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Booklist: Historical Fantasy Part II

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Back in May 2014, I wrote a genre guide to historical fantasy as part of our Get Genrefied series. It’s always been one of my favorite subgenres – if you love genre fiction, combining two genres is a double treat. This subgenre is still going strong in the publishing world, with over a dozen books or series that fall squarely into it since 2014, so I figured it was time for an updated booklist. The titles from the original guide are still worthy of recommending, but if you want something a bit more current (from the past three years or forthcoming in the next few months), here you go.

If the book is part of a series, only the first title is listed. Descriptions are all from Goodreads. Any more you’re excited about? Let me know in the comments.

The Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

The only daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has always known she’d been raised for one purpose and one purpose only: to marry. Never mind her cunning, which rivals that of her twin brother, Kenshin, or her skills as an accomplished alchemist. Since Mariko was not born a boy, her fate was sealed the moment she drew her first breath.

So, at just seventeen years old, Mariko is sent to the imperial palace to meet her betrothed, a man she did not choose, for the very first time. But the journey is cut short when Mariko’s convoy is viciously attacked by the Black Clan, a dangerous group of bandits who’ve been hired to kill Mariko before she reaches the palace.

The lone survivor, Mariko narrowly escapes to the woods, where she plots her revenge. Dressed as a peasant boy, she sets out to infiltrate the Black Clan and hunt down those responsible for the target on her back. Once she’s within their ranks, though, Mariko finds for the first time she’s appreciated for her intellect and abilities. She even finds herself falling in love—a love that will force her to question everything she’s ever known about her family, her purpose, and her deepest desires.

 

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.

She also has a secret.

Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.

When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.

 

Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves

Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is barred from society by a defect of blood. Though her family is part of the Luminate, powerful users of magic, she is Barren, unable to perform the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her fate takes another course when, after inadvertently breaking her sister’s debutante spell—an important chance for a highborn young woman to show her prowess with magic—Anna finds herself exiled to her family’s once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.

Her life might well be over.

In Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the people around her, from her aloof cousin Noémi to the fierce and handsome Romani Gábor. Not the society she’s known all her life, for discontent with the Luminate is sweeping the land. And not her lack of magic. Isolated from the only world she cares about, Anna still can’t seem to stop herself from breaking spells.

As rebellion spreads across the region, Anna’s unique ability becomes the catalyst everyone is seeking. In the company of nobles, revolutionaries, and Romanies, Anna must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she’s always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever.

 

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

Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown…

Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…

Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.

The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?

 

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is reliable, dull, trustworthy – a proper young lady who knows her place as inferior to men. But inside, Faith is full of questions and curiosity, and she cannot resist mysteries: an unattended envelope, an unlocked door. She knows secrets no one suspects her of knowing. She knows that her family moved to the close-knit island of Vane because her famous scientist father was fleeing a reputation-destroying scandal. And she knows, when her father is discovered dead shortly thereafter, that he was murdered.

In pursuit of justice and revenge, Faith hunts through her father’s possessions and discovers a strange tree. The tree bears fruit only when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit of the tree, when eaten, delivers a hidden truth. The tree might hold the key to her father’s murder – or it may lure the murderer directly to Faith herself.

 

A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge

This is the story of a bear-hearted girl . . .

Sometimes, when a person dies, their spirit goes looking for somewhere to hide. Some people have space within them, perfect for hiding.

Twelve-year-old Makepeace has learned to defend herself from the ghosts which try to possess her in the night, desperate for refuge, but one day a dreadful event causes her to drop her guard.

And now there’s a spirit inside her.

The spirit is wild, brutish and strong, and it may be her only defence when she is sent to live with her father’s rich and powerful ancestors. There is talk of civil war, and they need people like her to protect their dark and terrible family secret.

But as she plans her escape and heads out into a country torn apart by war, Makepeace must decide which is worse: possession – or death.

 

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (April 3)

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.

 

Beyond a Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake (April 10)

The ancient land of Éirinn is mired in war. Ciara, Princess of Mide, has never known a time when Éirinn’s kingdoms were not battling for power, or Northmen were not plundering their shores.

The people of Mide have thankfully always been safe because of Ciara’s unearthly ability to control her enemies’ minds and actions. But lately, a mysterious crow has been appearing to Ciara, whispering warnings of an even darker threat. Although her clansmen dismiss her visions as pagan nonsense, Ciara fears this coming evil will destroy not just Éirinn, but the entire world.

Then the crow leads Ciara to Leif, a young Northman leader. Leif should be Ciara’s enemy, but when Ciara discovers that he, too, shares her prophetic visions, she knows he’s something more. Leif is mounting an impressive army, and with Ciara’s strength in battle the two might have a chance to save their world.

With evil rising around them, they’ll do what it takes to defend the land they love…even if it means making the greatest sacrifice of all.

 

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.

Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

 

The Girl With the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke

When sixteen-year-old Ellie Baum accidentally time-travels via red balloon to 1988 East Berlin, she’s caught up in a conspiracy of history and magic. She meets members of an underground guild in East Berlin who use balloons and magic to help people escape over the Wall—but even to the balloon makers, Ellie’s time travel is a mystery. When it becomes clear that someone is using dark magic to change history, Ellie must risk everything—including her only way home—to stop the process.

 

 

Fear the Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Witch’s apprentice Bridey Corkill has hated the ocean ever since she watched her granddad dive in and drown with a smile on his face. So when a dead girl rolls in with the tide in the summer of 1913, sixteen-year-old Bridey suspects that whatever compelled her granddad to leap into the sea has made its return to the Isle of Man.

Soon, villagers are vanishing in the night, but no one shares Bridey’s suspicions about the sea. No one but the island’s witch, who isn’t as frightening as she first appears, and the handsome dark-haired lad Bridey rescues from a grim and watery fate. The cause of the deep gashes in Fynn’s stomach and his lost memories are, like the recent disappearances, a mystery well-guarded by the sea. In exchange for saving his life, Fynn teaches Bridey to master her fear of the water — stealing her heart in the process.

Now, Bridey must work with the Isle’s eccentric witch and the boy she isn’t sure she can trust — because if she can’t uncover the truth about the ancient evil in the water, everyone she loves will walk into the sea, never to return.

 

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives.

Esta is a talented thief, and she’s been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta’s training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future.

But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.

 

Jackaby by William Ritter

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary–including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain it’s a nonhuman creature, whose existence the police–with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane–deny.

 

The Tombs by Deborah Schaumberg (February 2)

New York, 1882. A dark, forbidding city, and no place for a girl with unexplainable powers.

Sixteen-year-old Avery Kohl pines for the life she had before her mother was taken. She fears the mysterious men in crow masks who locked her mother in the Tombs asylum for being able to see what others couldn’t. Avery denies the signs in herself, focusing instead on her shifts at the ironworks factory and keeping her inventor father out of trouble. Other than secondhand tales of adventure from her best friend, Khan, an ex-slave, and caring for her falcon, Seraphine, Avery spends her days struggling to survive.

Like her mother’s, Avery’s powers refuse to be contained. When she causes a bizarre explosion at the factory, she has no choice but to run from her lies, straight into the darkest corners of the city. Avery must embrace her abilities and learn to wield their power—or join her mother in the cavernous horrors of the Tombs. And the Tombs has secrets of its own: strange experiments are being performed on “patients”…and no one knows why.

 

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye

Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.

And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death. Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?

For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip-smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her. And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love…or be killed himself. As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear—the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.

January 2017 Debut YA Novels

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It’s time for another round-up of debut YA novels of the month — here’s what we’ve got for January.

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 out in January 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 pub dates beside them. Starred titles are the beginning of a new series.

Get ready to get your read on: January is a busy debut month!

 

 

Beneath The Haunting Sea by Joanna Ruth Meyer (1/9)

Sixteen-year-old Talia was born to a life of certainty and luxury, destined to become Empress of half the world. But when an ambitious rival seizes power, she and her mother are banished to a nowhere province on the far edge of the Northern Sea.

It is here, in the drafty halls of the Ruen-Dahr, that Talia discovers family secrets, a melancholy boy with a troubling vision of her future, and a relic that holds the power of an ancient Star. On these shores, the eerie melody of the sea is stronger than ever, revealing long-forgotten tales of the Goddess Rahn. The more dark truths that Talia unravels about the gods’ history—and her own—the more the waves call to her, and it may be her destiny to answer.

 

 

 

*Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk (1/16)

The action-packed tale of a 17-year-old warrior princess and a handsome gladiator who dared take on the Roman Republic―and gave rise to the legend of Spartacus…

For teens who love strong female protagonists in their fantasy and historical fiction, Blood and Sand is a stirring, yet poignant tale of two slaves who dared take on an empire by talented debut author C. V. Wyk.

Roma Victrix. The Republic of Rome is on a relentless march to create an empire―an empire built on the backs of the conquered, brought back to Rome as slaves.

Attia was once destined to rule as the queen and swordmaiden of Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world had seen since Sparta. Now she is a slave, given to Xanthus, the Champion of Rome, as a sign of his master’s favor. Enslaved as a child, Xanthus is the preeminent gladiator of his generation.

Against all odds, Attia and Xanthus form a tentative bond. A bond that will spark a rebellion. A rebellion that threatens to bring the Roman Republic to its end―and gives rise to the legend of Spartacus…

 

 

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis (1/30)

Seventeen-year-old Evan Panos doesn’t know where he fits in. His strict Greek mother refuses to see him as anything but a disappointment. His quiet, workaholic father is a staunch believer in avoiding any kind of conflict. And his best friend Henry has somehow become distractingly attractive over the summer.

Tired, isolated, scared—Evan’s only escape is drawing in an abandoned church that feels as lonely as he is. And, yes, he kissed one guy over the summer. But it’s his best friend Henry who’s now proving to be irresistible. It’s Henry who suddenly seems interested in being more than friends. And it’s Henry who makes him believe that he’s more than his mother’s harsh words and terrifying abuse. But as things with Henry heat up, and his mother’s abuse escalates, Evan has to decide how to find his voice in a world where he has survived so long by avoiding attention at all costs.

 

 

*Everless by Sarah Holland (1/2)

In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.

No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.

But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.

 

 

Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Ely (1/2)

Seventeen-year-old Serendipity “Pity” Jones inherited two things from her mother: a pair of six shooters and perfect aim. She’s been offered a life of fame and fortune in Cessation, a glittering city where lawlessness is a way of life. But the price she pays for her freedom may be too great….

In this extraordinary debut from Lyndsay Ely, the West is once again wild after a Second Civil War fractures the U.S. into a broken, dangerous land. Pity’s struggle against the dark and twisted underbelly of a corrupt city will haunt you long after the final bullet is shot.

 

 

 

 

*The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert (1/30)

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother’s stories are set. Alice’s only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother’s tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

 

 

 

*Ink by Alice Broadway (1/2)

Every action, every deed, every significant moment is tattooed on your skin for ever. When Leora’s father dies, she is determined to see her father remembered forever. She knows he deserves to have all his tattoos removed and made into a Skin Book to stand as a record of his good life. But when she discovers that his ink has been edited and his book is incomplete, she wonders whether she ever knew him at all.

 

 

 

 

 

Keeper by Kim Chance (1/30)

When a 200-year-old witch attacks her, sixteen-year-old bookworm Lainey Styles is determined to find a logical explanation. Even with the impossible staring her in the face, Lainey refuses to believe it—until she finds a photograph linking the witch to her dead mother.

After consulting a psychic, Lainey discovers that she, like her mother, is a Keeper: a witch with the exclusive ability to unlock and wield the Grimoire, a dangerous but powerful spell book. But there’s a problem. The Grimoire has been stolen by a malevolent warlock who is desperate for a spell locked inside it—a spell that would allow him to siphon away the world’s magic.

With the help of her comic-book-loving best friend and an enigmatic but admittedly handsome street fighter, Lainey must leave her life of college prep and studying behind to prepare for the biggest test of all: stealing back the book.

 

 

The Last Girl on Earth by Alexandra Blogier (1/23)

Raised among them.>

Li has a father and a sister who love her. A best friend, Mirabae, to share things with. She goes to school and hangs out at the beach and carefully follows the rules. She has to. Everyone she knows–her family, her teachers, her friends–is an alien. And she is the only human left on Earth.

A secret that could end her life.

The Abdoloreans hijacked the planet sixteen years ago, destroying all human life. Li’s human-sympathizer father took her in as a baby and has trained her to pass as one of them. The Abdoloreans appear human. But they don’t think with human minds or feel with human hearts. And they have special abilities no human could ever have.

Fit in or die.

When Li meets Ryn, she’s swept up in a relationship that could have disastrous consequences. How far will Li go to stay alive? Will she save herself–and in turn, the human race–or will she be the final witness to humanity’s destruction?

 

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann (1/23)

Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting–working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she’s asexual). Alice is done with dating–no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done.

But then Alice meets Takumi and she can’t stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for (uncertainty, butterflies, and swoons, oh my!).

When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn, and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library employee badge (close enough), Alice has to decide if she’s willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated—or understood.

 

Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed (1/9)

American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home, and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.” And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and maybe (just maybe) pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school, a boy who’s finally falling into her orbit at school.

There’s also the real world, beyond Maya’s control. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs.

 

 

 

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke (1/9)

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.

 

S.T.A.G.S. by M. A. Bennett (1/30)

Seventeen-year-old Greer, a scholarship girl at a prestigious private school, St Aidan the Great School (known as STAGS), soon realizes that the school is full of snobs and spoilt rich brats, many of whom come from aristocratic families who have attended the institute throughout the centuries. She’s immediately ignored by her classmates. All the teachers are referred to as Friars (even the female ones), but the real driving force behind the school is a group of prefects known as the Medievals, whose leader, Henry de Warlencourt, Greer finds both strangely intriguing as well as attractive. The Medievals are all good-looking, clever and everyone wants to be among their circle of friends. Greer is therefore surprised when she receives an invitation from Henry to spend a long weekend with him and his friends at his family house in the Lake District, especially when she learns that two other “outsiders” have also been invited: Shafeen and Chanel. As the weekend unfolds, Greer comes to the chilling realization that she and two other “losers” were invited only because they were chosen to become prey in a mad game of manhunt.

 

 

You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon (1/2)

Eighteen-year-old twins Adina and Tovah have little in common besides their ambitious nature. Viola prodigy Adina yearns to become a soloist—and to convince her music teacher he wants her the way she wants him. Overachiever Tovah awaits her acceptance to Johns Hopkins, the first step on her path toward med school and a career as a surgeon.

But one thing could wreck their carefully planned futures: a genetic test for Huntington’s, a rare degenerative disease that slowly steals control of the body and mind. It’s turned their Israeli mother into a near stranger and fractured the sisters’ own bond in ways they’ll never admit. While Tovah finds comfort in their Jewish religion, Adina rebels against its rules.

When the results come in, one twin tests negative for Huntington’s. The other tests positive.

These opposite outcomes push them farther apart as they wrestle with guilt, betrayal, and the unexpected thrill of first love. How can they repair their relationship, and is it even worth saving?

YA Cover Makeovers: Fresh New Looks for 6 Titles In Paperback

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It seems like cover changes are roaring back. For a while, it could take a few months to pull together a list of YA books seeing redesigned covers in their paperback edition. But now, I’ve had no problem pulling together a huge list of titles seeing new looks.

As always, some of these covers are strong redesigns while others aren’t quite as strong as their original packaging. What seems to be most interesting in many of the redesigns collected here, though, is how much they’ve all sort of take on similar design elements with what seems to be an eye toward reaching adult readers more than teen readers.

Let’s take a peek. Love one of these? Dislike one of these? Seen other redesigns lately that are worth looking at? I’d love to hear about those things in the comments.

Original hardcover designs are on the left, and new paperback editions are on the right.

 

 

After The Fall by Kate Hart’s original cover reminded me of many other YA covers, including Stephanie Kuehn’s latest, When I Am Through With You. What made it stand out to me was the color choice: it’s really pleasing to the eye, but more than that, it really captures the mood of the story. It’s clear that this book has to do with something related to being outdoors (it does) and the reddened sky suggests something ominous happens (it does). The tag line for the original hardcover reads “The truth isn’t always what you expect.” I can’t say that adds a whole lot to either the title or the cover. It’s a true statement, but that offers little insight into the book itself. The font for the title is eye-catching and the way it’s spread over the entire cover is pretty appealing.

“Sometimes there’s no one to catch you” is the new tag line for the paperback edition and it’s much stronger and more insightful into what the book is actually about than the original. The paperback also suggests even more of an outdoors feel to the book, and it, too, still gives that subtle hint of something ominous lurking in the background with the color palette. It’s interesting that the font for the title goes in the complete opposite direction for this one: it’s really narrow and centered on the cover. I might be alone in this, but I think flipping “Fall” to be upside down is a bit cheesy, given the sort of feel the rest of the cover has — almost like the cover can’t be too series, even though the book itself is serious. This one screams “set in Arkansas” for me more than the original. This cover feels a little more angled toward adult readers than the original, if for no reason than it has a much more polished feel to it (save for that cheesy flipped word factor).

Both covers do the job, though I think the paperback is a little more unique and catered to the book itself. The tag line is definitely stronger. After the Fall hits shelves in paperback on January 23.

 

 

Marie Marquardt’s Dream Things True in hardcover is really bright and refreshing. Like many other YA books in the last few years, this one is driven by the title font, and in this case, it works well. The letters are bold and bright, and the font itself is unique and yet easy to read — sometimes fonts this big and bold can be tough on the eyes. The decision to make the “E” and the “A” in Dream different colors does draw attention to them, but it’s a little odd since there’s no understandable reason for the choice. The rest of the letters don’t have an ombre effect to them to the same depth, so those seem to stand out unnecessarily.

The couple in the bottom left-hand corner of this cover is interesting: he’s a little cold toward her reception. She looks like she’s quite engaged with him. As individuals, they’re a little challenging to see on screen, but in person, it’s very obvious he’s white and but her skin color is a little less obvious. She is either very tan or light brown.

I point the couple out specifically because in the paperback redesign, the couple is very easy to read on screen. She’s definitely brown and he’s definitely white. And more, they’re both walking away from one another, with nothing but their hands lingering together, as if they know the decision they’ve made as a couple is the right one for them. Although I’m generally not a fan of illustrated covers (more on that down below), in this particular case, with the right color combination, it works. The font choice for this edition is much less bold in terms of style, but the red on yellow makes it really pop. The script style of the font is easy enough to read, too, even with the sunbeams radiating through it. The use of a strip of blue stars on the left-hand side of the cover is clever, particularly when you consider how the couple is staged between the day and the night of the cover. This cover is much more mature than the hardcover and likely will appeal to more adult readers than the original.

But more than that, the fact you know immediately that this is a book about an interracial couple is what makes the paperback really stand out. Dream Things True is out in paperback on February 20.

 

 

An example of a book cover which really tells you nothing is The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles in hardcover. It is literally a script-like font, with white text on a white background, and it’s quite hard to read: there’s a line under the “ed” of edge which tries to mirror the dash needed in the breaking up of the word everything and that ends up being really confusing to the eye. If we’re thinking about how covers look on screen — which is likely a huge factor in why we’re seeing more covers which focus on font-driven cover design — this one doesn’t really work. It tries to do too much.

The flames around the title are equally confusing. They look really fake, making me question whether they really are flames or not. More, I cannot figure out what is going on about the “h” in thing — is that a person? Why are they trying to look over the “e” in every? Is it to see the person who is hanging out over the “h” in the? And what about the little person below the “h” in thing? The longer I look at this, the more confused I get. If the focus is the edge of everything, shouldn’t the little people be standing on one of those letters looking down off the edge?

Bonus points for a James Dashner quote.

Although the paperback edition of the book doesn’t really tell you much about what it’s about, it’s definitely stronger and more pleasing to the eye. The title font is easy to read, and it chooses to be clever by being in all lowercase letters; that’s a decision that works for the eye. There’s a little bit of a magical quality to the color choices and billowy smoke behind the title, which fits with the fantasy genre of the book. That isn’t a bad thing and rather, encourages some intrigue into what the book might be about. The Dashner quote is gone, replaced by two book reviews which tell you nothing about the book (three words with tons of ellipses and a tiny little phrase don’t really offer insight except that some critics read the book) and there’s now a tag line: “For the perfect love, what would you be willing to lost?” It’s not perfect but it gives some context to the cover design in a way that the little people around the big font on the hardcover simply don’t.

Paperback all the way for this one. You can pick up The Edge of Everything in paperback June 5.

 

 

Each of Emery Lord’s YA books have been seeing new looks in paperback, and Open Road Summer is no different. The hardcover for this one isn’t especially noteworthy except for the fact it looks like every other romantic YA book which came out around the same time: a glowy, dreamy sun flare around a couple. This one is set in an open field, perhaps to really hammer home the summer setting. The font for the title takes up a little more than half the real estate and relies on some strange sizing to make work: Open and Road are uneven, with the “O” of open not being left-aligned like the “R” in road. Perhaps an issue of kearning and tracking? Summer isn’t the same size and it definitely looks like it was squished to fit. The longer I look at how the letters don’t line up on the left edge of the cover, the more my eyes are bothered.

The hardcover also has a small blurb from Elizabeth Eulberg in the top left-hand corner, which fills some of the empty space from the field behind.

There is a lot to like about the paperback redesign, even though it, too, is another illustrated cover. The title, set in the middle of the cover, is really eye-catching, and the decision to use two fonts is not just clever, but it allows for all three words to take up the same amount of space, rather than forcing a fit that doesn’t quite work. The color scheme here mirrors some of what goes on in the hardcover edition, though it’s brighter and less stuck in a particular time, place, and era (which is the problem with models on covers — they can be dated quickly by style). Unlike many other covers that have taken the illustrated route, this particular cover seems to track younger, rather than toward an adult readership.

Buried way down at the bottom of the redesign, there’s a tag line: “Your heart will lead you home…” Yes, those scare ellipses are included.

Although there’s nothing bad about the hardcover, the paperback for this one feels a little stronger, a little fresher, and a little more timeless. It also “matches” the other redesigns of Lord’s books. Open Road Summer will have its new paperback design available on March 6.

 

 

 

The Truth of Right Now by Kara Lee Corthron was one of the most underrated YA reads of 2017. In a year where books like The Hate U Give exploded on the scene, this one should have, too, but it didn’t. And try as I encouraged people to read it, so few did; those who did read it ended up being really glad they did.

Which, when I look at the original hardcover, I wonder if it didn’t click for readers on the shelf as something they’d want to pick up.

The hardcover features two people — a girl and a guy — on a subway. It’s entirely sketch, with very little color. That sketchiness is, I think, the power of that particular cover. The font for the title and the author’s name (which does a weird thing in being uneven in size) look like they’ve been designed in crayon, which only makes the sketchy nature of the cover stronger. This hardcover really pops for me because it’s so different, and it really reflects the story itself. But, I can also see where the feeling of being unfinished and raw is exactly what turned readers off from picking this up.

But the paperback!

This is a gorgeous image of New York City, which is where the novel is set. The image is so eye-appealing, and it manages to tell a whole lot of story with very little. The centering of the image across a walkway and stacking of the font above it creates all kinds of pretty lines without trying too hard to do just that. It feels like a spring day, but what really makes it work is the fact that it’s not necessarily sunny: there’s a bit of a foggy sheen to the sky, making everything pop against that. I don’t actually think that this cover tells you much about the book, especially not when it’s compared to the hardcover, but it’s so damn pretty that it’ll make readers at least look at the jacket copy.

No blurbs or tag lines on either cover. In a lot of ways, that in itself is unique.

The Truth of Right Now hit shelves in paperback on January 2, so you can pick it up now.

 

 

 

 

When The Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore was a National Book Award finalist and the original hardcover design of this is utterly dreamy. The font for the title uses a nice combination of script-like letters with more standard fonts, giving it something special without sacrificing the readability. The gold against the black is easy to read, and the slight incorporation of flowers with the two main characters is clever and evokes a fantastical feel. More, what really makes this cover unique is that it feels like it’s a stage. We’re seeing the whole set along with the performers — there are the moons handing, the stage is the water tower, and the lights have been dimmed to make their stories shine. Written in tiny letters below the word Ours is a blurb from Laura Ruby.

This cover appeals to so many readers and more, tells those readers exactly the sort of feel to expect from it. It’s magical and dreamy.

Enter the paperback.

I mentioned earlier that I mostly dislike illustrated covers, and this is a perfect example of why. The magic is gone. This cover is super generic, with a color palette that does nothing especially interesting except blend it into the other generic illustrated covers. The giant moon in the middle of the cover looks more like a sun drowning in an ocean, and more, the fact that the moon is taking over the bottom of the letters in the is really harsh on the eyes. The choice to not capitalize the “t” in the is also jarring — the font for the title is already so insubstantial that the word follows the moon-sun in drowning in a sea of blue. The script for the Booklist review is nearly impossible to read on screen. The choice blurb there tells you nothing, either: “Lovely, necessary, and true” doesn’t give any insight into the book, which is a real shame with a cover that also offers nothing.

Everything that made the hardcover a special cover is gone with this one. There’s no magic. No hint of what the book’s about. No invitation to the reader to pick it up and enjoy. It’s generic. It’s boring. And it offers no hint of who the audience it’ll reach.

When The Moon Was Ours hits shelves in paperback February 13. But maybe skip it and seek out the hardcover instead.

Let’s Donate THE HATE U GIVE to Katy, Texas Readers & Defy The Book’s Censorship

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If you haven’t heard or kept tabs on the story, Katy, Texas ISD pulled all copies of Angie Thomas’s best selling YA novel The Hate U Give from shelves. This came after a single complaint from a middle age white man who was appalled by reading the first 10 pages of the book and deemed it inappropriate for the students of the school. Rather than follow the process for book removal as outlined by school policy, the book was unilaterally removed from all school library shelves. More details about the pulling of the book can be found here.

This all happened in early December, and when the holidays rolled around, the rage and anger about the school’s decision seemed to have died down across social media. It took a lot of effort to find further news about the status of the book as of now, but thanks to a number of librarians, I’ve confirmed the book is still not on shelves.

Which means it’s time we do something. 

 

After a lot of debating the best way to go about this, library friend and colleague Sylvie Juliet Shaffer gave me a brilliant idea. Rather than seeking out a single place for distributing the books, why not take advantage of the Little Free Libraries throughout Katy?

An idea was born.

Here’s What We Are Doing

Starting today, you can purchase a copy of Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give from one of numerous wish lists on Amazon (linked below). Those wish lists are linked to individuals in the Katy area who are going to drop copies of the books into local Little Free Libraries, guerrilla style. This will allow readers to find them all over town and not only can they find them, they get to keep copies of the book. The idea is they’ll spread the word — along with our help, of course — and more copies of the book will land in the hands of more readers there.

Maybe the school can keep the book off their shelves. But they can’t keep the book from the hands of readers who are hungry for it and for whom it will be a life-changing, empowering book.

Ground Team

Thanks to the help of Katy Cronk, Kristin McWilliams, Jasmine Lee, Jaison Oliver, Breonna Brownlee, and many others, books will be distributed. Books from the wish lists below will be sent to those individuals, who will then deposit them in Katy’s local Little Free Libraries. Each wish list is for 50 titles as a way to see what sorts of numbers we’re sending down, and more copies will be sought as we continue.

All books must be sent via Amazon. This is done for the purposes of keeping addresses anonymous and not making someone work as a middle person to collect all of the books for redistribution. It keeps time and effort down for everyone who is volunteering to help make this possible.

You can send as many copies as you’d like to from any of the lists.

How You Can Help

Buy a copy or two or ten of the book from the lists below. Can’t afford to? SHARE these lists with anyone you wish to. Share this post, too, so the entire back story is also known.

The more word is spread, the more the local readers will know and have access to the book. The more the kids will know. This works and has worked in previous, similar situations. So even if you can’t lay out cash to buy the book to help, your voice and your share really does make a difference.

The Lists

These will be updated as more folks volunteer to help out. Again, there are multiple lists because each one will direct to a different volunteer.

Why This Matters

We’re getting books to kids. For free. We’re reminding them we see and hear them. That their lives and stories matter. And, in the case of this particular book, we’re reminding black teenagers that their lives matter and that their stories and voices are vital, appreciated, and honored.

Thanks to everyone who helped get this set up and thanks to you for reading and helping out in whatever way you can. You can stay on top of this situation and engage in other ways to support the book by checking out this piece at ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom. The Katy ISD school board will be meeting on January 15 to discuss this issue further, and you can learn more about what’s going on by following librarian Courtney Kincaid on Twitter, who is involved with the Texas Library Association, the Office of Intellection Freedom with ALA, and has been sharing news about the book’s removal from Katy ISD shelves as it develops.

 

On The Radar: January 2018 YA New Releases To Know

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“On The Radar” is a monthly series meant to highlight between 9 and 12 books per month to fit a budget of roughly $300 or less. These lists are curated from a larger spreadsheet I keep with a running list of titles hitting shelves and are meant to reflect not only the big books coming out from authors readers know and love, but it’s also meant to showcase some of the titles that have hit my radar through review copies, publicity blasts, or because they’re titles that might otherwise not be readily seen or picked up through those traditional avenues. It’s part science and part art.

This month’s selection showcases a variety of continuing series, new titles by long-time favorites, and a handful of YA books which have seen some good buzz. There are also not one, but two, superhero novelizations.

Book descriptions come from Goodreads and reasons for them being on your radar are mine and mine alone. Titles are alphabetical, with pub dates beside them. Titles with a * in front of them are books that are starting or a continuation of a series.

 

Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu (1/2)

Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy.

The Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City, and Bruce Wayne is next on their list.

One by one, the city’s elites are being executed as their mansions’ security systems turn against them, trapping them like prey. Meanwhile, Bruce is turning eighteen and about to inherit his family’s fortune, not to mention the keys to Wayne Enterprises and all the tech gadgetry his heart could ever desire. But after a run-in with the police, he’s forced to do community service at Arkham Asylum, the infamous prison that holds the city’s most brutal criminals.

Madeleine Wallace is a brilliant killer . . . and Bruce’s only hope.

In Arkham, Bruce meets Madeleine, a brilliant girl with ties to the Nightwalkers. What is she hiding? And why will she speak only to Bruce? Madeleine is the mystery Bruce must unravel. But is he getting her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees? Bruce will walk the dark line between trust and betrayal as the Nightwalkers circle closer.

 

Why it should be on your radar: Marie Lu, powerhouse YA author, writes a Batman novel. That’s enough reason.

 

 

*The Cruel Prince by Holly Black (1/2)

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

 

Why it should be on your radar: This is the first in a new series by Holly Black, who has been a YA staple for a long time. This book has seen a ton of great reader reviews so far, and I suspect this is going to be a popular faerie world YA series.

 

 

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert (1/30)

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: Her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother’s stories are set. Alice’s only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother’s tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

 

Why it should be on your radar: If you haven’t seen publicity for this debut, stand alone fairy tale yet, you will. This is Flatiron Books’s huge title, and for good reason — it’s a book that so many readers will devour. Let me say this again: stand alone fairy tale. Not to mention the cover is gorgeous, the author is fairly well known for her work at the Barnes & Noble teen blog, and the writing is magical.

 

 

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi (1/23)

In a country ripped apart by war, Tareq lives with his big and loving family . . . until the bombs strike. His city is in ruins. His life is destroyed. And those who have survived are left to figure out their uncertain future.

In the wake of destruction, he’s threatened by Daesh fighters and witnesses a public beheading. Tareq’s
family knows that to continue to stay alive, they must leave. As they travel as refugees from Syria to Turkey to Greece, facing danger at every turn, Tareq must find the resilience and courage to complete his harrowing journey.

But while this is one family’s story, it is also the timeless tale of all wars, of all tragedy, and of all strife. When you are a refugee, success is outliving your loss.

Destiny narrates this heartbreaking story of the consequences of war, showing the Syrian conflict as part of a long chain of struggles spanning through time.

An award-winning author and journalist–and a refugee herself–Atia Abawi captures the hope that spurs people forward against all odds and the love that makes that hope grow.

 

Why it should be on your radar: I know very little about this book beyond the fact it sounds like one we need to see on shelves. It’s timely and written by a refugee who likely has some insights into the story that the average writer may not.

 

Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed (1/16)

American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home, and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.” And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and maybe (just maybe) pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school, a boy who’s finally falling into her orbit at school.

There’s also the real world, beyond Maya’s control. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs.

 

Why it should be on your radar: Beyond being an #ownvoices story about a Muslim girl and being one of Soho Teen’s big titles of the fall, I read this debut many years ago in an earlier draft and knew it had something special. This one has had a lot of positive reviews, as well.

 

Meet Cute (1/2)

Whether or not you believe in fate, or luck, or love at first sight, every romance has to start somewhere. MEET CUTE is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of “how they first met” from some of today’s most popular YA authors.

Readers will experience Nina LaCour’s beautifully written piece about two Bay Area girls meeting via a cranky customer service Tweet, Sara Shepard’s glossy tale about a magazine intern and a young rock star, Nicola Yoon’s imaginative take on break-ups and make-ups, Katie Cotugno’s story of two teens hiding out from the police at a house party, and Huntley Fitzpatrick’s charming love story that begins over iced teas at a diner. There’s futuristic flirting from Kass Morgan and Katharine McGee, a riveting transgender heroine from Meredith Russo, a subway missed connection moment from Jocelyn Davies, and a girl determined to get out of her small town from Ibi Zoboi. Jennifer Armentrout writes a sweet story about finding love from a missing library book, Emery Lord has a heartwarming and funny tale of two girls stuck in an airport, Dhonielle Clayton takes a thoughtful, speculate approach to pre-destined love, and Julie Murphy dreams up a fun twist on reality dating show contestants.

This incredibly talented group of authors brings us a collection of stories that are at turns romantic and witty, epic and everyday, heartbreaking and real.

 

Why it should be on your radar: There’s not a single editor attached to this anthology, but this collection out from HMH Teen should appeal to readers who love romance. It’s a variety of great voices, with a super appealing cover, and it’s been getting a lot of buzz.

 

Runaways: An Original Novel by Christopher Golden (1/2)

“The Pride, back in L.A.? Their parents, alive? Karolina had never realized hope and fear could feel so much alike.”

Written by New York Times best-selling author Christopher Golden, Runaways: An Original Novel is a fresh take on the Marvel fan favorite. Including the first issue of the revived Runaways comic series written by Rainbow Rowell and with art by Kris Anka, it’s easy for fans of the comics, fans of the new Hulu TV show, and first-time readers to all enjoy this new take on an old classic.

Turns out murderous Super Villains don’t make for good parents. The Runaways had no choice. They had to kill them. Well, more or less. Now Nico, Karolina, Gert, Chase, and Molly are on the run again, hiding out and trying to regain a sense of normalcy. But kids with super powers don’t get to be normal.

The city is overrun with criminals, each faction bent on murdering them for one reason or another. It’s only when the Runaways uncover the truth behind their parents’ past that they realize the evil isn’t just in L.A.

It’s everywhere.

 

Why it should be on your radar: Runaways will be big in 2018, and this novelization of the teen comics will kick it all off.

 

 

Say You’ll Remember Me by Katie McGarry (1/30)

When Drix was convicted of a crime–one he didn’t commit–he thought his life was over. But opportunity came with the new Second Chance Program, the governor’s newest pet project to get delinquents off the streets, rehabilitated and back into society. Drix knows this is his chance to get his life back on track, even if it means being paraded in front of reporters for a while.

Elle knows she lives a life of privilege. As the governor’s daughter, she can open doors with her name alone. But the expectations and pressure to be someone she isn’t may be too much to handle. She wants to follow her own path, whatever that means.

When Drix and Elle meet, their connection is immediate, but so are their problems. Drix is not the type of boy Elle’s parents have in mind for her, and Elle is not the kind of girl who can understand Drix’s messy life.

But sometimes love can breach all barriers.

Fighting against a society that can’t imagine them together, Drix and Elle must push themselves–Drix to confront the truth of the robbery, and Elle to assert her independence–and each other to finally get what they deserve.

 

Why it should be on your radar: A new romance from Katie McGarry is a no-brainer when it comes to developing a good collection. She’s popular, especially among readers who like strongly-written romances.

 

 

*Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman (1/9)

Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the second novel of the chilling New York Times bestselling series from Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology.

Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.

Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?

 

Why it should be on your radar: The second book in Shusterman’s award-winning “Scythe” series.

 

 

*Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson (1/16)

Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.”

Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.

True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.

The two interwoven mysteries of this first book in the Truly Devious series dovetail brilliantly, and Stevie Bell will continue her relentless quest for the murderers in books two and three.

 

Why it should be on your radar: This book kicks off a brand new series by Maureen Johnson and while it’s not the same as her last series (which played around with the tale of Jack the Ripper), this one has a number of similar hallmarks and should appeal to mystery readers.

 

 

*Unearthed by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner (1/9)

When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying’s advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.

For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study… as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don’t loot everything first. Mia and Jules’ different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.

In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race’s secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race.

 

Why it should be on your radar: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner have written a successful series together before, and Kaufman’s series with Jay Kristoff (“Illuminae”) continues to be popular. This new science fiction series — complete with aliens — should appeal to readers who liked either or both series.

 

 

 

*Zenith by Sasha Alsberg, Lindsay Cummings (1/16)

Most know Androma Racella as the Bloody Baroness, a powerful mercenary whose reign of terror stretches across the Mirabel Galaxy. To those aboard her glass starship, Marauder, however, she’s just Andi, their friend and fearless leader.

But when a routine mission goes awry, the Marauder‘s all-girl crew is tested as they find themselves in a treacherous situation and at the mercy of a sadistic bounty hunter from Andi’s past.

Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a ruthless ruler waits in the shadows of the planet Xen Ptera, biding her time to exact revenge for the destruction of her people. The pieces of her deadly plan are about to fall into place, unleashing a plot that will tear Mirabel in two.

Andi and her crew embark on a dangerous, soul-testing journey that could restore order to their shipor just as easily start a war that will devour worlds. As the Marauder hurtles toward the unknown, and Mirabel hangs in the balance, the only certainty is that in a galaxy run on lies and illusion, no one can be trusted.

 

Why it should be on your radar: So this first book in a new series doesn’t have particularly great reviews, but it’s one readers might know about, as it was self-published and became a best seller prior to being picked up and traditionally published. This would be the last book on the list for “must haves,” but I include it because it’s possible teen readers will know and be looking for it.