If you’re looking for something to read, let me recommend young adult fiction! Young adult fiction typically features adolescents aged 12 to 18, but sometimes characters can go up to the lower 20s. These books focus on themes of coming-of-age, identity, first love, and self-discovery. Below you will find a list of new young adult fiction just hitting library shelves.
As of this writing, all of these titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions are provided by the publishers.
Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet
When Beth March is found dead in the woods on New Year’s Day, her sisters vow to uncover her murderer.
Suspects abound. There’s the neighbor who has feelings for not one but two of the girls. Meg’s manipulative best friend. Amy’s flirtatious mentor. And Beth’s lionhearted first love. But it doesn’t take the surviving sisters much digging to uncover motives each one of the March girls had for doing the unthinkable.
Jo, an aspiring author with a huge following on social media, would do anything to hook readers. Would she kill her sister for the story? Amy dreams of studying art in Europe, but she’ll need money from her aunt—money that’s always been earmarked for Beth. And Meg wouldn’t dream of hurting her sister…but her boyfriend might have, and she’ll protect him at all costs.
Despite the growing suspicion within the family, it’s hard to know for sure if the crime was committed by someone close to home. After all, the March sisters were dragged into the spotlight months ago when their father published a controversial bestseller about his own daughters. Beth could have been killed by anyone.
Beth’s perspective told in flashback unfolds next to Meg, Jo, and Amy’s increasingly fraught investigation as the tragedy threatens to rip the Marches apart. – Sarah Barley Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Break Wide the Sea by Sara Holland
In the treacherous waters surrounding Kirkrell, sailors hunting magic whales live in fear of the finfolk–bloodthirsty sea fae who sink ships and curse bloodlines. Nineteen-year-old Annie, as heir to the city’s preeminent whaling company, is determined to carry on her parents’ life’s work. But she keeps a secret from everyone: she’s cursed to transform into a monster, with scales spreading up her arms and claws growing from her fingertips.
Her fiancé August offers comfort, but their love falls apart when Annie discovers his plan to take over the company. Desperate, Annie makes a deal with Silas Price, a young captain rumored to be half-finfolk. He says he knows how to break the curse – but only if Annie promises to stop the practice of whaling forever.
As Annie, August and Silas sail north, Annie wrestling with her family’s legacy, the threat of the finfolk and August’s ambitions increasingly force her to put her trust in Silas. Yet Silas has secrets of his own, and they might be the most dangerous of all. – Wednesday Books
The Cuffing Game by Lyla Lee
It is a truth universally acknowledged that when there is a hot person, there is also someone with a crush on them.
Mia Yoon has a plan for everything. Get a full ride to her dream film school in Los Angeles, behind her mom’s back, and escape her middle-of-nowhere hometown—check. Produce her own dating show starring other people and their crushes—check. But everything goes off the rails when she has to enlist the help of her own secret crush, Noah Jang, a boy she’d rather hate.
Despite being a campus celebrity voted “most eligible student bachelor,” Noah can’t remember the last time he was in a relationship. And he’s perfectly content with that, thank you very much, especially since just the word feelings makes him uncomfortable. But he can’t stop staring at Mia, who keeps glaring at him in class. And when she asks him to be on her dating show—as one of the contestants—he can’t say no.
As Noah goes on more and more romantic dates on The Cuffing Game and Mia watches from behind the camera, something feels off. With the showrunner and contestant slowly falling for one another, can the show still go on? – HarperCollins
Heart Check by Emily Charlotte
Luke Dawson and Harper Braedon could have been friends. They trade shifts at the same diner, share classes at school, and are driven by their greatest passions: hockey for Dawson and jewelry-making for Harper. But some things aren’t meant to be. Dawson thinks Harper is stuck-up, too good for anything resembling school spirit. Harper thinks Dawson is a self-centered jock, a perfect fit for a hockey team that seems to absorb all the budget away from the arts departments.
When his beloved hockey coach gets fired for misallocation of funds, Dawson is terrified that all his plans for impressing scouts are vanishing before his eyes. A rumor goes around that Harper was the one who got him fired, and suddenly she’s public enemy number one.
But even with their mutual dislike at an all-time high, Harper and Dawson can’t escape splitting shifts forever. Can forced proximity help them find some common ground, or will long-held grudges finally succeed in bringing them both down? – Margaret K. McElderry Books
How Girls Are Made by Mindy McGinnis
Fallon is a fixer. From planning prom to organizing her college applications, she’s got it all figured out…except for when her younger sister comes to her with very basic questions about sex. Shocked that she knows so little—and her fellow classmates even less—Fallon decides some practical education is in order. And Fallon isn’t above practicing a little civil disobedience by creating a secret underground off-campus group.
Shelby is a fighter. Having her nose broken is nothing new in her semiprofessional career…but this time it’s her boyfriend who threw the punch. Now her phone is blowing up with texts from a new guy who tells her she’s perfect, she’s special, she’s everything he’s ever wanted…except for a few small details. Shelby’s happy to adjust for him, because isn’t that what a healthy relationship is about?
Jobie is a failure. She doesn’t have enough followers and her posts never go viral, no matter how hard she crushes challenges and applies exactly the right filter. But a friendly DM from a good girl just like her points her in the direction of a whole new audience of admirers. Guys who just want to talk. Guys who give her the attention she’s always wanted.
The lives of all three girls intersect in Fallon’s secret class, rumors of which have parents up in arms. Fallon needs to keep herself anonymous, Shelby needs to keep her new boyfriend happy, and Jobie needs to keep her followers…who keep asking for more. Each girl finds herself trapped in an inescapable situation—that will leave one of them dead. – HarperCollins
How We Play the Game by Alexis Nedd
Zora Lyon plays to dominate. And as a no-nonsense, strategic prodigy of Wizzard Game’s viral battle royale, she has all the skills she needs. So when Wizzard offers their top players a chance to participate in a summer academy designed to crown a national champion, Zora knows she has what it takes to be the last player standing.
But Wizzard isn’t just looking for winners-they’re looking to create viral gaming superstars. Suddenly, Zora finds herself competing against famous esports influencers who can play the game and boost their follower count. That includes Ivan Hunt, the insufferably good-looking fan-favorite streamer, whom she betrayed to cement her spot at the academy.
As their matches broadcast to Wizzard’s fanbase, Zora’s ruthless playing style and obvious lack of streaming experience immediately sends her to the bottom of the class. With her dreams of impressing Wizzard’s cofounder Brian Juno in jeopardy, Zora will do just about anything to fix her image-even if that means pretending to date Ivan to gain some popularity points. What can go wrong with a little white lie? – Bloomsbury YA
I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends by Kylie Lee Baker
“Here’s one thing I know for certain: I’ll never see you again. And if I never see you again, then in fifty years, the world will end.” -Yejun
Yang Mina, descended from a Japanese dragon god, was born with the power to travel through time, and has spent her life training to take her place in the Descendants, a secret organization whose purpose is to protect the timeline. But since moving to Seoul, everything is falling apart. Mina has discovered that the Descendants are corrupt, that her sister has been erased from existence, and that she can’t pass Calculus, which puts her mission to kiss the cutest boy in her year at risk.
With her very existence on the line, Mina decides to tread a dangerous path: team up with a handsome rogue agent named Yejun, who has a plan to free the Descendants from the corrupt influence, and (hopefully) restore Mina’s sister. Between class and their time travel dates, Mina can’t stop herself from falling for the mysterious Yejun. Yet, as Mina grows closer to Yejun, she also grows closer to discovering the truth, which may be the very thing that breaks her… – Feiwel & Friends
Leave it on the Track by Margot Fisher
Morgan “Moose” Shaker barely survived the fire that killed her fathers in their beloved roller rink in small-town Utah. Now she has to move to Portland, Oregon to live with her much older half sister, Eden. Eden’s doing her best, but she’s hardly ready to be a parent to a sixteen-year-old she hasn’t seen in years. Plus, barely-out-of-the-closet Moose worries that she’s not ready for super-affirming, rainbow-flags-everywhere Portland. Her anxiety and frustration are at peak levels.
Fortunately, Moose finds an outlet for her emotions and a surprising group of friends in roller derby. Her teammates help her grieve her dads and confront her queer imposter syndrome. And even though it’s against league rules, she might be falling for a teammate.
Heartfelt, funny, and romantic, this debut will make you want to lace up your skates, pull on your pads, and hit the track. – Dutton Books for Young Readers
Oxford Blood by Rachael Davis-Featherstone
Love, Lies, Legacy…
Eva has one dream: to study English at Oxford University. Not only will she receive a world-class education – getting into Oxford is a path to freedom.
But when Eva and her best friend George are invited to interview week, they find themselves in the cutthroat ultra-competitive world of elite academia, and at the center of gossip on anonymous student forum Oxford Slays. When Eva finds George dead near the steps of a statue in the college, she knows he’s been murdered – but all eyes are now on her. Can she clear her name, catch the true killer and win her place at Beecham College?
Eva has one week to prove her innocence, and Oxford Slays will be watching.
Oxford Blood is a riveting murder mystery thriller, packed with narrative twists and turns, complex and appealing characters and a captivating, authentic setting in its searing examination of the true cost of privilege. – Wednesday Books
Persephone’s Curse by Katrina Leno
Are the four Farthing sisters really descended from Persephone? This is what their aunt has always told them: that the women in their family can trace their lineage right back to the Goddess of the Dead. And maybe she’s right, because the Farthing girls do have a ghost in the attic of their New York City brownstone —a kind and gentle ghost named Henry, who only they can see.
When one of the sisters falls in love with the ghost, and another banishes him to the Underworld, the sisters are faced with even bigger questions about who they are. If they really are related to Persephone, and they really are a bit magic, then perhaps it’s up to them to save Henry, to save the world, and to save each other. – Wednesday Books
