2021 YA

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[2021ya]

THE UPPER WORLD

The Upper World #1

by Femi Fadugba

(HarperTeen, 12/7/21)

9780063078598

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Today During arguably the worst week of Esso's life, an accident knocks him into an incredible world--a place beyond space or time, where he can see glimpses of the past and future. But if what he sees there is true, he might not have much longer to live, unless he can use his new gift to change the course of history. Tomorrow Rhia's past is filled with questions, none of which she expects a new physics tutor to answer. But Dr. Esso's not here to help Rhia. He's here because he needs her help--to unravel a tragedy that happened fifteen years ago. One that holds the key not only to Rhia's past, but to a future worth fighting for.

[2021ya]

GENTLEMAN’S CLUB

by N.T. Herrgott

(Telos Publishing, 10/12/21)

9781777171605

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Luca Wexler has grown up in a world where superheroes and villains are a staple of the nightly news. Now at seventeen years old, with eight years of superhero training, a scrappy attitude, and a mountain of sass — he figures that’s everything he needs to make it big as The Avalon Knight. (Behind his dad’s back.) Even though his trainer keeps him on the streets to break up muggings or the occasional burglary, he somehow gets thrust into a supervillain crisis! (Okay, he might have accidentally-on-purpose thrust himself into it.) A genius hacker and social media celebrity — known only as The Gentleman — is at the center of a conspiracy of blackmail, extortion, and exploitation. And seeing as how America’s A-List superheroes are MIA, Luca’s the only one who can do anything about it. He's sure that he's ready. He’s used to picking fights with bigger guys (he’s smol but mighty), but as the situation turns deadly, Luca begins to get the feeling that he might (absolutely) be in over his head.

[2021ya]

THE OTHER TALK

RECKONING WITH OUR WHITE PRIVILEGE

by Brendan Kiely 

(Atheneum, 9/21/21)

9781534494046

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Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Brendan Kiely starts a conversation with white kids about race in this accessible introduction to white privilege and why allyship is so vital. Talking about racism can be hard, but... Most kids of color grow up talking about racism. They have “The Talk” with their families—the honest talk about survival in a racist world. But white kids don’t. They’re barely spoken to about race at all—and that needs to change. Because not talking about racism doesn’t make it go away. Not talking about white privilege doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. The Other Talk begins this much-needed conversation for white kids. In an instantly relatable and deeply honest account of his own life, Brendan Kiely offers young readers a way to understand one’s own white privilege and why allyship is so vital, so that we can all start doing our part—today.

[2021ya]

ONLY THE PRETTY LIES

by Rebekah Crane

(Skyscape, 5/1/21)

9781542019644

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A young love story about breaking painful legacies by the author of The Upside of Falling Down. Convention doesn’t carry much weight in Alder Creek. It doesn’t in Amoris Westmore’s family either. Daughter of a massage therapist and a pothead artist, inheritor of her grandmother’s vinyl collection, and blissfully entering her senior year in high school, Amoris never wants to leave her progressive hometown. Why should she? Everything changes when Jamison Rush moves in next door. Jamison was Amoris’s first crush, and their last goodbye still stings. But Jamison stirs more than bittersweet memories. One of the few Black students in Alder Creek, Jamison sees Amoris’s idyllic town through different eyes. He encourages Amoris to look a little closer, too. When Jamison discovers a racist mural at Alder Creek High, Amoris’s worldview is turned upside down. Now Amoris must decide where she stands and whom she stands by, threatening her love for the boy who stole her heart years ago. Maybe Alder Creek isn’t the town Amoris thinks it is. She’s certainly no longer the girl she used to be.

[2021ya]

TWO WINTERS

by Lauren Emily Whalen

(Bold Strokes Books, 9/14/21)

9781636790190

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The winter of 1997 is a tragedy waiting to happen. Small-town life isn't easy for seventeen-year-old, bisexual and closeted Paulina, especially when her best friend Mia becomes pregnant and doesn’t want to tell the baby's father, Paulina's other best friend, Tesla. Meanwhile, Paulina's secret relationship with volleyball star Ani is about to go public. One fateful night, everything changes forever. In the winter of 2014, Perdita, bi and proud in Chicago, is weeks away from turning seventeen. She loves her two moms, but why won’t they talk about her adoption? When Perdita meets improv performer Fenton, she discovers both a kindred soul and a willing accomplice in her search for the truth. Will Perdita find what she's looking for? Two Winters is a contemporary YA retelling of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale about birth, death, Catholic school, improv comedy and the healing nature of time.

[2021ya]

DESCENDANTS OF THE FIRST

The Return of the Earth Mother #2

by Reni K. Amayo

(Onwe Press, 10/5/21)

9781916042964

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Series

1. Daughters of Nri

The king is dead - and with him, the last thread holding the kingdom together. Deep cracks are forming throughout the kingdom of Nri with whispers of deadly successors lurking beneath the shadows. Despite having the same face, it seems the deepest crack is forming between Naala and Sinai, the reunited twin goddesses, who must put their differences aside as they travel through a broken Nri. Unbeknownst to the girls, their use of the mystical Ṇdu crystal has awakened mythical beasts and the lost gods, each returning to Nri one by one. One thing is clear, the twins will have to face enemies at every corner of the kingdom... one of whom lies hidden amongst those they hold dearest. As ongoing turmoil spreads throughout the kingdom, the daughters of Nri must unmask the true face of their enemy, as they discover that their unique blood has marked them with magic strong enough to restore true peace to the world - a task only they can complete. But with beasts lurking far and wide, will they be able to do so before the kingdom succumbs to its looming curse? Descendants of the First is the thundering sequel to Reni K Amayo’s epic feminist young adult fantasy, Daughters of Nri, lauded as “literary magic” by Buzzfeed and a piece of “Excellent writing, brilliant book.” by best-selling author, Dorothy Koomson.

[2021ya]

CUPCAKE

by Cookie O’Gorman

(Entangled Teen, 11/2/21)

9781649370327

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I know what you're thinking. You're thinking this will be just one more story of the ignored, "big-boned " girl, who sheds her glasses and a few extra pounds and finally attracts the notice of the most popular guy in school. Except it isn't. Because I'm not unpopular. Not all that ignored. And I love the way I look―just as I am. Then someone puts my name in for Homecoming Court. The bigger surprise? People actually vote for me! Now, I'm a "princess"―whether I like it or not―but the guy I'm paired with isn't exactly Prince Charming. Rhys Castle is the strong, silent type who always wears a frown―he's certainly never smiled at me. I'm 99.9% sure he hates being on Court and being my partner, but surprisingly…he doesn't switch when he gets the chance. Turns out Rhys has a secret―something that makes him run hot and cold throughout the entire three weeks of Homecoming festivities. Whether he's stepping on my feet during dance lessons or gallantly escorting me through the Homecoming parade, I can't get a read on this guy, and for the first time, I find my confidence wavering. But there's more to Rhys than meets the eye. And the more the spotlight shines on me, I realize there's more to me, too.

[2021ya]

WHERE I BELONG

by Marcia Argueta Mickelson

(Carolrhoda Lab, 9/7/21)

9781541597976

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In the spring of 2018, Guatemalan-American high school senior Milagros “Millie” Vargas knows her life is about to change. She’s lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, ever since her parents sought asylum there when she was a baby. Now a citizen, Millie devotes herself to school and caring for her younger siblings while her mom works as a housekeeper for the wealthy Wheeler family. With college on the horizon, Millie is torn between attending her dream school and staying close to home, where she knows she’s needed. She’s disturbed by what’s happening to asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, but she doesn’t see herself as an activist or a change-maker. She’s just trying to take care of her own family. Then Mr. Wheeler, a U.S. Senate candidate, mentions Millie’s achievements in a campaign speech about “deserving” immigrants. It doesn’t take long for people to identify Millie’s family and place them at the center of a statewide immigration debate. Faced with journalists, trolls, anonymous threats, and the Wheelers' good intentions―especially those of Mr. Wheeler's son, Charlie―Millie must confront the complexity of her past, the uncertainty of her future, and her place in the country that she believed was home.

[2021ya]

VIAL OF TEARS

by Cristin Bishara

(Holiday House, 10/5/21)

9780823446414

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Two sisters become trapped in the underworld--and in the machinations of deities, shapeshifters, and ghouls--in this lush and dangerous Phoenician mythology-inspired fantasy. Sixteen-year-old sisters Samira and Rima aren't exactly living the dream. Instead, they live with their maddeningly unreliable mother in a rundown trailer in Michigan. Dad's dead, money's tight, and Mom disappears for days at a time. So when Sam's grandfather wills her the family valuables--a cache of Lebanese antiquities--she's desperate enough to try pawning them before Mom can. But she shouldn't. Because one is cursed, forbidden, the burial coin of a forgotten god. Disturbing it condemns her and Rima to the Phoenician underworld, a place of wicked cities, burning cedar forests, poisoned feasts of milk and lemons, and an endless, windless ocean. Nothing is what it seems. No one is who they say. And down here, the night never ends. To get home--and keep her sister safe--Sam will have to outwit beautiful shapeshifters, pose as a royal bride, sail the darkest sea... and maybe kill the god of death himself.

[2021ya]

SKI WEEKEND

by Rektok Ross

(Spark Press, 10/26/21)

9781684631094

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Six teens, one dog, a ski trip gone wrong . . . Sam is dreading senior ski weekend and having to watch after her brother and his best friend, Gavin, to make sure they don’t do anything stupid. Again. Gavin may be gorgeous, but he and Sam have never gotten along. Now they’re crammed into an SUV with three other classmates and Gavin’s dog, heading on a road trip that can’t go by fast enough. Then their SUV crashes into a snowbank, and Sam and her friends find themselves stranded in the mountains with cell phone coverage long gone and temperatures dropping. When the group gets sick of waiting for rescue, they venture outside to find help—only to have a wilderness accident leave Sam’s brother with a smashed leg and, soon, a raging fever. While the hours turn to days, Sam’s brother gets sicker and sicker, and their food and supplies dwindle until there isn’t enough for everyone. As the winter elements begin to claim members of the group one by one, Sam vows to keep her brother alive. No matter what. Filled with twists, secrets, and life-changing moments, Ski Weekend is a snow-packed survival thriller featuring a diverse cast of teens that will appeal to fans of One of Us is Lying and I Am Still Alive.

[2021ya]

BROWN BOY NOWHERE

by Sheeryl Lim

(Skyscape, 8/1/21)

9781542027762

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Welcome to Nowhere, kid. Life starts here. What’s the problem? Sixteen-year-old Filipino American Angelo Rivera will tell you flat out. Life sucks. He’s been uprooted from his San Diego home to a boring landlocked town in the middle of nowhere. Behind him, ocean waves, his girlfriend, and the biggest skateboarding competition on the California coast. Ahead, flipping burgers at his parents’ new diner and, as the only Asian in his all-white school, being trolled as “brown boy” by small-minded, thick-necked jocks. Resigned to being an outcast, Angelo isn’t alone. Kirsten, a crushable ex-cheerleader and graffiti artist, and Larry, a self-proclaimed invisible band geek, recognize a fellow outsider. Soon enough, Angelo finds himself the leader of their group of misfits. They may be low on the high school food chain, but they’re determined to hold their own. Between shifts at the diner, dodging bullies, and wishing for home, Angelo discovers this might not be nowhere after all. Sharing it can turn it into somewhere in a heartbeat.

[2021ya]

KILLER CONTENT

by Kiley Roache

(Underlined, 11/30/21)

9780593427491

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Knives Out meets One of Us is Lying! In this paperback original thriller a group of famous TikTokers find themselves turning on each other when one member of the group turns up dead at their beachfront Malibu mansion. 35 million followers. One dead body. The six teenagers who make up the Hype House seem to have it all. A beach front Malibu mansion, millions of TikTok followers, model good looks, and sponsorship deals up to $30,000 per post. Everything's pretty much a Gen-Z paradise. Except that one member of the house has just turned up dead in the infinity pool. And the rest of them are suspects. When the group TikTok account starts posting cryptic messages about the murder, the police limit their investigation to the members of the house. Now old joke videos are filed as evidence and past rivalries start to look like motives. As investigators dig into these influencers' lives beyond their glossy internet personalities, they discover all five had reasons their lives would've been easier with Sydney Reynolds dead. But only one of them killed her. Underlined is a line of totally addictive romance, thriller, and horror paperback original titles coming to you fast and furious each month. Enjoy everything you want to read the way you want to read it.

[2021ya]

UNEARTHED: A JESSICA CRUZ STORY

by Lilliam Rivera & Steph C. (Illustrator)

(DC Comics, 9/14/21)

9781779500519

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Acclaimed author Lilliam Rivera and artist Steph C. reimagine one of DC's greatest Green Lanterns, Jessica Cruz, to tell a story about immigration, family, and overcoming fear to inspire hope. Jessica Cruz has done everything right. She's a dedicated student, popular among her classmates, and has a loving family that has done everything they can to give her a better life in the United States. While Jessica is a part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, allowing her to go to school and live in the U.S., her parents are undocumented. Jessica usually worries for her parents, but her fears and anxiety escalate as a mayoral candidate with a strong anti-immigration stance runs for office. As the xenophobia in Coast City increases, Jessica begins to debate whether it's worth renewing her status to stay in the U.S., or if her family would be safer and better off moving back to Mexico. And despite her attempts to lean on her friends and family, she finds herself constantly visited by visions of Aztec gods, one pulling her towards hope and the other towards anger. But when her father is detained by I.C.E., Jessica finds herself being pulled into an abyss of fear. With her father gone and feeling helpless, Jessica must find her way out of her fears and ultimately become a voice for her community.

[2021ya]

THE VIOLENT SEASON

by Sara Walters

(Sourcebooks FIRE, 10/5/21)

9781728234106

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There is something terribly wrong in Wolf Ridge. Every November, every teen is overwhelmed with a hunger for violence…at least, that’s the urban legend. After Wyatt Green’s mother was brutally murdered last Fall, she’s convinced that the November sickness plaguing Wolf Ridge isn’t just a town rumor that everyone ignores…it’s a palpable force infecting her neighbors. Wyatt is going to prove it, and find her mother’s murderer in the process. She digs up every past brutal act she can find from Wolf Ridge’s past – from car wrecks, suicides, and unnamed victims turning up in rivers—and even reaches out to an out-of-state journalist that seems to believe her. But all of her digging leads to nowhere. Everyone in Wolf Ridge accepts that the November sickness is real, and absolutely no one will talk about it. As Wyatt’s best friend Cash turns on her, and her friend is almost killed in a tragic accident, Wyatt panics – how can she keep her friends safe, and find her mother’s murderer, when no one believes her? As the evidence stars to disappear, Wyatt wonders: is she just imagining everything? Is the sickness real, or are the people of Wolf Ridge just naturally prone to doing bad things? Can Wyatt and her friends come out of the Violent Season unscathed, or is one of them going to be the next victim?

[2021ya]

THE BIG REVEAL

by Jen Larsen

(Henry Holt, 12/7/21)

9781250252173

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A dazzling YA novel about a girl who isn't afraid to be big and sexy and dance her heart out, and a discussion-provoking exploration of the mixed messages our society gives young women about their bodies and sexuality. Addie is a talented dancer, a true-blue friend, fat, fierce, and driven. When she's accepted into the prestigious dance program of her dreams, she thinks nothing can bring her down—until she realizes she doesn't have enough money to go. Refusing to give up, Addie and her friends decide to put on a top-secret, invitation-only burlesque show to raise funds. But word soon gets out, and the slut- and body-shaming begin. Has Addie been resisting the patriarchy, or playing right into its hands? Perfect for fans of Jennifer Mathieu and E. Lockhart, The Big Reveal asks hard-hitting feminist questions while reveling in some of life's greatest joys: chasing your passions, falling in love, and embracing yourself exactly as you are.

[2021ya]

SUNBURNT VEILS

by Sara Haghdoosti

(Wakefield Press, 4/1/21)

9781743057766

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Girl meets boy, ghosts his text messages, then convinces him to help her run for the student union. Just your typical love story with a hijabi twist. Tara wears hijab even though her parents hate it, and in a swipe right world she’s looking for the ‘will go to the ends of the earth for you’ type of love. Or, she would be, if she hadn’t sworn off boys to focus on getting into med. Besides, what’s wrong with just crushing on the assassins, mages and thieves in the fantasy books she reads? When a bomb threat on her first day of university throws her together with totally annoying party king and oh-so-entitled politician’s son Alex, things get complicated. Tara needs to decide if she’s happy reading about heroes, or if she’s ready to step up and be one herself. Sunburnt Veils is an own-voices rom-com with a political activist edge and a deliciously savvy pop culture voice.

[2021ya]

MERCURY BOYS

by Chandra Prasad

(Soho Teen, 8/3/21)

9781641292658

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History and the speculative collide with the modern world when a group of high school girls form a secret society after discovering they can communicate with boys from the past, in this powerful look at female desire, jealousy, and the shifting lines between friendship and rivalry. After her life is upended by divorce and a cross-country move, 16-year-old Saskia Brown feels like an outsider at her new school—not only is she a transplant, she’s biracial in a population of mostly white students. One day while visiting her only friend at her part-time library job, Saskia encounters a vial of liquid mercury, then touches an old daguerreotype—the precursor of the modern-day photograph—and makes a startling discovery. She is somehow able to visit the man in the portrait: Robert Cornelius, a brilliant young inventor from the nineteenth century. The hitch: she can see him only in her dreams. Saskia shares her revelation with some classmates, hoping to find connection and friendship among strangers. Under her guidance, the other girls steal portraits of young men from a local college's daguerreotype collection and try the dangerous experiment for themselves. Soon, they each form a bond with their own "Mercury Boy," from an injured Union soldier to a charming pickpocket in New York City. At night, the girls visit the boys in their dreams. During the day, they hold clandestine meetings of their new secret society. At first, the Mercury Boys Club is a thrilling diversion from their troubled everyday lives, but it's not long before jealousy, violence, and secrets threaten everything the girls hold dear.