Hello Darling Readers,
It’s that
most wondrous time of the year again – Most Anticipated Books list time!
Here in
Melbourne we just had the Centre for Youth Literature’s annual (and always
sold-out) ‘YA Showcase’ – where publishers stand up in front of a crowd of hundreds and give us all a teaser of
what we’ll be reading next year … you can check out the Storify of that event,
or watch the Slideshow.
So below is
my attempt to corral my already unwieldy wish-list of books coming out in 2017.
But this list is nowhere near definitive or complete – there were some books at
the YA Showcase that I am extraordinarily
excited for, but they don’t appear down below because they don’t have book
covers yet, or release dates or even 100% official blurbs…
Some of those elusive TBD books are;
- Untidy Towns – the
YA debut from “talent-to-watch” Kate
O’Donnell (coming out with UQP) I've known for a while now that Kate was a writer, as well as amazing bookseller and freelance editor ... she seriously, seriously knows her YA stuff - so I'm beyond excited to read her knowledge funnelled into this debut!
- Take Three Girls is the PanMacmillan YA collaboration between Aussie
YA superstars Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell, and Fiona Wood. The trio actually
all read brief excerpts from each of their story-parts and it was INCREDIBLE.
Some of us have known this book has been coming for a while now, and are salivating for this one --- but if you’d like even more of a teaser and understanding of just
how well these three bounce off each other; listen to their appearance on the
fabulous podcast Unladylike!
- Erin Gough (she of The Flywheel fame!) has her second book coming out in late 2017 with Hardie Grant. Amelia Westlake was described as being about a feminist rebellion against private school boys, when the two female instigators of the rebel alliance fall for each other ... YES!
- Separate to the YA Showcase - I am also ridiculously excited for Sally Thorne's second book ... I don't know if you realised, but I was pretty gosh darn obsessed with her romance debut The Hating Game this year (I've only re-read it X3 times since August!) - she has a book coming out Summer 2017 called The Comfort Zone ... and I'm willing to give up a kidney for an ARC of that one. Mmkay?!
Now - without
further ado, - to the best of my ability for accuracy (and with profuse apologies for any titles I’ve completely
overlooked!) - here is my Most Anticipated Books of 2017 list …
***
JANUARY
The Fifth Letter by
Nicola Moriarty
Those
Moriarty sisters are a talented bunch! This new one from Nicola sounds
exquisite – a little bit ‘New Adult’ and Women’s Fiction, The Big Chill for the next generation, mixed with I Know What You Did Last Summer…? Yes.
Please!
Best friends are supposed to keep your darkest
secrets. But the revelations Joni, Deb, Eden and Trina have shared will ripple
through their lives with unforeseen consequences . . . and things will never be
the same.
Me and Marvin Gardens by
A.S. King
1.
It’s A.S. King
– whom I am devoted to. Utterly.
2.
Ms King
will be at Reading
Matters next year and I am going to have NO. CHILL around her.
3.
I can’t
wait to hear her talk about writing her first middle-grade book that (of course
it does!) sounds like it has a quirky-subversive message about the environment
underneath a monster tale.
Flying Lessons and Other Stories edited
by Ellen Oh
In a partnership with We Need Diverse Books,
industry giants Kwame Alexander, Soman Chainani, Matt de la Peña, Tim Federle,
Grace Lin, Meg Medina, Walter Dean Myers, Tim Tingle, and Jacqueline Woodson
join newcomer Kelly J. Baptist in a story collection that is as humorous as it
is heartfelt.
So much yes
to this.
SO. MUCH.
YES!
Midnight Without a Moon by
Linda Williams Jackson
If you don’t
already know the harrowing true story of Emmett Till, you may want to brace
yourself for this book with some research
[trigger warning; you will find some awful
photos of Till’s corpse on the internet, so maybe avoid searching via Google
Images especially?]
Rose Lee Carter, a 13-year-old African-American
girl, dreams of life beyond the Mississippi cotton fields during the summer of
1955. Her world is rocked when a 14-year-old African-American boy, Emmett Till,
is killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman.
The Careful Undressing of Love by
Corey Ann Haydu
That cover,
title and blurb have me hooked; Everyone
who really knows Brooklyn knows Devonairre Street girls are different. They’re
the ones you shouldn’t fall in love with. The ones with the curse. The ones who
can get you killed.
Our Own Private Universe by
Robin Talley
This will be
Talley’s fourth book, and I’m ashamed to say I haven’t actually read anything
from her – yet! This book of hers sounds the most up my alley, and that cover is utterly gorgeous! Fifteen-year-old Aki Hunter knows she’s
bisexual, but up until now she's only dated guys—and her best friend, Lori, is
the only person she’s out to. When she and Lori set off on a four-week
youth-group mission trip in a small Mexican town, it never crosses Aki's mind
that there might be anyone in the group she’d be interested in dating. But that
all goes out the window when Aki meets Christa.
Breathless (Old West #2) by
Beverly Jenkins
I discovered
Jenkins this year when I read the first book in this series, ‘Forbidden’ and it
made it’s way onto my Favourites
List! She is incredible, and is fast-becoming one of my favourite romance
writers … ever!
History Is All You Left Me by
Adam Silvera
I’ve yet to
read Silvera’s critically-acclaimed ‘More Happy Than Not’, but I am eagerly
awaiting his second novel … about a young man getting over the death of
his ex-boyfriend, by seeking comfort from the deceased’s current boyfriend.
Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World
edited by Kelly Jensen
Look, I
might be biased *cough* #LoveOzYA!
*cough* – but 2017 is shaping up to be The Year of the Anthology and this non-fiction offering sounds especially great, not least for it’s editor in Jensen.
Here We Are is a scrapbook-style teen guide to
understanding what it really means to be a feminist. It’s packed with essays,
lists, poems, comics, and illustrations from a diverse range of voices,
including TV, film, and pop-culture celebrities and public figures such as
ballet dancer Michaela DePrince and her sister Mia, politician Wendy Davis, as
well as popular YA authors like Nova Ren Suma, Malinda Lo, Brandy Colbert,
Courtney Summers, and many more. Altogether, the book features more than
forty-four pieces, with an eight-page insert of full-color illustrations.
Good Boy (WAGs #1) by
Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy
*HYPERVENTILATES*
are you kidding me with this?! It’s really unfair how many of my romance
pleasure buttons this cover and synopsis are hitting …
A Shadow's Breath by
Nicole Hayes
New Nicole
Hayes, new Nicole Hayes, new Nicole Hayes, new Nicole Hayes!!! Nuff’ said.
Ida by Alison Evans
I think this
was one of the most buzzed-about books at the YA Showcase the other night, and
for good reason! Ida struggles more than
other young people to work this out. She can shift between parallel universes,
allowing her to follow alternative paths. One day Ida sees a shadowy,
see-through doppelganger of herself on the train. She starts to wonder if she’s
actually in control of her ability, and whether there are effects far beyond
what she’s considered.
Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan
2.
The
blurb for this middle grade book is right up my alley: Julia is very short for her age, but by the end of the summer run of The
Wizard of Oz, she'll realize how big she
is inside, where it counts.
Wait for Me by Caroline Leech
I’m down for
this; It’s 1945, and Lorna Anderson’s
life on her father’s farm in Scotland consists of endless chores and rationing,
knitting Red Cross scarves, and praying for an Allied victory. So when Paul
Vogel, a German prisoner of war, is assigned as the new farmhand, Lorna is
appalled. How can she possibly work alongside the enemy when her own brothers
are risking their lives for their country?
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
1.
That cover
by artist Adams Carvalho is perfection.
2.
It’s Nina
LaCour. Need I say more?
The Edge of Everything by
Jeff Giles
This one has
some serious and seriously good early-buzz.
I personally don’t think the cover screams “Fantasy!” but apparently this is
*the* debut fantasy YA coming out of 2017 … we shall see.
On Second Thought by
Kristan Higgins
I really
didn’t like Higgins’ first foray into ‘women’s fiction’ with her 2015 novel ‘If
You Only Knew’. I feel like she veered so far away from what makes her
romances great – humour and heart – that the story felt … empty? BUT, given
that I’ve already read ‘On Second Thought’ (thanks, NetGalley!) I can assure
you that’s not the case with this second stand-alone women’s fic from Higgins.
This one has tragedy and torment aplenty, but there’s also an incredibly sweet
romance and focus again on a sisterly bond that makes this one of Higgins’
absolute best.
FEBRUARY
Valentine by Jodi McAlister
Valentine is the first in a smart, witty and
page-turning YA series with a paranormal twist for fans of Holly Black and
Sarah J. Maas … if you’re not
already; follow Jodi on Twitter
(especially around Bachelor and Bachelorette time!) and jump on the bandwagon
for this YA book which is already generating some serious, serious buzz in
Australia!
Mr Romanov’s Garden in the Sky by Robert Newton
A violent incident sparks an unlikely and surprising friendship between a young girl and an old man, leading to an adventure that brings drama and understanding to their lives in contemporary Melbourne.
Lincoln in the Bardo by
George Saunders
This is one
of my most-most-most anticipated books of 2017. I love short stories, and I love George
Saunder’s short stories in particular. He is a God among writers! … but this is
his foray into historical fiction, and it sounds utterly compelling (and I will
say, having been on a ‘Hamilton’ soundtrack kick in the latter half of this
year, I am more endeared than ever to US History!);
On February 22, 1862, two days after his death,
Willie Lincoln was laid to rest in a marble crypt in a Georgetown cemetery.
That very night, shattered by grief, Abraham Lincoln arrives at the cemetery
under cover of darkness and visits the crypt, alone, to spend time with his
son’s body. Set over the course of that one night and populated by ghosts of
the recently passed and the long dead, Lincoln in the Bardo is a thrilling
exploration of death, grief, the powers of good and evil, a novel - in its form
and voice - completely unlike anything you have read before. It is also, in the
end, an exploration of the deeper meaning and possibilities of life, written as
only George Saunders can: with humor, pathos, and grace.
The Possessions by
Sara Flannery Murphy
I’ve been
lucky enough to receive an ARC of this, and it’s incredible! It’s kinda, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets
Penny Dreadful … if that makes any
enticing sense?!
In this electrifying literary debut, a young
woman who channels the dead for a living crosses a dangerous line when she
falls in love with one of her clients, whose wife died under mysterious
circumstances.
Ronit & Jamil by
Pamela L. Laskin
This is one
of my Top 5 Most-Anticipated books, because; Pamela L. Laskin’s beautiful and lyrical novel in verse delivers a
fresh and captivating retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that transports the star-crossed lovers to
the modern-day Israel-Palestine conflict.
See You in the Cosmos by
Jack Cheng
A
middle-grade book with Carl Sagan’s name in the title? GET OUT OF MY HEAD,
CHENG! This is so far up my alley, it’s not even funny – this blurb has me all
aquiver in excitement; A space-obsessed
boy and his dog, Carl Sagan, take a journey toward family, love, hope, and awe
in this funny and moving novel for fans of Counting by 7s and Walk Two Moons (ß also one of my
favourite
books, ever!)
Frogkisser! by Garth Nix
1.
It’s
Garth-freakin’-Nix!
2.
This has
been described as being a bit ‘Princess Bride’-ish
3.
It’s about
a girl who doesn’t need a prince.
4.
*GRABBY
HANDS*!
5.
David Levithan
at Melbourne Writers Festival said this was one of his favourite Aussie YA’s –
ever!
Devil in Spring (The Ravenels #3) by
Lisa Kleypas
Not only is
this a new Lisa Kleypas – so, YAY! – but this is a book that connects
to her beloved ‘Wallflowers’ series … and not just any book from that series,
but ‘Devil in Winter’ – Evangeline and Sebastian’s book! And the excerpt we’ve
already got is beyond amazing.
The Hate U Give by
Angie Thomas
John Green
recently tweeted
that he thinks this book is destined to be a classic. It certainly feels like
it’s releasing at an incredible time in American politics and society – not
dissimilar to Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ coming right at the apex of
the Civil Rights Movement. I’m not surprised that it’s a contemp YA novel that
has its finger so much on the pulse either …
Off the Ice (Juniper Falls #1) by
Julie Cross
Ice-hockey
YA (that actually sounds more New Adult). The blurb is angsty as all get-out …
but there’s a kinda Mighty Ducks vibe to it that I’m digging? Quack, Quack,
Quack, Quack …
American Street by
Ibi Zoboi
We had a lot
of contemporary YA stories exploring immigrant families and illegal immigrant
families in particular this year – Nicola Yoon’s ‘The Sun is Also a Star’ and ‘Something
in Between’ by Melissa de la Cruz among them … But given the divided fallout of
the US election, and the next four years under Trump – not to mention the
elections happening across Europe where anti-immigration platforms are winning
votes for the right-wing of every political party … I’d say more of these books
are sorely needed, and should be welcomed in YA especially.
Dreamland Burning by
Jennifer Latham
When seventeen-year-old Rowan Chase finds a
skeleton on her family's property, she has no idea that investigating the
brutal century-old murder will lead to a summer of painful discoveries about
the past... and the present.
This sounds downright
awesome, and I think that cover is *stunning*!
Agent Nomad #1: The Eleventh Hour (Agent Nomad
Series #1) by Skye Melki-Wegner
New Skye
Melki-Wegner is freakin’ amazing! This one promises to be about ‘Spies.
Secrets. Sorcery.’ And we get two books in one year – second is called ‘Deadly
Magic’ and it’ll be out in May! *happy dancing*!
MARCH
You're Welcome, Universe by
Whitney Gardner
On the one
hand – this story sounds great, and the first line of the blurb has me all
goosebumpy with excitement; When Julia
finds a slur about her best friend scrawled across the back of the Kingston
School for the Deaf, she covers it up with a beautiful (albeit illegal)
graffiti mural.
But then to
make this even more alluring – the book is apparently going to have “interior
graffiti”!
Silence Fallen (Mercy Thompson #10) by
Patricia Briggs
I’ve already
read this (um, thanks NetGalley?) and I did not like it. At all. It has the
feel of being a “filler” instalment in Brigg’s otherwise meticulous ‘Mercy
Thompson’ series … sorry.
Vigilante by Kady Cross
I am excited for this YA novel - described as a teen mystery perfect for teens who like Veronica Mars ... but I only like the sounds of it on the proviso that it's AS GOOD if not better than new MTV show, 'Sweet Vicious' ... which is a vigilante comedy about rape culture on college campuses and it's *superb*. So - like - yes to Kady Cross' version of this in theory ... but it has a lot to live up to, sandwiched between a Veronica Mars reference and Sweet Vicious already on offer. Just sayin'.
The Roanoke Girls by
Amy Engel
I’ll read
anything that references the Roanoke Colony in as
interesting a way as this; Roanoke girls
never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.
Seven Days of You by
Cecilia Vinesse
It’s set in
Tokyo. Do you need to know more? – because I do not.
Hunted (Hunted #1) by
Meagan Spooner
Beauty and
the Beast subversive retelling. Say no more. I’m there.
Stranger Than Fanfiction by
Chris Colfer
If a YA
novel has ‘FanFiction’ in the title, I’m so there. While I haven’t read any of
Colfer’s other children’s books, I did enjoy the movie he wrote Struck by
Lightning, and I think he’s a generally pretty fascinating celebrity who
seems to have an unfair amount of talent across multiple industries.
The Things We Promise by
J.C. Burke
This one was
mentioned at the YA Showcase with a proviso to “bring the tissues” – and given
that Burke is the author of ‘The Story of Tom Brennan’ , ‘Pig Boy’ and ‘The Red
Cardigan’, that’s no idle threat. Bring on the snotty-tears!
Queens of Geek by
Jen Wilde
Um, how has
this not been a YA setting before? When BFFs Charlie, Taylor and
Jamie go to SupaCon, they know it’s going to be a blast. What they don’t expect
is for it to change their lives forever.
The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch #1) by
Rin Chupeco
When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother
from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family
… OH, I am so *so* into this
blurb! It sounds like historical Kelly Link meets ‘The Craft’
Forget Me Not by
Ellie Terry
I am so
interested to see how poetic language is used to explore this story: A girl with Tourette syndrome starts a new
school and tries to hide her quirks in this debut middle-grade novel in verse.
Under the Love Umbrella by
Davina Bell, illustrations by Allison Colpoys
This is a
picture book (!) on my list because LOOK AT IT! And look who wrote and has
illustrated it! That is some top-notch Aussie children’s book legends, right
there. Scribe
have been hitting it out of the park lately, and this book has me giddy with
excitement – I just want to own it, and stroke it and admire the pretty and
messages!
APRIL
Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology edited by Danielle Binks, with short stories from Amie Kaufman, Melissa
Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung,
Gabrielle Tozer, and Lili Wilkinson
Yes – this
is a flagrant bit of self-promotion. Sorry (not sorry). I’m incredibly proud of
this anthology, and the Australian youth literature it champions. There really
is a story in here for everyone – time-travel stories, adventure stories, love
stories, family and surreal stories … it’s a kaleidoscopic slice of Aussie YA
and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!
The book is
now available for pre-order, and throughout 2017 I’m sure you’ll see all
of the authors (and me!) at various Festivals and Events talking about the anthology and
the #LoveOzYA movement that created it!
Remind Me How This Ends by
Gabrielle Tozer
Soooooo … I
might already have this. And started reading it. And I’m here to tell you
IT’S FREAKIN’ AMAZING! Not that I’d expect any less from a past winner of the
prestigious Gold
Inky Award, but Tozer has outdone herself with this contemporary YA
boy-meets-girl-(again!) story.
The Secret Science of Magic by
Melissa Keil
At this
year’s YA Showcase, Keil was described as Aussie YA’s “Rom-Com Queen” and that
title is beyond apt! This – her third book – sounds like more sparkling lovely
brilliance from our Queen!
The Beast of Hushing Wood by
Gabrielle Wang
Read this
post on the author’s blog, and tell
me you don’t want to read this stunning novel! OMG!
Geekerella by Ashley Poston
Sssshhhh... you had me at that title.
The Upside of Unrequited by
Becky Albertalli
2.
Duh.
The Whole Thing Together by
Ann Brashares
Brashares is
the author of ‘The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants’ … UH-HUH! Blurb
promises; she’s back with a beautifully
written novel about love, class differences, and betrayal playing out over the
course of a fractured American family’s Long Island summer. Kinda sounds
like E. Lockhart’s ‘We Were Liars’, but I’m down for that!
Night Swimming by
Steph Bowe
First off –
Bowe is one of Aussie YA’s most enduring talents, and I am so freakin’ excited
that she’s back with her third contemporary YA book! Secondly; just the first
line of this blurb gives me all the feels; Imagine
being the only two seventeen-year-olds in a small town. That’s life for Kirby
Arrow—named after the most dissenting judge in Australia’s history—and her best
friend Clancy Lee, would-be musical star.
MAY
Finding Nevo by
Nevo Zisin
This book is
releasing in May, just ahead of Reading
Matters – where Nevo is also appearing! This is the memoir of a young trans
teen, and I have a feeling it’s going to be essential reading for more than
just teens.
In a Perfect World by
Trish Doller
2.
YA set in
Egypt. EGYPT!
When Dimple Met Rishi by
Sandhya Menon
This is –
easily – one of my Top 5 Most Anticipated Books of 2017. Easily!
A laugh-out-loud, heartfelt YA romantic comedy,
told in alternating perspectives, about two Indian-American teens whose parents
have arranged for them to be married.
It's Not Like It's a Secret by
Misa Sugiura
YES! --- Sixteen-year-old
Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her
when her friends don’t invite her to parties. Some are big, like that fact that
her father may be having an affair. And then there’s the one that she can
barely even admit to herself—the one about how she might have a crush on her
best friend.
Sweet Tea and Sympathy by
Molly Harper
2.
THERE’S A
DOG ON THE COVER!! Dogs on romance covers are – ironically – my catnip.
Stars Over Clear Lake by
Loretta Ellsworth
I’ve got a
few 1940’s romance on this list, so I must be craving that era or something? à Set
during the 1940s and the present and inspired by a real-life ballroom, Stars
Over Clear Lake is a moving story of forbidden love, lost love, everlasting
love - and self love.
See What I Have Done by
Sarah Schmidt
The Hot Guy by Mel Campbell & Anthony
Morris
Do you
follow Mel Campbell on Twitter?
You should, she’s hilarious! And she’s teamed up with her equally hilarious
film critic partner, Anthony Morris for this fictional rom-com about a serious
(and seriously hot!) cinema nerd guy and a female sports publicist … this kinda
sounds like Rainbow Rowell’s ‘Attachments’
meets Roger Ebert = H-O-T!
Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy
New Julie
Murphy is always cause for celebration, and when the blurb is this darn
tantalizing? Happy-dancing all the way, baby!
Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane
Katrina changed her life forever. Since then, it’s been Ramona and her family
against the world. One of only two out lesbians in her small town and standing
over six feet tall with unmistakable blue hair, Ramona knows she’s destined for
something bigger than the trailer she calls home in Eulogy, Mississippi. But
juggling multiple jobs, her flaky mom, and her well-meaning but ineffectual dad
forces her to be the responsible adult of the family. Now, with her sister,
Hattie, pregnant, her responsibilities weigh more heavily than ever. The return
of her childhood friend Freddie brings a welcome distraction. Ramona’s
friendship with the former competitive swimmer picks up exactly where it left
off, and soon he’s talked her into joining him for laps at the pool.
JUNE
Boundless by Jillian Tamaki
From the
cartoonist of ‘This One Summer’ (with writer Mariko Tamaki), comes a new
graphic novel. Tamaki offered a sneak-peek into the work back in February, and it’s
absolutely stunning. Described as exploring; ‘the virtual and IRL world of
contemporary women via a lens both surreal and wry,’ this sounds exactly up my
alley – like a particularly smart and subversive episode of ‘Black Mirror’ in graphic-novel form. YES. PLEASE!
Wren written by Katrina Lehman,
illustrated by Sophie Beer
Another
picture book on my list! I couldn’t go past this one – coming out with Scribble
Kids – because I recently started following Sophie on Instagram, and now
she’s one of my favourite artists, and I’d love to work with her someday on something!
Maybe in Paris by
Rebecca Christiansen
Bring the
tissues – this one kinda sounds like ‘Are You Seeing Me?’ by Darren Groth,
which is not a bad thing at all!
Keira Braidwood lands in Paris with her
autistic brother, Levi, and high hopes. Levi has just survived a suicide
attempt and months in the psych ward—he’s ready for a dose of the wider world.
Unlike their helicopter mom and the doctors who hover over Levi, Keira doesn’t
think Levi’s certifiable. He’s just . . . quirky. Always has been.
Mad as Hell by Gabrielle Williams
I loves me
some new Gabrielle
Williams, and this one promises to be about the fallout of a friendship –
thanks to technology. I can’t wait!
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by
Mackenzi Lee
1.
This is YA
2.
This
is historical YA
3.
This
is historical LGBT+ YA
4.
Wendy
Darling (‘The Midnight Garden’) describes the book thus; Boys fighting pirates and their feelings for
each other in 18th century Paris and Venice! *swoon*
Indigo
Gotta admit,
I don’t know a lot about this … but I’m excited because Charlaine Harris
(QUEEN!) is involved; In a brilliant
collaboration by New York Times and
critically acclaimed coauthors Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden, Kelley
Armstrong, Jonathan Maberry, Kat Richardson, Seanan McGuire, Tim Lebbon, Cherie
Priest, James Moore, and Mark Morris join forces to bring you a crime-solving
novel like you ve never read before.
Spellbook of the Lost and Found by
Moïra Fowley-Doyle
1.
Author of
‘The Accident Season’
2.
Witches!
Ballad for a Mad Girl by
Vikki Wakefield
Hi, my name
is Danielle and I’m obsessed with Vikki
Wakefield’s words. Seriously – I’d be happy reading her grocery list. But
as it stands we’re getting this – Vikki’s fourth YA book! – which she describes
as “spooky” and a total departure from her other contemporary books … WANT!!!
JULY
Our Story Begins: Children’s Authors and
Illustrators Share Fun, Inspiring, and Occasionally Ridiculous Things They Wrote
and Drew as Kids edited by Elissa Brent Weissman
Gotta admit,
before I knew anything about this book I just loved the cover. But the blurb
is actually pretty good too – a
collection of quirky, smart, and vulnerable childhood works by some of today’s
foremost children’s authors and illustrators—revealing young talent, the
storytellers they would one day become, and the creativity they inspire today.
This does
sound similar to the Australian, Walker Books book edited by Judith Ridge ‘The
Book That Made Me’ – but that’s okay, stories about storytellers never get
old, right?
Gap Year in Ghost Town by
Michael Pryor
Not gonna
lie, this one has some ‘Supernatural’ vibes … that title alone is making me
really eager to see what kind of a cover such an intriguingly spooky and snappy
story will get!
Solo by Kwame Alexander & Mary
Rand Hess
… a YA novel written in poetic verse. Solo
tells the story of seventeen-year-old Blade Morrison, whose life is bombarded
with scathing tabloids and a father struggling with just about every addiction
under the sun—including a desperate desire to make a comeback.
Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of
Villainy edited by Ameriie
July is
clearly anthologies-month in America! This
unique YA anthology presents classic and original fairy tales from the
villain's point of view … I am intrigued, and I can’t get over what a great
idea it was to pair authors with popular bloggers and vloggers to provide them
writing prompts. Genius! Evil, evil genius!
AUGUST
Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons) by
Leigh Bardugo
I am
possibly more excited for this book than the Wonder
Woman movie coming out in June. I could not think of a more perfect
pairing than Bardugo and Diana Prince, and this is sure to be a blockbuster
amongst blockbusters in 2017.
The Secret History of Us by
Jessi Kirby
Gorgeously written and emotionally charged, The Secret History of Us explores the difficult journey of a teenage girl who must piece her
life together after losing her memory in a near-fatal accident.
SEPTEMBER
Beautiful Mess by Claire Christian
This is the 2016 Text Prize winner, so of course it's on my list! But what's really sealed its placement on here is Claire herself, who I now follow on Instagram and she's such a lovely bubble of positivity who really gives a shit about teenagers (see this video!) I'm excited to see what she brings to Aussie YA.
OCTOBER
Saint Death by Marcus Sedgwick
I loves me
some Marcus
Sedgwick, and this new one sounds both timely and on-topic terrifying … A
potent, powerful and timely thriller about migrants, drug lords and gang
warfare set on the US/Mexican border.
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