With fall in full swing up in the Northern Hemisphere, so comes the influx of YA book news.
“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith.
When Louise Wolfe’s first real boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail. It’s her senior year, anyway, and she’d rather spend her time with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper. The editors pair her up with Joey Kairouz, the ambitious new photojournalist, and in no time the paper’s staff find themselves with a major story to cover: the school musical director’s inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town. From the newly formed Parents Against Revisionist Theater to anonymous threats, long-held prejudices are being laid bare and hostilities are spreading against teachers, parents, and students — especially the cast members at the center of the controversy, including Lou’s little brother, who’s playing the Tin Man. As tensions mount at school, so does a romance between Lou and Joey — but as she’s learned, “dating while Native” can be difficult. In trying to protect her own heart, will Lou break Joey’s?
Shout out to a book I really enjoyed as today’s sponsor — if you haven’t, add Hearts Unbroken to your TBR.
Grab your favorite snack and get ready to get caught up on the latest in YA news this week!
- The YA novel Dissonance will be adapted by none other than Catherine Hardwicke.
- A moment of appreciation for Tiffany D. Jackson’s next book and its spectacular cover. This is the second YA rap star book coming out next year (the other being On The Come Up by Angie Thomas). This is a sweet microtrend!
- I have found myself increasingly fascinated by how franchises work (think: we have Lumberjanes the original comics, which are now also novels, which are being made into a graphic novel again). This one is really up my fascination alley: “Light as a feather, stiff as a board,” the old sleepover game, became a YA hit on WattPad and now it’s a show on Hulu.
- A little insider baseball: Tyndale House is adding a YA imprint. If you are or know readers who love their YA with a Christian bent, keep an eye on this.
- Canada’s Governor General Literary Awards short lists have been announced, and here are this year’s young people’s literature titles. Learning to Breathe is not only exceptionally gorgeous on the outside, but it’s one I hope more readers pick up with this little nod to its internal strength, too.
- Curious about debut novels hitting shelves in 2019? Here’s where you can learn about some of them.
- Want more YA books like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina? Here’s a nice list.
Cake, Frieda Kahlo, and Other Alternatives to Necromancy is my YA book title. What’s yours?
- Marie Lu just signed a multi-million dollar deal, so we’ll be seeing much more great YA from her.
- Erin Jade Lange’s Butter, which came out a few years back, has been optioned for adaptation.
- Netflix is filming the adaptation of Trinkets, another YA novel that came out a few years back. Y’know, I wonder if this is a thing we’ll see a bit more of — adaptations of YA titles from the midlist of years past, as it pulls back some of the hype expectation that has let down other YA adaptations (see things like The Darkest Minds or The 5th Wave).
- Snapchat TV is adapting The Dead Girls Detective Agency, another YA novel from a few seasons ago.
- I love every single thing about this: Reese Witherspoon’s company is going to adapt Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi. I loved this YA memoir and cannot wait to see it on screen.
- “To all the goobers I’ve loved before” and more YA books as candy. Get your LOLs on.
Recent Book Mail
A very manageable mail week, so enjoy the seasonal photograph! From top to bottom:
The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth
Orphaned by Eliot Schrefer
Broken Things by Lauren Oliver
Cheap Reads
Prices for these books are current as of Tuesday, October 16. Snag a good read for a little less cash.
Frost by Marianna Baer — if I could recommend a creepy YA book for the season, this is my favorite and wildly underrated. $4.
Printz Award winner Bone Gap by Laura Ruby is $2.
Want another good Printz Award winning read for $2? Try Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta.
Nic Stone’s must-read debut Dear Martin is $2.
Matt de la Peña’s Mexican White Boy is $2.
Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan is $2.
Feral Nights, the first in a trilogy by Cynthia Leitich Smith, is $2.
____________________
Thanks for hanging out and we’ll see you again next week!