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YA Lit Newsletter April 2024
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Cancelled
by Farrah Penn
What's it about? High school senior Brynn Whittaker faces a school-wide scandal when a viral video wrongly implicates her, prompting her and her friends to confront the school's misogynistic culture, while Brynn grapples with the decision to expose the true culprit.
Read it for: a novel that boldly tackles the problematic double standards that seek to bring girls down, and shines a light on the loving, uplifting friendships that can help them make it through those brutal four years.
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Who We Are In Real Life
by Victoria Koops
What's it about? Becoming friends with new girl Darcy, a fellow gamer, Art must find the courage to take a stand against his influential and conservative father, who is trying to stop Darcy and her friends from starting a queer-straight alliance at school. Meanwhile, in game, Darcy's and Art's D&D characters join forces to fight corruption as they grow closer in the homebrew world of Durgeon's Keep - as fantasy and reality collide.
For fans of: Rainbow Rowell and Casey McQuiston, tabletop gaming, romance and epic campaigns.
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Four Letter Word
by Gretchen McNeil
What's it about? Welcoming Alberto, a handsome Italian exchange student, into their home, Izzy believes he may be a serial killer when things about him don't add up, and when a local girl is murdered and a series of “accidents” befall her, she must find the truth before another girl ends up dead.
Author alert! McNeil has written a number of thrilling YA novels, including #MurderTrending, Ten, and Three Drops of Blood.
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The Name She Gave Me
by Betty Culley
What's it about? Rynn was born with a hole in her heart - literally. Although it was fixed long ago, she still feels an emptiness there when she wonders about her birth family. Upon discovering she has a sister in foster care, Rynn longs to connect with her birth family without fully severing her shaky relationship with her adoptive family.
Read it for: a powerful novel-in-verse that uncovers both beautiful and heartbreaking truths and explores how challenging, yet healing, family can be.
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In the Orbit of You
by Ashley Schumacher
What's it about? When a school-wide personality test reunites Nova with Sam - and reveals they are each other's top matches - they begin to remember why they were such close friends all those years before and why a romantic relationship between them would never work out - or so they think.
Read it for: a story about the enduring and changing nature of friendship, of the strange struggle between who you are and who you want to be, and finding your voice after trauma.
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I Hope This Doesn't Find You
by Ann Liang
What's it about? Channeling her frustrations into email drafts - ones that she'd never send - seemingly perfect Sadie Wen finds her carefully crafted, conflict-free life turned upside down when the emails are sent out accidentally. Overnight, Sadie's carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It's her worst nightmare. But amidst the chaos, there's one person growing to appreciate the "real" Sadie -- Julius, the only boy she's sworn to hate.
For fans of: Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before, snarky and romantic novels.
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Salt the Water
by Candice Iloh
What's it about? Raised in a free-spirited home by two loving parents who encourage Cerulean to be their full self, they've got dreams of moving to live off the grid with their friends after graduation. But a fight with a teacher spirals out of control, and Cerulean impulsively drops out of twelfth grade. But their sheltered upbringing hasn't prepared them for the consequences of their choice - especially not when it's compounded by a family emergency that puts a parent out of work. Suddenly the money they'd been stacking with their friends is a resource that the family needs to stay afloat...
Read it for: a book about dreaming in a world that has other plans for your time, your youth, and your future.
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The Hedgewitch of Foxhall
by Anna Bright
What's it about? In need of power beyond her wildest dreams to get back what she's lost, hedgewitch Ffion agrees to help Prince Taliesin while secretly striking a bargain with his brother Dafydd, and soon the fate of Wales depends on their quest - and so might the fate of her heart.
Read it for: a novel in which a rebellious witch undertakes a last-ditch quest to restore magic to medieval Wales - as two princes vie for her heart.
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Under This Red Rock
by Mindy McGinnis
What's it about? After her brother's suicide, Neely works as a tour guide in the caverns where she meets beautiful, strong, confident Mila. But when a drug-fueled midnight staff party results in Mila's brutal murder, Neely must figure out who killed her - and face the possibility it might've been her.
Author Alert! Mindy McGinnis is the author of many recent YA novels, including A Long Stretch of Bad Days, Be Not Far From Me, and Heroine.
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Rebel Skies
by Ann Sei Lin
What's it about? When her flyingship is attacked, servant Kurara is taught how to hunt the wild paper spirits sought after by the Princess of Mikoshima, soon discovering her fate - and even the world - may rest in her hands.
Read it for: an enchanting and action-packed debut, first in a series, will sweep readers away to an aerial world of magic, danger and political intrigue.
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Icarus
by K. Ancrum
What's it about? A thief who steals priceless art and replaces it with his father's impeccable forgeries while targeting Mr. Black, the man responsible for his mother's death, Icarus Gallagher is torn between family loyalty, revenge, escape and Mr. Black's son - the boy he's come to love.
For fans of: Adam Silvera, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, suspenseful queer YA romances.
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The No-Girlfriend Rule
by Christen Randall
What's it about? When her boyfriend excludes her from participating in a roleplaying game, high school senior Hollie joins an all-girls group where an in-game romance has the potential to be more than just pretend.
Read it for: an unforgettable queer romance about a teen girl whose foray into fantasy tabletop roleplaying brings her new confidence, true friends, and a shot at real, swoon-worthy love.
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Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal
by Gretchen Schreiber
What's it about? Forced to return to the hospital while trying to balance her illness with the pressures of high school, Ellie Haycock finds this stay different when she becomes close with a group of friends, including optimistic Ryan, who, despite their differences, she can't stop thinking about.
For fans of: The Breakfast Club, Rachael Lippincott's Five Feet Apart, big-hearted novels.
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Till Human Voices Wake Us
by Rebecca Roque
What's it about? When her best friend's death is ruled a suicide, 17-year-old Cia must expose an underground society preying on those they think no one will miss, her relentless investigation putting her in the crosshairs of a killer who is closer to home than she ever imagined.
For fans of: detective and mystery fiction, Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.
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Chronically Dolores
by Maya Van Wagenen
What's it about? Dolores Mendoza is not thriving. She was recently diagnosed with a chronic bladder condition called interstitial cystitis. The painful disease isn't life threatening, but it is threatening to ruin her life. Just when things seem hopeless, Dolores meets someone poised to change her fate, and after a rocky start, the girls form a tentative friendship...but Dolores's choices may put her in danger of committing an unforgivable betrayal.
Read it for: a story told with humor, heartache, and an occasional bit of telenovela flair.
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Hamlet Is Not OK
by R. A. Spratt
What's it about? Selby hates homework. So Selby didn't plan to read Hamlet. She certainly never planned to meet him. This novel transports Selby, and the reader, into the cold and crime-ridden play itself. Here she meets Hamlet - heavy with grief, the young prince is overthinking and over everything. Selby can relate. But unlike Hamlet, Selby isn't afraid of making decisions. In her world, Selby is used to feeling overlooked. But in the bloody, backstabbing world of Shakespeare, Selby's good conscience and quiet courage might just save some lives...hopefully before Hamlet stabs one of her classmates.
What're Reviewers Saying? 'Books like this are a joy to read, because they acknowledge mental health issues, celebrate words, and acknowledge the difficulties some have with reading.' - Ashleigh Meikle, the Book Muse
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New Hanover County Library 201 Chestnut Street, Wilmington, North Carolina 28401 910-798-6301www.nhclibrary.org |
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