2012 Debut Authors (Young Adult & Middle Grade)
Please Note: If you are participating in the challenge there is a Goodreads Group I recommend you join! Since anyone can add books to this list, there are often ones that DO NOT COUNT toward the challenge. The Group had a shelf that the public cannot add to, and it is more reliable.

This is a reference for those wanting to read debut authors. It is also a reference list for those participating in the Debut Author Challenge hosted by The Story Siren.

For official rules and participation guidelines stop by thestorysiren.com

Please do not add titles to this list that are not debut titles. A debut means that it is the authors first YA or MG title. AGAIN: DO NOT ADD TITLES THAT ARE NOT 2012 DEBUTS!

And as to keep the confusion to a low, this list will be for US & Canadian debuts only.
1 Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1)
by
4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 45,027 ratings
2 Under the Never Sky (Under ...
by
4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 25,997 ratings
3 The Selection (The Selectio...
by
4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 37,445 ratings
4 Everneath (Everneath, #1)
by
3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 15,336 ratings
5 Incarnate (Newsoul, #1)
by
3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 8,147 ratings
6 Elemental (Auri, #1)
by
3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 236 ratings
7 Tempest (Tempest, #1)
by
3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 5,580 ratings
8 Throne of Glass (Throne of ...
by
4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 14,906 ratings
9 Sweet Evil (The Sweet Trilo...
by
4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 13,261 ratings
10 Born Wicked (The Cahill Wit...
by
3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 5,192 ratings
11 Fracture (Fracture, #1)
by
3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 5,290 ratings
12 Of Poseidon (Of Poseidon, #1)
by
4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 8,413 ratings
13 Article 5 (Article 5, #1)
by
3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 8,510 ratings
14 Starters (Starters and Ende...
by
3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 10,331 ratings
15 Shadow and Bone (The Grisha...
by
4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 16,137 ratings
16 Scarlet (Scarlet #1)
by
4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 5,270 ratings
17 The Alchemy of Forever (Inc...
by
3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 2,161 ratings
18 Above
by
3.05 of 5 stars 3.05 avg rating — 1,400 ratings
19 Unraveling (Unraveling, #1)
by
3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 6,224 ratings
20 Slide (Slide, #1)
by
3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 avg rating — 2,906 ratings
21 Struck (Struck, #1)
by
3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 avg rating — 3,245 ratings
22 The Catastrophic History of...
by
3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 3,641 ratings
23 Something Strange and Deadl...
by
3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 2,883 ratings
24 Grave Mercy (His Fair Assas...
by
3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 17,556 ratings
25 Partials (Partials, #1)
by
3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 11,847 ratings
26 Velveteen
by
3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 avg rating — 928 ratings
27 Defiance (Defiance, #1)
by
3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 7,031 ratings
28 Hemlock (Hemlock, #1)
by
4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 3,451 ratings
29 Embrace (The Violet Eden Ch...
by
4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 7,399 ratings
30 Glitch (Glitch, #1)
by
3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 2,637 ratings
31 Storm (Elemental, #1)
by
4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 6,295 ratings
32 Seraphina (Seraphina, #1)
by
4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 11,511 ratings
33 The Gathering Storm (Kateri...
by
3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 avg rating — 1,695 ratings
34 What's Left of Me (The Hybr...
by
3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 3,976 ratings
35 The Treachery of Beautiful ...
by
3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 1,940 ratings
36 Harbinger
by
3.25 of 5 stars 3.25 avg rating — 968 ratings
37 The Glimpse (The Glimpse, #1)
by
3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 avg rating — 882 ratings
38 Pushing the Limits (Pushing...
by
4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 26,631 ratings
39 Fractured Light (Fractured ...
by
3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 345 ratings
40 Someone Else's Life
by
3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 2,031 ratings
41 My Heart Be Damned (Damned,...
by
3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 200 ratings
42 When the Sea is Rising Red
by
3.48 of 5 stars 3.48 avg rating — 889 ratings
43 Crewel (Crewel World, #1)
by
3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 3,880 ratings
44 Where It Began
by
3.45 of 5 stars 3.45 avg rating — 1,456 ratings
45 The Other Life (The Other L...
by
3.63 of 5 stars 3.63 avg rating — 1,183 ratings
46 Lies Beneath (Lies Beneath,...
by
3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 avg rating — 2,109 ratings
47 Undeadly (The Reaper Diarie...
by
3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 avg rating — 1,255 ratings
48 Destiny's Fire
by
3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 855 ratings
49 Gravity (The Taking, #1)
by
3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 2,673 ratings
50 Ditched: A Love Story
by
3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 avg rating — 1,651 ratings
51 Never Eighteen
by
3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 890 ratings
52 My Super Sweet Sixteenth Ce...
by
3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 703 ratings
53 My Life Next Door
by
4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 15,592 ratings
54 Conjure (The Hoodoo Apprent...
by
3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 134 ratings
55 A Breath of Eyre (Unbound, #1)
by
3.48 of 5 stars 3.48 avg rating — 868 ratings
56 Something Like Normal
by
3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 6,762 ratings
57 Shooting Stars
by
3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 avg rating — 1,792 ratings
58 Croak (Croak, #1)
by
4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 2,371 ratings
59 The Broken Destiny (Broken,...
by
4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 88 ratings
60 Pretty Crooked (Pretty Croo...
by
3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 avg rating — 994 ratings
61 The Vicious Deep (The Vicio...
by
3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 1,037 ratings
62 Katana (Katana, #1)
by
3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 526 ratings
63 If I Lie
by
4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 2,893 ratings
64 Halflings (Halflings, #1)
by
3.63 of 5 stars 3.63 avg rating — 1,176 ratings
65 Forbidden
by
3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 3,884 ratings
66 Innocent Darkness (The Aeth...
by
3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 avg rating — 525 ratings
67 Auracle
by
3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 922 ratings
68 Immortal City (Immortal Cit...
by
4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 3,863 ratings
69 The Sphinx Project (The Chi...
by
3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 176 ratings
70 The Last Princess (Last Pri...
by
3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 avg rating — 2,006 ratings
71 Pretty Amy (Pretty Amy, #1)
by
3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 avg rating — 474 ratings
72 Valkyrie Rising (Valkyrie, #1)
by
3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 2,458 ratings
73 Stormdancer (The Lotus War,...
by
3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 2,309 ratings
74 Level 2 (The Memory Chronic...
by
3.35 of 5 stars 3.35 avg rating — 1,011 ratings
75 Gilt (The Royal Circle, #1)
by
3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 1,190 ratings
76 Tangled Tides (The Sea Mons...
by
4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 884 ratings
77 Skylark (Skylark, #1)
by
3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 1,218 ratings
78 Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe
by
3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 1,160 ratings
79 Greta and the Goblin King (...
by
3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 avg rating — 679 ratings
80 Reunited
by
3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 665 ratings
81 Inbetween (Kissed by Death,...
by
3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 929 ratings
82 A Witch in Winter (Winter T...
by
3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 839 ratings
83 Illuminate (Gilded Wings, #1)
by
3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 avg rating — 2,752 ratings
84 Breaking Beautiful
by
3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 1,647 ratings
85 Storybound (Storybound #1)
by
3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 882 ratings
86 Touching the Surface
by
3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 682 ratings
87 Above World (Above World, #1)
by
3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 426 ratings
88 The Unicorn Tree
by
4.68 of 5 stars 4.68 avg rating — 19 ratings
89 Visions (The Secret Watcher...
by
4.58 of 5 stars 4.58 avg rating — 48 ratings
90 Luminosity (The Raven Chron...
by
3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 avg rating — 270 ratings
91 Angelina's Secret (Angelina...
by
4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 96 ratings
92 Time Between Us (Time Betwe...
by
3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 3,474 ratings
93 Between the Lines
by
3.48 of 5 stars 3.48 avg rating — 8,670 ratings
94 The Vanishing Game
by
3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 835 ratings
95 A Balance Broken (The Drago...
by
4.7 of 5 stars 4.70 avg rating — 56 ratings
96 What She Left Behind
by
3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 833 ratings
97 Switch! (Kingdoms of Karibu...
by
4.73 of 5 stars 4.73 avg rating — 81 ratings
98 The Exceptionals
by
3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 275 ratings
99 Origin
by
3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 3,682 ratings
100 Through to You
by
3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 avg rating — 785 ratings
794 books · 4,497 voters · list created July 4th, 2011 by Kristi (The Story Siren) (votes) .
 · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds.


Kristi (The Story Siren)
Kristi (The Story Siren)
3027 books
4893 friends
Delyse
Delyse
63 books
63 friends
Jodi
Jodi
460 books
1080 friends
Megan (magan bagan)
Megan (magan bagan)
1285 books
780 friends
Eve
Eve
1215 books
245 friends
Tez
Tez
1523 books
551 friends
Paige
Paige
2789 books
1473 friends
Lora
Lora
1102 books
157 friends

More voters…


Comments (showing 1-50 of 69) (69 new)


message 2: by Musicmaniac101 (new)

Musicmaniac101 Ahh can't wait for 2012... Already want every book on this list!


message 3: by L (new)

L Check out Unbound by Emily Goodwin. I liked it because Ms. Goodwin writes with a good voice - it seems as if an eighteen year old girl is telling the story. It is an exciting tale of an ordinary girl who discovers an extraordinary part of herself after receiving a mysterious gift from an elderly aunt.


message 4: by Vampirella (new)

Vampirella Tempest sounds interesting.


♥Sky♥ {Thing 6!}~YA Infatuation~ I wish I could read every book on that list!


message 6: by Kat Kennedy (new)

Kat Kennedy I'm pretty sure Jodi Picoult isn't a debut Author.


Gabrielle Carolina Kat wrote: "I'm pretty sure Jodi Picoult isn't a debut Author."

She is, however, releasing her debut YA novel this year, and that's what the list is about. : )


message 8: by Kat Kennedy (new)

Kat Kennedy Yeah, sorry, missed that part of it! Thanks for the correction! I must learn to read more carefully.


message 9: by Krys (new)

Krys Kai Meyer has written the Dark Reflections and Wave Walkers series prior to Arkadia Awakens, all of which are young adult titles.


Kristi (The Story Siren) Krys wrote: "Kai Meyer has written the Dark Reflections and Wave Walkers series prior to Arkadia Awakens, all of which are young adult titles."

This is his US debut though.... right?


message 11: by Daph (Lvngbooks) (new)

Daph (Lvngbooks) I don't know who did this, but there are tons of titles by Richelle Mead, Stephenie Meyer and Alyson Noël on this list (page 2 and on) :/


message 12: by HSLFP (new)

HSLFP They all look very interesting!
Can't wait!


message 13: by oliviasbooks (new)

oliviasbooks I deleted Arcadia Awakens (Arkadien, #1) from the list. To call Kai Meyer an debut author is like a bad joke.


Kristi (The Story Siren) oliviasbooks wrote: "I deleted Arcadia Awakens (Arkadien, #1) from the list. To call Kai Meyer an debut author is like a bad joke."

Thanks, I think. I was under the impression that Meyer had previous children's books published in the US but not a YA or MG title. I hadn't been able to do the research as of yet. I appreciate the help, although you could have been a little less sarcastic about it! It wasn't mean to be a "bad joke" it was an honest mistake. I have two other people designated in helping me keep this list updated and correct, but were only human!


message 15: by oliviasbooks (last edited Dec 12, 2011 06:38am) (new)

oliviasbooks Sorry, Kristi. I did not want to be sarcastic. It was MY fault actually. Meyer is one of the most successful YA/middle grade authors in Germany. Therefore I had to laugh. But I did not read the US debut part and thought somebody had just added "something" random. The Wavewalker Trilogy for instance did not sell as children's literature in Germany, yet in the US the covers look rather childish. So your sorting makes actually kind of sense. Sorry again.


Kristi (The Story Siren) oliviasbooks wrote: "Sorry, Kristi. I did not want to be sarcastic. It was MY fault actually. Meyer is one of the most successful YA/middle grade authors in Germany. Therefore I had to laugh. But I did not read the US ..."

Ha! That's okay! There are some crazy titles that get put on here, and they are obviously not debuts! So I absolutely know where you are coming from! I just didn't want you to think we/I had it on there intentionally! Thanks, again.


message 17: by papalbina (new)

papalbina Kristi (The Story Siren) wrote: "Krys wrote: "Kai Meyer has written the Dark Reflections and Wave Walkers series prior to Arkadia Awakens, all of which are young adult titles."

This is his US debut though.... right?"

No, he's been published in the US before. If Dark Reflections is considered YA (I'm not quite sure... according to publisher the books are from 12 years and above, is that considered YA? fO.o), then he wouldn't be debuting this year.


message 18: by Daph (Lvngbooks) (new)

Daph (Lvngbooks) Love & Leftovers will be published December 27th, 2011 so it's not a 2012 debut, but a 2011 debut..

Also Touched (December '12) isn't a debut as her other book, If I Lie comes out in August '12 :)


message 19: by Kara (new)

Kara Added The Edumacation of Jay Baker by Jay Clark. That is totally a 2012 debut and my first read for the DAC.


message 20: by Rogier (new)

Rogier Fractured Light needs t be looked at its different; lore and trilling


message 21: by Alivia (new)

Alivia Anders Added my book (if that's okay with you, Kristi!) to the list. Hopefully it'll be the first of many for me, hah!


message 22: by Louisa (last edited Jan 19, 2012 11:02am) (new)

Louisa Would After the Snow by S. D. Crockett count? Goodreads doesn't have him having other works and netgalley says that a new talent had been added, it comes out this year, sounds YA, and I didn't see it on the list of the 2 pages I saw. Hope it does, because it sounds fantastic! :)


message 23: by Casey (new)

Casey Wow these all sound so amazing!!! I need more hours in the day so I can read them all!


message 24: by Louisa (new)

Louisa Uh, Fallen in Love and Social Suicide aren't the first books in the series so I don't think they count as debuts, and Raven came out sometime before last year, and she has other books out like The Vampire Stalker or The Oracle of Dating out already, so I don't think that one counts, either. Hope that helps!


message 25: by Kay (new)

Kay Hi, I noticed there's The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe on the list; however, this is the author's second YA novel after Give Up the Ghost. Unless I am missing something, which is possible :)


message 26: by Alice (new)

Alice WHO CREATED THIS LIST! AWSOME JOB!


message 27: by Peter (last edited Feb 21, 2012 06:02am) (new)

Peter Kelley This is such a wonderful service to YA readers. Thanks so much to Kristi and all who help her. I've added my new book, Paraglide. I hope people will give it a look.




message 28: by Tyler (new)

Tyler Black Here's another good list with some great book ideas to read:

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/16...


message 29: by Kara (new)

Kara This list is for 2012 debut author books only. It is for the Debut Author Challenge, hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, that over 900 people and blogs are participating in. This is just a friendly FYI since I have been seeing books added that were NOT Debut books, and in some cases, not even YA books added to this list.


Kristi (The Story Siren) Kara wrote: "This list is for 2012 debut author books only. It is for the Debut Author Challenge, hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, that over 900 people and blogs are participating in. This is just a friendl..."

Thanks Kara. Please feel free to delete those titles that shouldn't be on here. I try to keep it up to date, but I don't always catch them all. Another pair of eyes would be great!


message 31: by Kara (new)

Kara I didn't know I could delete them. I thought only the list owner could. Well, crap. Thanks for telling me! I'll certainly help you keep an eye on it. :)


message 32: by Erin (new)

Erin I think "Entasy" by Brynn Myers needs to be deleted (I can't figure out how) since the author herself states it is not a YA book and will fall into the adult paranormal category due to language and content.


message 33: by Courtney (new)

Courtney Great list! =D


message 34: by Gea (new)

Gea This list is really helpful. It's amazing that there are a hundred debuts in just one year. I'm sure a lot of them are not extremely good. I'm interested in the ones with really great writing. First on the list for me is Incarnate.


Chelle (crazytrinket) I am confused, is PARTIALS by DAN WELLS a 2012 Debut? Please help...


message 36: by Alicia (new)

Alicia Gea wrote: "This list is really helpful. It's amazing that there are a hundred debuts in just one year."

Actually, so far, there are 218 on this list. Did you click the "next" button?

:P


message 37: by Gea (new)

Gea Holy Cow! You're right. There are 218 author debuts this year. I didn't see that. Thanks Alicia.


message 38: by Louisa (new)

Louisa For those who can delete books on the list, there's duplicates of Lies Beneath (one 50, the other 181) and Halfings (one 54, the other 209) and The Butterfly Clues (one 187, the other 206) Then the votes can be all together :)


message 39: by Cynthia (new)

Cynthia Collins I added my own book, The Unicorn Tree. It is my debut novel and is young adult. It was released early April, 2012.


message 40: by Caitlin (last edited May 02, 2012 08:34am) (new)

Caitlin Angelology is not a 2012 book.
Nor is it technically a YA book, so...


message 41: by Galini (new)

Galini I've got almost all of them as e-books, and exams don't give me time for reading.

DO. THEY. WANT. TO. KILL. ME?


message 42: by Janus Vielle (new)

Janus Vielle (The Blair Book Project) Chelle (crazytrinket) wrote: "I am confused, is PARTIALS by DAN WELLS a 2012 Debut? Please help..."

I have the same question. Is he? Please clarify. Thanks! ^_^


Chelle (crazytrinket) Janus Vielle wrote: "Chelle (crazytrinket) wrote: "I am confused, is PARTIALS by DAN WELLS a 2012 Debut? Please help..."

I have the same question. Is he? Please clarify. Thanks! ^_^"


someone (other blogger) told me that it is indeed a 2012 debut because his other novels were published as adult fiction.


message 44: by Janus Vielle (new)

Janus Vielle (The Blair Book Project) Chelle (crazytrinket) wrote: "someone (other blogger) told me that it is indeed a 2012 debut because his other novels were published as adult fiction. "

Oh. I see. thanks! ^_^


message 45: by Dayon (new)

Dayon Lee Selection was kina good, but kinda boring... :$


message 46: by Maria (new)

Maria K Kiera Cass is not a debut author, though. Her YA debut was withThe Siren in 2009


Gabrielle Carolina Hey guys, I've read y'alls comments and gone through and deleted a bunch. Remember, authors who released books in other countries can debut in the US and independent/self-pubbed authors who are being traditionally published also count towards the challenge.

Thanks!

Gabrielle Carolina


message 48: by Karen (new)

Karen Payze Hi, I know what YA is but what do you mean by middle grade? Can I add my own book? It is on Amazon US but I don't know if my book qualifies for this.

Many thanks,

Karen

The Truth About Lies


message 49: by Louisa (new)

Louisa Born At Midnight (374) debuted in 2011 for any who can edit the list by way of deleting titles :)


message 50: by Lauryn (new)

Lauryn i think all of these books look good i read what she left behind and its a really good book i recoment this books to other readers like myself i'm only twelve but i still love to read and i also like to read books that are thick and hard to understand!!!!!! its just so amazing the books i mean because its like you're going into another world and escaping your own thats how i like to look at books


« previous 1
back to top



flag as offensive (?)

Anyone can add books to this list.