In the past couple of years I have been putting together a Top 5 post for new releases. (Check out the Top 5 2019 Releases I read!)I like to spilt up my top books of the year into backlist and new releases so that it better showcases the books I adored! If I didn’t do that I would be afraid new releases would overshadow all others I read. Since I read so many books this year, in particular so many romance books and adult books, it only seemed to make sense to also split up the top new releases! Overall this was such a great year for reading and I could not narrow down my top new releases to just 5! Therefore here is my Top 5 Young Adult 2020 Releases!
In no particular order….
*also I have 11 days left in the month so this does not reflect any books I complete after the post date*
Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller
“You are not the people who love you or the people you’ve lost. They’re just parts of you. You are so much more than you’ve been led to believe.”
Two girls fighting for what they want and to prove they are enough. Set in the backdrop of a french revolutionary style fantasy sprinkled with magic and queer representation. This stand alone fantasy was full of an amazing and well thought out magical system that played with interesting elements, that were detailed and well crafted. The setting was lots of fun and a nice mix of fantasy with historical elements.
The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones By Dave McQueen
“When you trap people for hundreds of years, make their lives a living hell, they’re bound to get antsy. And furious. And so white folks think the harder they make it for us to live, the longer they’ll be able to put off a revolution.”
An incredibly moving, heartbreaking, hopeful and timely YA #OwnVoices Summer Read!
I understand that I do not understand. Reading this book was exremely eye opening to the fact of how little things have actually changed in our society regarding oppression and racism. It was heartbreaking to read this book that was based in 1955 and see that so much Ethan went through, is still happening to black children and all black individuals today. I was angry, frustrated, but also filled with joy and hope. McQueen weaves together a unforgettable story about a young boy discovering a part of himself, finding a beautiful friendship and having the bravery to ask some tough questions when faced with racism and discrimination.
Crave by Tracy Wolff
“Nothing to do but admit that—obnoxious smirk or not—this boy is sexy af. A little wicked, a lot wild, and all dangerous.”
Such a throw back feel with a unique and modern twist that we have all been needing. Crave has a Jennifer L Armentrout type writing feel including the fun pop culture references. A Bella/Edward vibe if Bella had the snarky humor of Rose from Vampire Academy. All set it a boarding school reminiscent of Legacies ! I think YA Vampire romances are making a comeback!
It may have been over 500 pages but the hilarious chapter headers, short chapters and humorous/fun and youthful writing had my flying through the book. It had fierce female characters, swoony male characters and some great relationships and not to mention the unique twists on some paranormal characters.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
“Queer folks are like wolves,” Julian told him. “We travel in packs.”
This was one of my most surprising reads of the year for sure! I hadn’t heard much about it until close to the release day and I was intrigued. This story was beautiful and funny while also dealing with issues like finding your true self, gender identity acceptance and death. I loved the trans, queer and latinx representation. The story and magic were so unique and definitely something that stood out as refreshing and adorable! I loved how we got a world and story around Día de los Muertos and the latinx culture. Also the romance was bantering and cute!
You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson
“I never needed this race, or a hashtag, or the king to be a queen. I was born royalty. All I had to do was pick up my crown.”
This book had me bursting with joy and gushing so hard! It was absolutely cute, adorable, fun and just overall great. As you can see I don’t know how to put into words how wonderful this is! It has a BIPOC main character who is trying to get money for college by running for prom queen. It has a lovely f/f relationship that I was living for! It still touched on some hard hitting issues while the main focus still stayed on the fun and love!
Honorable Mentions
~PIN IT~
Did you read any of these? What were some of your favorite 2020 YA releases?
14 comments
Adored Cemetery Boys, and I definitely want to read You Should See Me in a Crown next year!
I feel like I barely read any YA this year compared to the amount of YA I used to consume but Cemetery Boys has been one I’ve been wanting to try. I’ll make sure to check out the other books in this post too.
Cemetery boys is so worth it!
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