It’s the second Wednesday of the month, time to look at the top 5 of new releases in the YA genre according to Goodreads. The concept of number 1 sounds interesting and original, add to that a story about teenagers unravelling a human cloning mystery and that should make for an interesting read! Number 2 is about a girl and a boy, each with their own problems, who meet under not so ideal circumstances and band together to survive high school. Number 3 is a thriller about something in the sea that is luring people to their death, which must be stopped by a young girl with the help of a boy and a witch. Number 4 sounds to me like a teenage adaptation of the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And Number 5 sees two girls with magical powers in the early 20th century looking for answers.
- Replica by Lauren Oliver (Replica #1)
Publication date: October 4th 2016
From Lauren Oliver, New York Times bestselling author of Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy, comes an epic, masterful novel that explores issues of individuality, identity, and humanity. Lyra’s story begins in the Haven Institute, a clandestine research facility where thousands of replicas, or human models, are born, raised, and observed. When a surprise attack is launched on Haven, two of its young experimental subjects—Lyra, or 24, and the boy known only as 72—manage to escape. Replica is a “flip book” that contains two narratives in one, and it is the first in a duology. After Gemma is nearly abducted by a stranger claiming to know her, she starts to investigate her family’s past and discovers her father’s mysterious connection to the secretive Haven research facility. Hungry for answers, she travels to Florida, only to stumble upon two replicas and a completely new set of questions. While the stories of Lyra and Gemma mirror each other, each contains breathtaking revelations critically important to the other story. Replica is an ambitious, thought-provoking masterwork. - Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
Publication date: October 4th 2016
Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. He’s mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in but he can’t recognize faces. Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. - Fear the Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh
Publication date: October 11th 2016
Witch’s apprentice Bridey Corkill has hated the ocean ever since she watched her granddad dive in and drown with a smile on his face. So when a dead girl rolls in with the tide in the summer of 1913, sixteen-year-old Bridey suspects that whatever compelled her granddad to leap into the sea has made its return to the Isle of Man. Soon, villagers are vanishing in the night, but no one shares Bridey’s suspicions about the sea. No one but the island’s witch, who isn’t as frightening as she first appears, and the handsome dark-haired lad Bridey rescues from a grim and watery fate. Now, Bridey must work with the Isle’s eccentric witch and the boy she isn’t sure she can trust — because if she can’t uncover the truth about the ancient evil in the water, everyone she loves will walk into the sea, never to return. - Everyone We’ve Been by Sarah Everett
Publication date: October 4th 2016
For fans of Jandy Nelson and Jenny Han comes a new novel that asks, can you possibly know the person you’re becoming if you don’t know the person you’ve been? Addison Sullivan has been in an accident. In its aftermath, she has memory lapses and starts talking to a boy who no one else can see. It gets so bad that she’s worried she’s going crazy. Addie takes drastic measures to fill in the blanks and visits a shadowy medical facility that promises to “help with your memory.” But at the clinic, Addie unwittingly discovers it is not her first visit. And when she presses, she finds out that she had certain memories erased. She had a boy erased. But why? Who was that boy, and what happened that was too devastating to live with? And even if she gets the answers she’s looking for, will she ever be able to feel like a whole person again? - Iron Cast by Destiny Soria
Publication date: October 11th 2016
It’s Boston, 1919, and the Cast Iron club is packed. On stage, hemopaths—whose “afflicted” blood gives them the ability to create illusions through art—captivate their audience. Corinne and Ada have been best friends ever since infamous gangster Johnny Dervish recruited them into his circle. By night they perform for Johnny’s crowds, and by day they con Boston’s elite. When a job goes wrong and Ada is imprisoned, they realise how precarious their position is. After she escapes, two of the Cast Iron’s hires are shot, and Johnny disappears. With the law closing in, Corinne and Ada are forced to hunt for answers, even as betrayal faces them at every turn.
The first book in this list has ended up on my wish list, firstly because of the original concept and secondly because the story itself intrigues me as well. And last but not least, because it is part of a “duology” – I understand that this is like a trilogy, only with just two books in the series. I just didn’t know this word yet, in my head a series of two books was called a “duet”. I’m happy I learned a new word, though I do prefer duets over duologies.
And even though I intended to only add one book per top 5 list to my reading list, I also added number 5 because I think it will be an amazing read. How about you? Have you read any of these yet, or are you planning to? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Other new releases of November 2016 can be found by genre right here on Goodreads.
Happy reading,
Loes M.