5 of the Best New and Upcoming Young Adult Books, Selected by Kara Thomas

Kara Thomas | The Children’s Book Review | July 23, 2018

Sadie

Written by Courtney Summers

Courtney Summers is one of my favorite young adult authors because of her raw, visceral portrayals of teenage girl rage and grief. Sadie,which I was lucky enough to read early, offers no exception. Dark and devastating, every other line of Sadie—the story of a girl seeking vengeance for her little sister’s murder—is like a gut punch. I can’t wait to reread this one when it comes out in September.

Order a Copy Now: Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Ages 14+ | Publisher: Wednesday Books | September 4, 2018 | ISBN: 978-1250105714

Mirage

Written by Somaiya Daud

If you’re looking for a lush, epic fantasy set on a distant planet to get you through the dog days of summer, Mirage, Somaiya Daud’s debut novel, is for you. When eighteen-year-old Amani is kidnapped by the brutal Vathek empire and forced to serve as a body double to the cruel princess Maram, she is swept into a world of palace intrigue and danger. This Moroccan-culture-inspired fantasy is unlike anything I’ve ever read, and Daud’s gorgeous prose had me captivated long into the night. Fantasy fans should preorder this one ASAP!

Order a Copy Now: Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Ages 14+ | Publisher: Flatiron Books | August 28, 2018 | ISBN: 978-1250126429

The Way You Make Me Feel

Written by Maurene Goo (in stores now)

I have been saving this follow-up to Maurene Goo’s I Believe in a Thing Called Love, which I adored, to read on my beach trips this summer. It’s at the top of my TBR pile because Maurene excels at comedy, something that does not always translate well in books—her characters and situations are laugh-out-loud funny. The Way You Make Me Feel is about a Korean American girl who gets stuck working on her father’s food truck for the summer after she takes a prank too far. Bonus: Maurene writes the most hilarious and lovable dad characters in YA.

Order a Copy Now: Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Ages 14+ | Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux | May 8, 2018 | ISBN: 978-0374304089

The Unfortunates

Written by Kim Liggett

After reading Liggett’s disturbing and gory The Last Harvest (2016), I knew I needed to get my hands on her next novel in order to scare the pants off myself. A deeply unsettling psychological horror tale, The Unfortunates tells the story of a privileged senator’s son who sets off on a cave excursion in the wake of a terrible tragedy for which he is responsible. Itis best enjoyed when you don’t know too much about it. Don’t read at night while you’re alone, and definitely don’t let anyone spoil it for you.

Order a Copy Now: Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Ages 14+ | Publisher: Tor Teen | July 10, 2018 | ISBN: 978-0765381002

An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason

Written by Virginia Boecker

I fell in love with Boecker’s debut fantasy, The Witch Hunter, and her well-imagined Victorian world. I was so excited when I found out she was writing a historical young adult novel about assassins, spies, Shakespeare, and star-crossed lovers in Elizabethan England. The Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treasonisn’t out until late October, but I would do anything to get a copy before then!

Order a Copy Now: Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Ages 14+ | Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | October 23, 2018 | ISBN: 978-0316327343

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The Cheerleaders

Written by Kara Thomas

Publisher’s Synopsis: From the author of The Darkest Corners and Little Monsters comes an all-new edge-of-your-seat thriller set in upstate New York about an eerie sequence of seemingly unrelated events that leaves five cheerleaders dead.

There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.

First there was the car accident–two girls dead after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know his reasons. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they’d lost.

That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget.

Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow, Monica is at the center of it all.

There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe.

Ages 14+ | Publisher: Delacorte Press | July 31, 2018 | ISBN: 978-1524718329

Available Here:

About the Author

Kara Thomas
Photo Credit: James Shaw

Kara Thomas has written for everything from her high school newspaper to Warner Bros. Television. She is a true-crime addict who lives on Long Island with her husband and rescue cat. She is the author of The Darkest Corners, Little Monsters, and The Cheerleaders. To learn more about Kara and her books, visit her at kara-thomas.com or follow @karatwrites on Twitter and @kara_thomas on Instagram.

Kara Thomas, author of The Cheerleaders, selected ‘5 of the Best New and Upcoming Young Adult Books.’ Discover more articles on The Children’s Book Review tagged with Best YA, and Young Adult Fiction.