PW2021 YA #19: AFTER EMMY (Contemporary #OwnVoices)

We Are Okay X The Astonishing Color of After by way of Mary H.K. Choi

After 16-year-old Ellyce Chang’s younger sister dies the night Ellyce sneaks out to a party, her parents abandon her to her estranged aunt in Vienna. Thrust into a glittering world of mansions and private school, Ellyce slowly finds solace in new friends and first love–if she’ll let herself. But when her parents unexpectedly return, she must choose: reunite her family in Taiwan, or stay in Vienna, where she may have found a family of her own.

PW2021 YA #20: INK BECOMES HER (Contemporary Fantasy)

UNDEAD GIRL GANG x PRACTICAL MAGIC: Parker didn’t think she inherited her family’s ink magic—until she tattoos her best friend, Charlotte, and foresees her imminent funeral. Powerless to stop Charlotte’s death, Parker turns to forbidden magic to resurrect her. But one wrong step in the blood-thirsty spell means unleashing an ink demon and damning both their souls for eternity.

PW2021 YA #21: MIRRORS DON’T LIE (Thriller)

THAT WEEKEND x MONDAY'S NOT COMING

When two sisters explore a mountain together, only one returns. Grace can't remember how her sister disappeared, and she wishes everyone would believe her—even the police think she’s lying. But it’s hard to look innocent with a missing girl’s blood on your clothes. Grace’s sister is out there somewhere, and unless Grace figures out what happened, she'll lose more than her sister. She’ll lose herself.

PW2021 YA #22: NOT A PRETTY SIGHT (Contemporary Rom-Com – Disabled #OwnVoices)

THE HENNA WARS meets diverse Gilmore Girls.

Visually impaired Lana’s summer before college is full of sabotage and (semi-hostile) flirting when she goes head-to-head with her longtime rival as their parents’ small-town businesses compete for a cash prize.

PW2021 YA #23: WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE BANGALORE (Contemporary Romance)

FACTS:

• Ria hasn’t danced Kathak since her dad passed away.
• She’s struggling to impress her school’s western dance team.
• Her mom just planned a trip to Bangalore, India, during competition season.

LIE:

• Ria tells her team she’s going abroad for a prestigious dance solo.

FATE:

• Ria’s flight seats her next to extremely cute, only slightly infuriating film student Kabir—who’s looking to feature a dancer in a short-film competition.

PROBLEMS:

• The dance must be Kathak.
• Ria is definitely going to fall for Kabir.
• All they have is fourteen days.

PW2021 YA #24: HOPELESS HEARTS (F/F Paranormal Romance)

After years of bullying in high school, vampire-obsessed bi freshman Violet wants a different college experience—the low-stakes kind. But when her hot roommate, Liz, comes home mouth covered in blood the night a student is murdered, Violet has to prove that Liz is a vampire—and that Violet doesn’t still want to kiss her despite that—or she may be next.

PW2021 YA #25: LOOKING FOR SMOKE (Thriller – Native voices)

Native American ONE OF US IS LYING meets SADIE

When another girl is murdered on the Blackfeet Reservation, Mara and her friends doubt the Tribal Police will solve it. If they don’t investigate it themselves, they’ll be the only suspects—or worse—the next victims.

PW2021 YA #26: OF MYTH AND VENOM (#OwnVoices Epic Fantasy)

THE 100 x HINDU MYTHOLOGY:

The only home Bhanu has ever known is a secluded hut deep in the wilderness. But when her grandmother’s death brings danger to their doorstep, Bhanu and her mother flee into a ravaged, post-apocalyptic world overrun by monstrous beasts and a power-hungry cult.

To survive, Bhanu joins up with a girl hunting for her father and a boy searching for a lost god. Their only hope lies in a map to a mythical paradise left behind by Bhanu’s grandmother. But as the map dredges up secrets better left buried, Bhanu must decide if the answers at the end of the road are worth the deadly journey.

PW2021 YA #27: NEEDLE AND THREAD (Historical Fantasy)

Seventeen-year-old Liddy never thought her skill with a needle would help her become a resistance spy, but she didn’t think her rambunctious cousin would hang for breaking their country’s harsh anti-magic laws, either. Determined to make her cousin’s death count, Liddy joins a school for seamstresses trained in needlecraft and espionage. But when a mission’s success hinges on endangering friends she’s made while undercover, Liddy must decide if saving magic is worth compromising her principles—even if upholding them means risking her life by acting against her own spy network.

PW2021 YA #28: SUNSHINE & ORANGES (Contemporary – Diverse Voices – LGBTQ+)

Sixteen-year-old Japanese homestay student Naoki lands in L.A. with more emotional baggage than suitcases. Naoki is on a mission to reconnect with his estranged best friend, but finding one person in a city of millions is almost as difficult as finding the words to apologize. Navigating a complicated love triangle and acknowledging his bisexuality doesn’t make it easier. Amidst the turbulence of his new life, Naoki needs to build the courage to face his difficult past and make amends before he loses his last chance.

PW2021 YA #29: THE SANDS BELOW (Arabian LGBTQ Fantasy)

WE HUNT THE FLAME meets IN DEEPER WATERS. When baker Kareem is falsely accused of murder, he’s sent to a magical healer as a test subject for pampered apprentice, Yasir. As the reluctant allies grow closer, they discover a nefarious plot hatched by Yasir’s mentor, and the boys must work together to prove Kareem’s innocence and save the deserts they call home.

PW2021 YA #30: ALL THINGS DEAD AND DYING (Horror)

When Charlie’s girlfriend, Marisol, dies in the same forest her dad did, there’s one major difference: Marisol comes back. Charlie is desperate for answers, if she can keep Marisol’s killers—and Marisol’s new, insatiable hunger—at bay long enough to find them.

PW2021 YA #31: THESE VICIOUS ROADS (Horror)

THE RIVER HAS TEETH x Sapphic Midwestern Gothic

Arden will brave anything to find her best friend, Octavia, who vanished weeks ago. When local police give up the search, Arden steals her dad's car to look for Octavia herself. But the Midwestern highways hide dangerous secrets, and soon Arden learns that Octavia is being hunted by a cult—and something much more sinister. And finding Octavia may mean putting herself directly in its crosshairs.

PW2021 YA #32: A CURSE BETWEEN US (Contemporary Fantasy)

WINTERWOOD x PRACTICAL MAGIC

17-year-old Wren Guthrie takes every precaution to protect her best friend from her family's devastating curse. But when she manifests powers that freeze a man to death, Wren must untangle her family's past and control her magic to save her loved ones from threats both magical and mundane.

PW2021 YA #33: IT’S IN HIS CARDS (LGBTQ RomCom)

PROJECT RUNWAY meets WHAT IF IT’S US in this queer, friends-to-lovers rom-com. When wannabe designer Milton’s idol returns to host a fashion show competition, he’ll do anything to win. But with ambition leading him toward reckless decisions, he’ll have to decide which matters most: winning or his heart.

PW2021 YA #34: BE-MORE: A BALTIMORE STORY (Contemporary – Black #OwnVoices)

After DEON’S mother dies in an accident, he looks for help in the one place she taught him to avoid: gangs. Family bills are paid with dirty money. But it leads to an even higher debt. Deon’s payment: participate in a bank robbery. With a gun in his hand, Deon must decide if it’s too late to do the right thing and Be More, even if it may cost his life.

PW2021 YA #35: CURIOUS TIDES (Fantasy – Dark Academia)

Emory believes her secret drowned with her classmates—until their bodies start washing ashore, threatening to unveil her twisted magic and its role in their deaths. With the help of reclusive student Baz, Emory must seek the truth behind the drownings before her powers—and the secret society they draw to her—consume her next.

NINTH HOUSE meets THE STARLESS SEA in this lush, dark world where secrets, stories, and those lost to the tide never remain lost for long.

PW2021 YA #36: DIVINE RUIN (Romantic Fantasy)

Beautiful, dangerous socialite Antonia plans to carve out her heart in exchange for Aphrodite's help finding true love. The goddess is pleased with her sacrifice, and Antonia is soon engaged to a prince. But then she falls in love with the wrong person—the prince’s guard—and risks Aphrodite's wrath.

ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART meets YA CIRCE