Looking to spice up your life and bookshelf at the same time? We’ve got all the best YA books to read this year all in one handy place. So whether you’re starting a readathon, you’re compiling a new TBR list, or you just want to know all the best YA book releases in 2018 – you’ve come to the right place. The only thing we won’t be held accountable for is your dwindling bank balance.
Happy reading!
1st February
‘Outwalkers‘ by Fiona Shaw
The border’s closed, Jake said. No one can get into Scotland, just like no one can cross the Channel… This is England and it’s no longer a free country. The Government can track anyone, anywhere, from a chip implanted at birth. But Jake has escaped from his Academy orphanage, and he’s got to get to Scotland with his dog, Jet. When the Outwalkers gang grabs him, they go off-grid while the Government hunts for them. The closer they get to Scotland, the more dangerous it is. Because now, it’s not only their own lives that are at stake…
Buy in the UK not yet available in the US.
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‘A Land of Permanent Goodbyes‘ by Atai Abawi
In a country ripped apart by war, Tareq lives with his big and loving family . . . until the bombs strike. His city is in ruins. His life is destroyed. And those who have survived are left to figure out their uncertain future.
In the wake of destruction, he’s threatened by Daesh fighters and witnesses a public beheading. Tareq’s
family knows that to continue to stay alive, they must leave. As they travel as refugees from Syria to Turkey to Greece, facing danger at every turn, Tareq must find the resilience and courage to complete his harrowing journey.
But while this is one family’s story, it is also the timeless tale of all wars, of all tragedy, and of all strife. When you are a refugee, success is outliving your loss.
Destiny narrates this heartbreaking story of the consequences of war, showing the Syrian conflict as part of a long chain of struggles spanning through time.
Buy in the UK and the US.
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4th February
‘Things I’m Seeing Without You‘ by Peter Bognanni
Seventeen-year-old Tess talks to Jonah every day; through texts, tweets and emails. So when she discovers Jonah has committed suicide, her world implodes. Feeling heartbroken and traumatized Tess unexpectedly finds herself at her estranged father’s house, wondering how well she really knew Jonah. Now, having dropped out of high school, struggling with questions about life and loss, Tess and her father come together to try and find the answers.
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8th February
‘Anassa‘ by Josh Martin
An utterly compelling fantasy adventure for fans of Melinda Salisbury and Victoria Aveyard. ‘Impressive and thought-provoking – this is a skilfully constructed fantasy adventure with strong, distinct central characters and an ending that will have readers desperate for the next episode.’ LoveReading4Kids on Ariadnis Less than a year since their cities were joined, Athenas and Metis are still arguing. When the island is invaded by Vulcan, whose resource-ravaged, overpopulated island wants to claim Chloris as its own, Etain’s leadership is compromised. The only way she can restore her people’s confidence is to take up Vulcan’s quest to retrieve a magical item from a volcano. Alongside her brother Taurus, Aula and Joomia, Etain sets sail for the volcano. But they soon discover there is more to the quest than they realised. It’s up to Etain to be the leader she is destined to be. Should she fight, or should she try to unite?
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‘The Revolution Handbook‘ by Alice Skinner
If you’ve ever surveyed the world and thought ‘Ew’, this is the book for you. The Revolution Handbook is a journal to help you kickstart revolutionary campaigns and log your activism memories.
Through a series of tongue-in-cheek prompts, activist-illustrator Alice Skinner encourages you to create your best campaign slogans, troll-stamping tweets and protest signs – and helps you fulfil that longstanding dream to sew Donald Trump’s mouth shut. With a blend of practical suggestions and whimsical challenges, this is the essential handbook for anyone who dreams of a better world – and wants to help make it a reality.
Through Alice’s art, you’ll find checklists for going on marches, tips for self-care when you find the world is just getting too depressing, and the confidence you’ll need to stick two fingers up at the system.
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‘I’ve Got This Round‘ by Mamrie Hart
When Mamrie simultaneously enters her thirties and finds herself single for the first time since college, the world is suddenly full of possibilities. Emboldened by a maturing, cool confidence plus the newfound independence of an attachment-free lifestyle, Mamrie commits herself to living life as fully as possible. She seeks out once-in-a-lifetime experiences (like meeting the Dixie Chicks), bucket-list goals (like visiting the Moulin Rouge), and madcap adventures (like going anchors-away on a Backstreet Boys cruise) – all while diving back into the dating world for the first time in a decade.
Buy in the UK and the US.
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‘Miss Match: The Truth About Destiny‘ by Crystal Cestari
Amber Sand has a gift … she can see anyone’s soul mate, just by looking into their eyes. Problem is, when Amber gazes at her boyfriend, she sees him getting future loved-up with her best friend.
To make matters worse, Amber has been tasked with helping Iris Chamberlain, a girl who has fallen for a mermaid. Iris is planning a dangerous transformation to join her soul mate underwater forever, but she’s chosen the worst witch imaginable to perform the spell.
With Iris in danger and her own love life looking far from happily ever after, there’s one question plaguing Amber. Could the Fates be wrong?
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‘Rock War: Crash Landing‘ by Robert Muchamore
Jay, Summer and Dylan are fresh out of the biggest reality show there is. But they’re about to discover what fame and fortune are really about.
Jay’s brother Theo is young, rich and famous: but is it making him happy?
Summer’s got to weather her one-star reviews and take her career back into her own hands.
And Dylan might soon be seeing the world of show-business from the four walls of a prison cell.
They’ve got everything to play for.
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‘Dark Matter: Deception‘ by Teri Terry
As the epidemic spreads, survivors are being hunted like witches, for the authorities fear their strange new powers.
Kai is desperate to trace Shay, who tricked him and disappeared. Meanwhile, Shay is searching for the truth behind the origins of the epidemic … but danger finds them wherever they go. Can they outrun the fire?
From the author of the international sensation Slated comes the second book in a powerful new story of survival and transformation; love and power.
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‘The Taste Of Blue Light‘ by Lydia Ruffles
An incandescent, soul-searching story about a broken young woman’s search for a truth buried so deep it threatens to consume her, body and mind.
These are the things Lux knows:
She is an artist.
She is lucky.
She is broken.
These are the things she doesn’t know:
What happened over the summer.
Why she ended up in hospital.
Why her memories are etched in red.
Desperate to uncover the truth, Lux’s time is running out. If she cannot piece together the events of the summer and regain control of her fractured mind, she will be taken away from everything and everyone she holds dear.
If her dreams don’t swallow her first.
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‘Piecing Me Together‘ by Renee Watson
Jade believes she must get out of her poor neighbourhood if she’s ever going to succeed. Her mother tells her to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. And Jade has: every day she rides the bus away from her friends and to the private school where she feels like an outsider, but where she has plenty of opportunities. But some opportunities she doesn’t really welcome, like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for “at-risk” girls. Just because her mentor is black and graduated from the same high school doesn’t mean she understands where Jade is coming from. She’s tired of being singled out as someone who needs help, someone people want to fix. Jade wants to speak, to create, to express her joys and sorrows, her pain and her hope. Maybe there are some things she could show other women about understanding the world and finding ways to be real, to make a difference.
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‘Goodbye, Perfect‘ by Sara Barnard
Eden McKinley knows she can’t count on much in this world, but she can depend on Bonnie, her solid, steady, straight-A best friend. So it’s a bit of a surprise when Bonnie runs away with a guy Eden knows nothing about five days before the start of their GCSEs. And it’s the last person she would have expected.
Sworn to secrecy and bound by loyalty, only Eden knows Bonnie’s location, and that’s the way it has to stay. There’s no way she’s betraying her best friend. Not even when she’s faced with police questioning, suspicious parents and her own growing doubts.
As the days pass and things begin to unravel, Eden is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world, her best friend and herself.
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‘The Hazel Wood‘ by Melissa Albert
Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the strange bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate – the Hazel Wood – Alice learns how bad her luck can really get. Her mother is stolen away – by a figure who claims to come from the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother’s stories are set. Alice’s only lead is the message her mother left behind: STAY AWAY FROM THE HAZEL WOOD. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother’s tales began…
22nd February
‘Midnight Sun‘ by Trish Cook
Katie can’t leave her house during the day: she has a rare disease that makes even the smallest amount of sunlight deadly.
But everything changes when one evening, singing her heart out on a deserted station platform, she meets Charlie.
Before the night is out, Katie is smitten. But she hasn’t told Charlie her secret. She just wants to have her normal love story, before reality kicks in.
Lost in her night-time summer romance, Katie knows that love will light the way.
Have we missed one that people need to know about? Email us at hello@unitedbypop.com