By Allison Riggs
While writing this blog post, I changed my mind about which books I wanted to highlight more times than I can count. There are just too many amazing-sounding YA books coming out this year! All I knew for sure was that I wanted to feature some upcoming 2020 young adult releases for collection development and readers’ advisory purposes. I was originally going to highlight some prequels and sequels, but I soon realized that those are already pretty well-known. Therefore, I finally decided on featuring some YA debut authors instead. I find that these titles are more likely to be missed and deserve the extra attention. Although I have not read any of these titles yet, I selected ones that sounded unique and that I think will be popular at my library.
For further reference, there is a website with a large list of YA and MG debut titles called Roaring 20s Debuts.
Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez
Release Date: January 7, 2020
“A lush tapestry of magic, romance, and revolución, drawing inspiration from Bolivian politics and history.” This Goodreads description along with the beautiful cover is enough to convince me that this needs to be on my shelf.
Nameless Queen by Rebecca McLaughlin
Release Date: January 7, 2020
An unknown citizen becomes the queen, and everyone wants her dead. I think fantasy readers, especially fans of Red Queen, will want to read this one.
No True Believers by Rabiah York Lumbard
Release Date: February 11, 2020
“Fans of the riveting mystery in Courtney Summers’s Sadie and the themes of race and religion in Samira Ahmed’s Internment will be captivated by this exploration of the intersection of Islamaphobia and white supremacy as an American Muslim teen is forced to confront hatred and hidden danger when she is framed for a terrorist act she did not commit.”
The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson
Release Date: April 7, 2020
“For fans of Thirteen Reasons Why, This Is How It Ends, and All the Bright Places, comes a new novel about life after. How do you put yourself back together when it seems like you’ve lost it all?”
The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park
Release Date: April 7, 2020
Nate and Kate hit it off when they meet at a zombie-themed escape room and then decided to participate in a survivalist competition together for a big cash prize. This title sounds unique and like it’s going to be a whole lot of fun.
The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar
Release Date: May 12, 2020
This title is promoting itself as a mix of When Dimple Met Rishi and Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. What more could you want?
Illinois Library Association 