The holidays are fast approaching, and with them, a handful of new releases! Here are the YA novels coming out in December and early January. What’s on your to-read list?
The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee
Release date: 12/27/2016
An evocative novel about a teen aroma expert who uses her extrasensitive sense of smell to mix perfumes that help others fall in love while protecting her own heart at all costs. [Image and summary via Goodreads]
Ever the Hunted (Clash of the Kingdoms #1) by Erin Summerhill
Release date: 12/27/2016
Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, the legendary bounty hunter for the King of Malam—that is, until her father is murdered. Now outcast and alone and having no rights to her father’s land or inheritance, she seeks refuge where she feels most safe: the Ever Woods. When Britta is caught poaching by the royal guard, instead of facing the noose she is offered a deal: her freedom in exchange for her father’s killer. However, it’s not so simple... [Image and summary via Goodreads]
Wayfarer (Passenger #2) by Alexandra Bracken
Release date: 1/3/2017
All Etta Spencer wanted was to make her violin debut when she was thrust into a treacherous world where the struggle for power could alter history. After losing the one thing that would have allowed her to protect the Timeline, and the one person worth fighting for, Etta awakens alone in an unknown place and time, exposed to the threat of the two groups who would rather see her dead than succeed. When help arrives, it comes from the last person Etta ever expected—Julian Ironwood, the Grand Master’s heir who has long been presumed dead, and whose dangerous alliance with a man from Etta’s past could put them both at risk. [Image and summary via Goodreads]
Because of the Sun by Jenny Torres Sanchez
Release date: 1/3/2017
From the backyards of suburban Florida to the parched desert of New Mexico, Because of the Sun explores the complexity of family, the saving grace of friendship, and the healing that can begin when the truth is brought to light. [Image and summary via Goodreads]
Flying Lessons and Other Stories edited by Ellen Oh
Release date: 1/3/2017
Whether it is basketball dreams, family fiascos, first crushes, or new neighborhoods, this bold anthology—written by the best children’s authors—celebrates the uniqueness and universality in all of us. [Image and summary via Goodreads]
Wing Jones by Katherine Webber
Release date: 1/5/2017
Jandy Nelson meets Friday Night Lights: a sweeping story about love and family from an exceptional new voice in YA. With a grandmother from China and another from Ghana, fifteen-year-old Wing Jones is often caught between worlds. But when tragedy strikes, Wing discovers a talent for running she never knew she had. Wing’s speed could bring her family everything it needs. It could also stop Wing getting the one thing she wants. [Image and summary via Goodreads]
Poison’s Kiss (Poison’s Kiss #1) by Breeana Shields
Release date: 1/10/2017
A teenage assassin kills with a single kiss until she is ordered to kill the one boy she loves. This commercial YA fantasy is romantic and addictive like– a poison kiss– and will thrill fans of Sarah J. Maas and Victoria Aveyard. [Image and summary via Goodreads]
Factory Girl by Josanne La Valley
Release date: 1/10/2017
In order to save her family’s farm, Roshen, sixteen, must leave her rural home to work in a factory in the south of China. There she finds arduous and degrading conditions and contempt for her minority (Uyghur) background. Sustained by her bond with other Uyghur girls, Roshen is resolved to endure all to help her family and ultimately her people. A workplace survival story, this gritty, poignant account focuses on a courageous teen and illuminates the value—and cost—of freedom. [Image and summary via Goodreads]