Choosing New YA Releases! 🍂

From this list: Article by Bookriot.com

1. Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello

Summary: 

Ariel and Trey are stuck working in a local bookstore called Wonderland together. When they learn that the bookstore is on the brink of being shut down, they work together to keep the doors from closing by Christmas Eve. 

Why I chose this book for the library:

I chose this book because I felt like it would be good to have some winter romances just in time for Christmas break. It's also really nice that the story takes place at a small black-owned bookshop that has been in a family for generations. I feel like in a lot of holiday rom coms, there isn't enough representation, and in the library we barely have any books like this one. I agree with the author when she said that there aren't enough YA black festive reads in the market and by having this book in our library, it would be helping bridge that gap.

2. When Ghosts Call Us Home by Katya De Becerra

Summary: 

When Sophia was just a young girl, her older sister, Layla, created a horror movie. Years after the film was released, Sophia became distanced from Layla until one day, she disappears. Fans of the movie speculate about what could have happened to Layla, while Sophia is left to confront the ghosts of her childhood. 

Why I chose this book for the library:

This premise sounded so eerie and it would be good to have more psychological horror books. Even though the Halloween season is already over, there are still a lot of people who like to read creepy, atmospheric books. The reviews say the horror and overall creepiness is depicted really well, which would be good to add to the books we have in this genre, because when I looked around the library, there weren't as many horror books as there were romance or thriller.

3. By Any Other Name by Erin Cotter

Summary:

A struggling actor in London 1593 is on the hunt for the the assassin that murdered his mentor, a famous playwright. He teams up with the young Lord James Bloomsbury to solve the case, but along the way, they form a connection between them.

Why I chose this book for the library:

This book has it all- historical fiction, YA, queer romance, and mystery. I feel like we have a lot of historical fiction books, but not necessarily ones set all the way back in the 1500s (set in the Shakespearean era) with queer romance and a very interesting murder mystery. 

4.  Sleepless in Dubai by Sajni Patel

Summary:

An aspiring photographer, Nikki, decides to accompany her family on a trip to Dubai for Diwali. But on the flight there, she encounters Yash, a boy she has had a complicated past with.

Why I chose this book for the library:

When I was searching up books about Diwali for the Instagram stories that week, I couldn't find any books that was about it (only picture books/ nonfiction books). Even though we already have many romances, I feel like our library needs more books about different holidays around the world with characters that celebrate them. 

5. Steelstriker by Marie Lu

Summary: 

The last book in the Skyhunter's series, Steelstriker is about Talin, who has lost everything and has no choice but to submit to the Federation's experiments and become a war machine. 

Why I chose this book for the library:

I chose this book because it is the second book for Skyhunter, which is a book we already have, and it is nice to have complete series together. Marie Lu's YA book are also very popular for younger high school students (grade 8+9), so it would be good to get even more books for them. 

6. The Space Between Here & Now by Sarah Suk

Summary: 

Aimee has a rare condition that causes her to time travel to a time in her life when she smells something linked to that specific memory. When she disappears for a long time to a memory of her estranged mother, the stories her dad tells her start to not line up with what she sees. 

Why I chose this book for the library:

The Goodreads description says that this book is perfect for people who loved "They Both Die at the End" and "You've reached Sam". Those two are really popular YA books that a lot of people are fans of, so I feel like this book would be really popular in the library. This also written by a local author from Vancouver and part of the book actually takes place in Korea. It would be cool to have many books written by local authors in our library and books about Korean-Canadian stories.

7. When we Become Ours

Summary:

This book is a collection of tales from fifteen bestselling, acclaimed, and emerging adoptee authors. The main focus is stories about what it was like growing up as an adoptee. 

Why I chose this book for the library:

This is the first collection of stories about adoptee stories that I have ever seen and it would be great to have it in the library for people who have similar experiences to read. There aren't many books that are specifically written by adoptees, about adoptees, for adoptees and this would be a great book to have in the non-fiction section of our library. Reading these ten very unique stories could help someone feel inspired or like they belong. 

8. The Way I Am Now

Summary:

Eden and Josh had their own problems getting in the way of their relationship in high school. Without each other knowing, Eden was carrying the burden of sexual assault, while Josh was dealing with his alcoholic father at home. Years later, they decide to give their deep connection another chance, while Eden's case goes to trial and they both endure the chaos of college. 

Why I chose this book for the library:

This book is a sequel to "The Way I Used to Be", which is a book we don't have yet, but I think it would be good to have both of them in the library. It deals with moving on in life after trauma and everyone dealing with their own problems without anyone knowing or not knowing if they can get help. It covers the important topic of mental health which is not talked about enough. 

9. Finding my Elf by David Valdes

Summary:

To avoid having conversations with his dad, Cameron decides to take the first acting job he can get- as a mall elf. The upside is that there is a special cash bonus that all the elves are working hard for. Marco is a fellow mall elf that has a lot of Christmas spirit that Cam sees as a rival, but soon enough, they start to get along very well.

Why I chose this book for the library:

Another cure holiday rom com, this one would be great to have because its about a queer romance, going into adulthood after starting college, and also there is Cuban-American representation. Overall, it would be really nice to have an uplifting, christmas-y romance just in time for winter break. 

10. No One Left But You by Tash McAdam

When Max, a newly out trans teen, goes back to school after his summer romance turned into his bully, he is determined to just get the year over with. But when a new girl, Gloss, moves to town, she becomes very interested in Max. Fast forward, someone gets killed at a rager gone wrong and Max refuses to think Gloss did it, even though she seems awfully suspicious.

Why I chose this book for the library:

I think its more important to have more books with trans protagonists and books that talk about their experiences, especially in high school. On Goodreads, it said this book was perfect for fans of Euphoria, which is a show a lot of teens nowadays watch. It is important to have books that are very character driven and have a lot of different character from a lot of different backgrounds. 

You need to choose which book from this list that YOU would most like the library to have. It can be one of your top 10, or a different book. For this book, you need to write a paragraph explaining why you would like the library to have it. For this one, I want you to do a bit more research on the book itself, and also include a lot more personal detail. This doesn't have to be focused on anything other than you!  Because of this, this paragraph should reveal more about you as a person, and help me to know you better :) . 

Part 2:

I chose Loveboat Forever by Abigail Hing Wen as the book I would most like the library to have. This book sounds like a perfect book for me to read because of so many reasons. The setting, Taipei, is where both my parents are from and the main character with her strict parents seems very relatable.

I would like to have this book in the library because first of all, we already have the first one from the trilogy, so it would make sense to complete it and have all three books, and second of all, it would be cool to have more books with Taiwanese-American representation. This books sounds so relatable on so many levels because it also includes a young girl travelling back to her home country. I have also travelled back to Taiwan so many times during the summers so it would be nice to read about a story set there. It is also relatable because the main character Pearl has to deal with the pressure of following in the footsteps of her successful sister and pressure from her strict parents, which is something I have had to deal with a bit. Although I can't relate to the music prodigy or romance aspect of this novel, I would still very much enjoy following Pearl on her adventures around Taipei, Taiwan.