Hey YA Readers!
We’re in the midst of dreary, rainy season now after a historic ice storm that virtually no one outside of the midwest knows anything about. I’m lucky we were only without power for a day while many in my community went four or more days — and there are still some places a week later waiting to get it back.
Let’s get on our coziest clothes, light a candle, and talk YA, shall we?
Bookish Goods
Big Fan Sweatshirt by JustinsShirtStore
I don’t know how I found this shop, but it’s one I’ve saved so many items from. At some point, I’ll own one of these sweaters that pay homage to childhood favorites.
I, too, am a fan of both Frog and Toad and when things go my way. Aren’t you?
$33 and up.
New Releases
A lot of great YA paperbacks hit shelves this week. Here’s a look at two of them. You might need to toddle your view after you click the link to find the paperback edition.
Curious what else released in the portable paperback format? You can peep the whole list of Winter 2023 YA Paperbacks here.
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
It feels like this book has been out for a long time, and it has — at least in book life years. The first volume hit shelves in September 2021, and this week, the paperback is finally here.
Aliens plague the world outside the Great Wall of China. Chrysalises are giant transforming robots which can take down the aliens, and the boys of Huaxia long to find girls to copilot those machines with them, even (especially?) if it means those girls will die from it.
Zetian is going to play into the game, and she is eager to to become a “concubine-pilot,” in order to get revenge against the pilot who killed her sister.
Except things don’t go according to plan. She is an Iron Widow, bestowed with the rare power of being able to sacrifice males in order to keep Chrysalises moving. So when she’s paired with the strongest male pilot in Huaxia, she’ll have to both learn to understand him…and her own strength.
The Words We Keep by Erin Stewart
Stewart’s novel won this year’s Schneider Family Book Award for teens (a personal favorite of mine!).
Three months ago, Lily walked in on her sister Alice harming herself. Lily’s been trying to keep the peace around home while her sister is in treatment, but now that Alice is returning home, Lily can no longer tamp it down.
Micah is a new student and happened to attend the same treatment program as Alice. Now that he and Lily are paired up for an art project at school, Lily begins to open up about her own compulsions and the realities of both living with her own — and her sister’s — mental health challenges.
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.
YA Book News
- Ryan La Sala’s The Honeys has been optioned for adaptation.
- This year’s slate of Stoker Award finalists for YA horror are incredible.
- What a wonderful writeup of Tonya Bolden, a prolific children’s and young adult writer of fiction and nonfiction.
- Speaking of profiles, here’s a great one of Judy Blume.
As always, thanks for hanging out. Take a few minutes this week to talk with a friend about the current situation when it comes to book bans.
Until deals on Saturday, happy reading!
— Kelly Jensen, currently reading The Hideaway by Pam Smy