Walker YA 2021: new Angie Thomas, a movie trailer and the return of the Shadowhunters
Every single year, among the highlights of my year are book events.
Author signings, readings, author discussions, and publisher showcases.
And this year there haven’t been any. While author readings, discussions and Q&As have moved online, sadly signings and publisher events have had to be put on hold.
Until Walker changed the game, anyway…
On December 8th I finished up with work, had a spot of dinner and logged into Zoom for a sneak peak into the titles being published by the wonderful Walker in the first half of 2021.
My goodness are there some belters coming our way.
First up to get us excited was an introduction to ‘The Hate U Give’ author Angie Thomas’s third novel, ‘Concrete Rose’, a prequel to THUG starring Maverick landing on shelves on 12 January.
It’s set 17 prior to THUG and explores the life of Starr’s father as he tries to go straight while juggling school, drugs and caring for his family.
‘Concrete Rose’ by Angie Thomas, 12 January
There’s always a lovefest for Patrick Ness at a Walker event and we got a look at the ‘Chaos Walking’ film trailer - which honestly looks excellent - and I think it might spur me on to FINALLY read the trilogy.
The paperback of ‘Burn’ is also being released in May. It’s about dragons….
‘Burn’ by Patrick Ness, 6 May
‘The Broken Raven’ is Joseph Elliott’s sequel to ‘The Good Hawk’ about a reimagined Scotland and Isle of Skye. With a neurodiverse heroine and what sounds like a breathtaking adventure. ‘The Shadow Skye’ trilogy seems perfect for 12+ readers.
‘The Broken Raven’ by Joseph Elliott, 12 January
Neal Shusterman is a legend of YA sci-fi and dystopia. His latest ‘Game Changer’ is going to continue to push the envelope. It explores privilege and identity via the idea of the multiverse when Ash gets hit in the head so hard during an American football game that it knocks him into a parallel universe. I am *so excited* for this.
‘Game Changer’ by Neal Shusterman, 11 February
Next up was a Cassandra Clare moment with the paperwork of ‘Chain of Gold’, book one in ‘The Infernal Devices’ releasing in paperback early in the year, followed by book two in hardback, ‘Chain of Iron’.
I pre-ordered ‘Chain of Gold’ years ago, and even have ‘Chain of Iron’ pre-ordered too, but have I read them yet? Oops, no.
‘Chain of Gold’ by Cassandra Clare, 4 February (paperback)
‘Chain of Iron’ by Cassandra Clare, 2 March (hardback)
Frederick Joseph himself introduced us to his new book ‘The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person’ via video and it sounds like an incredible resource for white teens (and adults) who want to learn how to do better. It explores what it’s like to be a black teenage boy and child and features interviews with other activists and artists.
‘The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person’ by Frederick Joseph, 4 March
Following that was the incredibly exciting announcement that Jonathan Stroud, author of ‘Lockwood & Co.’, is beginning a new teen series in April. ‘The Outlaws Scarlett and Brown’ about an alternate London split into seven with a lagoon at its heart that requires the smarts of outlaws to survive.
I love ‘Lockwood & Co.’ so I cannot wait to get stuck into this - it sounds incredible.
‘The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne’ by Jonathan Stroud, 1 April
Following that beauty was ‘Everything I Thought I Knew’ by Shannon Takaoka, a contemporary UA novel about surfing and mental health, with a protagonist who has a heart defect. It also has a beautiful cover and I’m basically sold. The PR presenting this one gave a little tip: listen to ‘Oh Hellos’ on Spotify while reading...
Lauren James is a force to be reckoned with in UKYA and ‘Green Rising’, a climate change sc-fi thriller set in the near future, sounds like it’ll be no exception. I mean, teens developing a new power to control plant growth as the ice caps start to melt? Genius! And terrifying.
James has also set up The Climate Fiction Writers League - a resource of climate fiction for teachers and librarians with a fortnightly newsletter sharing all of the goods.
‘Green Rising’ by Lauren James, 3 September
Finally is Caroline O’Donoghue’s debut YA novel, ‘All our Hidden Gifts’. It’s a dark, contemporary supernatural novel about tarot and female friendship that O’Donoghue called a ‘supernatural detective social justice story’ during the live Zoom Q&A she did with Walker during the event.
This is now one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 - I can’t wait!
‘All Our Hidden Gifts’ by Carolin O’Donoghue, 1 July
EDIT: The release date for this title has been pushed back to 1 July.
And that was a truly wonderful hour spent with books and publishers and other bloggers and reviewers. It was a glimpse into the things I missed the most in 2020, and a glimmer of hope for this year Because the books won’t stop.
There will always be books to read, recommend and look forward to.
What releases are you excited for this year? Do you have any of the above on your wishlist?
Written by Sophie
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