Category: What’s Up in YA

There are few YA books addressing the Syrian crisis, but this is one and it sounds fantastic (it’s been on my to-read list since it showed up in the mail months ago!).

Salama is a pharmacy student when the Syrian Revolution began, and everything with her family and home seemed “normal” at the time. But now as she volunteers at a hospital where wounded are showing up, desperate and in need of help, Salama is torn. She thinks it is time to flee, especially as her sister-in-law is about to have a baby. Salama’s desperation manifests itself into an imagined companion who continues pressing her to leave.

Despite thinking and feeling it is right to leave, Salama’s story is about that tear between starting fresh and staying in the country she loves to continue crying for freedom.

I love Deb Caletti, both as an author and as a person — we did a panel together a few years ago and clicked instantly. Her latest book follows Harper, a girl who was conceived by a sperm donor. Certain that she cannot know herself until she knows the anonymous donor who helped forge her life, Harper wants to track him down and is able to get a lead through Instagram. That lead? A half sibling.

As Harper heads to Hawaii to get to know her new half siblings, she navigates learning about her father, about the family she never met, and the realities of growing up in the midst of a pandemic — and how that pandemic only intensified her already-intense anxiety.

It’s a feminist book about discovery, coming-of-age, and mental health.

Itching for a South Asian fantasy? Look no further.

Koral, who is 16, and her brother Emrik have to capture the dangerous (and potentially deadly) maristags everyday which live in the sea around their island. Their family are indentured servants to the ruling upper class, who use these sea creatures as part of the Glory Race, a chariot tournament for the elite which can turn quite deadly.

When the last maristag of the year escapes, Koral’s family has nothing to sell and now their finances are in dire straits–they can’t afford the medication her younger sister needs. Koral takes it upon herself to find a solution: cheat her way into the Glory Race and hope that she can come out a winner.

But there are several challenges. First: she’s never trained for this. Second: her ex-boyfriend is one of the competitors. Third: is she truly prepared to put her life on the line for someone else?

This one is compared to The Hunger Games meets These Violent Delights in marketing copy, but I also see some Scorpio Races here.

I’m reading this one now and it is excellent. Set up partially as a true crime podcast, Jackson’s horror novel is a take on the classic Carrie.

Maddie’s been passing for white her entire life and forced to keep up the act thanks to her father. She’s always been the target of bullying at her small high school, but when her secret is revealed, things go from bad to worse.

A viral video showcases the school’s deep racist roots, and student leaders decide one way to fix their reputation is to host their first integrated prom. Too bad not everyone will make it out of the prom alive . . . and, of course, those who do make out are pointing the finger at Maddie.

The first in a fantasy series, Becker’s debut follows Rora, a shifter. Rora, like those also born in the wilderness, is magical and feared. Her power is used to spy on the king and when a devastating illness begins to impact the kingdom, Rora is heartbroken when Finley–a young prince and her best friend–has caught it. Stardust would save him, but that’s only accessible via the forest Rora has sworn to never return to.

Rora is going to make the journey, though. Soon, though, she and her companions realize they may be in for a series of even bigger challenges than just saving Finley’s life.

The sequel to this one is out this week, too, so you can read the entire duology in one big gulp.

Rachel is the new kid at her school, and as a scholarship student, she’s already an outcast. When she’s caught in a prank gone bad, she fears it’s over for her socially.

But that prank catches the attention of the Mary Shelley Club, a group of students who seek to come up with the best prank to truly scare fellow students. It’s a competition, and the consequences may be deadly, especially as the Club begins to turn on itself.

The first in a series and a just-named Barnes & Noble September YA Book Club Pick, expect to hear quite a bit about this book in the weeks to come.

19-year-old Signa was orphaned as a baby and has lived with a string of relatives…all of which have met unfortunate and untimely demise. Now she’s with the wealthy Hawthornes, and though the mother is dead, her spirit haunts the family and claims she was poisoned. Signa, suspecting danger for the rest of the family, teams up with a stable boy to unravel the mystery, now finds herself in need of cooperation from an unlikely source: Death.

Is there a love story between Signa and the stable boy? Or Signa and Death? Or is this strictly to get to the bottom of the late Mrs. Hawthorne’s suspicious death?

Cori, Maz, and Sam were inseparable growing up. They hung out all of the time, shared a deep love for Halloween and arcade games, among other things, but when they were in middle school, things started to change. 

Fast forward to 1993, and Sam has been gone for six years. Cori and Maz are seniors, and they run across one another by chance…and that chance meeting resurrects not only the feelings of their broken friendship but it also brings Sam back. Sam, who comes back not as a senior himself, but as his 12-year-old self. Still believing it is 1987. 

What unravels is a story of secrets the best friends kept from one another, as well as what both Cori and Maz believe happened to Sam.

This is a fun, funny paranormal mystery for readers who love Stranger Things.

Mateo and his little sister are American citizens, but their parents are undocumented immigrants from Mexico. They’ve been taught to fear potential deportation, but because Mateo’s parents have been so integrated into America–and they have American-born children–that fear has faded.

But when Mateo comes home from school and discovers his parents are missing, the family’s worst nightmares may have come true. Now Mateo and his little sister have to figure out how survive alone while working to find their parents.

Violeta Graceling — Leta — arrives at Lakesedge estate prepared to find a monster in Rowan, who, rumor has it, drowned his entire family. Leta soon discovers neither Lakesedge nor Rowan are what they’ve been built to be. She begins to fall quickly for Rowan, but soon discovers his allegiance to a sinister death god residing in the lake on the estate. Now Leta is drawn to that death god and must unpack the dark truth of her past, as well as her connection to the death god, in order to save herself and Rowan.

This book is going to hit close to home.

Phoebe is a girl everyone sees as straight-laced, as an ideal, in her small town. She’s an editor for the high school newspaper and a stellar student.

By night, though, she’s Pom and she keeps a blog and social media dedicated to all things sex education. Though she’s not ashamed of sex or her interest in sharing information, she’s kept herself anonymous — but then a local mayoral candidate makes her go viral, and now her work is being called an “assault on morality.”

Things are about to get ugly . . . and maybe not anonymous anymore.

Pair this with Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) and your weekly reading on censorship.

Want a humorous read? This’ll do!

Quique wants to get over his crush by trying to court another person to be his partner. The problem? He’s not actually out to anyone except his best friend. The solution? A roster of great candidates and a desire for getting over Saleem.

Too bad you can’t just get over a crush by pursuing other interests.

This one’s been compared to What If It’s Us and Never Have I Ever on Netflix.

As senior year begins, Hayley wants everyone to forget her breakdown and instead, remember her as the overachiever. Lewis is hoping this is his year to be a main character and get the girl. When the two are paired up in their TV Production class, they aren’t thrilled. But they begin making documentaries about their classmates’ hidden talents and realize they have a lot more in common than they think.

This one is for readers who like a coming of age story with humor.

For fans of twisty mysteries, Rodden’s novel is up your alley.

After her first year in college, Catherine is home and hopes to begin healing from an event that rocked her world–and that she won’t talk about. But just days into her break, there’s a murder and and illusions that this summer would involve quiet and calm are shattered. Now Catherine and her best friend are teaming up to find an answer.

Things take another twist when Andrew, one of Catherine’s college classmates, shows up with her missing license and coat and details from the night she wishes she could forget. Can she trust him though?

This is a queer grumpy-sunshine romance, wherein a date drafted for a wedding on the other side of a country ends up falling apart before it begins, and when Neil drafts a new date last-minute, it may be more than simply a date to the wedding. It might be something much more fiery.

The lineup for this anthology is out of this world good, which doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the theme: Latin American monster stories! The collection is cross-genre and features something for every kind of reader, exploring the different shapes and stories behind monsters we know — and ones that may be new to us.

Looking for a dark academia-meets-Gossip Girl read but with a cast of characters of color? This one will be up your alley.

Nancy’s former best friend Jamie–ranked at the top of Sinclair Prep’s class–disappears and then is found missing. Nancy, alongside several of her friends, are considered prime suspects, thanks to “The Protector,” an anonymous account on the school’s social network account.

Slowly, the group’s secrets are exposed thanks to The Protector and now, everyone has to slowly come to terms with what they’re hiding in order to prove they didn’t kill Jamie … and to find out who did.

This week’s paperback theme is dark academic and Lee’s book will further scratch that itch.

Set at Dalloway School in the remote Catskill Mountains–quietly known for witchcraft–Felicity is back for her final year after the tragic death of her girlfriend. The dorm she’s living in is reported to be haunted by the ghosts of five girls who died mysteriously on its grounds. Felicity is trying to ignore it all and finish this year so she can graduate but the school, as well as a new student named Ellis, may not let the occult history of the school hide so easily.

Okay, the cover got me on this one, as did the title, and frankly, a modern take on Marie Antoinette? This sounds like a romp with exploration of contemporary/near-future culture and politics.

It’s 3070 and Marie is an influencer with millions of followers. She’s moving to Versailles to marry the prince, secure an alliance, and, of course, continue her reign on social media. But Versailles is a palace of pointless rules and Louis is more into horses and computer hacking than creating an heir.

So when the two of them become King and Queen before they’re ready and want to to help their people — both inside and outside the palace — they’re challenged by Mega Corporations. But with her social media prowess and his hacking skills, can they save their kingdom before the end of an era?

Set in contemporary Nigeria, Onoseta’s debut follows the lives of sisters Zam and Cheta who, despite having grown up in the same house, have had very different experiences with their parents. Zam gets the opportunity to leave home and live with relatives and her life expands in ways she hadn’t anticipated. Cheta, still at home, is desperate for a way out and chooses several options that put her in danger.

This well-written, character-driven novel is a fascinating read about sisterhood, about racism and colorism, as well as abuse and mental health. It’s a slower and quieter one, but the journey of each sister is immersive, and their journeys toward and away from each other challenging, honest, and compelling.