Follow the Yellow

New Year, New Books

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Dark, cold January evenings are the perfect time for settling down under a blanket with a good book, and over the past few weeks, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying getting stuck into some of the new children’s and teenage books being published in 2015.

Whilst I always love reading new books, getting started on this year’s crop has been especially exciting, because I’m aware that my first book is also a 2015 title, and so (I hope!) will soon be sharing bookshop spaces with some of these great new releases!

Here are some of the 2015 books that I’ve especially enjoyed reading so far:

The Door That Led to Where by Sally Gardner 

The latest from Sally Gardner is a real treat. I loved the Dickensian flavour of this satisfying time travel tale, which takes its teenage hero on a  journey from gritty modern-day London to the city of the 18th century.

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

Lisa Williamson’s first book has already generated lots of well-deserved buzz, and is a real must-read. Sensitive, funny and heart-warming, it’s a powerful coming-of-age story that challenges assumptions about growing up transgender, beautifully demonstrating to teen readers that ‘being normal’ is not necessarily all its cracked up to be.

Arsenic for Tea by Robin Stevens

I absolutely loved Robin’s first book, Murder Most Unladylike, about schoolgirl detective duo Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong. The second installment in the series is just as gorgeous and delightful as the first, as Daisy and Hazel find themselves caught up in a new case, this time in a country house setting.  Glorious.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Fairy-tale traditions are turned on their head in this magical YA fantasy, set in a small American town. There are a lot of ‘alternative’ fairy-tales around at the moment, but Holly Black does it with especial flair, offering up a mysterious handsome prince asleep in a glass coffin and a young girl who must take on the role of brave knight, challenging the reader’s expectations every step of the way.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

This heart-wrenching YA novel has been compared to Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park and John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars.  The story of Theodore and Violet, two troubled high school students who strike up an unlikely relationship, it’s a moving exploration of first love, mental illness and grief. One to read with a box of tissues handy.

There Will Be Lies by Nick Lake

Nick Lake blends fantasy and reality together in this unusual young adult novel, following Shelby, whose sheltered life is turned upside down when her overprotective mother suddenly whisks her away on a strange road trip. As some unsettling secrets come to life on their journey, Shelby slides into an otherworldly landscape, known as the Dreaming.

The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

Another attention-grabbing debut, this time a gripping and darkly imaginative YA fantasy. Twylla has a strange and terrible power – she instantly kills anyone she touches. Forced to act as court executioner, once a month she must lay her hands on those accused of treasons. But things are not what they seem in a strange court filled with secrets and deceit,  ruled over by a mad queen who will do whatever it takes to destroy her enemies.

Demolition Dad by Phil Earle

Phil Earle’s books are always full of heart, and his latest is no exeption – a lovely, warm family story about the relationship between a boy and his dad. Pitched as ‘Danny the Champion of the World in Spandex’, it’s a delightful middle grade book with lots of warmth and quirky humour.

Captive by A J Grainger

Walker Books editor Annalie Grainger has turned her hand to writing YA herself in this, her first novel. Fans of Sophie McKenzie’s teen thrillers will especially enjoy this tense and twisty contemporary tale of  a teenage girl who finds herself dragged into a web of global corruption, and plunged into terrible danger.

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

I’d almost forgotten how much I was blown away by Jandy Nelson’s The Sky is Everywhere until I read her new novel, publishing in the spring. The story of twins Jude and Noah, it’s one of my favourite young adult books of 2015, and beautifully demonstrates how complex and ambitious YA writing can be. Powerful and poetic, it’s a sprawling exploration of family, love, art and fate, that makes for an intense and immersive reading experience.

Crow Moon by Anna McKerrow

I was so thrilled and delighted to read this, the first YA novel from my lovely friend Anna McKerrow. Set in a not-too-distant future in which Britain has been divided into the Red World, and the Green World – a self-sufficient pagan community cut off from the rest of Britain – it’s a witchy, wild and wonderful delight that kept me so immersed that I read it in a single sitting. I can’t recommend it highly enough, and I’m already on tenterhooks for the next installment of the trilogy.

For more new books, don’t forget that Down the Rabbit Hole is back this week, for our first show of 2015! We’ll be broadcasting live on Resonance 104.4FM on Tuesday 27 January at 5pm.

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