As we shift into our second full pandemic school year, here are some new young adult novels by none other than our own Canadian authors to watch out for:

“The Wild Ones” - Nafiza Azad
Genre: Fiction, Paranormal, Romance
Having released her debut novel “The Candle and The Flame” back in 2019, the Willian C. Morris Finalist Nafiza Azad is back again with a paranormal fantasy. The Wild Ones focuses on a team of girls who’ve been hurt, abandoned, and betrayed all their lives as they chase freedom on a journey to save their world. It all began with Paheli, the leader of the Wild Ones, escaping an abusive life and meeting a battered-looking boy who gave her a pouch of stars. Yes, stars. With them, she gained access to a magical realm known as the Between, where Paheli now collects girls like herself and the Wild Ones to help save others from the fates they suffered. Suddenly, Paheli and the Wild Ones learn that the boy who gave them the stars, Taraana, is in danger. He’s on the run from powerful forces within the world of magic, and if he’s found, the freedom of all the Wild Ones will be put to great peril. A fate the Wild Ones refuse to ever accept again.

“Hunting by Stars” - Cherie Dimaline
Genre: Sci Fi, Dystopian, Culture
“Hunting by Stars” takes place in a post-apocalyptic North America where the ability to dream renders nonexistent after years of plagues and natural disasters that left people lost and haunted. When rumors that Indigenous people have magically begun to dream again spread, the government re-established the residential school system to capture Indigenous people in search for their secrets to dreaming. Seventeen-year-old French lost his family to these schools and has spent the years since with his new found family: a group of other dreamers, all trying to build and thrive as a community. But when French wakes up alone in a pitch-black room, he knows immediately where he is—and what it will take to escape. From the author of The Marrow Thieves comes a thrilling new novel of survival and hope.

“Names in a Jar” - Jennifer Jar
Genre: Historical Fiction
“Names in a Jar” tells a heart-warming story of courage in one of the darkest times of history. Set in the Second World War, the novel follows Anna Krawitz, a 12-year-old girl imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto with her father and sister Lina. The happy days of the past seem to fade to no more than distant memories as hunger and fear arises in the wartime. When Anna finds herself in charge of an orphan baby, they are sent to the infamous Treblinka Camp with new names and identities to try and survive.

“A Sure Cure for Witchcraft”
Genre: Fantasy, Historical-Fiction
Young Lilli lives in 18th-century Württemberg, or present-day Germany, a world of superficial phenomena: magic, witches, and time travel. But it has not been long since those suspected of witchcraft were burned, and any woman quick-witted with a talent for healing is still now considered a suspect. Lilli grew up knowing this, but believes that her teacher Aliz isn’t evil. Aliz teaches Lilli the basics of medicine: which plants cure a cough, which plants help with fever. Like Lilli, she only wants to help people. When Lilli's father, who’s beliefs side with history, surprises the family by announcing their move to the New World, Aliz and Lilli pledge to be soul friends, no matter the time. It’d be in present-day Nova Scotia where the two are fated to meet once more.

“Both Sides Now” - Peyton Thomas
Genre: LGBT, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Only one thing stands between Finch Kelly and a full-blown case of high school senioritis: the National Speech & Debate Tournament. Finch, a high-school debater, dreams of making history as the first ever trans congressman one day. And what better way to go about accomplishing that then taking home gold from the championships? But as he begins to develop a teensy tiny crush on his very taken and very gay partner Jonah, Finn is about to learn that some things - like who you are and who you love - just isn’t up for debate.