December 2018 Debut YA Novels

December 17, 2018 |

It’s December debut YA novel time! With only three titles to share this month by debut authors, it’s a great month to catch up on previous titles published by first-time authors this year.

This round-up includes debut novels, where “debut” is in its purest definition. These are first-time books by first-time authors. I’m not including books by authors who are using or have used a pseudonym in the past or those who have written in other categories (adult, middle grade, etc.) in the past. Authors who have self-published are not included here either.

All descriptions are from Goodreads, unless otherwise noted; I’ve found Goodreads descriptions to offer better insight to what a book is about over WorldCat. If I’m missing any debuts that came out in December from traditional publishers — and I should clarify that indie/small presses are okay — let me know in the comments.

As always, not all noted titles included here are necessarily endorsements for those titles. List is arranged alphabetically by title, with publication dates in parentheses. Starred titles are the beginning of a new series.

The Disasters by M. K. England

Hotshot pilot Nax Hall has a history of making poor life choices. So it’s not exactly a surprise when he’s kicked out of the elite Ellis Station Academy in less than twenty-four hours.

But Nax’s one-way trip back to Earth is cut short when a terrorist group attacks the Academy. Nax and three other washouts escape—barely—but they’re also the sole witnesses to the biggest crime in the history of space colonization. And the perfect scapegoats.

On the run and framed for atrocities they didn’t commit, Nax and his fellow failures execute a dangerous heist to spread the truth about what happened at the Academy.

They may not be “Academy material,” and they may not get along, but they’re the only ones left to step up and fight.

Paper Girl by Cindy R. Wilson

I haven’t left my house in over a year. My doctor says it’s social anxiety, but I know the only things that are safe are made of paper. My room is paper. My world is paper. Everything outside is fire. All it would take is one spark for me to burst into flames. So I stay inside. Where nothing can touch me.

Then my mom hires a tutor. Jackson. This boy I had a crush on before the world became too terrifying to live in. Jackson’s life is the complete opposite of mine, and I can tell he’s got secrets of his own. But he makes me feel things. Makes me want to try again. Makes me want to be brave. I can almost taste the outside world. But so many things could go wrong, and all it takes is one spark for everything I love to disappear…

Strange Days by Constantine J. Singer

Alex Mata doesn’t want to worry about rumors of alien incursions – he’d rather just skate and tag and play guitar. But when he comes home to find an alien has murdered his parents, he’s forced to confront a new reality: Aliens are real, his parents are dead, and nobody will believe him if he says what he saw. On the run, Alex finds himself led to the compound of tech guru Jeffrey Sabazios, the only public figure who stands firm in his belief that aliens are coming.

At Sabazios’ invitation, Alex becomes a “Witness”—one of a special group of teens gifted with an ability that could save the Earth: they can glide through time and witness futures. When a Witness sees a future it guarantees that it will happen the way it’s been seen, making their work humanity’s best hope for controlling what happens next and stopping the alien threat. Guided by Sabazios, befriended by his fellow time travelers, and maybe even falling in love, Alex begins to find a new home at the compound — until a rogue glide shows him the dangerous truth about his new situation.

Now in a race against time, Alex must make a terrible choice: save the people he loves or save the world instead.

Want to get a jump start on the debut YA novels hitting shelves in 2019? Here are two groups worth keeping an eye on. As always, these aren’t comprehensive lists of all the debut novels coming, but they can give you good insight into some books worth looking at each and every month next year.

Novel Nineteens — you can also follow their twitter chats with the hashtag #Novel19s

Class2K19

Black Wings Beating by Alex London

December 12, 2018 |

A great thing about being a panelist or judge for the Cybils award is that you end up reading and enjoying a lot of books you may not have picked up otherwise. Black Wings Beating by Alex London is one of them. It’s about falconry, which I can’t say is a topic that interests me normally, but it’s not really about falconry. It’s a unique fantasy with compelling narrators that does a lot of creative things in terms of both plot and world-building.

In the Six Villages in the country of Uztar, falconry is more than just a sport: the people revere the magnificent birds of prey, and a religion has even developed around their worship. The story is told in not-quite-alternating chapters by teenage twins Brysen and Kylee, who run a falconry business together since their father died a few years ago hunting the Ghost Eagle, a prized bird that would have brought wealth to the family. They don’t miss their father much; he routinely beat Brysen for not being an acceptable son, and Kylee feels insurmountable guilt for not being able to do enough to protect her brother. Kylee hopes to give up falconry once they make enough money; she’s gifted at the sport, but hates it. Brysen loves falconry, and while he has grown good from practice, his natural talent doesn’t match Kylee’s, which causes friction between the siblings.

When Brysen learns that his falconry teacher and sometimes-boyfriend has made a deal with the cruel de facto rulers of the town to capture the Ghost Eagle, Brysen decides to undertake the quest in his place in order to save his life. Kylee eventually follows, and the journey will take them deep into treacherous mountains where the most dangerous thing may not even be the Ghost Eagle itself.

The basic storyline (a quest to find something valuable) will be very familiar to fantasy readers, but the elements the twins encounter on the quest are what sets this book above much of its brethren. The mountain setting is vividly drawn, both its beauty and its hardships. A community of women called the Owl Mothers live within the mountains, and London’s depiction of this matriarchal society – neither traditionally “good” nor “bad” – is creative and thought-provoking. Along the journey, the twins find out more about the night their father died, and learn that each had been keeping secrets from the other. Their relationship is close but not stereotypically “we’re twins so we’re always on each other’s wavelength” close. During one particularly tense argument, London shows how these two people fiercely love each other even while intentionally hurting each other sometimes.

I loved the world London created, which provides many different conflicts that Brysen and Kylee have to tackle. Aside from the Ghost Eagle, the world itself provides additional conflict for the twins. In response to the religion that worships the birds (which their mother belongs to), another sect has arisen that views birds of prey as evil and their worshipers as people to be converted or killed. An occasional chapter is written from one of these people’s perspectives as he marches closer and closer to the Six Villages, intent on violence. Kylee’s natural talents with falconry are magic-based, and she runs into people who want to use her for their own ends. Others who want to capture the Ghost Eagle are on the hunt, too, and there are people within the mountain with nebulous motives who may also do the protagonists harm. London ratchets up the tension so well, I didn’t want to stop listening to the audiobook.

Brysen is gay and open about it, and there’s an interesting and sweet mini-romance between him and another boy they find on the mountain. Queer people seem to be the norm in the Six Villages, with the only prejudice against Brysen’s sexuality coming from his father (who never uses slurs, but indicates that Brysen isn’t “manly enough” when he beats him). There are indications that Kylee is asexual/aromantic, but I can’t be sure from context.

I was especially impressed by the way London wrote his ancillary characters. Brysen and Kylee are deftly characterized with two distinctive voices (expertly performed by Michael Crouch and Brittany Pressley), but so are all the minor characters: Brysen’s love interest, the leader of the Owl Mothers, even the sister of the ruling despot who shows up midway through the novel and has only a few lines. Since we meet everyone through either Brysen or Kylee’s point of view, our opinions of people shift and grow as their perspectives do. What once had seemed like a rescuer turns into a captor, and just when we’ve decided the captor is unredeemable, London provides another facet to them that makes us reassess yet again. Real people are like this, too: motivated by a variety of factors (both selfless and not) that are not apparent upon first acquaintance. This is a deep novel with deep characters and a story that will keep teens on the edge of their seats; the sequel can’t come fast enough.

Was 2018 The Year Of The Name In YA Titles?

December 10, 2018 |

There’s nothing better than being hit with a bolt of insight about a trend in 2018 YA books at the end of 2018. It means having a whole year’s worth of material to consider and pull together and talk about. And this year’s trend is one in titles. Titles fascinate and infuriate me: they can become meaningless when repetitive and they can become monotonous and uncreative in situations where we’re always wondering about “the girl” (that trend hasn’t died, by the way, and I could add another 20 or so in YA to this list from early 2017). Even if I don’t especially like the trends, they’re fascinating to think about.

Refreshing and unique, though, is this: YA books have had a growth in using the main character names as part of their titles. We have a whole lot of people who are suddenly the stars of their own books, and in some cases, we’re discovering how frequently we’re hanging out with a character named Grace or a character named Leah.

The names on the list below are all either first names or first and last names. There have been a few titles this year that are last name only, but I didn’t include them — that’s an arbitrary choice, except for the fact that things like Wilder might not be readily identifiable as a character’s name. I’ve limited the list to 2018 books only that were published in the US.

If you know of other name-titles from 2018 in YA, feel free to drop ’em in the comments. It’s really nice to see so much identity, and it’s fun to see so more than a single case of “finding” that name, too.

Descriptions are from Goodreads since I have not read all of these. A good number I have read, though, which is why the trend coalesced in my mind in the first place.

I won’t mind if this trend continues for a while longer. So much more interesting and useful than “The Girl” and “The Girls.” Better and more useful than those one-word titles, too.

Buckle in: this list is lengthy!

2018 YA Book Titles With Names

Analee, In Real Life by Janelle Milanes

Ever since her mom died three years ago, Analee Echevarria has had trouble saying out loud the weird thoughts that sit in her head. With a best friend who hates her and a dad who’s marrying a yogi she can’t stand, Analee spends most of her time avoiding reality and role-playing as Kiri, the night elf hunter at the center of her favorite online game.

Through Kiri, Analee is able to express everything real-life Analee cannot: her bravery, her strength, her inner warrior. The one thing both Kiri and Analee can’t do, though, is work up the nerve to confess her romantic feelings for Kiri’s partner-in-crime, Xolkar—aka a teen boy named Harris whom Analee has never actually met in person.

So when high school heartthrob Seb Matias asks Analee to pose as his girlfriend in an attempt to make his ex jealous, Analee agrees. Sure, Seb seems kind of obnoxious, but Analee could use some practice connecting with people in real life. In fact, it’d maybe even help her with Harris.

But the more Seb tries to coax Analee out of her comfort zone, the more she starts to wonder if her anxious, invisible self is even ready for the real world. Can Analee figure it all out without losing herself in the process?

The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson

Sixteen-year-old Elena Mendoza is the product of a virgin birth.

This can be scientifically explained (it’s called parthenogenesis), but what can’t be explained is how Elena is able to heal Freddie, the girl she’s had a crush on for years, from a gunshot wound in a Starbucks parking lot. Or why the boy who shot Freddie, David Combs, disappeared from the same parking lot minutes later after getting sucked up into the clouds. What also can’t be explained are the talking girl on the front of a tampon box, or the reasons that David Combs shot Freddie in the first place.

As more unbelievable things occur, and Elena continues to perform miracles, the only remaining explanation is the least logical of all—that the world is actually coming to an end, and Elena is possibly the only one who can do something about it.

Apple In The Middle by Dawn Quigley

Apple Starkington turned her back on her Native American heritage the moment she was called a racial slur. Not that she really even knew HOW to be an Indian in the first place. Too bad the white world doesn’t accept her either. So began her quirky habits to gain acceptance. Apple’s name, chosen by her Indian mother on her deathbed, has a double meaning: treasured apple of my eye, but also the negative connotation: a person who is red, or Indian, on the outside, but white on the inside. After her wealthy [white] father gives her the boot one summer, Apple reluctantly agrees to visit her Native American relatives on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in northern North Dakota for the first time, which should be easy, but it’s not. Apple shatters Indian stereotypes and learns what it means to find her place in a world divided by color.

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

The biggest lie of all is the story you think you already know.

The del Cisne girls have never just been sisters; they’re also rivals, Blanca as obedient and graceful as Roja is vicious and manipulative. They know that, because of a generations-old spell, their family is bound to a bevy of swans deep in the woods. They know that, one day, the swans will pull them into a dangerous game that will leave one of them a girl, and trap the other in the body of a swan.

But when two local boys become drawn into the game, the swans’ spell intertwines with the strange and unpredictable magic lacing the woods, and all four of their fates depend on facing truths that could either save or destroy them. Blanca & Roja is the captivating story of sisters, friendship, love, hatred, and the price we pay to protect our hearts.

The Case for Jamie by Brittney Cavallaro

It’s been a year since the shocking death of August Moriarty, and Jamie and Charlotte haven’t spoken.

Jamie is going through the motions at Sherringford, trying to finish his senior year without incident, with a nice girlfriend he can’t seem to fall for.

Charlotte is on the run, from Lucien Moriarty and from her own mistakes. No one has seen her since that fateful night on the lawn in Sussex—and Charlotte wants it that way. She knows she isn’t safe to be around. She knows her Watson can’t forgive her.

Holmes and Watson may not be looking to reconcile, but when strange things start happening, it’s clear that someone wants the team back together. Someone who has been quietly observing them both. Making plans. Biding their time.

Someone who wants to see one of them suffer and the other one dead.

Darius The Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s about to take his first-ever trip to Iran, and it’s pretty overwhelming–especially when he’s also dealing with clinical depression, a disapproving dad, and a chronically anemic social life. In Iran, he gets to know his ailing but still formidable grandfather, his loving grandmother, and the rest of his mom’s family for the first time. And he meets Sohrab, the boy next door who changes everything.

Sohrab makes sure people speak English so Darius can understand what’s going on. He gets Darius an Iranian National Football Team jersey that makes him feel like a True Persian for the first time. And he understands that sometimes, best friends don’t have to talk. Darius has never had a true friend before, but now he’s spending his days with Sohrab playing soccer, eating rosewater ice cream, and sitting together for hours in their special place, a rooftop overlooking the Yazdi 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. When it’s time to go home to America, he’ll have to find a way to be Darioush on his own.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

Elizabeth Lavenza hasn’t had a proper meal in weeks. Her thin arms are covered with bruises from her “caregiver,” and she is on the verge of being thrown into the streets . . . until she is brought to the home of Victor Frankenstein, an unsmiling, solitary boy who has everything–except a friend.

Victor is her escape from misery. Elizabeth does everything she can to make herself indispensable–and it works. She is taken in by the Frankenstein family and rewarded with a warm bed, delicious food, and dresses of the finest silk. Soon she and Victor are inseparable.

But her new life comes at a price. As the years pass, Elizabeth’s survival depends on managing Victor’s dangerous temper and entertaining his every whim, no matter how depraved. Behind her blue eyes and sweet smile lies the calculating heart of a girl determined to stay alive no matter the cost . . . as the world she knows is consumed by darkness.

Dear Rachel Maddow by Adrienne Kisner

Brynn Haper’s life has one steadying force–Rachel Maddow.

She watches her daily, and after writing to Rachel for a school project–and actually getting a response–Brynn starts drafting e-mails to Rachel but never sending them. Brynn tells Rachel about breaking up with her first serious girlfriend, about her brother Nick’s death, about her passive mother and even worse stepfather, about how she’s stuck in remedial courses at school and is considering dropping out.

Then Brynn is confronted with a moral dilemma. One student representative will be allowed to have a voice among the administration in the selection of a new school superintendent. Brynn’s archnemesis, Adam, and ex-girlfriend, Sarah, believe only Honors students are worthy of the selection committee seat. Brynn feels all students deserve a voice. When she runs for the position, the knives are out. So she begins to ask herself: What Would Rachel Maddow Do?

The Disappearance of Sloane Sullivan by Gia Cribbs

No one wants me to tell you about the disappearance of Sloane Sullivan.

Not the lawyers or the cops. Not her friends or family. Not even the boy who loved her more than anyone. And most certainly not the United States Marshals Service. You know, the people who run the witness protection program or, as it’s officially called, the Witness Security Program? Yeah, the WITSEC folks definitely don’t want me talking to you.

But I don’t care. I have to tell someone.

If I don’t, you’ll never know how completely wrong things can go. How a single decision can change everything. How, when it really comes down to it, you can’t trust anyone. Not even yourself. You have to understand, so it won’t happen to you next. Because you never know when the person sitting next to you isn’t who they claim to be…and because there are worse things than disappearing.

Elektra’s Adventures in Tragedy by Douglas Rees

Sixteen-year-old Elektra Kamenides is well on her way to becoming a proper southern belle in the small Mississippi college town she calls home. That is, until her mother decides to uproot her and her kid sister Thalia and start over in California. They leave behind Elektra’s father—a professor and leading expert on Greek mythology, and Elektra can’t understand why. For her, life is tragedy, and all signs point to her family being cursed.

Their journey ends in Guadalupe Slough, a community of old Chicano families and oddball drifters sandwiched between San José and the southern shores of San Francisco Bay. The houseboat that her mother has bought, sight unseen, is really just an ancient trailer parked on a barge and sunk into a mudflat.

What would Odysseus do? Elektra asks herself. Determined to get back to Mississippi at all costs, she’ll beg, cheat, and steal to get there. But things are not always what they seem, and home is wherever you decide to make it.

The Evolution of Claire by Tess Sharpe

During the events of Jurassic World, Claire Dearing faced the savage fury of dinosaurs unleashed . . . but it wasn’t the first time. In this entirely new coming-of-age story, Claire lands an elite internship working for Simon Masrani and soon discovers his plans to build an all-new theme park–Jurassic World! Along the way, Claire establishes valuable relationships with both her peers and the prehistoric creatures she studies, but when the situation turns dangerous, she begins to see the dinosaurs in a different light. Fans of Jurassic World will delight in filling in the gaps of Claire’s past, all while gaining insights into the experiences that transformed her into the strong woman we know today.

The Fall of Grace by Amy Fellner Dominy

Grace’s junior year is turning into her best year yet. She’s set to make honor roll, her print from photography class might win a national contest, and her crush just asked her to prom.

Then the bottom falls out. News breaks that the investment fund her mom runs is a scam and her mother is a thief. Now, instead of friends, the FBI is at her door. Grace is damaged goods.

Millions of dollars are unaccounted for, and everyone wants to know where all the money went. Can she find it and clear her mother’s name?

The key to repairing her shattered life seems to lie in a place deep in the wilderness, and Grace sets out, her identity hidden, determined to find it.

But she isn’t alone.

Sam Rivers, a mysterious loner from school, is on her trail and wants to know exactly what secrets she uncovers. As the pair travels into the wilds, Grace realizes she must risk everything on the dark, twisted path to the truth.

Finding Felicity by Stacey Kade

Caroline Sands has never been particularly good at making friends. And her parents’ divorce and the move to Arizona three years ago didn’t help. Being the new girl is hard enough without being socially awkward too. So out of desperation and a desire to please her worried mother, Caroline invented a whole life for herself—using characters from Felicity, an old show she discovered online and fell in love with.

But now it’s time for Caroline to go off to college and she wants nothing more than to leave her old “life” behind and build something real. However, when her mother discovers the truth about her manufactured friends, she gives Caroline an ultimatum: Prove in this first semester that she can make friends of the nonfictional variety and thrive in a new environment. Otherwise, it’s back to living at home—and a lot of therapy.

Armed with nothing more than her resolve and a Felicity-inspired plan, Caroline accepts the challenge. But she soon realizes that the real world is rarely as simple as television makes it out to be. And to find a place where she truly belongs, Caroline may have to abandon her script and take the risk of being herself.

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.

From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy—a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?

Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

Hamilton and Peggy! A Revolutionary Friendship by LM Elliott

The colonies are in the throes of the Revolutionary War and caught in the midst of spies, traitors, Loyalists and Patriots, is the charming, quick-witted Peggy Schuyler—youngest of the famed Schuyler sisters and daughter of General Philip Schuyler. Her eldest sister Angelica, the “thief of hearts,” is known for her passion and intelligence, while kind, sweet Eliza has a beauty so great, it only outshone by her enormous heart. Though often in the shadows of her beloved sisters, Peggy is talented in her own right—fluent in French, artistically talented, and brave beyond compare.

When a flirtatious aide-de-camp to General Washington named Alexander Hamilton writes an eloquent letter to Peggy asking for her help in wooing the earnest Eliza, Peggy is skeptical but finds herself unable to deny such an impassioned plea. Thus begins her own journey into the Revolution!

Inspired by the cultural phenomenon of the Broadway musical, “Hamilton.”

The Harper Effect by Taryn Bashford

Sixteen-year-old Harper was once a rising star on the tennis court–until her coach dropped her for being “mentally weak.” Without tennis, who is she? Her confidence at an all-time low, she secretly turns to her childhood friend, next-door neighbor Jacob–who also happens to be her sister’s very recent ex-boyfriend. If her sister finds out, it will mean a family war.

But when Harper is taken on by a new coach who wants her to train with Colt, a cold, defensive, brooding young tennis phenom, she hits the court all the harder, if only to prove Colt wrong. But as the two learn to become a team, Harper gets glimpses of the vulnerable boy beneath the surface, the boy who was deeply scarred by his family’s dark and scandalous past. The boy she could easily find herself falling for.

As she walks a fine line between Colt’s secrets, her forbidden love, and a game that demands nothing but the best, Harper must decide between her past and her future and between two boys who send her head spinning. Is the cost of winning the game worth losing everything?

The History of Jane Doe by Michael Belanger

History buff Ray knows everything about the peculiar legends and lore of his rural Connecticut hometown. Burgerville’s past is riddled with green cow sightings and human groundhogs, but the most interesting thing about the present is the new girl–we’ll call her Jane Doe.

Inscrutable, cool, and above all mysterious, Jane seems as determined to hide her past as Ray is to uncover it. As fascination turns to friendship and then to something more, Ray is certain he knows Jane’s darkest, most painful secrets and Jane herself–from past to present. But when the unthinkable happens, Ray is forced to acknowledge that perhaps history can only tell us so much.

Mixing humor with heartache, this is an unmissable coming-of-age story from an exciting new voice in YA.

Julia Unbound by Catherine Egan

In this heart-pounding conclusion to the Witch’s Child trilogy, Catherine Egan’s masterful world-building and fiercely flawed heroine will thrill fans of Graceling and Six of Crows.

Julia has been ensnared in so many different webs, it’s hard to see how she’ll ever break free. She must do Casimir’s bidding in order to save the life of her brother. She must work against Casimir to save the lives of most everyone else she knows.

Casimir demands that Julia use her vanishing skills to act as a spy at court and ensure that a malleable prince is installed on the throne of Frayne. But Julia is secretly acting as a double agent, passing information to the revolutionaries and witches who want a rebel princess to rule.

Beyond these deadly entanglements, Julia is also desperately seeking the truth about herself: How is it she can vanish? Is she some form of monster? Is her life her own?

With every move she makes, Julia finds herself tangled ever tighter. Should she try to save her country? Her brother? A beloved child? Can she even save herself?

I, Claudia by Mary McCoy

Disaffected amateur historian Claudia McCarthy never expected to be in charge of Imperial Day Academy, but by accident, design, or scheme, she is pulled into the tumultuous and high-profile world of the Senate and Honor Council. Suddenly, Claudia is wielding power over her fellow students that she never expected to have and isn’t sure she wants.

Claudia vows to use her power to help the school. But there are forces aligned against her: shocking scandals, tyrants waiting in the wings, and political dilemmas with no easy answers. As Claudia struggles to be a force for good in the universe, she wrestles with the question: does power inevitably corrupt?

Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts) by Lev Rosen

My first time getting it in the butt was kind of weird. I think it’s going to be weird for everyone’s first time, though.

Meet Jack Rothman. He’s seventeen and loves partying, makeup and boys – sometimes all at the same time. His sex life makes him the hot topic for the high school gossip machine. But who cares? Like Jack always says, ‘it could be worse’.

He doesn’t actually expect that to come true.

But after Jack starts writing an online sex advice column, the mysterious love letters he’s been getting take a turn for the creepy. Jack’s secret admirer knows everything: where he’s hanging out, who he’s sleeping with, who his mum is dating. They claim they love Jack, but not his unashamedly queer lifestyle. They need him to curb his sexuality, or they’ll force him.

As the pressure mounts, Jack must unmask his stalker before their obsession becomes genuinely dangerous…

Kens by Raziel Reid

Every high school has the archetypical Queen B and her minions. In Kens, the high school hierarchy has been reimagined. Willows High is led by Ken Hilton, and he makes Regina George from Mean Girls look like a saint. Ken Hilton rules Willows High with his carbon-copies, Ken Roberts and Ken Carson, standing next to his throne. It can be hard to tell the Kens apart. There are minor differences in each edition, but all Kens are created from the same mold, straight out of Satan’s doll factory. Soul sold separately.

Tommy Rawlins can’t help but compare himself to these shimmering images of perfection that glide through the halls. He’s desperate to fit in, but in a school where the Kens are queens who are treated like Queens, Tommy is the uncool gay kid. A once-in-a-lifetime chance at becoming a Ken changes everything for Tommy, just as his eye is caught by the tall, dark, handsome new boy, Blaine. Has Blaine arrived in time to save him from the Kens? Tommy has high hopes for their future together, but when their shared desire to overthrow Ken Hilton takes a shocking turn, Tommy must decide how willing he is to reinvent himself — inside and out. Is this new version of Tommy everything he’s always wanted to be, or has he become an unknowing and submissive puppet in a sadistic plan?

The Last Wish of Sasha Cade by Cheyanne Young

The day Raquel has been dreading for months has finally arrived. Sasha, her best friend in the whole world — the best friend in the whole world — has died of cancer. Raquel can’t imagine life without her. She’s overwhelmed and brokenhearted.

And then a letter from Sasha arrives. Has she somehow found a way to communicate from the afterlife?

In fact, Sasha has planned an elaborate scavenger hunt for Raquel, and when she follows the instructions to return to Sasha’s grave, a mysterious stranger with striking eyes is waiting for her. There’s a secret attached to this boy that only Sasha—and now Raquel—knows.

This boy, Elijah, might be just what Raquel needs to move on from her terrible loss. But can Raquel remain true to herself while also honoring her friend’s final wish?

Leah On The Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Leah Burke—girl-band drummer, master of deadpan, and Simon Spier’s best friend from the award-winning Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda—takes center stage in this novel of first love and senior-year angst.

When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat—but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends—not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.

So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting—especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended.

Lizzie by Dawn Ius

Seventeen-year-old Lizzie Borden has never been kissed. Polite but painfully shy, Lizzie prefers to stay in the kitchen, where she can dream of becoming a chef and escape her reality. With tyrannical parents who force her to work at the family’s B&B and her blackout episodes—a medical condition that has plagued her since her first menstrual cycle—Lizzie longs for a life of freedom, the time and space to just figure out who she is and what she wants.

Enter the effervescent, unpredictable Bridget Sullivan. Bridget has joined the B&B’s staff as the new maid, and Lizzie is instantly drawn to her artistic style and free spirit—even her Star Wars obsession is kind of cute. The two of them forge bonds that quickly turn into something that’s maybe more than friendship.

But when her parents try to restrain Lizzie from living the life she wants, it sparks something in her that she can’t quite figure out. Her blackout episodes start getting worse, her instincts less and less reliable. Lizzie is angry, certainly, but she also feels like she’s going mad…

Losing Leah by Tiffany King

Some bonds can’t be broken.

Ten years after the tragic disappearance of her twin sister Leah, sixteen-year-old Mia Klein still struggles to exist within a family that has never fully recovered. Deep in the dark recesses of her mind lies an overwhelming shadow, taunting Mia with mind-splitting headaches that she tries to hide in an effort to appear okay.

Leah Klein’s life as she knew it ended the day she was taken, thrust into a world of abuse and fear by a disturbed captor―”Mother,” as she insists on being called. Ten years later, any recollections of her former life are nothing more than fleeting memories, except for those about her twin sister, Mia.

As Leah tries to gain the courage to escape, Mia’s headaches grow worse. Soon, both sisters will discover that their fates are linked in ways they never realized.

Mariam Sharma Hits The Road by Sheba Karim

The summer after her freshman year in college, Mariam is looking forward to working and hanging out with her best friends: irrepressible and beautiful Ghazala and religious but closeted Umar. But when a scandalous photo of Ghaz appears on a billboard in Times Square, Mariam and Umar come up with a plan to rescue her from her furious parents. And what better escape than New Orleans?

The friends pile into Umar’s car and start driving south, making all kinds of pit stops along the way–from a college drag party to a Muslim convention, from alarming encounters at roadside diners to honky-tonks and barbeque joints.

Along with the adventures, the fun banter, and the gas station junk food, the friends have some hard questions to answer on the road. With her uncle’s address in her pocket, Mariam hopes to learn the truth about her father (and to make sure she didn’t inherit his talent for disappearing). But as each mile of the road trip brings them closer to their own truths, they know they can rely on each other, and laughter, to get them through.

Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. Claudia and Monday have always been inseparable—more sisters than friends. So when Monday doesn’t turn up for the first day of school, Claudia’s worried. When she doesn’t show for the second day, or second week, Claudia knows that something is wrong. Monday wouldn’t just leave her to endure tests and bullies alone. Not after last year’s rumors and not with her grades on the line. Now Claudia needs her best—and only—friend more than ever. But Monday’s mother refuses to give Claudia a straight answer, and Monday’s sister April is even less help.

As Claudia digs deeper into her friend’s disappearance, she discovers that no one seems to remember the last time they saw Monday. How can a teenage girl just vanish without anyone noticing that she’s gone?

My Name Is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd

Venus Black is a straitlaced A student fascinated by the study of astronomy—until the night she commits a shocking crime that tears her family apart and ignites a media firestorm. Venus refuses to talk about what happened or why, except to blame her mother. Adding to the mystery, Venus’s developmentally challenged younger brother, Leo, goes missing.

More than five years later, Venus is released from prison with a suitcase of used clothes, a fake identity, and a determination to escape her painful past. Estranged from her mother, and with her beloved brother still missing, she sets out to make a fresh start in Seattle, skittish and alone. But as new people enter her orbit—including a romantic interest and a young girl who seems like a mirror image of her former lost self—old wounds resurface, and Venus realizes that she can’t find a future while she’s running from her past.

My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton

You may think you know the story. After a miserable childhood, penniless orphan Jane Eyre embarks on a new life as a governess at Thornfield Hall. There, she meets one dark, brooding Mr. Rochester. Despite their significant age gap (!) and his uneven temper (!!), they fall in love—and, Reader, she marries him. (!!!)

Or does she?

Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions, in which all is not as it seems, a certain gentleman is hiding more than skeletons in his closets, and one orphan Jane Eyre, aspiring author Charlotte Brontë, and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood are about to be drawn together on the most epic ghost hunt this side of Wuthering Heights.

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Liane Oekle

The only thing 17-year-old Jane Sinner hates more than failure is pity. After a personal crisis and her subsequent expulsion from high school, she’s going nowhere fast. Jane’s well-meaning parents push her to attend a high school completion program at the nearby Elbow River Community College, and she agrees, on one condition: she gets to move out.

Jane tackles her housing problem by signing up for House of Orange, a student-run reality show that is basically Big Brother, but for Elbow River Students. Living away from home, the chance to win a car (used, but whatever), and a campus full of people who don’t know what she did in high school… what more could she want? Okay, maybe a family that understands why she’d rather turn to Freud than Jesus to make sense of her life, but she’ll settle for fifteen minutes in the proverbial spotlight.

As House of Orange grows from a low-budget web series to a local TV show with fans and shoddy T-shirts, Jane finally has the chance to let her cynical, competitive nature thrive. She’ll use her growing fan base, and whatever Intro to Psychology can teach her, to prove to the world—or at least viewers of substandard TV—that she has what it takes to win.

Olivia Twist by Lorie Langdon

Olivia Brownlow is no damsel in distress. Born in a workhouse and raised as a boy among thieving London street gangs, she is as tough and cunning as they come. When she is taken in by her uncle after a caper gone wrong, her life goes from fighting and stealing on the streets to lavish dinners and soirees as a debutante in high society. But she can’t seem to escape her past … or forget the teeming slums where children just like her still scrabble to survive.

Jack MacCarron rose from his place in London’s East End to become the adopted “nephew” of a society matron. Little does society know that MacCarron is a false name for a boy once known among London gangs as the Artful Dodger, and that he and his “aunt” are robbing them blind every chance they get. When Jack encounters Olivia Brownlow in places he least expects, his curiosity is piqued. Why is a society girl helping a bunch of homeless orphan thieves? Even more intriguing, why does she remind him so much of someone he once knew? Jack finds himself wondering if going legit and risking it all might be worth it for love.

Phoebe Will Destroy You by Blake Nelson

The summer I was seventeen I met this girl…

Nick has the best of moms and the worst of moms. On the upside, she’s a distinguished professor and bestselling author. On the downside, she’s a serious alcoholic, with no clue how to relate to her son or husband.

Nick, meanwhile, has finished his junior year and needs a break from his stressful home life. What better place to spend the summer than Seaside, Oregon, a sleepy beach town where he can chill out, meet girls, and work at his Uncle’s car wash.

Enter local legend, Phoebe Garnet. She’s funny, sexy, but dangerously self-destructive. Suddenly Nick is more in love, more obsessed, more heartsick than he’s ever been in his life.

Why does Nick love her so much? Will he survive this obsession? And who can he turn to for help?

Reclaiming Shilo Snow by Mary Weber

Trapped on the ice-planet of Delon, gamer girl Sofi and Ambassador Miguel have discovered that nothing is what it seems, including their friends. On a quest to rescue her brother, Shilo, a boy everyone believes is dead, they must now escape and warn Earth of Delon’s designs on humanity. Except the more they unearth of the planet and Sofi’s past, the more they feel themselves unraveling, as each new revelation has Sofi questioning the very existence of reality.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Sofi’s mom, Inola, is battling a different kind of unraveling: a political one that could cost lives, positions, and a barely-rebuilt society, should they discover the deal made with the Delonese.

But there’s a secret deeper than all that. One locked away inside Sofi and ticking away with the beginnings, endings, and answers to everything. Including how to save humanity.

The Reckoning of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin

Noah Shaw doesn’t think he needs his father’s inheritance.
He does.

Noah believes there’s something off about the suicides in his visions.
There is.

Noah is convinced that he still knows the real Mara Dyer.
He does not.

Everyone thought the nightmare had ended with Mara Dyer’s memoirs, but it was only the beginning. As old skeletons are laid bare, alliances will be tested, hearts will be broken, and no one will be left unscarred.

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.

Same and Ilsa’s Last Hurrah by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Siblings Sam and Ilsa Kehlmann have spent most of their high school years throwing parties for their friends—and now they’ve prepared their final blowout, just before graduation.

The rules are simple: each twin gets to invite three guests, and the other twin doesn’t know who’s coming until the partiers show up at the door. With Sam and Ilsa, the sibling revelry is always tempered with a large dose of sibling rivalry, and tonight is no exception.

One night. One apartment. Eight people. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, we all know the answer is plenty. But plenty also goes right, as well…in rather surprising ways.

The Second Life of Ava Rivers by Faith Gardner

Ava’s disappearance was the crack in the Rivers family glacier. I wish I could explain to you how we were before, but I can’t, because the before is so filmy and shadowed with the after.

The after is all Vera remembers. When her twin sister, Ava, disappeared one Halloween night, her childhood became a blur of theories, tips, and leads, but never any answers. The case made headlines, shocked Vera’s Northern California community, and turned her family into tragic celebrities.

Now, at eighteen, Vera is counting down the days until she starts her new life at college in Portland, Oregon, far away from the dark cloud she and family have lived under for twelve years. But all that changes when a girl shows up at the local hospital.

Her name is Ava Rivers and she wants to go home.

Ava’s return begins to mend the fractures in the Rivers family. Vera and Ava’s estranged older brother returns. Vera reconnects with Max, the sweet, artistic boy from her childhood. Their parents smile again. But the questions remain: Where was Ava all these years? And who is she now?

The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig by Don Zolidis

Janesville, Wisconsin (cold in the sense that there is no God)
1994

The worst thing that’s ever happened to Craig is also the best: Amy. Amy and Craig never should’ve gotten together. Craig is an awkward, Dungeons & Dragons-playing geek, and Amy is the beautiful, fiercely intelligent student-body president of their high school.

Yet somehow they did. Until Amy dumped him. Then got back together with him. Then dumped him again. Then got back together with him again. Over and over and over.

Unfolding during their senior year, Amy and Craig’s exhilarating, tumultuous relationship is a kaleidoscope of joy, pain, and laughter as an uncertain future-and adult responsibility-loom on the horizon.

Craig fights for his dream of escaping Janesville and finding his place at a quirky college, while Amy’s quest to uncover her true self sometimes involves being Craig’s girlfriend?and sometimes doesn’t.

Seven heartbreaks. Seven joys.Told nonsequentially, acclaimed playwright Don Zolidis’s debut novel is a brutally funny, bittersweet taste of the utterly unique and utterly universal experience of first love.

The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas

“Sometimes I feel like everyone else was handed a copy of the rules for life and mine got lost.”

Grace is autistic and has her own way of looking at the world. She’s got a horse and a best friend who understand her, and that’s pretty much all she needs. But when Grace kisses Gabe and things start to change at home, the world doesn’t make much sense to her any more.

Suddenly everything threatens to fall apart, and it’s up to Grace to fix it on her own.

The Summer of Jordi Perez (And The Best Burger In Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding

Seventeen, fashion-obsessed, and gay, Abby Ives has always been content playing the sidekick in other people’s lives. While her friends and sister have plunged headfirst into the world of dating and romances, Abby has stayed focused on her plus-size style blog and her dreams of taking the fashion industry by storm. When she lands a prized internship at her favorite local boutique, she’s thrilled to take her first step into her dream career. She doesn’t expect to fall for her fellow intern, Jordi Perez. Abby knows it’s a big no-no to fall for a colleague. She also knows that Jordi documents her whole life in photographs, while Abby would prefer to stay behind the scenes.

Then again, nothing is going as expected this summer. She’s competing against the girl she’s kissing to win a paid job at the boutique. She’s somehow managed to befriend Jax, a lacrosse-playing bro type who needs help in a project that involves eating burgers across L.A.’s eastside. Suddenly, she doesn’t feel like a sidekick. Is it possible Abby’s finally in her own story?

But when Jordi’s photography puts Abby in the spotlight, it feels like a betrayal, rather than a starring role. Can Abby find a way to reconcile her positive yet private sense of self with the image that other people have of her?

Is this just Abby’s summer of fashion? Or will it truly be The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles)?

Surviving Adam Meade by Shannon Klare

Seventeen-year-old Claire Collins has a plan: get into college and leave North Carolina behind. What she doesn’t have is an idea for how to get rid of the local football star and womanizer extraordinaire — Adam Meade, who she can’t even avoid (despite many efforts), because Claire’s dad is the high school football coach.

Seventeen-year-old Adam Meade never fails. He always gets what he wants… until he meets Claire, the new girl who leaves him unnerved, pissed off, and confused. But there’s something about her that he just can’t resist…

With the bite of lemon meringue pie and the sugar of sweet tea, Surviving Adam Meade is a sexy and compelling young adult novel about two strong-willed people who think they know what they want but have no idea what they need.

Things Jolie Needs To Do Before She Bites It by Kerry Winfrey

Jolie’s a lot of things, but she knows that pretty isn’t one of them. She has mandibular prognathism, which is the medical term for underbite. Chewing is a pain, headaches are a common occurrence, and she’s never been kissed. She’s months out from having a procedure to correct her underbite, and she cannot wait to be fixed.

While her family watches worst-case scenario TV shows, Jolie becomes paralyzed with the fear that she could die under the knife. She and her best friends Evelyn and Derek decide to make a Things Jolie Needs To Do Before She Bites It (Which Is Super Unlikely But Still, It Could Happen) list. Things like: eat every appetizer on the Applebee’s menu and kiss her crush, Noah Reed. Their plan helps Jolie discover what beauty truly means to her.

Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now by Dana L. Davis

I’ve got seven days to come clean to my new dad. Seven days to tell the truth…

For sixteen-year-old Tiffany Sly, life hasn’t been safe or normal for a while. Losing her mom to cancer has her a little bit traumatized and now she has to leave her hometown of Chicago to live with the biological dad she’s never known.

Anthony Stone is a rich man with four other daughters—and rules for every second of the day. Tiffany tries to make the best of things, but she doesn’t fit into her new luxurious, but super-strict, home—or get along with her standoffish sister London. The only thing that makes her new life even remotely bearable is the strange boy across the street. Marcus McKinney has had his own experiences with death, and the unexpected friendship that blossoms between them is the only thing that makes her feel grounded.

But Tiffany has a secret. Another man claims he’s Tiffany’s real dad—and she only has seven days before he shows up to demand a paternity test and the truth comes out. With her life about to fall apart all over again, Tiffany finds herself discovering unexpected truths about her father, her mother and herself, and realizing that maybe family is in the bonds you make—and that life means sometimes taking risks.

Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles

When Marvin Johnson’s twin, Tyler, goes to a party, Marvin decides to tag along to keep an eye on his brother. But what starts as harmless fun turns into a shooting, followed by a police raid.

The next day, Tyler has gone missing, and it’s up to Marvin to find him. But when Tyler is found dead, a video leaked online tells an even more chilling story: Tyler has been shot and killed by a police officer. Terrified as his mother unravels and mourning a brother who is now a hashtag, Marvin must learn what justice and freedom really mean.

The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara

There’s no place for a girl in Mary’s world. Not in the home of her mum, desperately drunk and poor. Not in the household of her wealthy granny, where no girl can be named an heir. And certainly not in the arms of Nat, her childhood love who never knew her for who she was. As a sailor aboard a Caribbean merchant ship, Mary’s livelihood—and her safety—depends on her ability to disguise her gender.

At least, that’s what she thinks is true. But then pirates attack the ship, and in the midst of the gang of cutthroats, Mary spots something she never could have imagined: a girl pirate.

The sight of a girl standing unafraid upon the deck, gun and sword in hand, changes everything. In a split-second decision, Mary turns her gun on her own captain, earning herself the chance to join the account and become a pirate alongside Calico Jack and Anne Bonny.

For the first time, Mary has a shot at freedom. But imagining living as her true self is easier, it seems, than actually doing it. And when Mary finds herself falling for the captain’s mistress, she risks everything—her childhood love, her place among the crew, and even her life.

Breathlessly romantic and brilliantly subversive, The Unbinding of Mary Reade is sure to sweep readers off their feet and make their hearts soar.

Self-Published YA in the Public Library

November 28, 2018 |

Wrangling self-published books for teens can seem like a daunting task for a public librarian (meaning: me). There are a lot of very popular self-published YA novels, mostly series or continuations of traditionally-published series, that get a lot of teen readership but never make it to review journals or even vendor websites. Learning what these are is a challenging first step; making a decision to purchase without the usual backups (publisher/author reputation, professional reviews, reading it yourself) is another challenge. Very many of these straddle the YA/NA line (we do not put New Adult in our teen collection), and that’s yet another facet to tackle. Luckily, there are a number of teens in my community who are more than happy to request the books they want, whether they do it through our online form or via another staff member.

Below are the titles and series I have gotten the most requests for and seem to be the most popular. They circulate really well; it’s clear teens are telling their friends about them. In fact, that’s often what they write on the request form: “recommended by a friend.” What self-published YA titles do well in your library, and how generous are you when you buy something that’s more or less an unknown quantity?

Arcana Rising, The Dark Calling, and From the Grave by Kresley Cole

The Emperor unleashes hell and annihilates an army, jeopardizing the future of mankind–but Circe strikes back. The epic clash between them devastates the Arcana world and nearly kills Evie, separating her from her allies. With Aric missing and no sign that Jack and Selena escaped Richter’s reach, Evie turns more and more to the darkness lurking inside her. Two Arcana emerge as game changers: one who could be her salvation, the other her worst nightmare. To take on Richter, Evie must reunite with Death and mend their broken bond. But as she learns more about her role in the future–and her chilling past–will she become a monster like the Emperor? Or can Evie and her allies rise up from Richter’s ashes, stronger than ever before?

These three books are self-published continuations of Cole’s traditionally-published Arcana Chronicles.

Spy Girl by Jillian Dodd

An eighteen-year-old covert agent is pulled out of training before graduation by Black X, a espionage group so secret even the President of the United States doesn’t know it exists.

For her first mission, she must go undercover as the long-lost daughter of a recently deceased billionaire, infiltrate high society, and protect the Prince of Montrovia from assassination. But Prince Lorenzo is known as the Playboy Prince for a reason and his sensuality and charisma add a whole other level of complication to her mission.

She knows that her every move is being watched, but what she doesn’t know is that the Prince is just a chess piece in a bigger game that will have world-wide ramifications. And that Blackwood Academy, the place she has called home for the past six years has secrets of its own.

This is a 7-book self-published series.

The Gender Game by Bella Forrest

A toxic river divides nineteen-year-old Violet Bates’s world by gender. Women rule the East. Men rule the West. Ever since the disappearance of her beloved younger brother, Violet’s life has been consumed by an anger she struggles to control. Already a prisoner to her own nation, now she has been sentenced to death for her crimes. To enter the kingdom of Patrus, where men rule and women submit. Everything about the patriarchy is dangerous for a rebellious girl like Violet. She cannot break the rules if she wishes to stay alive. But abiding by rules has never been Violet’s strong suit. When she’s thrust into more danger than she could have ever predicted, Violet is forced to sacrifice many things in the forbidden kingdom … including forbidden love.

This is a 7-book self-published series.

The Apple Throne by Tessa Gratton

There is only one person in the whole world who remembers the famous prophet Astrid Glyn: the berserker Soren Bearstar.

Ever since Astrid agreed to give up her life, her name, and even her prophetic dreams to become Idun the Young, the almost-goddess who protects the apples of immortality in a secret mountain orchard, she’s been forgotten by everyone. Everyone except Soren.

For the last two years he’s faithfully visited her every three months. Then one day he doesn’t come. Though forbidden to leave the orchard, Astrid defies the gods by escaping with a bastard son of Thor to find Soren. But ancient creatures are moving in the mountains beneath the country. They are desperate to leave the shadows and Astrid’s quest might be the key they need.

Not-quite-a-goddess, but no longer only a girl, Astrid must choose a path that will save herself and the people she loves without unraveling the ancient magic that holds the entire nine worlds together. Welcome to the final chapter of the United States of Asgard.

This is the final book in the United States of Asgard trilogy whose first two books were traditionally published. Gratton has since re-released the first two as self-published titles as well.

Intensity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

It’s a demon-eat-demon world for Nick Gautier. Just when he thinks he’s finally gotten a handle on how not to take over the world and destroy it, Death returns with an all-star cast that is determined to end the Malachai reign and lineage forever. Worse? Death and War have found the one, true enemy Nick can’t find, and even if he did, it’s one he could never bring himself to banish or kill.

Now framed for murders he hasn’t committed, and surrounded by new friends who might be turncoats, Nick is learning fast how his father went down in flames.

The heat in New Orleans is rising fast, and Nick’s threat-level has gone into a whole new level of intensity. He’s learning fast that when War and Death decide to battle, they don’t take prisoners. The don’t negotiate. And they’re both immune to his biting sarcasm and Cajun charm. To win this, he will have to embrace a new set of powers, but one wrong step, and he will belong to the side of Darkness, forever.

This book is a self-published continuation of Kenyon’s Chronicles of Nick.

Air Awakens by Elisa Kova

A library apprentice, a sorcerer prince, and an unbreakable magic bond…

The Solaris Empire is one conquest away from uniting the continent, and the rare elemental magic sleeping in seventeen-year-old library apprentice Vhalla Yarl could shift the tides of war.

Vhalla has always been taught to fear the Tower of Sorcerers, a mysterious magic society, and has been happy in her quiet world of books. But after she unknowingly saves the life of one of the most powerful sorcerers of them all—the Crown Prince Aldrik—she finds herself enticed into his world. Now she must decide her future: Embrace her sorcery and leave the life she’s known, or eradicate her magic and remain as she’s always been. And with powerful forces lurking in the shadows, Vhalla’s indecision could cost her more than she ever imagined.

This is a 5-book self-published series.

Tainted Accords by Kelly St. Clare

I know many things. What I am capable of, what I will change, what I will become. But there is one thing I will never know… The veil I’ve worn from birth carries with it a terrible loneliness; a suppression I cannot imagine being free of. My mother will always hate me. Her court will always shun me. When the peace delegation arrives from the savage world of Glacium, my life is shoved wildly out of control by the handsome Prince Kedrick who, for unfathomable reasons, shows me kindness.

Sometimes it takes the world bringing you to your knees to find that spark you thought forever lost. Sometimes it takes death to show you how to live.

This is a 4-book self-published series.

Cashmere by Temple West

Relieved that her nightmares have ended, Caitlin is disturbed to find that something even stranger has taken their place.

Determined to get on with her life, even amid a crazy paranormal manhunt, she applies for a competitive summer fashion internship in New York. Searching desperately for answers about what Caitlin might be, how Adrian’s father is involved, and where Lucian has been kidnapped to, Caitlin and Adrian must rely on each other to survive. But when the truth finally comes to light, the consequences are unimaginable.

And the question still haunts them both: even if they survive, how will they deal with the fact that Adrian is immortal and Caitlin is not?

This is the sequel to West’s traditionally-published Velvet.

YA Cover Makeovers: 5 To Check Out and Consider

November 26, 2018 |

Part of my job at Book Riot requires spending time perusing Edelweiss in order to know the books that are on the horizon. I don’t write a whole lot about book covers over there, but I do take note of them as I work because there is a lot to say about them.

I’ve been highlighting cover changes in YA since this blog began nearly ten years ago, and though they’re still common, it seems to me that cover changes are happening less frequently than they have in years past. I suspect better initial designs and following tried-and-true trends is part of the reason. Make your title font nice and big with one key, easily-identifiable image — likely illustrated — and you’re going to not only catch eyes on book shelves, but you’re going to have something that shows up great on screens. Perhaps that’s part of it, too. There’s a much better understanding of the power of how covers appear digitally, either on a desktop or on mobile, and so there’s even more consideration in the design process than there ever has been before.

It’s also hard not to take into consideration the fact that YA books are primarily purchased by those over the age of 18 and armed with that knowledge, cover designs in YA mirror many seen in adult fiction. There are good things and there are not-so-good things about that. I’d recommend reading this thoughtful piece from a teen reader on the ways that YA can alienate the very age group it’s meant to reach.

This is the first round-up of recent and upcoming YA book cover changes I’ll share before the year ends. I’ve pulled an interesting range of design makeovers. Some do better in their original hardback while others sparkle a bit more in paperback.

As always, I’d love to hear what you think about the cover changes. What do you prefer of these? If you work with young readers, does one seem like it speaks more to them than the other?

Original hardcover designs are on the left, with the new paperback look on the right.

YA Cover Makeovers

I’m not going to lie: every time I see the hardcover for Margot Harrison’s The Killer In Me, I’m reminded that I want to read it. The vibes it gives are very much a me-book. It’s desolate. There’s a teen girl at the helm with what is either a clear mission or reflection upon a tough job done. It’s stark and striking. But, in being that way, the title of the book gets lost in the background. The font colors really do fade into the landscape, and not in a way that’s useful for actually remembering what the book is called. The font is also small, making it tough to render on screen. Note that on the hardcover, we get a tag line: “The truth can’t stay buried forever.” I love it, and I love how it mirrors the image of the off-centered girl.

The paperback version, which hit shelves in early October, takes away some of the desolation and starkness. But in exchange, it gives a much larger, more readable title, while maintaining the shovel that was on the hardcover. I’m not a huge fan of the way that the author’s name is stacked and shoved at the very top — not easy to read — and it’s interesting that because the focus is on the shovel and on the title, there’s no longer a tag line on the image. This to me reads much more like an adult book cover than a teen book cover, whereas the hardcover feels much more teen because we see what appears to be a younger person on it.

Neither one is better or worse, as they both have interesting and parallel elements to them. As a reader, I’d gravitate toward the hardcover because of the feeling I get from it, but I see that same reasoning being why readers might pick up the paperback.

Talk about a dramatic cover makeover. Caleb Roehrig’s White Rabbit had a frenzy of publicity when it hit shelves earlier this year. I ended up picking it up and liking it, and because it’s a psychological thriller/mystery/horror novel, there’s a high body count. The cover is actually pretty fitting, if not also fairly generic. The title and author names are easy to read, and the white and red color choices stand out against the blue and black palate of the image. There are two main male characters as identified by the shadows with the flashlights. And any time there is blood on a cover, you can count me in (Kimberly pointed out that bloody YA covers are a thing right now). The original hardback tells a reader everything you might want to know about the book and you can immediately place it within its appropriate readership.

The paperback, though, is a whole different rabbit. It’s bright and the contrast of the purple with the bright pink really makes it stand out. Visually, it’s a knockout in that department and it shows well both on screen and, I suspect, will pop on shelves. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with the pink splotches on the purple — maybe it’s blood? But the use of the knife as the “I” in White is really clever and conveys so much about the feel of the book. This cover has a blurb on it from bestseller Karen McManus, which wasn’t on the original. I’m not usually a blurb fan, but I actually think readers who love One Of Us Is Lying would really be into White Rabbit, so it works as its own reader’s advisory tool.

That said, it does not strike me as a YA book at all. It looks like adult fiction. Again, that means and doesn’t mean anything, but I’m far more likely to see teens reading the hardcover and identifying it as a book for them than I am with the paperback. Perhaps that’s the goal, to get more adults to pick it up in paperback, especially with the McManus endorsement.

I like both takes, but for very different reasons. I actually hope we see a rise in covers like the one on the right (with attention paid to making them look as teen-friendly as possible) because they’re so different. The paperback releases on January 29.

Can we talk about how fun the hardcover of The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee is? It’s clearly indicating exactly the kind of book it is: a fun, action packed title with a badass female lead. And the tagline! “A demon invasion is no excuse for bad grades” tells you everything about the book’s tone. That said: aside from being an extremely telling cover, it’s fairly generic. It doesn’t pop and doesn’t offer much in terms of the cultural touchstones within the book. The author’s name is small enough on the cover that, when pulling the images together, it got cut off.

The paperback edition of the book, available June 11 (yes, next summer!), is absolutely dreamy and it’s about as different from the hardcover as can be. The color palate is light and airy, and it’s very clear the book is set in San Francisco, with West Asian cultural heritage playing a large part of the story. We still have Genie Lo in the image, but this time, she’s less the focal point, but what’s neat is that all of the elements above her — the dragons, the mountains, the Golden Gate Bridge — comprise who she is. The title font is lovely and flowy. Yee’s name is a little more prominent, though in the paperback edition, the fabulous tagline is no longer there.

Not having read this book, I can’t pinpoint which one feels more true to the actual story. I have a hunch it might be the hardcover, but I suspect, too, that the paperback plays into some very crucial aspects of the book as well. The original cover? Sells to those who want action and adventure. The paperback? Appeals to readers who are eager for a more internal, culturally-enmeshed book. The original cover speaks to readers who want a louder book, while the paperback speaks to those who want a quieter read.

I really dig both of them and would be curious what others think. Neither does it better or worse. They’re just very different.

Veronica Chambers books were among some of the most popular books when I worked in a library that served a large Latinx population, and her latest book is a standalone. The Go-Between hardcover features a lot of fun, trendy elements to it: it’s illustrated, includes a number of bright colors on a black background, and uses the title font cleverly. The “Go” as a pair of glasses — maybe sunglasses, given the palm trees — adds something special to the title itself. There’s no tag line here, and as much as the cover leans into many contemporary YA book cover trends, the cover itself doesn’t tell you much about the book. The girl looks like she might have brown skin, but it’s not entirely clear if she’s meant to be brown skinned or if she’s a girl who has white skin with a dark tan. That ambiguity is only enhanced when you consider the “Go” as sunglasses, along with the waves for water, and the palm trees dotting the cover. It’s not a bad cover but it really doesn’t sell the book.

The paperback, however, is fabulous and tells the reader far more about the book. First and foremost? It’s a brown girl lead character. From her skin tone to the curly hair, there’s no question she is a girl of color. We retain the palm tree motif in the redesign, but they work more cohesively. The font choice for the title is fresher, and the cover itself reminds me quite a bit of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, a book that would be an excellent readalike for this one. This cover features a tagline, and it’s a tagline that really solidifies the comparison to Mexican Daughter and better expresses the tone and feel of the book: “She’s caught between two worlds, but neither will define her.” The girl’s expression, her placement between the trees, the sun peeping over her shoulder. Those aspects are smart.

I don’t dislike the hardcover on this one, but the paperback absolutely nails it. That book is for teens, and it’s a book fans of Sanchez’s title will want to pick up. You can pick up the paperback on April 16.

Finally, this cover change is one that I can’t stop thinking about. Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen is a book about war, and frankly, I can’t figure out how I didn’t get that from the original hardcover. I’ve been convinced it’s a mystery/thriller. Maybe because it’s eerily reminiscent of a YA series that uses the same red and giant face of a girl that is of that genre. Maybe, too, it’s the title itself. Likewise, the blurb — though by Elizabeth Wein — offers no insight into the book’s content either. It becomes more obviously not a mystery/thriller when you notice what’s going on in the background. Those are soldiers, and buried behind the girl’s head are Nazi flags. It takes a lot of careful attention to pick up on those things, and I think that symbolism and clarity is hard to parse out because of the red and giant face of a girl being front and center.

The paperback, due out on February 19, suffers from some challenges, but it isn’t as muddled as the hardcover is. The fonts for both the title and author are far cleaner and less designed, and while we have an image of a girl running away — a big contrast from a girl who is commanding attention — the tagline on the cover gives far more insight into the book’s content. “She’s a liar. A thief. And the Nazis worst nightmare.” We know exactly where the book is situated and we know that the girl is one who is bound and determined to do something. The planes also situate the book in World War 2. The color palate is far more muted than the hardcover, too, which changes the tone of the book. It’s less aggressive and more somber.

The two covers tell two very different stories. For readers, I think the paperback redesign might be more clear in terms of what the book is about.

What do you think? Which cover does it better in each of these? I’d love your thoughts in the comments!