‘Fire With Fire,’ by Destiny Soria (HMH Books for Young Readers, June 8)
“Fire With Fire” is a tale of sisterhood … and dragons. Dani and Eden, sisters living in Los Angeles, come from a family of dragon slayers, and they are slayers in training themselves. When a powerful sorcerer says she may have a secret weapon to end the war with dragons, she implies that Dani may be able to help — much to the chagrin of Eden, who takes training more seriously and is eager to prove herself. Dani mysteriously forms a magical bond with a dragon and learns that there’s more to the creatures than she previously thought. Suddenly, the sisters are on opposite sides of a war that’s way over both of their heads.
Credit…Quill Tree Books
‘Blackout,’ by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk and Nicola Yoon (Quill Tree Books, June 22)
“Blackout” is like a superhero crossover event but for Y.A. The book brings together six of the biggest voices in Y.A. to tell a series of love stories set on the day of a New York City blackout. As the city is cast into darkness, a collection of Black teenagers are stumbling into romances — a girl who runs into her ex at her new internship, a heartbroken girl on the hunt for a lost photo and more. As each tries to get through the day amid the chaos of the outage, “Blackout” proves that life and love don’t stop just because the power is off.
Credit…Knopf Books for Young Readers
‘Six Crimson Cranes,’ by Elizabeth Lim (Knopf Books for Young Readers, July 6)
“Six Crimson Cranes” is a retelling of the “Six Swans” fairy tale, with a Y.A. fantasy twist. Though she has six brothers, 16-year-old Princess Shiori is the emperor’s only daughter, and she possesses forbidden magic that she’s trying to keep secret. One day, she learns that her wicked stepmother, Raikama, also has magic, and wants to use it for evil purposes. Shiori tries to warn her family, but she’s caught by Raikama, who turns her brothers into cranes and puts a curse on Shiori: For every word she speaks, one of her brothers will die. Without her voice and banished from her home, Shiori must find a way to save her brothers, rescue her kingdom and stop her stepmother.
