Hello YABC’ers!
Welcome to the weekly post by the Staff at YA Books Central called Current Reads Monday!
We love everything bookish and just wanted to share with our readers what books we are currently reading and
obsessing about! So check out what books the YABC Staff are currently reading below and comment to let us
know what book or books you’re reading as well!!
Share, Tweet, and post with the hashtag #YABCCurrentReads!
Happy Reading!!
*Connie’s Current Read*
(Site Manager)
Wildbound
Author: Elayne Audrey Becker
Publication Date: August 30, 2022
Publisher: Tor Teen
Wildbound is the thrilling finale to Elayne Audrey Becker’s epic fantasy saga of forest magic and a kingdom on the brink of war.
With the assassination of Telyan’s king, the time for peace has passed.
Determined to make up for his failure to procure the stardust, Helos finds work as a healer at Fendolyn’s Keep, the historic garrison to which Telyan’s exiled royals―and half its civilians―have fled. Racing against the Fallow Throes’ ticking clock, he endeavors to repair his relationship with Prince Finley and dreams of his claim to a faraway throne, as the base around him prepares for war.
Half a continent away, his sister Rora is doing everything she can to reawaken the land and end Eradain’s slaughter of magical beings. Still reeling from the revelation that Eradain’s violent monarch is her half-brother, she journeys to the kingdom determined to infiltrate his court in disguise―and finds the seeds of rebellion are already stirring.
With a magical illness running rampant and the continent arming for battle, the three realms’ long-feared destruction seems inevitable. But the two shifters they believed would bring about Alemara’s ruin may in fact hold the key to its survival.
*Kim’s Current Read*
(Staff Reviewer)
Yonder
Author: Ali Standish
Publication Date: May 10, 2022
Publisher: Harper Teen
Danny Timmons has looked up to Jack Bailey ever since Jack saved two small children from drowning during the Great Flood of 1940. Now, with his father away fighting in World War II and his mother about to have a new baby, Danny relies on Jack’s friendship and guidance more than ever.
So when Jack goes missing without a trace from their small Appalachian town, Danny is determined to find him. He wonders if Jack’s abusive father could be behind his disappearance, or if it has anything to do with Yonder—a hidden magical town Jack once spoke of, where flocks of rainbow birds fly through the sky and they’ve never heard of war. As answers elude him, Danny begins to fear that he didn’t know Jack as well as he thought.
Ultimately, Danny’s investigation forces him to reckon with even larger questions: What is America fighting for in this war? What role do each of us play in stopping injustices, big and small? And is there such thing as a true hero?
*Mark’s Current Read*
(Staff Reviewer)
The Grave Thief
Author: Dee Hahn
Publication Date: March 1, 2022
Publisher: Puffin Canada
A twelve-year-old grave thief gets caught up in a royal heist in this compelling middle-grade fantasy in the vein of Kelley Armstrong’s A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying.
Twelve-year-old Spade is a grave thief. With his father and brother, he digs up the recently deceased to steal jewels, the main form of trade in Wyndhail.
Digging graves works for Spade — alone in the graveyard at night, no one notices his limp or calls him names. He’s headed for a lifetime of theft when his father comes up with the audacious plan to rob a grave in the Wyndhail castle cemetery. Spade and his brother get caught in a royal trap, and Spade must find the master of the Woegan: a deadly creature that is stalking the castle by night.
Along the way, he meets Ember, the queen’s niece, and together they race to solve the mystery of the legendary Deepstones and their connection to the Woegan, the queen, a missing king and the mysterious pebble Spade finds in the Wyndhail cemetery.
This is a fantastic story of friendship, bravery, grief and acceptance.
*Beth’s Current Read*
(Staff Reviewer)
Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis
Author: Susan Wood and Greg Dawson
Publication Date: March 22, 2022
Publisher: Harper Collins
The moving true story of how young Ukrainian Jewish piano prodigies Zhanna (alias “Anna”) and her sister Frina outplayed their pursuers while hiding in plain sight during the Holocaust. A middle grade nonfiction novel-in-verse by award-winning author Susan Hood with Greg Dawson (Zhanna’s son).
She wouldn’t be Zhanna.She’d use an alias.A for Anna.A for alive.
When the Germans invade Ukraine, Zhanna, a young Jewish girl, must leave behind her friends, her freedom, and her promising musical future at the world’s top conservatory. With no time to say goodbye, Zhanna, her sister Frina, and their entire family are removed from their home by the Nazis and forced on a long, cold, death march. When a guard turns a blind eye, Zhanna flees with nothing more than her musical talent, her beloved sheet music, and her father’s final plea: “I don’t care what you do. Just live.”
This incredible true story in-verse about sisterhood, survival, and music is perfect for fans of Lifeboat 12, Inside Out and Back Again, and Alan Gratz.
Includes extensive back matter with original letters and photographs, additional information, and materials for further reading.
*Jan’s Current Read*
(Staff Reviewer)
Bravely
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
Publisher: Disney Press
What if you had one year to save everything you loved? ONE PRINCESS. Merida of DunBroch needs a change. She loves her family—jovial King Fergus, proper Queen Elinor, the mischievous triplets— and her peaceful kingdom. But she’s frustrated by its sluggishness; each day, the same. Merida longs for adventure, purpose, challenge – maybe even, someday, love. TWO GODS. But the fiery Princess never expects her disquiet to manifest by way of Feradach, an uncanny supernatural being tasked with rooting out rot and stagnation, who appears in DunBroch on Christmas Eve with the intent to demolish the realm – and everyone within. Only the intervention of the Cailleach, an ancient entity of creation, gives Merida a shred of hope: convince her family to change within the year – or suffer the eternal consequences. THREE VOYAGES. Under the watchful eyes of the gods, Merida leads a series of epic journeys to kingdoms near and far in an attempt to inspire revolution within her family. But in her efforts to save those she loves from ruin, has Merida lost sight of the Clan member grown most stagnant of all – herself? FOUR SEASONS TO SAVE DUNBROCH – OR SEE IT DESTROYED, FOREVER.
