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 March
‘The Invasion‘ by Peadar O’Guilin
In a world where teenagers are trained for the most horrific 3 minutes of their lives, Nessa and Anto have both survived their Call, but fate has a cruel way of rewarding them. Nessa is branded a traitor as no one believes that someone like her could survive the experience. She’s thrown in prison and eventually sent where all traitors are sent – back to the horrifying Greylands, but this time there’s no way home. Anto is packed off out of the way to join the militia. Ireland is being invaded and the enemy is building their army from the very people defending it. However, Anto can’t get Nessa off his mind, he knows in his heart that she’s innocent and he’ll go to any length to rescue her. The final chapter in this thrilling and fast-paced adventure with the power of true love at its very core.
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‘More Than We Can Tell‘ by Brigid Kemmerer
Rev works hard to keep the demons of the time before his adoption at bay … until a letter from his father after his 18th birthday brings the trauma of his childhood hurtling back. Emma escapes real life by perfecting the online game she built from scratch. Coding is way easier than facing her parents’ nasty relationship or the growing distance with her best friend … But when an online troll’s harassment starts to escalate, she fears for her safety. When Rev and Emma meet, they’re buckling under the weight of their secrets. Though both of them find it hard to put their problems into words, they connect instantly and deeply. Rev and Emma’s problems might be worlds apart, but they promise to help each other no matter what. But promises are made to be tested and some things hurt more than we can tell.
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‘Only The Ocean‘ by Natasha Carthew
The two girls sat at opposite ends of the boat and Kel dug and stretched the oars into the ocean like her life depended upon it because it did. ‘Just so you know,’ said Rose, ‘everything, I mean everything, is your fault.’ 15-year-old Kel Crow lives in a water-logged world, with a family with whom she shares nothing but blood and a heart defect that she knows could kill her any day. She has a plan to escape, and it’s a good one: stowaway on the ship, kidnap the girl, swap the girl to buy passage to America and a life-saving operation. But plans never go how they’re meant to…
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‘The Truth About Alice‘ by Jennifer Mathieu
Rumour has it that Alice Franklin is a slut. It’s written all over the ‘slut stall’ in the girls’ bathroom at Healy High for everyone to see. And after star quarterback Brandon Fitzsimmons dies in a car accident, the rumours start to spiral out of control.
In this remarkable novel, four Healy High students – the party girl, the car accident survivor, the ex-best friend and the boy next door – tell all they know.
But exactly what is the truth about Alice? In the end, there’s only one person to ask: Alice herself.
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‘Children of Blood and Bone‘ by Tomi Adeyemi
They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.
NOW WE RISE.
Zelie remembers when the soil of Orisha hummed with magic. When different clans ruled – Burners igniting flames, Tiders beckoning waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoning forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, anyone with powers was targeted and killed, leaving Zelie without a mother and her people without hope. Only a few people remain with the power to use magic, and they must remain hidden.
Zelie is one such person. Now she has a chance to bring back magic to her people and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zelie must learn to harness her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orisha, where strange creatures prowl, and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zelie herself as she struggles to come to terms with the strength of her magic – and her growing feelings for an enemy.
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‘Truly, Wildly, Deeply‘ by Jenny McLauchlin
Annie is starting college. She can’t wait. No more school, no more uniform, and no one telling her what to do. It’s the start of a new adventure and Annie’s not going to let anyone or anything get in the way of that. Freedom matters to Annie. She has cerebral palsy and she’s had to fight hard to get the world to see her for who she truly is. Then she meets Fab. He’s six foot two, Polish and a passionate believer in…well, just about everything, but most of all Annie and good old-fashioned romance. The moment Fab sees Annie, he’s wildly drawn to her and declares she must be his girl. Annie’s horrified. She doesn’t want to be anyone’s anything, especially if it means losing her independence. But then Annie finds herself falling for Fab. As things go deeply wrong, Annie realises that love can make you do wild, crazy things, and so she sets out to win his heart with a romantic gesture of truly epic proportions!
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‘Orphan Monster Spy‘ by Matt Killeen
Sarah has played many roles – but now she faces her most challenging of all. Because there’s only one way for a Jewish orphan spy to survive at a school for the Nazi elite. And that’s to become a monster like them. They think she is just a little girl. But she is the weapon they never saw coming… with a mission to destroy them all.
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13th March
‘Blood of a Thousand Stars‘ by Rohda Belleza
War tears the galaxy apart, power tests the limits of family, and violence gives way to freedom in this exhilarating sequel to Empress of a Thousand Skies.
Empress
With a revolution brewing, Rhee is faced with a choice: make a deal with her enemy, Nero, or denounce him and risk losing her crown.
Fugitive
Framed assassin Alyosha has one goal in mind: kill Nero. But to get his revenge, Aly may have to travel back to the very place he thought he’d left forever—home.
Princess
Kara knows that a single piece of technology located on the uninhabitable planet Wraeta may be the key to remembering—and erasing—the princess she once was.
Madman
Villainous media star Nero is out for blood, and he’ll go to any means necessary to control the galaxy.
Vicious politics and high-stakes action culminate in an epic showdown that will determine the fate of the universe.
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15th March
‘Craft: How To Be A Modern Witch‘ by Gabriela Herstik
Infuse a drop of magick into your everyday life. Writer, fashion alchemist and modern witch, Gabriela Herstik, unlocks the ancient art of witchcraft so that you can find a brand of magick that works for you. From working with crystals, tarot and astrology, to understanding sex magick, solstices and full moons; learn how to harness energy, unleash your inner psychic and connect with the natural world. Full of spells and rituals for self-care, new opportunities and keeping away toxic energy, Craft is the essential lifestyle guide for the modern woman who wants to take control and reconnect with herself. After all, empowered women run the world (and they’re probably witches).
22nd March
‘Out Of The Blue‘ by Sophie Cameron
When angels start falling from the sky, it seems like the world is ending. For most people, it doesn’t. But for Jaya, the world ended when her mother died, two weeks before the first angel fell.
Smashing down to earth at extraordinary speeds, wings bent, faces contorted, not a single one has survived and, as the world goes angel crazy, Jaya’s father uproots the family to Edinburgh, intent on catching one alive. But Jaya can’t stand his obsession and, struggling to make sense of her mother’s sudden death and her own role on that fateful day, she’s determined to stay out of it. Then something extraordinary happens: an angel lands right at Jaya’s feet, and it’s alive.
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‘The Astonishing Colour of After‘ by Emily X.R. Pan
Leigh Chen Sanders is sixteen when her mother dies by suicide, leaving only a scribbled note: ‘I want you to remember’. Leigh doesn’t know what it means, but when a red bird appears with a message, she finds herself travelling to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time.
Leigh is far away from home and far away from Axel, her best friend, who she stupidly kissed on the night her mother died – leaving her with a swell of guilt that she wasn’t home, and a heavy heart, thinking she may have destroyed the one good thing left in her life.
Overwhelmed by grief and the burden of fulfilling her mother’s last wish, Leigh retreats into her art and into her memories, where colours collide and the rules of reality are broken. The only thing Leigh is certain about is that she must find out the truth. She must remember.
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‘The Maddie Diaries‘ by Maddie Ziegler
Teen dance prodigy, breakout Dance Moms star, and judge on So You Think you Can Dance: The Next Generation, Maddie Ziegler presents her uplifting coming-of-age memoir about following her dreams and working hard to achieve success in both the dance world and in life.
Maddie Ziegler had hoped to become a star – she just didn’t know how soon that day would come. At just eight years old, she was cast on the hit reality TV show Dance Moms and quickly won the hearts of fans everywhere with her natural talent and determination. Soon, she was catching eyes all over – including those of pop superstar Sia, who handpicked her to star in the incredibly popular music video ‘Chandelier’. The rest, as they say, is history.
In this inspirational memoir, Maddie explains the hard work she put in to her rise to stardom and how she keeps her balance along the way – starring in music videos, going on tour and becoming an actress in The Book of Henry, with Naomi Watts and Jacob Tremblay. She also answers her fans’ burning questions with wise advice she’s learned on her journey.
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27th March
‘Not If I Save You First‘ by Ally Carter
Dear Logan,
Someday I’m going to write a book: How Not to Die in Alaska – A Girl’s Guide to Fashionable Survival.
I bet you don’t know that a hairpin can make an excellent fishing hook. You may think you can use just any kind of mud for mud masks, but trust me, you CAN’T! In a pinch, nothing starts a fire like nail polish remover. Alaska is tough. You might know this if you ever replied to my letters.
After Maddie’s Secret Service dad takes a bullet for the president, he takes Maddie somewhere he thinks they’ll be safe – far away from the White House and the president’s son, Logan.
But when Logan comes to Alaska, so does the danger.
If there’s one thing Alaska has taught Maddie, it’s how to survive. And now her best friend’s life’s depends on it …
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29th March
‘The List Of Real Things‘ by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
Gracie, 14, and Bee, 6, have lived with their eccentric uncle ever since their parents died five years ago. Gracie just wants to be normal. At school, she finally has a boyfriend and cool friends, but her quirky home life and ‘mental’ little sister have begun to feel like liabilities.
When their beloved grandfather dies and grief hits the girls again, little Bee’s incredible imagination spirals out of control. Old memories and buried secrets bubble to the surface, and she even believes that their parents are waiting in a secret hotel on a clifftop – a place ghosts wait when they haven’t yet let go of life.
Gracie is determined Bee should wake up to the truth and let go of her outlandish ideas. She makes her write it down: a list of what’s real, and what’s not.
But when it turns out the hotel may be more than just a dream, Gracie’s hard line between what is real and what is imagined begins to blur . . .
A beautiful and heartwarming tale of love, creativity and the importance and magic of believing.
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‘Otherworld‘ by Jason Segal and Kirsten Miller
Welcome to real life 2.0. Are you ready to play?
There are no screens. There are no controls. You don’t just see and hear it – you taste, smell, and touch it too. In this new reality, there are no rules to follow, no laws to break. You can live your best life.
It’s a game so addictive you’ll never want it to end. Until you realize that you’re the one being played.
Step into Otherworld. Leave your body behind.
The frightening future that Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller have imagined is not far away. Otherworld asks the question we’ll all soon be asking: if technology can deliver everything we want, how much are we willing to pay?
Have we missed one that people need to know about? Email us at hello@unitedbypop.com
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