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February Debut YA Novels

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Written by: Kelly on February 19, 2015.

For what’s usually a fairly quiet month in publishing, February is heavy on debut YA titles this year. Like always, this round up includes debut novels with “debut” 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. Where we’ve reviewed books, I’ve included links.

All descriptions are from WorldCat, unless otherwise noted. If I’m missing any debuts out in February from traditional publishers, let me know in the comments!  

One of the Guys by Lisa Aldin: Tomboy to the core, Toni Valentine understands guys. She’ll take horror movies, monster hunts and burping contests over manicures. So Toni is horrified when she’s sent to the Winston Academy for Girls, where she has to wear a skirt and learn to be a “lady” while the guys move on without her. Then Toni meets Emma Elizabeth, a girl at school with boy troubles, and she volunteers one of her friends as a pretend date. Word spreads of Toni’s connections with boys, and she discovers that her new wealthy female classmates will pay big money for fake dates. Looking for a way to connect her old best friends with her new life at school, Toni and Emma start up Toni Valentine’s Rent-A-Gent Service. But the business meets a scandal when Toni falls for one of her friends–the same guy who happens to be the most sought-after date. With everything she’s built on the line, Toni has to decide if she wants to save the business and her old life, or let go of being one of the guys for a chance at love.

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga: Seventeen-year-old Aysel’s hobby–planning her own death–take a new path when she meets a boy who has similar plan of his own.

When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez: Elizabeth Davis and Emily Delgado seem to have little in common except Ms. Diaz’s English class and the solace they find in the words of Emily Dickinson, but both are struggling to cope with monumental secrets and tumultuous emotions that will lead one to attempt suicide.

The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes: Sophomore Hallie Calhoun, her former friend Jonah, and new friend Rachel leave a church youth group hike in the Great Smoky Mountains and become lost for five days, struggling to survive as Hallie finally speaks about the incident that made her a social pariah and Jonah admits why it hurt him so much.

Vendetta by Catherine Doyle: When five brothers move into the abandoned mansion next door, Sophie Gracewell’s life changes forever. Irresistibly drawn to bad boy Nic Falcone, Sophie finds herself falling into an underworld governed by powerful families. When Sophie’s own family skeletons come to life, she must choose between two warring dynasties–the one she was born into, and the one she is falling in love with.

Scripted by Maya Rock: Nettie Starling has spent all her life on the set of a reality show, but as her friends mysteriously get cut, she learns that her seemingly-perfect world hides some dangerous secrets. 

Dove Arising by Karen Bao: On a lunar colony, fifteen-year-old Phaet Theta does the unthinkable and joins the Militia when her mother is imprisoned by the Moon’s oppressive government.

Shutter by Courtney Alameda: Seventeen-year-old Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat, able to see ghosts in color and capture them on film, but when a routine hunt goes awry, Micheline’s infected with a curse known as a soulchain and if she’s unable to exorcise the entity in seven days, she’ll be destroyed, body and soul.

When My Heart Was Wicked by Tricia Stirling: After her father dies, leaving sixteen-year-old Lacy with her much-loved stepmother, Lacy’s birth mother suddenly shows up wanting Lacy back–and she will stop at nothing, not even dark magic, to control her daughter and draw her into her own twisted life.

No Parking At The End Times by Bryan Bliss: Abigail’s parents, believing the end of the world is near, sell their house, give the money to an end-of-times preacher, and drive from North Carolina to San Francisco where they remain homeless and destitute, as Abigail fights to keep her parents, her twin brother, and herself united against all odds.

The Sin-Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury: For four years sixteen-year-old Twylla has lived in the castle of Lormere, the goddess-embodied, whose touch can poison and kill, and hence the Queen’s executioner–but when Prince Merek, her betrothed, who is immune to her touch returns to the kingdom she finds herself caught up in palace intrigues, unsure if she can trust him or the bodyguard who claims to love her.

A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas: One hundred years after falling asleep, Aurora wakes to the kiss of a handsome prince and a kingdom that has dreamed of her return, but her happily-ever-after seems unlikely as she faces grief over the loss of everything she knew and a cruel new king.

The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark: Neighbors and figure skating partners since preschool, Gabe and Maddy tell, in their separate voices, of changes on and off the ice when they are assigned a new, romantic program, raising Maddy’s hopes of her love being returned and Gabe’s fears that romance will break up their partnership.

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February Debut YA Novels

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Written by: Kelly on February 24, 2014.

February may be the shortest month of the year, but there is a nice selection of debut YA novels coming out this month. I find pulling these lists together each month is helpful for me not only as a reader, but also for me as a librarian to get some new voices and titles on my radar. You can see January’s debuts here, with a nice series of additional titles to the list in the comments. 

All of the books in this roundup are debuts in the truest sense of the word — these are the first books published by the author in any category. Descriptions come from WorldCat unless otherwise noted, and please feel free to let me know if I’ve missed any for this month in the comments. 

Alienated by Melissa Landers: High school senior Cara Sweeney gets more than she bargained for when she agrees to participate in earth’s first intergalactic high school exchange program. 

Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens: Alexi Littrell hasn’t told anyone what happened to her over the summer. When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in “the Kool-Aid Kid,” who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth. Reviewed here. 

Fates by Lanie Bross: Corinthe, a former Fate and now Executor, responsible for carrying out unfulfilled destinies on Earth, finds herself falling for Lucas, a human boy whose death she is supposed to enact as her last act before returning to Pyralis.

Landry Park by Bethany Hagen: In a futuristic, fractured United States where the oppressed Rootless handle the raw nuclear material that powers the Gentry’s lavish lifestyle, seventeen-year-old Madeline Landry must choose between taking over her father’s vast estate or rebelling against everything she has ever known, in the name of justice.

Road Rash by Mark Huntley Parsons: When teen drummer, Zach, signed up to spend the summer on tour with a rock band, he didn’t realize the stairway to heaven was such a bumpy ride. 

Something Real by Heather Demetrios: Since the cancellation of her family’s reality television show, seventeen-year-old Bonnie Baker, one of twelve siblings, has tried to live a normal life with real friends and a possible boyfriend, until her mother and the show’s producers decide to bring “Baker’s Dozen” back on the air. Other reality television inspired YA novels. 

The Well’s End by Seth Fishman: 16-year-old Mia Kish and her friends search for answers when a mysterious illness brings their Colorado community to its knees. 

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February Debut YA Novels

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Written by: Kelly on February 16, 2013.

Keeping track of this year’s debut YA novels? Here’s a look at what’s out this month. Like last month, we’ll come back and link up our reviews as we have them this year. If we’re missing any traditionally published debut YA novels, feel free to leave a note in the comments. 

All descriptions come from WorldCat. 

Crash and Burn by Michael Hassan: Steven “Crash” Crashinsky relates his sordid ten-year relationship with David “Burn” Burnett, the boy he stopped from taking their high school hostage at gunpoint. Reviewed here.

Blaze, or Love in the Time of Supervillans by Laurie Boyle Crompton: Treated badly by Mark, on whom she had a crush, seventeen-year-old Blaze posts a comic strip featuring him as a supervillain and Mark retaliates by spreading a “sext” of Blaze, but her little brother and his friends heroically come to her aid. 

Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black: Fifteen-year-old Vanessa follows her sister Margaret to an elite Manhattan ballet school, not only gaining admission but also earning the lead in a production of the Firebird, while trying to uncover why and how Margaret and other lead dancers have disappeared. (It’s possible this is not a debut because it’s a product of a packager, but I’m going to let it slide).

Dancing in the Dark by Robyn Bavati: Ditty was born to dance, but she was also born Jewish. When her strictly religious parents won’t let her take ballet lessons, Ditty starts to dance in secret. But for how long can she keep her two worlds apart? And at what cost? A dramatic and moving story about a girl who follows her dream, and finds herself questioning everything she believes in. 

City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster: Nisha lives in the City of a Thousand Dolls, a remote estate where orphan girls in the Empire become apprentices as musicians, healers, and courtesans, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. When girls begin to die, Nisha begins to uncover the secrets that surround the deathers–jeopardizing not only her own future within the City but her own life.

Dualed by Elsie Chapman: West Grayer lives in a world where every person has a twin, or Alt. Only one can survive to adulthood, and West has just received her notice to kill her Alt. 

The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding: When her father dies suddenly, Devan is shipped off to Los Angeles to live with her estranged mother, Reece Malcolm, a bestselling novelist with little time for a daughter, and Devan navigates her way through her new performing arts school. Reviewed here. 

The Ruining by Anna Collomore: Still feeling guilty over the death of her little sister leaves eighteen-year-old Annie vulnerable when she takes a nanny job in beautiful Marin County, California, and meets her very controlling employer.

Pivot Point by Kasie West: A girl with the power to search alternate futures lives out six weeks of two different lives in alternating chapters. Both futures hold the potential for love and loss, and ultimately she is forced to choose which fate she is willing to live thorugh. 

The Whole Stupid Way We Are by N. Griffin: During a cold winter in Maine, fifteen-year-old Dinah sets off a heart-wrenching chain of events when she tries to help best friend and fellow misfit Skint deal with problems at home, including a father who is suffering from early onset dementia. Reviewed here.

Me, Him, Them, and It by Caela Carter: Playing the “bad girl” at school to get back at her feuding parents, sixteen-year-old Evelyn becomes pregnant and faces a difficult decision.

Pantomime by Laura Lam: R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide. Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star. But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.