18 June YA Books to Wake Your Brain Cells

Here are 18 of the YA books released in June that are garnering a lot of attention and starred reviews. Enjoy!

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue

An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi

Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk and Nicola Yoon

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

Eat Your Heart Out by Kelly deVos

The Ghosts We Keep by Mason Deaver

The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

Girls at the Edge of the World by Laura Brooke Robson

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

My Contrary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows

One Great Lie by Deb Caletti

The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

Strange Creatures by Phoebe North

Violet Ghosts by Leah Thomas

We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman

The Witch King by H. E. Edgmon

2020 Governor General’s Literary Award Winners

The winners of the 2020 Governor General’s Literary Awards have been announced. The awards celebrate the best published books in Canada. There are two categories that celebrate books for youth. Here are the winners and finalists in each of those categories:

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE – TEXT

WINNER

The King of Jam Sandwiches by Eric Walters

FINALISTS

The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson

Harvey Holds His Own by Colleen Nelson

Nevers by Sara Cassidy

Pine Island Home by Polly Horvath

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE – ILLUSTRATED BOOKS

WINNER

The Barnabus Project by The Fan Brothers

FINALISTS

I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, illustrated by Sydney Smith

Our Little Kitchen by Jillian Tamaki

Swift Fox All Along by Rebecca Lea Thomas, illustrated by Maya McKibbin

Weekend Dad by Naseem Hrab, illustrated by Frank Viva