Here are the top ten YA books I’ve read this year…
‘We Are All Constellations’ by Amy Beashel
When she was ten years old Iris’s mum died in a fire, which has made her dad a little overprotective. Particularly as Iris is into ‘urbex’, urban exploration, which comprises sneaking into abandoned buildings—often at night. But Iris is fine. As her mum wrote four times inside the paper fortune-teller she gave Iris before she died: ‘You will be strong.’ Iris is always strong. But when she discovers she’s been lied to about her mother’s death fissures start to appear in Iris’s strong façade and in the memories she has of her mum. If she allows the thoughts and memories to emerge she may just have to acknowledge that her mum wasn’t perfect and that perhaps she is just like her. As the cracks deepen, Iris pushes everyone away but ultimately learns that we are never just one thing—we are all constellations.
This book does deal with a lot of heavy issues, but the author handles them responsibly with great warmth and sensitivity. I would highly recommend it for age 13+. ‘We Are All Constellations’ is a brilliantly insightful, heartbreakingly lyrical book. Amy Beashel is a shining constellation of stars and I will look out for whatever she writes in the future.
‘Six Crimson Cranes’ by Elizabeth Lim
I really enjoyed Elizabeth Lim’s ‘Spin the Dawn’ duology but I think this book was even better.
When her stepmother discovers that Princess Shiori has forbidden magic, she banishes Shiori and turns her six brothers into cranes, warning her that she can never explain her curse as one of her brothers will die with every word that she speaks. But in her exile Shiori discovers an unexpected ally and together they set out to free Shiori’s brothers and uncover a plot to overthrow the emperor.
‘Six Crimson Cranes’ is an East Asian-inspired fantasy version of the Grimm Brothers’ fairytale, ‘The Six Swans’. An utterly captivating story.
‘As Good as Dead’ by Holly Jackson (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #3)
I am very late to this party but so glad I made it in the end. I binge-read this entire series in 3 days flat.
In book 3, Pippa is traumatised by her last case and struggling to cope with the memories and someone is stalking her: leaving strange chalk drawings and dead birds on her driveway and threatening messages online. The police don’t believe her, and once again Pippa is left to investigate alone. But soon her investigations link her stalker to a well-known serial killer, supposedly behind bars for his crime. What if the real serial killer was never caught? What if he’s coming for her?
I did NOT anticipate where this book was going and it was a LOT darker than the previous two books…wow! An incredibly stressful, twisty-turny read as well as a hard-hitting commentary on how the judicial system fails victims of sexual abuse. Brilliantly done. Can’t wait to read her new book, ‘Five Survive’.
‘Waking the Witch’ by Rachel Burge
Ivy has grown up in foster care and has learned to rely on herself for everything, but one day she finally gets a lead on the identity of the woman who abandoned her as a child—the address of a lighthouse on a remote Welsh island. But as Ivy searches for the truth about why her mother abandoned her, strange things begin to happen. In order to solve the mystery, Ivy must figure out who she really is and how to release her own power.
This is a an utterly compelling, darkly atmospheric novel that swept me away from the first page. I loved the juxtaposition of Ivy’s contemporary story with the ancient Arthurian myths and the witchy allure of the lighthouse itself. An empowering and refreshing feminist lens on a classic tale. Brilliantly done.
‘I Kissed Shara Wheeler’ by Casey McQuiston
Shara Wheeler disappears on Prom night and Chloe Green is furious about it. Shara is her academic nemesis and Chloe is sure this is some elaborate plot to show her up and steal the top spot from her. Chloe is determined to solve the mystery of Shara’s disappearance but she’s not the only one on the case. And she’s not the only person that Shara mysteriously kissed before she disappeared either…
I loved this! A slow-burn romance, a mysterious disappearance, friendship, journeys of self-awareness and lots of snarky dialogue…brilliantly done.
‘Unraveller’ by Frances Hardinge
This is the story of Kellen and Nettle who live in a world ruled by commerce but bound by magic in the form of strange creatures who inhabit the Deep Wilds and ‘Little Brothers’, super-creepy spider-like creatures who ‘gift’ humans the ability to curse those they hate.
Kellen was bitten by a Little Brother as a child and has the ability to unravel curses, though it takes more than breaking a spell to free someone from the trauma of being cursed, as Nettle knows. She was cursed by her stepmother and is still haunted by the time she spent as a heron and by the fate of her brothers and sister. Those who have cursed are locked away to stop them cursing again but when the cursers begin to go missing, it seems that someone might be trying to build an army of cursers—an army with a particular grievance against Kellen, the Unraveller. With the help of a mysterious stranger called Gall and his sinister Marsh Horse, Kellen and Nettle must track down the missing cursers and figure out what on earth is going on.
This book is weird, even by France Hardinge’s standards: a complicated web of a tale, with so much depth and so many layers that you feel tangled up in it. But never fear, this consummate storyteller patiently positions each strand and, like Charlotte, spells out her message with sparkling clarity by the end. Yet another achingly beautiful, heart-stabbing, brain-twisting story from the Queen of Fairytales.
‘Fight Back’ by A.M. Dassu
Aaliyah is an ordinary teenage girl. She is thrilled when her parents let her go to watch her favourite K-Pop band, but halfway through the concert there is a terrorist attack. Aaliyah is not physically injured but she is deeply traumatised and this is compounded by her friend’s brother’s racist reaction to her after the bombing. And even worse, her friend starts avoiding her as though she agrees with him that all Muslims are terrorists. When her school decides to ban religious clothing, like her hijab, Aaliyah decides that it is time to stand up for herself and fight back.
It’s a harrowing but vitally important subject – AM Dassu handles the terrorist incident itself and Aaliyah’s response with great sensitivity. A wonderfully inspiring and empathy-inducing story – highly recommended.
‘Such a Good Liar’ by Sue Wallman
Wealthy and spoilt, Lydia Cornwallis has arrived on an exclusive private island to get some summer tutoring and meet up with a connection of her mother’s – the Harrington family. But Lydia is not who she seems and she’s on the island with a very specific purpose in mind. All she has to do is convince the Harringtons and their friends that she’s one of them so they’ll accept her into their social group and give her the opportunity to get her long-plotted revenge on the Harrington sisters. But there’s a storm coming in and the island is about to be cut off from the mainland. Does Lydia have the nerve to carry out her plan and make her escape afterwards?
‘Such a Good Liar’ is a fast-paced, anxiety-inducing thriller with plenty of twists and turns. The ending what not what I expected, but it was suitably satisfying and definitely leaves the door open for a sequel – I’d love to know what ‘Lydia’ gets up to next!
‘Legendborn’ by Tracy Deonn
The last words Bree says to her mother are in anger over her early college acceptance, before her mother is killed in a car accident. So when Bree arrives at college at 16, she is full of fury and resentment that her mother has been taken away from her. But on her first night she sees something she isn’t supposed to see and becomes embroiled in a dangerous secret society. I didn’t entirely follow all of the ins and outs of the Legendborn society, but the story was so gripping and compelling that I just went with the flow. And the ending was a brilliant twist.
I loved this mix of Southern Gothic witches and Arthurian mythology, featuring a character grappling with grief and prejudice in contemporary America. Can’t wait for book 2! (I’m Team Sel, just saying.)
‘Iron Widow’ by Xiran Jay Zhao
In a futuristic East-Asian-inspired fantasy world, male pilots compete for glory and fame in their giant Chrysalis mechs but each male pilot is partnered with a female ‘concubine pilot’ who sacrifices her energy and sometimes her life to power the Chrysalis. Inspired by Wu Zetian, the only female Chinese Emperor in history, Iron Widow is the story of a girl who volunteers as a ‘concubine pilot’ in order to avenge her sister’s death at the hands of a pilot.
This is an extremely dark, violent and patriarchal vision of the future, and Zetian has to be willing to sacrifice everything to break through the barriers that have been placed before her because of her gender. Loved this thrilling world and Zetian’s kickass attitude and relentless, take-no-prisoners ambition.
Nine PM Writer 