PW2020 YA #11: SINNER’S ISLE (Fantasy: Latinx #OwnVoices)

Latinx PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN meets THE BELLES. Rosalinda lives on Sinner’s Isle—where the king keeps all witches under the guise of protection from those who’d see them eradicated. But safety comes at a cost: one witch must serve at the cruel king’s side. There’s no doubt he’ll choose Rosalinda and the vicious phantoms she can release from inside her, but she’ll do anything to flee the island and avoid becoming his weapon, including blackmailing the dangerous pirate who washes up on shore.

PW2020 YA #12: SIDEKICK (Superhero Rom-com – #OwnVoices, STEM)

Anika, sixteen-year-old half-Indian engineering genius, has three goals:

1. Make out with her BFF, Noah.
2. Send MIT her solar panel designs.
3. Dissuade Noah, entitled billionaire, from dressing up in spandex and pretending to be a superhero.

Unfortunately, none of those are happening.

Extra unfortunately, Noah’s fake superheroing results in Anika gaining very real superpowers. As Anika embraces her telekinesis, Noah grows jealous, and a scheming villain threatens her—and humanity. To defeat him, Anika must trade up from sidekick to superhero. And ally with Noah’s evil-hot brother.

PW2020 YA #13: YOU BET YOUR HEART (#OwnVoices Black Rom-Com – Contemporary)

THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR meets TO ALL THE BOYS in this YA #ownvoices Black enemies to lovers rom-com, where two brilliant ex-best friends tied for valedictorian agree to a series of bets to determine who will take the title.

PW2020 YA #14: PEOPLE LIKE US (Contemporary #OwnVoices)

WHAT I CARRY meets EUPHORIA. Fleeing her toxic ex, 17-year-old Amélie Cœur wants to rebuild her life in NYC. New foster family. New love. New beginning. But a secret sister and a shocking death force her to face her demons before they destroy her future.

PW2020 YA #15: STARRSTRUCK (Contemporary, #OwnVoices)

AMERICA’S GOT TALENT meets YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN. When Steph and her dance partner Xavier are misconstrued as a couple during their StarrStruck audition, they find themselves in a fake-dating scheme to bolster their chance at winning. But closeted Xavier already has a boyfriend, and Steph soon falls for her high school rival: Mónica, StarrStruck soprano and fan favorite in the competition. As the finale approaches and the secret relationship flourishes, Steph must choose between her budding feelings and her chance at fame and fortune – or she risks losing both.

PW2020 YA #16: THE DEAD DON’T SING (#OwnVoices Fantasy)

Sapphic Hades and Persephone X BEYOND THE RUBY VEIL

With her winter-cursed queendom starved to the bone and her sister in mortal danger, Sirena hatches the perfect two-for-one plan: Poison her murderous mother, the queen, to take the throne and protect her sister. But before Sirena finishes the job, the queen sacrifices her to the alluring Cryptkeeper to bring back summer. Trapped in the underworld, she must do whatever it takes to escape, or she’ll lose her sister—and her crown—forever.

PW2020 YA #17: THESE HOLLOW FATES (Contemporary Fantasy)

THE WICKED DEEP meets RIVERDALE

Still reeling from her dad's mysterious death, Addie Tassle just wants a drama-free senior year. But in her hometown of Sleepy Hollow, the legend of the Headless Horseman resurfaces every Halloween. After a headless rider chases Addie through the cemetery, she realizes there's more lurking in the dark forest than she ever imagined. Following clues embedded in the town's history, Addie races to sever her ties to the Horseman before he kills the people she loves most.

PW2020 YA #18: BORN FROM THE FLAMES (Speculative Thriller)

V FOR VENDETTA meets GIRL, INTERRUPTED

Fates collide when a wayward ambassador’s daughter spars with a scrappy resistance leader in a city haunted by its past. Outpacing bloodthirsty cultists with government ties, the two must unravel legendary secrets before a deadly history repeats.

PW2020 YA #19: ART OF DEATH (#OwnVoices Chinese Fantasy)

As a priestess who reanimates corpses to shepherd them home, Daiyu is accustomed to death. But when death comes for her ailing father, she refuses to let go. Unable to afford treatment, Daiyu accepts a risky job guiding a prince's corpse back from a battlefield—only the prince awakens more alive than dead.

To re-anchor his soul in his body, they must capture energy from malicious ghosts while uncovering the mystery of his untimely death—a truth that threatens not only Daiyu’s father but the fate of the entire kingdom.

PW2020 YA #20: ERNEST BYRD: TYPICAL BOY (Contemporary Rom-Com – Trans #OwnVoices)

Ernest will do anything to prove his true gender to his classmates, and his plan is simple: join his new school’s illustrious Borrow a Boyfriend club, where members rent themselves out to their classmates for dates. After all, the club has “boy” right there in the title. But in order to become a member, Ernest has to show off his boyfriend skills and romance the club’s prickish president. Not a problem. It’s not like they’re going to fall in love or anything.