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Today, we're talking about the weird and wonderful young adult books that are coming out in the second half of 2022. Which books are you looking forward to reading?

Best July-December 2022 Young Adult Book Releases

THE HONEYS BY RYAN LA SALA

Young Adult Mystery / Thriller / Horror

August 2, 2022

Mars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline's radiance. But when Caroline dies under horrific circumstances, Mars is propelled to learn all he can about his once-inseparable sister who'd grown tragically distant.

Mars's genderfluidity means he's often excluded from the traditions—and expectations—of his politically-connected family. This includes attendance at the prestigious Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy where his sister poured so much of her time. But with his grief still fresh, he insists on attending in her place.

What Mars finds is a bucolic fairytale not meant for him. Folksy charm and sun-drenched festivities camouflage old-fashioned gender roles and a toxic preparatory rigor. Mars seeks out his sister's old friends: a group of girls dubbed the Honeys, named for the beehives they maintain behind their cabin. They are beautiful and terrifying—and Mars is certain they're connected to Caroline's death.

But the longer he stays at Aspen, the more the sweet mountain breezes give way to hints of decay. Mars’s memories begin to falter, bleached beneath the relentless summer sun. Something is hunting him in broad daylight, toying with his mind. If Mars can't find it soon, it will eat him alive.

Why I'm excited to read it: It sounds delightfully creepy. Did the girls kill their friend? I want to know! Goodreads says it's a "twisted and tantalizing horror novel set amidst the bucolic splendor of a secluded summer retreat." So . . . beautiful places and creepy people. Seems promising.

Buy it on Amazon

The Undead Truth Of Us by Britney S. Lewis

Young Adult Horror / Fantasy

August 9, 2022

Sixteen-year-old Zharie Young is absolutely certain her mother morphed into a zombie before her untimely death, but she can't seem to figure out why. Why her mother died, why her aunt doesn't want her around, why all her dreams seem suddenly, hopelessly out of reach. And why, ever since that day, she's been seeing zombies everywhere.

Then Bo moves into her apartment building―tall, skateboard in hand, freckles like stars, and an undeniable charm. Z wants nothing to do with him, but when he transforms into a half zombie right before her eyes, something feels different. He contradicts everything she thought she knew about monsters, and she can't help but wonder if getting to know him might unlock the answers to her mother's death.

As Zharie sifts through what's real and what's magic, she discovers a new truth about the world: Love can literally change you―for good or for dead.

Why I'm excited to read it: Zombies! It's been too long since I read a really good zombie novel. Goodreads says, "Britney S. Lewis's debut novel explores love, zombies, and everything in between in an intoxicating amalgam of the real and the fantastic."

Monsters Born And Made by Tanvi Berwah

Young Adult Fantasy

September 6, 2022

Sixteen-year-old Koral and her older brother Emrik risk their lives each day to capture the monstrous maristags that live in the black seas around their island. They have to, or else their family will starve.

In an oceanic world swarming with vicious beasts, the Landers―the ruling elite, have indentured Koral's family to provide the maristags for the Glory Race, a deadly chariot tournament reserved for the upper class. The winning contender receives gold and glory. The others―if they're lucky―survive.

When the last maristag of the year escapes and Koral has no new maristag to sell, her family's financial situation takes a turn for the worse and they can't afford medicine for her chronically ill little sister. Koral's only choice is to do what no one in the world has ever dared: cheat her way into the Glory Race.

But every step of the way is unpredictable as Koral races against contenders―including her ex-boyfriend―who have trained for this their whole lives and who have no intention of letting a low-caste girl steal their glory. When a rebellion rises and rogues attack Koral to try and force her to drop out, she must choose―her life or her sister's―before the whole island burns.

Why I'm excited to read it: It's giving me Scorpio Races vibes. I love that book and will be stoked if this one has a similar strange, atmospheric setting.

Buy it on Amazon

I'm The Girl by Courtney Summers

Young Adult Mystery

September 13, 2022

When sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis discovers the dead body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James, she teams up with Ashley's older sister, Nora, to find and bring the killer to justice before he strikes again. But their investigation throws Georgia into a world of unimaginable privilege and wealth, without conscience or consequence, and as Ashley’s killer closes in, Georgia will discover when money, power and beauty rule, it might not be a matter of who is guilty—but who is guiltiest.

Why I'm excited to read it: I don't usually read thrillers, but I couldn't resist the hype surrounding Courtney Summers's Sadie. I read it and immediately jumped on the hype train. It's a well-written murder mystery that keeps the focus on the victims instead of glorifying the killer. It's awesome. I'm hoping for more of the same.

Buy it on Amazon

The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew

Young Adult Fantasy

October 18, 2022

Delaney Meyers-Petrov is tired of being seen as fragile just because she's Deaf. So when she's accepted into a prestigious program at Godbole University that trains students to slip between parallel worlds, she's excited for the chance to prove herself. But her semester gets off to a rocky start as she faces professors who won't accommodate her disability, and a pretentious upperclassman fascinated by Delaney's unusual talents.

Colton Price died when he was nine years old. Quite impossibly, he woke several weeks later at the feet of a green-eyed little girl. Now, twelve years later, Delaney Meyers-Petrov has stumbled back into his orbit, but Colton's been ordered to keep far away from the new girl . . . and the voices she hears calling to her from the shadows.

Delaney wants to keep her distance from Colton—she seems to be the only person on campus who finds him more arrogant than charming—yet after a Godbole student turns up dead, she and Colton are forced to form a tenuous alliance, plummeting down a rabbit-hole of deeply buried university secrets. But Delaney and Colton discover the cost of opening the doors between worlds when they find themselves up against something old and nameless, an enemy they need to destroy before it tears them—and their forbidden partnership—apart.

Why I'm excited to read it: Parallel universes are one of my favorite science fiction tropes! I'm fascinated by them and all their strange, creepy potential. Anything could be out there . . .

Buy it on Amazon

Now Is Not The Time To Panic by Kevin Wilson

Young Adult (?) Contemporary Fiction

November 8, 2022

Sixteen-year-old Frankie Budge—aspiring writer, indifferent student, offbeat loner—is determined to make it through yet another sad summer in Coalfield, Tennessee, when she meets Zeke, a talented artist who has just moved into his grandmother’s unhappy house and who is as lonely and awkward as Frankie is. Romantic and creative sparks begin to fly, and when the two jointly make an unsigned poster, shot through with an enigmatic phrase, it becomes unforgettable to anyone who sees it. The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.

The posters begin appearing everywhere, and people wonder who is behind them. Satanists, kidnappers—the rumors won’t stop, and soon the mystery has dangerous repercussions that spread far beyond the town. The art that brought Frankie and Zeke together now threatens to tear them apart.

Twenty years later, Frances Eleanor Budge—famous author, mom to a wonderful daughter, wife to a loving husband—gets a call that threatens to upend everything: a journalist named Mazzy Brower is writing a story about the Coalfield Panic of 1996. Might Frances know something about that? And will what she knows destroy the life she’s so carefully built?

Why I'm excited to read it: I'm honestly not sure if this book is young adult. I've seen it on other blogs' YA lists, so let's roll with it. Also, I'm nervous about this one! The plot sounds realistically weird. But, I didn't like the author's other books, so . . . I don't know. Goodreads calls Now Is Not The Time To Panic "Exuberant" and "Bighearted."

Buy it on Amazon

Gleanings by Neal Shusterman

Young Adult Science Fiction Short Stories

November 8, 2022

There are still countless tales of the Scythedom to tell. Centuries passed between the Thunderhead cradling humanity and Scythe Goddard trying to turn it upside down. For years humans lived in a world without hunger, disease, or death with Scythes as the living instruments of population control.

Neal Shusterman—along with collaborators David Yoon, Jarrod Shusterman, Sofía Lapuente, Michael H. Payne, Michelle Knowlden, and Joelle Shusterman—returns to the world throughout the timeline of the Arc of a Scythe series. Discover secrets and histories of characters you’ve followed for three volumes and meet new heroes, new foes, and some figures in between.

Why I'm excited to read it: If you love science fiction and haven't read the Arc Of A Scythe series, you need to get on that! It's set in a world where humans have conquered death. No one dies naturally, but the population still needs to be controlled. Choosing who dies and how to kill them is the job of Scythes. It's a thought-provoking concept.

Buy it on Amazon

Desert Creatures by Kay Chronister

Young Adult Science Fiction

November 8, 2022

In a world that has become treacherous and desiccated, Magdala has always had to fight to survive. At nine years old, she and her father, Xavier, are exiled from their home, fleeing through the Sonoran Desert, searching for refuge.

As violence pursues them, they join a handful of survivors on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Las Vegas, where it is said the vigilante saints reside, bright with neon power. Magdala, born with a clubfoot, is going to be healed. But when faced with the strange horrors of the desert, one by one the pilgrims fall victim to a hideous sickness—leaving Magdala to fend for herself.

After surviving for seven years on her own, Magdala is sick of waiting for her miracle. Recruiting an exiled Vegas priest named Elam at gunpoint to serve as her guide, Magdala turns her gaze to Vegas once more, and this time, nothing will stop her. The pair form a fragile alliance as they navigate the darkest and strangest reaches of the desert on a trip that takes her further from salvation even as she nears the holy city.

Why I'm excited to read it: Honestly, the cover. Don't act surprised. I know you judge books by their covers! This one is speaking to me. I think it's all the death and odd plants. The plot sounds pretty awesome too. It reminds me of Stephen King's dystopias.

Buy it on Amazon

A WILDERNESS OF STARS BY SHEA ERNSHAW

Young Adult Fantasy

November 29, 2022

Vega has lived in the valley her whole life—forbidden by her mother to leave the safety of its borders because of the unknown threats waiting for her in the wilds beyond. But after her mother dies, and Vega sees the fabled twin stars in the sky, it’s an omen she can no longer ignore, forcing her to leave the protective boundaries of the valley. But the outside world turns out to be much more terrifying than Vega could have imagined. People are gravely sick—they lose their eyesight and their hearing, just before they lose their lives.

What Vega keeps to herself is that she is the Last Astronomer—a title carried from generation to generation—and she is the only one who carries the knowledge of the stars. Knowledge that could hold the key to the cure. And so when locals spot the tattoo on Vega’s neck in the shape of a constellation—the mark of an astronomer—chaos erupts as the threats her mother warned her about become all too real.

Fearing for her life, Vega is rescued by a girl named Cricket who leads her to Noah, a boy marked by his own mysterious tattoos. On the run from the men who are hunting her, Vega, Cricket, and Noah set out across the plains in search of the cure the stars speak of. But as the lines between friend and protector begin to blur, Vega must decide whether to safeguard the sacred knowledge of the astronomer. Or if she will risk everything to try to save them all.

Why I'm excited to read it: I guess the pandemic books are here. There are so many books about pandemics! This one intrigues me because the main character is an astronomer. I haven't read many books about characters with that profession.

Buy it on Amazon

Which 2022 book are you looking forward to reading?