New YA Fantasies: Realm Breaker, Steelstriker and Gilded

 Three popular fantasy authors have new books out that might be perfect for holiday gift giving. Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen series) kicks off a new series with Realm Breaker, which introduces a world where doors to other realms must be closed before an evil entity can seize power.  Marie Lu (Legend series) wraps up the Skyhunter series with Steelstriker, chronicling the battle to overthrow the Premier and dismantle the controlling Karensa Federation in a dystopian world. Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles series) reimagines Rumpelstiltskin in Gilded, adding a romance between the miller's daughter and the magical being who spins the straw into gold. 

Realm Breaker is set in Allward, a world where Spindles - doors to other realms - are thought to be a myth, as are the Immortals and Elders, beings who can manipulate the Spindlegates that connect Allward to other realms.  The prologue details a disastrous battle which takes place when Companions of the Realm seek to stop Taristan, a rogue Immortal, and his wizard accomplice from using a Spindleblade to tear new spindles between realms to aid the evil entity he worships.  Half the companions are human and half are Immortals.  The only two who escape with their lives are Elder Domacridhan and Andry, squire to the knight Cortael, who manages to flee with Cortael's spindleblade.  When the story begins, Dom and Andry are heading to a Spindle temple to thwart Taristan's plans. They must engage the help of Corayne, secret daughter of Cortael and a pirate queen, who has the corblood required to wield the spindleblade.  Along the way they enlist the aid of assassin Sorasa and others to help their cause.  Shifting viewpoints and flashbacks detail the characters' backstories, setting up the quest to protect Allward and make sure the Spindles that can open destabilizing passages between realms are closed.  This complex tale will have readers spellbound as the ragtag band of heroes overcomes one challenge after another. 

Steelstriker, the final book in the Skyhunter duology, opens six months after the fall of Mara, as the Karensa Federation absorbs the formerly free nation into its empire.  Talin, an elite striker for Mara, has been taken hostage and turned into a skyhunter, a war machine complete with steel wings.  The story alternates between Talin's point-of-view and Red's, a skyhunter who escaped the Federation and bonded with Talin in the series opener.  Although held captive by Premier Constantine, who uses the threat of killing her mother to control her, Talin tries to aid her friends who are still waging a rebellion against the Federation.  As the Premier tries to harness a technology used by the "Early Ones," (presumably nuclear power) he is sabotaged by people in his inner circle.  Several of Mara's strikers have been taken prisoner and are awaiting execution or transformation into zombielike monsters called Ghosts.  Talin and Red communicate telepathically to orchestrate a rescue and a plan to overthrow the Premier in this romantic action-packed series closer.  I would recommend reading Skyhunter (see review in my October 2020 blog) prior to Steelstriker.

In Gilded, an inventive reimagining of Rumpelstiltskin, the sadistic Erlking and his undead followers appear every full moon to steal children and hunt magical creatures.  The miller's daughter Serilda knows to stay in on those nights, but she hears the hellhounds chasing two moss maidens and feels compelled to save them.  She hides them in their root cellar only to be confronted by the Erlking, whom she tells she's harvesting straw to spin into gold.  He departs but abducts her on the next full moon and takes her to his undead castle. He throws her into a cell piled with hay and threatens to kill her if she doesn't spin it into gold.  She assumes she is doomed until Gild, a redheaded undead teen, appears and completes her task.  She is immediately drawn to him and and looks forward to their next encounter.  Their star-crossed romance, as well as the suspense-filled conflict with the Erlking and the cliffhanger ending, will leave readers anxious to read the sequel Cursed, which comes out November 8, 2022.

YA Thrilllers - Eyes of the Forest, Bad Girls Never Say Die, You'll Be the Death of Me

 Three of my favorite young adult mystery/thriller authors have new books that I am recommending this month.  Eyes of the Forest by award winning mystery author April Henry is about the kidnapping of a famous fantasy series author, who must be rescued by his teen continuity advisor. Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu (Moxie) is a feminine retelling of The Outsiders involving an accidental murder and "tuff" girls sticking together. You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen McManus (One of Us is Lying) focuses on three estranged friends who skip school to recreate "their best day ever" and end up investigating the murder of a classmate. All three books have clever allusions to famous literary works.

In Eyes of the Forest a fan of an epic fantasy series, Swords and Shadows, kidnaps the author R.M. "Bob" Haldon and chains him to a treadmill desk, ordering him to finish the series finale.  It is up to his continuity advisor Bridget Shepherd to save him.  Alternating between the perspectives of the George R.R. Martin-esque author, the kidnapper Derek, a socially inept geek at Bridget's high school, Bridget and Ajay, a potential love interest to whom Bridget is reading the series, the narrative moves along at a fast pace.  Bob communicates with Bridget via coded messages, hoping she will realize something is wrong.  He met Bridget at a book signing, where he was impressed with her encyclopedic knowledge of the Swords and Shadows world. She and her mother read the series obsessively as Mom was dying of cancer, and Bridget has created a database which she uses to fact check his work.  Now he is stuck in a cabin writing a schlocky version of the finale which Derek is selling online; meanwhile Bob is surreptitiously writing the real finale.  As Bridget shares her suspicions with the police and Ajay, they discount her theory, and she must act alone.  This suspenseful thriller with nod to Game of Thrones and Misery, the Kathy Bates film where her character keeps her favorite author captive, effectively weaves fan culture into a spellbinding mystery. 

Bad Girls Never Say Die, a feminist reimagining of  S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders set in 1964 Houston, introduces "bad girl" Evie, who is a member of an Eastside High gang of economically disadvantaged white and Mexican girls, and Diane, a "good girl" who has been banished from her affluent community of River Oaks because of her involvement with a guy from Evie's neighborhood. When Evie is assaulted by Preston, a drunk boy from River Oaks, Diane inadvertently kills Preston while trying to rescue Evie.  Through the shared trauma, Diane and Evie become friends and begin to confide in each other and Evie wonders about the difference between good girls and bad girls. As the police close in, Evie's gang tries to protect Diane, but when her lover is arrested for the murder, Diane insists on saving him.  Melodramatic plot twists and engaging dialogue make for a thrilling read, as the story of star-crossed lovers and strong female friendships unfolds.  Teachers might want to pair it with Hinton's book for a compare and contrast discussion. 

In You'll Be the Death of Me  three estranged friends, Cal, Ivy and Mateo, skipped out on a middle school field trip in Boston, having the "best day ever," which sealed their friendship until high school, when they went their separate ways.  They reconnect when they come together after a particularly tough day when Ivy loses the student council election to class clown Brian "Boney" Mahoney, Cal gets stood up by his would-be girlfriend, and Mateo is exhausted from working two jobs and dealing with his mother's illness.  Deciding to drive into Boston to recreate the day they met, things immediately begin to go wrong.  They discover Boney's dead body in Cal's girlfriend's art studio and become involved in a complex murder plot.  Ivy is a suspect and insists they investigate to clear her name. The deeper they get into the investigation, the more secrets are revealed until the exciting climax. This clever homage to Ferris Bueller's Day Off is told from the three protagonists' perspectives. While the mystery of Boney's murder is the focal point, the relationship between the three friends adds depth to this thrilling whodunit. This book comes out November 30th. 

Twisted Tales: Hello Cruel Heart, What Was Once Mine and If the Shoe Fits

 According to experts, "Fairy tales are essential stories for childhood.  These stories are more than just happily ever after, they portray real moral lessons through characters and virtues shown in the stories.  They do not only captivate the imagination of young minds, but also enhance their creativity and reasoning skills." A popular new subject matter for young adult novels is the "twisted tale" where the author significantly changes the story line to recognizable tales. Hopefully most teenage readers come to these new stories with a knowledge of the original so that they can recognize the clever changes the author has made. Hello Cruel Heart by Maureen Johnson (Truly Devious series) gives readers insight into the formative years of Cruella de Vil from One Hundred and One Dalmatians. What Was Once Mine by Liz Braswell is the eleventh book in the Disney Twisted Tales series.  This one wonders what would happen if Rapunzel's mother drank a potion from the wrong flower? If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy (Dumplin') is a retelling of Cinderella that is a blend of the classic fairy tale and a reality TV show. 

In Hello Cruel Heart 16-year-old Estella dreams of being a fashion designer in 1960s London but spends most of her time designing trick clothes to use in heists she and her friends Horace and Jasper do to stay afloat.  When she has a chance encounter with trust funder twins Magda and Richard, they take her in and peddle her designs in exchange for accommodations and what she thinks is friendship. Her clothing designs are worn by their high society friends, as well as an up-and-coming rock band, whose lead guitarist becomes her boyfriend.  But when they tire of her and make plans to leave on vacation without her, her alter ego Cruella exacts revenge.  A vivid Swinging 60s setting and Estella's creative clothing designs add a colorful twist to the tale of a classic Disney villain. This is the prequel to the new live action film Cruella, starring Emma Stone, which continues the tale into the 1970s.

What Was Once Mine reimagines the Tangled version of Rapunzel with her mother drinking from the wrong flower. In this version the ailing pregnant queen drinks from the Moondrop flower rather than the Sundrop flower, giving Rapunzel silver hair and the ability to hurt rather than heal.  For everyone's safety she is locked in a tower and watched over by the evil Mother Gothel.  Rapunzel longs for freedom and to see the mysterious floating lights that appear on her birthday, but she is afraid of hurting people.  When the handsome outlaw Flynn Rider and his buddy Gina help her escape, the trio ends up investigating the secret of Rapunzel's hair, while Gothel and other nefarious people try to find them.  Although not vastly different from the original version of the story, this is an entertaining read, complete with a sympathetic princess and rogue friends, as well as devious villains, and a happily ever after. 

If the Shoe Fits, a retelling of Cinderella, finds Cindy, a plus-size shoe designer appearing on a reality dating show,  hoping to showcase her shoe designs and get a job. Cindy Woods, a recent fashion school graduate, is off to a nannying job, when her stepmother, a dating show TV exec, needs a fill-in for a cancellation on her show, "Before Midnight." Along with her two stepsisters, Cindy joins the two dozen girls hoping to win the hand of Henry Mackenzie, who is the heir to a fashion empire that is floundering.  Coincidentally, Cindy and Henry meet on the plane to LA and hit it off.  Expecting to be sent home fairly quickly, the witty likeable Cindy becomes an audience, as well as Henry's, favorite, and is surprised to last week after week.  As the show moves from one glamourous setting after another, Henry and Cindy find ways to be together off camera.  Assuming that Henry actually has the power to keep her on the show, Cindy ultimately realizes the producers are manipulating the show results and she may not get her romantic finale. Cindy's relationship with her supportive blended family, her aspirations as a shoe designer and her plus-size appearance are refreshing twists.  Although the book is being marketed for more mature readers, the  YA fans of the author's Dumplin' series will love her adult debut.  

Teen Addiction

 Addiction impacts lives in many different ways. Three new YA novels explore the topic from several points of view: the addict's struggles, the impact on the addict's family, and the culture of addiction enablers in the music industry. Tell Me When You Feel Something by Vicki Grant is a thriller which explores a tragic incident in the life of a closet teen alcoholic, who works in a simulated patient med school program.  You'd Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow details the struggles of a teen who becomes her heroin addict brother's caretaker when he returns from rehab. Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie is set in the 70s and focuses on an up and coming musician, whose career takes off when she gets involved with a star with substance abuse problems. 

In Tell Me When You Feel Something, Vivienne Braithwaite is living a lie.  Seemingly, the girl who has everything, wealth, beauty, popularity, a loving boyfriend, now lies in the hospital in a coma, after taking an unknown drug.  How she got the drug and why she took it are revealed in chapters which alternate between Viv's third-person narration of events leading up to the tragedy, her friends' first-person accounts after the incident, and police interviews of individuals involved with Viv. Viv, Davida and Tim are participants in the Simulated Patient program at the local med school. Viv strikes up a friendship with them and plays matchmaker, while her boyfriend is away at rugby camp.  Unbeknownst to them, Viv is a closet alcoholic.  Her parents are going through a traumatic divorce, after her father leaves her mom for a younger woman.  To deal with the stress of being the perfect student, girlfriend and "patient", as well as the go-between in her parents' escalating battles, she drinks vodka, which she has in her ever-present water bottle.  Seeking help from the doctor who heads the SP program, Viv realizes that during her periods of blackout drunkenness, someone has been abusing her.  The author effectively explores the way teens can spiral into alcoholism , detailing how enablers and those who are too self-absorbed to see what is going on, add to the problem. This suspenseful novel will keep readers turning the pages to find out who abused Viv and how she fares. 

You'd Be Home Now introduces Emory Ward, who along with her brother Joey are in a car accident where a classmate dies.  Joey wasn't driving, but he was in the back seat nearly overdosed on heroin.  He is sent to rehab and when he returns, their mother sets up a strict set of rules for his behavior and instructs Emory to keep tabs on him 24/7.  Although she loves Joey and wants to help him, the pressure is suffocating. She rebels by shoplifting and hooking up with Gage, a popular classmate and neighbor who insists on keeping their relationship secret.  Meanwhile the town's problem with "ghosties," homeless addicts that live by the river, reveals an even bigger problem.  As she loses the battle to keep Joey on the straight and narrow and he gets involved with the "ghosties," she begins to realize that she must be honest with herself and others and find her own way.  With the help of new found friends, Emory restructures the balance in her life and her place in the community.  The author, drawing from the play Our Town and her own experience with addiction recovery, illustrates the profound effect the opioid crisis and addiction have on individuals and their families.

Songs in Ursa Major opens at the 1969 Bayleen Island Folk Fest, where local musician Jane Quinn is asked to step in for the headliner, folk rock mega star Jesse Reid, and her life is changed forever.  Jesse, who is recovering from a motorcycle accident, falls for Jane while recuperating on the island and asks her band, the Breakers, to open for his 1970 tour.  Jane insists on keeping her relationship with Jesse as secret, because she wants to be known for her music, not just as an opportunistic female. As the Breakers travel cross country on the tour, her A & R rep pressures her to capitalize on her romance to sell albums.  Complicating the situation is Vincent Ray, the producer who finds Jane's talent and independence threatening, and tries to derail her career. Although he is adept at hiding it, Jesse is a heroin addict and as the tour continues, Jane finds out and is pressured to coddle him and keep his secret.  Ultimately, she heads back to the island to record her seminal solo album, Songs in Ursa Major. The epilogue details the continuation of their friendship, although somewhat briefly. The book is based on the relationship between James Taylor and Joni Mitchell, although it stands on its own as a hero's journey where a woman with incredible musical gifts struggles to overcome the roadblocks the music business throws in her way.  Predictably Songs in Ursa Major is being adapted as a movie.  I can't wait to hear the soundtrack!

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Grieving Teens: In the Wild Light, Where It All Lands, and Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town.

 Having just lost a close friend in a head-on car collision, I find myself drawn to stories of grieving and loss right now.  Reading about others coping with grief informs me in my own process of dealing with his death. Jeff Zentner's (The Serpent King) latest book, In the Wild Light chronicles a teen grieving his grandpa's death by expressing himself through poetry.  Where It All Lands by Jennie Wexler opens with a unexplained funeral followed by a story told in a dual timeline revealing who lies in the casket. Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock (The Smell of Other People's Houses) is a collection of nine linked stories about small-town teens.

In the Wild Light introduces Appalachian teens Cash Pruitt and Delaney Doyle who have been best friends since childhood, having bonded over their parents' struggles with addiction.  When Delaney discovers a new mold with antibacterial properties in a local cave, she is offered a scholarship to a Connecticut science prep school. She agrees to go only if Cash is admitted, too.  Cash, whose beloved grandfather Papaw is dying from emphysema, is hesitant to go, but Delaney and his grandparents convince him to embrace this opportunity.  At first, they are fish out of water, but as they develop friendships and Delaney immerses herself in the science department and Cash discovers a passion for poetry, they begin to blossom.  As Papaw's condition worsens, Cash is more and more fretful about being away.  He pours his grief and homesickness into his poetry, which catches the attention of his poetry teacher, who becomes a trusted mentor.  His eloquent poems about love, family and grief, which are peppered throughout the text, are lyrical delights.  Although Cash and Delaney's relationship is threatened by differing challenges, they ultimately find their way back to each other. Perhaps I just read this book at the right time, but it is my favorite book so far this year. 

In Where It All Lands a coin flip creates a dual timeline, chronicling what happened for each outcome.  The story begins with a funeral, following a car accident, but the reader is kept in the dark as to who died.  Shane and Drew are neighbors and  best friends, who have both recently lost their dads.  Shane father succumbs to an illness and Drew's dad, a high powered music executive, has left his family behind for a new life. When Stevie Rosenstein moves to town and joins their school marching band, they both fall for her and flip a coin to see who gets to ask her out.  They all have a passion for music. Stevie plays the saxophone, Shane is a talented drummer and Drew is the lead singer in a rock band, but he picks up the trumpet to prove to his dad that he is a serious musician.  The first half of the book finds Drew winning the toss and entering a passionate relationship with Stevie, even though she and Shane are bonding over preparing for a music competition that may help her get a college scholarship.  The second half of the book ponders what would have happened if Shane won the coin toss.  Ultimately, the boys realize that have no control over Stevie's choices and the consequences.  The mystery as to who dies in the car accident creates suspense and the different timelines reinforce that there is more to love than initial attraction.

Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town is a story collection of nine linked third person narratives that take place in small towns from Alaska to Colorado. The common thread throughout involves a devastating wildfire and the disappearance of a young girl.  Gina is grieving her dead mother; Kelsey feels out of sync with her basketball obsessed community; Delia is looking for revenge on a pedophilic priest; other characters experience heartbreak and healing, but all are connected by the wildfire and missing girl.  Although some of the stories are stronger than others, all have a strong sense of place and relatable characters, who experience the suffocating social expectations of small rural communities.  Readers will enjoy recognizing overlapping locations and secondary characters, as well as solving the mystery of the missing girl. 

New YA Novels about Multicultural Teens

 Novels about multicultural teens frequently tackle two topics: parental expectations and prejudice. Students reading novels about the cultural pressure these teens experience tend to foster a more empathetic attitude toward them. In Tahereh Mafi's (Shatter Me series)  An Emotion of Great Delight an Iranian American girl is grieving her brother's death and fending off prejudicial attacks after 9/11. Radha and Jai's Recipe for Romance by Nisha Sharma explores a young Indian American Kathak dancer's attempts to break free of her mother's crippling expectations.  Finally in Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan a Bangladeshi American teen experiences freedom to explore her own dreams, when she is left with her permissive grandmother during her parents' month long trip to Bangladesh.

In An Emotion of Great Delight Shadi, an Iranian American teen, is struggling to deal with a plethora of problems in the aftermath of her brother's death.  Her father is hospitalized having had two heart attacks, her mother is depressed, her best friend Zahra is ignoring her and it's 2003 and Islamaphobia is raging.  Shadi, who wears a hijab, experiences prejudice from her teachers, other students and the community.  Zahra has stopped wearing a hijab and is furious that her brother Ali is interested in Shadi.  With her school work suffering and her lack of support at home, Shadi turns to Ali for comfort.  This exploration of grief, racism, mental illness and discrimination is a compelling read and a window on the world of Muslim teens.

Radha and Jai's Recipe for Romance introduces Radha, an Indian American teen who has spent years competing in Indian Classical Dance competitions.  She abruptly drops out, when she finds out her mother Sujata has been having an affair with one of the judges.  Doubting herself and all her championships, Radha refuses to dance, much to her mother's dismay.  After her parents split up, she and Sujata move to New Jersey where Radha enrolls at the Princeton Academy of Arts and Science, striking a deal with her mother to dance for a year in exchange for college tuition.  Then Radha meets and falls for Punjabi Gujarati American Jai, captain of the Bollywood Dance Team, and agrees to choreograph the team's dances.  Jai, who wants to be a doctor, can only finance college if the team wins the regional competition scholarship.  Radha finds this dance freeing, but still experiences performance anxiety when dancing for others.  To deal with her anxiety, Radha reconnects with her dad, a restaurant owner, through learning to make many of his favorite traditional Indian recipes.  The novel alternates between  Jai and Radha's third-person perspectives, chronicling the ins and outs of their romance and the challenges of their senior year. 

Counting Down with You finds Bangladeshi American Karina Ahmed bowing to her parents'' wishes, pursuing a pre-med path even though she would rather be an English major at Columbia.  When her parents leave for a month in Bangladesh, Karina's permissive grandmother comes to stay, and Karina blossoms.  Her English teacher asks her to tutor bad boy Ace Clyde and sparks fly.  He tells his parents that she's his girlfriend, attempting to hide that she's tutoring him  He, too, is fighting parental expectations and doesn't want them to know his true motivations.  She agrees to fake date him if he buys her books every week.  He acts like the perfect boyfriend, and even helps her deal with her anxiety, which is fed by trying to please her parents. As the month nears the end and she and Ace have fallen for each other, Karina must decide if she has the courage to tell her parents about Ace and her aversions to becoming a doctor. The author calls this book a "love letter to brown girls," tackling the familiar issues of prejudice and parental pressure with an insightful well-paced romance between two teens struggling to follow their hearts. 

YA Novels about Passion for Words: One Great Lie, Words Composed of Sea and Sky and Love in English

 Although I love novels-in-verse, it was refreshing to read three new novels where the poetic language is incorporated in a more traditional structure.  In all three books the female protagonist has a passion for writing, but that talent is integrated into a story with a further reaching conflict.  One Great Lie by Printz Honoree Deb Caletti (A Heart in a Body in a World) is set in Venice and explores the misogyny experienced by female writers over the ages.  Words Composed of Sea and Sky by Erica George finds an aspiring Cape Cod teen poet investigating the life of a nineteenth century female author whose poetry is attributed to the town's fabled sea captain. Love in English by Maria Andreu incorporates the struggles of a teen poet who has just emigrated from Argentina to New Jersey. All of these young women experience road blocks to their dreams of becoming writers. 

In One Great Lie budding writer Charlotte Hodges wins a scholarship to a summer writing program in Venice, run by her favorite author Luca Bruni.  She aspires to "write something that says something" and is sure she can succeed with his help.  She also wants to investigate her Venetian ancestor, Isabella di Angelo, a Renaissance writer whose book of poetry includes a poem which had been published by her lover, a world famous writer, as his own. When Charlotte arrives at Bruni's villa on La Calamita, a private island that once housed plague victims, she is at once charmed by Luca's brilliance, but disturbed by his over-familiarity with his female students. Even though Charlotte meets and falls in love with Dante, a young art conservation student, who helps her research Isabella, she can't shake her desire to impress Luca Bruni, but it comes with a price.  Reflecting on the sexual harassment Isabella and other young women experienced as they were put in convents, yet were abused by well-to-do men in power, Charlotte begins to think that things haven't changed that much for women.  Isabella and Charlotte's intertwined stories are filled with suspense as Charlotte struggles to vindicate her relative and stand up to the sexual harassment she herself experiences.  Each chapter begins with information about a female poet from the Italian Renaissance who despite her accomplishments, has been forgotten or is only remembered for her connection to a man.

In alternating chapters Words Composed of Sea and Sky tells the story of a modern day teen poet and her nineteenth century inspiration.  Michaela Dunn hopes to attend Winslow College where her deceased father had been an English professor.  She is determined to attend a poetry workshop weekend at the college, but her stepfather balks at the price.  When a poetry competition, which awards the winner full tuition to the workshop, is announced, she is sure it is the answer to her prayers. The poem must focus on the town's fabled whaler poet, Captain Benjamin Churchill, and will be engraved on a statue which is being unveiled in the town square. In researching the captain's life, Michaela discovers the journal of Leta Townsend, his would-be lover, which inspires her to write her poem from Leta's point of view.  The story moves to Leta and Michaela's alternating voices with each segment being narrated from present-tense first-person points of view.  Each woman is balancing her creative aspirations with a love triangle.  Leta has been publishing under the name Ben Churchill, a whaler who was presumed dead at sea.  When he reappears, complications ensue, especially with Elijah Pearce, her best friend who has proposed.  Michaela's situation mirrors Leta's in that she is struggling with her feelings for Caleb, a callous poet who is competing against her in the competition, and Finn Pearce, her school's star baseball pitcher. This two-for-one romance is peppered with poems both women have written, as well as lyrical descriptions of the Cape Cod setting.  The dual narratives blend beautifully as the reader roots for the women to succeed with their writing, as well as their love lives.

Love in English introduces Ana, a poet and lover of words who emigrates with her mother from Argentina to New Jersey to join her father. She struggles with his edict that they speak only English at home, as well as missing her friends and homeland.  As she begins to settle in and make friends, including Gracie, a Spanish speaking lesbian "influencer," Harrison, a cute All-American boy she helps with math, and Neo, a Greek Cypriot in her ESL class, she becomes more optimistic about the future. She writes quirky poems about learning the ins and out of the English language, especially the multiple pronunciations and meanings for words, as well as idioms like "the elephant in the room," which add humor throughout the novel. The story explores Ana's experiences as a documented immigrant and effectively puts the reader in her shoes as she navigates the complexities of American culture and, of course, the love triangle between herself, Harrison and Neo.  The author is basing Ana's experiences on her own as an immigrant teen, giving the narrative a feeling of authenticity and charm. 

New YA Beach Reads

 Summer is right around the corner and it's time to recommend summer beach reads. With my love of the movies, I can't resist recommending Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter.  Liz Buxbaum, whose deceased mother used to be a rom/com screenwriter, is looking for her own happily-ever-after, but finds it in an unexpected love interest. My Epic Spring Break (Up) by Kristen Rockaway (How to Hack a Heartbreak) introduces Ashley Bergen, a coder who has always been focused on academics. When she is rejected for a summer internship by ZigZag, a popular social media platform, she decides to refocus on her social life with unanticipated results. It's Kind of a Cheesy Love Story by Lauren Morrill (Meant to Be) finds Beck Brix, the infamous Pizza Princess who was born on the bathroom floor of Hot n' Crusty Pizza, struggling to escape her notoriety and move on. In Sunkissed by rom/com favorite Kasie West (Lucky in Love), Avery Young is heading off to a summer vacation with her family in an homage to Dirty Dancing. 

Better than the Movies introduces Liz Buxbaum, who loves romantic comedies. After losing her mother, who was a rom/com screenwriter, Liz draws comfort from the soundtracks, the happy endings and the connection she feels to her mom when she watches them.  Her senior year is ripe for rom/com moments, but she finds herself missing her mom more than ever.  When Michael, her childhood crush, moves back to town, she decides going to prom with him with be the perfect happy ending.  She enlists the help of her arch nemesis Wes Bennett, her next-door neighbor, who has driven her crazy since they were kids. He agrees to help her attract Michael, in exchange for her giving him the prize neighborhood parking spot for the rest of senior year.  Like the best rom/coms the story is filled with witty dialogue and there are twists and turn in the path to true love.  Each chapter starts with a quote from a classic rom/com and they are peppered throughout the text, as well. 

In My Epic Spring Break (Up) mathlete Ashley Bergen has always been focused on academics and is sure she is a shoe-in for  a summer internship at ZigZag, a popular social media platform.  When she is rejected, she is devastated and decides to focus on her lack of a social life over spring break.  In addition to competing in a coding hackathon, she is going to pursue her crush, popular Walker Beech. To her surprise he seems to reciprocate her interest, and she finds herself involved in risky behavior and paying the price.  Meanwhile Ashley's lifelong friend Jason, who seems to be a better match, tries to convince her Walker is bad news.  As the hackathon approaches, she finds out the ZigZag team will be judging the contest and the prize will be a summer position in Silicon Valley.  Inviting Jason to join her team, she vacillates between her growing attraction to him while practicing for the competition and trying to please Walker. Making one misguided choice after another, she struggles to find the right path for her romantic, as well as STEM future. The author is a former programmer and has a real sense of a female navigating the IT world.

It's Kind of a Cheesy Love Story focuses on Beck Brix, who is known as the "Pizza Princess" or "Bathroom Baby" after her notorious birth on the bathroom floor of Hot 'N Crusty Pizza.  The restaurant manager has given her free pizza for life and a guaranteed job when she turn sixteen, but she is mortified by the attention she receives from the media and the pizza palace every birthday. When she falls in with the popular crowd, she is determined to shed her infamy, but ends up taking the job and finding her true comfort zone with the pizza crew. Although she has a crush on Mac, a popular football player, she finds herself attracted to Tristan, the moody delivery guy at Hot "N Crusty, and her workmates are obsessed with the same vintage Sci/Fi show that she and her dad love. When disaster strikes the restaurant, her status as Pizza Princess gives her a unique opportunity to help.  Her self-deprecating personality and predictable rom/com disasters, makes this a enjoyable summer romp. 

Kasie West's latest book Sunkissed is an homage to the classic film Dirty Dancing.  Avery Young's family summer vacation finds her at a remote resort in the California woods, where she is trying to recover from her best friend's betrayal in kissing Avery's boyfriend.  Cautious by nature, Avery decides she is going to spend the summer stepping out of her comfort zone.  She agrees to help Brooks, a handsome staff member, write songs for his band and ends up singing with the band when the lead singer is injured.  Of course, campers fraternizing with staff is against the rules, so her outgoing sister, who is a video blogger hoping to do a piece on the band, helps her sneak around to spend time with Brooks.  Although Avery has a great voice, she has stage fright and is reticent to sing with the band at an upcoming competition. Coupled with her parents' disapproval. her growing attraction to Brooks leaves her struggling find herself in this predictable but satisfying YA romance. 

YA Crime Thrillers - Firekeeper's Daughter, The Project, and Pride and Premeditation

 Mysteries, arguably the most popular genre, take many different forms. From the detective novel to the romantic thriller, suspense-filled mysteries keep readers anxiously turning pages to solve the puzzle. This month I am recommending three wildly different thrillers encompassed by this genre.  Firekeeper's Daughter, a debut novel by Angeline Boulley, is a Native American crime thriller focusing on an FBI investigation into meth overdoses in an Anishinaabe community. The Project by Courtney Summers (Sadie) is a psychological thriller, in which Lo, a young woman who works for an investigative magazine, examines a cult that her sister disappeared into after their parents' deaths in a devastating car accident. Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price is a reimagining of the Jane Austen favorite as a murder mystery. 

Firekeepers' Daughter introduces Daunis Fontaine, an 18-year-old native American hockey player, who struggles to reconcile her Anishinaabe father's culture with her white mother's relatives' prejudice.  Although she loves her tribal community, she is denied official citizenship in the Sault tribe due to her mixed parentage.  Her plans to head off to college to pursue a medical degree are put on hold when her uncle overdoses on meth and her grandmother has a stroke.  As meth related deaths continue to mount, Daunis is recruited by the FBI to work undercover to investigate a deadly new form of meth being distributed in the community. Using her knowledge of chemistry and traditional plants, she partners with Jamie, an agent posing as a hockey player new to her brother Levi's team, to source the drug and discover its dealers. The author, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, shares key teachings from her culture, including Ojibwe language and a look at the corruption that has led to the meth plague on reservations across the country.  This compelling look at Native American culture woven into a complex criminal investigation is not to be missed!

In The Project Lo Denham is involved in a car accident that killed her parents and leaves her near death.  Her sister Bea prays for a miracle and when Lev Warren, the supposedly divine leader of a cult known as The Unity Project intervenes with a "healing," Lo survives. Bea,  overwhelmingly grateful, joins the cult and disappears from Lo's life. While working for an investigative magazine, Lo witnesses the suicide of one of the cult's members. She begins investigating the cult, hoping to discredit it and reconnect with her sister. However, Lo, who is granted an exclusive interview with Lev Warren, finds her sister is no longer a member, and she is slowly lured into joining the cult herself.  The story moves back and forth in time with Lo narrating the present and Bea flashbacks from her past. Suspense builds as subtle clues about what really happened are revealed, until the horrifying truth is unveiled.  This gripping psychological thriller focuses on what happens when downtrodden and vulnerable people, who are searching for identity and belonging, are preyed upon by opportunistic groups offering healing and salvation.

Pride and Premeditation, the first book in a trilogy which reworks Jane Austen novels as murder mysteries, finds Lizzy Bennet aspiring to a position in her father's law firm.  When the head of a local shipping firm, Charles Bingley, is accused of murdering his brother-in-law, Lizzy attempts to prove him innocent to prove herself to her father.  Although his best friend Fitzwilliam Darcy is Bingley's lawyer, Lizzy searches London for clues and they end up working together to free Bingley and find the real killer. This Regency era mystery will especially delight Jane Austen fans.  The extensive cast of original characters appear in differing roles but still retain their personalities. For instance, Collins is set to inherit the law firm, but is woefully inept as a lawyer, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh is a powerful woman but has devious ties to the shipping world.  In an author's note Price discusses being inspired by Austen and Agatha Christie and acknowledge the liberties she has taken with class and gender roles.  This imaginative suspenseful adaptation will appeal to both murder mystery and Austen fans alike.  It comes out April 6, 2021.

YA Novels Reimagine Romeo and Juliet

 Every year I recommend books with "Classic Connections," which reimagine classic literature, but with a twist.  One of the most recognizable plots is that of Romeo and Juliet, in which two young people from quarreling families fall in love.  Three new YA novels incorporate this element in very unique ways.  Roman and Jewel by Dana L. Davis sets the romance on Broadway in a hip-hop production of the bard's classic.  A Pho Love Story by Loan Le involves two Japanese American teens whose parents own competing Pho restaurants. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong is set in Shanghai during the 1920s during the Opium Wars and the rise of communism.  All three vary from the original in settings and adherence to the plot, but the family disapproval of the central romance is a constant. 

Roman and Jewel introduces African American Jerzie Jhames who has studied music all her life and loves all things Broadway.  When she is cast as the understudy to R&B superstar Cinny in a new Broadway hip-hop retelling of Romeo and Juliet, she resigns herself to the backup position, despite feeling she is a better fit for the part.  Then she literally runs into Zeppelin Reid, an Italian American musician/model who is cast as Roman, and it is love at first sight.  Diva Cinny is a frequent no-show for rehearsals, so Jerzie gets to sing with Zepp and an unauthorized video of a romantic scene, where Jerzie outperforms Cinny, goes viral.  Cinny is furious and attempts to sabotage Zepp and Jerzie's relationship. Jerzie must struggle to navigate fame, first love, and her ambitions for the future. The love story mirrors Romeo and Juliet's in several ways, including Jerzie's parents forbidding her romantic involvement with Zepp, his coming to her balcony to woo her, and a character attempting suicide. References to Broadway musicals and details about music composition are a bonus in this delightful romantic retelling. 

Told in alternating first person chapters, A Pho Love Story is a modern day retelling involving two Japanese American teens, whose feuding parents own competing Pho restaurants. Bao considers himself to be the king of mediocrity, whereas Linh shines as a student and artist. Both work in their parents' businesses and strive for parental approval.  When they pair up to write restaurant reviews for their school newspaper, they must meet in secret to avoid family conflict.  Bao finds a passion for writing and Linh's illustrations capture the eye of a restaurant owner who commissions her to paint a mural. Unfortunately, her parents disapprove of her pursuing an art career, so she surreptitiously sneaks away to meet Bao and work on the mural. As their romance heats up, they realize their families are hiding something from the past that is the true reason for the feud.  The food references and the Vietnamese language interspersed throughout the book add authenticity to this charming romance involving love and loss, parental expectations and self-discovery.

Shanghai in the 1920s is the setting for These Violent Delights, the first book in a duology that reimagines Romeo and Juliet during the Opium Wars and the rise of communism.  Rival factions, the Chinese Scarlet Gang and the Russian White Flowers, battle for control of the city while a disease spreading monster lurks in the Huangpu River. Four years before the story begins, the next White Flower leader Roma Montagov and Scarlet Gang heir Juliette Cai were lovers.  His unexplained betrayal of Juliette makes them enemies, and she moves to New York for an education.  When she returns, there is a sickness spreading throughout the city that causes the infected to claw their own necks open.  Then Roma's sister Alisa is infected, and he teams up with Juliette to find the cause and the cure. The romance in this book is secondary to the intriguing mystery filled with historical detail. Although there are many recognizable characters in this tale of family loyalty and identity, the added elements of the mysterious plague and political intrigue overshadow the relationship between Roma and Juliette. In the sequel Our Violent Ends, coming out in November 2021, Juliette has sacrificed her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud.  Roma is seeking revenge against Juliette for crime she didn't commit.  However, once again a monstrous danger threatens the city and they must cooperate to put an end to it once and for all. These Violent Delights and its sequel comprise a critically acclaimed historical fantasy that is not to be missed. 

Blue Spruce Award winner

 The Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult book award has been facilitating teen nominations and selection of teens' favorite books since 1985. This is the last year for the award in its present iteration, however, another group may be creating a similar teen book award in the near future.  This year's winner, Allies by Alan Gratz, is a fictionalized account of D-Day, which weaves together individual experiences from six different operations in settings across Europe.  The narrative covers a sea invasion, French citizens and Resistance Fighters on land, and soldiers arriving by air, but focuses repeatedly on Dee, a German fighting on the American side and hiding his identity from his best friend Sid, a Jewish American soldier. The account is historically accurate, but covers a very diverse cast of main characters.  In the end all the stories come together showing that it took a great deal of cooperation to defeat the Nazis in WWII.  Gratz has a new novel coming out this month, Ground Zero which is a dual tale taking place at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and in battle torn Afghanistan on September 11, 2019. 

This month I am going to review new books by three past winners of the Blue Spruce Award. Neal Shusterman won the 2019 award for Scythe, the first book in a series about controlling population in a futuristic society where death by natural causes has been eliminated.  His new book Game Changer, is set in the multiverse and takes on issues of racism, classism, misogyny and homophobia. Angie Thomas was the 2018 winner for The Hate You Give, which is about the fatal shooting of a black teen by a police officer. She published On the Come Up about an aspiring female rapper in 2019. Marissa Meyer was the 2015 winner for Cinder, the first in the Lunar Chronicles series that reimagines Cinderella as a cyborg. She has written a new book about a girl who has the ability to surreptitiously punish wrong doers in Instant Karma.

Game Changer, set in the multiverse, introduces linebacker  Ash Bowman, who gets thrown into a new world every time he suffers a hard tackle. As he travels though various "Elsewheres," he experiences segregation, being gay, being female and various levels of family wealth.  He is the "chosen one," navigating different realities, trying to change things for the better with each shift. His relationships with his family (mom, brother and professional football player father), the team quarterback and the girlfriend he abuses, his black best friend and his sister and Ash's gay math tutor, serve as foils for his exploration of racism, homophobia, misogyny and classism.  Ash's changes in perspective prompt him to develop a greater sense of empathy and urgency regarding the suffering of others.  As I said in my August blog, the multiverse is a popular topic in new YA novels, and Shusterman's new novel is a strong addition to the lexicon.

In On the Come Up Bri is aspiring rapper who is following in her late father's footsteps. She records "On the Come Up" to protest the assault she endured at the hands of white security guards at her high school and the racial profiling that goes on there.  The song goes viral, and Bri hopes to get a recording contract and help lift her family out of poverty, but her mother and brother worry.  The song espouses violence which really isn't who Bri is, and some listeners paint her as a violence inciting black girl. Tension mounts as Bri's mother loses her job, and Bri's beloved aunt and  musical mentor goes to jail for dealing drugs.  Her late father's manager promises fame and wealth - at a price.  She must agree to sing songs she hasn't written that promote the idea that she is a tough girl from the hood.  Bri must decide if she wants to sell her identity for success. Her thoughts and lyrics permeate the narrative, speaking truth to power. Angie Thomas, who was an aspiring rapper herself, paints a vivid picture of the challenges kids face when trying to escape a life of poverty and oppression. Thomas's latest book Concrete Rose which came out January 12th is a prequel to The Hate You Give. It tells the story of Maverick Carter, Starr's father, as he navigates fatherhood, gang life and family loyalty.

In Instant Karma judgmental overachiever Prudence Daniels finds herself with the ability to cast instant karma on people around her.  She is thrilled to punish everyone from vandals to mean girls, but the one person she can't seem to impact is her slacker lab partner Quint Erickson.  Hoping to get a redo on their joint lab project on which they received a C, she agrees to volunteer at the rescue center for local sea animals, where he works.  As she begins to uncover the truth about environmental hazards, she also discovers Quint is more noble than she ever imagined. The punishments continually backfire on her, and Pru slowly realizes that good and bad are not so clear. This enemies to lovers rom com is a fun beach read, with the bonus of a informative look at animal rescue centers. 

Notable YA books for 2020

The new edition of my book, What's New in Young Adult Novels? and Ideas for Classroom Use is now available on Lulu.com. at https://tinyurl.com/whatsnewya2020 . As we say goodbye to 2020, I would like to recommend several books I didn't review during the calendar year.  Dig by A.S. King, the new Michael Printz Award winner, is a surrealistic story about five unknowingly connected teens, who struggle with family dysfunction. Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam is a novel-in-verse about a black teenage poet in prison for beating a white youth and leaving him in a coma. We Are Not Free, a critically acclaimed novel by Traci Chee, is about 14 Japanese American Teens in internment camps during WWII. Finally, Rebel Spy, a historical novel by Veronica Rossi, is a reimagining of the story of Agent 355, a New York society girl who was a spy for George Washington. 

Dig introduces five estranged cousins, whose dysfunctional family includes wealthy grandparents Marla and Gottfried Hemmings, who have left their 5 children and teenage grandchildren to flounder in various state of illness and poverty.  David-The Shoveler, Katie-CanIHelpYou?, Loretta-Flea Circus Ring Mistress, First-Class Malcom, and the Freak are brought together by tragedy. Trauma and abuse cause the teens to find security in their self-defined roles. David, who frequently moves with his mother, carries a snow shovel to protect himself from bullies, Katie works at Arby's where she deals drugs from the drive-through window.  Loretta finds solace in a family of fleas she carries in a lunchbox, as she struggles with her violent father's abuse.  Malcom takes frequent first-class flights to Jamaica with his widower father, who is batting cancer.  The Freak appears supernaturally between locations, checking in on her cousins and trying to help.  The narrative deals with the issues of racism, white power and privilege and class as the teens' stories are revealed and come together.  Can this generation of Hemmings dig its way out of the toxic environment that their grandparents created?

In Punching the Air sixteen-year-old African American Amal is convicted of violence against a white teen, who is in a coma as a result.  Amal, an aspiring poet and artist is sent to prison, protesting his innocence. In speaking of testimony against him, he says, their words are "like a scalpel/shaping me into/the monster/they want me to be."  While in prison, he experiences the worst of prison life, complete with abuse from guards and fellow prisoners.  Working on his GED, he finds a way to express himself through a poetry class and painting murals on the prison walls. The first-person narration allows the reader to experience his anguish, as he waits for his alleged victim to regain consciousness and hopefully set him free. In an author's note Zoboi details her connection with Salaam, who was a member of the "Central Park Five," now known as the "Exonerated Five."

We Are Not Free chronicles the lives of fourteen young Japanese Americans during WWII in this semi-autobiographical story about the incarceration of families in internment camps.  Teens who have grown up together in San Francisco's Japantown are taken to Topaz Internment Camp in Utah, where they experience harsh conditions and injustices.  When they are forced to enlist and/or swear allegiance to the US, those that refuse, the "no-nos," are taken to Tule Lake Camp.  Between 1942 and 1945 the families that pass a background check are allowed to relocate.  The stories are told in varying styles, including first and second person, verse and letters.  Historical photographs and documents add to the text.

Rebel Spy is the reimagining of the story of a New York society girl, Agent 355, who was a spy for George Washing during the Revolutionary War.  Frannie Tasker, who lives with her abusive stepfather on Grand Bahama Island escapes when a shipwreck presents her with the opportunity to assume the identity of a young woman floating in the sea. She dons the woman's clothes and is rescued by a British merchant ship that heads for New York. She meets Asa Lane,  a dashing young patriot who lends her Thomas Paine's Common Sense and teaches her to act like a lady, before he is press-ganged into His Majesty's navy. When she gets to NYC she poses as Emmeline and is swept into a world of wealth and luxury.  For three years Frannie lives as Emmeline Coates and is courted by a British lieutenant.  Access to some of the crown's highest officers gives her the opportunity to provide valuable information to Washington's Culper spy network. She believes in the fight for American liberty and risks her life to aid the revolutionaries. Part swashbuckling adventure, part romance, this is a riveting read.