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It’s a big week for celebrating and taking small actions to help make the world a little better. First: it’s National Library Week. If you have access to a public, school, academic, or special library, take the time to show up and browse this week. Then take a moment to write to the library board and let them know just how much you appreciate the place. There’s no need to make this long or complicated. A simple letter that says you love the thoughtful displays in the library and/or appreciate the range of programming or available titles is enough. Now, more than ever, boards hear from those who want to complain, rather than celebrate. Be the positive light and reminder of how great the library is.
If you’re reading this on the day it publishes, April 22, then it’s also Earth Day. If you are able, get outside and into nature, whether it’s today or sometime this week. Can you do one thing to make the world around you just a tiny bit better? Again, no need to make this complicated. Pick one thing that is doable and know you’ve made a difference. You could easily marry celebrating National Library Week with Earth Day, too–perhaps you visit your local library and pick out some seeds to plant from their seed exchange.
Not everyone can do everything, and that’s okay. But if we’re all able to tend to the part of the garden we can reach, it makes a meaningful impact.
Perhaps this is the week you reach out to your library and ask if they’ll purchase a new release YA book. This is a thing you can do, and it benefits the library–they get to hear from users and help meet user needs–and it benefits your community–more opportunity for discovery and reuse.
Here’s a look at what’s hit shelves this week. There is really something for everyone.
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New Hardcover YA Releases This Week
Gods and Comics by Kat Cho
Takes on mythology are going to continue to be hot in the coming months, and Cho’s latest book–a romance meets fantasy read–plays around with the Korean god Haemosu and his love, Yuhwa.
Grace Bak has her entire life planned out. She’s going to be a doctor like her parents. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she’s worked and how close this goal is, she’s been dealing with horrific panic attacks, and that has made her relationships suffer. Worse, her beloved grandmother has died, and she’s not only grieving that loss, but she’s also revisiting the grief of losing her mother when she was young.
To work through her grief, Grace starts a webcomic based on Korean mythology. But rather than keep her gods in a mythical world, they’ve become teenagers trapped in high school. Grace doesn’t expect the comic to go viral, but it does. Worse, her fictional Haemosu has become real, and he’s opened up the door to more mythical beings to enter the real world. With a new crush in her life, Grace realizes she’s got to help conquer the mythical world she’s conjured while also trying to reorient herself to her own life and feelings.
The Labyrinth of Waking Dreams by Michelle Kulwicki
Thea LaGuerre lives in Barrens Peak, West Virginia. It’s a nothing-special kind of town, but it’s home for Thea, who dropped out of high school following her mom’s unexpected death. Thea works and looks forward to time off, when she can hang out (and make out) with her boyfriend Callum. He’s new in town, so he’s been a fresh and exciting thing.
What Thea doesn’t know is that Callum was sent to her town to watch her. He’s part of a secret order of magicians tasked with helping humans stay safe from underground monsters. Callum is devoted to the order, but he’s struggling because he’s feeling a real, meaningful connection with Thea that he’s never felt with anyone before. At least, he hasn’t felt that way since his first love, Oliver, was banished from the magicians’ order.
Oliver isn’t gone, though. He’s been on a mission to find Callum again, and he does. He finds Callum and his new girlfriend at a barn party, where monsters have shown up and started a massacre. Oliver knows what he has to do: open up a portal into the Labyrinth to save both Callum and Thea.
Now the three of them must make their way through the Labyrinth to save their lives.
Readers who love portal fantasies, this one’s for you!
May The Dead Keep You by Jill Baguchinsky
You may remember that last week, when talking about one of the new YA titles, I mentioned that necromancy was a theme popping up several times this year. Here’s another title for that microtrend!
Catie loves being alone in the woods near her family’s historic–and kind of weird–home. A scientist and his son have moved into a cottage on their property to do some work within the woods, and soon, Catie can’t keep her eyes or interest off the son. He’s been able to bring a dead woodpecker back to life.
Soon, though, creepy and unsettling things seem to be happening with more regularity. It’s bothering Catie, and she’s noticing the way the men around her (including her newfound crush) are becoming possessive.
It’s not long before Catie discovers there’s something wrong with her home. That might be what’s causing things to go from bad to worse.
This is a twist on Wuthering Heights (the gothic horror part) and Don’t Let The Forest In.
Morbid Curiosities by S. Hati
Aarya’s got her life mapped out, and it includes graduating, getting into a prestigious collegiate institution, and getting into the field of biology research. The opportunity to attend the Elizabethan Institute is another step toward her dreams. It’s the preeminent life sciences academy, and the work there changes the world.
Things aren’t great when Aarya arrives, though. She’s having a hard time fitting in, and it’s made worse by being the only scholarship student. Her peers are rich and eager to take each other out. But she’s now getting notes telling her to run–and despite finding an ally in the mysterious Sofia, Aarya’s rattled.
Sofia claims to be the subject of one of the institution’s experiments. Aarya’s having a hard time believing her, but Aarya’s own memory and experiences seem to be blurring the lines between real and imagined. So when a murder rocks the institution, Aarya now needs to figure out what and who she can believe. Her life is at stake.
New Paperback YA Releases This Week
Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier
Hanalei of Tamarind comes from a well-respected and revered family. But her father’s decision to steal a seadragon egg meant for a sick princess forces her and her family into exile. It’s not what she saw for her future. So a chance meeting with a female dragon who offers her a chance to return home to Tamarind is Hanalei’s opportunity to find happiness and undo the wrong that led to her family’s exile.
Samahtitamahenele, aka Sam, is in a tough spot. He’s the last prince of Tamarind, but he’ll never inherit the throne. Tamarind is a matriarchy. He’s in a tough spot because his grandma is about to end her reign, and his mother is very ill. Sam knows he can do only two things: get married or cure his mother’s illness. So when Hanalei, his childhood friend, returns, he turns to her for help. Together, they’re going to hunt down the dragonfruit that could cure Sam’s mom…but it won’t be easy, and they won’t be the only ones on this very mission.
The Queen’s Spade by Sarah Raughley
Raughley’s latest historical and political thriller is based on the true story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, Queen Victoria’s African goddaughter.
It’s 1862, and 19-year-old Sally is ready for revenge. She wants to take down everyone working with and for the Crown for their “humanitarianism.” It was that “benevolence” that stole her from her home and made her royal property.
To succeed, Sally will need to play a lot of court politics and will have to team up with both the Queen’s inner circle and a crime lord from London’s underworld. But when the Queen gets wind of what’s going on, she’ll ensure that Sally does not succeed in her revenge by marrying her off.
Sally is determined, even as time is running out for her freedom.
The Summer I Ate the Rich by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
Brielle Petitfour loves cooking, but she knows it’s not a viable career for her. When her chronically ill mother loses her job, though, Brielle thinks she can at least do some cooking to bring in a little money. The rich people who hire her are loving what she’s doing.
But she’s got a big secret. Ingredient, that is. She isn’t afraid of a little human flesh for flavor.
Inspired by Haitian zombie lore, this one explores social class and racial inequality. It’s also got one of the best covers in a long time.
Paperback YA Series Releases This Week:
More Paperback YA Releases This Week:
Happy reading!