The revision of my book What's New in Young Adult Novels? and Ideas for Classroom Use for 2024 is now available. Just click on the book icon in the upper right corner of my blog and it will take you to Lulu.com where you can purchase this book. Over 50 new books are recommended along with ideas for using them in the classroom. I would again like to take this opportunity to thank NetGalley for providing ARCs of many of the new young adult novels that I review. Three new YA books being released in January 2024 caught my fancy. Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft is a Regency-inspired fantasy about a seamstress who weaves enchantments into the clothing she creates. The Getaway List by Emma Lord (Begin Again) finds a high school graduate defying her mother and heading to NYC to rekindle a relationship with her childhood best friend, who is the co-creator of the "getaway list," a list of adventures they want to experience in the city. Dungeons and Dramas by Kristy Boyce introduces Riley, who is obsessed with musicals. When she gets caught hijacking her mother's car to go to the city to see Waitress, her punishment is working in her father's gaming store, where she gets new insights into the gaming world, as well as her relationship with her father.
Fragile Enchantment introduces Niamh, a seamstress who has magic in her blood, which allows her to stitch emotions and memories into the clothes she designs. When she receives an invitation to serve as the tailor for the royal wedding in Avaland, she sees it as an opportunity to guarantee a better life for her working class Machlish family. She arrives in Avaland to find Machlish workers striking, the groom Prince Christopher (Kit) alienating everyone around him, and Lovelace, a gossip columnist, wreaking havoc at court. Niamh pierces Kit's thorny defenses with patience and persistence, as she creates a calming wardrobe for the upcoming nuptials. Neither he nor his fiancé, the Castillian Infanta Rosa, want to marry, but are being coerced by forces beyond their control. Complicating matters are the political upheaval created by the rebellious workers, the tenuous marriage agreement between the kings of Avaland and Castille, Lovelace's column exposing the growing intimacy between Niamh and Kit, and Niamh's deteriorating health which is being depleted by her use of magic. The narrative satisfyingly works its way toward a resolution of all the complications in this sweeping Regency romance.
In The Getaway List, Riley Larson, who has received rejections from all ten colleges she applied to, decides to defy her controlling mother and take back the spontaneity in her life. She heads to NYC where she reunites with her childhood friend Tom with whom she created a Getaway List. Over their three-year separation, Tom had grown distant, and Riley discovers her mother had plotted to keep them apart. Fueled by her anger, Riley decides to stay for the whole summer to work through the list with Tom and his quirky friends, camping, going to concerts, and exploring the city. Tom's screenwriter mother is on an extended stay in LA, so Riley and Tom are free to not only discover themselves, but also their romantic feelings for each other. The supporting characters are well-developed, and the author's affectionate portrayal of NYC adds to the charm of the novel.
We are introduced to another rebellious Riley in Dungeons and Dramas. When this Riley takes her mother's car, without permission nor a driver's license, to the city to see the musical Waitress, her divorced parents decide her punishment will be working at her estranged father's gaming store. Not only is she distraught about working there, she is also upset that the school has cancelled this year's spring musical, which she was hoping to direct. When her ex shows up at the store with his new girlfriend, Riley claims her co-worker Nathan is her boyfriend to save face. Nathan is appalled, but agrees to the ruse so that he can make his crush jealous. To make the relationship seem more official, she starts playing Dungeon and Dragons with him and his friends at the store. Of course, she is the bard and finds opportunities to sing at every meeting. The more time she and Nathan spend pretending to be involved, the more lines blur. Meanwhile, she is campaigning to revive the musical by putting on a show for the administrators to demonstrate that there is sufficient interest for them to reconsider their decision. When things go terribly wrong, Nathan and her new friends come to her rescue.
