Hey YA Readers!
Happy Monday. Let’s talk about all things YA lit to kick off a brand new week.
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YA author Crystal Maldonado and her partner opened a super cute digital print shop on Etsy. I’m keen on this simple but bright print. Snag it for $3.99 and print it to your own size preference.
New Releases
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
Yamilet Flores isn’t thrilled about standing out as a new kid in a mostly white Catholic school. But it’s a fresh start after being outed by her former best friend and crush. Here, she can at least keep her sexuality quiet and just get through the day. She wants to make her mother proud and avoid falling in love. Too bad the only openly queer girl at the school is annoying(ly) easy for Yamilet to fall for.
This sounds like an awesome next read for fans of Erika L. Sánchez’s I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.
Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber
Twin sisters separated at birth? Check.
Witches? Check.
A plan for kidnapping and avenging parental death? Check.
This fun, high-stakes fantasy read follows one sister who was raised outside the palace with a goal of kidnapping and revenge and one who was raised to be the next royal, preparing for marriage into a brutal kingdom. But what happens when everything in both of their worlds is turned upside down? It’s the first in a series.
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
How about two books set in arcades? One of these you can pick up and read right now and one you’ll have to pop on that TBR as tall as you, as it hits shelves in August.
You Can Go Your Own Way by Eric Smith
To use Eric’s own phrase, this is a hug in a book.
This is an enemies-to-lovers, only-one-blanket rom-com about being snowed into your family’s failing arcade with the girl who used to be your best friend but is the daughter of a competing esports empire trying to purchase your family’s business. But more than that, it’s about friendship, about grief, and about family and pursing your dreams for yourself.
It’s also a love letter to all things Philadelphia. Adam and Whitney have great, distinct voices. If you loved Verona Comics, this will be your jam.
Dead Flip by Sara Farizan (August 30)
This one will be for fans of Farizan’s trademark humor and heart, as well as fans of horror like that in Stranger Things.
Cori, Maz, and Sam were best friends when they were younger, obsessed with arcades and Halloween. Now, in 1992, Sam has been missing for five years. So when he mysteriously shows back up, still 12 years old while Cori and Maz are now 17, they’ve all got to work together to figure out what happened. Was a vengeful and supernatural pinball machine to blame?
This sounds DELIGHTFUL and wonderfully queer (in all senses of the word).
As always, thanks for hanging out. We’ll see you again on Thursday for more YA book news and new releases.
Until then, happy reading!
— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Twitter, who just finished the fabulous YA graphic memoir Messy Roots by Laura Gao.