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.
101 Livian
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4.78 of 5 stars 4.78 avg rating — 23 ratings
102 Cracked
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4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 747 ratings
103 Shadows Cast By Stars
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3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 avg rating — 593 ratings
104 Blood Born (Blood Prophecy,...
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3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 161 ratings
105 Ironskin (Ironskin, #1)
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3.32 of 5 stars 3.32 avg rating — 1,106 ratings
106 The Book of Wonders
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3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 271 ratings
107 Intangible (Intangible, #1)
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4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 460 ratings
108 Keeper of the Lost Cities (...
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4.36 of 5 stars 4.36 avg rating — 541 ratings
109 Night School (Night School,...
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 2,048 ratings
110 Stitch (Stitch Trilogy #1)
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 289 ratings
111 All the Broken Pieces
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4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 339 ratings
112 May B.
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 1,623 ratings
113 Amber House (Amber House, #1)
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4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 651 ratings
114 Angelfall (Penryn & the End...
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4.3 of 5 stars 4.30 avg rating — 18,060 ratings
115 Spies and Prejudice
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4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 59 ratings
116 Other Side of Forever
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4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 40 ratings
117 The Wicked and the Just
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3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 862 ratings
118 Fall to Pieces
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3.38 of 5 stars 3.38 avg rating — 112 ratings
119 The Cabinet of Earths (Maya...
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3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 avg rating — 403 ratings
120 Kill Me Softly
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3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 1,936 ratings
121 Survive
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3.6 of 5 stars 3.60 avg rating — 999 ratings
122 Insignia (Insignia, #1)
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4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 1,948 ratings
123 The Hunt (The Hunt, #1)
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3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 3,768 ratings
124 After the Mist
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4.71 of 5 stars 4.71 avg rating — 24 ratings
125 False Memory (False Memory,...
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3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 1,629 ratings
126 Dark Passage (Dark Passage,...
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4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 256 ratings
127 Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone
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3.49 of 5 stars 3.49 avg rating — 1,303 ratings
128 Flawed
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3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 1,378 ratings
129 Hippocampus (The Atlantis R...
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3.4 of 5 stars 3.40 avg rating — 53 ratings
130 The Forsaken (The Forsaken,...
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3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 2,073 ratings
130 Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1)
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4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 34,542 ratings
132 Renegade (The Elysium Chron...
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3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 997 ratings
133 Switched (Trylle Trilogy, #1)
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3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 35,907 ratings
134 Trafficked
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3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 588 ratings
135 The Summerland
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4.46 of 5 stars 4.46 avg rating — 13 ratings
136 Kiss the Morning Star
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3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 311 ratings
137 Rebels by Accident
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4.34 of 5 stars 4.34 avg rating — 41 ratings
138 The Moon Coin (Moon Realm, #1)
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4.48 of 5 stars 4.48 avg rating — 95 ratings
139 A Stiff Kiss
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4.34 of 5 stars 4.34 avg rating — 59 ratings
140 Shadow of Darkness (Creatur...
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4.52 of 5 stars 4.52 avg rating — 48 ratings
141 Life on the Edge (Edge, #1)
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 239 ratings
142 The Queen of Kentucky
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3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 avg rating — 502 ratings
143 The Cavendish Home for Boys...
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3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 750 ratings
144 Meant to Be
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3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 3,424 ratings
145 Freshman Year & Other Unnat...
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3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 618 ratings
146 Black City (Black City, #1)
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3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 2,222 ratings
147 What Happens Next
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4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 1,523 ratings
148 The Butterfly Clues
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3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 avg rating — 966 ratings
149 ReVamped (Angel Creek, #1)
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3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 533 ratings
150 The Forever Girl (Forever G...
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3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 699 ratings
151 Mystique
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 74 ratings
152 The False Prince (The Ascen...
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4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 8,688 ratings
153 Everything You Need to Surv...
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3.24 of 5 stars 3.24 avg rating — 264 ratings
154 Blind Spot
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3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 avg rating — 360 ratings
155 More
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4.3 of 5 stars 4.30 avg rating — 138 ratings
156 The Godling Club
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5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings
157 The Iron King (The Iron Fey...
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 63,509 ratings
158 Cross My Heart (Cross My He...
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3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 avg rating — 604 ratings
159 I Am Wolf (The Children of ...
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4.47 of 5 stars 4.47 avg rating — 107 ratings
160 Firelight (Firelight, #1)
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 27,141 ratings
161 Chained
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4.32 of 5 stars 4.32 avg rating — 203 ratings
162 Wrecked
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2.97 of 5 stars 2.97 avg rating — 968 ratings
163 Masque of the Red Death (Ma...
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3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 5,889 ratings
164 Legend (Legend, #1)
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4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 46,383 ratings
165 Apocalypse
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4.32 of 5 stars 4.32 avg rating — 50 ratings
166 Dreamlancer: The Tournament...
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4.46 of 5 stars 4.46 avg rating — 13 ratings
167 Crux
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 557 ratings
168 Monument 14 (Monument 14 #1)
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3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 3,283 ratings
169 Dark Kiss (Nightwatchers, #1)
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3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 2,654 ratings
170 Delirium (Delirium, #1)
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 113,938 ratings
171 Cybernetic
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3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 51 ratings
172 Blue Sky Days
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3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 avg rating — 196 ratings
173 Illumine (Illumine, #1)
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 373 ratings
174 Seeing Cinderella
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4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 350 ratings
175 The Girls of No Return
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3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 avg rating — 475 ratings
176 Mystic City (Mystic City, #1)
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3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 2,295 ratings
177 Getting Somewhere
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3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 avg rating — 75 ratings
178 Spectral
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 421 ratings
179 A Girl Named Digit (Digit, #1)
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3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 938 ratings
180 Poison Princess (The Arcana...
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4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 6,328 ratings
181 City of Fallen Angels (The ...
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4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 avg rating — 108,770 ratings
182 City of Glass (The Mortal I...
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4.37 of 5 stars 4.37 avg rating — 204,762 ratings
183 Crescendo (Hush, Hush, #2)
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4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 93,521 ratings
184 Butter
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3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 832 ratings
185 Confessions of an Angry Gir...
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 993 ratings
186 The Peculiar (The Peculiar,...
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3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 785 ratings
187 On a Wing and a Dare (Flyin...
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4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 16 ratings
188 Flicker
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4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 116 ratings
189 Silence (Hush, Hush, #3)
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4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 60,412 ratings
190 Ripper (Ripper, #1)
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3.63 of 5 stars 3.63 avg rating — 441 ratings
191 Entangled (Spellbound #1)
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3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 645 ratings
192 Silver (Bandia, #1)
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3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 1,287 ratings
193 The Stalker Chronicles
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3.53 of 5 stars 3.53 avg rating — 117 ratings
194 The International Kissing Club
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3.6 of 5 stars 3.60 avg rating — 206 ratings
194 Amaranth
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4.52 of 5 stars 4.52 avg rating — 25 ratings
196 The Mapmaker and the Ghost
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4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 127 ratings
197 After Dark (The 19th Year, #1)
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3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 276 ratings
197 Talented (Talented Saga, #1)
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4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 245 ratings
199 The Lost Girl
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4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 1,567 ratings
200 Clockwork Prince (The Infer...
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4.48 of 5 stars 4.48 avg rating — 76,371 ratings
793 books · 4,493 voters · list created July 4th, 2011 by Kristi (The Story Siren) (votes) .
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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


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