5 YA Fantasy/Science Fiction books we can't wait to read this month

Young Adult writers always manage to surprise me with their creativity in the Science fiction and fantasy genres.  Often they are packed full of exciting action and originality with characters you cannot help but fall in love with.  Yet so often when I am talking about books I fail to mention that I think the YA fantasy and science fiction writers rock.  

So to make up for that here is my top 5 YA Fantasy and Science Fiction books coming out this month that I cannot wait to read.

5) This Wicked Game by Michelle Zink

Claire Kincaid’s family has been in business for over fifty years.  The voodoo business.  Part of the International Guild of High Priests and Priestesses, a secret society that have practiced voodoo for generations, the Kincaid’s run an underground supply house for authentic voodoo supplies. Claire plays along, filling orders for powders, oils and other bizarre ingredients in the family store, but she has a secret.  She doesn’t believe.  Struggling to reconcile her modern sensibilities with a completely unscientific craft based on suspicion, Claire can’t wait to escape New Orleans – and voodoo – when she goes to college, a desire that creates almost constant conflict in her secret affair with Xander Toussaint, son of the Guild’s powerful founding family.  But when a mysterious customer places an order for a deadly ingredient, Claire begins to realize that there’s more to voodoo – and the families that make up the Guild – than meets the eye.  Including her own.  As she bands together with the other firstborns of the Guild, she comes face to face with a deadly enemy – and the disbelief that may very well kill her.

Why do I want to read it?

Well for a start there is the voodoo factor.  Yes, voodoo.  I can count the amount of YA books I have read about voodoo on, well, zero fingers.  I have never read one before and I have never seen one before.  Another reason is that it is set in New Orleans, the home of voodoo and a city I have spent time in and adore.  Then of course there is the forbidden and super secret-affair, got to love those! All these things have made This Wicked Game a must read. 

4) Twinmaker by Sean Williams

In a near-future world in which technology can transport you anywhere instantly, can a coded note enable you to change your body—to become taller, stronger, more beautiful? Clair is pretty sure the offer is too good to be true. But her best friend, Libby, is determined to give it a try, longing for a new, improved version of herself. What starts as Libby’s dream turns into Clair’s nightmare when Libby falls foul of a deadly trap. With the help of Jesse, the school freak, and a mysterious—but powerful—stranger called Q, Clair’s attempt to protect Libby leads her to an unimagined world of conspiracies and cover-ups. Soon her own life is at risk, and Clair is chased across the world in a desperate race against time. Action and danger fuel Sean Williams’ tale of technology, identity, and the lengths to which one girl will go to save her best friend.

 Why do I want to read it?

I am not as excited about this one as the others, probably because it sounds like stuff I have read before but the overwhelming positivity for this book makes it pretty hard to ignore.  I also like that it contains positive messages about body image.  But mainly I like that it is a YA dystopia written by a guy that it not just marketed to boys.  The YA publishing industry can sometimes be a little guilty of placing books into a gender category.  And as a female who LOVES science fiction, action-adventure and fantasy I have a bit of a problem with that.

3) The Living by Matt de la Pena

Shy took the summer job to make some money. In a few months on a luxury cruise liner, he'll rake in the tips and be able to help his mom and sister out with the bills. And how bad can it be? Bikinis, free food, maybe even a girl or two—every cruise has different passengers, after all.  But everything changes when the Big One hits. Shy's only weeks out at sea when an earthquake more massive than ever before recorded hits California, and his life is forever changed.  The earthquake is only the first disaster. Suddenly it's a fight to survive for those left living. 

Why do I want to read it?

Have you seen that cover? Have you read that blurb? Honestly this book could have been written for me.  I love apocalyptic books that actually feature the apocalypse not just the aftermath.  I also have an intense interest in natural disasters and never really see any books that feature them heavily.  My hopes are really high for this one. 

2) Engines of the Broken Wolrd by Jason Vanhee

Merciful Truth and her brother, Gospel, have just pulled their dead mother into the kitchen and stowed her under the table. It was a long illness, and they wanted to bury her—they did—but it’s far too cold outside, and they know they won’t be able to dig into the frozen ground. The Minister who lives with them, who preaches through his animal form, doesn’t make them feel any better about what they’ve done. Merciful calms her guilty feelings but only until, from the other room, she hears a voice she thought she’d never hear again. It’s her mother’s voice, and it’s singing a lullaby.

Why do I want to read it?

It is going to give me the chills, I am sure of it.  The cover with the person/thing under the stairs, the blurb with all the dead people and a man preaching in animal form.  What is that? I mean, seriously.  I am not a particularly brave person when it comes to the spooky stuff and this sounds fairly horrifying.  But like all stupid people who are easily scared I kind of enjoy the feeling of dread and the irrational belief that whatever that thing is under the stairs it will find me and then it will hurt me even though I know it won't really...I hope.  I actually really like horror even if I am not cut out for it so if this is freaky and weird and scary then I'm glad because that's what I want it to be.

1) World After by Susan Ee

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.  Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.  Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

Why do I want to read it?

There was really no contest. This book was always going to be my number one choice.  World After is not just my most greatly anticipated book of November it is my most anticipated book of the whole year of any genre.  World After is the follow up to the simply phenomenal Angelfall which is one of my favourite books ever.  Ee knows how to shake up her readers, she knows how to creep you out and she knows how to make you care.  Angelfall had some of the best world building and description I have seen in YA and some of the best characters too.  Maybe it is a cheat to have a sequel as my number one but if World After is anything like its predecessor than nothing will come close to it. 

What do you want to read?

Written by Kate Phillips

Images courtesy of Goodreads