Hey YA Readers!
This week kicks off a new design for this newsletter (and several others across Book Riot) and I hope you dig it. We’ll still cover everything as before but it might look a little different than before.
Let’s dive in!
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I was working on a roundup of great bookish caps and found this hat that I am extremely tempted to buy. Who doesn’t want a very Kristy-like Baby-Sitters Club hat? $17 and available in several colors.
New Releases
Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed
Safiya Mirza is a budding journalist and she’s committed to following the path of being truthful without being biased. But when she finds a boy who has been murdered–one who had been labeled a a threat before–she’s set on finding out what happened and that may mean putting the idea of being objective behind.
I’ve not yet read this one, but it’s comped to Sadie and Dear Martin, and Ahmed is an excellent storyteller.
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
Somehow, despite how much I loved this book, I missed highlighting it in last week’s mega roundup. So know this book came out last week but I’m including it here because it’s still a new release.
This is a very queer and at times very funny book about a girl named Chloe who attends an elite, religious private school in the south. She and Shara Wheeler have been competitive since the beginning of high school but then Shara disappears on prom night. She leaves behind several clues about her whereabouts to a handful of people at the school . . . all of whom had shared a kiss with her.
McQuiston explores all of the YA tropes you know and either love or hate. It is extremely clever.
On Thursdays, I’ll highlight two paperback new releases for this week. For the mega list of new YA books out this week, you can slide over here.
Riot Recommendations
I keep a list of topics I want to highlight and sometimes I realize there are too few books or collected thoughts to cover a whole newsletter’s worth of insight. One beauty of our new format? I can do it anyway.
Today, let’s look at two YA books where country music is central to the story. Note that both of these books are by white authors. Know of a YA book with country music by an author of color? I’d love to know.
A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy
Emmett wants to be a big, gay country music star but that’s a tough sell in Illinois and when you’re only 17. To at least get moving on his dream, he decides to spend the summer with his aunt in Tennessee, where he’ll work as talent at an amusement park owned by his idol Wanda Jean Stubbs (if you’re thinking Dollywood, know I am, too).
Luke hates country music because of a falling out between his grandma Verna Rose’s famous falling out with Wanda Jean. This summer, Luke has to take a job at Wanda World, though, and you can probably guess what happens when he and Emmett meet.
It’s love, it’s fun, it’s a potential disaster when a secret about Verna and Wanda emerges that could put their country love song romance in jeopardy.
You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn
Annie Mathers is heir to a country music legacy and has been called America’s sweetheart. It’s little wonder why Clay Coolidge’s label wants her to join him on his latest music tour this summer–she’s good for his reputation and they want to land her and her band. She’s hesitant, as she knows from family history how bad the spotlight can be, but Annie agrees. It’s not exactly love at first sight between Annie and Clay but fans are making her convinced that maybe it’s worth the chance.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
Thanks for hanging out and we’ll see you on Thursday. You’ll get your paperback new releases, as well as your regular roundup of bookish news from around the web.
In the mean time, happy reading!
— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram.