Archives de catégorie : Young Adult

THE DANDELION RIOTS de Kim Smejkal

A darkly compelling fantasy romance in which a young woman is cursed to end the world if she ever falls in love. Perfect for fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout, Brigid Kemmerer and Stephanie Garber.

THE DANDELION RIOTS
by Kim Smejkal
Pushkin Press, March 2025
(via Writers House)

Sixteen-year-old Drinn has been kept isolated her entire life by Aunt Melusine, and she’s determined to find out why. But when Drinn confronts Melusine, things go spectacularly wrong—leaving one person dead, and Drinn on the run. Heartbroken, terrified, and alone, Drinn learns she is one of the damned: girls cursed at birth to cause everything from drought to disease to rat infestations. The damned are the dregs of society, and Drinn is the most infamous of them all—if she ever falls in love, the world ends.

Drinn may not understand much, but she recognizes injustice when she sees it. Shielding her heart against a handsome, charismatic boy (is he a test, put in her path?) Drinn tracks down another cursed girl named Story—a grumpy mechanic who kills anyone she touches—and together they rally others to their cause. By transforming their curses into assets, Drinn and Story fight back: against the Aunts who cursed them, and a world that shuns them.

Unfortunately, the powerful—and now furious—Aunts may be the least of their worries. It turns out the threat to Drinn’s heart was not the handsome, charismatic boy; in fact, it was never a boy at all. By the time Drinn learns deeper truths about herself and all the ways that love can surprise you, will she have already summoned the apocalypse?

Kim Smejkal lives with her family on Vancouver Island in Canada, which means she’s often lost in the woods or wandering a beach. She writes dark fantasy for young adults and not-so-young adults, always with a touch of magic. She is the author of Ink in the Blood (Clarion Books, 2020) and Curse of the Divine (Clarion Books, 2021).

THE UNINVITED de Nancy Banks

Set in the sumptuous city of lights, THE UNINVITED is a new YA novel about a young woman, a vampire, and the callous ways our vampire stories deal with consent.

THE UNINVITED
by Nancy Banks
Delcaorte, Fall 2025
(via Writers House)

When 17-year-old Tosh Reeves moves from Portland, Oregon to Paris, it’s a dream come to life. The city embraces her with its street-life, iconic architecture, and infinite gustatory delights. There’s even a charming expat boy, Nick, who introduces her to sights tourists never see. From medieval catacombs to the viciously competitive street art scene, Tosh’s immersion in Paris makes her feel wholly alive in a way she’s never before experienced. She belongs; she never wants to leave!

But when a series of brutal vampiric attacks creeps closer to her new circle of bohemian friends, Tosh will confront the darker side of her beloved Paris, and learn how deeply monsters can strike at a young woman’s power and heart.

Nancy Banks has washed buses, worked as a graphic designer and art director, and co-owned a bookstore. She lived in France for several years and still regrets that she never finished her Epic Pastry Quest. Currently, she lives in Denver with her husband and dog.

WE CAN NEVER LEAVE de H.E. Edgmon

Sweet Tooth meets The Raven Boys in this queer young adult contemporary fantasy about what it means to belong.

WE CAN NEVER LEAVE
by H.E. Edgmon
Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Publishing Group, June 2025

You can never go home…

Every day, all across the world, inhuman creatures are waking up with no memory of who they are or where they came from–and the Caravan exists to help them. The traveling community is made up of these very creatures and their families who’ve acclimated to this new existence by finding refuge in each other. That is, until the morning five teenage travelers wake to find their community has disappeared around them overnight.

Those left: a half-human who only just ran back to the Caravan with their tail between their legs, two brothers–one who can’t seem to stay out of trouble and the other who’s never been brave enough to get in it, a venomous girl with blood on her hands and a heart of gold, and the Caravan’s newest addition, a disquieting shadow in the shape of a boy. They’ll have to work together to figure out what happened the night of the disappearance, but each one of the forsaken five is white-knuckling their own secrets. And with each truth forced to light, it becomes clear this isn’t really about what happened to their people–it’s about what happened to them.

H.E. Edgmon did not sleep for several years and is now the author of copious novels and short works for tweens, teens, and adults. Their line-up includes The Witch King duology, the Ouroboros duology, and The Flicker, and their writing has been described as “monstrously thrilling, deeply emotional” by School Library Journal. Across genres, H.E. hopes to find readers in their darkest moments and help them start a fire. In their laughably limited free time, they’re likely hosting themed parties for no reason or trying to predict the future. They live in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by chosen family and giant dogs.

SALVAGE de Renee Nault

A beautifully illustrated graphic romance about finding love in the unlikeliest of places and people, and embracing who you are, even when it’s hard.

SALVAGE
by Renee Nault
Ten Speed Graphic/Crown Publishing Group, July 2026

Paolo only knows life in The Flats, where people live on stilt houses under constant threat of sinking into the ocean below. His family makes a living salvaging materials from the skyscrapers just underneath the water, remnants of a world before sea levels rose. It’s a dangerous job, diving down so deep, but one day Paolo scores big: He finds a suitcase of undamaged clothes, and they just so happen to be in his size. Instead of selling them at the weekly market, he decides to fulfill a dream of his—spending one night in the Uplands, where everyone who’s someone lives.

Getting off the subway in the Uplands, Paolo immediately gets lost and is about to end up in a bad situation when a girl named Jules and her friends usher him away. It turns out they’re living the life he’s always dreamed of. They spend their nights at the most exclusive clubs, have access to all sorts of entertainment, and have no real responsibilities. One night with them—and with Jules—just isn’t enough. Soon, Paolo finds himself sneaking to the Uplands as much as possible and leading a double life. The closer he gets to Jules, the more he has to lie to her and risk the new life and friends he’s made.

Renee Nault began her art career as an illustrator, and her vivid watercolors have appeared in books, magazine and advertising around the world. Renee works traditionally in ink and watercolor preferring the tactile qualities of paint and paper to digital tools. She is best known for her acclaimed graphic novel version of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, which she both adapted and illustrated. SALVAGE is her first original graphic novel.

THE BEST OF ALL WORDS de Kenneth Oppel

Master storyteller Ken Oppel delivers a new novel blending science fiction with social commentary, in an emotionally engaging, coming-of-age YA drama.

THE BEST OF ALL WORDS
by Kenneth Oppel
Scholastic, June 2025
(via Writers House)

No warning. No explanation. No escape.

Xavier Oaks doesn’t particularly want to go to the cabin with his dad and his dad’s pregnant new wife, Nia. But family obligations are family obligations, and it’s only for a short time. So he leaves his mom, his brother, and the rest of his life behind for a week in the woods. Except . . . on the first morning he wakes up and the house isn’t where it was before. It’s like it’s been lifted and placed somewhere else. When Xavier, his dad, and Nia go explore, they find they are inside a dome, trapped. And there’s no one else around . . .

Until, three years later, another family arrives. Is there any escape? Is there a reason for them to be stuck where they are? Different people have different answers – and those different answers inevitably lead to tension, strife, and sacrifice.

In this masterpiece, award-winning author Kenneth Oppel has created a heart-stopping, can’t-wait-to-talk-about-it story, showing how our very human choices collectively lead to humanity’s eventual fate.

Kenneth Oppel is the author of numerous books for young readers. His award-winning Silverwing trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide and been adapted as an animated TV series and stage play. Airborn won a Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award and the Canadian Governor General’s Literary Award for children’s literature; its sequel, Skybreaker, was a New York Times bestseller and was named Children’s Novel of the Year by the London Times. He is also the author of Half Brother (which won both the Canadian Library Association’s Book of the Year for Children Award, as well as their Young Adult Book Award – the first time in the awards’ history the same title has won both honours), This Dark Endeavor, Such Wicked Intent, and The Boundless. His latest books are Inkling and The Nest (which won the 2016 CLA Book of the Year for Children Award). Born on Canada’s Vancouver Island, he has lived in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, Canada; in England and Ireland; and now resides in Toronto with his wife and children.