New YA: January 15-21.
Now that I've noticed Jacquelyn Mitchard's contributions to the YA market, SHE'S EVERYWHERE I LOOK!
New hardbacks:
Vortex: A Tempest Novel (Tempest Trilogy), by Julie Cross
Shades of Earth: An Across the Universe Novel, by Beth Revis:
As before, Revis keeps her story from getting repetitive or stale by switching things up—a new set of characters, a new set of conflicts, plenty of new dangers, a new setting—but it still works as a part of the larger whole. Not only do Elder and Amy continue on their own personal journeys of maturation and identity, but the overarching storyline continues to explore different facets of freedom, agency and obedience.
Return to Me, by Justina Chen
Level 2 (Memory Chronicles), by Lenore Appelhans:
Level 2 is both fast-paced and pulse-pounding, and those aspects of it are bound to appeal to readers who like their action sequences cinematic and their stories plot-driven. That isn't to say that Level 2 is only about the action—the shifts between Felicia's memories and her present are especially good—but the action is definitely stronger than the character development or the relationship arcs
Gates of Paradise (A Blue Bloods Novel), by Melissa de la Cruz
Exposure (Twisted Lit), by Kim Askew, Amy Helmes and Jacquelyn Mitchard:
Exposure proves that [Shakespeare's] over-the-top crazypants plots work especially well in the high school setting, and even MORE SO when the characters go the chest-pounding, scenery-chewing route. It’s not a strict retelling—it’s far less bloody, for one, and not nearly as tragic (some of the major characters even get happy endings!)—and it does have flaws, but it’s mostly good fun.
The Namesake, by Steven Parlato and Jacquelyn Mitchard
Blue Bloods: The Graphic Novel, by Melissa de la Cruz, Robert Venditti and Alina Urusov
New paperbacks (that I've written about):
Rock On: A story of guitars, gigs, girls, and a brother (not necessarily in that order), by Denise Vega:
It would be easy to simply peg Rock On as an easy, breezy read about music and first love. But, like Jacyln Moriarty's books, Vega's collage-style novel—Ori's narration regularly pauses for screenshots from the band's website; transcripts of email, IM, and text conversations; flashbacks and other things—is a quick, entertaining read that features three-dimensional characters in occasionally hilariously-over-the-top (yet still believable) situations who deal realistically with complicated emotions.