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January's Most Anticipated New YA Novels
As dedicated readers already know, some of the best and most innovative stories on the shelves come from the constantly evolving realm of young adult fiction. Every month our team looks at the books being published and how they're resonating with early readers. We use this information to put together a roundup of soon-to-be favorites.
New in January: Indiana Jones meets forgotten folklore in Leslie Vedder’s The Bone Spindle. Queer romance meets the 1980s in David Valdes’ Spin Me Right Round. And juvenile delinquents meet the apocalypse in Marieke Nijkamp’s At The End of Everything. Also: sorority witches, theater nerds, and 19th-century grave robbers.
Add the books that catch your eye to your Want to Read shelf, and let us know what you're reading and recommending in the comments!
New in January: Indiana Jones meets forgotten folklore in Leslie Vedder’s The Bone Spindle. Queer romance meets the 1980s in David Valdes’ Spin Me Right Round. And juvenile delinquents meet the apocalypse in Marieke Nijkamp’s At The End of Everything. Also: sorority witches, theater nerds, and 19th-century grave robbers.
Add the books that catch your eye to your Want to Read shelf, and let us know what you're reading and recommending in the comments!
Winner of this month’s unofficial Coolest Book Cover Image award, Anatomy: A Love Story invites readers into the world of Edinburgh, Scotland, circa 1817. It’s not your standard YA love story. Hazel Sinnet is aspiring to be the world’s first female surgeon. Jack Currer works as a “resurrection man”—a clandestine gravedigger who provides fresh corpses to, yes, aspiring surgeons. Schwartz’s gothic romance reminds us that love can bloom even in the weirdest circumstances.
Among the many species native to the North American high school is the colorful and expressive Theater Kid (Studentia dramatiis), young people who live for after-school rehearsals and musical theater soundtracks. Millie Price is one such specimen, and nothing will stand in the way of her goal: Broadway! Emma Lord (You Have a Match, Tweet Cute) tells the story of an irrepressible high schooler and her quest for a theatrical destiny.
This interesting exercise in lateral thinking asks the question: What happens when you take a classic survival story, cross it with a frontier myth, set it in a sci-fi universe, then add in a wolf? The answer, evidently, is Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves, in which 17-year-old Sena Korhosen must survive a deadly sled race across a planetary tundra with her courage, her wits, and her lupine companion, Iska. Let’s be honest: This can’t miss.
More interesting departures in the science fiction terminal: Author Alechia Dow’s The Kindred tells the story of two teenagers separated by the vast distances of a galactic empire. On the bright side, Joy Abara and Felix Hamdi are connected by the tradition of “mind-pairing,” in which each person in the galaxy is assigned a kindred who truly understands them. When a political assassination threatens both their lives, the two young strivers flee into the cosmos, only to crash-land on a backward planet called Earth.
Recommended for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and All the Stars and Teeth, this debut from author Leslie Vedder combines adventure and romance in a world inspired by classic fairy tales. As treasure hunters go, Fi is the brainy type—she’s read all the books and relies on her wits. Shane is more rough-and-tumble—she likes fists and fights and pretty girls. Together they come across dark magic, ferocious witches, and the spirit of a prince who’s been sleeping for 100 years.
The apocalypse is clearly on our collective mind these days, as further evidenced by At the End of Everything, the new YA novel from Marieke Nijkamp. The teenagers housed at the Hope Juvenile Treatment Center are used to being neglected. But when the guards stop showing up at all, it’s clear that something is amiss. As a lethal virus tears through the world outside, this group of forgotten teens must figure out how to trust one another and survive.
The Crossing Gate, by author Asiel R. Lavie, is the first in a new series set in the Greek-inspired kingdom of Elpax, where young people must pass through the mystical Crossing Gate to become adults. When 17-year-old Lenora’s third attempt at crossing goes wrong, she earns the full attention of the totalitarian system. Lavie’s new series, A Waltz of Sin and Fire, is recommended for fans of Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen and Lauren Oliver's Delirium.
A delightfully queer spin on the old Back to the Future template, David Valdes’ Spin Me Right Round follows the adventures of teenager Luis Gonzalez, who travels back in time to his parents’ high school years in order to help another gay kid survive the homophobic 1980s. Valdes’ debut novel mashes up queer romance with sci-fi flourishes and rom-com lightness. It also provides yet another opportunity for an author to try to resolve the time-travel paradox. There should be a reading list for this. Wait, there is!
The sequel to the celebrated 2020 novel The Other Side of the Sky, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner’s latest is more evidence, if needed, that genre sorting is a dubious tradition, best ignored. With its mixed-up elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and romance, Beyond the End of the World is a marvel of inventive world-building centered around a love story, a breakneck adventure, and a massive city in the sky. Recommended for fans of Brandon Sanderson and Laini Taylor.
Author J. Elle’s Wings of Ebony series is built on a fascinating supposition: What if the violence and crime in Houston’s East Row neighborhood is actually powered by a cosmic evil that pervades the multiverse? In Ashes of Gold, the concluding book of the duology, teenage Rue embraces her true legacy and taps the strength of her ancestors to save her neighborhood—and maybe all of creation.
The infamous Kappa Rho Nu sorority is known for its wild parties and elaborate pledge initiation rituals. It makes sense, really, when you consider that Kappa is also a coven of witches. In this sequel to 2020’s The Ravens, sorority sisters and besties Scarlet and Vivi must face down ancient evils and new rivals as they assume leadership positions in the most complicated social organization, like, ever.
Which new releases are you looking forward to reading? Let's talk books in the comments!
Check out more recent articles, including:
A Very Enthusiastic YA Year in Review from a Genre Expert
The Most Anticipated Books of 2022
Snowed In! Mysteries and Thrillers for the Wicked Cold
Check out more recent articles, including:
A Very Enthusiastic YA Year in Review from a Genre Expert
The Most Anticipated Books of 2022
Snowed In! Mysteries and Thrillers for the Wicked Cold
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Lady
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Dec 29, 2021 01:25AM
Good selection of books. I still enjoy reading YA books even though I am well into middle age. Young people make some good characters in these stories.
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At the End of Everything and Spin Me Right Round were both great - looking forward to the rest!
Can't wait for anatomy: a love story! Looks so fun. I'm currently reading The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise for the first time!
Am I basing the need to watch Anatomy: A Love Story from the cover? Yes. Do I care? No.
The Crossing Gate is my favorite! Can't wait to read Anatomy!
The Crossing Gate and The Ivory Key are some of ones I’m looking forward too!
Lazy wrote: "Good selection of books. I still enjoy reading YA books even though I am well into middle age. Young people make some good characters in these stories."I’m also in my Middle Ages and still love YA. Authors tend to be more creative with younger characters!
Sci-fi and Mystery aren't really my thing, and 90% of this list is Sci-Fi. Oh well, hopefully I'll have better luck with the other lists.
