GIRL, SERPENT, THORN is a YA fairytale retelling by Melissa Bashardoust. The story follows Soraya, a princess who is cursed to kill any breathing being, human or insect, by mere touch. To stay safe, Soraya’s family has made her hide away for most of her life, scared that the public...

THE GUINEVERE DECEPTION by Kiersten White is the first book in a YA retelling of the classic Arthurian legend. Guinevere, a magical being, is sent to Camelot by Merlin, after he himself is banished from there. Her main priority is to protect Arthur from a looming threat, but even she...

POEMS TO LIVE YOUR LIFE BY is a collection in which each poem has been hand-picked by Chris Riddell, for a total of forty-six pieces of verse. In the introduction, Riddell says that he selected poems that have meant a great deal to him throughout his life, and then goes...

break your glass slippers is the first book in the poetry series, “you are your own fairy tale,” by award-winning poet, amanda lovelace. amanda approaches this particular collection with similar themes and style found in her breakout hit, the princess saves herself in this one. Those who are fans and...

THE UPSIDE OF FALLING is a YA contemporary romance by Wattpad author Alex Light. The story follows Becca Hart, an eighteen-year-old girl who has never had a boyfriend. Becca doesn’t mind being alone, but she also doesn’t enjoy being teased about it, so when Brett Wells, the captain of the...

JACK KEROUAC IS DEAD TO ME is Gae Polisner’s most recent YA Contemporary novel. Like in her other books, she tackles difficult subjects, such as mental illness, absentee parents, alcoholism, and growing up. Also, like her other books, it’s fantastic. The story follows JL Markham, a soon-to-be sixteen year old...

WE ARE ALL HIS CREATURES by Deborah Noyes is a series of eleven short stories about the beloved showman, P.T. Barnum, his family, and performers in his show. Though fictionalized, we get a deeper look into the lives of his daughters, General Tom Thumb, Jenny Lind, the Bearded Lady, and...

Caroline Kaufman, otherwise known as @poeticpoison, has published her latest poems in WHEN THE WORLD DIDN’T END. The collection, which is autobiographical, addresses surviving, living, mental illness, sexual assault, and self-harm. In other words, this book doesn’t shy away from heavy topics. In fact, the perspective that Kaufman has about...

The wait is finally over! SENECA ELEMENT by Rayya Deeb is now available. As a huge fan of SENECA REBEL, the first book in this series, I couldn’t be more excited. The sequel picks up where we last left off. Doro is in search of her father in hopes that...

THE END AND OTHER BEGINNINGS is the latest from DIVERGENT author, Veronica Roth. The novel is comprised of six YA short stories, around forty pages each, and all of which have some sort of sci-fi element. Though most of the stories are standalones, they are linked, according to Roth, by...

BETWEEN WORLDS: FOLKTALES OF BRITAIN AND IRELAND is a collection of short stories that have been passed down over centuries in the United Kingdom. Most of these legends and myths were first committed to writing more than one hundred years ago and have probably existed via oral lore way before...

EVE OF MAN by Giovanna and Tom Fletcher is the latest in YA dystopias. In the story, a phenomenon of male-only births have occurred inexplicably for fifty years, until one day, Eve is born. As she is the only hope for perpetuating humanity, Eve is kept in a tower high...

THE HIVE by Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden is a YA sci-fi novel set in the near future. In this world, social media has evolved into a way of administering justice. People that are online can upvote or downvote another’s activity. The more downvotes someone has on BLINQ, a data...

THE YOUNG ACTOR’S HANDBOOK by Jeremy Kruse is essentially a 101 course on acting. With a bare bones approach, Kruse addresses the most important skills performers must learn, such as how to break down a scene, how to build the inner life of a character, and how to balance the...

THE SEASON by Sarah MacLean is a YA historical fiction novel that centers around seventeen-year-old Alex, who is coming of age in Regency London. Alex has been dreading this time because she hates dress fittings, forced conversations, and the idea of marriage. Her mother, however, an indomitable force to be...