New Young Adult books for February 2019

Monsters, by Sharon Dogar

“1814: Mary Godwin, the 16-year-old daughter of radical socialist and feminist writers, runs away with a dangerously charming young poet - Percy Bysshe Shelley. From there, the two young lovers travel a Europe in the throes of revolutionary change, through high and low society, tragedy and passion, where they will be drawn into the orbit of the mad and bad Lord Byron. But Mary and Percy are not alone: they bring Jane, Mary’s young step-sister. And she knows the biggest secrets of them all.

“Told from Mary and Jane’s perspectives, Monsters is a novel about radical ideas, rule-breaking love, dangerous Romantics, and the creation of the greatest Gothic novel of them all: Frankenstein.”

Fans might also like Mary’s Monster, by Lita Judge and the recent film Mary Shelley. Younger readers might also enjoy the beautifully illustrated Mary and Frankenstein, by Linda Bailey & Júlia Sardà.

The Valentines: Happy Girl Lucky, by Holly Smale

New from the author of the Geek Girl series.

“Sisters Hope, Faith and Mercy have everything: fame, success, money and beauty. But what Hope wants most of all is love, and it doesn’t matter how far she has to go to find it.

“Except real life isn’t like the movies. Even if you’re a Valentine…”

Unstoppable, by Dan Freedman

“14-year-old twins, Kaine and Roxy, used to be close, but now they can hardly bear to be in the same room. Roxy hates the way her brother behaves - Kaine might be brilliant at football but he’s always in trouble and cares nothing about his family. And Kaine despises the way his supposedly-perfect sister dominates their parents in her ambition to reach Wimbledon.

“But the twins are both hiding dangerous secrets of their own, secrets that could destroy everything they are working towards - and both Roxy and Kaine’s survival hangs precariously in the balance.”

Shadowscent: The Darkest Bloom, by P. M. Freestone

“When disaster strikes and the crown prince lies poisoned, long-suppressed rivalries threaten to blow the empire apart. It’s up to Rakel, a poor village girl with a talent for fragrances, and Ash, the prince’s loyal bodyguard, to find an antidote. To succeed, the unlikely pair must uncover cryptic, ancient secrets as well as buried truths from their own pasts in an adventure that will ignite your senses.”

Siege, by Chris Ryan

“Tough enough? Smart enough? Max will require all his skills just to stay alive as a Special Forces Cadet…

“A top-secret government programme needs a crack team of undercover military operators. They must have awesome levels of determination, endurance and fitness. They must be able to think on their feet. The recruits undergo the most rigorous and testing selection process the modern military can devise. And in order to operate in circumstances where adult forces would be compromised, the recruits must be under sixteen.

“Only a few are tough enough and smart enough to make it … And once out in the field, they will require all their skills just to stay alive.

“Which is what happens when Max Silver, Abby Asher, Lukas Channing and Sami Hakim are sent into an armed siege in an inner-city school…”

Watch Us Rise, by Renée Watson & Ellen Hagan

“Jasmine and Chelsea are best friends on a mission. Sick of the way that young women are treated at their ‘progressive’ New York City high school, they decide to start a Women’s Right’s Club. One problem - no one shows up. That won’t stop them though!”

The Burning by Laura Bates

From the founder of Everyday Sexism.

“Fire is like a rumour. You might think you’ve extinguished it but one creeping, red tendril, one single wisp of smoke is enough to let it leap back into life again. Especially if someone is watching, waiting to fan the flames.

“New school. Tick. New town. Tick. New surname. Tick. Social media profiles? Erased. There’s nothing to trace Anna back to her old life. Nothing to link her to the ‘incident’. At least that’s what she thinks - until the whispers start up again.

“As time begins to run out on her secrets, Anna finds herself irresistibly drawn to the tale of Maggie, a local girl accused of witchcraft centuries earlier. A girl whose story has terrifying parallels to Anna’s own.”

Enchantée, by Gita Trelease

“When smallpox kills her parents, 17-year-old Camille is left to provide for her frail sister and her volatile brother. In desperation, she survives by using the petty magic she learnt from her mother.

“But when her brother disappears Camille decides to pursue a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Using dark magic Camille transforms herself into the ‘Baroness de la Fontaine’ and presents herself at the court of Versaille, where she soon finds herself swept up in a dizzying life of riches, finery and suitors.

“But Camille’s resentment of the rich is at odds with the allure of their glamour and excess, and she soon discovers that she’s not the only one leading a double life.”

“Romantic, decadent and glamorous, it’s a hugely entertaining historical fantasy” - Fiona Noble, The Bookseller.

Jack of Hearts (and other parts), by L. C. Rosen

“Meet Jack Rothman. He’s seventeen and loves partying, makeup and boys - sometimes all at the same time. His sex life makes him the hot topic for the high school gossip machine. But who cares? Like Jack always says: ‘It could be worse.’ He doesn’t actually expect that to come true.

“But after Jack starts writing an online sex advice column, mysterious love letters from an ‘admirer’ take a turn for the creepy. They know everything: where he’s hanging out, who he’s sleeping with, who his mum is dating. They claim they love Jack, but not his lifestyle. They need him to curb his sexuality, or they’ll force him.

“As his stalker starts to ratchet up the pressure, Jack must uncover their identity - before their obsession becomes genuinely dangerous.”

Publisher Penguin describe this as “ground-breaking and page-turning.”

The Colour of Shadows, by Phyllida Shrimpton

New from the author of Sunflowers in February

“Seventeen-year-old Saffron discovers a secret in the attic - a secret that changes both the past and the future. Having believed ten years ago that her mother had become ill and subsequently died, Saffron learns that her mother is in fact alive and well.

“Angry at the years of deceit from her father and step mother, she goes in search of the truth about her mother - and leaves home. Homeless and alone, Saffron has to deal with the mental turmoil and anger at her father as she processes the lies she has been told. And then Saffron comes face to face with the dangers of being a homeless teenage girl.”