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Enjoy a Bite from These YA Food Truck Reads

Hey YA Readers!

I hope you’re ready to be hungry with today’s look at YA books featuring food trucks. Foodie YA has been on the upswing in the last couple of years, with tons of romances centered around finding love while competing on food reality shows and competitions, as well as on the job. It’s been fun to see so many, but I’ve got to say, I’m especially partial to YA food truck books.

I live in an area where we regularly have food truck festivals and they’re my favorite way to expand my culinary horizons. It’s a small town, so we don’t have a wide range of restaurants, and food trucks provide the opportunity to discover new foods without needing to travel far.

For teens, food trucks provide the same, and in YA literature food trucks offer such a perfect story setting. You have a workplace that’s tiny, and being in such a confined space offers a lot of time for things to happen between and among characters. This might be love, it might be friendship, or in some cases, it might be the ultimate punishment.

Find below a delicious array of food truck YA books. Included are two of my personal favorites that I never stop thinking about when I visit a food truck — my mind wonders what those characters might be up to, as well as what the actual teens who may be working those trucks are themselves experiencing. Note that there is only one book here by an author of color. We’ve seen a good number of foodie YA featuring teens (and authors) of color, but it’s surprising how few have included food trucks.

donuts and other proclamations of love book cover

Donuts and Other Proclamations of Love by Jared Reck

Easily one of my favorite books this year is Reck’s sophomore novel set on a Swedish food truck. Oscar lives with his grandfather and works with him on the truck; one of their specialties is a specific type of donut. What slowly unravels through the book is the story of how and why Oscar’s grandfather came to the US from Finland, as well as the immense weight of grief within him. There’s a fun and poignant plot in the story featuring a girl in Oscar’s class who asks him to help her with a project meant to repurpose apples tossed away during school lunches that, as you might guess, leads to a little bit of love along the way. This one’s a tear-jerker, with threads about queer love, about friendship, and includes plenty of delicious food, Swedish phrases, and even space for laughter.

cover for geekerella

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

First in a fun, fandom-centric twist on Cinderella, Poston’s novel follows Elle Wittimer, a devoted fan to the classic sci-fi series Starfield. When she learns about a costume contest wherein the prize is meeting one of the actors in the show’s reboot, she jumps at the chance. It’s with the money she makes from working at the Magic Pumpkin food truck that helps her fund the endeavor.

Darien is a teen actor who feels like such a fake. He’s been cast as one of the actors in the Starfield reboot but doesn’t think he’s cut out for it.

When Elle and Darien meet, though, they can do more for one another than imagined.

cover for the music of what happens

The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg

What happens when two very different teen boys, both with a heap of challenges in their lives, are working together in the Arizona heat for the summer on a food truck?

Sparks, potentially.

Max and Jordan are complete opposites, but being side by side in Coq Au Vinny might help them fall for each other, as well as better understand themselves.

the way you make me feel book cover

The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

This book will make you laugh, as well as potentially hate the main character who is as much an obnoxious prankster teen as you can imagine (that, to me, is precisely what makes her endearing and real).

After a prank goes too far at school, Clara’s dad punishes her to a summer working the family food truck, KoBra, alongside Rose, an uptight classmate she cannot stand. She’s dreading every second of it. That is, until she allows herself to open up, to find connection with Rose, and to maybe find love with a boy she meets at a food truck festival whose name is Hamlet.

Goo has a way of writing complex and dynamic characters and weaves them into prose and situations that are both spot-on emotionally and hilarious.

I don’t know about you, but in my dream world, all of these food trucks would be at a festival in the same place and I’d enjoy the delicious offerings at each.


As always, thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you later this week!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram

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What's Up in YA

Queer Teens and A Lot of Magic: Your YA Ebook Deals, August 7, 2021

Happy weekend, YA fans!

Find a rich array of ebooks for sale to help you load up your ereader with outstanding titles. Prices are current as of writing.

Elatsoe book cover

A magical murder mystery by a Native author with Native main characters? Sign me up for Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger for $3.

Another magical read you should snag is A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow. $3.

Let’s continue the magical reads theme with Lobizona, first in a series by Romina Garber, for $3.

An anthology of Shakespeare reimaginings that came out this year is on sale for $3. Snap up That Way Madness Lies edited by Dahlia Adler.

Baby and Solo by Lisabeth Posthuma, one of my favorites of the year, follows the life of a suburban queer teen in the 90s. Pick this one up, especially for $3.

Victoria Ortiz’s biography of Ruth Bader Ginsberg for teens, Dissenter on the Bench, is $3.

Snag The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall for $3.

You can still buy Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, first in a fantasy series, for $3.

cover for the Ravens

The Ravens by Dhonielle Clayton and Kass Morgan (what a powerhouse team!) is $3. It’s the first in a series.

Anna Carey delivers a 90s-set, pop-culture infused thriller with This Is Not The Jess Show. $3.

Looking for a romantic read? Anna K by Jenny Lee — first in a series — is on sale for $3.

Julian Winters’s most recent book, The Summer of Everything, is $3.

Grab this road trip love story about a ballerina, I Want To Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest, for $3.


I hope you found your new favorite read this weekend.

Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you Monday!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram

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A New YA Ballet Adaptation, BUFFY Returns, and More YA News and New Books: August 5, 2021

Hey YA Readers!

Let’s catch up on this week’s small bit of YA news, as well as this week’s new releases.

YA Book News

New YA Books This Week

Hardcover

Dangerous Play by Emma Kress

Cover for The Dead and the Dark

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

Fresh by Margot Wood

Gods and Monsters by Shelby Mahurin (series)

The Great Destroyers by Caroline Tung Richmond

How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

Like a Love Song by Gabriela Martins

Like Other Girls by Britta Lundin

Mercury Boys by Chandra Prasad

Cover for Sugar Town Queens

Sugar Town Queens by Malla Nunn

Suns Will Rise by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell (series)

The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad

The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins

Paperback

A Beautiful Doom by Laura Pohl

B*Witch by Paige McKenzie and Nancy Ohlin (series)

Court of Lions by Somaiya Daud (series)

Crying Laughing by Lance Rubin

A Dragonbird in the Fern by Laura Rueckert

Facing the Sun by Janice Lynn Mather

Kingdom of Sea and Stone by Mara Rutherford (series)

More Than Just a Pretty Face by Syed M. Masood

The Perfect Place to Die by Bryce Moore

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (series)

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

The Truth Is by NoNieqa Ramos

YA On Book Riot This Week


Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you on Saturday for tons of great ebook deals.

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram

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What's Up in YA

Delectable YA Fantasy Duologies

Hey YA Readers!

I deeply wish fantasy was a genre within YA I could read. It’s not that I dislike it; it’s that my brain simply cannot immerse in a world outside the realms of reality. Magical realism and science fiction work for me because of how they’re still tied to our world, but something about fantasy is just challenging. It’s a weak spot in my reading and writing life, but we all have those, right?

The other thing that trips me a bit with fantasy, especially in YA, is how many in the genre are a series. I like reading one-and-done titles, as well as picking up series years after it’s concluded so I can blow through each book immediately after finishing the previous.

Perhaps my answer to this — and the way I can best push myself to read more fantasy in YA — is by digging into duologies. Two books make a series, but it’s two books total. It feels super accessible and engaging without requiring significant buy in.

I know many fantasy lovers dig these books, too, and it seemed like the right time as we begin winding down from an energetic summer to round up a handful of great, completed YA fantasy duologies.

I’ve pulled just the first book in the duology to highlight, with the title of the second book included with the description so you can snap it up as well (without being spoiled by the description).

Book cover for All The Stars and Teeth

All The Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

Looking for pirates, mermaids, and an island kingdom? This one’ll do it for you. The story follows Amora, who has spent her life preparing to become a master of souls — it’s how she’ll secure her place on the throne. But when her demonstration of mastery doesn’t go well, she flees and strikes up a deal with a mysterious pirate.

All The Tides of Fate is book #2.

cover for Ashlords

Ashlords by Scott Reintgen

If phoenix horses isn’t enough of a sell, perhaps the book being pitched as The Scorpio Races meets Red Rising does. This duology follows three phoenix horse riders who have to compete in the annual Races, which is an event replacing warfare in their empire. The riders can summon an impressive range of powers and alchemy throughout to work toward glory.

Bloodsworn is book #2.

Beyond the Ruby Veil by Mara Fitzgerald

Dark + queer = win win.

Emanuela is a girl after my own heart in that she doesn’t play by the rules and doesn’t care what people think of her. That’s part of why she’s okay marrying her childhood best friend and heir to the wealthiest home in herr kingdom. . . even though both of them are gay. She simply wants the power.

But then, she accidentally kills the watercrea, the only source of her kingdom’s water. Now, people are dying of thirst and she must find a way to save them.

Into The Midnight Void is book 2.

cover for light at the bottom of the world

Light at the Bottom of the World by London Shah

This book marries what I love about science fiction — it’s a story set underwater, thanks to global warming and follows the contours of a compelling dystopia — but it’s infused with sea creatures, a corrupt government, and a girl who must partake in a marathon she’s not interested in. But if she wins, she’s been told she can have whatever it is her heart desires. In this case, her father who might otherwise be lost forever.

Richly imaginative, it’s a near-future, submerged London setting. Book two is Journey To The Heart of the Abyss.

cover for scavenge the stars

Scavenge The Stars by Tara Sim

Gender-bent Count of Monte Cristo! This duology follows a girl who is captive on a debtor ship. When she rescues a stranger from drowning, it turns out he’s able to offer her untold wealth and a wholly new identity, freeing her to a coastal city-state.

Now, Amaya is out for revenge against the person who ruined her and her family’s life.

Book two is Ravage The Dark.

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

This duology is inspired by West African folklore and follows a boy named Malik, who sees a chance to escape his war-torn home town to start a new life with his sisters in a safer town. Too bad a vengeful spirit abducts his younger sister and, to get her back, Malik must kill the princess of the town where he wants to go.

That princess, though, has her own goals and wants to resurrect her mother using ancient magic . . . and it might be Malik who helps her do just that. That is, if the two of them don’t catch feelings for each other first.

Book two is A Psalm of Storms and Silence (the alliteration here is awesome, isn’t it?).


These duologies all sound excellent, even to someone who is fantasy-hesitant. I hope you snap one — or all — of these up and find your new favorite read.

Thanks for hanging out, and I’ll see you on Thursday!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram.

Thanks to Nightfire for making this newsletter possible!

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Spring 2022 YA + Vintage Horror On Screen: Your YA Book News and New Books, July 29, 2021

Hey YA Fans!

This week’s roundup of YA news is packed with goodness. Usually this time of year is pretty quiet, but 2021 continues to be a whole new animal (in this particular case, that’s a good thing).

YA Book News

New YA Books This Week

Where there was a lot of news, note that this week, the new releases are slimmer than normal. The good part about that is you have some time to catch up with that towering TBR.

Hardcover releases

Image of book cover for Small Favors by Erin A. Craig

The Silver Blonde by Elizabeth Ross

Small Favors by Erin A. Craig

They’ll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman

Paperback Releases

Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon

The Faithless Hawk by Margaret Owen (series)

The Friend Scheme by Cale Dietrich

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Salvation by Caryn Lix (series)

This Week at Book Riot

Image of a canvas tote bag, featuring a black girl reading a book. Behind her image are the words "after this chapter."

I’m obsessed with this tote bag — how many of us have said we’ll do the thing after this chapter? $19.


As always, thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you again on Monday.

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram.

Thanks to Penguin Teen and They’ll Never Catch Us for making today’s newsletter possible.

Image of book cover for They'll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman.
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These New and Upcoming YA Anthologies Are 🔥🔥

Good Day, YA Readers!

We are — and have been — living in a golden age of YA anthologies. Anthologies are such a tremendous gift to readers, as they allow for exploring a specific topic across a wide range of voices. You can read them in a single sitting or pick up collections as desired and not feel you’re missing out by not reading it all at once. They allow a nice introduction to new writers, as well as an opportunity to reconnect with favorite ones.

This year and early next year are jam packed with exciting YA anthologies. Let’s take a look at some of the ones just landing on shelves or available in the next sixish months.

Battle of the Bands edited by Lauren Gibaldi and Eric Smith (September 14)

The concept behind this anthology is genius and I cannot wait to read it. Taking place over the course of one event — a high school battle of the bands — fifteen authors and one musician weave interconnected stories about it. Authors include Jay Coles, Ashley Woodfolk, Preeti Chhiibber, and more.

Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, Angie Thomas, and Nicola Yoon

This book is such a delight. All of the stories are distinct, but each of them is tied together with the blackout, with intersecting secondary characters, and a giant Brooklyn block party. Each story is on its own except for Jackson’s, which is broken up across the book, mimicking the way her story is about a long walk across the city. Every story’s voice is distinct, as are the characters. There’s a wide variety of romances representing, queer and heterosexual, with an awesome range of gender identities. 

Fools in Love: Fresh Twists on Romantic Tales edited by Ashley Herring Blake and Rebecca Podos (December 7)

If you’re a fan of romance and specifically, love the tropes within the genre, then this book will be up your alley. The collection has fifteen stories, all featuring a range of tropes and happily ever afters. Among the rockstar contributors are Malinda Lo, Lilliam Rivera, Sara Farizan, and more.

Reclaim the Stars edited by Zoraida Córdova (February 15)

First, pause to admire the incredible cover on this one, designed by Olga Grlic and illustrated by Faye Guanipa. This collection of science fiction and fantasy reads explores the Latinx diaspora, and it features some of the most incredible Latinx YA authors working today. Among the 17 stories are pieces by Daniel José Older, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Mark Oshiro.

Up All Night edited by Laura Silverman

I’m old enough to remember the anthology called Up All Night from 2008, where a slate of rockstar authors shared stories of what kept them up all night. Silverman’s anthology, which shares the title, would pair really nicely with it. Instead of what keeps teens up all night, though, this collection is about what happens between dusk and dawn. Contributors include Nina LaCour, Brandy Colbert, Maurene Goo, and more.

Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed edited by Saraciea J. Fennell (September 14)

One of the most interesting and vital things to come from the wave of anthologies over the last half decade is how inclusive they are. Anthologies are a powerful space for historically underrepresented voices to come together and share both the similarities and differences in their experiences within any given identity. Fennell’s collection is a great example, wherein 15 writers from the Latinx diaspora have written essays and poetry about the wide range of experiences of being Latinx. Contributors include Meg Medina, Elizabeth Acevedo, Ibi Zoboi, and more.


Thanks for hanging out, and I hope you added some new reads to your TBR.

See you Thursday!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing and Song of the Forever Rains for making the newsletter possible today.

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Buzzy Thrillers, Ace Rep, and More YA Ebook Deals

There are so! many! ebooks! on! sale! Stock up and prepare yourself for a summer, fall, and winter of outstanding reads.

Need a buzzy thriller that has an adaptation featuring Halsey? They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman is on sale for $3.

Elizabeth Lim’s Spin the Dawn, pitched as “Project Runway meets Mulan” is the first in a series and on sale for $2.

Another first book in a fantasy series on sale this week is Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young. Grab it for $3 if you are itching for some vikings.

Skyhunter by Marie Lu is a whopping $3.

Haven’t read Children of Blood and Bone yet? $3 can fix that.

Somiya Daud’s Mirage is a really great science fiction/fantasy blend and first in a series about a girl made to play the body double of a much-hated princess. $2.

Love contemporary books? Haven’t yet read Claire Kann? Grab her debut with asexual representation, Let’s Talk About Love for $3.

A fun superhero read — again, first in a series — is CB Lee’s Not Your Sidekick. $2. The other two books in the series, Not Your Villain and Not Your Backup, are also $2 each. $6 for a whole trilogy!

Fans of fantasy retellings will love A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer, which takes on Beauty and the Beast. $4.

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis is $3.

Grab Julian Winters’s The Summer of Everything — what perfect timing! — for $2. Winters’s soccer themed novel Running With Lions is also on sale for $2.

The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall has such a compelling title and amazing cover. $3.

And last, if you’re looking for a revenge thriller with hints of Macbeth, snag Hannah Capin’s Foul is Fair for $3.


Thanks so much for hanging out, and I hope you found your new favorite read this weekend.

See you Monday!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram.

Thank you to It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts for making today’s newsletter possible.

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K-Drama Rom-Com to Netflix: Your YA Book News and New Books, July 22, 2021

Hey YA Readers!

Let’s catch up on the latest in YA news and new releases. There are some great deep dives this week, perfect for when you’re between books.

YA Book News

New Hardcover Releases

After the Ink Dries by Cassie Gustafson,

Cast In Secrets and Shadow by Andrea Robertson (series)

Curses by Lish McBride

In The Same Boat by Holly Green

Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent

The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters

These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan

Untethered by KayLynn Flanders (series)

You and Me at the End of the World by Brianna Bourne

New Paperback Releases

Cursed by Karol Ruth Silverstein

The Easy Part of Impossible by Sarah Tomp

The Glass Queen by Gena Showalter (series)

Hope Is Our Only Wing by Rutendo Tavengerwei

Love, Jacaranda by Alex Flinn

Now and When by Sara Bennett Wealer

River of Dreams by Jan Nash

Throw Like a Girl by Sarah Henning

Where The World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean

YA On Book Riot


Thanks for hanging out, y’all, and I’ll see you again this weekend with some fabulous ebook deals.

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram.

Big thanks to Wednesday Books and Any Way The Wind Blows for making this newsletter possible.

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Masking Up YA Book Covers: Yay or Nay?

Hey YA Readers!

Though we are still in the midst of a global pandemic and case numbers, particularly among the unvaccinated, are rising again across the world, more and more places have begun to return to “normal” operations — whatever “normal” is, anyway. It’s both exciting and nerve-wrecking, particularly for those of us who have or work with the demographic who cannot get vaccinated, be it because of their age or chronic conditions.

We’ve started, too, to see more books about COVID-19 or set during a pandemic that’s meant to resemble this one. A number of those books take inspiration from the newness of America’s mask mandates on their covers, despite the fact masking when one feels ill has been routine in other nations.

Masks on YA book covers is symbolic of the pandemic, of course, as well as symbolic of something feeling utterly not “normal,” but I can’t help wonder: what do readers think about these book covers? Are they interested in reading a book that feels too close to right now? To a major period of fear and anxiety? To grief and loss and mourning?

It’s really hard to say, of course, but I know when these pop up, I find myself pausing and wondering if I’m actually ready or ever will be ready to read fiction that reminds me of a very non-fictional world. Two of the three below are romances, while the third explores the pandemic as it intersects with Black Lives Matter protests — light reading that feels overshadowed with darkness from the masks, alongside a book that’s already taking on something big and adding the complexities of what the masking symbolizes.

Here’s a look at a few of these covers and what the books are about. I’ve purposefully left cover art and designer information off, as the commonality here and the choices made in design aren’t always entirely in their hands and therefore, the criticism isn’t geared to their specific work.

Going Viral by Kate Cicatelli-Kuc (November 2)

During lockdown with her family, Claire’s unable to be with her friends or girlfriend Vanessa. But soon, she begins to notice a new girl who sits on her fire escape across the street from her, and Claire uses that as inspiration for writing a story that immediately goes viral. But is the fame too much for Claire, and how does she reckon with where her heart truly lies?

Hello (From Here) by Chandler Baker and Wesley King

Maxine and Jonah meet in the canned foods aisle just as California begins lockdown because of the pandemic. Jonah lives with anxiety, now exacerbated by COVID-19, while Maxine’s job at the supermarket turns into a nightmare. It’s a terrible time to fall in love, but perhaps it was really meant to be.

Zero O’Clock by CJ Farley (September 7)

Geth’s living in New Rochelle, New York, a pandemic epicenter, and she’s isolated from her best friends. She finds herself confronted with the cops at this time, and steps into being part of the Black Lives Matter movement, for which she’s become deeply passionate. The pandemic and protests upend everything she knows, and now she has to decide how much she’s willing to risk to fight for what she believes.

Perhaps what I’m finding interesting is that there are books taking on pandemic-related topics and that don’t use the symbolic mask. For me, this feels less off-putting, even though the content is going to be similar to the above. An example:

Together, Apart by Erin A. Craig, Auriane Desombre, Erin Hahn, Bill Konigsberf, Rachael Lippincott, Brittney Morris, Sanji Patel, Natasha Preston, and Jennifer Yen

This anthology is a collection of love stories all set during the pandemic lockdown, with entries from some big YA names.

Maybe my adult sensibilities read too much into it, but it’s hard for me to see big appeal for teen readers whose lives have been upended in unbelievable ways gravitating toward mask-themed covers. The anthology makes clear what the book is about and where it’s set, but in a way that feels far less charged and anxiety-evoking.

What do you think? Are you picking up books like the ones with masks on covers or are you hesitating too? Is it just too soon?

There are no right or wrong answers, but it’s a question certainly worth pondering, especially as more bookstores, libraries, and schools eye reopening and books will be more visually browsable for readers.


Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you again on Thursday!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram

Thanks to MIT Press and The Curie Society for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

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What's Up in YA

BLACKOUT to Netflix via Obamas: Your YA Book News and New Books, July 15, 2021

Hey YA Readers!

There might not be a lot of news, but the hero piece this week is a big deal. Let’s dive in.

YA Book News

New YA in Hardcover

All These Warriors by Amy Tintera (series)

Creatures of the Night by Grace Collins

Faking Reality by Sara Fujimura

Flash Fire by TJ Klune (series)

The Great Big One by J. C. Geiger

The Mythic Koda Rose by Jennifer Nissley

Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Romance by Nisha Sharma

The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

Up All Night edited by Laura Silverman

When All The Girls are Sleeping by Emily Arsenault

When We Were Strangers by Alex Richards

Wings of Shadow by Nicki Pau Preto (series)

XOXO by Axie Oh

New in Paperback

Accidental by Alex Richards

The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune (series)

Home Home by Lisa Allen-Agostini

Parachutes by Kelly Yang

The Unleashed by Danielle Vega (series)

When She Reigns by Jodi Meadows (series)

YA On Book Riot This Week


Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you again on Monday. May the rest of your week be packed with great reads.

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram.

Big thank you to Tor Teen and Flash Fire for making today’s newsletter possible!