Category: What’s Up in YA

The first in a duology, Housman’s debut novel features a memorable autistic main character that will resonate with so many readers.

Seelie might look just like her twin Isolde, but she knows she’s different. She’s autistic, dropped in the human world by a fae as a baby. Seelie’s magic is a little unpredictable, but she’ll use it to her advantage as she and her sister take up the hunt for treasure. Too bad the girls ends up in a heist that goes south and now, they’re discovering a bigger mystery connecting the world of the fae to humans.

If you like fairy tales, fae/faeries, mystery, and twins at the center of your fantastical world building, this is written especially for you.

McBride is a master at verse, and her followup to the critically-acclaimed Me (Moth) sounds incredible. The story follows Whimsy, who is back at the hospital after a particularly brutal bout of clinical depression. While there, she meets Faerry, and they have an instant bond.

So when Faerry and his family move to the same street as Whimsy, they build an even stronger bond. They’re connected by some kind of magic — and their fear of the forest at the end of Marsh Creek Lane. But when they decide to enter the forest, they might discover more about themselves and their mental health than they could ever imagine.

If you like genre braiding books, put this one on your TBR.

Bradley is an all-around good guy. He’s a football player, has his OCD pretty well managed, and he excels in school. Well, minus the class he shares with his former best friend Celine.

Celine is conspiracy-theory obsessed. She’s a content creator and has built a following over things like aliens and UFOs and more. Problem is, despite how popular she is online, she’s not cool in real life. Even Bradley abandoned her for the cool kids when he could.

So when Celine signs up for a survival course, she’s surprised to see Bradley has, too. They’re forced to work together and as they join forces in order to win a big prize, they might discover they still have a lot in common…and maybe even start to feel some sparks.

This is one of the first releases from David and Nicola Yoon’s new imprint, Joy Revolution, which will publish stories by and about people of color experiencing just that: joy. I’m excited to dive into this one!

Hitting shelves in paperback this week is Bracken’s take on Greek mythology.

Every seven years is the Agon, wherein nine Greek gods have to walk the Earth as mortals as punishment for past rebellion. It’s especially dangerous, as they’re being hunted by descendants of ancient bloodlines, eager to kill a god to take their powers.

Lore Perseous gave up that hunt years ago after her family was killed by rival line. She’s never wanted to get revenge for the god responsible for their deaths. But as the hunt draws closer, two friends — including one she thought was dead — encourage Lore to join them. They’ll develop a mutual alliance to increase their chances of success.

Now Lore is pulled in. But she might not have what it takes to stop the god eager to ruin all of humanity.

This is a stand alone read.

I don’t know about you, but I think a science fiction take on Romeo and Juliet sounds like a blast. Barker’s novel is out in paperback today and explores the question of what happens if we could time travel forward…but some families would be chosen to stay in the now. Romeo is in a coma and Juliet wants desperately to wake him. She’s been estranged from her family because of her romance with him, and now, as a stranger arrives and has a mission for Juliet, she begins to wonder what it is she truly wants.

Also, this cover is excellent, isn’t it?

Girls of color almost never get to be unlikable, and that’s particularly true for Asian American girls. That, however, is not the case for Eliza, who we know going in isn’t here to be liked. She is driven and ambitious and when she loses the role of editor in chief to an ex-jock who just happened upon the newspaper once his career in baseball was done because of an injury, she’s ready to fight. She writes a private manifesto, loaded with her true feelings on sexism in the school, and it gets published to the front page of the digital paper. Now, she’s started a big dialog at the school level, both with supporters and those who are deeply opposed.

Then, the school principal says she and Len must work together to put their differences aside and wouldn’t you know it: they start to fall for one another. But what happens when the truth about who posted the manifesto gets out? And how will the school’s legacy of patriarchy be challenged?

This is a FUN read, with a great romance trope at the center. Eliza and Len are SO well fleshed, as are Eliza’s best friends, including Winona who is a take-no-nonsense feminist that challenges Eliza to think beyond her binaries and privileges as a model minority (Winona is among the few Black students in a very Asian and white school). There’s so much to unpack here in terms of race and feminism and about intersectionality. Plus, a sweet romance that has all of the ups and downs you can imagine.

If you like Maurene Goo’s romances, you’ll love this one.

So Jake and Nate’s ex-boyfriends decided to fake that they’re doing well post-breakup. Their exes are together and sharing on Instagram how ~perfect~ their relationship is.

Naturally, Jake and Nate decide they’re going to get back at their exes and pretend to have the best summer ever. They’ll hit the ‘Gram too with incredible photos of their perfect road trip. It’s a big scheme to make everything look like it’s going great and the two of them are are mourning the loss of their relationships.

What they won’t talk about is how they’re stuck in a van with Nate’s annoying parents and younger sister. Nor how they actually haven’t talked to each other in years.

Nor…how they might be falling for one another. A hilarious road trip meets social media hijinks rom com.

Technically, this is a sequel to Andreen’s debut YA romance So, This is Christmas, but it sounds like you can read this one as a stand alone.

Finley and Arthur had one magical Christmas Eve kiss, but now that they’re both back at Barrington Academy — aka “the real world” — they don’t know where they stand with each other. Are they a thing? Are they not a thing?

This one’s described as a romantic comedy perfect for Valentine’s Day reading.

Zoe Bailey-Cho loves comedy and has her future all set: she’s going to improve camp, then on to Second City, then on to Saturday Night Live. Currently at the improv camp, she earns a position on the varsity team, but as the only girl, she’s subject to so much ridicule. Zoe won’t blink, though. This is her dream and she knows she’s good. But when the coach is cruel to her during practice and a little too nice to her outside practice, Zoe knows she needs to speak up.

This is the third and final book in Kiersten White’s trilogy that takes a fresh spin on Arthurian legend.

Brown’s second and final installment in her duology is a take on West African folklore.

A diverse heist story set aboard the ill-fated Titanic? That’s right. Our thief Josefa is not out for money, though: it’s a book encrusted in gems worth millions of dollars. Josefa recruits three other girls to help take the book. As much as securing the prize would ensure them all success down the road, their infighting, mistakes, and romantic side quests might put them in danger…and, as we know, that ship is also going down.

Ruben Montez and Zach Knight are two of the four members of the hit boy band Saturday. Not only are all four of the members literal stars, but they’re tight off stage too. Ruben begins to confide in Zach about his need — and the fear around his need — to stay in the closet. But when the band goes on tour in Europe, Zach and Ruben may becoming more than simply friends. If they tell their friends and fans, what might happen to them?

This is a story of love, friendship, and fame.

I. LOVE. Survival. Stories. This one, which is a paperback original, sounds like a trip.

A group of teens are involved in a plane crash and land on a deserted island. Obviously, they need to survive. What they do not plan for is even more strange accidents and events to happen, like they’re actual targets of some kind of revenge plot. And…turns out they just might be. Who is out to get them and why?

Nathaniel is a Mystic, and no mortal has ever been allowed inside his secret magical community. But the wedding of his cousin is primed to be the event of the year, and he’s asked Talia, his girlfriend, to join him. It will be the first time a mortal has been allowed inside.

Talia, who does not believe in the world of the Mystic, almost didn’t date Nathaniel at all after learning about his heritage. She doesn’t want to go to the wedding, but ultimately, decides to do it. Immediately, she regrets all her ill thoughts when she sees what a wonderful world it is.

That is, until a wedding guest falls into a coma and she’s pointed to as the one responsible. How does she prove her innocence while also helping find the culprit?

Leelo has always lived in Endla, a community circled by a bloodthirsty forest and poisonous lake, both meant to deter outsiders. While Leelo has loved and appreciated her community, she’s disheartened to know if her little brother does not gain the ability of enchanted song — a key magical power — he’ll be exiled.

As Leelo walks along the lake, she finds an outsider nearly drowning. And even though she knows she is not supposed to save him, she does. Now, Leelo is questioning everything she thought she knew about Endla as she begins to fall more and more in love with this off-limits outsider.

Described as Six of Crows meets The Cruel Prince, this fantasy adventure follows a pickpocket named Rags captured by a sorcerer who wants to take over the world. Rags is tasked with capturing ancient relics of the fae world…but come to find out, those “relics” are people. Rags and his newfound allies will need to work their magic in order to take down the sorcerer. Sinister sorcery + queer romance.

I try not to highlight titles here that are also being advertised in the newsletter — the more titles you get to know about the better — but this one sounds so good that it’s getting a shout out here, too.

Avery’s been forced to move from her home in DC to the home of her ailing grandmother in small town Bardell, Georgia. Avery’s mother and grandmother have a challenging relationship, but every time Avery tries to learn about why, she’s met with hostility herself. As Avery begins to befriend two locals, she starts to learn about the dark racist history of the community…and how her family is connected to it. She’s got to decide how much she pushes to learn about the secrets her family is suppressing and whether or not it’s worth upsetting the community. It’s a story about racism, trauma, coming out, and so much more.