Category: What’s Up in YA

Hey YA Fans!

Get your fingers ready and clear space on your (digital) bookshelf for some great YA ebook deals.

These are current as of Friday, May 29. Note that because deals often expire at the end of the month, you’ll want to act quick to grab what catches your eye this weekend.

The Last 8 by Laura Pohl is $2. If you want an alien story, this one will be up your alley.

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton is $2.

Want a foodie-themed YA? The Art of French Kissing by Brianna R. Shrum is $2.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim, described as Project Runway meets Mulan is $3.

If you haven’t yet discovered Maurene Goo, you can fix that with The Way You Make Me Feel. It’s $3 and it’s a food-truck themed rom-com that will literally make you LOL.

The Beauty of the Moment by Tanaz Bhathena is a bicultural romance perfect for your summer reading vibes.

Own (if you don’t) and read (if you haven’t) The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. $3.

We Set The Dark on Fire, a fantastic start to a queer fantasy duology, is $3.

Taken by Erin Bowman launched a series, and you can start at the beginning with this title. $3.

Maybe this is the rom-com edition of ebook deals because there are so many. Another one for your list: The Upside of Falling by Alex Light (which is pretty new, too!). $3.

I loved Mindy McGinnis’s wilderness survival novel Be Not Far From Me, which came out in March. It’s available for $3.

Another new book on the cheap: The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson. $2.

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian can be yours for $3.

Oh, look! On The Come Up, Angie Thomas’s stellar followup to The Hate U Give, is also on sale. $4!

Start Adam Silvera’s newest fantasy series with Infinity Son at $3.

Looking for a thriller? The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas is a solid choice and $2.

Maybe it’s horror you’re seeking right now, and if that’s the case The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White should be your pick. $2.

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is $3.

Victoria Schwab’s This Savage Song, with its newly redesigned cover, is on sale for $2.

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman is for all of the readers itching for a fantasy read with dragons. $2. Hartman’s Seraphina is also $2.

More dragons? Fireborne by Rosaria Munda is $3.

One of my favorite quiet YA books is Calling My Name by Liana Tamani is on sale for $2.

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi has one heck of a fierce cover, and I suspect it’s equally fierce inside. $3.

Nic Stone’s Odd One Out is $2.

I encourage you to read Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz, as it’s an excellent choice for Pride Month in June . . . or anytime! $3.

---

So! Many! Deals!

Thanks for hanging out, and I’ll see you Monday with a preview of some call YA for your TBR.

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

Hey YA Fans!

For those of you who had a long weekend, I hope you’re feeling refreshed and prepared for another weekend coming along super soon.

Let’s dive into this week’s YA book news and new books.

YA Book News

• I dug this piece about musicians who are huge Twilight fans.
• There is a super fancy edition of Stephanie Perkins’s Anna and the French Kiss coming this fall.
• Suzanne Collins reads from A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
• Surprise! There’s a new book coming in Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air series.
• July is when you can catch the second season of The Kissing Booth on Netflix.
• Thomas Low, of Lee & Low publishers, died last week.

 

New YA Books This Week

A * means I’ve read and recommend the book. As has been the case the last couple of months, some of the publication dates have changed, so this is as accurate as I can possibly be.

The Afterward by EK Johnston (paperback)

The Archer at Dawn by Swati Teerdhala (series)

*The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

The Bone Thief by Breeana Shields (series)

*Camp by LC Rosen

Home Home by Lisa Allen-Agostini

*Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts) by LC Rosen (paperback)

The Jewel Thief by Jeannie Mobley

A Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee (paperback, series)

Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl (paperback)

Out Now edited by Saundra Mitchell

The Paper Girls of Paris by Jordyn Taylor

*Parachutes by Kelly Yang

The Queen’s Resistance by Rebecca Ross (paperback, series)

The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

 

YA on Book Riot

• Going deep with Neal Shusterman on identity, his career, and how YA has evolved over the last few decades.
• 20 completed YA fantasy series to begin for the first time or revisit.
• Three great YA books without romance.
• Remembering Karen Blumenthal and her legacy in YA nonfiction.

 

---

Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll be back in your inbox on Saturday with a roundup of excellent deals to fill up your ereader.

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

Hey YA Fans!

Let’s catch up on the latest and greatest in the world of YA. Grab your TBR and prepare it to grow a bit here.

Note: there will not be a new newsletter on Monday because of the holiday, so the next time I’m back in you inbox will be with news and new releases next Thursday. This means plenty of time to work through your books.

YA Book News

• This piece on trans representation in YA is required reading.
• HBO Max is going to be bringing more queer YA to screens everywhere. The latest project is LC Rosen’s Camp.
• A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares has been optioned.
• I’m super into the rest of the paperback cover redesigns for Marissa Meyer’s books.
• Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed by Laurie Halse Anderson has a rad trailer to check out.
• A pair of YA Star Wars novels will be turned into manga.

 

New YA Books This Week

As has become a normal refrain, I’ve done my best to ensure these books are out this week, but with pub date changes, it’s possible some got moved. Preorder for a surprise to your future self. A * means I’ve  read the book and recommend it.

Amelia Westlake Was Never Here by Erin Gough (paperback)

Atomic Women: The Untold Stories of the Scientists Who Helped Create The Atomic Bomb by Roseanne Montillo (nonfiction)

A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (prequel)

Breath Like Water by Anna Jarzab

Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye

Just a Boy and a Girl In a Little Canoe by Sarah Mlynowski

*Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson (paperback)

Love and Other Curses by Michael Thomas Ford (paperback)

Talk Nerdy to Me by Tiffany Schmidt

This Coven Won’t Break by Isabel Sterling (series)

We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez

*We Regret To Inform You by Ariel Kaplan

YA Book Talk at Book Riot

• The ultimate guide to finding YA short stories by your favorite authors.
• Quiz o’clock: what Twilight character are you?
• Settle in with a YA book about summer break.
• Great YA books featuring mother-daughter relationships.

 

Yes indeed: it’s a good day to read YA.

---

Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you again in one week!

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

 

Hey YA Readers!

Let’s talk YA books and food, shall we?

We’re in the midst of a pandemic, and you can’t spend ten seconds on the internet without hearing about someone’s latest bread or baking project. Personally, I love seeing it, especially as I currently do not have a functioning oven and cannot participate. Call it enjoyment from afar.

That got me thinking about how many great recent-ish YA books there are about food.

I know I’ve talked food in YA before and specifically about YA books with recipes included. But let’s take a peek at some more YA books featuring food, cooking, and baking in some way.

I’ve read many of these, which I’ll indicate with a * as one I super recommend. But since I’ve not read all of them, I’m using ‘zon descriptions since I can’t talk about them any better.

Grab your favorite snack because you’re going to work up an appetite.

The Art of French Kissing by Brianna R. Shrum

Seventeen-year-old Carter Lane has wanted to be a chef since she was old enough to ignore her mom’s warnings to stay away from the hot stove. And now she has the chance of a lifetime: a prestigious scholarship competition in Savannah, where students compete all summer in Chopped style challenges for a full-ride to one of the best culinary schools in the country. The only impossible challenge ingredient in her basket: Reid Yamada.

After Reid, her cute but unbearably cocky opponent, goes out of his way to screw her over on day one, Carter vows revenge, and soon they are involved in a full-fledged culinary war. Just as the tension between them reaches its boiling point, Carter and Reid are forced to work together if they want to win, and Carter begins to wonder if Reid’s constant presence in her brain is about more than rivalry. And if maybe her desire to smack his mouth doesn’t necessarily cancel out her desire to kiss it.

*Darius The Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram (Darius is obsessed with tea, so obviously, he gets included here!)

Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s a Fractional Persian—half, his mom’s side—and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life.

Darius has never really fit in at home, and he’s sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn’t exactly help matters, and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they’re spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city’s skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush—the original Persian version of his name—and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he’s Darioush to Sohrab.

*Finding Yvonne by Brandy Colbert

Since she was seven years old, Yvonne has had her trusted violin to keep her company, especially in those lonely days after her mother walked out on their family. But with graduation just around the corner, she is forced to face the hard truth that she just might not be good enough to attend a conservatory after high school.

Full of doubt about her future, and increasingly frustrated by her strained relationship with her successful but emotionally closed-off father, Yvonne meets a street musician and fellow violinist who understands her struggle. He’s mysterious, charming, and different from Warren, the familiar and reliable boy who has her heart. But when Yvonne becomes unexpectedly pregnant, she has to make the most difficult decision yet about her future.

Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food and Love anthology edited by Elise Chapman and Caroline Tung Richmond

A shy teenager attempts to express how she really feels through the pastries she makes at her family’s pasteleria. A tourist from Montenegro desperately seeks a magic soup dumpling that can cure his fear of death. An aspiring chef realizes that butter and soul are the key ingredients to win a cooking competition that could win him the money to save his mother’s life.

Welcome to Hungry Hearts Row, where the answers to most of life’s hard questions are kneaded, rolled, baked. Where a typical greeting is, “Have you had anything to eat?” Where magic and food and love are sometimes one in the same.

Told in interconnected short stories, Hungry Hearts explores the many meanings food can take on beyond mere nourishment. It can symbolize love and despair, family and culture, belonging and home

Salty, Bitter, Sweet by Mayra Cuervas

Aspiring chef Isa’s family life has fallen apart after the death of her Cuban abuela and the divorce of her parents. She moves in with her dad and her new stepmom, Margo, in Lyon, France, where Isa feels like an outsider in her father’s new life. Isa balances her time between avoiding the awkward, “why-did-you-cheat-on-Mom” conversation with figuring out how a perpetually single woman can at least be a perpetually single chef.

The upside of Isa’s world being turned upside-down?

Her father’s house is located only 30 minutes away from the restaurant of world-famous Chef Pascal Grattard, who runs a prestigiously competitive international kitchen apprenticeship. The prize job at Chef Grattard’s renowned restaurant also represents a transformative opportunity for Isa who is desperate to get her life back in order—and desperate to prove she has what it takes to work in an haute kitchen. But Isa’s stress and repressed grief begin to unravel when the attractive, enigmatic Diego shows up unannounced with his albino dog.

How can Isa expect to hold it together when she’s at the bottom of her class at the apprenticeship, her new stepmom is pregnant, she misses her abuela dearly, and things with the mysterious Diego reach a boiling point?

*With The Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Ever since she got pregnant freshman year, Emoni Santiago’s life has been about making the tough decisions – doing what has to be done for her daughter and her abuela. The one place she can let all that go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness.

Even though she dreams of working as a chef after she graduates, Emoni knows that it’s not worth her time to pursue the impossible. Yet despite the rules she thinks she has to play by, once Emoni starts cooking, her only choice is to let her talent break free.

---

Delicious! I hope you’re as eager to enjoy these books as I am to catch up on the ones I haven’t yet read.

Stay healthy, and we’ll see you on Thursday!

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

Hey YA Pals!

Grab your ereader and get ready to load up on some excellent deals this weekend. There’s something here for every kind of reader, but what they all have in common is they’re great YA books (this is, after all, a YA newsletter!).

Deals are current as of Friday, May 15.

Aurora Rising, the first in a series by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, is $2.

If you’re itching for a mystery, April Henry’s The Girl I Used To Be will be up your alley. $3.

I have deep love for all things Maurene Goo, who writes some of the best rom coms in YA. Snag The Way You Make Me Feel for $3.

The Love Language of Cherries by Jen Marie Hawkins is a novel in verse that hit shelves this year, so maybe grab it while it’s $1.

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez is $3 and such a good read.

I loved Jen Wilde’s first book but haven’t yet read her next. But The Brightsiders being $3 might be motivation to get to it sooner!

Rebel by Marie Lu is $3.

Two books that are firsts in fantasy series to pick up: The Beholder by Anna Bright is $2 while Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith is $3. Oh, why not also add in Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim for $3?

Speaking of fantasy books that are the first in a series, The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala is $2.

Mimi Yu’s The Girl King is $2.

The Beauty of the Moment by Tanaz Bhathena is $3. You can also pick up her book A Girl Like That for the same price.

Brittany Cavallaro’s take on Sherlock in A Study in Charlotte is $3.

Stuck at home and want something fun to do? Maybe try your hands at some of the activities in Smithsonian’s book Maker Lab. $2. There’s also a Star Wars Maker Lab for $2!

Laurie Halse Anderson’s The Impossible Knife of Memory is $3.

X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon is an excellent read. Grab it for $3.

For some reason, Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan is on sale frequently. It’s $2 and so. dang. good.

If you’re missing sports, Carl Deuker’s classic Gym Candy is on sale for $3.

---

Here’s to finding your next great read!

See you again on Monday.

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

Hey YA Fans!

Let’s dive into this week’s YA news (again, not too much to share here), new YA releases, and YA book talk over on Book Riot DOT Com.

I hope you’re staying healthy and safe and are finding comfort in something, be it reading, streaming, physical movement, baking, or anything else.

YA Book News

• The first images for the Netflix show based on the YA novel Cursed have been released.
• I wrote back in 2018 that vampires were back, and Publishers Weekly had a nice look at this year’s vampire stories.
• Cassandra Clare’s “The Infernal Devices” might see an adaptation.
• Fierce Reads has been doing bookshelf tours with YA authors and these are a lot of fun.
• This look back at the film of Richard Peck’s classic YA title Are You In The House Alone was really fascinating. Yes, this is way, way backlist, but this book — and Peck himself — are pretty influential in the history of YA.
• Speaking of backlist, Christopher Pike’s The Midnight Club might be coming to screens near you.
• The Lovely War by Julie Berry won this year’s Amelia Elizabeth Walden award from ALAN. Here’s a link to the press release, as well as a look at the finalists for this award.

This Week’s New YA Books

Same caveat as the last few weeks here: some of these books may have had their publication date changed, and I’ve done the best I can to ensure this is up to date. A number of the books I read and recommend for this week had their pub dates shifted, so I’ve (sadly!) not yet read any of these.

By The Book by Amanda Sellet

Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard (paperback, series)

The Boy in the Red Dress by Kristin Lambert

Dear Universe by Florence Gonsalves

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins (paperback, series)

House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess (first in a series)

How To Make Friends With The Dark by Kathleen Glasgow

Private Lessons by Cynthia Salaysay

Say Yes Summer by Lindsey Roth Culli

The Summer of Impossibilities by Rachael Allen

Trans Mission by Alex Bertie (paperback, nonfiction)

We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra (paperback)

This Week on Book Riot

• The first #OwnVoices Asian American YA book is being rereleased and has an amazing cover!
• These 20+ adult books make perfect reading for YA fans. AKA: excellent crossover books.
• Love the Netflix film The Half of It? You’ll want to read these YA books.
• Hello, Baby-Sitters Club Netflix trailer and release date!
• May 2020 YA releases for your TBR.
• Quiz: Which Member of Dumbledore’s Army Are You?
• Dig into the most popular books in libraries during the first quarter of 2020, including YA books.

---

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

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

Hey YA Readers!

Since I’ve been spending so much time indoors — spring really is coming in with the rain and gloom this year in Chicagoland — I’ve come to appreciate a good scent to fill the space I’m in. I’ve burned a lot of incense and, when in a room away from animals, candles.

Though many see candles as the cozy fall/winter kind of treat, I’m here to tell you they’re not limited by season and can help bring a little light into these otherwise challenging days.

Since this is the YA newsletter, you know there’s a book twist to this. Here’s a look at some rad YA book themed candles. Snag one or two and make your home sparkle with the scent of your favorite YA read (or one you plan to read alongside the candlelight!).

Inspired by The Wrath and the Dawn, this candle smells like lilac, warm amber, and musk — aka, earth and delicious. $21.

 

Love Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses? This Night Court candle will be the perfect one for you. It is super sparkly and smells like “Starry Night” and “Fairydust.” $10.

 

 

Can’t you imagine how magical a Laini Taylor book inspired candle would smell? $8 and up — I’m obsessed with the sparkle!

 

 

Inspired by Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle, this ley lines candle smells of rosewood and velvet moss. $8 and up.

Legend by Marie Lu comes to life in the form of black pepper, sandalwood, and mandarine. I can imagine just how good it smells now! $10.

 

Looking for a candle inspired by Victoria Schwab books? Sunai is inspired by her “Monsters of Verity” series. $12.

 

Of course, no candle roundup could be complete without a Harry Potter inspired pick! Here’s a sorting candle, and you can pick your house if you’d like. $25.

 

I don’t want to eat a poison apple, but I bet it might smell pretty good. $10 for all of the fairy tale lovers out there.

 

Young Adult books smell like freesia, ozonic, violet, and musk. Sounds about right! $15.

---

I hope you found your new favorite candle or the perfect gift for the YA fan in your life.

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

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

Hey YA Readers!

I hope you’re hanging in there. Remember we’re all doing the best we can, and if your best is nothing at all, that’s absolutely fine. If this means you’re not reading much at all, that’s okay!

This week, like in weeks previous, there’s not a lot of YA news to share, but what there is to share is pretty big.

YA Book News

• Stephenie Meyer announced that Midnight Sun, the Twilight volume from Edward’s point of view, is hitting shelves in August.
• The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English announced their Amelia Elizabeth Walden award finalists and this is a heck of a slate of great YA!
• I didn’t even know Erin Jade Lange’s YA novel Butter was being turned into a film.
• A cool interview with YA legend Judy Blume.
• I still need to read Amelia Westlake Was Never Here — sitting on my shelf, of course — and now even more so before it gets the adaptation treatment.
• Goosebumps isn’t YA, but I suspect a lot of YA fans will be nostalgic and excited seeing the series come to live-action TV.
• Netflix’s new series Summertime is apparently based on a very popular Italian YA book series.

 

This Week’s New YA Books

I’ve tried to verify release dates as much as possible, given that a number of books had their publication dates shifted because of COVID-19. If the book isn’t out this week, preorder it as a surprise to your future self. A * means I’ve read and recommend the book!

American Royals by Katherine McGee (first in a series, paperback)

Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff (series)

The Betrothed by Kiera Cass (first in a series)

Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith (first in a series, paperback)

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Finale by Stephanie Garber (series finale, paperback)

Forged in Fire and Stars by Andrea Robertson 

How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox (paperback)

I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn (paperback)

*I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver (paperback)

Invisible Ghosts by Robyn Schneider (paperback)

Last Girls by Demetra Brodsky

The Life and Medieval Times of Kit Sweetly by Jamie Pacton

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian (paperback)

The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg (paperback)

*The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen (paperback)

Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy (paperback)

*Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo (paperback)

*War and Speech by Don Zolidis

What If It’s Us? by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera (paperback)

Where She Fell by Kaitlin Ward (paperback)

 

YA on Book Riot

• YA paperbacks hitting shelves between May and the end of July.
• A whole buncha books like The Hunger Games for your reading consideration.
• Three new YA novels in verse to TBR.

---

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

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

Hey YA Pals!

Offering up something different this week. Given that many of us are under a new month of stay-at-home orders or plan to stay indoors anyway to protect ourselves and others, maybe by now the call to develop a new skill is coming. If it’s not, that’s okay, too!

I’ve pulled together a number of great Skill Share classes from beloved YA authors who are teaching aspects of creative writing. This can be a great resource to hold onto for if that desire hits or for sharing with others. I know many libraries right now are pivoting from their usual summer reading program plans to digital, and maybe utilizing some of these creative writing workshops could be useful with your patrons.

Right now, premium memberships for Skill Share are free for two months. You do have to register to get the promotion, but it’s more than worth taking advantage of. For libraries, schools, and other institutions, there are options for business-level plans, which will grant access to the classes for multiple people.

Some classes will look like they’re already “in session,” but that’s okay! You can join in any time, starting from the beginning.

The author’s name and image are linked directly to the Skill Share classes. Dig in and get your writing on.

Daniel José Older

An introduction to storytelling, building character and conflict, with Daniel José Older. There are 9 lessons, coming in under an hour total.

Sabaa Tahir

There are eight lessons in Sabaa Tahir’s course on building strong characters, for a total of just over half an hour of learning.

Kiersten White

This course sounds like so much fun: learn how to create a retelling of your favorite story with Kiersten White. This has eight lessons, coming in around 45 minutes total.

Ali Novak

Mega popular Wattpad YA author Ali Novak talks about how to polish a manuscript. This would be a great class for anyone who is ready to take their story somewhere outside their own desktop. There are four lessons, coming in at about 25 minutes total.

Blair Thornburgh

If you’re itching for something longer, Blair Thornburgh’s writing retreat in a box sounds awesome. Shake off writers block and find the motivation and skills to finish that book. This has ten lessons and comes in at over 90 minutes.

---

As someone with a manuscript in revision on my computer, I can’t wait to dive into these to find a little spark of inspiration. I hope you’ll find them enjoyable too — even if it’s to pass them along to a writer and/or YA fan in your life.

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

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

Hey YA Pals!

Time to snap up some of the best YA ebook deals and load up your reading life. As we continue into month two hundred of quarantine — at least where I am — this is your opportunity to build your “going to spend the nice seasons in my hammock reading” personal digital library.

All deals are current as of Friday, May 1.

I loved I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez. It’s a total steal at $2.

Did you put off reading the new Marcus Zusak book because it’s a wrist breaker (aka: big and heavy)? Grab Bridge of Clay as an ebook instead for $3.

Another wrist breaker you can grab is the first in a series by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Aurora Rising is $2. If you want more from the writing duo, Illuminae, first in their previous series, is also on sale for $2.

Elizabeth Lim’s Spin The Dawn, first in a series that has comps to Project Runway and Mulan, is $3.

Jean Kwok writes my favorite crossover books. Girl In Translation might be marketed for adults, but it’s perfect for YA readers, too. $2.

Want an excellent, classic YA comic? Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese is $3.

Catfishing on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer, which just won an Edgar Award, is on sale for $3.

Two first books in fantasy series are on sale for $2 and $3 respectively: Beholder by Anna Bright and Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith.

Want a mystery? April Henry’s The Girl I Used To Be is $3.

A “hilarious wilderness comedy?” Sign me up for this one! Jeff Strand’s I Have A Bad Feeling About This is $2.

Maurene Goo is a YA gem. Grab The Way You Make Me Feel for $3.

A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier is on sale for $3.

Itching for good sports writing? Carl Deuker’s Gym Candy is currently $3.

I haven’t read this one, but everyone I know loves this weird little book. Hannah Moskowitz’s A History of Glitter and Blood is $3.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness is a whole $1.

Julie Buxbaum’s Tell Me Three Things is $2.

Want something dark, fantastical, and gothic? Emily A. Duncan’s Wicked Saints – first in a series! – is on sale for $3.

This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith is a nice romance for this season and it’s only $2.

Feed by MT Anderson, a YA classic of science fiction that feels way too realistic, is $1.

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is $3. This deal expires on Sunday, so grab it sooner, rather than later.

First in series, The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi, is $3 through Sunday.

Susan Dennard’s Truthwitch, first in the Witchlands series, is $3 through Sunday.

*All* three books in Jessica Spotswood’s Cahill Witch trilogy are on sale. Want a witchy read about sisters? Grab Born Wicked for $2, Star Cursed for $4, and Sisters’ Fate for $3. That would be $10 for the whole shebang!

---

Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you on Monday. I hope you find your next great read this weekend.

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