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August’s Most Anticipated YA Books
As dedicated readers already know, some of the best and most innovative stories on the shelves come from the constantly evolving realm of young adult fiction. Every month our team looks at the books being published and how they’re resonating with early readers. We use this information to put together a roundup of soon-to-be favorites.
New in August: Hindu mythology gets a cosmic update in Star Daughter. Argentine folklore inspires witches and werewolves in Lobizona. And hard-core fangirls fight for what’s right in Bookish and the Beast. Also watch for dueling magicians, reluctant assassins, and a very familiar vampire named Edward.
Add the books that catch your eye to your Want to Read shelf and let us know what you’re reading and recommending in the comments!
New in August: Hindu mythology gets a cosmic update in Star Daughter. Argentine folklore inspires witches and werewolves in Lobizona. And hard-core fangirls fight for what’s right in Bookish and the Beast. Also watch for dueling magicians, reluctant assassins, and a very familiar vampire named Edward.
Add the books that catch your eye to your Want to Read shelf and let us know what you’re reading and recommending in the comments!
Where Dreams Descend, the first book in Janella Angeles’ debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology, finds a group of magicians squaring off in a ruined city of ice. The competition is fierce, the stakes are high, and the winner earns the headlining slot in the sinister Conquering Circus. The losers, well, they’ll have to deal with those unseen forces picking off contenders one by one. Magic isn’t just real. It’s real dangerous.
Read our exclusive interview with Angeles.
Read our exclusive interview with Angeles.
This long-awaited new installment of the Twilight Saga series puts readers behind the eyes of vampire Edward as he contemplates his love for the beautiful and mysterious Bella. The book is being angled as a kind of companion novel to the original series, switching the point of view around to Edward. You think love is hard to navigate? Try immortal love, with its critical omission of the “death do we part” clause.
Shveta Thakrar’s debut YA novel takes inspiration from the celestial realms of Hindu mythology, with shades of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust sprinkled in the sky. Sheetal is the daughter of a mortal father and an immortal mother, a star who has returned to the nighttime sky. To save her father—mortals are such a pain, amirite?—she must battle other noble family champions in a competition for heavenly ascension.
The third book in Ashley Poston’s Once Upon a Con series finds small-town fangirl Rosie Thorne crossing paths with Hollywood big shot Vance Reigns. Tabloid scandals have forced Vance into hiding among us lesser beings, and now Rosie has to deal with him. When a rare book is accidentally destroyed, Rosie has to work for Vance to pay off the debt. Poston, busy writer and dedicated nerd, is creator of the Heart of Iron and Radio Hearts series.
Inner-city Latinx achiever Liliana Cruz has been accepted into a wealthy and white suburban high school in Westburg. That’s all good, except for the entirely predictable low-simmering racism that percolates throughout her day. Liliana’s got other problems, too—her mom is cold and distant, and her dad has left home. But then a sudden turn of events throws everything into a new and urgent light. Liliana is going to have to do some growing up, and fast.
Argentine folklore holds that a seventh consecutive daughter born to a family is a natural bruja, or witch. This odd little scrap of mythology has particular significance to Manuela Azul. An undocumented immigrant in Miami, Manu is on the run from immigration authorities, from her father’s crime syndicate, and from even more frightening entities. Also significant, turns out: The seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, or werewolf. Oh, it gets interesting.
In the empire of Aritsar, young Tarisai has been raised by a mysterious and often absent mother known only as The Lady. Tarisai’s destiny, she’s told, is to compete with other children and be appointed to the Crown Prince’s Council. If she’s picked, she will be spiritually joined with the other Council members through a bond deeper than blood. If you’re feeling distrustful of this Lady character, it’s totally understandable. Tarisai is, too.
In this debut novel, Ashley Bennett, Class of ’92, is looking forward to a senior summer of fun in the Los Angeles sun when protests erupt over the Rodney King beating verdict. Suddenly Ashley, who’s never considered herself one of “the Black kids” at her wealthy white school, has to reexamine everything she thought she knew about her city, her friends, and her family. Recommended for fans of The Hate U Give.
Darius Kellner has it going on, finally. Since his previous adventures in Darius the Great is Not Okay, he’s got an internship, a spot on the soccer team, and a real boyfriend. Naturally, things go haywire. The internship isn’t working out, the soccer team is getting weird, and the new boyfriend is acting weirder. Darius must ask himself: Do I deserve better? (Hint: He most definitely does. What’s he doing with this guy?)
Which new releases are you looking forward to reading? Let’s talk books in the comments!
Check out more recent articles, including:
August’s Most Anticipated New Releases
The Most Anticipated Romances of August
Janella Angeles on Creating a Mysterious World of Magic
Check out more recent articles, including:
August’s Most Anticipated New Releases
The Most Anticipated Romances of August
Janella Angeles on Creating a Mysterious World of Magic
Comments Showing 1-16 of 16 (16 new)
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Will
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Aug 01, 2020 01:37AM
I wish Darius would blow up like Red, White and Royal Blue
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I'm really looking forward to Maria Romasco Moore's Some Kind of Animal - getting it delivered from the local bookstore tomorrow!
Steve wrote: "I wish Darius would blow up like Red, White and Royal Blue" YES!
"Inner-city Latinx achiever Liliana Cruz"If you know for sure she's a woman, you can just say latina. It's not a dirty word :)
Steve wrote: "I wish Darius would blow up like Red, White and Royal Blue"Unfortunately, without the same level of hype, it probably won't. Prime example of some of the discrepancies in the marketing of certain types of authors...
I know I can just click the book and search to figure out but these articles would be great if they listed the release date as well!
Now That I've Found You by Kristina Forest should've also been on this list.
anna jo wrote: "I know I can just click the book and search to figure out but these articles would be great if they listed the release date as well!"Thanks for the feedback! With Covid shifting so many release dates, we've stopped listing them in our copy for now in case there are last minute changes. But you're right that you can click through to the book page to find the most up-to-date publication date!
Nóri wrote: ""Inner-city Latinx achiever Liliana Cruz"If you know for sure she's a woman, you can just say latina. It's not a dirty word :)"
i think it might be the author's preference since it's in the description for the book on its page as well. and i definitely don't think anyone thinks it's a dirty word! it's nice to normalize gender neutral language even when referencing binary people.
I'm so excited for Darius the Great Deserves Better! Been waiting for the sequel all year. Definitely recommend the first book, it was my favorite read last year!
Steve wrote: "I wish Darius would blow up like Red, White and Royal Blue"I AGREE!!!
seventh daugher is a bruja?? ahhah ok. never heard of that. but the seventh son, yes, its lobizon and the presiden of the country must be the sons godfather :D
Kayla wrote: "Now That I've Found You by Kristina Forest should've also been on this list."I loved that book
