Archives de catégorie : Young Adult

WAR HOUR de Lauren Loscig

When powers are earned and not born, who shall wield them?

WAR HOUR
(The Broken Trials, Book 1)
by Lauren Loscig
Self-published, November 2023
(via The Whalen Agency)

Lysta lives in constant fear of Trialing, a deadly test that bestows an ability upon its victors, but only after pushing their mental and physical limits. Forced to Trial against her will, Lysta becomes a weapon others plan to use against the Untrialed, until an unexpected intruder from another Court presents her with an opportunity to stop it. But can she trust the plans of a man who seems to play the lines between enemy and ally?

Only through treason can Lysta save the people she once struggled beside. With the fate of her Court and the lives of the Untrialed at stake, the burden will fall on Lysta to convince the other Courts to intervene. Not to mention, the Crowns seem to fear the frustrating albeit handsome man who rescued her more than the one she testifies against. Lysta must find her own strength in a world of powers, battles, and court politics while navigating tumultuous relationships and hidden enemies.

Will Lysta save her Court or be ended by it?

Lauren Loscig is the debut author of YA Fantasy, WAR HOUR, first in The Broken Trials series. A lifelong reader and writer, she prefers being enraptured in stories rather than reality, whether that be in books, fanfiction, or her imagination.

HANGRY HEARTS de Jennifer Chen

Love, family, and food collide in this sparkling Romeo and Juliet-inspired romance.

HANGRY HEARTS
by Jennifer Chen
Wednesday Books, March 2025

Julie Wu and Randall Hur used to be best friends. Now they only see each other on Saturdays at the Pasadena Farmers Market where their once close families are long-standing rivals. When Julie and Randall are paired with ultra-rich London Kim for a community-service school project, they are forced to work together for the first time in years. It quickly becomes obvious that London has a major crush on Julie. But Julie can’t stop thinking about Randall. And Randall can’t stop thinking about how London is thinking about Julie. Soon, prompted by a little jealousy and years of missing each other, school project meetings turn into pseudo dates at their favorite Taiwanese breakfast shop and then secret kisses at the beach—far from the watchful eyes of their families. Just as they’re finally feeling brave enough to tell their grandmas, the two matriarchs rehash their old fight and Julie and Randall get caught in the middle when Julie’s brother finds out they are dating. Their families are heartbroken. But it’s the Year of the Dragon, an auspicious time to resolve disagreements and start anew, and Randall isn’t going down without fighting for what—and who—they love. Could the Lunar New Year provide not only a second chance for Randall and Julie, but for their families as well? Jennifer Chen’s Hangry Hearts is a funny, big-hearted romance about friendship, family, and first love—and being brave enough to have it all.

Jennifer Chen is a freelance journalist who has written for Today, New York Times, Oprah Daily, Real Simple, and Bust. Jennifer has a MFA and BFA in dramatic writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is a proud volunteer for WriteGirl, a creative writing and mentoring organization. She lives in Los Angeles with her TV writer husband, twins, two pugs, and a cat named Gremlin.

BLOOD LIKE WATER de Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

A house party turns deadly in this tightly wound thriller set against an icy Alaskan winter.

BLOOD LIKE WATER
by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
Delacorte, Fall 2025
(via Sterling Lord Literistic))

Finley, Mya, River, and Eli. They were inseparable as kids, running wild on Alaska’s vast wide-open spaces. Then tragedy struck, and Finley moved to the lower 48. But now it’s senior year, and Finley’s back in Anchorage. When Mya throws a house party on a snowy Valentine’s Day night, it’s supposed to be a chance for the friends to reforge old bonds. But an encounter with a mysterious stranger quickly turns the evening into a nightmare. What happened that night was an accident, right? Or was there intent? Either way, loyalty takes a dark turn when Mya, the group’s de facto leader, pressures the friends into a pact of silence, plunging them into a web of deception. Now a man’s missing, the police are involved, and Finley doesn’t know what to do or who to trust.

Jennifer Lynn Alvarez is the author of the young adult thrillers, Lies Like Wildfire, Friends Like These, and two middle-grade fantasy series, The Guardian Herd and Riders of The Realm. She earned her degree in English Literature from UC Berkeley and is the Sonoma County Coordinator for SCBWI. Jennifer lives in Tennessee and often travels to Northern California.

LIGHTS, CANTER, ACTION de Katie Gilbert

An enemies-to-lovers, horses-meets-Hollywood romance that will have readers’ hearts pounding and the pages turning!

LIGHTS, CANTER, ACTION
by Katie Gilbert
Union Square & Co, March 2025
(via Gillian MacKenzie Agency)

When a film production comes to her hometown, 17-year-old Nora gets a job wrangling horses on the set. But she isn’t prepared to wrangle the film’s star and Hollywood bad boy, Alexander Mathis. As the pair spend more and more time together, Alexander starts to race away with her heart—and who he really is begins to blur.

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE d’Emma Lord

Brimming with Emma Lord’s signature wit, WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE is a flirty and fun coming-of-age story of rivals-to-lovers meets Never Have I Ever.

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE
by Emma Lord
Wednesday Books, January 2025

At long last, Sadie has vanquished her lifelong academic rival—her irritatingly charming, whip smart next door neighbor, Seb—by getting the coveted, only spot to her dream college. Or at least, so she thinks. When Seb is unexpectedly pulled off the waitlist and admitted, Sadie has to compete with him all over again, this time to get a spot on the school’s famous zine. Now not only is she dealing with the mayhem of the lovable, chaotic family she hid her writing talents from, as well as her own self doubt, but she has to come to terms with some less-than-resentful feelings for Seb that are popping up along the way. But the longer they compete, the more Sadie and Seb notice flaws in the school’s system that are much bigger than any competition between them. Somehow the two of them have to band together even as they’re trying to crush each other, only to discover they may have met their match in more ways than one.

Emma Lord (she/her) is a digital media editor and writer living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn’t writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, a whole lot of love, and copious amounts of grilled cheese. Her books include Tweet Cute, You Have a Match, and When You Get the Chance.