New Release Tuesday: YA New Releases May 19th 2020

Happy Book Birthday to all the YA New Releases for May 19th 2020!! While new books aren’t as plentiful, but hey 10 books is enough for me to choose from! AND the ones that are still releasing need your love too!

We Are Not From Here

by Jenny Torres Sanchez
on May 19, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 326
IndieBound
Goodreads

A ripped-from-the-headlines novel of desperation, escape, and survival across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Pulga, Chico, and Pequeña have no false illusions about the town they've grown up in and the dangers that surround them. Though their families--both biological and found--create a warm community for them, threats lurk around every corner. And when those threats become all too real, the three teens know they have no choice but to run: for the border, for the hope of freedom, and for their very lives.

Crossing from Guatemala through Mexico with their eyes on the U.S. border, they follow the route of La Bestia, a system of trains that promise the hope of freedom--if they are lucky enough to survive the harrowing journey. With nothing but the bags on their backs and the desperation that courses through their very veins, Pulga, Chico, and Pequeña know that there's no turning back, dangerous though the road ahead might be.

In this powerful story inspired by real--and current--events, the plight at our southern border is brought to painful, poignant life.

Just a Boy and a Girl in a Little Canoe (I See London, I See France, #2)

by Sarah Mlynowski
Published by: HarperTeen
on May 19, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 352
IndieBound
Goodreads

Sam’s summer isn’t off to a great start. Her boyfriend, Eli, ditched her for a European backpacking trip, and now she’s a counselor at Camp Blue Springs: the summer camp her eleven-year-old self swore never to return to. Sam expects the next seven weeks to be a total disaster.
That is, until she meets Gavin, the camp’s sailing instructor, who turns her expectations upside down. Gavin may have gotten the job just for his abs. Or that smile. Or the way he fills Sam’s free time with thrilling encounters—swimming under a cascade of stars, whispering secrets over s’mores, embarking on one (very precarious) canoe ride after dark.
It’s absurd. After all, Sam loves Eli. But one totally absurd, completely off-the-wall summer may be just what Sam needs. And maybe, just maybe, it will teach her something about what she really wants.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0)

by Suzanne Collins
Published by: Scholastic Press
on May 19, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Pages: 540
IndieBound
Goodreads

Ambition will fuel him.
Competition will drive him.
But power has its price.

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

Poisoned Water: How the Citizens of Flint, Michigan, Fought for Their Lives and Warned the Nation

by Candy J. Cooper, Marc Aronson
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
on May 19 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Non-Fiction
Pages: 304
IndieBound
Goodreads

Based on original reporting by a Pulitzer Prize finalist and an industry veteran, the first book for young adults about the Flint water crisisIn 2014, Flint, Michigan, was a cash-strapped city that had been built up, then abandoned by General Motors. As part of a plan to save money, government officials decided that Flint would temporarily switch its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Within months, many residents broke out in rashes. Then it got worse: children stopped growing. Some people were hospitalized with mysterious illnesses; others died. Citizens of Flint protested that the water was dangerous. Despite what seemed so apparent from the murky, foul-smelling liquid pouring from the city's faucets, officials refused to listen. They treated the people of Flint as the problem, not the water, which was actually poisoning thousands. Through interviews with residents and intensive research into legal records and news accounts, journalist Candy J. Cooper, assisted by writer-editor Marc Aronson, reveals the true story of Flint. Poisoned Water shows not just how the crisis unfolded in 2014, but also the history of racism and segregation that led up to it, the beliefs and attitudes that fueled it, and how the people of Flint fought-and are still fighting-for clean water and healthy lives.

Suncatcher

by José Pimienta
Published by: Random House Graphic
on May 19th 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Graphic Novel
Pages: 224
IndieBound
Goodreads

Beatriz must create the perfect song in order to free her grandfather's soul . . . but what will be the cost? A fantastical YA graphic novel about creative passion and obsession, great for fans of The Prince and the Dressmaker and Level Up .

If life wasn't already hard enough for Beatriz -- being a teenager, trying to start a band, and going to school -- then she discovers that her grandfather's soul has been trapped in an old guitar, and that the only way to free him is to play the perfect song . . . his perfect song, a song that he never actually wrote down. She's determined to save her grandfather, but as music slowly takes over her life, she soon finds herself growing obsessed with his song, and making it absolutely flawless, at the expense of her friendships, her band, and her health.

Beatriz won't let anything stop her, not even her own limitations. Creating a magical song is already a lot of pressure, but Beatriz will have to make some hard choices before it's too late for her grandfather . . . and for herself.

A story filled with music, passion, supernatural secrets, and family, Jose Pimienta's Suncatcher brings to life a contemporary story of life in Mexicali with a supernatural twist and a lot of music.

Talk Nerdy to Me

by Tiffany Schmidt
Published by: Amulet Paperbacks
on May 19, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Retellings
Pages: 336
IndieBound
Goodreads

Eliza takes center stage in this swoon-worthy third installment of the Bookish Boyfriends series
Eliza Gordon-Fergus is an expert rule-follower. She has to be; her scientist parents dictate her day-to-day decisions, and forbid her from dating. Which is why she finds Curtis Cavendish maddening. He’s never punished for his class clown antics―and worse, his mischief actually masks brilliance. Like, give-Eliza-a-run-for-valedictorian brilliance.When Eliza reads Frankenstein for English class, she’s left feeling more like an experiment than a daughter. Curtis agrees to trade her Anne of Green Gables under one condition: She has to beat him at the science fair. Eliza knows they’re supposed to be competing, but the more time they spend together, the more she realizes she’s in over her head. Because one thing’s certain about Curtis: He makes Eliza want to break all the rules.

Breath Like Water

by Anna Jarzab
Published by: Inkyard Press
on May 19, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 416
IndieBound
Goodreads

“Expansive, romantic, and powerful.” —Gayle Forman, #1
New York Times
bestselling author of
If I Stay
and
I Have Lost My Way

Susannah Ramos has always loved the water. A swimmer whose early talent made her a world champion, Susannah was poised for greatness in a sport that demands so much of its young. But an inexplicable slowdown has put her dream in jeopardy, and Susannah is fighting to keep her career afloat when two important people enter her life: a new coach with a revolutionary training strategy, and a charming fellow swimmer named Harry Matthews.
As Susannah begins her long and painful climb back to the top, her friendship with Harry blossoms into passionate and supportive love. But Harry is facing challenges of his own, and even as their bond draws them closer together, other forces work to tear them apart. As she struggles to balance her needs with those of the people who matter most to her, Susannah will learn the cost—and the beauty—of trying to achieve something extraordinary.

Date Me, Bryson Keller

by Kevin van Whye
Published by: Random House Books for Young Readers
on May 19, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 336
IndieBound
Goodreads

What If It's Us meets To All the Boys I've Loved Before in this upbeat and heartfelt boy-meets-boy romance that feels like a modern twist on a '90s rom-com!

Everyone knows about the dare: Each week, Bryson Keller must date someone new--the first person to ask him out on Monday morning. Few think Bryson can do it. He may be the king of Fairvale Academy, but he's never really dated before.

Until a boy asks him out, and everything changes.

Kai Sheridan didn't expect Bryson to say yes. So when Bryson agrees to secretly go out with him, Kai is thrown for a loop. But as the days go by, he discovers there's more to Bryson beneath the surface, and dating him begins to feel less like an act and more like the real thing. Kai knows how the story of a gay boy liking someone straight ends. With his heart on the line, he's awkwardly trying to navigate senior year at school, at home, and in the closet, all while grappling with the fact that this "relationship" will last only five days. After all, Bryson Keller is popular, good-looking, and straight . . . right?

Kevin van Whye delivers an uplifting and poignant coming-out love story that will have readers rooting for these two teens to share their hearts with the world--and with each other.

This Coven Won't Break (These Witches Don't Burn, #2)

by Isabel Sterling
Published by: Razorbill
on May 19, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 336
IndieBound
Goodreads

In this gripping, romantic sequel to These Witches Don't Burn, Hannah must work alongside her new girlfriend to take down the Hunters desperate to steal her magic.
Hannah Walsh just wants a normal life. It's her senior year, so she should be focusing on classes, hanging out with her best friend, and flirting with her new girlfriend, Morgan. But it turns out surviving a murderous Witch Hunter doesn't exactly qualify as a summer vacation, and now the rest of the Hunters seem more intent on destroying her magic than ever.
When Hannah learns the Hunters have gone nationwide, armed with a serum capable of taking out entire covens at once, she's desperate to help. Now, with witches across the country losing the most important thing they have—their power—Hannah could be their best shot at finally defeating the Hunters. After all, she's one of the only witches to escape a Hunter with her magic intact.
Or so everyone believes. Because as good as she is at faking it, doing even the smallest bit of magic leaves her in agony. The only person who can bring her comfort, who can make her power flourish, is Morgan. But Morgan's magic is on the line, too, and if Hannah can't figure out how to save her—and the rest of the Witches—she'll lose everything she's ever known. And as the Hunters get dangerously close to their final target, will all the Witches in Salem be enough to stop an enemy determined to destroy magic for good?