Category: What’s Up in YA

Hey YA Fans: Let’s check out some awesome 2019 YA to the TBR.

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Book Riot’s 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2018 Giveaway.

We’re giving away ten of our favorite works of nonfiction of the year! Click here to enter.

As the calendar pages on 2018 become fewer and fewer, it seems appropriate to highlight a few more YA books hitting shelves next year to get excited by. Find below a range of titles from well-known, highly acclaimed writers, as well as debuts and emerging voices across a range of genres.

Descriptions come from Goodreads, since my TBR has had many of these added, too.

Awake In The World by Jason Gurley (February 12)

A boy, a girl, an impoverished oil town, and a star-crossed romance saved by the fight for survival.

As the sun sets off the coast of the small California town of Orilla del Cielo, you can see the silhouettes of the oil rigs. Their shadows look jarring against the serene backdrop, their sharpness a reminder of unfulfilled promises. To Zach, they are a reminder of loss—his father, an oil worker who drowned years before. With a poor family struggling to make ends meet, Zach’s future feels equally bleak. Until he meets Vanessa, an optimistic girl whose sights are literally set on the stars. Inspired by her idol, Carl Sagan, she plans to study astronomy at Cornell. But as oil prospectors in search of black gold know, the future is uncertain . . . and fortunes can always be flipped.

Forward Me Back To You by Mitali Perkins (April 2)

Katina King is the reigning teen jujitsu champion of Northern California, but she’s having trouble fighting off the secrets in her past.

Robin Thornton was adopted from an orphanage in Kolkata, India and is reluctant to take on his future. Since he knows nothing about his past, how is he supposed to figure out what comes next?

Robin and Kat meet in the most unlikely of places — a summer service trip to India to work with survivors of human trafficking. As bonds blossom between the travel-mates, Robin and Kat discover the healing superpowers of friendship.

At turns heart-wrenching, beautiful, and buoyant, Mitali Perkins’ new novel explores the ripple effects of violence — across borders and generations — and how small acts of heroism can break the cycle.

The Importance of Being Wilde at Heart by R. Zamora Linmark (August 13)

Readers of Adam Silvera (They Both Die at the End) and Elizabeth Acevedo (The Poet X) will pull out the tissues for this tender, quirky story of one seventeen-year-old boy’s journey through first love and first heartbreak, guided by his personal hero, Oscar Wilde.

Words have always been more than enough for Ken Z, but when he meets Ran at the mall food court, everything changes. Beautiful, mysterious Ran opens the door to a number of firsts for Ken: first kiss, first love. But as quickly as he enters Ken’s life, Ran disappears, and Ken Z is left wondering: Why love at all, if this is where it leads?

Letting it end there would be tragic. So, with the help of his best friends, the comfort of his haikus and lists, and even strange, surreal appearances by his hero, Oscar Wilde, Ken will find that love is worth more than the price of heartbreak.

Keep This To Yourself by Tom Ryan (May 7)

It’s been a year since the Catalog Killer terrorized the sleepy seaside town of Camera Cove, killing four people before disappearing without a trace. Like everyone else in town, eighteen-year-old Mac Bell is trying to put that horrible summer behind him—easier said than done since Mac’s best friend Connor was the murderer’s final victim. But when he finds a cryptic message from Connor, he’s drawn back into the search for the killer—who might not have been a random drifter after all. Now nobody—friends, neighbors, or even the sexy stranger with his own connection to the case—is beyond suspicion. Sensing that someone is following his every move, Mac struggles to come to terms with his true feelings towards Connor while scrambling to uncover the truth.

In The Key of Nira Ghani by Natasha Deen (April 9)

Nira Ghani has always dreamed of becoming a musician. Her Guyanese parents, however, have big plans for her to become a scientist or doctor. Nira’s grandmother and her best friend, Emily, are the only people who seem to truly understand her desire to establish an identity outside of the one imposed on Nira by her parents. When auditions for jazz band are announced, Nira realizes it’s now or never to convince her parents that she deserves a chance to pursue her passion.

As if fighting with her parents weren’t bad enough, Nira finds herself navigating a new friendship dynamic when her crush, Noah, and notorious mean-girl, McKenzie “Mac,” take a sudden interest in her and Emily, inserting themselves into the fold. So, too, does Nira’s much cooler (and very competitive) cousin Farah. Is she trying to wiggle her way into the new group to get closer to Noah? Is McKenzie trying to steal Emily’s attention away from her? As Farah and Noah grow closer and Emily begins to pull away, Nira’s trusted trumpet “George” remains her constant, offering her an escape from family and school drama.

But it isn’t until Nira takes a step back that she realizes she’s not the only one struggling to find her place in the world. As painful truths about her family are revealed, Nira learns to accept people for who they are and to open herself in ways she never thought possible.

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay (June 18)

A powerful coming-of-age story about grief, guilt, and the risks a Filipino-American teenager takes to uncover the truth about his cousin’s murder.

Jay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his senior year playing video games before heading to the University of Michigan in the fall. But when he discovers that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte’s war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened, Jay travels to the Philippines to find out the real story.

Hoping to uncover more about Jun and the events that led to his death, Jay is forced to reckon with the many sides of his cousin before he can face the whole horrible truth — and the part he played in it.

As gripping as it is lyrical, Patron Saints of Nothing is a page-turning portrayal of the struggle to reconcile faith, family, and immigrant identity.

Professor Renoir’s Collection of Oddities, Curiosities, and Delights by Randall Platt (July 23)

In this vivid, entertaining, and authentic historical novel set in the world of a traveling carnival in 1896, two fourteen-year-old girls—one a giant and the other a dwarf—start out as enemies but soon come to depend on one another to escape the clutches of an evil carnie owner who wants to kill and stuff their beloved animals. For fans of The One and Only Ivan and Water for Elephants.

The year is 1896, and Fern “Babe” Killingsworth is fourteen years old, six-foot-nine inches, and weighs 342 lbs. When her father sells her for a hundred dollars to Professor Phillipe Renoir, Babe has nothing to lose. She’s hoping she’ll find something worthwhile working alongside the other “freaks” in Professor Renoir’s Collection of Oddities, Curiosities, and Delights.

When Babe meets Carlotta, the tiny performer seems like nothing more than a spoiled diva. “I’m a dwarf, not a midget!” says the diminutive dancer—but soon the two are partners in crime, eventually disgusted by the conditions and treatment they experience in carnie life, and especially afraid of Renoir’s threats to kill and stuff their beloved animal companions, an elephant, a chimp, and a bear. When the two girls get good news in a letter, they run away from Renoir and find themselves in a much better situation at the home of Carlotta’s aunt—but will it be the last stop for Babe?

The Spaces Between Us by Stacia Tolman (July 23 — no link yet!)

Two outcast best friends are desperate to survive senior year and break away from their rural factory town in this unforgettable YA debut.

Serena Velasco and her best friend Melody Grimshaw are dying to get out of their shrinking factory town. Until now, they’ve been coasting, eluding the bleakness of home and the banality of high school. In a rebellious turn, Serena begins to fixate on communism, hoping to get a rise out of her blue-collar factory town. Her Western Civ teacher catches on and gives her an independent study of class and upward mobility—what creates the spaces between us. Meanwhile, Grimshaw sets goals of her own: to make it onto the cheerleading squad, find a job, and dismantle her family’s hopeless reputation. But sometimes the biggest obstacles are the ones you don’t see coming; Grimshaw’s quest for success becomes a fight for survival, and Serena’s independent study gets a little too real. With the future of their friendship and their lives on the line, the stakes have never been so high.

____________________

Thanks for hanging out and we’ll see you again next week. In the mean time, get some good reading in your life.

— Kelly Jensen, @veornikellymars on Twitter and Instagram

Time to prepare your TBR, YA fans!

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Once A King and HMH Teen.

Aodren: A lonely, young king, searching for a way to dismantle his father’s dark legacy.

Lirra: A girl with the power to control the wind, torn between duty and following her dreams.

For twenty years, Channelers—women with a magical ability—have been persecuted in Malam by those without magic. Now King Aodren wants to end the bloody divide and unite his kingdom. But decades of hatred can’t be overcome by issuing decrees, and rumors of a deadly Channeler-made substance are only fueling people’s fears. Lirra has every reason to distrust Aodren. Yet when he asks for help to discover the truth behind the rumors, she can’t say no. With Lirra by his side, Aodren sees a way forward for his people. But can he rewrite the mistakes of the past before his enemies destroy the world he’s working so hard to rebuild?

We’ve talked about so much great YA over on Book Riot in the last month. Let’s catch up with the lists and thoughts from on site this week, followed by a look at some of the awesome new books coming soon that you’ll want to get excited about.

• 2019 YA books featuring queer girls to plop on your TBR.
• The ultimate list of best Harry Potter t-shirts.
• Know a middle grade reader itching to try some YA? This list will help.
• Why To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is the bookish holiday movie we need.
• Some great contemporary YA books that deserve the sort of adaptation that TATBILB got.
• Can’t get enough of the Song Covey sisters? These YA books would be great next reads.
• And then, of course, we’ve got you covered for what else to read that’s been written by Jenny Han.
• Poetic YA books to read if you love The Poet X. 
• Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark is coming back!
• Getting teens lost in a good book with Pages & Co.
• Read your way into the work of Judy Blume.
• Winter YA books you’ll want to read.
• Did you see the Dumplin’ trailer? It’s time to get some Dolly stuck in your head.
• Teen writers! A whole selection of YA books featuring young wordsmiths.
• Have you read these November YA releases yet?
• Vampires are making a comeback in a big way in the world of YA. Take a bite — err, look.
• Where to begin reading the work of Jacqueline Woodson.
• Have you seen the news about the upcoming YA Adaptation Showdown at Book Riot? Check out the details and vote for your favorite YA adaptation.

Have you tuned into Hey YA, the all-YA book podcast hosted by Eric Smith and myself? If not, hop over and give a listen. Our latest episode is a guide to great YA books for gifting this season (or, you know, for reading yourself).

Recent Book Mail

Here’s a huge stack of recent YA books that have hit my door step. There are finished, currently-available books in here (including the gorgeous movie-packaged edition of Dumplin’) as well as a ton of upcoming 2019 reads. Listed from top to bottom. Also, it’s not you — the image is slightly crooked so I could get all of the books in one shot and without all of the other stuff that was piled on my table #realtalk.

Song of the Abyss by Mikila Lucier

Impossible Music by Sean Williams

Every Moment After by Joseph Moldover

Dissenter On The Bench by Victoria Ortiz

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

In Another Life by CC Hunter

Never Evers by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Dumplin‘ by Julie Murphy

Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski

Bright Burning Stars by AK Small

Fire and Heist by Sarah Beth Durst

Starworld by Audrey Coulthurst and Paula Garner

If I’m Being Honest by Austin Siegemund-Broka and Emily Wibberley

Happy Messy Scary Love by Leah Konen

The Raven’s Tale by Cat Winters

Bookish Boyfriends: The Boy Next Door by Tiffany Schmidt

The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

In The Key of Nira Ghani by Natasha Deen

Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

Also received in the mail, but not pictured (yet!) was Laurie Halse Anderson’s SHOUT, out in March. Not pictured because I’m just about done with it and my tear stains are still a little too fresh for photographing.

____________________

Thanks for hanging out & we’ll see you on Thursday with another preview of some awesome 2019 YA you’ll be excited about.

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Twitter and Instagram

Hey YA lovers: Let me help you make your holiday shopping (for yourself) a little easier!

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan.

Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class in Ikhara. Even so, rumors of her golden eyes have piqued the king’s interest, and she is ripped from her home and taken to the opulent but oppressive palace, her life now beholden to his every whim. But Lei, dreaming of escape, does the unthinkable — she falls in love. Her forbidden romance, enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the king’s reign, will force Lei to decide just how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.

I’ve been collecting links to fun handmade pins and bookmarks that celebrate YA literature, and since it’s the season of giving, I’m giving you these links so you can give these goods to yourself (or others, I guess).

Find below both enamel pins and some bookmarks. Chances are you or someone you know loves these books or series depicted. Links go to the shops and prices are current as of Tuesday, November 27.

This “Scholar Resistance” pin honors An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. $9.

For readers who love Maggie Stiefvater’s The Scorpio Races, a lovely Thisby enamel pin. $9.

Although not technically YA, Amanda Lovelace’s the witch doesn’t burn in this one has a tremendous teen readership. This pin highlights a great line from that poetry collection. $10

Though the shop is on a short break, they’ll be back soon enough that you can snag one of these “Now We Rise” enamel pins honoring Children of Blood and Bone.

From the same shop as the pin above is this gorgeous enamel pin featuring a line from Illuminae.

Jesper from Six of Crows gets the magnetic bookmark treatment. $3.15.

If you love “The Remnant Chronicles,” you’ll be familiar with these magnetic bookmarks. $7.20 for all three. Click through to this shop to find more awesome YA magnetic bookmarks, including Harry Potter, Eleanor & Park, and more.

Fan of the “Throne of Glass” series? Then you’ll want to wear your love with this Rattle The Stars enamel pin. $8.62.

The Red Queen gets an enamel pin treatment, too. $8.62.

Stand Strong with this enamel pin from The Kiss of Deception. $10.85.

Snag a Rebel of the Sands magnetic bookmark. $2.34.

How great is this whole series of Jackaby themed magnetic bookmarks? $2 each or $6 for the set.

Last, but not least, no matter your fandom, there’s a place in your heart for this “I Ship It” enamel pin. $10.

____________________

Thanks for hanging out & we’ll see you next week for a big ‘ole link roundup.

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram and Twitter.

Hey YA Readers! Let’s talk books in translation.

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Dragonshadow by Elle Katharine White.

Pride. Prejudice. Monsters. No one said marriage to a dragon rider would be easy. Aliza and Alistair may have found their happy ending at the end of Heartstone, but the story is far from over. In Dragonshadow, the married couple once again finds themselves matching wits, charm, and swords as they are caught up in an epic battle, and author Elle Katharine White once again infuses elements of Jane Austen’s beloved novels with her own brand of magic.

The number of books in translation in the US is astonishingly low. It hovers somewhere around 3.7 percent. The numbers are even more abysmal for young adult books in translation — it’s a minuscule amount of that tiny percentage.

It makes so little sense why so little is in translation. Books published in the US sell across the world in translation, and because we live in a global society, we should be reading these books. More, it’s further evidence that as many strides as have been made to diversify YA, there are still some gaping holes.

Finding and seeking out YA books in translation is no easy task, but I’ve found four titles hitting shelves in 2019 you’ll want to know about.

Descriptions come from Goodreads, as I’ve not yet picked up any of these myself. Two are titles that either launch or continue a series, while two of them are standalone titles.

The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi, translated by Cathy Hirano (March 26, first in a series)

In epic YA fantasy about a girl with a special power to communicate with magical beasts and the warring kingdom only she can save.

Elin’s family has an important responsibility: caring for the fearsome water serpents that form the core of their kingdom’s army. So when some of the beasts mysteriously die, Elin’s mother is sentenced to death as punishment. With her last breath she manages to send her daughter to safety.

Alone, far from home, Elin soon discovers that she can talk to both the terrifying water serpents and the majestic flying beasts that guard her queen. This skill gives her great powers, but it also involves her in deadly plots that could cost her life. Can she save herself and prevent her beloved beasts from being used as tools of war? Or is there no way of escaping the terrible battles to come?

I Remember Abbu by Humayun Azad, translated by Arunava Sinha (April 23)

I Remember Abbu offers a child’s-eye view of the trauma and confusion of war, told in impressionistic style. In chapters alternating between the voice of a child and the diary entries of her beloved Abbu (father), we learn the history of Bangladesh’s fight for independence through the experience of one family. When our young narrator’s adoring Abbu heads off to fight, she keeps him close to her heart with beautiful reflections on their time together, never losing sight of him through his prolonged absence. But as the hardship and fear begin to take a toll on the family, Abbu’s focus turns ever more toward the fragile political situation, and he must leave his daughter’s side. In this beautiful story of family and freedom, love is the life force leading us home.

The Missing of Clairdelune by Christelle Dabos, translated by Hildegarde Serle (May 7)

Book Two in the Internationally Bestselling Mirror Visitor Quartet

When our heroine Ophelia is promoted to Vice-storyteller by Farouk, the ancestral Spirit of Pole, she finds herself unexpectedly thrust into the public spotlight and her special gift is revealed to all. Ophelia knows how to read the secret history of objects and there could be no greater threat to the nefarious denizens of her icy adopted home than this. Beneath the golden rafters of Pole’s capitol, Citaceleste, she discovers that the only person she may be able to trust is Thorn, her enigmatic fiancé. As one after another influential courtier disappears, Ophelia again finds herself unintentionally implicated in an investigation that will lead her to see beyond Pole’s many illusions to the heart of the formidable truth.

In Paris With You by Clémentine Beauvais, translated by Sam Taylor (January 8)

A runaway bestseller in France, Clémentine Beauvais’s In Paris With You is a love story you won’t soon forget.

Eugene and Tatiana had fallen in love that summer ten years ago. But certain events stopped them from getting to truly know each other and they separated never knowing what could have been.

But one busy morning on the Paris metro, Eugene and Tatiana meet again, no longer the same teenagers they once were.

What happened during that summer? Does meeting again now change everything? With their lives ahead of them, can Eugene and Tatiana find a way to be together after everything?

Written in gorgeous verse, In Paris With You celebrates the importance of first love. Funny and sometimes bittersweet this book has universal appeal for anyone who has been in love.

Let’s catch up on all the YA news, friends!

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Roar and The Magnetic Collection at Lion Forge.

Mila is a solitary teenager ready to put another boring summer vacation behind her until she meets Agnes, an adventurous girl who turns out to be a ghost. And not just a regular ghost, but one carrying the essence of an ancient fallen king and a mouth full of teeth that used to be his guardian warriors. Three-time Eisner Award–nominated writer and artist Tony Sandoval presents a wondrous world of secret places and dreamlike magic hidden in the everyday corners of our sleeping imagination. Find Watersnakes in stores November 20th from Roar and The Magnetic Collection at Lion Forge!

It’s been a minute since we’ve caught up on the news in YA land, so let’s use our Monday to do just that.

• The trailer for Julie Murphy’s Dumplin’ is here and I cannot wait for this movie.
• Need more? Peep some of the stills from the movie.
• Speaking of trailers, here’s the extended trailer for The Mortal Engines, out next month.
• Elizabeth Acevedo won this year’s National Book Award in Young People’s Literature for The Poet X. 
• Maurene Goo’s next novel looks fabulous.
• Variety highlighted more than one YA author in their 2018 literary impact piece.
• Publishers Weekly named their best YA books of the year (super early). Great titles here!
• UK readers! Noughts and Crosses has a BBC release date and trailer.
• Boom comics is releasing a Ben10 comic for their new YA line coming next spring.
• There’s a new Sarah Dessen novel coming!
• Anniversary editions fascinate me, and Publishers Weekly highlights some of the big book anniversaries in children’s and YA lit.
• The cover for the upcoming Stacey Lee book is unbelievably drool-worthy.
• Epic Reads partners with Emma Roberts’s book club to bring more YA to her fans.
• Here’s your fun read: an oral history of the Twilight soundtrack.
• The Halloween spoof trailer of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is my favorite thing in a long time.
• The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind has excellent crossover appeal for YA readers — and there’s a young reader edition to boot — so news of an adaptation is beyond welcome.
• Weird and curious headline alert: Kobe Bryant’s company will be developing and producing YA novels.
• Add these 2019 Jewish YA books to your TBR.
• “Where are all of the f/f YA books?” The answer is they’re right here.
• Emily Suvada’s thread on writing a YA science fiction book is beyond worth reading.

Blast From The Past

Take a walk down memory lane with some of these YA posts from Book Riot from Novembers gone by.

• A timely and timeless post: where’s the love for nonfiction for young readers?
• A YA reading list of free-range and morally complicated characters.
• 10 YA science fiction books about teens living in space.
• Dig into these YA books for celebrating Native American Heritage Month.
• Great YA fiction-nonfiction book pairings.

Recent Book Mail

Here’s a peek at my inbox from the last couple of weeks in YA titles.

From top to bottom!

This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender

Mike by Andrew Norriss

Dreaming Out Loud by Baby Ariel

The Wren Hunt by Mary Watson

Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers

Cheap Reads!

Grab ’em while they’re easier on the budget.

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones is $3. This one’s for fans of fantasy and it’s the first in a duology.

She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper is $2. This is an adult book, but it was an Alex Award winner last year, meaning it has incredible crossover appeal.

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu is $3. You won’t want to miss this feminist anthem of a novel.

Don’t Miss It

Have you heard about the upcoming YA Adaptation Showdown at Book Riot? Check it out and make sure you have your voice heard, too.

____________________

Thanks for hanging out, y’all. We’ll see you next Monday — we’re taking Thursday off for US Thanksgiving (for me, that means a day of reading).

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram and Twitter

Hey YA fans! I’ve got a really great interview to share today with a young author and activist you need to know.

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Action Lab.

Based on the Animated Series by Zag Entertainment, Marinette is the sweetest girl in Paris. With a big crush on a boy at school, a big dream of becoming a fashion designer, and a big problem with being totally awkward, she’s just your average teenage girl, right? Did we mention she’s also the crime fighting superhero, Ladybug?

If you haven’t heard of Nadia Okamoto, I’m so excited for you to meet her in this interview. If you have heard of her, I’m equally excited to have you get to know her and her work better.

Okamoto, who is 20, is the author of the recently-released YA nonfiction book Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement. The book is part guidebook to those who menstruate and those who are eager to learn about menstruation, and it’s part guidebook to being a person who advocates for and educates others about menstruation.

Period Power is honest and frank: it’s the kind of book that, as a person who has been menstruating for over two decades, wishes I’d had in my younger years. It’s thoughtful and considers the unbelievably number of challenges those who menstruate may face. It digs into access to menstrual products, particularly for those who are incarcerated or deal with housing instability, while also offering insights into various physical and psychological challenges those who menstruate may experience.

The book also highlights Okamoto’s work with PERIOD., her nonprofit focused on period education and providing products to those in need.

Did I mention she is 20? Okamoto’s story is not only inspiring, but her voice is a reminder of the power and drive today’s young people have in making the world a better and more accepting place for all.

Without further ado, Nadya!

____________________

Hello, readers! It’s Sharifah here to take you on a field trip around some of my recent YA fantasy favorites while Kelly is out. So settle back with a cup of cocoa and prepare for fun, moody, and magical reads.

Sponsored by Epic Reads

An engrossing and unforgettable psychological thriller by New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver – with the whiplash turns of Gone Girl and One of Us Is Lying. It’s been five years since Summer Marks was brutally murdered in the woods. Everyone thinks that Mia and Brynn– driven by their obsession with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn–killed their best friend. The only thing is: they didn’t do it. Five years later, a new discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as the lines begin to blur between fiction and reality, the two girls must confront the truth of their past—no matter how monstrous.

Let’s get right to it, shall we?

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

I tore through this doorstop of a fantasy novel in a matter of days. Children of Blood and Bone is the first book in the Legacy of Orisha series. The story follows Zélie and her companions as they strike out on a journey to right the wrongs committed by a zealot king. In a world where magic is banished and all who wield it are oppressed, Zélie might be the only one to bring power back to Orïsha and its maji. Adeyemi’s debut remains one of my favorite reads this year. The book was optioned for film before it even published, and I’ll be very curious to see how this sweeping story inspired by West African mythology will be translated for the big screen.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Here’s another YA I read earlier this year and could not put down. This was my first Holly Black book and it proved a solid introduction. Jude and her sister are stolen from their world to live in the High Court of Faerie. As a mortal, she’s bullied and constantly in peril. But confronted by the coldness and cruelty of the Court’s treacherous denizens, Jude strives to fit in and prove herself up to the challenge of playing an important role as one of its members. As Jude becomes entangled in the Court’s machinations, she learns dark truths about herself and what she’s willing to do to get what she wants. Oh yes, I do love my YA grim and dark.

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

Grim and dark, but also fun, like Undead Girl Gang. This book spoke to my goth, witchy heart. Mila Flores lost her bestie, and nobody will believe her theory that Riley did not die by suicide. So Mila, a Wiccan practitioner, makes an interesting decision and ends up saddled with three undead girls–all of whom died in close succession under mysterious circumstances. Prepare for a fun, wry, and clever mystery featuring mean girls, high school crushes, graveyards, and spells gone wrong.

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

If you love a book about books, and twisted fairy tales, definitely check out The Hazel Wood. Alice has spent most of her life running away from something her mother won’t name. And just when it seems as if they might settle down, her mother is kidnapped, leaving Alice to fend for herself. Wait, it gets stranger. The kidnapping is linked to a rare book, Tales of the Hinterland, and the creepy fairy tales spun by her grandmother, a famous (and famously reclusive) writer. Alice is joined by one of her grandmother’s superfans on a mission to find the book and her mother, and to face down the curse that’s been haunting her family.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao

Speaking of fairy tales, here’s a Snow White retelling I read and loved recently. This is an East Asian take on the Evil Queen legend. The story follows beautiful Xifeng, valued only for her looks and treated cruelly by her aunt. But her aunt isn’t alone in placing great importance on Xifeng’s fate, as spelled out by the cards. Xifeng lets the cards guide her on a journey fueled by her ambitions. She’ll do just about anything to achieve what she believes rightly belongs to her, and to gain freedom at last. But is she willing to sacrifice love and the fate of an empire? Don’t expect to get all the answers from the first book, but good news: Kingdom of The Blazing Phoenix, the second and final book in the duology was released last week.

Until next time,
Sharifah

Hey YA readers: let’s expand and celebrate the humans who need some more love in our world today (& beyond!)

Sponsored by Wolf of the Tesseract by Christopher D. Schmitz.

Everything in Claire’s life seemed perfectly normal, albeit charmed: an engagement to her high-school sweetheart, friends visiting from college, and an idyllic life in the sleepy northland. All of that changes when she is abducted by a shapeshifting hobo and whisked through a dimensional gate. The stranger claims nothing is what it seems, and that a powerful sorcerer believes she is the key to summoning his dark god. Will she run from her destiny forever, or can she claim the weapons of the mythic Architect King, and end the sorcerer’s reign of terror?

Now, more than ever, we need to support writers who identify beyond the male/female gender dichotomy. Gender is not a dichotomy, and despite efforts to legislate it as so, humans have and always will define themselves as best fits their own experiences.

In honor of the breadth of life experiences YA authors bring to the table, here are a handful of those who identify as trans, as nonbinary, or as gender nonconforming. Their works span all genders within YA, and they feature genders and sexualities on every conceivable spectrum.

I’ve linked to each author’s website, and I’ve highlighted one of their book titles below. Descriptions come from Goodreads.

Cori McCarthy

Now a Major Motion Picture

Unlike the rest of the world, Iris doesn’t care about the famous high-fantasy Elementia books written by M. E. Thorne. So it’s just a little annoying that M. E. Thorne is her grandmother—and that Iris has to deal with the trilogy’s crazy fans.

When Iris gets dropped in Ireland for the movie adaptation, she sees her opportunity: if she can shut down production, the Elementia craze won’t grow any bigger, and she can finally have a normal life. Not even the rascally-cute actor Eamon O’Brien can get in her way.

But the crew’s passion is contagious, and as Iris begins to find herself in the very world she has avoided her whole life, she realizes that this movie might just be amazing…

Fox Benwell

Kaleidoscope Song

Fox Benwell delivers a harrowing and beautifully written novel that explores the relationship between two girls obsessed with music, the practice of corrective rape, and the risks and power of using your voice.

Neo loves music, and all she ever wanted was a life sharing this passion, on the radio. When she meets Tale, the lead singer in a local South African band, their shared love of music grows. So does their love for each other. But not everyone approves. Then Neo lands her dream job of working at a popular radio station, and she discovers that using your voice is sometimes harder than expected, and there are always consequences.

Kheryn Callender

This Is Kind Of An Epic Love Story

Nathan Bird doesn’t believe in happy endings. Although he’s the ultimate film buff and an aspiring screenwriter, Nate’s seen the demise of too many relationships to believe that happy endings exist for real people.

Playing it safe to avoid a broken heart has been his M.O. ever since his father died and left his mom to unravel–but this strategy is not without fault. His best-friend-turned-girlfriend-turned-best-friend again Florence is set on making sure Nate finds someone else. And in a twist that is romcom-worthy, someone does come along: Oliver James Hernandez, his childhood best friend.

After a painful mix-up when they were little, Nate finally has the chance to tell Ollie the truth about his feelings. But can Nate find the courage to pursue his own happily-ever-after?

Marieke Nijkamp

Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens (in a role as editor)

In this stunning anthology, #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp teams up with fellow disabled authors to create a collection of fictional stories that dispense with the tired, broken stereotypes–and reclaim narratives and identities.

By weaving together tales of interstellar war, an enchanted carnival, or a dating debacle, Unbroken celebrates the varied experiences of disabled teens, including teens of color and of diverse genders and orientations, without obscuring the realities of their disabilities. At turns hilarious and heart-stopping, these short stories share a common thread—one that has bent over time, but will never break.

Mason Deaver

I Wish You All The Best (May 28, 2019)

When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they’re thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents’ rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school.

But Ben’s attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan’s friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.

At turns heartbreaking and joyous, I Wish You All the Best is both a celebration of life, friendship, and love, and a shining example of hope in the face of adversity.

Meredith Russo

Birthday (May 21)

Two kids, Morgan and Eric, are bonded for life after being born on the same day at the same time. We meet them once a year on their shared birthday as they grow and change: as Eric figures out who he is and how he fits into the world, and as Morgan makes the difficult choice to live as her true self. Over the years, they will drift apart, come together, fight, make up, and break up—and ultimately, realize how inextricably they are a part of each other.

Pat Schmatz

Lizard Radio

Fifteen-year-old Kivali has never fit in. As a girl in boys’ clothes, she is accepted by neither tribe, bullied by both. What are you? they ask. Abandoned as a baby wrapped in a T-shirt with an image of a lizard on the front, Kivali found a home with nonconformist artist Sheila. Is it true what Sheila says, that Kivali was left by a mysterious race of saurians and that she’ll one day save the world? Kivali doesn’t think so. But if it is true, why has Sheila sent her off to CropCamp, with its schedules and regs and what feels like indoctrination into a gov-controlled society Kivali isn’t sure has good intentions?

But life at CropCamp isn’t all bad. Kivali loves being outdoors and working in the fields. And for the first time, she has real friends: sweet, innocent Rasta; loyal Emmett; fierce, quiet Nona. And then there’s Sully. The feelings that explode inside Kivali whenever Sully is near—whenever they touch—are unlike anything she’s experienced, exhilarating and terrifying. But does Sully feel the same way?

Between mysterious disappearances, tough questions from camp director Ms. Mischetti, and weekly doses of kickshaw—the strange, druglike morsel that Kivali fears but has come to crave—things get more and more complicated. But Kivali has an escape: her unique ability to channel and explore the power of her animal self. She has Lizard Radio.

Will it be enough to save her?

Phoebe North

Starglass

Terra has never known anything but life aboard the Asherah, a city-within-a-spaceship that left Earth five hundred years ago in search of refuge. At sixteen, working a job that doesn’t interest her, and living with a grieving father who only notices her when he’s yelling, Terra is sure that there has to be more to life than what she’s got.

But when she inadvertently witnesses the captain’s guard murdering an innocent man, Terra is suddenly thrust into the dark world beneath her ship’s idyllic surface. As she’s drawn into a secret rebellion determined to restore power to the people, Terra discovers that her choices may determine life or death for the people she cares most about. With mere months to go before landing on the long-promised planet, Terra has to make the decision of a lifetime–one that will determine the fate of her people.

Rivers Solomon

An Unkindness of Ghosts

Odd-mannered, obsessive, withdrawn, Aster has little to offer folks in the way of rebuttal when they call her ogre and freak. She’s used to the names; she only wishes there was more truth to them. If she were truly a monster, as they accuse, she’d be powerful enough to tear down the walls around her until nothing remained of her world, save for stories told around the cookfire.

Aster lives in the low-deck slums of the HSS Matilda, a space vessel organized much like the antebellum South. For generations, the Matilda has ferried the last of humanity to a mythical Promised Land. On its way, the ship’s leaders have imposed harsh moral restrictions and deep indignities on dark-skinned sharecroppers like Aster, who they consider to be less than human.

When the autopsy of Matilda‘s sovereign reveals a surprising link between his death and her mother’s suicide some quarter-century before, Aster retraces her mother’s footsteps. Embroiled in a grudge with a brutal overseer and sowing the seeds of civil war, Aster learns there may be a way off the ship if she’s willing to fight for it.

Sarah Nicholas

Keeping Her Secret

Two girls. One Kiss.

The last person Riya Johnson expected to run into at her new summer camp is Courtney Chastain—her childhood best friend and the girl who broke her heart after a secret, mind-blowing, life-altering kiss. She definitely didn’t expect to be sharing a bunk bed with her for four long weeks.

Courtney has what every girl wants—she’s beautiful, rich, and the object of every boy’s desire at Camp Pine Ridge. Too bad none of them make her feel an iota of what Riya’s kiss did all those years ago. But Courtney needs to uphold appearances at all costs—even if it means instigating an all-out prank war with Riya as her main target.

Neither girl can stop thinking about the other…but that doesn’t mean they can give up past hurts and take a chance on a future together.

Sassafras Lowrey

Lost Boi

In Sassafras Lowrey’s gorgeous queer punk reimagining of the classic Peter Pan story, prepare to be swept overboard into a world of orphaned, abandoned, and runaway bois who have sworn allegiance and service to Pan, the fearless leader of the Lost Bois brigade and the newly corrupted Mommy Wendi who, along with the tomboy John Michael, Pan convinces to join him at Neverland.

Told from the point of view of Tootles, Pan’s best boi, the lost bois call the Neverland squat home, creating their own idea of family, and united in their allegiance to Pan, the boi who cannot be broken, and their refusal to join ranks with Hook and the gentrifying pirates. Like a fever-pitched dream, Lost Boi situates a children’s fantasy within a subversive alternative reality, chronicling the lost bois’ search for belonging, purpose, and their struggle against the biggest battle of all: growing up.

____________________

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

–Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Twitter and Instagram

Hey YA Readers: It’s nonfiction November, so let’s celebrate!

“What’s Up In YA?” is sponsored by Epic Reads.

From New York Times bestselling author Claire Legrand comes a frightening YA thriller perfect for fans of Victoria Schwab and Stranger Things. Who are the Sawkill Girls? Marion: The newbie. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find. Zoey: The pariah. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Val: The queen bee. A heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies. Their stories come together on Sawkill Rock, where kids whisper the legend of a monster at parties around campfires. Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight . . . until now.

I’ve said it over and over again: nonfiction for young readers doesn’t get the love it deserves. It’s true yet again that this year’s Goodreads Choice Awards fails to include a category dedicated to the outstanding nonfiction written for young people. It’s unfortunate that the wide range of true stories isn’t as celebrated and honored as those that are fictional. I’m a little more convinced each year it’s because nonfiction for young readers doesn’t have the same appeal for adults as fiction does; that’s not belittling adults reading fiction or nonfiction being not appealing to adult readers. I don’t believe either of those things. Rather, it’s less an obvious market overlap.

So in spite of the lack of nonfiction love, how about we offer up a little bit in November? Fellow Book Rioter Kim Ukura cohosts an annual event called Nonfiction November, and it felt fitting to put together a couple of newsletters this month dedicated to the wonderful world of YA nonfiction.

First up: a look at some of the 2019 offerings in the world of YA nonfiction to get excited about. This is but a glimpse, and note, too, that it’s pretty white. It’s not representative of YA nonfiction as a whole, but rather, representative of what I’ve found in a quick search (do note, though, it’s inclusive of sexuality, gender identity, and ability!). If you know of any upcoming 2019 YA nonfiction titles by authors of color, hit reply and I’ll include them in a future round-up.

Descriptions are from Goodreads because I haven’t read any of these yet, though three are sitting on my pile…

Brave Face by Shaun David Hutchinson (August 20)

“I wasn’t depressed because I was gay. I was depressed and gay.”

Shaun David Hutchinson was nineteen. Confused. Struggling to find the vocabulary to understand and accept who he was and how he fit into a community in which he couldn’t see himself. The voice of depression told him that he would never be loved or wanted, while powerful and hurtful messages from society told him that being gay meant love and happiness weren’t for him.

A million moments large and small over the years all came together to convince Shaun that he couldn’t keep going, that he had no future. And so he followed through on trying to make that a reality.

Thankfully Shaun survived, and over time, came to embrace how grateful he is and how to find self-acceptance. In this courageous and deeply honest memoir, Shaun takes readers through the journey of what brought him to the edge, and what has helped him truly believe that it does get better.

The Electric War: Edison, Tesla, and The Race To Light The World by Mike Winchell (January 22)

In the mid-to-late-nineteenth century, a burgeoning science called electricity promised to shine new light on a rousing nation. Inventive and ambitious minds were hard at work. Soon that spark was fanned and given life, and a fiery war was under way to be the first to light—and run—the world with electricity. Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of direct current (DC), engaged in a brutal battle with Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, the inventors of alternating current (AC). There would be no ties in this bout—only a winner and a loser. The prize: a nationwide monopoly in electric current. Brimming with action, suspense, and rich historical and biographical information about these inventors, here is the rousing account of one of the world’s defining scientific competitions.

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless. In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she’s never written about before. Searing and soul-searching, this important memoir is a denouncement of our society’s failures and a love letter to all the people with the courage to say #metoo and #timesup, whether aloud, online, or only in their own hearts. Shout speaks truth to power in a loud, clear voice– and once you hear it, it is impossible to ignore.

Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is My Nurse by Shane Burcaw (April 30)

With his signature acerbic wit and hilarious voice, twenty-something author, blogger, and entrepreneur Shane Burcaw is back with an essay collection about living a full life in a body that many people perceive as a tragedy. From anecdotes about first introductions where people patted him on the head instead of shaking his hand, to stories of passersby mistaking his able-bodied girlfriend for a nurse, Shane tackles awkward situations and assumptions with humor and grace.

On the surface, these essays are about day-to-day life as a wheelchair user with a degenerative disease, but they are actually about family, love, and coming of age.

Trans Mission: My Quest To A Beard by Alex Bertie (May 19)

A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II by Elizabeth Wein (January 22)

In the early years of World War II, Josef Stalin issued an order that made the Soviet Union the first country in the world to allow female pilots to fly in combat. Led by Marina Raskova, these three regiments, including the 588th Night Bomber Regiment—nicknamed the “night witches”—faced intense pressure and obstacles both in the sky and on the ground. Some of these young women perished in flames. Many of them were in their teens when they went to war.

This is the story of Raskova’s three regiments, women who enlisted and were deployed on the front lines of battle as navigators, pilots, and mechanics. It is the story of a thousand young women who wanted to take flight to defend their country, and the woman who brought them together in the sky.

Packed with black-and-white photographs, fascinating sidebars, and thoroughly researched details, A Thousand Sisters is the inspiring true story of a group of women who set out to change the world, and the sisterhood they formed even amid the destruction of war.

Yes She Can: 10 Stories of Hope and Change from Young Female Staffers of the Obama White House compiled by Molly Dillon (April 23)

Meet ten amazing young women who were so inspired by Barack Obama’s inclusive feminist politics that they decided to join his White House. Although they were technically the lowest ranked members—and all in their early to mid-twenties at the time—their high levels of responsibility will surprise you.

There’s Kalisha Dessources, policy advisor to the White House Council on Women and Girls, who recounts the day she brought a group of African American girls (and world-renowned choreographer Debbie Allen) to the White House for Black History Month to dance for Michelle Obama; Molly Dillon, who describes organizing and hosting an event for foster care reform with Vice President Biden, Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, and a hundred foster kids; Jenna Brayton, one of the members of the first White House digital team, who talks about an Obama initiative to bring together students of all backgrounds and ages from across the country to showcase their vision for the future through cinema; and more.

Full of never-before-told stories, here is an intimate look at Obama’s presidency, as seen through the eyes of the smart, successful young women who (literally) helped rule the world—and they did it right out of college, too.

____________________

Hope you found some great reads to look forward to. See you again later this week!

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Twitter and Instagram

Hey YA readers: It’s time to catch up on all the YA news!

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

Break a mirror. Walk under a ladder. Step on a crack. Innocent childhood superstitions … But someone at the Trask Academy of Performing Arts is taking things one step further when the campus is rocked with the deaths of some of its star students. Senior Layna Curtis realizes the random, accidental deaths of her friends aren’t random—or accidents—at all. Someone has taken childhood games too far, using the idea of superstitions to dispose of classmates. As Layna tries to convince people of her theory, she uncovers that each escalating, gruesome murder leads closer to its final victim: her.

There is some great news to share in this week’s YA roundup!

• Dumplin’ has been having a good few weeks. There’s a release date (announced by Dolly Parton), a movie tie-in cover that doesn’t suck (and is a first look at the film), and there’s a song you can listen to from the soundtrack by Dolly.
• Casting announcements have been made for the Hulu adaptation of Looking for Alaska.
• YA books as Halloween candy.
• I feel I may have shared this piece already but it’s worth resharing because it’s great: how language may have impacted the rating of The Hate U Give, making it hard for teen viewers to see (& how that was worked around!).
• A rare interview with Suzanne Collins on the 10th anniversary of The Hunger Games. 
• John Green began a book club with his long time friend and producing partner Rosianna Halse Rojas and the first pick is a classic by Jacqueline Woodson.
• Have you read any of these 80s and 90s YA that have held up over the years? I read a Norma Klein title last year (not the one here) and was blown away by it.
• Samira Ahmed’s next novel Internment has been optioned for film.
• Vault Comics is launching a YA imprint. What does that mean for you? More comics-themed YA!
• Nigerian YA fantasy? I think this will do well with so many readers.
• 7 secrets of the Harry Potter covers.
• In Chicago or nearby before November 11? Check out the stage performance of Private Peaceful, based off the YA novel of the same name.
• Ned Vizzini’s Be More Chill, which has been huge on stage, is getting adapted to film.
• I started watching The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and got a couple episodes in. I enjoyed it! Then I read this fantastic thread about racism as the show goes on and don’t know if I want to keep going.
• Lesbian and bisexual books set across the USA. Not all of, but many of, the titles here are YA books.
• The Lara Jean costumes for Halloween this year are just so good.

Recent Book Mail

Here’s what has hit my inbox in the world of YA (and YA adjacent) books this week. From top to bottom:

The Blood Spell by CJ Redwine

The Cerulean by Amy Ewing

Stolen Time by Danielle Rollins

Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West

We Set The Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Hide With Me by Sorboni Banerjee

Spin by Lamar Giles

How To Survive in a Stranger Things World

Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

White Rose by Kip Wilson

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

For Your TBR Consideration

Two books I’ve read recently I wanted to highlight here this week include one I’ve finished and one I’m in the midst of (a recommended read from a newsletter subscriber!). Both are available now.

A Heart In a Body In The World by Deb Caletti is a moving, powerful feminist read about the anger and frustration women carry with them not only in this cultural moment, but historically as well. What does it mean to be violated? What does it mean to be used as a tool of anger by men and boys? This is what Annabelle struggles with. As a means of working through her grief and her mental health after a terrible tragedy, she decides she’s going to run from her home in Washington state to Washington DC. The goal? Figure out how to heal herself. Along the way, she makes and finds incredible people who help her do just that. While the book takes on serious and heavy issues, it’s also a book about being empowered, about hope, and about how people can come together to show each other kindness. There’s one badass grandfather figure in the story, too, and each of the characters are well-rounded and whole. A delight of a read that is exceptionally timely, too.

I just began Neal Shusterman’s Dry, which was cowritten with his son Jarrod. This book is easily within the cli-fi subgenre I highlighted in a recent newsletter. A standalone novel, the book explores what happens when the water supply in Southern California begins to dry up. Called the “tap out,” locals discover the news isn’t making its way into national headlines as they’d hope it would — there have been other, “splashier” disasters taking on the media’s attention. What happens, though, when everything you need to survive suddenly disappears? How do you tell your pet you can’t give them water? What happens when all of the stores are out of it? How do you survive? A powerfully real look at what could be a realistic crisis and not just a future-set fantasy. This has been optioned for film and I suspect it’d be great on the big screen.

____________________

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

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Twitter and Instagram