Introduction

Once again, June is not only the month that marks half of the calendar year and celebrates Pride and Indigenous History but also the time for publishers to announce their fall releases. I was lucky to be invited again to Penguin Teen Social “Summerween” on June 7 at their Toronto office.

A full house of excited book bloggers and book lovers, as well as four guest authors, and Penguin Teen team, not to mention an abundance of snacks and ARCs (I must admit I fully enjoyed the former but a bit missed out on the latter) - it was a party bound for success.

I somehow managed to bring with me only one pen that quickly ran out of ink, so my notes from the presentation require a bit of deciphering. And, yes, I was taking notes longhand because, believe it or not, I am faster this way. Although no less accurate. My handwriting will put anyone in a calligraphy coma.

So, here are the books that were announced and discussed during the presentation. My blog is divided into 3 parts by the presented categories.

The presentation opened with the Staff Picks.

Category: Teen & Young Adult Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Romance

Release date: Apr 02, 2024

Notes: a dramatic but adorable love story, featuring a hard-of-hearing character.

SUMMARY

Love is more complicated than “boy meets boy” in bestselling author Adib Khorram’s sharply funny new romantic comedy, set in the sordid world of high school theater

Jackson Ghasnavi is a lot of things—a techie, a smoothie afficionado, a totally not obsessive list-maker—but one thing he’s not is a romantic. And why would he be? He’s already had a front row seat to his parents’ divorce and picked up the pieces of his sister Jasmine’s broken heart one too many times.

No, Jackson is perfectly happy living life behind the scenes—he is a stage manager, after all—and keeping his romantic exploits limited to the breakup lists he makes for Jasmine, which chronicle every flaw (real or imagined) of her various and sundry exes.

Enter Liam: the senior swim captain turned leading man that neither of the Ghasnavi siblings stop thinking about. Not that Jackson has a crush, of course. Jasmine is already setting her sights on him and he’s probably—no, definitely—straight anyway.

So why does the idea of eventually writing a breakup list for him feels so impossible?

Link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/714688/the-breakup-lists-by-adib-khorram/

Category: Teen & Young Adult Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction

Release date: Jul 16, 2024

Notes: An alternative 1991, set in a totalitarian America, involves punk kids staging a Shakespear play during the political unrest.

SUMMARY

Punk rock meets Orwell’s 1984 in this story of a group of theater kids who take on a political regime, perfect for readers who love books by A.S. King and Marie Lu.

In an alternate 1991, the authoritarian US government keeps tabs on everybody and everything. It censors which books can be read, what music can be listened to, and which plays can be performed.

When her best friend is killed by the authorities and her theater teacher disappears without a trace, Gigi decides to organize her fellow Champaign High School thespians to put on a production of Henry VI. But at what cost?

Link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/690534/riot-act-by-sarah-lariviere/

Category: Teen & Young Adult Fantasy Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Action & Adventure

Release date: Jul 02, 2024

Notes: A fantasy book based on Norse mythology, involving valkyries, a rogue MC and LGBTQ+ representation.

SUMMARY

The action and adventure of Percy Jackson meets the complex heroines of The Cruel Prince as a family of valkyries fight to stop Ragnarök.

For seventeen-year-old Bryn, being the youngest, messiest, most rebellious sister in a family of valkyries isn’t easy. Especially considering home is a Renaissance faire in Chicago full of costumed workers who see her as nothing more than a nuisance. When her mother disappears on a mission for Odin, Bryn begins having strange visions about the impending Ragnarök. Bryn senses their mother is in great danger, but her annoyingly perfect older sisters refuse to take her seriously. Their mother is, after all, captain of the valkyries.

Things only take a turn for the worse when a half human, half giant named Juniper crashes the party with a violent zombie in tow, confirming Bryn’s worst fears—her visions of Ragnarök are real. If that wasn’t enough, the faire’s mysterious new addition, Wyatt the Black Knight, just so happens to have a ferocious secret that threatens everyone around him. Determined to survive Ragnarök, Bryn, Juniper, and Wyatt team up to combat the horde of monsters that keeps appearing throughout the faire. But after Bryn ignores the call to deliver Wyatt to Odin’s eternal warriors in Valhalla, choosing to save his life instead, she starts to wonder if she’ll ever get this valkyrie thing right.

Whispers of divine interference—including sightings of the mischievous Loki—reach Bryn’s ears. Soon everyone at the faire becomes a suspect, leaving Bryn, her sisters, and their newfound friends the only ones who can stop the war to end all realms. Whether she’s ready or not, Bryn is about to learn how the ties between fate and choice are as interwoven and unbreakable as the bonds between sisters.

Link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746213/rise-by-freya-finch/

Wild About You by Kaitlyn Hill

Category: Teen & Young Adult Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Romance

Release date: May 21, 2024

Notes: Even though this book is labelled as YA, it is a contemporary romcom featuring university-age characters. Reality TV and “only one tent” trope.

SUMMARY

Two total opposites. One race through the Great Outdoors. In this grumpy-sunshine teen romance from the author of Love from Scratch and Not Here to Stay Friends, the trail to true love doesn’t always come with a map.

Natalie Hart has always been loud, unfiltered, and unapologetically herself. But then comes her freshman year of college, when she loses her merit scholarship and gains one pesky little anxiety diagnosis.

Hesitant to take out more student loans, Natalie decides to shoot her shot and applies to Wild Adventures, a popular outdoorsy reality show. Sure, Natalie prefers her twelve-step skincare routine to roughing it on the Appalachian Trail while competing in challenges against other college kids, but that scholarship prize money is calling her name. High risk, high reward, right?

Enter Finn Markum, her randomly assigned, capital-O Outdoorsy teammate whose growl could rival a black bear. These partners have more friction than a pair of new hiking boots. Or is it flirtation? Turns out falling in love might be the wildest adventure of all…

Link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/723040/wild-about-you-by-kaitlyn-hill/

Category: Teen & Young Adult Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Social Issues

Release date: Aug 22, 2023

Notes: a YA magical realism book by a Mexican author about a teen suffering through an existential crisis and going on a trip.

SUMMARY

A globetrotting novel that takes a determined teen from Japan to Australia and to Argentina and Mexico on a quest to prove that humanity is more good than bad from the author of Let’s Get Lost and Before Takeoff.

Isabel is having an existential crisis. She’s three years into high school, and everything she’s learned has only shaken her faith in humanity. Late one night, she finds herself drawn to a niche corner of the internet—a forum whose members believe firmly in one thing: that there are indeed people out in the world quietly performing impossible acts of heroism. You might even call them supers. No, not in the comic book sense—these are real people, just like each of us, but who happen to have a power or two. If Isabel can find them, she reasons, she might be able to prove to herself that humanity is more good than bad.

So, the day she turns 18, she sets off on a journey that will take her from Japan to Australia, and from Argentina to Mexico, with many stops along the way. She longs to prove one—just one—super exists to restore her hope for the future.

Will she find what she’s looking for? And how will she know when—if—she does?

Link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/670040/actually-super-by-adi-alsaid/

The Lightning Circle by Vikki VanSickle

Illustrated by Laura K. Watson

Category: Teen & Young Adult Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Social Issues

Release date: Mar 26, 2024

Notes: it is a collection of poetry and illustrations in a wonderful hardcover edition. Based on the author’s personal experience as a camp counsellor and going through a heartbreak, this book was years in the making.

SUMMARY

An intimate coming-of age novel for teens, told in verse with delicate line art, chronicling the beauty, magic and transformative power of summer camp, for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Judy Blume.

After having her heart broken, seventeen-year-old Nora Nichols decides to escape her hometown and take a summer job as an arts and crafts counsellor at an all-girls’ camp in the mountains of West Virginia. There, she meets girls and women from all walks of life with their own heartaches and triumphs. Immersed in this new camp experience, trying to form bonds with her fellow counsellors while learning to be a trusted adviser for her campers, Nora distracts herself from her feelings, even during the intimate conversations around the nightly campfires. But when a letter from home comes bearing unexpected news, Nora finds inner strength in her devastation with the healing power of female friendship. Presented as Nora’s camp journal, including Nora’s sketches of camp life, scraps of letters, and spare poems, The Lightning Circle is an intimate coming-of-age portrait.

Link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717491/the-lightning-circle-by-vikki-vansickle-illustrations-by-laura-k-watson/

Category: Teen & Young Adult Fiction | Teen & Young Adult Mystery & Thriller | Teen & Young Adult Social Issues

Release date: Jun 04, 2024

Notes: Written by a transmasc author, who found himself stuck at his parent’s home during the pandemic, this book was intended to be fluffy and happy, but it ended up being a YA horror. The book talks about apathy and rage, has multiple POVs and brings the sense of community

SUMMARY

Death is neither the beginning nor the end for the children of Bridlington in this debut trans YA horror book for fans of Rory Power and Danielle Vega.

Chuck Warren died tragically at the old abandoned mill, but Paz Espino knows it was no accident — there’s a monster under the town, and she’s determined to kill it before anyone else gets hurt. She’ll need the help of her crew — inseparable friends, bound by a childhood pact stronger than diamonds, distance or death — to hunt it down. But she’s up against a greater force of evil than she ever could have imagined.

With shifting timeframes and multiple perspectives, Lockjaw is a small-town ghost story, where monsters living and dead haunt the streets, the homes and the minds of the inhabitants. For readers of Wilder Girls and The Haunted, this trans YA horror book by an incredible debut author will grab you and never let you go.

LINK: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/716115/lockjaw-by-matteo-l-cerilli/

Stay tuned for more!