Pandemic Missed Connections For TeensLike this list

18 items

• Witchlight

  Zabarsky, Jessi, 1988-

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  "Jessi Zabarsky’s Witchlight was one of the first books I acquired at Random House Graphic. And while I wouldn’t wish a March 2020 pub date on any author, this was a perfect book for me to return to and reread during the pandemic. It’s a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Breath Too Late

  Callen, Rocky,

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  "For fans of Jandy Nelson and Jennifer Niven, Rocky Callen’s YA contemporary debut, A Breath Too Late, is about 17-year-old Ellie, who had no hope left. Yet the day after she dies by suicide, she finds herself in the midst of an…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Empire of Dreams

  Carson, Rae,

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  "When Rae Carson told me she wanted to return to the world of The Girl of Fire and Thorns, I couldn’t wait. What could be better than immersing myself in that vivid, magical world and seeing what old friends were up to? Nothing! The Empire…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• In the Shadow of the Sun

  Castellan, EM

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  "In the Shadow of the Sun, a debut YA historical fantasy by EM Castellan, was published just before businesses closed last year. We locked down; people had time to catch up with Netflix, and I knew this novel would be a great fit for…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Winter Duke

  Bartlett, Claire Eliza,

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  "I was so fortunate to edit Claire Eliza Bartlett’s The Winter Duke, a trope-upending political fantasy about a girl whose murderous family succumbs to a magical curse, leaving her in the position of “duke”—something she has absolutely…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Broken Wish

  Dao, Julie C.,

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  "Julie C. Dao’s The Mirror: Broken Wish has been a house favorite. Unfortunately, it published in October 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. It’s the first in an innovative YA fairy tale series following one cursed family over several…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Neon Darkness

  Shippen, Lauren,

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  "Lauren Shippen’s A Neon Darkness came out in September 2020 and I still wake up sometimes to a line or an image or the ending. And oh my god, the ending! It’s a haunting standalone contemporary fantasy road story in a world where some…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Agnes at the End of the World

  McWilliams, Kelly,

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  "When I first read an early draft of Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams, I knew it was a special book. I’m acquiring very selectively these days, and what helps a book stand out to me and makes me want to champion it is a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Falling in Love Montage

  Smyth, Ciara,

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  "Ciara Smyth’s debut The Falling in Love Montage is the lesbian YA rom-com of my dreams, and publishing it last year is one of the things that helped me get through the chaos of the pandemic. Two trope-savvy teens embark on a summer of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Lizard in a Zoot Suit

  Finnegan, Marco,

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  "Lizard in a Zoot Suit is an original young adult graphic novel by Marco Finnegan, set during the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943. The book, a work of historical sci-fi, has elements of E.T. and retro creature features, with some touches that make…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Stepping Off Place

  Rosenblum, Cameron Kelly

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  "One of the books I edited that came out during the pandemic was Cameron Kelly Rosenblum’s poignant YA debut The Stepping Off Place. Published in July 2020, when the pandemic was still raging, I’m sad to say this release was completely…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Time Travel for Love and Profit

  Lariviere, Sarah,

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  "Over the course of my years as an editor I’ve honed my pitch to agents, but my one weird, specific ask has always been the same: send me a time-travel novel that is so smart and fun I don’t get distracted by whether time travel is really…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Hood

  Moke, Jenny Elder,

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  "Hood by Jenny Elder Moke (June 2020) is a fantastic debut YA novel that was unfairly torpedoed by the pandemic. We did everything we could to support it, but with the world on pause, it felt like there wasn’t much we could do. The timing…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Like Spilled Water

  Liu, Jennie, 1971-

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  "I edited Jennie Liu’s YA novel Like Spilled Water, which was published in September 2020, as pandemic fatigue was fully setting in. With winter looming and months of lockdown already behind us, this felt like a particularly challenging…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Keep It Together, Keiko Carter

  Florence, Debbi Michiko,

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  "No one can put a smile on your face like a real, true friend. And last summer I was lucky to get to introduce readers to one of the best literary friends you could ever meet in Debbi Michiko Florence’s debut novel Keep It Together, Keiko…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Friend Me

  Averbuch, Sheila M.,

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  "During the pandemic, our lives moved online: activities varied from Zoom hangouts on the computer to social media scrolling on our phones, and back. So there was really no better—and no worse—time for Sheila M. Averbuch’s debut novel,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• BenBee and the Teacher Griefer

  Holt, K. A.,

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  "There are few things that make me feel luckier than being K.A. Holt’s editor. We’ve worked together for going on six years now, and made as many books. Every one of these is important, innovative, and unique, but both of us have a special…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Pity Party

  Lane, Kathleen, 1967-

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  "Long before the pandemic, anxiety was running amok among middle schoolers. Author Kathleen Lane, founder of Create More, Fear Less, conceived Pity Party in response. Published in January 2021, it’s an irresistible goody bag of short…Read moreRead more of this annotation