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August 2021 Debut YA Novels

August is coming in hot with debut YA novels. Get ready for some excellent end-of-summer reading.

 

 

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. If I’m missing any debuts that came out in August 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 and publication month. Starred titles are the beginning of a new series.

 

DEBUT YA NOVELS: August 2021

 

Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis

Katrell doesn’t mind talking to the dead; she just wishes it made more money. Clients pay her to talk to their deceased loved ones, but it isn’t enough to support her unemployed mother and Mom’s deadbeat boyfriend-of-the-week. Things get worse, when a ghost warns her to stop the summonings or she’ll “burn everything down.” Katrell is willing to call them on their bluff, though. She has no choice. What do ghosts know about eating peanut butter for dinner?

However, when her next summoning accidentally raises someone from the dead, Katrell realizes that a live body is worth a lot more than a dead apparition. And, warning or not, she has no intention of letting this lucrative new business go.

But magic doesn’t come for free, and soon dark forces are closing in on Katrell. The further she goes, the more she risks the lives of not only herself, but those she loves. Katrell faces a choice: resign herself to poverty, or confront the darkness before it’s too late.

 

Both Sides Now by Peyton Thomas

There’s only one thing standing between Finch Kelly and a full-blown case of high school senioritis: the National Speech & Debate Tournament. Taking home the gold would not only be the pinnacle of Finch’s debating career, but the perfect way to launch himself into his next chapter: college in Washington, D.C. and a history-making career as the first trans congressman. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, for starters, Finch could develop a teeny tiny crush on his very attractive, very taken, and very gay debate partner, Jonah. Never mind that Finch has never considered whether he’s interested in more than just girls.

And that dream of college in DC? Finch hasn’t exactly been accepted anywhere yet, let alone received the full-ride scholarship he’ll need to make this dream a reality.

Worst of all, though, is this year’s topic for Nationals: transgender rights. If he wants to cinch the gold, and get into college, Finch might have to argue against his own humanity.

People say there are two sides to every argument. But, as Finch is about to discover, some things–like who you are and who you love–are not up for debate.

 

Call Me Athena by Colby Cedar Smith

Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit is a beautifully written novel in verse loosely based on author Colby Cedar Smith’s paternal grandmother. The story follows Mary as the American-born daughter of Greek and French immigrants living in Detroit in the 1930s, creating a historically accurate portrayal of life as an immigrant during the Great Depression, hunger strikes, and violent riots.

Mary lives in a tiny apartment with her immigrant parents, her brothers, and her twin sister, and she questions why her parents ever came to America. She yearns for true love, to own her own business, and to be an independent, modern American woman—much to the chagrin of her parents, who want her to be a “good Greek girl.”

Mary’s story is peppered with flashbacks to her parents’ childhoods in Greece and northern France; their stories connect with Mary as they address issues of arranged marriage, learning about independence, and yearning to grow beyond one’s own culture. Though Call Me Athena is written from the perspective of three profoundly different narrators, it has a wide-reaching message: It takes courage to fight for tradition and heritage, as well as freedom, love, and equality.

 

Dangerous Play by Emma Kress

Zoe Alamandar has one goal: win the State Field Hockey Championships and earn a scholarship that will get her the hell out of Central New York. She and her co-captain Ava Cervantes have assembled a fierce team of dedicated girls who will work hard and play by the rules.

But after Zoe is sexually assaulted at a party, she finds a new goal: make sure no girl feels unsafe again. Zoe and her teammates decide to stop playing by the rules and take justice into their own hands. Soon, their suburban town has a team of superheroes meting out punishments, but one night of vigilantism may cost Zoe her team, the championship, her scholarship, and her future.

 

 

 

Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain

La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide.

This tiny town, where seventeen-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World–and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey’s best friend, disappeared six months earlier.

Grey can’t believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something – her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.

When a mysterious stranger emerges from the bayou – a stormy-eyed boy with links to Elora and the town’s bloody history – Grey realizes that La Cachette’s past is far more present and dangerous than she’d ever understood. Suddenly, she doesn’t know who she can trust. In a town where secrets lurk just below the surface, and where a murderer is on the loose, nobody can be presumed innocent–and La Cachette’s dark and shallow lies may just rip the town apart.

 

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

The Dark has been waiting for far too long, and it won’t stay hidden any longer.

Something is wrong in Snakebite, Oregon. Teenagers are disappearing, some turning up dead, the weather isn’t normal, and all fingers seem to point to TV’s most popular ghost hunters who have just returned to town. Logan Ortiz-Woodley, daughter of TV’s ParaSpectors, has never been to Snakebite before, but the moment she and her dads arrive, she starts to get the feeling that there’s more secrets buried here than they originally let on.

Ashley Barton’s boyfriend was the first teen to go missing, and she’s felt his presence ever since. But now that the Ortiz-Woodleys are in town, his ghost is following her and the only person Ashley can trust is the mysterious Logan. When Ashley and Logan team up to figure out who—or what—is haunting Snakebite, their investigation reveals truths about the town, their families, and themselves that neither of them are ready for. As the danger intensifies, they realize that their growing feelings for each other could be a light in the darkness.

 

The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino

Tess Matheson only wants three things: time to practice her cello, for her sister to be happy, and for everyone else to leave her alone.

Instead, Tess finds herself working all summer at her boarding school library, shelving books and dealing with the intolerable patrons. The worst of them is Eliot Birch: snide, privileged, and constantly requesting forbidden grimoires. After a bargain with Eliot leads to the discovery of an ancient book in the library’s grimoire collection, the pair accidentally unleash a book-bound demon.

The demon will stop at nothing to stay free, manipulating ink to threaten those Tess loves and dismantling Eliot’s strange magic. Tess is plagued by terrible dreams of the devil and haunting memories of a boy who wears Eliot’s face. All she knows is to stay free, the demon needs her… and he’ll have her, dead or alive.

 

 

A Dragonbird in the Fern by Laura Rueckert

When an assassin kills Princess Jiara’s older sister Scilla, her vengeful ghost is doomed to walk their city of glittering canals, tormenting loved ones until the murderer is brought to justice. While the entire kingdom mourns, Scilla’s betrothed arrives and requests that seventeen-year-old Jiara take her sister’s place as his bride to confirm the alliance between their countries.

Marrying the young king intended for her sister and traveling to his distant home is distressing enough, but with dyslexia and years of scholarly struggles, Jiara abandoned any hope of learning other languages long ago. She’s terrified of life in a foreign land where she’ll be unable to communicate.

Then Jiara discovers evidence that her sister’s assassin comes from the king’s own country. If she marries the king, Jiara can hunt the murderer and release her family from Scilla’s ghost, whose thirst for blood mounts every day. To save her family, Jiara must find her sister’s killer . . . before he murders her too.

 

Fresh by Margot Wood

Some students enter their freshman year of college knowing exactly what they want to do with their lives. Elliot McHugh is not one of those people. But picking a major is the last thing on Elliot’s mind when she’s too busy experiencing all that college has to offer—from dancing all night at off-campus parties, to testing her RA Rose’s patience, to making new friends, to having the best sex one can have on a twin-sized dorm room bed. But she may not be ready for the fallout when reality hits. When the sex she’s having isn’t that great. When finals creep up and smack her right in the face. Or when her roommate’s boyfriend turns out to be the biggest a-hole. Elliot may make epic mistakes, but if she’s honest with herself (and with you, dear reader), she may just find the person she wants to be. And maybe even fall in love in the process . . . Well, maybe.

 

 

 

*Forestborn by Elayne Audrey Becker

Rora is a shifter, as magical as all those born in the wilderness–and as feared. She uses her abilities to spy for the king, traveling under different guises and listening for signs of trouble.

When a magical illness surfaces across the kingdom, Rora uncovers a devastating truth: Finley, the young prince and her best friend, has caught it, too. His only hope is stardust, the rarest of magical elements, found deep in the wilderness where Rora grew up–and to which she swore never to return.

But for her only friend, Rora will face her past and brave the dark, magical wood, journeying with her brother and the obstinate, older prince who insists on coming. Together, they must survive sentient forests and creatures unknown, battling an ever-changing landscape while escaping human pursuers who want them dead. With illness gripping the kingdom and war on the horizon, Finley’s is not the only life that hangs in the balance.

 

 

Like a Love Song by Gabriela Martins

Fake boyfriend. Real heartbreak?

Natalie is living her dream: topping the charts and setting records as a Brazilian pop star…until she’s dumped spectacularly on live television. Not only is it humiliating—it could end her career.

Her PR team’s desperate plan? A gorgeous yet oh-so-fake boyfriend. Nati reluctantly agrees, but William is not what she expected. She was hoping for a fierce bad boy—not a soft-hearted British indie film star. While she fights her way back to the top with a sweet and surprisingly swoon-worthy boy on her arm, she starts to fall for William—and realizes that maybe she’s the biggest fake of them all. Can she reclaim her voice and her heart?

 

 

 

Mark of the Wicked by Georgia Bowers

Magic always leaves its mark.

All her life, Matilda has been told one thing about her magic: You use only when necessary. But Matilda isn’t interested in being a good witch. She wants revenge and popularity, and to live her life free of consequences, free of the scars that dark magic leaves on her face as a reminder of her misdeeds.

When a spell goes awry and the new boy at school catches her in the act, Matilda thinks her secret might be out. But far from being afraid, Oliver already knows about her magic – and he wants to learn more. As Oliver and Matilda grow closer, bizarre things begin to happen: Animals show up with their throats slashed and odd markings carved into their bodies, a young girl dies mysteriously, and everyone blames Matilda. But she isn’t responsible — at least, not that she can remember. As her magic begins to spin out of control, Matilda must decide for herself what makes a good witch, and discover the truth…before anyone else turns up dead.

 

(Me) Moth by Amber McBride

Moth has lost her family in an accident. Though she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted.

Until she meets Sani, a boy who is also searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he’ll be able to understand his ongoing depression. And if Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she too will discover the history she carries in her bones.

Moth and Sani take a road trip that has them chasing ghosts and searching for ancestors. The way each moves forward is surprising, powerful, and unforgettable.

Here is an exquisite and uplifting novel about identity, first love, and the ways that our memories and our roots steer us through the universe.

 

 

Vampires, Hearts, and Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston

Victoria and her dad have shared a love of the undead since the first vampire revealed his existence on live TV. Public fear soon drove the vampires back into hiding, yet Victoria and her father still dream about finding a vampire together. But when her dad is diagnosed with terminal cancer, it’s clear that’s not going to happen. Instead, Victoria vows to find a vampire herself—so that she can become one and then save her father.

Armed with research, speculations, and desperation—and helped by her estranged best friend, Henry—Victoria travels to New Orleans in search of a miracle. There she meets Nicholas, a mysterious young man who might give her what she desires. But first, he needs Victoria to prove she loves life enough to live forever.

She agrees to complete a series of challenges, from scarfing sugar-drenched beignets to singing with a jazz band, all to show she has what it takes to be immortal. But truly living while her father is dying feels like a betrayal. Victoria must figure out how to experience joy and grief at once, trusting all the while that Nicholas will hold up his end of the bargain…because the alternative is too impossible to imagine.

 

The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith

In 1911 New York City, seventeen-year-old Frances Hallowell spends her days as a seamstress, mourning the mysterious death of her brother months prior. Everything changes when she’s attacked and a man ends up dead at her feet—her scissors in his neck, and she can’t explain how they got there.

Before she can be condemned as a murderess, two cape-wearing nurses arrive to inform her she is deathly ill and ordered to report to Haxahaven Sanitarium. But Frances finds Haxahaven isn’t a sanitarium at all: it’s a school for witches. Within Haxahaven’s glittering walls, Frances finds the sisterhood she craves, but the headmistress warns Frances that magic is dangerous. Frances has no interest in the small, safe magic of her school, and is instead enchanted by Finn, a boy with magic himself who appears in her dreams and tells her he can teach her all she’s been craving to learn, lessons that may bring her closer to discovering what truly happened to her brother.

Frances’s newfound power attracts the attention of the leader of an ancient order who yearns for magical control of Manhattan. And who will stop at nothing to have Frances by his side. Frances must ultimately choose what matters more, justice for her murdered brother and her growing feelings for Finn, or the safety of her city and fellow witches. What price would she pay for power, and what if the truth is more terrible than she ever imagined?

This Week at Book Riot

Over on Book Riot this week…

An ode to the power of the author’s note and why you shouldn’t skip this part of any book.

 

A long-time suspect in the murder of Lois Duncan’s daughter Kaitlyn Arquette has confessed.

What I’m Reading Now: Greek Mythology-Inspired Fiction

Hello everyone! I’m still here. I’ve been reading a fair amount, but my desire to do any writing whatsoever has really taken a dive these past couple of months. I’ve officially moved to working from home on a mostly permanent basis (as opposed to doing so out of necessity), and it’s been more of an adjustment that I thought it would be, despite the fact that I’ve been working from home for over a year now. Coupled with the surge in Covid cases and the subsequent restrictions on a lot of activities (it’s 2020 all over again!), I’ve been feeling kind of bummed and not up for a lot of things I normally do. I know I’m not alone in this. I’m trying to focus on the things that bring me joy – it’s still safe to see family and friends in small groups, for instance, since we’re all vaccinated. And today I feel a bit more like writing.

I’ve noticed that my reading lately has been clustering around a few common topics, so over the next few weeks I’ll focus on each of them in turn. Up first this week is Greek Mythology-Inspired Fiction.

 

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

One of two audiobooks on this list, Haynes reads her own story about the Trojan war told from the women’s perspectives. There are a bunch of characters here (I’m only halfway through but there are chapters from at least a dozen different women’s POVs so far), and while Haynes is an able reader, imbuing her characters with emotion and gravitas, she doesn’t differentiate the voicing at all. If I set the audiobook down partway through a chapter, it is sometimes difficult to remember which character’s story she is currently telling.

This is a fairly straightforward retelling of the Iliad/Trojan War that I hesitate to call it a retelling at all, though it’s well-written and certainly gives the women much more humanity and depth than the original did. But the events happen in the same way, just as you likely learned about them in high school, so don’t pick up this book looking for a twist on the original tale. Think of it more like a book that fills in all the missing parts of the original – and does it exceptionally well.

 

Daughter of Sparta by Claire M. Andrews

This YA book is a loose retelling of the story of Daphne and Apollo, told from Daphne’s point of view. Unlike A Thousand Ships, though, Andrews changes quite a bit of the commonly-known myth, leaving only a few bits and pieces that readers might recognize if they’re familiar with the tale. In Andrews’ version, Daphne is called upon by Artemis to recover things that have been stolen from Olympus – things that lend the Olympians their power. Without these things, the Olympians not only lose their special powers but also become mortal. Artemis sends her brother Apollo to “help” Daphne in her quest – first to determine what exactly has been taken, then to take them back. A romance ensues, but it’s not quite as you’d expect if you’re familiar with either the original myth (which is not a romance at all) or a lot of YA fantasy romance.

The romance isn’t actually front and center in the book; instead, this book is mainly a grand adventure, with Daphne, Apollo, and a few other companions they pick up along the way traveling across Greece and meeting gods, demigods, and humans with secrets. It’s reminiscent of the Percy Jackson books, perhaps not as funny, but fun and a page-turner. I found the writing a bit clunky, and it was frustrating how all the characters jumped around Daphne’s true identity, ostensibly leaving it as a surprise for future installments (which anyone who is familiar with the myth will already know), but overall, this is a solid read for fans of Greek mythology. Andrews’ twist on the original myth is a creative one.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

This one is less directly related to Greek mythology than the other two. It’s a classic thriller with a hell of a series of twists at the end – just the kind of thriller that I love. Group therapist Mariana is visiting her niece Zoe at Cambridge to comfort her after a friend of Zoe’s was found murdered. When yet another girl dies, Mariana becomes determined the culprit is suave professor Edward Fosca, who teaches Greek tragedy and seems to always be followed by a coterie of young female students he calls “The Maidens.” Not so coincidentally, Mariana thinks, the murder victims were both members of this group of Maidens. As Mariana digs deeper, she becomes more and more obsessed with the myth of Persephone (the maiden in Greek mythology), as it seems to pop up everywhere in relation to the murdered girls.

Michaelides is good at ratcheting up the tension. Mariana does make some almost too stupid to be believed decisions in order to further the plot (such as choosing to meet up with Fosca alone in his room while she actively suspects him of being a serial killer), but it’s a fun ride nonetheless. When the biggest twist arrives (and there are several smaller ones preceding it), I thought back on some small events and was pleased to realize that Michaelides did indeed lay the groundwork for it earlier in the book. Yet this groundwork, at least for me, was not so obvious that it gave everything away. While I always try to guess the twist, I like it best when I’m completely surprised. The last bit of the book does go a bit off the rails, and it left me feeling pretty despondent about all characters involved, but it’s the kind of wild ride that’s fun to the very end.

Louise Brealey narrates the bulk of the audiobook, and she does a fantastic job; I was completely lost in the story and didn’t want to stop listening.

 

 

YA Horror Comics To Enjoy All Year Long

I’ve been on the hunt for great YA horror comics lately. Part of it is my desire to read comics — I’m still having some trouble immersing myself in prose alone, postpartum — and part of it is my desire to seek out some potential contenders for future Summer Scares titles. I was quite bummed to read one I’d remembered liking in 2011 and discovering how fatphobic it was now, 10 years later, and it hit me how few YA horror comics I’d read. As I made my way down the list of options at my local library, I realized rather than just put holds on everything, it’d be worth making a book list for others. We know spooky season is upon us, so for those who work in libraries or schools (or other places where you provide book recommendations), having these handy will be so helpful.

I’ve included manga, comics series, and stand alone titles here. Some are from well-known publishers, while others are from smaller presses. A few of these began their lives as webcomics and have either companion or compilation volumes in print. I did not include franchise titles (think Archie or Stranger Things) nor did I include adaptations of classics (like Frankenstein).

All descriptions come from Goodreads, as I’m still working my way through these titles. I’d love any other recent-ish title recommendations you may have, from, say, the last five years or so. This list is sticking to titles published 2016 and forward. Some of these titles might veer more middle grade than YA, but I wanted to include them anyway.

As always, a reminder horror is a mood, not a genre, so these comics are across a wide range of genres. All that’s required for a title to be horror is that it brings about dis-ease, disgust, or fear for the reader.

 

 

YA Horror Comics for All Types of Thrills and Chills

 

Alienated by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Chris Wildgoose 

Three teenagers discover an unearthly creature with incredible powers who needs prey to survive – but as they try to use his powers for good, it may be these humans who pose the greatest threat to the world.

THREE KIDS CALLED SAM.
ONE ALIEN BIOWEAPON.

Three teenagers, each an outcast in their own ways, stumble upon an unearthly entity as it’s born. As they bond over this shared secret and the incredible abilities of their new discovery, the trio soon realizes the truth: this creature is dangerous…and in need of prey.

But as each of them tries to decide how they can use this newfound power to do some real good in a broken world, they’ll find that the greatest threat to humanity may not come from the stars – but from the truth behind their seemingly good intentions.

 

Artie and the Wolf Moon by Olivia Stephens

After sneaking out against her mother’s wishes, Artie Irvin spots a massive wolf–then watches it don a bathrobe and transform into her mom. Thrilled to discover she comes from a line of werewolves, Artie asks her mom to share everything–including the story of Artie’s late father. Her mom reluctantly agrees. And to help Artie figure out her own wolflike abilities, her mom recruits some old family friends.

Artie thrives in her new community and even develops a crush on her new friend Maya. But as she learns the history of werewolves and her own parents’ past, she’ll find that wolves aren’t the scariest thing in the woods–vampires are.

 

 

 

By Night by John Allison, illustrated by Christine Larsen, colored by Sarah Stern, and lettered by Jim Campbell

After discovering a mysterious device, Jane and Heather decide try their hand at documentary filmmaking… in another dimension!

There’s something strange going on in Spectrum, South Dakota.

Home to high school best friends Jane Langstaff and Heather Meadows, Spectrum is a boomtown that’s long since stopped booming, with nothing to show for its former glory but the abandoned Charleswood Estate, its dwindling sprocket millions, and the story of the disappeared industrialist who founded the place… But deep within Charleswood, unbeknownst to anyone, there is a device called the Eidolon, which can open up a doorway to an otherworldly dimension. And Heather and Jane are about to go knocking.

 

 

Creepy Cat by Cotton Valent

Flora has just moved into an old house with a gothic flare and a hint of mystery. She soon realizes that she’s not alone in this place: a weird cat already lives there, and it’s not leaving. It behaves like no cat she’s ever seen, phasing through solid objects and attempting to eat a police officer. As Flora cozies up to her new creepy yet adorable roommate, she learns there are more spooky surprises in store!

 

 

 

 

 

Dead Dudes by Christopher Sebela and illustrated by Ben Sears 

Trev, Kent, and Brian are allegedly friends, but are best known as the backbiting hosts of the popular ghost hunting show, Ghost Bros. With ratings falling and competition rising, they gamble it all on the Chernobyl of haunted locations: Edgeway Penitentiary.

Armed only with a bag of cameras, some sick tattoos and absolutely zero scientific knowledge, the Ghostbros find conclusive proof of the afterlife at Edgeway… After they die and come back as ghosts themselves, trapped there with the angry ghosts who killed them!

A year later, as film crews arrive for an anniversary memorial special hosted by their most hated rivals, the Ghostbros have to be the best DEAD DUDES they can be, in order to prove to the world that ghosts exist (Oh yeah—and to save the living from a ghostly armageddon, but whatever).

 

 

Flying Witch by Chihiro Ishizuka, translation by Melissa Tanaka (series)

Prepare to be Bewitched!

Makoto Kowata, a novice witch, packs up her belongings (including a black cat familiar) and moves in with her distant cousins in rural Aomori to complete her training and become a full-fledged witch.

 

 

 

 

 

Ghostly Things by Ushio Shirotori (series)

Things That Go Bump

With her father off overseas, Yachiho is left to move into a new house all by herself…and it’s a genuine haunted mansion, full of ghosts and spirits! But Yachiho is determined to tough it out. To learn her family’s secrets, can she brave all that lurks in the dark of night?

 

 

 

 

 

The Gift by Zoe Maeve

The Shining meets Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette in this gripping debut from an award-winning talent.

The Gift opens on the snow-blanketed grounds of the Alexander Palace in Western Russia where a moth has come to attend the birth of the fourth Romanov princess, Anastasia. She and her siblings grow up in a gilded world, isolated from the society beyond the palace walls despite their dominion over it. After mysteriously receiving a camera on her fifteenth birthday, she begins to document her world, but the gift carries with it a weight she can’t yet see. A creature moves on the edge of her vision and stalks her dreams. As the revolution unfolds, the confines of Anastasia’s world keep closing in. Something is following her, and it might not be human.

 

 

 

Gift for a Ghost by Borja González

In Borja González’s stunning graphic novel, two parallel stories reflect and intertwine in a tale of youthful dreams and desires. In 1856, Teresa, a young aristocrat, is more interested in writing avant garde horror poetry than making a suitable marriage. In 2016, three teenage girls, Gloria, Laura, and Cristina, want to start a punk band called the Black Holes. They have everything they need: attitude, looks, instinct . . . and an alarming lack of musical talent. They’ve barely started rehearsing when strange things begin to happen. As their world and Teresa’s intersect, they’re haunted by the echo of something that happened 160 years ago.

 

 

 

 

Graveyard Wars by A J Lieberman, Andrew Sebastian Kwan, and Darren Rawlings (series)

There are those among us, all of whom have had near death experiences, who now have an ability called a Soul-Skill which allows them access to the skill-sets of the dead; fighter, mechanic, sniper. Anything. This ability connects them in this realm to the soul, and its skill, in the next. Pilot. Hacker. Assassin. Anything. While not everyone who touches death is able to retain this ability those who do have formed two warring guilds: Caretakers and Dark Hearts. The Caretaker’s mission? To use the power of the dead to protect the living. Welcome to Graveyard Wars.

All his life Ethan Noble felt he was different; unstable, crazy. How else to explain his ability to master so many different skills only to have them vanish time after time. All her life Carter Noble has tried in vain to help her brother. Raise him, shield him, understand him. An impossible task, even for a twin, because no matter how hard Ethan tried to explain his behavior Carter was never able to understand and any attempt to enlist help from Sebastian, their father, was met with an icy stare and stony silence.

What all three Nobles will soon learn is that in a world where the secrets someone takes to their grave are no longer safe you need family more than ever. The problem? When Ethan and Carter uncover a web of lies that led to their mother’s death they’re lead straight to their father.

 

Grimoire Noir by Vera Greentea, illustrated by Yana Bogatch 

Bucky Orson is a bit gloomy, but who isn’t at fifteen?

His best friend left him to hang out with way cooler friends, his dad is the town sheriff, and wait for it―he lives in Blackwell, a town where all the girls are witches. But when his little sister is kidnapped because of her extraordinary power, Bucky has to get out of his own head and go on a strange journey to investigate the small town that gives him so much grief. And in the process he uncovers the town’s painful history and a conspiracy that will change it forever.

 

 

 

 

Kim Reaper by Sarah Graley

Like most university students, Kim works a part-time job to make ends meet. Unlike most university students, Kim’s job is pretty cool: she’s a grim reaper, tasked with guiding souls into the afterlife.

Like most university students, Becka has a super intense crush. Unlike most university students, Becka’s crush is on a beautiful gothic angel that frequents the underworld. Of course, she doesn’t know that.

Unaware of the ghoulish drama she’s about to step into, Becka finally gathers up the courage to ask Kim on a date! But when she falls into a ghostly portal and interrupts Kim at her job, she sets off a chain of events that will pit the two of them against angry cat-dads, vengeful zombies, and perhaps even the underworld itself. But if they work together, they just might make it… and maybe even get a smooch in the bargain.

 

 

 

Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley’s Great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter by Brea Grant, illustrated by Yishan Li , lettered by Tom Orzechowski

Angsty teenager Mary Shelley is not interested in carrying on her family’s celebrated legacy of being a great writer, but she soon discovers that she has the not-so-celebrated (and super-secret) Shelley power to heal monsters, just like her famous ancestor, and those monsters are not going to let her ignore her true calling anytime soon.

The Shelley family history is filled with great writers: the original Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, the acclaimed mystery writer Tawny Shelley, cookbook maven Phyllis Shelley…the list goes on and on. But this Mary Shelley, named after her great-great-great-great-great grandmother, doesn’t want anything to do with that legacy. Then a strangely pale (and really cute) boy named Adam shows up and asks her to heal a wound he got under mysterious circumstances, and Mary learns something new about her family: the first Mary Shelley had the power to heal monsters, and Mary has it, too. Now the monsters won’t stop showing up, Mary can’t get her mother Tawny to leave her alone about writing something (anything!), she can’t tell her best friend Rhonda any of this, and all Mary wants is to pass biology.

 

The Montague Twins by Nathan Page, illustrated by Drew Shannon

Pete and Alastair Montague are just a couple of mystery-solving twins, living an ordinary life. Or so they thought. After a strange storm erupts on a visit to the beach, they discover there is more to their detective skills than they had thought. Their guardian, David Faber, a once prominent professor, has been keeping secrets about their parents and what the boys are truly capable of.

At the same time, three girls go missing after casting a mysterious spell, which sets in motion a chain of events that takes their small town down an unexpected path. With the help of David’s daughter, Charlie, they discover there are forces at work that they never could have imagined, which will impact their lives forever.

An exciting new graphic novel from innovative creators Nathan Page and Drew Shannon that is at once timely and thrilling.

 

 

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker, illustrated by Wendy Xu

A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.

Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.

One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.

Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

 

Nightmare in Savannah by Lela Gwenn, illustrated by Rowan MacColl 

Alexa moves to Savannah to get away from her past. Too bad her past is a Google search away and her parent’s criminal acts quickly make her an outcast. Good thing Fae, Chloe, & Skye aren’t high on the social ladder and give Alexa a group to feel comfortable in. But after a long night of debauchery they transform into the town’s worst nightmare; Fairies.

 

 

 

 

Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter by Atelier Sentō, translated from French by Marie S. Veld

Part fantasy, part travelogue, Diary Of A Yokai Ghost Hunter follows the adventures of two foreign visitors as they tour Japan. When they buy an antique camera along the way, they discover they can capture images of Japan’s invisible spirit world. The forgotten spirits they meet can be kindly, mischievous, and some, downright dangerous.

 

 

 

 

 

The Phantom Twin by Lisa Brown

Isabel and Jane are the Extraordinary Peabody Sisters, conjoined twins in a traveling carnival freak show—until an ambitious surgeon tries to separate them and fails, causing Jane’s death.

Isabel has lost an arm and a leg but gained a ghostly companion: Her dead twin is now her phantom limb. Haunted, altered, and alone for the first time, can Isabel build a new life that’s truly her own?

 

 

 

 

 

Sadako at the End of the World by Koma Natsumi, Kōji Suzuki, Caleb D Cook, and Lys Blakeslee

After the world comes to an end, a pair of sisters play a certain infamous video tape-but Sadako appears, they’re just happy to meet another girl in this post-apocalyptic world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something Is Killing the Children by James Trnion IV, Werther Dell’Erera, and Miguel Muerto

When the children of Archer’s Peak—a sleepy town in the heart of America—begin to go missing, everything seems hopeless. Most children never return, but the ones that do have terrible stories—impossible details of terrifying creatures that live in the shadows. Their only hope of finding and eliminating the threat is the arrival of a mysterious stranger, one who believes the children and claims to be the only one who sees what they can see.

Her name is Erica Slaughter. She kills monsters. That is all she does, and she bears the cost because it must be done.

 

 

 

 

Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and illustrated by Lisa Sterle

When Becca transfers to a high school in an elite San Francisco suburb, she’s worried she’s not going to fit in. To her surprise, she’s immediately adopted by the most popular girls in school. At first glance, Marley, Arianna, and Mandy are perfect. But at a party under a full moon, Becca learns that they also have a big secret.

Becca’s new friends are werewolves. Their prey? Slimy boys who take advantage of unsuspecting girls. Eager to be accepted, Becca allows her friends to turn her into a werewolf, and finally, for the first time in her life, she feels like she truly belongs.

But things get complicated when Arianna’s predatory boyfriend is killed, and the cops begin searching for a serial killer. As their pack begins to buckle under the pressure—and their moral high ground gets muddier and muddier—Becca realizes that she might have feelings for one of her new best friends.

 

Summer Spirit by Elizabeth Holleville

Being a teenager is hard enough without finding out your new best friend is a 60 year old ghost…

Louise spends every summer at her grandmother’s house with her older sister and their cousins. But this summer, Louise realises her relatives are fast growing up, without her. While they’re concerned with boy drama, Louise is suddenly left alone. But then one day she meets Lisa, who will never, ever become a teenager.

 

 

 

 

Thornhill by Pam Smy

Parallel plotlines, one told in text and one in art, inform each other as a young girl unravels the mystery of a ghost next door.
Mary is an orphan at the Thornhill Institute for Children at the very moment that it’s closing down for good. But when a bully goes too far, Mary’s revenge will have a lasting effect on the bully, on Mary, and on Thornhill itself.

Years later, Ella moves to a new town where she has a perfect view of the dilapidated, abandoned Thornhill Institute. Determined to befriend the mysterious, evasive girl she sees there, Ella resolves to unravel Thornhill’s history and uncover its secrets.

Ella’s story is told through striking, bold art; Mary’s is told through diary entries. Each informs the other until the two eventually intersect to reveal the truth behind Thornhill’s shadowy past, once and for all. Strikingly told and masterfully illustrated, Pam Smy bends genres and expectations alike.

 

Watersnakes by Tony Sandoval

Mila is a solitary teenager ready to put another boring summer vacation behind her until she meets Agnes, an adventurous girl who turns out to be a ghost. And not just a regular ghost, but one carrying the essence of an ancient fallen king and a mouth full of teeth that used to be his guardian warriors.    Three-time Eisner Award–nominated writer/artist Tony Sandoval presents a wondrous world of secret places and dreamlike magic hidden in the everyday corners of our sleeping imagination.

 

 

 

 

 

Witchlight by Jessi Zabarsky, with coloring by Geov Chouteau

Jessi Zabarsky’s lushly illustrated shoujo-adventure comic that introduces Lelek the witch as she blows through town one day, kidnapping the peasant girl Sanja. The unlikely pair grow more entangled as they travel together, looking for the missing half of Lelek’s soul – the source of her true magical abilities. Both women are seeking to learn, in their own ways, how to be whole again. This book collects the serialized story all into a single volume, including the heart-gripping conclusion and other all-new material.

 

 

 

 

 

Witchy by Ariel Slamet Ries (series)

In the witch kingdom Hyalin, the strength of your magic is determined by the length of your hair. Those that are strong enough are conscripted by the Witch Guard, who enforce the law in peacetime and protect the land during war. However, those with hair judged too long are pronounced enemies of the kingdom, and annihilated. This is called a witch burning.

Witchy is a comic about the young witch Nyneve, who is haunted by the death of her father and the threat the Witch Guard poses to her own life. When conscription rolls around, Nyneve has a choice to make; join the institution complicit in her father’s death, or stand up for her ideals?

 

This Week at Book Riot

Over on Book Riot this week…

 

New and forthcoming YA disability nonfiction

 

Some fun bookish doormats

Scene Inside a Scene YA Covers

Cover design never fails to fascinate me. We really and truly DO judge books based on their covers, and I don’t think this is a bad thing at all. It’s a marketing tool, a way to bring readers to a book when there are hundreds from which to choose. In YA, this holds especially true, and book covers can be a useful means of reader advisory as well. Covers that have the same “feel” can make great read alikes.

A trend I’ve seen popping up is one I really like and forces me to pause to take it in. It’s the scene within a scene. You have what looks like one image when you take it in as a whole, but as you look deeper, you find an additional scene within it. It’s compelling and offers a way to pack in a lot more information about the book’s contents. It’s a bit like the YA montage cover, but instead of playing outward, it plays itself inward.

I’ve pulled together some great examples of the scene inside a scene YA cover design. Designer credits are included where found, and descriptions all come from Goodreads. Know of other recent covers that fit the trend? I’d love to hear about them!

 

Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher

Cover design by Kerri Resnick, Illustration by Beatriz Naranjalidad

I’m a big fan of the bookstore scene within the girl we see in the foreground. The juxtaposition of the larger girl on the outside’s expression with what is (I assume) her expression on the interior scene is clever.

 

Eighteen-year-old Amelia Griffin is obsessed with the famous Orman Chronicles, written by the young and reclusive prodigy N. E. Endsley. They’re the books that brought her and her best friend Jenna together after Amelia’s father left and her family imploded. So when Amelia and Jenna get the opportunity to attend a book festival with Endsley in attendance, Amelia is ecstatic. It’s the perfect way to start off their last summer before college.

In a heartbeat, everything goes horribly wrong. When Jenna gets a chance to meet the author and Amelia doesn’t, the two have a blowout fight like they’ve never experienced. And before Amelia has a chance to mend things, Jenna is killed in a freak car accident. Grief-stricken, and without her best friend to guide her, Amelia questions everything she had planned for the future.

When a mysterious, rare edition of the Orman Chronicles arrives, Amelia is convinced that it somehow came from Jenna. Tracking the book to an obscure but enchanting bookstore in Michigan, Amelia is shocked to find herself face-to-face with the enigmatic and handsome N. E. Endsley himself, the reason for Amelia’s and Jenna’s fight and perhaps the clue to what Jenna wanted to tell her all along.

 

 

 

Cold The Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long (January)

Cover design by Olga Grlic, illustration by Luisa Preissler

 

This one is a scene within a scene within a scene! Check out the wolf frame, with the girl’s face inside, then continue looking inward for a wolf and person running in a snowy wood. The waves of the wolf’s main on the outer image mirrors the waves in the girl’s hair, as well as the movement of the two running.

 

A captivating debut about survival, found family, and the bond between a girl and a wolf that delivers a fresh twist on classic survival stories and frontier myths.

After angering a local gangster, seventeen-year-old Sena Korhosen must flee with his prize fighting wolf, Iska, in tow. A team of scientists offer to pay her way off her frozen planet on one condition: she gets them to the finish line of the planet’s infamous sled race. Though Sena always swore she’d never race after it claimed both her mothers’ lives, it’s now her only option. But the tundra is a treacherous place, and as the race unfolds and their lives are threatened at every turn, Sena starts to question her own abilities. She must discover whether she’s strong enough to survive the wild – whether she and Iska together are strong enough to get them all out alive.

 

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

Cover designed by Kerri Resnick, illustrated by Peter Strain

 

Aside from the greater image of two girls made of smoke being chilling in and of itself, the solitary cabin amid the woods inside the image only adds to the atmosphere. The color palette here enhances the entire design.

 

The Dark has been waiting for far too long, and it won’t stay hidden any longer. 

Something is wrong in Snakebite, Oregon. Teenagers are disappearing, some turning up dead, the weather isn’t normal, and all fingers seem to point to TV’s most popular ghost hunters who have just returned to town. Logan Ortiz-Woodley, daughter of TV’s ParaSpectors, has never been to Snakebite before, but the moment she and her dads arrive, she starts to get the feeling that there’s more secrets buried here than they originally let on.

Ashley Barton’s boyfriend was the first teen to go missing, and she’s felt his presence ever since. But now that the Ortiz-Woodleys are in town, his ghost is following her and the only person Ashley can trust is the mysterious Logan. When Ashley and Logan team up to figure out who—or what—is haunting Snakebite, their investigation reveals truths about the town, their families, and themselves that neither of them are ready for. As the danger intensifies, they realize that their growing feelings for each other could be a light in the darkness.

 

 

 

Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro (paperback)

 

I can’t find the artist or designer responsible for the new paperback edition of Oshiro’s sophomore YA book and I wish I could. I really love the look going on here, and I think the way the original hardcover was woven into the new look is savvy. This design, even with its two people pictured on the cover, manages to feel more isolating than the original.

 

Xochital is destined to wander the desert alone, speaking her troubled village’s stories into its arid winds. Her only companions are the blessed stars above and enimagic lines of poetry magically strewn across dusty dunes.

Her one desire: to share her heart with a kindred spirit.

One night, Xo’s wish is granted—in the form of Emilia, the cold and beautiful daughter of the town’s murderous mayor. But when the two set out on a magical journey across the desert, they find their hearts could be a match… if only they can survive the nightmare-like terrors that arise when the sun goes down.

 

 

Full Flight by Ashley Schumacher (February)

Design by Kerri Resnick, illustration by Beatriz Naranjalidad (starting to look familiar?)

 

The marching band inside the girl in its super saturated color is so much fun. I’m also drawn in by the couple being mirrored in the shirt of the guy on the right — is it the same couple? One quirk, though: where is his other leg? The physical impossibility here is boggling my mind a bit. Her knee couldn’t be bent the way it is if his other leg is bent and parallel to the one we see.

 

Everyone else in the tiny town of Enfield, Texas calls fall football season, but for the forty-three members of the Fighting Enfield Marching Band, it’s contest season. And for new saxophonist Anna James, it’s her first chance to prove herself as the great musician she’s trying hard to be.

When she’s assigned a duet with mellophone player Weston Ryan, the boy her small-minded town thinks of as nothing but trouble, she’s equal parts thrilled and intimidated. But as he helps her with the duet, and she sees the smile he seems to save just for her, she can’t help but feel like she’s helping him with something too.

After her strict parents find out she’s been secretly seeing him and keep them apart, together they learn what it truly means to fight for something they love. With the marching contest nearing, and the two falling hard for one another, the unthinkable happens, and Anna is left grappling for a way forward without Weston.

 

 

Flyy Girls (series) by Ashley Woodfolk

Designed by Julia Rosenfield

 

 

All four of the books in this series use the same design technique and bold colors. I love that we get to know each of the four Flyy Girls with what’s collaged inside their silhouette.

 

Lux Lawson is on a spree. Ever since her dad left, she’s been kicked out of every school that would take her, and this is her last chance: Harlem’s Augusta Savage School of the Arts. If this doesn’t work, Lux is off to military school, no questions asked. That means no more acting out, no more fights, and definitely no boyfriends. Focus on her photography, and make nice friends. That’s the deal.

Enter the Flyy Girls, three students who have it all together. The type of girls Lux needs to be friends with to stay out of trouble. And after charming her way into the group, Lux feels she’s on the right track. But every group has their secrets, including Lux. And when the past starts catching up with her, can she keep her place as a Flyy Girl?

In this searing series opener, Lux takes center stage as she figures out just how hard it can be to start over.

With simply stated text and compelling characters, Flyy Girls is a series that’s perfect for readers of any level.

 

 

The Project by Courtney Summers

Cover design by Kerri Resnick, illustration by Marie Bergeron

 

It’s a scene from in the book and definitely adds a thriller vibe to the cover. It’s interesting to me how Summers’s books, for the most part, feature very prominent hair on the cover model.

 

Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died in a tragic car accident, her sister Bea joined the elusive community called The Unity Project, leaving Lo to fend for herself. Desperate not to lose the only family she has left, Lo has spent the last six years trying to reconnect with Bea, only to be met with radio silence.

When Lo’s given the perfect opportunity to gain access to Bea’s reclusive life, she thinks they’re finally going to be reunited. But it’s difficult to find someone who doesn’t want to be found, and as Lo delves deeper into The Project and its charismatic leader, she begins to realize that there’s more at risk than just her relationship with Bea: her very life might be in danger.

As she uncovers more questions than answers at each turn, everything Lo thought she knew about herself, her sister, and the world is upended. One thing doesn’t change, though, and that’s what keeps her going: Bea needs her, and Lo will do anything to save her.

 

 

A Sitting in St James by Rita Williams-Garcia

Designed by David Curtis and illustrated by Mark Smith

 

Besides being one of my favorite books of 2021, this is also one of my favorite cover designs. It brilliantly captures the story, filling the silhouette with scenes from the book. This is a story on a plantation and the person made of nature on the foreground is one of the key figures — and in my mind, most fascinating — in the book.

 

This astonishing novel about the interwoven lives of those bound to a plantation in antebellum America is an epic masterwork—empathetic, brutal, and entirely human.

1860, Louisiana. After serving as mistress of Le Petit Cottage for more than six decades, Madame Sylvie Guilbert has decided, in spite of her family’s indifference, to sit for a portrait.

But there are other important stories to be told on the Guilbert plantation. Stories that span generations, from the big house to out in the fields, of routine horrors, secrets buried as deep as the family fortune, and the tangled bonds of descendants and enslaved.

 

 

Sunkissed by Kasie West

 

 

Sunglasses on YA book covers was such a thing for a long time. This design takes it a step further with the image of a cabin in the woods beside a lake, giving a nice idea of the lightness of the story and its setting. Unlike a couple of the covers above, the cabin here doesn’t feel scary.

 

Will the stars align?

Avery has always used music as an escape. But after her best friend betrays her, even her perfectly curated playlists can’t help her forget what happened. To make matters worse, her parents have dragged her and her social-media-obsessed sister to a remote family camp for two months of “fun.” Just when Avery is ready to give up on the summer altogether, she meets Brooks—mysterious, frustratingly charming Brooks—who just happens to be on staff—which means he’s off-limits.

What starts as a disaster turns into . . . something else. As the outside world falls away, Avery embarks on a journey of self-discovery. And when Brooks offers her the chance of a lifetime, she must figure out how far is she willing to go to find out what she wants and who she wants to be.

 

 

Time Will Tell by Barry Lyga

Designed and illustrated by Chris Koehler and Jenny Kimura

 

 

The design for Lyga’s latest book is fabulous. I love the hourglass and how we know this’ll be a twisty thriller from it. But add to that the scene of the teens looking downward toward the falling sand — which turns into a knife — and it has everything you’d need to know about the story. The book’s partially set in 1986 and I think that is reflected in the way the cover also feels like an 80s teen mystery.

 

Four teens have dug up the time capsule that their parents buried in 1986 and never bothered to recover. But in addition to the expected ephemera of mixtapes, Walkmans, photographs, letters, toys, and assorted junk, Elayah, Liam, Marcie, and Jorja discover something sinister: a hunting knife stained with blood and wrapped with a note. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kill anyone.”

As the action dramatically alternates between the present day and 1986, the mystery unfolds and the sins of the past echo into today. The teens haven’t just unearthed a time capsule: they’ve also dug up pain and secrets that someone–maybe one of their own parents–is willing to kill for. 

This Week at Book Riot

 

Over on Book Riot this week…

 

Parents in Putnam County, New York, are challenging The Hate U Give.

 

And Leander Independent School District outside Austin, Texas, pulled more books from classroom shelves and reading lists.

 

A roundup of excellent dark academia aesthetic bookish gifts.

 

Tap into your nostalgia with these old school 90s teen book series. Which do you remember?

2021 YA Nonfiction for the Second Half of the Year

I think we’re entering a real golden age for YA nonfiction. I’d shared a great roundup of early 2021 YA nonfiction titles back in January, and while I’d had every intention of a mid-year update, those plans got waylaid by life. One upside of that, though, is now there’s a clear picture of what the rest of the year looks like for YA nonfiction and I’m so excited to share them.

Nonfiction for young readers — that 10-18 range, which spans both middle grade readers and teen readers — always seems to be one of the categories that doesn’t land on a whole lot of lists. I suspect part of it has to do with the fact these books are still not as widely publicized or reviewed as their fictional counterparts, part of it has to do with the fact it’s a bit of a strange age-range, part of it has to do with the stigma around nonfiction for young readers being “report books” still, and part of it has to do with the fact that many YA-centric reviews/blogs/publicity avenues ultimately cater to the adult reader of YA, as opposed to the young reader. Again, not a slight.

Young readers are the target market of nonfiction for young readers. How the word about these books spreads is just different.

One of the things that makes this category of books so special and has for the better part of the last decade is that they’re inclusive. They showcase a wide range of stories, of insights, and of perspectives.

This isn’t a comprehensive list because finding publishers of YA nonfiction isn’t easy and few lists exist that compile large numbers of titles (this might be one of the only!). I have done my best to include as many as I could find, and I welcome folks to drop other titles they know about in the comments.

It’s also challenging to differentiate between books which are meant to help students with research projects — aka, reference books — and those meant to be more leisure reading without looking at them first hand. That doesn’t mean these two types of nonfiction are at odds but rather, it’s something that makes highlighting narrative nonfiction a little trickier.

Children’s nonfiction writer Melissa Stewart has a tremendous resource on the five types of nonfiction I highly recommend reading if this is a category that interests you. I don’t include what she calls active nonfiction, nor do I tend to include tie-ins to franchises, fan service materials, and similar nonfiction that’s highly browsable.

All descriptions are from Goodreads, as are publication dates. Especially with the pandemic and printer challenges, publication dates can shift and change. Note, too, that these books cover a slightly different age range that typical YA books. Some will skew a little younger and encompass middle grade readers. I have also included nonfiction comics on the list.

Some interesting themes emerging in this YA nonfiction roundup: allyship, racism, Black history in America, climate change, and lesser-known World War II heroes.

 

 

Fall and Winter 2021 YA Nonfiction

 

August Call Me American by Abdi Nor Iftin (paperback)

Abdi Nor Iftin first fell in love with America from afar. As a child, he learned English by listening to American pop and watching action films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. When U.S. marines landed in Mogadishu to take on the warlords, Abdi cheered the arrival of these Americans, who seemed as heroic as those of the movies.

Sporting American clothes and dance moves, he became known around Mogadishu as Abdi American, but when the radical Islamist group al-Shabaab rose to power in 2006, it became dangerous to celebrate Western culture. Desperate to make a living, Abdi used his language skills to post secret dispatches, which found an audience of worldwide listeners. Eventually, though, Abdi was forced to flee to Kenya.

In an amazing stroke of luck, Abdi won entrance to the U.S. in the annual visa lottery, though his route to America did not come easily. Parts of his story were first heard on the BBC World Service and This American Life. Now a proud resident of Maine, on the path to citizenship, Abdi Nor Iftin’s dramatic, deeply stirring memoir is truly a story for our time: a vivid reminder of why America still beckons to those looking to make a better life.

 

Last Witnesses: Young Reader’s Edition by Svetlana Alexievich

Nobel Prize-winning writer Svetlana Alexievich delves into the traumatic memories of children who were separated from their parents during World War II–most of them never to be reunited–in this this young adult adaptation of her acclaimed nonfiction masterpiece (The Guardian), Last Witnesses: An Oral History of the Children of WWII.

The personal narratives told by those who were children during WWII and survived harrowing experiences, are astounding. So many children were separated from their loved ones in the midst of the terror and chaos. As a result, some grew up in orphanages or were raised by grandparents or extended family; others were taken in and cared for by strangers who risked punishment for such acts. Still others lived on their own or became underage soldiers. Forthright and riveting, these bravely told oral histories of survival reveal the heart-rending details of life during wartime while reminding us that resilience is possible, no matter the circumstances.

 

 

SeptemberCode Name Badass: The True Story of Virginia Hall by Heather Demetrios

When James Bond was still in diapers, Virginia Hall was behind enemy lines, playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse with Hitler’s henchmen. Did this shero have second thoughts after a terrible accident left her needing a wooden leg? Please. Virginia Hall was the baddest broad in any room she walked into. When the State Department proved to be a sexist boys’ club that wouldn’t allow her in, she gave the finger to society’s expectations of women and became a spy for the British. This boss lady helped arm and train the French Resistance and organized sabotage missions. There was just one problem: The Butcher of Lyon, a notorious Gestapo commander, was after her. But, hey—Virginia’s classmates didn’t call her the Fighting Blade for nothing.

So how does a girl who was a pirate in the school play, spent her childhood summers milking goats, and rocked it on the hockey field end up becoming the Gestapo’s most wanted spy? Audacious, irreverent, and fiercely feminist, Code Name Badass is for anyone who doesn’t take no for an answer.

 

 

Finding Refuge: Real-Life Immigration Stories from Young People by Victorya Rouse

What is a refugee? This anthology recounts the personal immigration experiences of teenage refugees from around the world, including where they came from, why they left, how they arrived in the United States, and what happened next. These writers know firsthand it means to leave a beloved but unsafe homeland for a distant place where everyone speaks another language.

English teacher Victorya Rouse has assembled a collection of real-world stories essential for our times, complete with maps, context, and background on the refugees’ home countries. As immigration has catapulted into the current discourse, this poignant collection emphasizes the USA’s rich tradition of welcoming people from all over the world.

 

 

 

We Are Not Broken by George M Johnson

This is the vibrant story of George, Garrett, Rall, and Rasul — four children raised by Nanny, their fiercely devoted grandmother. The boys hold one another close through early brushes with racism, memorable experiences at the family barbershop, and first loves and losses. And with Nanny at their center, they are never broken.

George M. Johnson capture the unique experience of growing up as a Black boy in America, and their rich family stories — exploring themes of vulnerability, sacrifice, and culture — are interspersed with touching letters from the grandchildren to their beloved matriarch. By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, this personal account is destined to become a modern classic of emerging adulthood.

 

 

 

 

When Can We Go Back to America? by Susan H. Kamei

In this dramatic and page-turning narrative history of Japanese Americans before, during, and after their World War II incarceration, Susan H. Kamei weaves the voices of over 130 individuals who lived through this tragic episode, most of them as young adults.

It’s difficult to believe it happened here, in the Land of the Free: After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States government forcibly removed more than 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific Coast and imprisoned them in desolate detention camps until the end of World War II just because of their race.

In what Secretary Norman Y. Mineta describes as a “landmark book,” he and others who lived through this harrowing experience tell the story of their incarceration and the long-term impact of this dark period in American history. For the first time, why and how these tragic events took place are interwoven with more than 130 individual voices of those who were unconstitutionally incarcerated, many of them children and young adults.

Now more than ever, their words will resonate with readers who are confronting questions about racial identity, immigration, and citizenship, and what it means to be an American.

 

Chasing The Truth by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, adapted by Ruby Shamir from the book She Said.

Do you want to know how to bring secrets to light?
How journalists can hold the powerful to account?
And how to write stories that can make a difference?

In Chasing the Truth, Pulitzer Prize winning journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey share their thoughts from their early days writing their first stories to their time as award-winning investigative journalists, offering tips and advice along the way. Adapted from their New York Times bestselling book She Said, Chasing the Truth not only tells the story of the culture-shifting Harvey Weinstein investigation, but it also shares their best practices with readers. This is the perfect book for aspiring journalists or anyone devoted to uncovering the truth.

 

 

 

It Doesn’t Have To Be Awkward by Drew Pinsky and Paulina Pinsky

When it comes to sex, relationships, and consent, establishing boundaries and figuring out who you are and what you want is never simple—especially as a teenager. What’s the line between a friendship and a romantic partner? How can you learn to trust your body’s signals? And what if you’re not quite sure what your sexuality is?

In this book, renowned celebrity M.D. Dr. Drew and his daughter Paulina Pinsky take on those awkward, and incredibly important questions teens today are asking themselves and parents wish they had a better grasp on. Filled with tangible and accessible resources, and featuring humorous and raw personal anecdotes, this is the perfect guide for teens, parents, and educators to go beyond “the talk” and dive into honest and meaningful conversations about sex, relationships, and consent.

 

 

 

A Light in the Darkness by Albert Marrin (paperback)

Janusz Korczak was more than a good doctor. He was a hero. The Dr. Spock of his day, he established orphanages run on his principle of honoring children and shared his ideas with the public in books and on the radio. He famously said that children are not the people of tomorrow, but people today. Korczak was a man ahead of his time, whose work ultimately became the basis for the U.N. Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

Korczak was also a Polish Jew on the eve of World War II. He turned down multiple opportunities for escape, standing by the children in his orphanage as they became confined to the Warsaw Ghetto. Dressing them in their Sabbath finest, he led their march to the trains and ultimately perished with his children in Treblinka.

But this book is much more than a biography. In it, renowned nonfiction master Albert Marrin examines not just Janusz Korczak’s life but his ideology of children: that children are valuable in and of themselves, as individuals. He contrasts this with Adolf Hitler’s life and his ideology of children: that children are nothing more than tools of the state.

And throughout, Marrin draws readers into the Warsaw Ghetto. What it was like. How it was run. How Jews within and Poles without responded. Who worked to save lives and who tried to enrich themselves on other people’s suffering. And how one man came to represent the conscience and the soul of humanity.

Filled with black-and-white photographs, this is an unforgettable portrait of a man whose compassion in even the darkest hours reminds us what is possible.

 

The Other Talk: Reckoning With Our White Privilege by Brendan Kiely

Talking about racism can be hard, but…

Most kids of color grow up talking about racism. They have “The Talk” with their families—the honest talk about survival in a racist world.

But white kids don’t. They’re barely spoken to about race at all—and that needs to change. Because not talking about racism doesn’t make it go away. Not talking about white privilege doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

The Other Talk begins this much-needed conversation for white kids. In an instantly relatable and deeply honest account of his own life, Brendan Kiely offers young readers a way to understand one’s own white privilege and why allyship is so vital, so that we can all start doing our part—today.

 

 

Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia by Marc Favreau (paperback)

The Cold War spanned five decades as America and the USSR engaged in a battle of ideologies with global ramifications. Over the course of the war, with the threat of mutually assured nuclear destruction looming, billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives were devoted to the art and practice of spying, ensuring that the world would never be the same.

This work of narrative nonfiction explores the turbulence of the Cold War through the lens of the men and women who waged it behind closed doors, and helps explain the role secret and clandestine operations have played in America’s history and its national security.

 

 

 

Hope in the Mail by Wendelin Van Draanen (paperback)

Wendelin Van Draanen didn’t grow up wanting to be a writer, but thirty books later, she’s convinced that writing saved her life. Or, at least, saved her from a life of bitterness and despair. Writing helped her sort out what she thought and felt and wanted. And digging deep into fictional characters helped her understand the real people in her life better as well.

Wendelin shares what she’s learned–about writing, life, and what it takes to live the writing life. This book is packed with practical advice on the craft: about how to create characters and plot a story that’s exciting to read. But maybe even more helpful is the insight she provides into the persistence, and perseverance, it takes to live a productive, creative life. And she answers the age-old question Where do you get your ideas? by revealing how events in her own life became the seeds of her best-loved novels.

Hope in the Mail is a wildly inspirational read for anyone with a story to share.

 

 

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon

In this comprehensive, inspiring, and all-too-relevant history of the Black Panther Party, Kekla Magoon introduces readers to the Panthers’ community activism, grounded in the concept of self-defense, which taught Black Americans how to protect and support themselves in a country that treated them like second-class citizens. For too long the Panthers’ story has been a footnote to the civil rights movement rather than what it was: a revolutionary socialist movement that drew thousands of members—mostly women—and became the target of one of the most sustained repression efforts ever made by the U.S. government against its own citizens.

Revolution in Our Time puts the Panthers in the proper context of Black American history, from the first arrival of enslaved people to the Black Lives Matter movement of today. Kekla Magoon’s eye-opening work invites a new generation of readers grappling with injustices in the United States to learn from the Panthers’ history and courage, inspiring them to take their own place in the ongoing fight for justice.

 

 

October Black Birds in the Sky by Brandy Colbert

In the early morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob marched across the train tracks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and into its predominantly Black Greenwood District—a thriving, affluent neighborhood known as America’s Black Wall Street. They brought with them firearms, gasoline, and explosives. In a few short hours, they’d razed thirty-five square blocks to the ground, leaving hundreds dead. The Tulsa Race Massacre is one of the most devastating acts of racial violence in US history. But how did it come to pass? What exactly happened? And why are the events unknown to so many of us today?

These are the questions that award-winning author Brandy Colbert seeks to answer in this unflinching nonfiction account of the Tulsa Race Massacre. In examining the tension that was brought to a boil by many factors—white resentment of Black economic and political advancement, the resurgence of white supremacist groups, the tone and perspective of the media, and more—a portrait is drawn of an event singular in its devastation, but not in its kind. It is part of a legacy of white violence that can be traced from our country’s earliest days through Reconstruction, the Civil Rights movement in the mid–twentieth century, and the fight for justice and accountability Black Americans still face today.

The Tulsa Race Massacre has long failed to fit into the story Americans like to tell themselves about the history of their country. This book, ambitious and intimate in turn, explores the ways in which the story of the Tulsa Race Massacre is the story of America—and by showing us who we are, points to a way forward.

 

Feminist AF by Brittney Cooper, Chanel Craft Tanner, and Susana Morris (paperback)

Loud and rowdy girls, quiet and nerdy girls, girls who rock naturals, girls who wear weave, outspoken and opinionated girls, girls still finding their voice, queer girls, trans girls, and gender nonbinary young people who want to make the world better: Feminist AF uses the insights of feminism to address issues relevant to today’s young womxn.

What do you do when you feel like your natural hair is ugly, or when classmates keep touching it? How do you handle your self-confidence if your family or culture prizes fair-skinned womxn over darker-skinned ones? How do you balance your identities if you’re an immigrant or the child of immigrants? How do you dress and present yourself in ways that feel good when society condemns anything outside of the norm? Covering colorism and politics, romance and pleasure, code switching, and sexual violence, Feminist AF is the empowering guide to living your feminism out loud.

 

Punching Bag by Rex Ogle

Punching Bag is the compelling true story of a high school career defined by poverty and punctuated by outbreaks of domestic abuse. Rex Ogle, who brilliantly mapped his experience of hunger in Free Lunch, here describes his struggle to survive; reflects on his complex, often paradoxical relationship with his passionate, fierce mother; and charts the trajectory of his stepdad’s anger. Hovering over Rex’s story is the talismanic presence of his unborn baby sister.

Through it all, Rex threads moments of grace and humor that act as beacons of light in the darkness. Compulsively readable, beautifully crafted, and authentically told, Punching Bag is a remarkable memoir about one teenager’s cycle of violence, blame, and attempts to forgive his parents—and himself.

 

 

Rise Up: How You Can Join The Fight Against White Supremacy by Crystal Marie Fleming

Where did racism come from? Why hasn’t it disappeared? And what can young people do about it? 

Through vivid narratives and contemporary examples ripped from the headlines, Rise Up! provides young readers with a first-of-its-kind resource for understanding racial injustice and its continued impact on the US today, addressing questions like: Why are white supremacists still openly marching in America? And why are undocumented children of color separated from their families and housed in cages?

Sociologist and critically-acclaimed author Crystal Fleming delivers an in-depth overview of the roots and legacies of racism in the US and offers young people ways in which they can help foster a more just society. With her honest, direct tone, Crystal imparts the knowledge and values that unite all antiracists who wish to join the struggle for equality in the hopes of building a more inclusive world: empathy, respect, and tolerance.

 

 

On Top of Glass: My Stories as a Queer Girl in Figure Skating by Karina Manta

Karina Manta has had a busy few years: Not only did she capture the hearts of many with her fan-favorite performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, she also became the first female figure skater on Team USA to come out as queer. Her Modern Love essay I Can’t Hate My Body if I Love Hers was published in the New York Times, and then she joined the circus–Cirque du Soleil’s on-ice show, AXEL.

Karina’s memoir covers these experiences and much more. Attending a high school with 4,000 students, you’d expect to know more than two openly gay students, but Karina didn’t meet an out-lesbian until she was nearly seventeen–let alone any other kind of queer woman. But this isn’t just a story about her queerness. It’s also a story about her struggle with body image in a sport that prizes delicate femininity. It’s a story about panic attacks, and first crushes, and all the crushes that followed, and it’s a story about growing up, feeling different than everybody around her and then realizing that everyone else felt different too.

 

 

A Rebel in Auschwitz by Jack Fairweather

With exclusive access to previously hidden diaries, family and camp survivor accounts, and recently declassified files, critically acclaimed and award-winning journalist Jack Fairweather brilliantly portrays the remarkable man who volunteered to face the unknown in the name of truth and country. This extraordinary and eye-opening account of the Holocaust invites us all to bear witness.

Occupied Warsaw, Summer 1940:

Witold Pilecki, a Polish underground operative, accepted a mission to uncover the fate of thousands interned at a new concentration camp, report on Nazi crimes, raise a secret army, and stage an uprising. The name of the camp — Auschwitz.

Over the next two and half years, and under the cruellest of conditions, Pilecki’s underground sabotaged facilities, assassinated Nazi officers, and gathered evidence of terrifying abuse and mass murder. But as he pieced together the horrifying Nazi plans to exterminate Europe’s Jews, Pilecki realized he would have to risk his men, his life, and his family to warn the West before all was lost. To do so meant attempting the impossible — but first he would have to escape from Auschwitz itself

 

The Woman All Spies Fear by Amy Butler Greenfield

For fans of Hidden Figures here is an inspiring true story about an American woman who pioneered codebreaking in WWI and WWII but was only recently recognized for her extraordinary contributions. 

Elizebeth Smith Friedman always had a penchant for solving riddles. It was this skill, and a desire to do something with her life that led her to become one of the top cryptanalysts in America during both World War I and II. She originally came to codebreaking through her love for Shakespeare when she was hired by an eccentric billionaire to prove that Shakespeare’s plays had secret messages in them and were written by Frances Bacon. Though she came to the conclusion that there were not any secret messages in the plays, she learned so much about coding that she went on to play a major role in decoding messages during WWI and WWII and also for the US Coast Guard’s own war against smugglers. Elizebeth and her husband, William, became the top codebreaking team in the US, and she did it all at a time when women weren’t a welcome presence in the workforce.

 

 

Disability Visibility: Young Reader’s Edition edited by Alice Wong

The seventeen eye-opening essays in Disability Visibility, all written by disabled people, offer keen insight into the complex and rich disability experience, examining life’s ableism and inequality, its challenges and losses, and celebrating its wisdom, passion, and joy.

The accounts in this collection ask readers to think about disabled people not as individuals who need to be “fixed,” but as members of a community with its own history, culture, and movements. They offer diverse perspectives that speak to past, present, and future generations. It is essential reading for all.

 

 

 

 

November and December A Face for Picasso by Ariel Henley

At only eight months old, identical twin sisters Ariel and Zan were diagnosed with Crouzon syndrome — a rare condition where the bones in the head fuse prematurely. They were the first twins known to survive the disease.

Growing up, Ariel and her sister endured numerous appearance-altering procedures. Surgeons would break the bones in their heads and faces to make room for their growing organs. While the physical aspect of their condition was painful, it was nothing compared to the emotional toll of navigating life with a facial disfigurement.

Ariel explores beauty and identity in her young-adult memoir about resilience, sisterhood, and the strength it takes to put your life, and yourself, back together time and time again.

 

 

 

Food-Related Stories by Gaby Melian, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky (paperback)

In this moving, personal account, chef and activist Gaby Melian shares her journey with food and how creating a relationship with food — however simple or complicated — is a form of activism in its own right.

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today’s leading activists and artists.

Food rescued me so many other times — not only because I sold food to survive. I cook to entertain; I cook to be liked; I cook to be loved. In this installment, chef and activist Gaby Melian shares her personal journey with food — from growing up in Argentina to her time as a Jersey City street vendor and later, as Bon Appetit‘s test kitchen manager. Powerful and full of heart, here, Melian explores how we can develop a relationship with food that’s healthy, sustainable, and thoughtful.

 

 

A Hot Mess by Jeff Fleischer

We already know what climate change is and many of us understand the human causes. But what will climate change do to our world? Who will be affected (spoiler: all of us!) and how will our lives change in the future? Topics include sea levels, extreme weather, drought, animal and plant extinction, and human and animal migration. Drawing on real-life situations and stories, journalist Jeff Fleischer takes an informed, approachable look at how our world will likely change as a result of our actions, including suggestions on what we can still do to slow down these unprecedented effects.

 

 

 

 

 

The Story of More: Young Reader’s Edition by Hope Jahren

Hope Jahren illuminates the science behind key inventions, clarifying how electricity, large-scale farming, and automobiles have both helped and harmed our world. She explains the current and projected consequences of unchecked global warming, from superstorms to rising sea levels, resulting from the unprecedented amounts of greenhouse gases being released into our atmosphere.

The links between human consumption habits and our endangered existence are very real. Still, Jahren maintains that our ever-broadening science-based knowledge can help us counter these effects. The eye-opening information in The Story of More will help readers understand the path needed. If we collectively make informed choices now, Jahren reassures, our future can be as bright as we imagine it can be.

This Week at Book Riot

 

So much to share from Book Riot over the last week!

A whole new wave of challenges are showing up for It’s Perfectly Normal across schools and libraries.

 

Here’s how American reading habits shifted over the last year.

 

New York Public Library workers raise concerns over the lack of protections and safety measures as facilities reopen.

 

These were the most in demand books in US libraries between April and July 2021.

 

An array of awesome fruit bookmarks.

 

A roundup of the best high contrast books for babies. Want to share this post on social? I’ve put it up on Instagram.

 

Bookish nursery decor.

 

I’m also back on Hey YA after many months away. New cohost Erika and I dig into uplifting/fun fantasy reads, as well as short YA worth picking up.

Booklist: YA books set in Hawaii

I took my first real post-vaccination vacation a couple of weeks ago (which doubled as a honeymoon of sorts) to Hawai‘i. We stayed on the Big Island and had a lot of fun scuba diving with the giant manta rays, snorkeling with the spinner dolphins, and we even splurged for a helicopter ride over Kīlauea.

It was disgustingly beautiful every day.

Since Hawai‘i is on my mind, I thought I’d create a list of YA books set in this beautiful state. I gave preference to those written by Hawai‘ians and Hawai‘i residents, though some are by outsiders. I plan to pick up one or two of these soon to round out my experience.

 

The Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan

Sixteen-year-old Leilani loves surfing and her home in Hilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii. But she’s an outsider – half white, half Hawaiian, and an epileptic.

While Lei and her father are on a visit to Oahu, a global disaster strikes. Technology and power fail, Hawaii is cut off from the world, and the islands revert to traditional ways of survival. As Lei and her dad embark on a nightmarish journey across islands to reach home and family, she learns that her epilepsy and her deep connection to Hawaii could be keys to ending the crisis before it becomes worse than anyone can imagine.

A powerful story enriched by fascinating elements of Hawaiian ecology, culture, and warfare, this captivating and dramatic debut from Austin Aslan is the first of two novels. The author has a master’s degree in tropical conservation biology from the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

 

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Rumi Seto spends a lot of time worrying she doesn’t have the answers to everything. What to eat, where to go, whom to love. But there is one thing she is absolutely sure of—she wants to spend the rest of her life writing music with her younger sister, Lea.

Then Lea dies in a car accident, and her mother sends her away to live with her aunt in Hawaii while she deals with her own grief. Now thousands of miles from home, Rumi struggles to navigate the loss of her sister, being abandoned by her mother, and the absence of music in her life. With the help of the “boys next door”—a teenage surfer named Kai, who smiles too much and doesn’t take anything seriously, and an eighty-year-old named George Watanabe, who succumbed to his own grief years ago—Rumi attempts to find her way back to her music, to write the song she and Lea never had the chance to finish.

Aching, powerful, and unflinchingly honest, Summer Bird Blue explores big truths about insurmountable grief, unconditional love, and how to forgive even when it feels impossible.

 

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father’s ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination.

As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to any time, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa. Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.

But the end to it all looms closer every day.

Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence.

For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.

She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.

Or she could disappear.

 

Juniors by Kaui Hart Hemmings

Lea Lane has lived in between all her life.

Part Hawaiian, part Mainlander. Perpetual new girl at school. Hanging in the shadow of her actress mother’s spotlight. And now: new resident of the prominent West family’s guest cottage.

Bracing herself for the embarrassment of being her classmates’ latest charity case, Lea is surprised when she starts becoming friends with Will and Whitney West instead—or in the case of gorgeous, unattainable Will, possibly even more than friends. And despite their differences, Whitney and Lea have a lot in common: both are navigating a tangled web of relationships, past disappointments and future hopes. As things heat up with Will, and her friendship with Whitney deepens, Lea has to decide how much she’s willing to change in order to fit into their world.

Lea Lane has lived in between all her life. But it isn’t until her junior year that she learns how to do it on her own terms.

 

Makena’s Shadow by Monica K. K. Lee

Everything in Gabriel Kane Foster’s life is shady: his family’s move from California to Hawaii immediately after his sister Makena dies, his parents’ strange relationship with the relatives, and the fact that his deranged Mother is constantly carrying his sister around in a bottle.

And then there are the secrets. So many family secrets. Can Gabe stay strong while adjusting to his new life without Makena?

Makena’s Shadow is a Young Adult novel that takes place in Pupukea on the famed North Shore of O’ahu. It is a coming of age story written from the point of view of a thirteen (and-a-half) year-old boy who, born and raised in the mainland, is forced to immerse himself in the culture of his ancestors. Without his older sister beside him, or his grieving parents to guide him, he finds himself lost, angry, and alone in a world that doesn’t make sense.

When Gabe’s cousins challenge him, he takes them on and discovers the depth and beauty of his heritage, the calm that the ocean brings, and the excitement of the sport of outrigger canoe paddling.

 

Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me by Lurline Wailana McGregor

Moana Kawelo, PhD, has a promising career as a museum curator in Los Angeles. The untimely death of her father – and the gravitational pull of Hawai’i when she returns home for his funeral – causes Moana to question her motivations and her glamorous life in California. Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me is the story of Moana’s struggle to understand her ancestral responsibilities, mend relationships, and find her identity as a Hawaiian in today’s world.

 

 

 

Pills and Starships by Lydia Millet

In this richly imagined dystopic future brought by global warming, seventeen-year-old Nat and her hacker brother Sam have come by ship to the Big Island of Hawaii for their parents’ Final Week. The few Americans who still live well also live long—so long that older adults bow out not by natural means but by buying death contracts from the corporates who now run the disintegrating society by keeping the people happy through a constant diet of “pharma.” Nat’s family is spending their pharma-guided last week at a luxury resort complex called the Twilight Island Acropolis.

Deeply conflicted about her parents’ decision, Nat spends her time keeping a record of everything her family does in the company-supplied diary that came in the hotel’s care package. While Nat attempts to come to terms with her impending parentless future, Sam begins to discover cracks in the corporates’ agenda and eventually rebels against the company his parents have hired to handle their last days. Nat has to choose a side. Does she let her parents go gently into that good night, or does she turn against the system and try to break them out?

But the deck is stacked against Nat and Sam: in this oppressive environment, water and food are scarce, mass human migrations are constant, and new babies are illegal. As the week nears its end, Nat rushes to protect herself and her younger brother from the corporates while also forging a path toward a future that offers the hope of redemption for humanity. This page-turning first YA novel by critically acclaimed author Lydia Millet is stylish and dark and yet deeply hopeful, bringing Millet’s characteristic humor and style to a new generation of young readers.

 

Jaya and Rasa by Sonia Patel

Seventeen-year-old Jaya Mehta detests wealth, secrets, and privilege, though he has them all. His family is Indian, originally from Gujarat. Rasa Santos, like many in Hawaii, is of mixed ethnicity. All she has are siblings, three of them, plus a mother who controls men like a black widow spider and leaves her children whenever she wants to. Neither Jaya nor Rasa have ever known real love or close family―not until their chance meeting one sunny day on a mountain in Hau’ula.

The unlikely love that blooms between them must survive the stranglehold their respective pasts have on them. Each of their present identities has been shaped by years of extreme family struggles. By the time they cross paths, Jaya is a transgender outsider with depressive tendencies and the stunningly beautiful Rasa thinks sex is her only power until a violent pimp takes over her life. Will their love transcend and pull them forward, or will they remain stuck and separate in the chaos of their pasts?

 

Summer of Sloane by Erin L. Schneider

Warm Hawaiian sun. Lazy beach days. Flirty texts with her boyfriend back in Seattle.

These are the things seventeen-year-old Sloane McIntyre pictured when she imagined the summer she’d be spending at her mom’s home in Hawaii with her twin brother, Penn. Instead, after learning an unthinkable secret about her boyfriend, Tyler, and best friend, Mick, all she has is a fractured hand and a completely shattered heart.

Once she arrives in Honolulu, though, Sloane hopes that Hawaii might just be the escape she needs. With beach bonfires, old friends, exotic food, and the wonders of a waterproof cast, there’s no reason Sloane shouldn’t enjoy her summer. And when she meets Finn McAllister, the handsome son of a hotel magnate who doesn’t always play by the rules, she knows he’s the perfect distraction from everything that’s so wrong back home.

But it turns out a measly ocean isn’t nearly enough to stop all the emails, texts, and voicemails from her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, desperate to explain away their betrayal. And as her casual connection with Finn grows deeper, Sloane’s carefree summer might not be as easy to find as she’d hoped. Weighing years of history with Mick and Tyler against their deception, and the delicate possibility of new love, Sloane must decide when to forgive, and when to live for herself.