YA

Books Reviews 

Annie LeBlanc Is Not Dead Yet by Molly Morris: Review by Colleen Mondor

locusmag 0 Comments , ,

Annie LeBlanc Is Not Dead Yet, Molly Morris (Wednesday 978-1-250-29006-9, $20.00, 336pp, hc) June 2024.

The town of Lennon, California has a secret that only the residents (and a few chosen former residents) can know. The Welcome Back contest allows the townspeople to nominate someone to come back from the dead for 30 days. This year, Wilson Moss has won, and that means her friend Annie is returning, but ...Read More

Read more
cover of the black girl survives in this one by evans and fennell
Books Reviews 

Alex Brown Reviews The Black Girl Survives in This One edited by Desiree S. Evans & Saraciea J. Fennell

locusmag 0 Comments , ,

The Black Girl Survives in This One, Desiree S. Evans & Saraciea J. Fennell, eds. (Flatiron 978-1-25032-199-2, $19.99, 368pp, hc) April 2024.

Horror is in a golden age in young adult fiction. Just a few years ago, you could count the number of YA horror novels released each year on one hand. Last year I tracked more than 30 YA books marketed as horror. This year just in January ...Read More

Read more
Books Reviews 

Liz Bourke Reviews Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

locusmag 0 Comments , ,

Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan (Orbit 978-0-35652-249-4, £20.00, 440pp, hc) August 2024. Cover by Syd Mills.

Sarah Rees Brennan has had a varied and interesting career to date writing YA novels, including tie-ins for The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Fate: the Winx Saga in addition to her original work. Long Live Evil is her first novel aimed primarily at an adult audience. It is simultaneously a wholehearted ...Read More

Read more
Books Reviews 

Alex Brown Reviews Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger

locusmag 0 Comments , ,

Sheine Lende, Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido 978-1-64614-379-5, $19.99. 400pp, hc) April 2024. Cover by Rovina Cai.

In 2020, Darcie Little Badger had her YA debut with the utterly delightful mystery novel Elatsoe. Ellie, a 17-year-old asexual Lipan Apache teen, lives in a slightly alternate contemporary version of America where legendary creatures and magic are a normal part of life. In particular, she has the ability to call ...Read More

Read more
Books Reviews 

Colleen Mondor Reviews Malicia by Steven Dos Santos

locusmag 0 Comments , ,

Malicia, Steven Dos Santos (Page Street Pub­lishing 978-1-645-67787-1, $18.99, 352pp, hc) June 2024. Cover by Aleksey Pollack.

If you are in the mood for a deeply dark YA fan­tasy, with plenty of terror, gore, and moments of blood splattered dismemberment, then Steven Dos Santos has you covered with his latest, Malicia. Set on a small island off the coast of the Dominican Republic, Malicia is a theme park ...Read More

Read more
Books Reviews 

Alexandra Pierce Reviews Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee

locusmag 0 Comments , ,

Moonstorm, Yoon Ha Lee (Delacorte Press 9-780-59348-833-1, $19.99, 352pp, hc) June 2024. Cover by Priscilla Kim.

As Yoon Ha Lee’s YA novel Moonstorm opens, Hwajin is ten years old, living with her extended family on the clanner moon Carnelian, part of the Moonstorm. Carnelian has an eccentric orbit, and its gravity is consistent only when there is harmony amongst the people living on it. On the very first page, ...Read More

Read more
cover of dead girls walking by ellis
Books Reviews 

Alex Brown Reviews Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis

locusmag 0 Comments , ,

Dead Girls Walking, Sami Ellis (Amulet Books 978-1-41976-676-3, $19.99, 368pp, hc) March 2024.

Serial killing runs in the family in Dead Girls Walking, Sami Ellis’s debut young adult hor­ror novel. Several years ago, Thomas Baker was arrested, his reign of terror finally ended. He confessed to kidnapping, torturing, branding, and murdering more than a dozen people, burying their bodies on his sprawling farm. Temple grew up surrounded by ...Read More

Read more
Books Reviews 

Gabino Iglesias Reviews Clever Creatures of the Night by Samantha Mabry

locusmag 0 Comments , ,

Clever Creatures of the Night, Samantha Mabry (Algonquin 978-1-61620-897-4, $18.99, 240pp, hc) March 2024. Cover by Kayla E.

Samantha Mabry’s Clever Creatures of the Night is a master class in atmosphere with a literary bent and a few surprising turns up its creepy sleeve. At once a murder mystery, a postapocalyptic narrative, and a story about friendship, this novel about a missing friend and some strange young people living ...Read More

Read more
Books Reviews 

Colleen Mondor Reviews The Fair Folk by Su Bristow and The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert

locusmag 0 Comments , ,

The Fair Folk, Su Bristow (Europa Editions 979-8-889-66012-5, $18.00, tpb, 464pp) January 2024.

In her gorgeous new historical fantasy, The Fair Folk, author Su Bristow crafts the story of a particularly complex interaction between mortals and faeries. Opening in 1959, the novel follows the shifting relationship between then-eight-year-old Felicity and Elfrida, the apparent queen of a long-established fairy group ensconced in the woods near her home. At first, the ...Read More

Read more
Books Reviews 

Alex Brown Reviews Frost Bite by Angela Sylvaine

locusmag 0 Comments , ,

Frost Bite, Angela Sylvaine (Dark Matter INK 978-1-95859-803-0, $17.99. 280pp, tp) October 2023. Cover by Eric Hibbeler.

In Angela Sylvaine’s Frost Bite, winter has hit Demise, North Dakota hard. Snow and ice have blanketed the town, making everything as cold and miserable as Realene feels. She was on her way out of town, but when her mom was diagnosed with a fatal health condition, Realene’s future crumbled away. ...Read More

Read more