May 2015
More new releases. Yay!! Every month we readers are treated to scores of new books to long for and swoon over (and read). Here are the young adult books that have particularly caught my interest for May 2015. Click on the covers for more a detailed review or synopsis.
Young Adult
Halfway Perfect – Julie Cross and Mark Perini – Sourcebooks Fire – Published 5 May 2015.
Julie Cross has once again written a beautiful book that is equally touching and swoon worthy. In Halfway Perfect, Julie Cross has teamed with Mark Perini whose writing style and experience in the fashion industry brings an honesty to the characters and a depth to the story.
Eve walked away from a successful and expanding career as a model and was determined never to look back. But an opportunity to study under a great photographer leads Eve straight back into the world of fashion. There is she confronted by her old agent, a young model whose story seems far too similar to her own, and an up and coming model, Alex, whose own career is taking off.
Young Adult Fiction. Contemporary.
Crimson Bound – Rosamund Hodge – Balzer + Bray – Published 5 May 2015
If you are looking for a fairytale retelling that is original and breathtaking you need look no further than Rosamund Hodge’s beautiful books. Crimson Bound is no different. I was grabbed by the very first two lines – what a beginning.
This fairytale retelling has the caliber of a high fantasy. Courts. Demons. Kings. Princes. Magic. An eternal battle. And a dark, enchanted forest.
Young Adult Fiction. Fantasy. Fairytale retelling.
The Summer After You And Me – Jennifer Salvato Doktorski – Sourcebooks Fire – Published 5 May 2015
The Summer After You and Me is so much more than just a quick beach read.
Lucy and her family live on Seaside, an island where holiday makers migrate for the summer. As a local, she and her family were hit hard when Superstorm Sandy destroyed the New Jersey coastline. The town is rebuilding, but Lucy remembers that fateful stormy day for another reason. Connor.
Young Adult Fiction. Contemporary.
Some Kind of Normal – Juliana Stone – Sourcebooks Fire – Published 5 May 2015.
This book grabs you from the start. Trevor’s life was perfect. Music. Friends. Family. Football. A future. And then he made a stupid mistake that cost him his dreams. Now he struggles to see how his life is worth anything. Everly’s life is outwardly perfect. The perfect family. The perfect house. The perfect lie. This summer the pastor’s daughter and the school flirt are thrown together and sparks will fly.
Young Adult Fiction. Contemporary.
Saint Anything – Sarah Dessen – Viking Juvenile/ Penguin – Published 5 May 2015.
Sydney’s family is falling apart and she feels like she’s going down with it. Lonely, sad and troubled she happens into a small pizza parlour where she gets a first-hand look at a family that seems as crazy as it does loving.
I have been privileged enough to now read the full copy of this upcoming release by the great author Sarah Dessen. Having initially read a sample of the first three chapters I knew this was going to be oh so good.
Young Adult Fiction. Contemporary.
Lola Carlyle’s 12-Step Romance – Danielle Younge-Ullman – Entangled: Teen – Published 5 May 2015.
Lola is determined to have a fun summer. So when her best friend is in rehab and calls to say the love of Lola’s life has just been admitted, Lola decides to book herself in.
“Lola arrives at Sunrise Rehab intent solely on finding Wade, saving him from himself, and—naturally—making him fall in love with her…only to discover she’s actually expected to be an addict. And get treatment. And talk about her issues with her parents, and with herself. Plus she has insane roommates, and an irritatingly attractive mentor, Adam, who’s determined to thwart her at every turn.”
This one sounds hilarious. Can’t wait to read it.
Young Adult Fiction. Contemporary.
Love, Lucas – Chantele Sedgwick – Sky Pony Press – Published 5 May 2015
“When Oakley Nelson loses her brother, Lucas, to cancer, she thinks she’ll never recover. Between her parents’ arguing and the battle she’s fighting with depression, she feels nothing inside but a hollow emptiness. When Mom suggests they spend the summer in California with Aunt Jo, Oakley isn’t sure that a change of scenery will alter anything, but she’s willing to give it a try.”
A novel that promises to be a touching summer read.
Young Adult Fiction. Contemporary.
The Fill-In Boyfriend – Kasie West – HarperTeen – Published 5 May 2015
“When Gia Montgomery’s boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she’d been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend— two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.”
Young Adult Fiction. Contemporary.
Court of Thorns and Roses – Sarah J. Maas – Bloomsbury Children’s – Published 5 May 2015
“When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.”
Young Adult Fiction. Fairytale retelling. Fantasy.
The Wrath And The Dawn – Renee Ahdieh – Putnam Juvenile – Published 12 May 2015
This year there are a few new retellings inspired by A Thousand and One Nights. The Wrath and The Dawn looks particularly interesting. I’ve read a very small sample and it reads well. Looking forward to this one.
Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid.
Young Adult Fiction. Fairytale retelling.
Made You Up – Francesca Zappia – Greenwillow Books – Published 19 May 2015
“Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. Made You Up tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion.
Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal.”
Young Adult Fiction. Contemporary.
Immaculate – Katelyn Detweiler – Viking Children’s – Published 26 May 2015
I’m not sure if I enjoyed this book or not. I think I’m sitting on somewhere in between. I found it interesting. It is certainly a concept that captures your attention.
Mina is seventeen. A virgin. And pregnant.
This book is about the reactions of Mina herself and the reactions of her friends, family and that of the wider community. It’s about choosing to believe in something, anything, even if you yourself are unsure about what that is. And ultimately, I hope that people find it’s about not casting judgement.
Young Adult Fiction.
Nowhere But Here – Katie McGarry – Harlequin Teen – Published 26 May 2015
Katie McGarry is one of my absolute favourite authors, so this book is on my immediate to-read list. Can’t wait.
“Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she’s curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn’t mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems.”
Young Adult Fiction. Contemporary.
Other young adult titles to look out for:
Illusionarium – Heather Dixon – 19 May 2015
Lion Heart – A.C. Gaughen – 19 May 2015
P.S. I Still Love You – Jenny Han – 26 May 2015
Daughter of Deep Silence – Carrie Ryan – 26 May 2015
The Tenderness of Thieves – Donna Freitas – 26 May 2015
New Adult
Fury – Fisher Amelie – Published 4 May 2015
I loved the first book in this Seven Deadly Sins series, Vain. The second book, Greed was also pretty good, so I’m looking forward to Fury. Should be interesting.
“Revenge is an euphoric thing. Trust me on this. Nothing compares to the release you get when you ruin someone’s life. When they’ve stolen important things. Things that didn’t belong to them. Things I revel in making them pay for.”
New Adult Fiction. Contemporary
All Played out – Cora Carmack – William Morrow and Company – Published 12 May 2015
Third book in the Rusk University series.
First person in her family to go to college? CHECK. Straight A’s? CHECK. On track to graduate early? CHECK.
Social life? …..yeah, about that….
With just a few weeks until she graduates, Antonella DeLuca’s beginning to worry that maybe she hasn’t had the full college experience. (Okay… Scratch that. She knows she hasn’t had the full college experience).
So Nell does what a smart, dedicated girl like herself does best. She makes a “to do” list of normal college activities.
New Adult Fiction. Contemporary.
Never Never: Part Two – Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher – Published 17 May 2015
I haven’t yet read Never Never: Part One. I am waiting until part two is released to save myself anxiety and general craziness.
New Adult Fiction. Mystery and Suspense.
←See the young adult new releases for April 2015.
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