#the book is never look back by lilliam rivera

[lilyvines]

im reading a retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice story and like. i know how it ends. i knew how it was gonna end before i started reading. but this entire time ive been like “maybe it’ll be different, maybe they’ll make it”

[bookaddict24-7]

AUTHOR FEATURE:

﹒Lilliam Rivera﹒

Five Books Written By this Author:

The Education of Margot Sánchez

Never Look Back

Dealing in Dreams

Barely Floating

We Light Up the Sky

___

Happy reading!

[cheshirelibrary]

8 Excellent Greek Retellings to Add to Your TBR 

[via Book Riot]

I love reading retellings. They give us fresh twists to stories we already know and love. Plus they also allow us to revisit some of our favorite stories through a new perspective — and often through an entirely different genre! Greek retellings in particular have become quite popular, let’s take a look at eight excellent Greek retellings.

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

Oreo by Fran Ross

Destroyer of Light by Jennifer Marie Brissett

Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin

Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe

Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane 

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

[richincolor]

Sometimes it's fun to revisit books you love. Today we're taking a quick look at three Latine books we loved so far this year! Have you read them, or are they on your TBR list?

Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie Feiwel & Friends || Group Discussion

A teen girl navigates friendship drama, the end of high school, and discovering her queerness in Ophelia After All, a hilarious and heartfelt contemporary YA debut by author Racquel Marie. Ophelia Rojas knows what she likes: her best friends, Cuban food, rose-gardening, and boys - way too many boys. Her friends and parents make fun of her endless stream of crushes, but Ophelia is a romantic at heart. She couldn't change, even if she wanted to.

So when she finds herself thinking more about cute, quiet Talia Sanchez than the loss of a perfect prom with her ex-boyfriend, seeds of doubt take root in Ophelia's firm image of herself. Add to that the impending end of high school and the fracturing of her once-solid friend group, and things are spiraling a little out of control. But the course of love--and sexuality--never did run smooth. As her secrets begin to unravel, Ophelia must make a choice between clinging to the fantasy version of herself she's always imagined or upending everyone's expectations to rediscover who she really is, after all.

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes Balzer & Bray || Review

Seventeen-year-old Yamilet Flores prefers drawing attention for her killer eyeliner, not for being the new kid at a mostly white, very rich, Catholic school. But at least here no one knows she's gay, and Yami intends to keep it that way. After being outed by her crush and ex-best friend, she could use the fresh start.

At Slayton Catholic, Yami has new priorities: make her mom proud, keep her brother out of trouble, and most importantly, don't fall in love. Granted, she's never been great at any of those things, but that’s a problem for Future Yami.

The thing is, it’s hard to fake being straight when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so annoyingly perfect. And smart. And talented. And cute. Either way, Yami isn’t going to make the same mistake again. If word got back to her mom, she could face a lot worse than rejection. So she’ll have to start asking, WWSGD: What would a straight girl do?

Told in a captivating voice that is by turns hilarious, vulnerable, and searingly honest, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School explores the joys and heartaches of living your full truth out loud. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories edited by Yamile Saied Méndez Algonquin Young Readers || Review

From zombies to cannibals to death incarnate, this cross-genre anthology offers something for every monster lover. In Our Shadows Have Claws, bloodthirsty vampires are hunted by a quick-witted slayer; children are stolen from their beds by “el viejo de la bolsa” while a military dictatorship steals their parents; and anyone you love, absolutely anyone, might be a shapeshifter waiting to hunt.

The worlds of these stories are dark but also magical ones, where a ghost-witch can make your cheating boyfriend pay, bullies are brought to their knees by vicious wolf-gods, a jar of fireflies can protect you from the reality-warping magic of a bruja—and maybe you’ll even live long enough to tell the tale. Set across Latin America and its diaspora, this collection offers bold, imaginative stories of oppression, grief, sisterhood, first love, and empowerment.

Full contributor list: Chantel Acevedo, Courtney Alameda, Julia Alvarez, Ann Dávila Cardinal, M. García Peña, Racquel Marie, Gabriela Martins, Yamile Saied Méndez, Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, Claribel A. Ortega, Amparo Ortiz, Lilliam Rivera, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Ari Tison, and Alexandra Villasante. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

[mediaevalmusereads]

Never Look Back. By Lilliam Rivera. Bloomsbury, 2020.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Genre: YA contemporary romance, mythological retelling

Series: N/A

Summary: Eury comes to the Bronx as a girl haunted. Haunted by losing everything in Hurricane Maria--and by an evil spirit, Ato. She fully expects the tragedy that befell her and her family in Puerto Rico to catch up with her in New York. Yet, for a time, she can almost set this fear aside, because there's this boy . . .

Pheus is a golden-voiced, bachata-singing charmer, ready to spend the summer on the beach with his friends, serenading his on-again, off-again flame. That changes when he meets Eury. All he wants is to put a smile on her face and fight off her demons. But some dangers are too powerful for even the strongest love, and as the world threatens to tear them apart, Eury and Pheus must fight for each other and their lives.

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: teen drug/alcohol use, attempted sexual assault, blood

OVERVIEW: I was looking around for interesting Greek myth retelling when I stumbled upon this book. I wanted something different than just a historical fiction, something other than the same story told from the woman's perspective or something. When I saw this book, it seemed perfect, and in a lot of ways, I loved Rivera's rendering of the Orpheus myth into the modern day. The main reason why this book is getting 4 stars is because the writing style is not for me and the narrative shifts in tone rather abruptly at the 2/3 mark. But other than those things, this is a lovely retelling, and a good choice if you're drawn to literary movements like #ownvoices.

WRITING: Before I say anything specific, I should point out that this book is not written for me. It's aimed at a younger audience, so take anything I say with a huge grain of salt. I will be biased because of my age.

Overall, I liked that Rivera wrote with such honesty, making characters aware of things and emotions in ways that felt very real. For example, Pheus is constantly thinking about how Black people have to act to avoid scrutiny in public, and Eury has a difficult relationship with therapy for many race-related reasons. I liked that Rivera wrote them in a way that felt natural and relevant to what was happening, and it added depth to the characters and their internal monologs.

There are, however, some aspects of the writing that simply did not work for me (but again, I am biased). For one, Rivera writes with a lot of short, simple sentences that privilege telling over showing. Perhaps this style is common for books aimed at younger readers, so it's not necessarily a bad thing. It was confusing to me, however, because the style made the prose feel "younger," perhaps akin to something for middle school readers. I may be a poor judge of that, however.

For two, Pheus's perspective is written using a lot of slang (not dialect - there is that too, but it's different). While I didn't find the slang confusing, I so worry that it will age the book after a few years, and the setting isn't central enough to the narrative (in the way something like historical fiction centralizes setting) to make the slang feel like Pheus and Eury's story is entertained with its situation in time and space. Perhaps that's asking too much, but given that a huge part of Eury's story involves Puerto Rico's destruction by Hurricane Maria, I think time period could have been more important.

PLOT: This book is a retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, where our protagonists are teenagers living in the Bronx. Pheus is a popular local musician with Afro-Carribean roots; Eury has relocated from Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria and is pursued by a mysterious spirit named Ato.

I liked the way Rivera took the main beats from the myth and constructed a teen romance that clearly interfaced with themes such as race, mental health, etc. in the modern day.

The connection between spirits and colonialism, capitalism, and pain was also intriguing. I liked the idea of these concepts as things that "haunted" the living, giving shape to people and places while also doing damage. It was a clever way of conceiving of the more mythical elements of Greek myth, and it did a good job of mirroring the way myth tends to personify abstract concepts.

Along similar lines, I liked the magical realism of the first half of the story, with Ato only popping up in Eury's POV. It really made me doubt whether the spirit was real or some sort of trauma response, and I actually found the ambiguity to be a great way to keep some suspense in the story.

However, I do think that in the last third, magical realism tips firmly into fantasy, and while I enjoyed the fantasy narrative, it also felt abrupt and jarring when I got there. Personally, I would have liked the whole story to be magical realism, but I do respect what Rivera was doing.

Lastly, I just was not a fan of the attempted sexual assault. I know why it was included, but it didn't have to be there.

CHARACTERS: Eury, our heroine, is sympathetic in that she is terrified of the spirit pursuing her. It's easy to want her to be free of Ato, and her desperation combined with her lack of trust is heart-wrenching, to say the least. But Eury is also more than her suffering; I loved her love for Prince and birds and the sisterly affection for her cousin, Penelope. Eury might also appeal to a lot of readers because she's shy and awkward, but makes a brave effort to go places with her friends and with Pheus.

TL;DR: Never Look Back is a touching retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, focusing on things such as identity, trauma/mental health, happiness vs suffering, and so on. Though this book was written for a younger audience (and thus didn't resonate with me as much as it might with a teen reader), I still enjoyed the way Rivera played with the myth while introducing themes of her own that make the story resonate with a modern audience.

Pheus, our hero, is charismatic and a little bit of a flirt, but he finds himself in deep when Eury fails to fall for him immediately. I liked that though Pheus is a charmer, he does genuinely care about people and doesn't stop from criticizing friends who are unfair or unkind. I also liked Pheus's struggle to believe in the supernatural; he had a strong belief in what he can see and what he can do with his own hands, and that ethic is not only admirable, but also makes for an interesting stumbling block in his relationship with Eury. He must struggle to overcome it so that the two can grow closer, and I appreciated this kind of development.

Supporting characters are fine and did their jobs well. I liked the friendship between Pheus and Jaysen and the closeness between Eury and Penelope. I also liked the bond between Pheus and his father and the honesty they gave to one another. Melaina was probably the one that puzzled me most in that she was poised to be a jealous rival (and, in fact, was that), but Pheus came to recognize the way he was hurting her. I kind of wish more was done with this, but then again, it might have distracted from the main story.

Ato, our antagonist, is a little hard to understand, and personally, I wanted to see Rivera explore him more. I wasn't entirely clear or even sold on why he was so attached to Eury - the given explanation of her "light" felt a little vague to me. When his background was revealed, I liked that there were a lot of implications about what suffering and hate could do to people, and I would have liked to see those aspects pushed more.

[rhodeslibby]

@storyseekers​ event 05 - retellings - [ Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera ]

Our joy is also part of this chaos. Pheus and I will not succumb to their predictions. We won’t. Pheus begins to walk up the hill, and I follow. 

[starry-eyed-psychopomp]

Okay, I’ve just finished reading Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera and I cannot recommend this book enough. It’s a YA novel adaptation of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice focusing on two Latinx teenagers in the Bronx. It gracefully handles some heavy topics, from mental health to strenuous family relationships to the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, whilst blending Greek and Caribbean mythologies into a beautiful story of love and healing. It’s lovely, it’s engaging, it’s well-written, and if you can, please read this book.

[curlyhairedbibliophile]

Cover Art | Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

Acclaimed author Lilliam Rivera blends a touch of magical realism into a timely story about cultural identity, overcoming trauma, and the power of first love. Eury comes to the Bronx as a girl haunted. Haunted by losing everything in Hurricane Maria--and by an evil spirit, Ato. She fully expects the tragedy that befell her and her family in Puerto Rico to catch up with her in New York. Yet, for a time, she can almost set this fear aside, because there's this boy . . . Pheus is a golden-voiced, bachata-singing charmer, ready to spend the summer on the beach with his friends, serenading his on-again, off-again flame. That changes when he meets Eury. All he wants is to put a smile on her face and fight off her demons. But some dangers are too powerful for even the strongest love, and as the world threatens to tear them apart, Eury and Pheus must fight for each other and their lives. Featuring contemporary Afro-Latinx characters, this retelling of the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice is perfect for fans of Ibi Zoboi's Pride and Daniel José Older's Shadowshaper.

Artwork by Krystal Quiles

Release date | Sept 1, 2020 Goodreads

[sitpwgs]

since greek mythology has so clearly bypassed ya, here's a quick list of some ya greek mythology retellings:

never look back by lilliam rivera: a latinx take on orpheus & eurydice

orpheus girl by brynne rebele-henry: a sapphic orpheus and eurydice love story between two teenage girls who are sent to conversion therapy after being caught together in an intimate moment

the star-touched queen by roshani chokshi: loosely based on hades & persephone

this poison heart by kalynn bayron: a sapphic ya fantasy inspired by greek mythology & has secret garden vibes

some other diverse ya books inspired by myths & folktalkes:

an arrow to the moon by emily x.r. pan

a song of wraiths and ruin by roseanne a. brown

a thousand ships in the night by traci chee

blood scion by deborah falaye

daughter of the moon goddess by sue lynn tan

dauntless by elisa a. bonnin

the candle and the flame by nafiza azad

wicked fox by kat cho

[chthonic-cassandra]

Recent books, fiction -

Laura Lippman, What the Dead Know - crime/mystery novel. Following a car accident, the woman responsible discloses that she is one of two sisters who went missing the area thirty years prior; the local police department attempts to discover whether her claims are true. This is really not my genre, and this novel, though tightly written and probably a good exemplar of its type, showed me why. I guessed most of the main twists pretty early on, and was made uncomfortable by the novel's relationship to survivorship, and what I felt was a pitting of types of violence seen as more 'sensational' against those seen as more quotidian; I found this alienating. (One of the male pov characters also spends a lot of time thinking about female characters' weights, which was not great.) Nonetheless, not bad, had some interesting things to say about loss.

Nina Varela, Crier's War - YA fantasy, set in a world where automata have taken over and humans are an underclass, centering around a romance between an automaton princess and a human servant. This had some nice imagery, and the central romance was appealing, but overall the characters didn't have enough depth for me and it was a little too generically paint-by-numbers (it would be nice if we could do a little more holistic cultural processing of colonialism and white supremacy so that we can move past the million 'two different groups that are different in fundamental ways and one is an underclass!' type of YA fantasy).

Lila Bowen, Wake of Vultures - YA western with monsters. This at least had an original setting, and some cool use of Native American mythology, but it was made almost unreadable by its attempts at poetic imitations of western movies in dialogue and prose. It also had a lot of darker narrative elements (including multiple incidents of attempted sexual violence) that didn't get the emotional weight they needed. Didn't work for me.

Leah Franqui, Mother Land - an American woman moves to Mumbai with her Indian husband, and doesn't know what to do when her mother-in-law abruptly leaves her father-in-law and moves in with them. This was fluffy and somewhat orientalist (definitely what Naben Ruthnum calls a "curry book" - seriously, everyone, read Ruthnum's Curry: Eating, Reading, and Race), but there was a lot of warmth and nuance in the central relationship between the protagonist and her mother-in-law, which ultimately carried the book and made it peculiarly compelling, despite its shortcomings.

Lilliam Rivera, Never Look Back - YA retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice with teenagers in the Bronx. This was extremely sweet, with believable, lovable characters (particularly liked Pheus' underestimated father, Apolo), and a notably thoughtful and compassionate handling of experiences labeled as mental illness. I wish it had been a little bolder in its ending, which I don't want to spoil here - it went a gentler route than it could have, and I think it weakened the book as a whole.

Jo Walton, Or What You Will - Okay. So. This is a metafictional novel whose frame is an aging SFF Canadian writer whose muse is trying to give her immorality; within that we have the novel she is writing about a magical Florence inhabited by Miranda and Orsino (Shakespeare's, sort of), who have been granted immortality in a perpetual Renaissance by the heroic sacrifice of Pico della Mirandola. It was essentially Walton going off the deep end into her own preoccupations. I admire her lack of self-consciousness her, and have a certain fondness for the book for this reason, but it was nearly incomprehensible (certainly would have been without reading her other work), and didn't hold together as a novel.

Riku Onda, The Aosawa Murders (trans. Alison Watts) - Japanese crime novel about the mysterious poisoning of a family, told in multiple voices. I really should not read crime novels; I didn't much like this one either. Also guessed the twist early; the multiple voices were an interesting conceit but took me out of it too much.

Dalia Sofer, Man of My Time - an Iranian man visits NYC and his estranged family for the first time after breaking with them due to his participation in the 1979 revolution and subsequent work as an interrogator. I appreciated this book's slow, thoughtful pace and its willingness to let its protagonist be unsympathetic, but he was so very unsympathetic that sometimes I felt at sea in the text, without anything to hold onto. I'm glad I read it, but I wouldn't want to reread it.

Jo Spurrier, Winter Be My Shield - quite dark fantasy, largely about torture. A young woman with forbidden, powerful magic, escapes from the torturer-sorcerer who has been trying to train her as his apprentice and bands together with the nation's exiled, torture-survivor princes. I frankly appreciated how much this book is about bluntly about torture, and torture and magic, and torture and telepathy, but its plotting was frequently a mess; its circuitous and not totally thought-through plot twists reminded me of some of the more memorable and involved forum-based RPGs I have done in my life. Also, for a book about torture, it doesn't quite get how it works psychologically, which threw me in several places. It triggered the hell out of me. I will read the sequels.

[cielrouge]

YA SFF Books by Latinx Authors

A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry: Spending the summer with his hotel-developer father in Puerto Rico, 17-year-old Lucas turns to a legendary cursed girl filled with poison when his girlfriend mysteriously disappears.

All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry: Working in the maguey fields of the Southwest, Sarah Jac and James are in love but forced to start over on a ranch that is possibly cursed where the delicate balance in their relationship begins to give way.

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria: In the city of Eldra, people are ruled by ancient prophecies. For centuries, the high council has stayed in power by virtue of the prophecies of the elder seers. In the present day, Cassa, the orphaned daughter of rebels, is determined to fight back against the high council. But by the time Cassa and her friends uncover the mystery of the final infallible prophecy, it may be too late to save the city — or themselves.

Blanca & Roja by Anne-Marie McLemore: The del Cisne girls, Blanca & Roja, have never just been sisters; they’re also rivals. Because of a generations-old spell, their family is bound to a bevy of swans deep in the woods. But when two local boys become drawn into the game, the swans’ spell intertwines with the strange and unpredictable magic lacing the woods, and all four of their fates depend on facing truths that could either save or destroy them.

Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz: 17-year-old Lana Torres, who after rescuing a prized dragon, is awarded a spot on her native Puerto Rico’s Blazewrath World Cup team. But the return of the Sire, an ancient dragon, soon threatens to compromise this year’s tournament.

They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera: Set in a near-future New York City where a service alerts people on the day they will die, about two teens who meet using the Last Friend app and are faced with the challenge of living a lifetime on their End Day.

The Body Market (Wired #2) by Donna Freitas: When Skylar's sister betrays her and opens the Body Market, everyone in the App World is for sale and Skylar resolves to stop her sister and the malevolent market.

Bruja Born (Brooklyn Brujas #2) by Zoraida Cordova: Teenage bruja Lula Mortiz tries to save her boyfriend, Maks, by cheating Death; however, Lady de la Muerte is not so easily bested.

The Buried by Melissa Grey: After disaster strikes the remote town of Indigo Falls. A horrific event drove the residents underground, into shelters that keep them safe from the danger on the surface. Now, a handful of families inhabit this bunker together, guided by a charismatic leader named Dr. Imogen Moran. 

Cazadora (Wolves of No World #2) by Romina Garber: In this follow-up to Lobizona, Manu and her friends as they continue to fight for a better future.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas: Latinx trans teen Yadriel, hoping to release his cousin’s spirit and prove himself as a brujo, accidentally summons the wrong ghost and resident bad boy Julian Diaz, falling in love with him.

Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore: Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family. Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva’s feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever’s history better than anyone: Emil.

Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera: 16-year-old Nalah leads the fiercest all-girl crew in Mega City, but when she sets her sights on giving this life up for a prestigious home in Mega Towers, she must decide if she’s willing to do the unspeakable to get what she wants.

Diamond City by Francesca Flores: Pulled from the streets at age twelve and trained to become one of the most powerful assassins in Sumerand, Aina Solis discovers a conspiracy that could rewrite the kingdom's history. 

Dragonblood Ring (Blazewrath Games #2) by Amparo Ortiz: After the Sire’s capture, teen athletes Lana Torres and Victoria Peralta travel to Puerto Rico with their former Blazewrath team. While Lana discovers her roots, nothing fills the void Blazewrath’s cancelation has left in Victoria. But it’s up to their team and the Bureau to protect their dragons.

Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro: Xochital is destined to wander the desert alone. Her one desire: to share her heart with a kindred spirit. One night, Xo’s wish is granted—in the form of Emilia, the cold and beautiful daughter of the town’s murderous mayor. But when the two set out on a magical journey across the desert, they find their hearts could be a match… if only they can survive the nightmare-like terrors that arise when the sun goes down.

Fire with Fire by Destiny Soria: A contemporary fantasy about two sisters, Dani and Eden Rivera, who were raised to be fierce dragon slayers but end up on opposite sides of the impending war when one sister forms an unlikely, magical bond with a dragon.

The First 7 (The Last 8 #2) by Laura Pohl:  After leaving Earth, now devastated by an alien attack, and exploring the galaxy, Clover Martinez and her fellow teen survivors return home to find crystal formations in the soil that are threatening to destroy the planet, and a colony of survivors who are not who they seem.

Five Midnights by Ann Davila Cardinal: If Lupe Dávila and Javier Utierre can survive each other’s company, together they can solve a series of grisly murders sweeping though Puerto Rico. But the clues lead them out of the real world and into the realm of myths and legends.

The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante: To have her family’s asylum request accepted, 17-year-old Marisol participates in a risky experiment to become a grief keeper, taking another’s grief into her own body to save a life.

The Healer by Donna Freitas: Manifesting astonishing healing powers that cause some people to consider her a saint, Marlena Oliveria struggles with edicts that prevent her from attending school, having friends and falling in love when she meets a boy who makes her question what she is willing to sacrifice.

Hollywood Witch Hunter by Valerie Tejeda: When a coven bent on retaining their youth must sacrifice the beautiful, and rich women of Southern California, a society of witch hunters will try to protect humans from a great evil uprising. 

Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova: As Renata Convida grows more deeply embedded in the politics of the royal court, she uncovers a secret in her past that could change the entire fate of the kingdom–and end a costly war.

Illusionary (Hollow Crown #2) by Zoraida Córdova: Reeling from betrayal, Renata Convida is a girl on the run. With few options and fewer allies, she reluctantly joins forces with none other than Prince Castian, her most infuriating and intriguing enemy.

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera: In the Bronx, two brothers, Emil and Brighton, get caught up in a magical war generations in the making.

Infinity Reaper (Infinity Cycle #2) by Adam Silvera: Emil and Brighton Rey defied the odds. When Brighton drank the Reaper’s Blood, he believed it would make him invincible, but instead the potion is killing him. In Emil’s race to find an antidote that will not only save his brother but also rid him of his own unwanted phoenix powers, he will have to dig deep into his past lives.

Iron Cast by Destiny Soria: In 1919 Boston, best friends Corinne and Ada perform illegally as illusionists in an infamous gangster's nightclub, using their "afflicted" blood to con Boston's elite, until the law closes in.

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova: Alex is a bruja and the most powerful witch in her family. . When a curse she performs to rid herself of magic backfires and her family vanishes, she must travel to Los Lagos to get her family back.

The Last 8 by Laura Pohl:  After an alien attack devastates the Earth, pilot and future astronaut Clover Martinez bands with seven other teens to survive. 

Lobizona by Romina Garber: As Manuela Azul uncovers her own story and traces her real heritage all the way back to a cursed city in Argentina, she learns it’s not just her U.S. residency that’s illegal… .it’s her entire existence.

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas:  When children start to go missing in the local woods, eighteen-year-old Wendy Darling must face her fears and a past she cannot remember to rescue them in this novel based on Peter Pan.

The Mind Virus (Wired #3) by Donna Freitas:  Skylar Cruz has managed to shut down the body market that her sister Jude opened, and to create a door to allow App World citizens reentry into the Real World. But as tensions between the newly mingling people escalate, she s not sure if it was the right decision after all. Still reeling from Kit’s betrayal, she s not sure of anything anymore.

Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia & Anna-Marie McLemore: Two friends, Lita Perez or Chicky Quintanilla, one made of stardust and one fighting to save her family’s diner, take on their small town’s 50th annual pageant in the hopes that they can change their town’s destiny, and their own.

The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore: Graciela Cristales meets Lock, a boy who was sexually assaulted at the same party as her, and they find their fates unexpectedly intertwined during a month of vanishing trees, enchanted pan dulce, and inherited magic.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera: After enduring his father's suicide, his own suicide attempt, broken friendships, and more in the Bronx projects, Aaron Soto, sixteen, is already considering the Leteo Institute's memory-alteration procedure when his new friendship with Thomas turns to unrequited love.

Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera: An Afro-Latinx retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice set in the Bronx. Pheus is a bachata-singing dreamer who falls in love with Eury, a girl who lost everything in Hurricane Maria and is haunted by the trauma—and by an evil spirit.

Nocturna by Maya Motayne: In the Latinx-inspired kingdom of Castallan, face-changing thief Finn Voy and grief-stricken Prince Alfehr must race to vanquish a dark magic they have unleashed.

Oculta (A Forgery of Magic #2) by Maya Motayne: After joining forces to save Castallan from an ancient magical evil, Alfie and Finn reunite once again to preserve Castallan’s hopes for peace with Englass. But will they be able to stop sinister foes before a new war threatens their kingdom?

Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda: Tuck Durante, a shipraider, and Lana Gray, a curator, must work together to try to rescue a space capsule hijacked by nightmarish creatures who kill with a scream.

Rated by Melissa Grey: For the students at the prestigious Maplethorpe Academy, every single thing they do is reflected in their Ratings System. But when an act of vandalism sullies the front doors of the school, it sets off a chain reaction that will shake the lives of six special students – and the world beyond.

Sanctuary by Abby Sher & Paola Mendoza: In a near future dystopian America set 2030, 16-year-old Vail and her brother must escape a xenophobic government to find sanctuary in California.

The Savage Dawn (Girl at Midnight #3) by Melissa Grey: A darkness has entered the world and the Dragon Prince is wreaking havoc wherever she goes. With the war upon her, Echo must use every bit of her firebird powers or risk losing those she holds dear. 

Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda & Valynne E. Maetani: A contemporary fantasy set in Japan, about Shinto temple priestess Kira Fujikawa, who must seek the aid of seven demons in order to protect her village and the world from an ancient evil. 

Shadow City (The City of Diamond and Steel #2) by Francesa Flores: Aina Solís has fought her way to the top of criminal ranks in the city of Kosín by wresting control of an assassin empire owned by her old boss, Kohl. But Kohl will do anything to get his empire back.

The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight #2) by Melissa Grey: With the firebird awakened, the war has become even more dangerous for Echo and her friends. There is a darkness spreading too and staying in hiding might not be enough to keep them alive. 

Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older: When her summer plans are interrupted by supernatural phenomena, Puerto Rican teen Sierra Santiago finds herself in a battle with the killer targeting her family of shadowshapers who believes she is hiding their greatest secret.

Shadowhouse Fall (Shadowshaper #2) by Daniel Jose Older: While working on her shadowshaping skills, Sierra Santiago is beginning to think she may need all the skill she can summon because it seems that when she channeled hundreds of spirits through herself in order to defeat Wick, she woke up something very powerful and very unfriendly and put her family and friends at risk.

Shadowshaper Legacy (Shadowshaper #3) by Daniel Jose Older: Sierra Santiago and the shadowshapers have been split apart, but a war is brewing among the houses. As old fates tangle with new powers, Sierra will have to harness the Deck of Worlds and confront her family’s past if she has any hope of saving the future and everyone she loves.

Shutter by Courtney Alameda: When a routine assignment goes awry, 17-year-old ghost hunter Micheline Helsing is infected with a curse and on the run, pursued as a renegade agent by her monster-hunting father, with only seven days to exorcise the entity or be destroyed body and soul. 

Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland: A Mexican American teenage girl discovers profound connections between immigration, folklore, and alien life, when a spacecraft crashes in front of her car…and it’s carrying her long-lost mom, who’s very much alive.

They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera: Set in a near-future New York City where a service alerts people on the day they will die, about two teens who meet using the Last Friend app and are faced with the challenge of living a lifetime on their End Day.

Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry: Loosely inspired by the story of King Lear and his daughters, set in San Antonio, Texas, following the Torres sisters, struggling to escape their tyrannical father’s claustrophobic world while dealing with the loss of their eldest sister, whose troubling death continues to haunt—perhaps even literally—the loved ones left behind.

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson: While investigating the supposed suicides of her best friend, Riley, and mean girls June and Dayton, 16-year-old Wiccan Mila Flores accidentally brings them back to life.

Unplugged by Donna Freitas: When she moves from the Virtual World to the Real one, Skylar Cruz discovers that her body is both exquisite and valuable -- a dangerous combination in a place where bodies are sought after in sinister ways.

Wayward Witch (Brooklyn Brujas #3) by Zoraida Cordova:  Rose Mortiz begins to discover the scope of her powers, the troubling truth about her father’s past, and the sacrifices he made to save her sisters. But if Rose wants to return home so she can repair her broken family, she must figure out how to heal the land of Adas, a fairy realm hidden in the Caribbean Sea, first.

The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore: Although Lace Paloma knows all about the feud between the Palomas and the Corbeaus, she finds herself falling for Cluck Corbeau when he saves her life while both families are performing in the same town.

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia: When she is asked to spy for a resistance group working to bring equality to Medio, Daniela Vargas, a student at the Medio School for Girls, questions everything she's worked for.

We Unleash the Merciless Storm (We Set the Dark on Fire #2) by Tehlor Kay Mejia: La Voz operative Carmen Santos is forced to choose between the girl she loves, Dani, and the success of the rebellion she’s devoted her life to.

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore: As odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel's skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they're willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up.

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore: A novel of magical realism, the Nomeolvides women have tended the lust estate grounds of La Pradera which they’ve grown for generations, until the reemergence of a family curse starts to makes the men they love disappear, again.

[nerdynatreads]

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april wrap up || Little Bit Much -- April Wrap Up || 12 books!

I had such an amazing reading month! Not picture is:

Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby  (review linked)

Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons

Eleventh Grave in Moonlight by Darynda Jones

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

[bookaddict24-7]

New Young Adult Releases Coming Out Today! (September 15th, 2020)

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Note: Since so many release dates have been changed for various Young Adult novels, keep in mind that there might be some titles missing in this post.

Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know! ___

New Standalones/First in a Series:

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

Horrid by Katrina Leno

K-Pop Confidential by Stephan Lee

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Making Friends with Alice Dyson by Poppy Nwosu

The Ninth Life by Taylor B. Barton

Sisters of the War by Rania Abouzeid 

Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour

Who I Was With Her by Nita Tyndall

Furia by Yamile Saied Mendez

Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass

Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro

The Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke

The Art of Saving the World by Corinne Duyvis

Even if We Break by Marieke Nijkamp

New Sequels: 

For Better Or Cursed (The Babysitters Coven #2) by Kate Williams

#Noescape (MurderTrending #3) by Gretchen McNeil 

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Happy reading!

[snoopysfriendwoodstock]

books i read in january:

such a fun age by kiley reid

watch over me by nina lacour

from the desk of zoe washington by janae marks

never look back by lilliam rivera

the invisible life of addie larue by v.e. schwab

red, white & royal blue by casey mcquiston

her body and other parties by carmen maria machado

the veldt by ray bradbury (short story)

[richincolor]

New Releases

It's a pretty exciting week in YA! Grown, Legendborn, Furia, and Each of Us a Desert are just a few of the books launching tomorrow. What's on your TBR pile this week? Share with us!

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

Award-winning author Tiffany D. Jackson delivers another riveting, ripped-from-the-headlines mystery that exposes horrific secrets hiding behind the limelight and embraces the power of a young woman’s voice.

When legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots Enchanted Jones at an audition, her dreams of being a famous singer take flight. Until Enchanted wakes up with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night. Who killed Korey Fields?

Before there was a dead body, Enchanted’s dreams had turned into a nightmare. Because behind Korey’s charm and star power was a controlling dark side. Now he’s dead, the police are at the door, and all signs point to Enchanted. — Cover image and summary via Bookshop.org

Legendborn (Legendborn #1) by Tracy Deonn

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC-Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape���until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies. A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down. And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts–and fails–to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.

The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates. She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets–and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down–or join the fight. — Cover image and summary via Bookshop.org

Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez

In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan lives a double life. At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother’s narrow expectations, in her rising-soccer-star brother’s shadow, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father. On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far those talents can take her. In her wildest dreams, she’d get an athletic scholarship to a North American university.

But the path ahead isn’t easy. Her parents don’t know about her passion. They wouldn’t allow a girl to play fútbol–and she needs their permission to go any farther. And the boy she once loved is back in town. Since he left, Diego has become an international star, playing in Italy for the renowned team Juventus. Camila doesn’t have time to be distracted by her feelings for him. Things aren’t the same as when he left: she has her own passions and ambitions now, and La Furia cannot be denied. As her life becomes more complicated, Camila is forced to face her secrets and make her way in a world with no place for the dreams and ambition of a girl like her.

Filled with authentic details and the textures of day-to-day life in Argentina, heart-soaring romance, and breathless action on the pitch, Furia is the story of a girl’s journey to make her life her own. — Cover image and summary via Bookshop.org

Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro

Xochitl is destined to wander the desert alone, speaking her troubled village’s stories into its arid winds. Her only companions are the blessed stars above and enigmatic lines of poetry magically strewn across dusty dunes. Her one desire: to share her heart with a kindred spirit. One night, Xo’s wish is granted–in the form of Emilia, the cold and beautiful daughter of the town’s murderous conqueror. But when the two set out on a magical journey across the desert, they find their hearts could be a match… if only they can survive the nightmare-like terrors that arise when the sun goes down. — Cover image and summary via Bookshop.org

K-Pop Confidential by Stephan Lee

Candace Park knows a lot about playing a role. For most of her life, she’s been playing the role of the quiet Korean girl who takes all AP classes and plays a classical instrument, keeping her dreams of stardom-and her obsession with SLK, K-pop’s top boyband-to herself. She doesn’t see how a regular girl like her could possibly become one of those K-pop goddesses she sees on YouTube. Even though she can sing. Like, really sing. So when Candace secretly enters a global audition held by SLK’s music label, the last thing she expects is to actually get a coveted spot in their trainee program. And convincing her strict parents to let her to go is all but impossible … although it’s nothing compared to what comes next.

Under the strict supervision of her instructors at the label’s headquarters in Seoul, Candace must perfect her performance skills to within an inch of her life, learn to speak Korean fluently, and navigate the complex hierarchies of her fellow trainees, all while following the strict rules of the industry. Rule number one? NO DATING, which becomes impossible to follow when she meets a dreamy boy trainee. And in the all-out battle to debut, Candace is in danger of planting herself in the middle of a scandal lighting up the K-pop fandom around the world. If she doesn’t have what it takes to become a perfect, hair-flipping K-pop idol, what will that mean for her family, who have sacrificed everything to give her the chance? And is a spot in the most hyped K-pop girl group of all time really worth risking her friendships, her future, and everything she believes in? — Cover image and summary via Bookshop.org

God Loves Hair: 10th Anniversary Edition by Vivek Shraya illustrated by Juliana Neufeld

God Loves Hair is a collection of short stories that follows a tender, intelligent, and curious child as they navigate the complex realms of gender creativity, queerness, brownness, religion, and belonging. This tenth-anniversary edition includes a foreword by award-winning YA writer Cherie Dimaline (The Marrow Thieves), as well as additional a new preface, story, and illustrations.

Told with the poignant insight and honesty that only the voice of a young mind can convey, God Loves Hair is a moving and ultimately joyous portrait of the resiliency of youth. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

Featuring contemporary Afro-Latinx characters, acclaimed author Lilliam Rivera blends a touch of magical realism into a timely story about cultural identity, overcoming trauma, and the power of first love. Eury comes to the Bronx as a girl haunted. Haunted by losing everything in Hurricane Maria--and by an evil spirit, Ato. She fully expects the tragedy that befell her and her family in Puerto Rico to catch up with her in New York. Yet, for a time, she can almost set this fear aside, because there's this boy . . . Pheus is a golden-voiced, bachata-singing charmer, ready to spend the summer on the beach with his friends, serenading his on-again, off-again flame. That changes when he meets Eury. All he wants is to put a smile on her face and fight off her demons. But some dangers are too powerful for even the strongest love, and as the world threatens to tear them apart, Eury and Pheus must fight for each other and their lives. This Own Voices retelling of the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice is perfect for fans of Ibi Zoboi's Pride and Daniel José Older's Shadowshaper.

[fangrunin]

for the book rec thing, do you have any greek mythology or YA recommendations?

hellooo yes :) 

greek myth 

Have you heard of Rick riordan??????? 

The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

The Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

Variations on an Apple by Yoon Ha Lee

Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera (releases 9/1/2020 tho) 

ya recs (too lazy to link lmaoo) 

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Nocturna by Maya Motayne

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevado

Descendent of the Crane by Joan He

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi (my fav series of all time maybe)

Mirage by Somaiya Daud

Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali

A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy

Daughters of Nri by Reni K. Amayo

Everything by Anna-Marie McLemore (not a book just like...everything they write is magic)