On The Booked Shelf we’re highlighting some of the fantastic book deals for new and upcoming Young Adult books that we’re announced during the month of March!
All book deal news is provided by Publishers Weekly
Book Deals – Week Of March 1
Until We Break By Matthew Dawkins
Being released by Wattpad Books, Dawkins debut follows “Naomi Morgan, the only Black ballerina at her prestigious dance school, who while injured and reeling from the death of her best friend, meets a street artist named Saint, whose social justice messages spark something in her, changing them both forever.” Dawkins is also a poet and the novel is releasing in 2022.
Reject Squad by Alyssa Cole and ONeill Jones (Illustrator)
Set to be released in 2024, this Sleeping Beauty-inspired fantasy romance graphic novel will follow a perfectionist princess whose found herself hexed, which places both her life and kingdom in jeopardy, unless “her newfound friends (the magical hot messes of the Reject Squad)—and the irritating boy she’s betrothed to—can help her save herself.”
Week Of March 8
Highly Suspicious, Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
In Hibbert’s YA debut “a snarky e-girl battles her clean-cut academic rival (and former best friend) over the course of a three-week enrichment program in the Scottish wilderness to see who’s really top of their class, sparking old and possibly romantic feelings.” The novel will be published in Fall 2022 through Joy Revolution, the Random House Children’s Books imprint launched by Nicola and David Yoon.
You’re Breaking My Heart by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Rhuday-Perkovich’s debut novel will follow a “teenager grieving her brother’s death and her last words to him before he died—who then discovers a portal to another dimension underneath New York City, one that just might offer an opportunity for a do-over as a better version of herself.” Rhuday-Perkovich’s novel is being released by independent publisher Levine Querido in Fall 2022.
The Charmed List by Julie Abe
Abe’s upcoming contemporary romance debut is pitched as Sabrina the Teenage Witch x Jenny Han where “after spending most of high school as the quiet girl, Ellie Kobata is ready to take some risks and potentially have a life-changing summer, starting with her Anti-Wallflower list—13 items she is going to check off one by one. But when number four on the list—revenge on Jack Yasuda—goes terribly wrong, she’s certain her summer has gone from charmed to cursed.” This novel is set to be released with Wednesday Books in Summer 2022.
Cool. Awkward. Black edited by Karen Strong
An upcoming YA fiction anthology that “explores the joys of and multitudes within Black geekhood from a number of Black authors.” It’s set to feature stories by Amerie, Kalynn Bayron, Terry Benton, Roseanne A. Brown, Elise Bryant, Tracy Deonn, Desiree S. Evans, Isaac Fitzsimons, Lamar R. Giles, Jordan Ifueko, Leah Johnson, Amanda Joy, Danny Lore, Kwame Mbalia, Tochi Onyebuchi, K. Arsenault Rivera, Ciannon Smart, Julian Winters, Ibi Zoboi, and one winner from a contest run by Strong. Its set to be released by Philomel (Penguin Teen) in Spring 2023.
The Gravity Of Missing Things by Marisa Urgo
This #OwnVoices YA contemporary will follow a bisexual juggling “first love and a family secret when her pilot mother’s plane mysteriously vanishes, leaving her mother as the prime suspect.” Set to be released by Entangled Urgo’s debut is slated for a Summer 2022 release.
Week Of March 15
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
Reyes’s upcoming YA contemporary debut is pitched as perfect for readers of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter following “16-year-old Yamilet Flores, who has just started at a new Catholic school after being outed by her ex-best friend and crush at her old school. Her new goals: make her mom proud, keep her brother out of trouble, and most importantly, don’t fall in love. But that’s not easy when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is funny, cute, and seems like she might be interested in Yami.” The novel will be published by Harper Collins/ Balzer + Bray in Spring 2022.
A Million To One by Adiba Jaigirdar
Jaigirdar’s upcoming YA “high-stakes, romantic” heist novel will follow four girls on the Titanic who “team up to steal a priceless jewel-encrusted book on board the infamous ship.” Set to be released in Spring 2022, this novel is being published with Harper Collins.
The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Set for a Summer 2022 release with Little Brown, this YA fantasy is pitched as “part dark fairy tale and part heist novel about the last living water diviner, 18-year-old Mererid, who has spent years running from the prince who bound her into his service when she was a child. When her old handler returns and asks Mer to destroy the magical well that keeps the prince’s lands safe, she can’t refuse.”
Every Variable Of Us by Charles A. Bush
Bush’s YA contemporary debut has been pitched as The Hate U Give x Moonlight. “After Philly teenager Alexis Duncan is injured in a gang shooting, her basketball career comes to a halt. At the urging of new Indian student (and crush?) Aamani, Alexis shifts her focus to the school’s STEM team in hopes of earning a college scholarship, but gains more than she could have imagined.” This novel is set to be released with Flux Books in Spring 2022.
Week Of March 22
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
Planned for a Fall 2022 release with Little Brown, Katouh’s speculative YA novel is pitched for fans of The Book Thief and Salt To The Sea. “Set amid the Syrian Revolution follows Salama Kassab, a teenager who must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are—not a war, but a revolution—and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.”
Dead End Girls by Wendy Heard
Heard’s queer YA psychological thriller is about ” two desperate teens who fake their own deaths, to murderous consequences.” It’s planned for a Spring 2022 release with Little Brown.
Week Of March 29
Golden State by Isabel Quintero
Set for a Summer 2023 release at Kokila (Penguin Young Readers imprint), Quintero’s YA contemporary novel will follow “18-year-old Maricela, who, after finding out her father has another family he’s been keeping secret from her, embarks on a road trip through California to meet her half-brother for the first time. “
The Depths by Nicole Lesperance
Lesperance’s YA literary gothic horror novel will follow 17-year-old Addie, who after suffering a near-fatal freediving accident “tags along on her mother’s honeymoon to a private island where she unearths dark secrets—wandering ghosts, bloodthirsty flowers, and a deep pool where no one feels pain—before realizing the island might not be willing to let her go.” This novel will be released with Razorbill and has a Fall 2022 release.
The Q by Amy Tintera
Tintera, a YA SFF author, is set to release her near-future YA novel following “a girl raised in a walled quarantine zone and the son of a Presidential candidate abducted and dropped into the zone by parachute must go on the run toward the only exit before they are hunted down by mercenaries.” Being published with Crown, this novel is slated for a Fall 2022 release.
Those were some of the Book Deal highlights from March! Which novels are you looking forward to?
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