Hey, YA Readers!
Some interesting new research into the habits of readers came out this week and much of it is around YA books. Dig into the data here—I think it’s a little doom and gloom in some sports and fails to acknowledge how much today’s teens are up against compared to data from 2012, but I found it especially interesting that most YA readers are under the age of 27. Sure, it’s a lot of adults but those are certainly young adults, for all of the grouches who like to say “only” adults read YA.
Moreover, I thought the three reasons why YA fiction readers enjoy YA books were great.
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Bookish Goods
Read Sweatshirt by ThreadedbySabrina
It’s the time of year here where sometimes in the early morning or evening, all I want is a sweatshirt to toss on top of my warmer-weather clothing. This option tickles my book-loving heart. Grab it in several colors and up to a 3XL. $50.
New Releases
It’s a big release week, so instead of limiting the books highlighted below to two, I’ve exercised extreme restraint and only have three highlighted. You can grab the full list of new YA hardcover books out this week over here.
Blood At The Root by LaDarrion Williams
Malik’s life was upended 10 years ago: his mother disappeared and he discovered he had magical powers. But because mom was gone, Malik’s role was now making sure he and his younger foster brother survived. Malik’s 17 now and ready for his own life to start—and start it does when he discovers his magic has him connected to a long-lost grandmother who was not only a conjurer but has ties to a magical university. One that his own mother went to.
Now at Caiman University, Malik is excited to learn about his family’s history and the power of his own magic. He might even be able to reconnect with the first love of his life, Alexis. But it takes little time before Malik sees how dark and secretive the underbelly of the magic world could be.
Death’s Country by R. M. Romero
Andres and his family live in São Paulo, and Andres is a tighter. But one wrong move and he nearly drowns. Andres is alive only because he made a deal with Death for a new life. Now, he and his family are in Miami for a restart.
It’s here Andres quickly finds himself in a relationship with two other people: Liora and Renee. They’re a perfect triad, even if from the outside, people simply do not understand them.
So when Liora is in a car accident and lands in a coma, Renee suggests to Andres they do something radical. They’re going to travel to the underworld, retrieve Liora’s spirit, and reconnect it with her body. It’s too bad that there’s still a piece of Andres there, too, and it’s a piece he’s not eager to see again so soon.
Sink your teeth into a clever take on “Orpheus and Eurydice.”
This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed
Family upheaval leaves Noor to start the last part of her senior year of high school at a brand-new school. She plans to just plow through and not make a scene. Besides, it’s bad enough she’s had to move and her parents’ relationship is not great.
But then Noor discovers that more and more books in her new school are disappearing. They’ve been labeled “obscene” or “pornographic.” Noor cannot let it stand by. She needs to speak up and demand the books be returned and that student rights be respected. Of course, most of the books being banned are by or about LGBTQ+ people and people of color.
Except if she speaks up, she’ll no longer be able to simply plow through.
This is an exceptionally timely and relevant work of fiction that, I’m sure, is going to see itself banned by the same bigots doing this outside the covers of a book. Too bad they don’t realize how many Noors there are in the world.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
It’s the first release week of the month, so let’s take a peek at the YA nonfiction hitting shelves throughout May. I usually use this space to tackle both nonfiction and graphic novels, but there are so many of each that I’m going to pull nonfiction out by itself. You can check out all of the YA comics hitting shelves in May here.
All of these YA nonfiction titles publish this week, save Ogle’s title, which hits shelves next week.
Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding by Maia Kobabe and Dr. Sarah Peitzmeier, PhD
This collection contains 25 different stories of trans and nonbinary folks who’ve elected to bind in an act of gender affirmation. In addition to the personal stories, Kobabe and Dr. Peitzmeier include research and resources to make this an accessible—and necessary—guide for young people.
Diary of a Dying Girl by Mallory Smith
This young reader adaptation of Salt In My Soul is a collection of diary entries from Smith about her life living with cystic fibrosis. It’s raw and challenging as it chronicles the disease but it’s also resonant with all teen readers who are simply trying to figure out who they are during a complicated time in their lives.
Rising From The Ashes by Paula Yoo
If you pick up just one book from this entire newsletter today, let it be this one. Yoo has done it again by telling a story from modern history about racial tension and making connections between that moment and our contemporary world.
This time, we go to 1992 Los Angeles in the moments before the Rodney King verdict. It’s a nuanced and layered look at that moment, its impact on the Black community, the ways in which the Korean American community was impacted, and about the associated uprisings and fires set about the city during those five long days.
Road Home by Rex Ogle
This is the third and last entry in a trio of memoirs from Ogle that are an unfiltered look into his challenging young life. In Road Home, we follow as he is kicked out of his house after telling his dad that he is gay. He was told after he graduated high school by dad he could stay at home and find a steady girlfriend, go to church twice a week, OR be gay—and it’s that last one that left him navigating abuse and survival on the streets of New Orleans.
The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté
Written in a mix of vignettes and poetry, this is a work of nonfiction celebrating—and being honest about—Black girlhood. This sounds like the kind of book that would pair so nicely with Black Girl, You Are Atlas.
Wall to Wall: Mural Art Around The World by Mary Ann Fraser
Why do people make murals on walls? It’s not a new thing, and it has happened across time and across the globe. Fraser explores the history of wall murals, offering colorful art throughout. There’s a nice section in this book, too, about preserving such art.
One of the trickiest things about YA nonfiction is that sometimes, the age range for them is 10-14, meaning that yes, they’re perfectly appropriate for younger teens but they might appeal more to middle grade readers. This book is shorter than the average YA nonfiction but I suspect it’s one that will have a lot of appeal to teen readers on all ends of the age range.
So! Many! Great! Books!
Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you again later this week. Until then, happy reading.
–Kelly Jensen
