father, who was paralyzed in his own duel.

Then a messenger from the Emperor arrives, demanding that all families send one soldier to fight the Rouran invaders in the north. Mulan’s father cannot go. Her brother is just a child. So she ties up her hair, takes up her sword, and joins the army as a man.

A War for a Dynasty
Thanks to her martial arts skills, Mulan is chosen for an elite team under the command of the princeling—the royal duke’s son, who is also the handsomest man she’s ever seen. But the princeling has secrets of his own, which explode into Mulan’s life and shake up everything she knows. As they cross the Great Wall to face the enemy beyond, Mulan and the princeling must find a way to unwind their past, unmask a traitor, and uncover the plans for the Rouran invasion . . . before it’s too late.

*Spin The Dawn by Elizabeth Lim (July 9)

Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.

Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia’s task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court enchanter, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.

And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor’s reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.

Symptoms of a Heartbreak by Sona Charaipotra (July 2)

The youngest doctor in America, an Indian-American teen makes her rounds―and falls head over heels―in the contemporary romantic comedy Symptoms of a Heartbreak.

Fresh from med school, sixteen-year-old medical prodigy Saira arrives for her first day at her new job: treating children with cancer. She’s always had to balance family and friendships with her celebrity as the Girl Genius―but she’s never had to prove herself to skeptical adult co-workers while adjusting to real life-and-death stakes. And working in the same hospital as her mother certainly isn’t making things any easier.

But life gets complicated when Saira finds herself falling in love with a patient: a cute teen boy who’s been diagnosed with cancer. And when she risks her brand new career to try to improve his chances, it could cost her everything.

It turns out “heartbreak” is the one thing she still doesn’t know how to treat.

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi (June 11)

The first time Sana Khan asked out a girl–Rachel Recht–it went so badly that she never did it again. Rachel is a film buff and aspiring director, and she’s seen Carrie enough times to learn you can never trust cheerleaders (and beautiful people). Rachel was furious that Sana tried to prank her by asking her on a date.

But when it comes time for Rachel to cast her senior project, she realizes that there’s no more perfect lead than Sana–the girl she’s sneered at in the halls for the past three years. And poor Sana–she says yes. She never did really get over that first crush, even if Rachel can barely stand to be in the same room as her.

Told in alternative viewpoints and set against the backdrop of Los Angeles in the springtime, when the rainy season rolls in and the Santa Ana’s can still blow–these two girls are about to learn that in the city of dreams, anything is possible–even love.

*Wicked Fox by Kat Cho (June 25)

Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret–she’s a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt.

But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead–her gumiho soul–in the process.

Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl–he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to men. He’s drawn to her anyway.

With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous and reignite a generations-old feud . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon’s.

Thanks for hanging out, y’all, and we’ll see you again soon!

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

Hey YA Readers: Let’s catch up on the latest in YA news.

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Somewhere Only We Know from Maurene Goo and Fierce Reads.

A Cosmopolitan Best Young Adult Book of 2019 Sparks fly between a K pop starlet and a tabloid reporter in this heartwarming rom-com from Maurene Goo. 10:00 PM.: Lucky is a huge K-pop star who just performed her hit song to thousands of adoring fans. She’s tired but dying for a hamburger. 11:00 PM: Jack sneaks into a fancy hotel on assignment for his tabloid job. He runs into a cute girl wearing slippers — a girl who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. 12:00 AM.: Nothing will ever be the same.

I haven’t yet gotten my hands on Maurene Goo’s latest but y’all, I cannot wait. Did you know she took part in Book Riot’s YA Adaptation Showdown last year?

Onto the latest YA news! You’ll see a slowdown in these roundups through the next few months as summer brings a lot of publishing to a slower pace.

• Did you read The Last Wish of Sasha Cade? You might want to before it’s adapted.
• Take a gander at the preview for the final book in Neal Schusterman’s “The Scythe” series, The Toll.
• And here’s a preview of Marie Lu’s next book.
• Amazon has optioned Lauren Oliver’s The Panic for a series.
• Elenor and Park was re-optioned for film. If you think you’ve heard the news before, you have. It was optioned years ago, then it was never made and thus, available for option again. Option simply means that it’s being held by a studio for potential development and sometimes, those options go to other studios when the time expires. (In this case “acquired film rights” means optioned).
• Put these 24 excellent books on your TBR in honor of — and beyond — Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month.
• The Artemis Fowl adaptation was bumped to 2020.
• RL Stine’s first comic has been selling like hotcakes, and it’s not even out yet. Though middle grade, this is likely one that’ll have some good YA crossover appeal for readers who love the author and/or being scared.
• The anniversary edition of Gayle Forman’s If I Stay has a prequel to the duology in it.
• Have you started Netflix’s new YA series The Society? It might not be based on a YA book, but it’s a YA show.
• Jason Reynolds has a new book coming out this fall.
• The sequel to Roshani Chokshi’s The Gilded Wolves has a title.
• Do you remember the book Saving Zoë by Alyson Noël? It’s hitting theaters this summer, and here is the trailer.
• YA authors who narrate their own audiobooks (from my personal blog).
• This isn’t a YA news bit, per se, but it is about teenagers and it’s the kind of story that feels good — after a judge sentenced teen vandals to reading books about racism, their attitudes and perspectives changed.

And, as always this time of year, a reminder to grab your free audiobooks from AudiobookSync this week!

The perfect enamel pin for fans of Six of Crows! $10. Click the image to grab one.

Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you again next week!

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

Hey YA Readers: I’ve got a fun interview for you today with an author whose work is funny.

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Wednesday Books.

From one of the most followed BookTubers today, Christine Riccio, comes a story about second chances, discovering yourself, and being brave enough to try again. Colleen Hoover calls Again, but Better “is a fantastic debut novel! Entertaining, clever, and impossible to put down.” What would you do with a second chance?

I’m so glad that I had the chance to meet Ariel Kaplan (who has also written as AE Kaplan) last fall at an event. Had I not spent the day with her, I suspect I’d be like so many other readers and sleeping on her books.

But I’m not, and neither should you!

Kaplan’s third book We Are The Perfect Girl hit shelves this week. It’s a romp of a read, packed with laugh-out-loud moments, that retells Cyrano de Bergerac, with a powerful thread about mental health, family challenges, and more.

We Are The Perfect Girl follows Kaplan’s sophomore novel, We Regret To Inform You, about a college admissions scandal (sound relevant?).

I asked Ariel, who is writing some of the funniest YA right now, to talk with me a bit about her current book, her prior books, and what YA books she herself enjoys.

Kelly Jensen: Give the short pitch for We Are the Perfect Girl

Ariel Kaplan: Charming extrovert Aphra and beautiful, book-smart Bethany have been best friends most of their lives, but when Bethany asks for help winning their mutual crush—whom Aphra has been flirting with via an anonymous chat app—Aphra is torn between helping her debilitatingly shy friend and pursuing the guy she likes, but thinks she doesn’t have a chance with.

KJ: What inspired your decision to reimagine the classic Cyrano de Bergerac?

AK: Cyrano de Bergerac has always been a favorite of mine; the writing is so sharp, even in translation, and Cyrano is this great juxtaposition of swagger and self-loathing. I’ve always wondered what that would look like in a female character, where those elements are magnified by society’s over-the-top expectations of girls, and I’ve always wondered how Cyrano would have been different if Cyrano and Christian had been really close friends.

The title of the book comes from a single line which states that if main character Aphra and her best friend Bethany were one person, they’d be the perfect girl because Aphra is outspoken and bold but average in the looks department. Bethany is quiet and reserved but, according to Aphra, gorgeous. This is such a teen phenomenon and belief and something that’s rarely addressed head on in YA. Likewise, it really gets at the heart of Aphra’s own mental health struggle, for which she sees a therapist. Can you talk a bit to that and more specifically, her struggle with body dysmorphia?

We are the Perfect Girl is actually a play on a line from the original Cyrano, in which Cyrano tells Christian, “Together we can make the perfect man: your looks, my voice;” it’s the beginning of their mutual attempt to win Roxane for Christian, with whom Roxane is already in love, and I wanted to give a nod to that.

Some years ago, when I was re-shelving some books after a flood in my basement, I went through my old high school yearbook and had the bizarre realization that the girls everyone thought were really pretty back in ninth and tenth grade weren’t any more objectively pretty than anyone else—and not only that, but the girls who were teased for being less attractive really weren’t. It really caught me by surprise, how little difference there was, and how invested we all were in the idea of conventional attractiveness, even when it was hurting us. We had this idea that there was this target we were all trying to hit, and that was perfection, and I don’t think any of us, really, thought we were measuring up. And it’s not just the physical that has to be perfect, either; there’s this great pressure to excel at everything, all the time, and if you can’t be perfect, if you can’t be very pretty in this standardized way, or very good at everything, it’s like you owe the world an apology for it.

So Aphra has really bought into this, in a way I think is pretty common, and I wanted to make it clear that she’s not even being directly bullied—when she says “everyone likes me” that’s actually true, she’s a smart, athletic, reasonably popular kid with a lot of friends. And even with everything she has going for her—which is a lot!—she’s in a significant, fairly constant amount of emotional distress because of what she’s been told about herself by the society she lives in.

Your previous book, We Regret To Inform You, takes on college admissions. I’d love to hear you talk a bit about how the current admissions scandal does and doesn’t tie into that novel and maybe, too, some of the questions or insights you’ve heard from young readers about the book (yes, I’m thinking specifically about our panels!)

I think Regret definitely ties into the current news cycle. What we’re seeing in the stories of these celebrities and other well-heeled individuals is that once the curtain is pulled back, the idea that college admissions is a meritocracy—and not part of our capitalist system—starts to break down pretty quickly.

So I got some early reviews of this book complaining that the story was too far-fetched, but now, suddenly, I’m getting is people asking if I had some kind of prescience about all this. The thing is, what we’re seeing now is nothing new, except that this particular bunch of parents was a lot less savvy than most and crossed the line from unethically crooked into illegally crooked.

I’ve had a number of kids quietly come up to me after events and tell me that either the stress of the process is keeping them up at night, or that they’ve already been rejected by their dream school, and that the book was something that made them feel better, and that was pretty humbling to hear. It’s hard for me, as a parent, not to want to give these kids a hug and a cookie and tell them they are still capable of doing great things, even if a handful of people on an admissions board didn’t pick them.

Something I love about your books and that you nail in this one is humor. You take on some big, heady topics, but there is a lot of humor. How do you strike balance?

It’s not an easy thing, to be honest, and I spend a lot of time thinking about whether what I’ve written might be read as making light of something serious. But the fact is, this is how I experience the world, which I think is a very culturally-informed view and not something I can really turn off. Whenever I try to write things that are only funny or only serious, it never works.

Let’s talk about your reading life a bit! What have been some of the funniest books for teens you’ve read and enjoyed?

I’ve read some good ones lately! Here are a few:

Denton Little’s Deathdate by Lance Rubin

Gloria Chao’s American Panda

Ben Phillipe’s Field Guide to the North American Teenager

What about some of your favorite YA titles that take on mental health and mental illness?

Some I’ve enjoyed recently:

This Song will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley (and not only because of the fact that it’s another Star Trek-inspired book, though it doesn’t hurt.)

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston

If you could go back in time and hand your 12-year-old self one book, what would it be and why?

That’s hard! My twelve-year-old self had been pretty turned-off by the world of novels; we had to read a lot of dry and/or unpleasant ones at school, because they were “classics.” YA, as it is now, didn’t really exist then, which is part of the reason I think I appreciate it so much—there’s so much variety, and so many books about more than just kids with dead dogs. I’m not sure I could pick one book; certainly, I’d give myself Harry Potter, because I really needed to read something fun, and I could have used a book like Shannon Hale’s Best Friends.

Ah, I do have one after all: Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver, which is basically a novel-length version of the Jewish folktales I loved when I was a kid. It would have blown my mind then to know that something like that existed.

You can find out more about Ariel Kaplan and her work at her website, as well as on Twitter. 

Thanks for hanging out, y’all, and thanks to Ariel for adding more books to my to-read list.

We’ll see you later this week!

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

Hey YA Readers: It’s time for your deals!

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Amazon Publishing and The Rule of Many by Leslie Saunders and Ashley Saunders.

In a near-future America, rebellious sisters herald a revolution—if they can survive. Twins Ava and Mira Goodwin defy the Rule of One, a single-child law ruthlessly enforced by Texas’s Governor Roth, simply by existing. The law has made the sisters famous fugitives in Canada and inspirations for a rebellion. But as the relentless Roth consolidates his power, Ava and Mira give up their safe haven and find new allies. Together they’ll converge on Dallas for a reckoning with nothing less than their destinies—and their freedom—on the line. Disobedience means death. But a life worth living demands rebellion.

☝️ Look at the continuation of snakes on YA book covers trend!

But without further ado, here are some excellent deals for your ereading pleasure. Grab one or grab ’em all and enjoy good books without big prices. Prices current as of Friday, May 17.

Bookish Boyfriends: A Date With Darcy by Tiffany Schmidt, a fun spin on how boys in books are better than those in real life plus Pride and Prejudice us $2.

• I know I highlighted this book before, but there’s no reason not to shout again about how Maurene Goo is a queen of the YA rom com and I Believe In A Thing Called Love is only $3.
• The final book in this series just launched, so if you haven’t already started it, grab Caraval by Stephanie Garber for $3.
• Want something very different? Leslye Walton’s The Price Guide To The Occult is $3.
• This one is a little pricier than I normally include, but it’s a new book and worthy of a few extra pennies. You can pick up Dhonielle Clayton’s The Belles for $4.50.
• Read the first book in the sci fi series by Claudia Gray, Defy The Stars, for $3.

The highly acclaimed fantasy The Girl King by Mimi Yu is $2.

• The first in Julia Kagawa’s popular series “Blood of Eden,” The Immortal Rules, is $2.
• MATH! This YA book features MATH! And some romance, heartbreak, and time travel. Harriet Reuter Hapgood’s The Square Root of Summer is $3.
• The wildly underrated and excellent novel in verse by Terry Farish, The Good Braider, is $1. Please read this one.
• Hannah Moskowitz’s strange little novel A History of Glitter and Blood can be yours for $2.
• Royal Bastards — maybe my favorite book title in YA in a while — is the first in a trilogy by Andrew Shvarts and is only $1.

Historical fantasy The Girl With The Red Balloon by Katherine Locke is $2.

• The first book in Tamora Pierce’s “The Protector of the Small” quartet, First Test, is $3. You can also grab Terrier (first book in “The Legend of Beka Cooper”) and Trickster’s Choice (first book in “Daughter of the Lioness”) for $2 each.
• Scott Westerfeld’s Impostors — a spinoff series from his well-known Uglies series — is $3.

Who Said Giveaway?

Because why not? Here are a handful of YA book giveaways going on in the world of social media worth taking a look at!

• For UK readers, a giveaway of All The Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman. 
• Win a copy of Axie Oh’s anticipated sequel to Rebel Seoul, Rogue Heart.
• Self-plug: I’m giving away a copy of my anthology (Don’t) Call Me Crazy.
• We’re giving away $100 for spending on YA books, too!
• Enter to win Sarah Dessen’s The Rest of the Story on Goodreads, along with The Season of the Witch (based on Sabrina!), Renée Ahdieh’s The Beautiful, and Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke’s Pan’s Labyrinth.

Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you again on Monday!

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

Hey YA Fans! Let’s talk about younger YA books.

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by The Boy Next Story and PiqueBeyond.

The YA series where classic literature comes to life is back with a story inspired by Little Women! Fourteen-year-old Rory Campbell knows there’s no one better than the boy next door. She’s been in love with her neighbor Tobias since their first sandbox kiss. But Tobias is in love with her sister, Merrilee, who is dating one of Tobias’ best friends. When Rory is assigned to read Little Women for extra credit, she discovers more than she expected—both about herself and Toby. Maybe she wasn’t in love with the boy next door. . . but the boy next story.

It seems to pop up a lot in YA land that there are very few YA books with younger main characters and/or geared toward the younger YA reader. This is something that’s been the case for a while, and it seems to not be improving much in the broader landscape. The fact that adults are the primary YA purchasers — either for themselves or for their younger readers — is likely part of the challenge. A librarian I know has taken the opportunity to track the ages of main characters of titles she’s been purchasing, and the average age of those YA characters is 17 or 18, leaving those in the 13, 14, and 15 realm lacking.

I think part of the challenge is, too, that those younger-aimed YA books don’t see the same kind of marketing as those which reach older YA readers or feature older characters. It’s a tough spot to be in: the younger YA books aren’t middle grade, and they’re not as easy to “sell” as those books with older characters or storylines.

That doesn’t mean they don’t exist. It just means there isn’t an abundance, and it also means that they’re harder to seek out.

Here’s a look at five excellent, more recent YA books perfect for younger YA readers.

Bookish Boyfriends: A Date With Darcy and The Boy Next Door by Tiffany Schmidt

The idea for pulling together this list for the newsletter was inspired by the sponsor title, in part because Schmidt’s series is such a perfect fit for younger readers. The books are twists on the classics, wherein the main character finds herself wishing for the boys in books to become real . . . and they do. A Date With Darcy is inspired by Pride and Prejudice while the second book, The Boy Next Door, is inspired by Little Women. There are a few more books in the series coming as well.

The Fade by Demitria Lunetta

I love horror, but so often, the main characters tend to be on the older side of their teen years. Lunetta’s stand alone, which came out at the tail end of last year, features a 15-year-old. Haley senses that something terrible happened in the basement of the house her family just moved into. Four girls had gone missing years before, but it was a cold case that the police never solved. Haley, however, is convinced their spirits are alive and well in her own home. Those girls want her help — but does she want to help them? What might happen to her? A chilling little ghost story.

Fresh Ink edited by Lamar Giles

This anthology of short stories features some outstanding names in the worlds of middle grade and YA authors today. It highlights identity, including intersectional identities, and it’s geared toward the younger YA reader. I think of this outstanding collection as the younger sibling of Ibi Zoboi’s Black Enough which came out earlier this year.

In The Key of Nira Ghani by Natasha Deen

Nira’s always dreamed of becoming a musician, but she hasn’t pursued it because she worries about what her parents might think. She is the daughter of Guyanese immigrants in Canada and faces a lot of pressure to be the good daughter who goes to college to become a doctor. She’s also got a problem of money: she can’t afford a nice trumpet to play, and her cheap, dinged up one is sort of an embarrassment. But when Nira goes behind her parents’ backs to audition for the school band and doesn’t get in, it doesn’t mean her dreams are squashed. It just means she’ll have to try achieving it in a different way.

Though Nira is a little older in this one, the voice in this book is particularly reminiscent of younger teens and is one that would resonate deeply with those younger readers itching to forge their own paths.

Out of Salem by Hal Schrieve

This is a book about a 14-year-old genderqueer zombie and a lesbian werewolf becoming friends. I haven’t read it, but the reviews look great, and it’s refreshing to see younger teens in a paranormal setting with gender and sexuality at the forefront. It’s also an alternate reality in the 1990s. This sounds like it’s a lot of fun and one that’ll appeal greatly to younger teen readers. The author identifies as non-binary as well.

Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you again soon!

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.