What are we reading in 2023?

New year, new books!

I'm reading Threadneedle, a YA urban fantasy about witches and magic set in London. Apparently it's been marketed as an adult book but it's definitely YA. I'm enjoying it a lot so far.

I just finished This Poison Heart and This Wicked Fate, a fantasy duology about a teen with plant powers who inherits a mysterious old house with ties to Greek mythology. I thought the first book was a lot of fun, but the sequel fell a little flat for me.

>2 curioussquared: I've seen those in the bookshop but I really disliked Cinderella is dead by the same author so I've resisted getting them. I like books that use plant magic though.

>3 Sakerfalcon: I had heard bad things about Cinderella Is Dead and honestly might not have picked these up if I'd realized they were by the same person. I'm glad I read them overall, but can't super enthusiastically recommend them. The first was so lovely but it felt like she built a story on all vibes no plot and then had to overly architect the second one to bring it all back on track. But the first was a ton of fun and the vibes were impeccable.

I'm reading the latest historical romance by Laura Wood, The Agency for Scandal. In the late 19th century, Izzy Stanhope, impoverished daughter of aristocracy, moonlights as a member of an all-female detective agency, and finds herself embroiled in a dangerous case involving an abused wife, a would-be prime minister, and an annoyingly attractive duke. There's a mini crossover with Wood's previous novel, A Single Thread of Moonlight.

>5 konallis: These look really fun!

I recently completed The War That Saved My Life and The War I Finally Won -- probably more middle grade, but both excellent.

I also read Enna Burning, which I enjoyed but not as much as The Goose Girl, and reread Sorcery of Thorns before reading the new companion novella, Mysteries of Thorn Manor. I loved Sorcery of Thorns just as much as I did the first time I read it, and Mysteries of Thorn Manor was a delightful fan service epilogue. Rogerson has quickly become one of my favorite YA authors.

I plan to finally read the Hunger Games trilogy since I got the series for cheap at a book sale.

I have The lesbiana's guide to Catholic school ready to go.

Just finished We Deserve Monuments, which was excellent -- fantastic writing with strong, layered characters and an intricate story that kept me guessing and made me cry. An amazing debut novel!

I read Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien. I thought I'd read this at school, and I remembered it as being brief and simplistic and couldn't understand why it has such a strong reputation. Turns out I'd read a simplified version. Oops. I'm glad I've now read the original.

Forgot to report back on The lesbiana's guide to catholic school. I really enjoyed this book; it contains hatefulness but always hope and love alongside it. It's about family, friendship, love and finding the confidence to be yourself. I loved it.

I've also read Deep in Providence, about 3 best friends who decide to use magic to bring their fourth friend back after she is killed in a car accident. Miliani, Natalie and Inez each have their own issues and family difficulties to overcome, and the powers they are raising impact their lives more than anticipated. Each girl has to learn when to keep fighting and when it's best to let something go. The narrative is shared between the three girls but I didn't find their voices to be distinct from one another. Apart from that it was a good read, with no easy answers.

I'm continuing to enjoy The Mirror Visitor Quartet with the second entry, The Missing of Clairdelune. I also recently indulged in a reread of Crown Duel, which was fun if not as excellent as I remembered it from when I read it in middle or high school. On the other end of the genre spectrum, I read Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson, one of my favorite YA contemporary romance writers. Not my favorite of hers, but still a fun book that I raced through.

I've just read We don't swim here, a YA horror novel set in a small town in Arkansas. Bronwyn is a gifted high school swimmer, so when her family has to move to a new place to care for her grandmother, she is dismayed to find that there are no pools in town and that "we don't swim here". Her classmates and cousin observe strange secretive rituals, which they refuse to explain to Bronwyn "to keep you safe". But her persistence, aided by a journalism student from out of town, uncovers some unpleasant secrets from the town's past which have resulted in a horror that lingers in the present. This was a really good read, with an all too plausible history of racism and violence behind the horror.

I read The Cats We Meet Along the Way by Nadia Mikail. Touching and colourful novel about learning to move on from grief and reconnect with life, even when the world is about to end.

This month I've read Akata Woman, which is a great continuation of the series, as well as Firekeeper's Daughter, a fantastic thriller well-deserving of its Printz Award. I also raced through Painted Devils, which was just as good as its predecessor Little Thieves, and I need book 3 NOW. Finally, Becky Albertalli's latest, Imogen, Obviously, was great, and I appreciated a different sort of queer rep that felt deeply personal to the author.

I'm reading the new novel by Holly Bourne, You Could Be So Pretty. It's a feminist dystopia, in which women face the choice between conforming to exacting beauty standards and being defined as a sex object, or becoming social outcasts for their whole lives. The two 17-year-old protagonists, beautiful Belle and rebellious Joni, seem outwardly to be on very different paths, but when a violent incident throws them together they form an unexpected bond.

At first I found it strongly reminiscent of Only Ever Yours, but as the book progressed it became its own thing. One interesting aspect is the use of language and how Belle and Joni's society redefines words as a tool of psychological control.

Update: I devoured the Hunger Games series this year and immediately read the prequel book and watched the movies. It was well-worth reading, and I see why it's beloved.