The month is ending, and summer is around the corner! While beaches and parks are opening up in some states, it’s time to stock up on some new reads for the hot summer days!
As your YA expert, below are my top three reads for this week with their synopsis. Enjoy and read on!
House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess
When the Emperor dies, the five royal houses of Etrusia attend the Call, where one of their own will be selected to compete for the throne. It is always the oldest child, the one who has been preparing for years to compete in the Trial. But this year is different. This year, these five outcasts will answer the call….
THE LIAR:Â Emilia must hide her dark magic or be put to death.
THE SOLDIER:Â Lucian is a warrior who has sworn to never lift a sword again.
THE SERVANT:Â Vespir is a dragon trainer whose skills alone will keep her in the game.
THE THIEF:Â Ajax knows that nothing is free–he must take what he wants.
THE MURDERER:Â Hyperia was born to rule and will stop at nothing to take her throne.
Dear Universe by Florence Gonsalves
Dear Universe,
Sorry for interrupting you with my presence, but I’m wondering if you could have my back for once. I recently had a massive chin zit and a period stain you could see from space and my boyfriend kissed someone else and also my dad is dying faster than usual. If you could show up during my last English class so I can graduate and like achieve my potential or something, I’d appreciate it.
It’s senior year, and Chamomile Myles has whiplash from traveling between her two universes: school (the relentless countdown to prom, torturous college applications, and the mindless march toward an uncertain future) and home, where she wrestles a slow, bitter battle with her father’s terminal illness. Enter Brendan, a man-bun- and tutu-wearing hospital volunteer with a penchant for absurdity, who strides boldly between her worlds—and helps her open up a new road between them.
Dear Universe is the dazzling follow-up to Florence Gonsalves’s debut, Love & Other Carnivorous Plants, hailed by School Library Journal as “a must-have sharp, powerful, and witty immersion into the complexities of…mental health.”
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the 10th annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to out charm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined – every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute… and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
What romantic, fantastic and intriguing YA reads are you looking forward to? Let us know on Twitter or IG (@onfrolic) for a chance to have them featured in #LoveYA.