Young Adult New Releases August 8th 2023

I am not even sure what is going on in publishing this week, but here is the roundup…and yeah maybe support a few books this week, as there aren’t many newbies hitting the shelves! Most of today’s YA releases are below, but if you want to see what else is releasing in August, check out our Bookshop page or the Where to Buy Signed Books page!

Who Could Love You, Astor Price?

by Amy Jane Lehan
Published by: Cloudy Day Publishing
on August 8, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
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Daughter of an alcoholic and recovering self-harmer, sixteen-year-old Astor Price is a pro at faking normal. Matty, the new kid at school, is everything Astor could hope for. Cute, charismatic, popular within days, and somehow he’s interested in her. Their first real date is set to be perfect, dinner and a movie alone. But not everything we want is good for us and the events of that night send her world into a tailspin. With a mother promising rehab and a best friend with a secret, Astor must find a way to exist in her new reality.Set in a small Australian town and promising moments of heartache and hope, Who Could Love You, Astor Price? is the debut novel from Amy Jane Lehan.

Unnecessary Drama

by Nina Kenwood
Published by: Flatiron Books
on August 8, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
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From the award-winning author of It Sounded Better in My Head comes a deliciously entertaining enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy about two high school nemeses who end up sharing a house together their first year of college

Eighteen-year-old Brooke is the kind of friend who not only remembers everyone’s birthdays, but also organizes the group present, pays for it, and politely chases others for their share. She’s the helper, the doer, the maker-of spreadsheets. She’s the responsible one who always follows the rules—and she plans to keep it that way during her first year of college.

Her student housing only has one rule: "no unnecessary drama." Which means no fights, tension, or romance between roommates. When one of them turns out to be Jesse, her high-school nemesis, Brooke is determined she can handle it. They’ll simply silently endure living together and stay out of each other’s way. But it turns out Jesse isn’t so easy to ignore.

With Unnecessary Drama, Nina Kenwood perfectly captures the experience of leaving home for the first time, dealing with the unexpected complications of life, and somehow finding exactly what you need.

The Dark Place

by Britney S. Lewis
Published by: Disney-Hyperion
on August 8, 2023
Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi, Young Adult
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You can only hide from your nightmares for so long.

Seventeen-year-old Hylee Williams didn't ask to disappear. But she did disappear, and not only that, but when she vanished from our world, she materialized in a dark, twisted version of the night that changed her life forever: the night her older brother went missing.

Just as Hylee realizes this moment could be the key to unraveling the truth about her brother, she's yanked away from the dark place back to our world. Craving a sense of normalcy, she goes to a party with her best friend--where she meets Eilam Roads. Tall, handsome, and undeniably, inexplicably familiar, Hylee can't help the pull she feels towards him. It's a classic teen girl-meets-boy situation, until it happens again. She disappears, right in front of him.

Together, Hylee and Eilam investigate the truth about time, space, and reality, with Hylee increasingly convinced her time travel holds the key to saving her brother. But the more they learn, the more Hylee begins to see darkness lurking in her world--and in herself.

Britney S. Lewis's sophomore novel combines the quotable relatability, swoony romance, and emotional resonance of John Green with the surrealist horror imagery and razor-sharp wit of Jordan Peele. At once haunting and enchanting and entirely unforgettable.

The Pirate and the Porcelain Girl

by Emily Riesbeck, Lucas Gattoni, NJ Barna
Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
on August 8, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Young Adult
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Our Flag Means Death gets a magical, sapphic twist in this swashbuckling young adult graphic novel adventure full of high-stakes adventure, fantastical creatures, and a swoony enemies-to-lovers romance perfect for fans of In Deeper Waters and The Prince and the Dressmaker .

“I want to be beautiful. I want to be interesting. I want to be enough.”

That was Ferra Brickminder’s prayer to win back the love of her life. And the gods answer—just not in the way she expected. After hoping for a miracle, Ferra instead watches her skin turn into delicate and dangerously breakable porcelain.

Elsewhere, Brigantine de la Girona, a disgraced orc pirate captain, has her own problems. Penniless and banished from her home, Brig struggles to make ends meet with her crew as her only support. So, when a desperate Ferra enlists Brig to sail her across the Great Sea to her ex-girlfriend’s home for a very handsome fee, Brig is happy to strike a deal.

Pampered Ferra and tough-as-nails Brig quickly butt heads, bickering their way across the high seas, but as they encounter increasingly perilous obstacles—including the gods themselves—the two become reluctant allies…and maybe more.

Mother Nature

by Jamie Lee Curtis, Russell Goldman, Karl Stevens
Published by: Titan Comics
on August 8, 2023
Genres: Graphic Novel, Horror, Mystery, Young Adult
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Discover the incredible debut graphic novel from Hollywood horror legend Jamie Lee Curtis, Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress in the acclaimed movie Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.

Adapted from her script for the Comet Pictures/Blumhouse film Mother Nature by award-winning artist Karl Stevens, witness the terrifying supernatural revenge of Nova Terrel, whose father was mysteriously killed on site of a corrupt oil giant.

After witnessing her engineer father die in mysterious circumstances on one of the Cobalt Corporation's experimental oil extraction projects, Nova Terrell has grown up to hate the seemingly benevolent company that the town of Catch Creek, New Mexico, relies on for its livelihood and, thanks to the "Mother Nature" project, its clean water.
Haunted by her father's death, the rebellious Nova wages a campaign of sabotage and vandalism on the oil giant's facilities and equipment, until one night she accidentally makes a terrifying discovery about the true nature of the "Mother Nature" project and the malevolent, long-dormant horror it has awakened, and that threatens to destroy them all.