Monday, April 01, 2013

UKYA in April 2013

I'm going to skip the obligatory 'OMG, how can it already by April?!' and jump straight in with how awesome do the titles for April look?!

I know there are PLENTY of posts like this one, highlighting the new books that are being published during the month, but mine is the only one that I know of that is a big spotlight on British authors.  I really think that British authors need more of a boost in the YA market right now.  Everything seems to be swallowed up by US titles and hopefully posts like this will shift things in another direction.

I really loved the new Melvin Burgess and the new Laura Jarratt.  She is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors.  I've got ACID, After Tomorrow and Silent Saturday on my bedside table to read and I'm really looking forward to them.

This month, look forward to guest posts or interviews etc from Phil Earle, Laura Jarratt, (hopefully) Helen Grant and Gillian Cross.  It's going to be a good month, I can tell already!





After Tomorrow by Gillian Cross (OUP, 4th April)

What if you woke up tomorrow and everything had changed? Money is worthless. Your friends are gone. Armed robbers roam the streets. No one is safe. For Matt and his little brother, Taco, that nightmare is a reality. Their only hope of survival is to escape through the Channel Tunnel. But danger waits on the other side...Stay or go. What would you do?

Gillian Cross




Silent Saturday by Helen Grant (Random House, 4th April)


Seventeen-year-old Veerle is frustrated with life in suburban Brussels. But a chance encounter with a hidden society, whose members illegally break into unoccupied buildings around the city, soon opens up a whole new world of excitement - and danger.

When one of the society's founding members disappears, Veerle suspects foul play. But nothing can prepare her for the horror that is about to unfold when an old foe emerges from the shadows... No one is safe, and The Hunter will strike again...


 Helen Grant



Fractured by Teri Terry (Orchard, 4th April)

How do you know where to go when you don't remember where you came from?

Kyla's memory has been erased,
her personality wiped blank,
her memories lost for ever.

Or so she thought.

Kyla shouldn't be able to remember anything. But she can - and she's beginning to realise that there are a lot of dark secrets locked away in her memories. When a mysterious man from her past comes back into her life, she thinks she's on her way to finding the truth. But the more she learns about her history, the more confusing her future becomes...

Set in a disturbing future world, FRACTURED is an engrossing, fast-paced read that establishes Teri Terry as a master thriller writer.


Teri Terry


The Stone Demon by Karen Mahoney (Random House, 4th April)

After being tricked into opening the doorway to the Demon Realm by Aliette, the Wood Queen, Donna Underwood is faced with a terrible ultimatum from the newly released demon hordes. They demand that the alchemists deliver the Philosopher's Stone, or their reaper storm will plunge the world into a devastating modern-day Dark Age.

Donna is sent to London, England, where she must complete her alchemist's training and learn how to recreate the Stone. But time is running out. Between facing the vengeful demon king, Demian, and collecting the Stone's elements, Donna realizes she must give her own life in order to succeed. And this time, even braving death may not be enough to save the world.


Karen Mahoney
 

ACID by Emma Pass (Random House, 25th April)

2113. In Jenna Strong’s world, ACID – the most brutal, controlling police force in history – rule supreme. No throwaway comment or muttered dissent goes unnoticed – or unpunished. And it was ACID agents who locked Jenna away for life, for a bloody crime she struggles to remember.

The only female inmate in a violent high-security prison, Jenna has learned to survive by any means necessary. And when a mysterious rebel group breaks her out, she must use her strength, speed and skill to stay one step ahead of ACID – and to uncover the truth about what really happened on that dark night two years ago.


Emma Pass


By Any Other Name by Laura Jarratt (Electric Monkey, 1st April)

Nobody can know the truth - her life depends on it. I picked up the book and thumbed through the pages. Names in alphabetical order, names with meanings, names I knew, names I'd never heard of. How to pick? Nothing that would stand out, nothing that would link me to the past - those were the instructions. The past. As if everything that had gone before this moment was buried already. Holly is fifteen years old, but she's only been "Holly" for a matter of months. Because of something that happened, she and her family have had to enter witness protection and have all assumed new identities. All, that is, except her sister Katie, who is autistic. Starting at a new school mid-term is hard enough at the best of times, and Holly has no clue who she is any more. Lonely and angry, she reaches out to friends - new and old. But one wrong move will put all their lives in danger...

Laura Jarratt


Heroic by Phil Earle (Penguin, 25th April)

'For the past five weeks I'd prayed that I'd never see my brother's name spelt out in poppies. In the weeks that followed I often wished I had.' Jammy and Sonny McGann are brothers, but that's where the similarities end. One is calm when the other is angry; one has a plan while the other lives purely in the moment. When Jammy returns from Afghanistan a very different man to the one who left, it's Sonny who is left to hold things together. But just how far will he go to save the brother who always put him first? Inspired by S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders" and by the battles facing young soldiers all over the world, this is a devastating novel about brotherhood and sacrifice, from the award-winning author of "Being Billy" and "Saving Daisy".

Phil Earle


Witch Fire by Laura Powell (Bloomsbury, 11th April)

Glory and Lucas are from different sides of the tracks - and, for now, on the same side. Both are witches. Both are working for the government on a secret mission. And now they are being sent to Switzerland, undercover, to see if an elite boarding school has been infiltrated by Endor, a breakaway terrorist witch organisation.
But Glory and Lucas have their own burdens to bear. Glory is heartbroken that her mother deserted her as a child and has never been heard of since. Lucas, coming from a family that for generations has devoted itself to prosecuting witches, must fight to prove himself, his value and his loyalty.


Laura Powell


The Hit by Melvin Burgess (Chicken House, 4th April)

Take it. Live it. F*** it.
A new drug is out. Everyone is talking about it. The Hit. Take it, and you have one amazing week to live. It's the ultimate high. At the ultimate price.
Adam is tempted. Life is rubbish, his girlfriend's over him, his brother's gone. So what's he got to lose? Everything, as it turns out. It's up to his girlfriend, Lizzie, to show him...


Melvin Burgess
  

Lost Worlds by Andy Lane (Macmillan, 25th April)

Calum Challenger is a boy with a mission: to track down supposedly mythological creatures and capture their DNA. But while Calum and his friends want to save these beings, an aggressive pharmaceutical company wants to wipe them out. In this fast-paced, high-tech story, Calum and a group of misfit mates – a computer hacker, a freerunner, an ex-marine and a girl with a very big chip on her shoulder – criss-cross the globe, desperately trying to stay one step ahead of their enemy.

Andy Lane




Which of these books are you most looking forward to this month?!

8 comments:

  1. Great post- I just found a bunch of books that I hadn't heard of! April looks like an awesome month for new books :D

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  2. I've already read The Hit and By Any Other Name and both books were fab.
    I love the look of ACID and Witch Fire so I might check them out soon.
    Thanks for sharing! :)

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    1. You're very welcome Lucy :) I'm glad you enjoyed those two and are looking forward to more :)

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  3. I read The Hit and Fractured last week - both great, although I must say I found The Hit far funnier than I'd expected it to be. Hoping to get reviews of them both up this week.

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  4. "OMG, how can it already be April?!" YES. I didn't even believe it at first! Silent Saturday sounds very interesting, love that it's set in Brussels! The Stone Demon is already out? I still haven't read the second book, but I loved The Iron Witch! And Acid, omg, I'm so excited for that, it sounds so kickass! Taken by Erin Bowman comes out this month, so I'm very excited for that The Program by Suzanne Young, too.

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    1. I haven't read the second book in the series by Karen Mahoney yet either, fail! Silent Saturday does sound very interesting though, I'm hoping to get to it very soon...

      I'm pretty disappointed that I haven't yet read many books from this list yet. I really despise reading slumps :(

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