Author: Kelly Jensen

Hey YA Readers!

What unprecedented times, huh? Every single email in your inboxes likely has started that way over the last week.

So how about something a little different before we dive into this week’s (limited) YA book news and new releases?

As you may recall, there’s a dearth of pizza book covers in YA, despite how many books have a pizza theme of some sort. It’s a mystery I brought up in this newsletter last October. Since then, we’ve seen Cameron Lund’s The Best Laid Plans include a pizza (shared here when it was found). Now we have another one to add. Two slices of YA pizza covers in a year, y’all! 

I’m 100% into the pizza-centric cover of Lauren Morrill’s forthcoming It’s Kind of a Cheesy Love Story!

How delicious.

YA Book News

• Two incredibly powerful YA novel announcements hit this week: the co-founder of the Women’s March has a YA book in the works called Sanctuary, while Yusef Salaam (of the Central Park 5) and Ibi Zoboi are teaming up to work on a novel about being wrongfully sentenced.
• YA author Mariko Tamaki is taking over Wonder Woman.
• Legendary YA author Laurie Halse Anderson is working on an anthology of real-life wonder women through history with DC Comics.
• The Netflix take on The Baby-Sitters Club is going to be incredible.
• Casting news for the new take on Gossip Girl.
• Check out the finalists for this year’s LAMBDA awards in YA lit.
• Here’s some more casting news, this time for Dash and Lily.

New YA Books This Week

A * indicates I’ve read and recommend the book! May I suggest that if a book looks even remotely up your alley, consider purchasing it during this time if your finances allow?

All The Pretty Things by Emily Arsenault

All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban

The Degenerates by J. Albert Mann

Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang (comic!)

Fear of Missing Out by Katie McGovern (in paperback)

Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith (paperback)

Frozen Beauty by Lexa Hillyer

Girls With Razor Hearts by Suzanne Young (second in a series)

*Internment by Samira Ahmed (in paperback)

Nine by Zach Hines (in paperback)

Sparrow by Mary Cecilia Jackson

Super Adjacent by Crystal Cestari

Tin Heart by Shivaun Plozza (in paperback)

The Universal Laws of Marco by Carmen Rodrigues (in paperback)

The Weight of Stars by K. Ancrum (paperback)

The Yearbook Committee by Sarah Ayoub (paperback)

 

YA Talk on Book Riot This Week…

• Go around the world in (almost) 80 YA books!
• Here are how some kid lit authors are stepping up during COVID-19.
• These YA fantasy standalones make for great reading.
• YA backlist titles that are in development for on-screen adaptation.
• 6 great YA fairy tales.
• One reader on how Gail Carson Levine helped her learn to love herself.

 

On site, you can enter to win a copy of Mermaid Moon by Susann Cokal through 11:45 pm eastern tonight, or try your hand at one of two Barnes and Noble gift card giveaways for either $50 or $250.

And of course, if you want to stay up-to-date on the latest in how COVID-19 is impacting the book world, we’ve got a constantly-updated resource for you to check on.

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Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you again on Saturday with some great ebook deals for your quarantine reading.

— Kelly Jensen,  @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

**Psst — you can now also preorder my upcoming August release, Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy!

Hey YA Readers!

I’m back from my week-long total-immersion yoga training and am super stoked to talk with you about great YA books. Today, we’ll take a peek at four books coming out this year set in 24 hours or fewer. This is one of my favorite structures, as it allows for such creative tension and forces a lot of story into a teeny tiny time frame.

Before diving into those books, though, a personal aside. I’m doing a giveaway to encourage you to order some books, including my forthcoming summer release. Details are over on Instagram.

And now, the books! I’m pulling descriptions from Amazon because I’ve only read half of these — Colbert’s book and Vivian’s book — but you better believe the other two are on my TBR (and I highly recommend the two I’ve read!).

Get ready. Get set. Let’s see a story played out in 24 hours or under.

This Is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi (June 9)

Set over the course of one day, this smart and voice-driven YA novel follows three young women determined to save their indie bookstore.
Rinn Olivera is finally going to tell her longtime crush AJ that she’s in love with him.

Daniella Korres writes poetry for her own account, but nobody knows it’s her.

Imogen Azar is just trying to make it through the day.

When Rinn, Daniella, and Imogen clock into work at Wild Nights Bookstore on the first day of summer, they’re expecting the hours to drift by the way they always do. Instead, they have to deal with the news that the bookstore is closing. Before the day is out, there’ll be shaved heads, a diva author, and a very large shipment of Air Jordans to contend with.

And it will take all three of them working together if they have any chance to save Wild Nights Bookstore.

Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon (June 16)

Today, she hates him.

It’s the last day of senior year. Rowan Roth and Neil McNair have been bitter rivals for all of high school, clashing on test scores, student council elections, and even gym class pull-up contests. While Rowan, who secretly wants to write romance novels, is anxious about the future, she’d love to beat her infuriating nemesis one last time.

Tonight, she puts up with him.

When Neil is named valedictorian, Rowan has only one chance at victory: Howl, a senior class game that takes them all over Seattle, a farewell tour of the city she loves. But after learning a group of seniors is out to get them, she and Neil reluctantly decide to team up until they’re the last players left—and then they’ll destroy each other.

As Rowan spends more time with Neil, she realizes he’s much more than the awkward linguistics nerd she’s sparred with for the past four years. And, perhaps, this boy she claims to despise might actually be the boy of her dreams.

Tomorrow…maybe she’s already fallen for him.

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert (July 7)

Marva Sheridan was born ready for this day. She’s always been driven to make a difference in the world, and what better way than to vote in her first election?

Duke Crenshaw is do done with this election. He just wants to get voting over with so he can prepare for his band’s first paying gig tonight.
Only problem? Duke can’t vote.

When Marva sees Duke turned away from their polling place, she takes it upon herself to make sure his vote is counted. She hasn’t spent months doorbelling and registering voters just to see someone denied their right. And that’s how their whirlwind day begins, rushing from precinct to precinct, cutting school, waiting in endless lines, turned away time and again, trying to do one simple thing: vote. They may have started out as strangers, but as Duke and Marva team up to beat a rigged system (and find Marva’s missing cat), it’s clear that there’s more to their connection than a shared mission for democracy.

Romantic and triumphant, The Voting Booth is proof that you can’t sit around waiting for the world to change?but some things are just meant to be.

We Are The Wildcats by Siobhan Vivian (March 31)

Tomorrow, the Wildcat varsity field hockey squad will play the first game of their new season. But at tonight’s team sleepover, the girls are all about forging the bonds of trust, loyalty, and friendship necessary to win.

Everything hinges on the midnight initiation ceremony—a beloved tradition and the only facet of being a Wildcat that the girls control. Until now.

Coach—a handsome former college player revered and feared in equal measure—changes the plan and spins his team on a new adventure. One where they take a rival team’s mascot for a joyride, crash a party in their pajamas, break into the high school for the perfect picture.

But as the girls slip out of their comfort zone, so do some long-held secrets. And just how far they’re willing to go for their team takes them all—especially Coach—by surprise.

A testament to the strength and resilience of modern teenage girls, We Are the Wildcats will have readers cheering.

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Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you later this week!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

**Psst — you can now also preorder my upcoming August release, Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy!

Hey YA Fans!

Before getting into the books, I’ll be out of office for a little over a week and this here newsletter will be lovingly tended to by fellow YA fans and devotees. Get excited to hear from some new voices for the next few inbox treats.

As you likely know, March is Women’s History Month. It’s the perfect opportunity to share some amazing YA historical fictions that center girls. Here are a handful of favorites, all of which are worth picking up ASAP (and all of them are out and available now!).

Audacity by Melanie Crowder

This novel in verse is set in the early 20th century, at the beginning of the Labor Rights Movement in the US. It’s a fictionalized spin on the real life story of Clara Lemlich, whose family immigrated to the US from Russia. She becomes a leader in the movement, speaking up and out about terrible working conditions in factories, with a keen eye to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Clara is a daring, badass girl who disobeys her family’s wishes in order to better the lives of those around her, as well as to better her own education and English skills.

Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina

It’s the historical summer of 1977 when New York City is burning and a serial killer named Son of Sam is on the loose. Nora, our narrator, is Latina, and her best friend is a white girl. Both of them are deeply invested in feminism, but what Medina does is offer a look at the ways feminism isn’t necessarily inclusive, either in the late 70s or now. The setting is compelling, and the challenges that Nora experiences with her family are realistic and heartening — and she, as a budding feminist, comes to understand better where her experiences are in her world, as well as how far she can push herself.

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

It’s 1890 Atlanta. Jo, who is unafraid to speak her mind, lives with Old Gin — a man who took her in after she was “abandoned” by her parents — under the house of a local publisher who is unaware that they live there. When Jo overhears the folks upstairs talking about how agony aunt columns have led to newspaper sales soaring, she takes it upon herself to suggest a column and does so through a pen name “Miss Sweetie.” They’re game for it, and she begins to write these regular columns under the name and under strict anonymity. Sales are up . . . and so is interest in finding out who she really is. Immersive, with a really fascinating look at Chinese American history and the ways in which white feminism actively harms people of color.

Pulp by Robin Talley

This is a little less traditional when it comes to YA historical fiction, in that it’s primarily about a contemporary teen girl named Abby with the voice of a girl named Janet from the early 50s included alongside it. But what Abby finds is what makes it worth including on this list: pulp lesbian fiction that leads her down a road of understanding the history of queer people in America.  I knew nothing about the Lavender Scare, and vis a vis Janet and Abby, it becomes palpable and terrifying. I also absolutely loved that lesbian pulp — which I did know about — was woven in as the thread binding both Abby in 2017 and Janet in 1955 together.

Saving Savannah by Tonya Bolden

Bolden, who is a long-time writer for young people, brings readers to 1919 Washington DC in this story about an upper class Black girl who wants nothing more than to make something interesting of her life. Savannah knows she’s privileged in her wealth. But she’s worried she’ll never do something important or powerful in her life. Her brother has moved to New York City and has a photography shop, and she’s bored by her long-time friend and neighbor Yolande. When the housekeeper’s daughter steps in to clean the Riddle’s home, Savannah forms a quick bond with her, and it’s through her she finds her way to a school on the other side of town that helps less-privileged girls gain a solid education. Here she volunteers, but more, it’s here she meets someone who introduces her to the concepts of radicalism, socialism, and anarchy. At this pivotal time in history, Savannah finds herself with a few close calls to trouble, but when it gets too close, she and her mother connect over a history her mother never had shared with Savannah before. A great read about a Black girl who is privileged — far too rare in YA and rarer still in YA historical fiction.

A Tyranny of Petticoats and The Radical Element, both edited by Jessica Spotswood

Want to immerse yourself across a wide range of historical time periods and settings, filled with girls written by female and nonbinary YA writers? These two anthologies will be an utter treat. Each story is about a non-celebrity girl, though some are based on real people in history, and the details about setting and era are fantastic. Like all anthologies, these collections are made for reading either cover to cover or picking and choosing stories that call out to you and leaving others behind.

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Whether you pick up one of these books or all of them, you’re in for a world of great stories about teen girls through history.

Thanks for hanging out, and I’ll see you again soon!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

**Psst — you can now also preorder my upcoming August release, Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy!

Hey YA Lovers!

Time to dig into the latest in YA news, as well as take a peek at the great new books that hit shelves this week.

YA Book News

Lots of news to catch up with this week, particularly when it comes to adaptations in the works.

• The Love, Simon streaming spinoff has a name (Love, Victor) and a new home, moving from Disney+ to Hulu because of “mature content.”  This news set off a lot of fair reaction from fans, citing Disney’s problematic history of washing over queer stories. Author Becky Albertalli addressed this change, noting that it doesn’t have to do with the queer storyline but rather, other heavy issues in the spinoff. Disney owns Hulu.
• Buried in this awesome piece about more Asian American visual storytelling projects is news that I am so stoked about: Maurene Goo’s I Believe In A Thing Called Love could be hitting theaters.
• A Loveboat, Taipei adaptation may be coming to a screen near you.
• There’s a new Star Wars project in the works, and it’ll bring some new YA books to your eyes by rockstar authors.
• YALSA’s “Outstanding Books for the College Bound” lists are out, and they are rad. I’d say that regardless of seeing one of mine on there, as these lists are so broad and wide-ranging that, whether or not one is “college bound,” these books help broaden one’s knowledge, education, and thought. I served on this committee for the 2014 lists and know how much reading and work goes into this one.
• Here are the finalists for the Stoker Awards in YA, for fans of all things spooky and creepy.
• And then the finalists for this year’s Norton Award for best sci-fi and fantasy for teens. Only one of these books is actually a YA book. The rest are middle grade, which is fine, except the category name should accurately reflect that (this is a constant challenge for this particular award).
• All This Time, from the same team as Five Feet Apart, is being adapted.
• The team behind Frozen wants to bring YA comic The Prince and the Dressmaker to the big screen.
• YA books reflect the real-life activism of today’s teens.
• A really great profile of Judy Blume and specifically, her fights against censorship.

New YA Book Releases

Grab your TBR because it’s about the grow. A * means I’ve read the book and recommend it!

*Bent Heavens by Daniel Kraus

Deadfall by Stephen Wallenfels (paperback)

Jane Against The World by Karen Blumenthal (nonfiction)

Rebelwings by Andrea Tang

Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold

Red Mantle by Maria Turtschaninoff (series, in translation)

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa (series, paperback)

The Truth App by Jack Heath (series)

We Unleash The Merciless Storm by Tehlor Kay Mejia (series)

 

This Week at Book Riot

Don’t miss the great talk over on Book Riot this week about YA, either.

• Love The Raven Cycle? You might want some candles to light up your life (#dadjoke).
• This isn’t exclusively YA, but if you’re looking for more queer book recommendations, you’ll want to check out these great bookstagram accounts that focus on LGBTQ+ reads.
• YA anthologies hitting shelves this year (including my own Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy!).
• Curious about the work of Dawn Kurtagich? Here’s a guide to her books.
• The best YA Shakespeare retellings.
• Some rad YA book collaborations, since two minds can do together what one simply can’t.

 

It’s a good day to read YA, y’all. Why not tell everyone that all the time? Shirt available in tons of colors. $29 and up.

 

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Thanks for hanging out, and I’ll see you again next week!

— Kelly Jensen,@heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

**Psst:  you can now also preorder my upcoming August release, Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy!

Hey YA Readers!

Do you pay attention to book covers across different countries? I know I love taking a peek at how different publishers choose to highlight their books.

For many years, books published in the UK took advantage of more illustrated covers. If you’ve walked a book store any time in the last couple of years in the US, you’ve likely seen this is much more common here now than photographic covers. But even though the styles tend to be more similar now between the US and UK than previously, they can still present a different image all together.

Let’s take a peek at some of the US and UK covers of new and beloved YA book covers. Which do you prefer?

What Momma Left Me by Renée Watson

This book’s US and UK covers deserve a little back story first. This was Watson’s first book and it published 10 years ago with these covers (hardcover on left, paperback on right):

The initial hardcover was illustrated, but it certainly looks young. This is one of those books that falls right at the YA/MG divide, but the cover gives it a younger look. The paperback offers us a photograph and uses empty space pretty cleverly. But the font also reads fairly young.

The cover on the left is the new US edition, which came out in 2019. It’s so lovely and appealing, both for middle grade and YA readers. The cover on the right is the UK edition, hitting shelves there for the first time. It captures a lot of the new US edition while also being wholly unique. I especially love the font for Renée’s name.

 

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (May 5)

Both of these covers are powerful. The US edition includes fire escape ladders, which gives it such an urban feel. On the right, that aspect is missing and while the planes aren’t as obvious on the UK edition, if you peek at the “A” in Clap, you’ll see it.

 

One Of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus

The US cover on the left is really different from the UK cover on the right. Both convey the high school setting well, but it’s different. The UK edition includes a tag line which, for me, makes it a little more compelling than the visuals of the US edition (“Truth or dare turns deadly. Which would you choose?”).

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

I love the ways that the UK cover on the left and the US cover on the right connect and diverge. The teens on the covers wear the same outfits in each line, have the same stances in them, and yet, it’s not just the color change that makes them different. It’s the font and focus on the title.

I’d love to know about the choice to put the plant outside the door on the top of the UK cover, where it’s not present in the US edition (or a part of the story, as far as I remember).

Foul Is Fair by Hannah Capin

Both the US cover, featuring a maximalist palate of colors and shapes, as well as a fierce female on it, as well as the UK cover, with a little bloody lipstick, are eye-catching. It’s pretty clear this isn’t a rom com, I think, but rather, a story of revenge. I personally like the lipstick just a tiny bit more because of the way it’s so bare in execution and yet features a lot of clever little details (and the tag line helps,  too). But talk about a US cover that’s unlike anything else out there now, too.

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What do you think? Do you prefer the US or UK covers for any of these books?

Thanks for hanging out, y’all, and we’ll see you later this week!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

**Psst — you can now also preorder my upcoming August release, Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy!

Hey YA Fans!

Read your way into some fantastic YA ebook deals this week. Grab one, two, or all of these and fill your ereader with books that’ll satisfy your interest in every genre and style.

Deals are current as of Friday, February 20, 2020.

I love the cover for and description of All The Ways The World Can End by Abby Sher and need to get my own eyes on it. $3.

The Voice In My Head by Dana L. Davis is $2 and one I plan on snagging.

Add some YA nonfiction to your TBR with Steve Sheinkin’s Port Chicago 50. It’s $3.

Speaking of YA nonfiction, Kenneth C. Davis’s In The Shadow of Liberty is necessary reading. $3.

More nonfiction, you say? Grab March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine by Melba Pattillo Beals. $3.

Libba Bray’s The Diviners is $3.

If you want more dark fiction, Emily A. Duncan’s Wicked Saints is also $3.

Ibi Zoboi’s anthology Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black In America is one of my favorites, and you can grab it for $2. The array of voices and stories is just fantastic.

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan is $2, too.

Renée Watson’s This Side of Home, mayyybe my favorite book of hers, is $2.

Readers who haven’t yet picked up Kekla Magoon’s How It Went Down can solve that by grabbing it for $3.

Bill Konigsberg is a master of queer YA, and The Music of What Happens is more than worth picking up for $2.

You can and should also pick up Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera’s What If It’s Us for $3.

Sona Chariapotra’s Symptoms of a Heartbreak is $3.

More romance calling to you? I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn is $2.

For historical fiction fans, Julie Berry’s The Lovely War is $2. You can also pick up MT Anderson’s anthology Fatal Throne. And then grab one of my favorite historical YAs, Meg Medina’s Burn Baby Burn, for $2.

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Thanks for hanging out, y’all, and we’ll see you again on Monday!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

**Psst — you can now also preorder my upcoming August release, Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy!

Hey YA Fans!

Let’s dive into the meat, tofu, or seitan and potatoes, kale, or chickpeas of the week in all things young adult books.

YA Book News

• A couple of worthwhile pieces related to Jason Reynolds this week: A look at why he writes for young people, as well as a reflection on the time he interacted with Kobe Bryant in a really meaningful way. This second piece is especially powerful, as everyone wrestles with the highs and lows of Kobe’s life and reputation.
• Adam Silvera’s More Happy Than Not is coming to HBO. I can’t help but wonder when a YA book goes to HBO how much it will be tailored to reach teen viewers.
• I cannot wait for Nic Stone’s Dear Justyce.
• Fellow Chicago-area folks: go see I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter while it’s on stage at Steppenwolf.
• Is watching To All The Boys on Netflix self-care for adults? I love this deep dive on Oprah (and not just because I am quoted — everyone’s insights here are so interesting).
• Have you read I Am Not Okay With This? If not, you might want to pick up the YA comic that inspired the upcoming adaptation.
• I can’t recall whether or not this ended up in the last news roundup, but there’s a potential new Judy Blume adaptation in the works.
• And just for fun, behind-the-scenes facts from the filming of Twilight.

YA New Releases

Let’s dive into the new books that hit shelves this week. A * means I have read and recommend the title. . . and this week, it turns out, I’ve read none of the new releases (I record All The Books episodes for the second Tuesday of the month, so sometimes those third week releases are challenging to get to–it’s no indication of their merit).

All The Ways The World Can End by Abby Sher (paperback)

The Blossom and the Firefly by Sherri L. Smith

Break The Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli (I cannot wait to read this gymnastics book!). 

Fatal Throne by MT Anderson (paperback)

The Feminist Agenda of Jemima Kincaid by Kate Hattemer

Foul Is Fair by Hannah Capin

Girls With Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young (series, paperback)

Glitch Kingdom by Sheena Boekweg

The Life Below by Alexandra Monir (series)

Miss You Love You Hate You Bye by Abby Sher

Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon (series starter!)

Solstice by Lorence Alison

The Upside of Falling by Alex Light

With A Star In My Hand by Margarita Engle

YA On Book Riot

So much great YA talk over on site this past week!

• Must-listen middle grade and YA audiobooks with Muslim girl protagonists.
• Snap up some of these To All The Boys themed makeup and accessory kits at Sephora.
• Audiobooks performed by black women to listen to.
• 15 excellent Harry Potter quotes about love.
• Put a little HEART in your YA book title.

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Thanks for hanging out, y’all, and we’ll see you again with some great ebook deals on Saturday.

— Kelly Jensen,  @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

**Psst — you can now also preorder my upcoming August release, Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy!

Hey YA Readers!

It’s my new favorite time of year: time to shout about great YA horror books. In the middle of the winter, you ask? Yes, indeed!

For the season year in a row, I’ve been part of the Summer Scares committee, which works to pick three great horror books each year in three categories — adult, YA, and middle grade — and have all sorts of resources made available for highlighting horror to new readers. Though the program is aimed at librarians, there’s so much here for all readers, too. You can read more about the amazing resources and books selected previously here. We select backlist titles that should be readily available in libraries, making snapping them up ASAP possible.

On Valentine’s Day, this year’s winners were announced. It seems only right to talk a bit more about the three amazing YA titles selected this year. These would be perfect books for new readers of YA horror, as well as those who love this genre and want to expand their reading horizons. What makes this list, as well as the adult and middle grade lists, special is that they showcase a wide range of what horror looks like on the page, reaching readers who prefer no gore to those who want their horror dark and bloody.

The Agony House by Cherie Priest and Tara O’Connor

This hybrid horror story blends text written Priest with comics drawn by O’Connor. It follows Denise who, along with her mother and step-father, moves back to New Orleans after they left post-Hurricane Katrina. The family has purchased a run down home and plan to rehab it and turn it into a bed and breakfast. But things aren’t going well in the renovation, and Denise becomes doubly concerned when she stumbles upon an old comic book in the home’s attic, drawn by a famous artist who’d gone missing decades before. She takes it upon herself to discover what may be lurking — and what that disappeared artist has to do with it.

What makes this book special in addition to its format is that it’s really at heart about gentrification. Denise has to face the fact her family is attempting to make a profit off a gentrifying neighborhood and that those who’ve always lived in this less-prosperous part of the city are being deeply impacted by people like her family.

It’s spooky, smart, and a book that challenges expectations of what a horror book for teens can do. Perfect for readers who want their horror a little less gory and a little more chilling.

Devils Unto Daughters by Amy Lukavics

The moment I read Lukavics’s debut, I knew this book was a sign of a writer who had something special. Lukavics is a queen of dark, sinister horror.

Perhaps this book is best not talked about too in-depth, since the pitch for it is pretty much perfect: this is Little House On The Prairie meets horror. The house that the Verner family moves into is not good news, and what they experience is utterly terrifying. I still have nightmares about some of those scenes, and I read this book five years ago.

This is one for those who aren’t faint at heart and who really want their bones rattled.

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

Here’s a little insider talk: this book was on the short list for last year’s inaugural Summer Scares, but I didn’t want to include it before knowing that the final book in the trilogy would be available. Guess what comes out this summer? Now is the time to start your adventure with these powerful brujas.

Alex is a bruja, but she hates having the power. She performs a spell to rid herself of her magic, but it goes horribly wrong. Her entire family disappears, and the only way she can get them back is to travel with a boy who she doesn’t like to Los Lagos, an in-between land. Along the way, we experience magic, witchcraft, a fiercely loving family, and a bisexual main character.

This one feels especially tailored to young readers. That doesn’t mean it won’t appeal to adults, but this has all of the hallmarks of a YA book meant to reach teens in particular, and the fact that it’s a trilogy will keep readers hooked. The final book Wayward Witch hits shelves August 1.

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Thanks for hanging out, y’all, and I hope you’ll pick at least one of these fabulous reads up. See you again on Thursday!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

**Psst — you can now also preorder my upcoming August release, Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy!

Hey YA Fans!

Once you’ve come off your high from PS: I Still Love You on Netflix or whatever great book you’re into right now, catch up with the latest in YA news and new book releases.

In the YA deals newsletter on Saturday, I made a typo in an author’s name. I called CB Lee the author of The Epic Crush of Genie Lo. She’s not. She’s the author of Not Your Sidekick. FC Yee is the author of the Genie Lo series. The first is on sale, while the second one isn’t, but why not pick both up?

Now, onto the news!

YA Book News

• All of the Star Wars novels coming in 2020 so far, including the new YA novels.
• I’ve not heard of the YA book You’re Bacon Me Crazy, which is weird  since I love puns like that that I’d REMEMBER that one. But that aside, it’ll be adapted for Hallmark.
• Will you buy a $38 edition of the first Harry Potter book? What if it’s really fancy?
• Melissa de la Cruz’s 29 Dates adaptation has a director attached.
• The Chaos Walking adaptation has a new release date.
• Jenny Han on her writing process.
• What do you think of the new covers for Sarah J Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series? They look way more adult and fantasy angled to me.
• Have you read The Marrow Thieves? I need to, especially seeing how bananas-well it’s sold.
• Funny girls are taking center stage in books for young readers this year. There’s more here about middle grade, but worth the time to read since I’ve seen it in YA, too.
• The trailer for the adaptation of All The Bright Places has landed. It hits Netflix later this month.
• Dylan Farrow’s debut novel is a YA dark fantasy and you can sneak a peek here.
• I am obsessed with so many of these Fall YA book covers.

 

This Week’s Book Releases

A * means I’ve read and recommend it!

*500 Words or Less by Julia del Rosario (paperback)

Cloak of Night by Evelyn Skye (series)

The Girl King by Mimi Yu (paperback, series)

Hearts of Flame by Nicki Pau Preto (series)

Honor Lost by Ann Aguirre and Rachel Caine (series)

If Only You Knew by Prerna Pickett

Ink In The Blood by Kim Smejkal (series)

The Last Confession of Autumn Casterly by Meredith Tate

The New David Espinoza by Fred Aceves

Night Spinner by Addie Thorley

No True Believers by Rabiah York Lumbard

*The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming — I highlighted this one on the latest episode of All The Books.

This Train Is Being Held by Ismée Williams

*Turtle Under Ice by Juleah del Rosario — I highlighted this one on the latest episode of All The Books.

*Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan

The Wicked King by Holly Black (paperback, series)

YA Talk On Book Riot This Week

• 27 great YA book quotes about friendship.
• 2020 queer YA audiobooks for your to-read/to-listen list.
• Great #OwnVoices books about immigration.
• Did you see the awesome cover for this forthcoming anthology of YA short stories about rural teens?
• On rereading Persepolis in today’s world.
• Necessary reads for February in YA.
• Where are the Asian Americans in historical YA fiction? A conversation with Stacey Lee.

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

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

**Psst — you can now also preorder my upcoming August release, Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy!

Hey YA Readers!

It’s a big week for young adult literature fans: the second film in the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series hits Netflix. I know I’ve been counting down the minutes until I can indulge in this delightful story again and in that interim, I’ve been drooling over some of the fun and whimsical Lara Jean/Peter/Song-Covey Sister goods over on Etsy.

Here are some favorites if you want to deck yourself in some great swag in honor of the series, too!

 

A print of a digital rendering of our heroine, Lara Jean. $5.50.

 

This Kavinsky lacrosse hoodie is so dang clever! $40 and up.

For the love of sisterhood. $29 and up.

 

Even the packaging of these pin packs is utterly adorable. $3 each pin or $9 for all of them.

 

No roundup of TATBILB goods would be complete without one of the letters that started it all. $12 for this fun enamel pin.

 

I love how cute and bookish this Lara Jean print is! $7.

 

Of course, a bookmark is always in style, too. $2.50 and up.

 

The cast and crew of To All The Boys as magnetic bookmarks. $3.50 and up.

Peter Kavinsky lip balm. He apparently smells like chocolate and mint, if you’re curious. $2.60.

 

If you do cross stitch, this instant pattern download inspired by Jenny Han’s book/the film made from it is perfect. $5.50.

 

Carry all your necessities — and maybe that Peter Kavinsky lip balm — in this cute cosmetic bag. $16.

 

This Covey-Kavinsky campaign shirt FTW! $23 and up.

The enamel pin for those who aren’t 100% Team Peter. $9.

The perfect sticker for your laptop or notebook. $1.50 and up.

 

I’m obsessed with these Lara Jean inspired earrings. Perfect for everyone who cannot get enough of her style. $13.25.

 

Sip your bevvy of choice out of the mug honoring how it all started. $20.

 

 

Last, but not least, your new favorite library tote. $22.

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Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you later this week!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

**Psst — you can now also preorder my upcoming August release, Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy!