Fall YA Fiction Releases -- part II

Darcy's note:  Another colleague, another round of eagerly-anticipated YA fiction books.  This time, Rachael writes of several releases that should keep teens (and adults!) reading through fall and even into this winter:

The coming months are going to be an exciting time for YA readers. If you follow a popular series in the YA genre, or you would like to but don’t know where to start, here are some well-known YA series that are ongoing. For those of you that don’t like to wait, some of the titles listed below are the concluding books in the series.  

Boston Jacky: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Taking Care of Business by L.A. Meyer is scheduled for release on September 10, 2013. Book eleven of this exciting series features the return of Jacky Faber, former orphan of the streets of London who escaped a life of poverty by dressing as a boy and getting a job as a sailor. Jacky’s nautical adventures have brought her nearly around the world and finally back home to her business office in Boston. She has remained faithful (well, mostly faithful) to Jamie throughout all of her adventures, but her return home has not been as triumphant as she had anticipated and troubles loom. Will Jacky finally go too far and lose Jamie?

House of Hades by Rick Riordan will hit shelves on October 8, 2013. This highly anticipated book is number four in the Heroes of Olympus. Percy and Annabeth stumbled into the underworld at the conclusion of The Mark of Athena and the adventure continues as the other five demigods attempt to seal the doors to the underworld from the outside as Percy and Annabeth seal them from within. However, the question of how Percy and Annabeth will return to the mortal world if they seal the doors remains unanswered. Will Percy and Annabeth be trapped in the underworld forever?

Revealed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast will be out October 15, 2013. Book eleven in this series sees Zoey and her friends facing off against the evil Neferet who has now been shown to the rest of the vampire world as the evil being she truly is. Zoey must continue to fight to save her beloved school for vampires, the House of Night.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth is book three in the Divergent trilogy. Appearing in stores on October 22, 2013, the concluding volume in this dystopian series continues to follow the war between factions. Tris, the main character, is part of a dangerous minority in her society. Labeled as “divergent”, she has the ability to resist the mind control tools that have been implemented by her society and must fight to defend the other divergent in her world.

Cress by Marissa Meyer, book three in the Lunar Chronicles, is set for release February 4, 2013. This series is a modernized, “steampunked” rendition of old fairytales. The series began with Cinder, a new twist on Cinderella, followed by Scarlet, based on Little Red Riding Hood. Cress continues the adventures with the introduction of new characters and is based on another classic fairytale, Rapunzel.

Fall YA Fiction Releases - part 1

Darcy's note:  It was so nice earlier this summer to give my co-workers an opportunity to post here that I'm asking them to do it again!  Each of us is responsible for keeping track of new releases by certain authors. Since fall is a favorite time for publishers to release new works, we each have several YA fiction novels that we're anticipating. Johanna wrote the following entry about the authors and series she's following:

 

Is August really almost over? As summer wanes the publishing world explodes with new releases, adding some excitement to the dreaded fall reversion to school and cooler weather. Here are a few new releases which will soon be gracing our Hot New Series Shelves. I’ve also included some new releases by favorite authors whose other work can be found on our Hot New Series shelves or our All Time Favorites shelves.

 

New books in Hot New Series:

Risked (Missing Series #6) by Margaret Peterson Haddix continues the tale of time-traveling Katherine and Jonah. Margaret Peterson Haddix progresses in this action- packed suspenseful series with a tale of Russia in 1918. Katherine and Jonah arrive just as Alexi, Anastasia, and the rest of Tsar Nicholas II’s family are about to be executed. The Missing series hooks younger readers into action-packed historical fiction and include an author’s note summarizing the historical facts incorporated into the novel.

Smoke (Burned #2) by Ellen Hopkins, one of our most popular authors, is written in verse that sometimes wiggles and sometimes skips across the page. Burned is a story about Pattyn Von Stratten, a Mormon girl with doubts about her place in the world and the authority figures in her life. Pattyn’s story ends as she plots her revenge on everyone who betrayed her, leaving the reader questioning what happens after the last page has been read. Smoke includes the voice of Pattyn and her sister, Jackie, and answers the questions left at the end of Burned. Both girls tell their stories of loss, keeping secrets, and discovering their own hidden strength. Ellen Hopkins weaves a gritty tale incorporating hard topics which appeal to YA readers.

The Fall of Five (Lorien Legacies #4) by Pittacus Lore continues the saga of the Garde and their battle against the Mogadorians. Six of the Guarde have been reunited and Four wants to take a stand. However, they won’t have a chance unless they can band together and form a cohesive team using their legacies. Five sends them a sign and the team rushes to gain another member, but will they be in time? Readers will enjoy the story of the struggle between two alien races here on Earth as well as the Lorien Garde teenagers learning of and developing their legacies.

Fire and Ash (Benny Imura Series #4) by Jonathan Maberry is the concluding book of the series. Readers follow Benny Imura to Sanctuary, which is not what he and his friends hoped it would be. Will Benny, Nix, Lilah, and Chong find the answers to their questions and perhaps even a cure? This final book will not disappoint readers. This series is a great read, especially for anyone infected with an interest in zombies.

 

New Books by Favorite Authors:

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia is due to be released October 1^st. This very popular author co-wrote the Caster Chronicles series including Beautiful Creatures. Unbreakable is the first in the Legion series. This contemporary paranormal romance thriller stars Kennedy Water, whose mom has recently died. Reeling from grief and two days away from moving, Kennedy’s attacked by a murderous ghost. Twins guys burst into her house and save her from certain death only to tell Kennedy about a secret society. The Legion is made up of five members with special abilities and the membership and abilities are hereditary. Kennedy’s mom was a member and now Kennedy has to take her place. Now Kennedy and the other new members of the Legion need to survive and stop the powers of an ancient evil.

BZRK Reloaded (BZRK #2) by Michael Grant is due to be released October 8^th. This sequel to BZRK continues the sci-fi tale of two groups with non-government sanctioned nano-technology trying to influence the world. Nanobots are used by both groups, but biots are better. Biots are nanomachines combined with the genetic material of special people to create an avatar which can be controlled by the person whose DNA was used. Biots are capable of penetrating and rewiring brains, fighting one another, and spying. Unfortunately, if you’ve created a biot and it is killed you go insane. A highly powerful group led by conjoined twins wants to rule the world using biots to control the leaders of every major country and it’s up to the members of BZRK to stop them.

 Iron Traitor (Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #2) by Julie Kagawa is the second book in a companion series to her Iron Fey series. Iron Traitor continues the tale of Ethan Chase, the brother of Meghan Chase who became very powerful in the world of fairies during the Iron Fey series. For those who enjoy the mythology of fairies and romance, the Iron Fey books present a wondrous treasure trove of both.

 SYLO is the first book in a series by the popular author D. J. MacHale. This book is currently on order and should be in soon! This new trilogy about the end of the world stars Tucker Pierce, an easygoing boy who puts off confrontations and decisions because he figures there’s always tomorrow. Unfortunately he learns that may not be true when a US military branch called SYLO quarantines his island. Does Tucker Pierce have what it takes to be a hero when there’s no tomorrow?