Ashley Woodfolk | The Children’s Book Review | March 6, 2018
A Conspiracy of Stars
Written by Oliva Cole
Girls of color in space/saving the universe? Yes, please! I preordered this one (it came out in January) but haven’t had a chance to dive in yet. It’s soooo close to the top of my to-read pile I can taste it!
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Ages 14+ | Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books | January 2018 | ISBN-13: 978-0062644213
The Diminished
Written by Kaitlyn Sage Patterson
I’m so excited for this book. I’ve been completely obsessed with twins for my entire life because I was a twin (my mother miscarried the other baby). One of the characters in my novel is a twin who has lost her sister, and I’m so fascinated by the twin dynamic. I can’t wait to see how this concept of twinlessness is played out in THE DIMINISHED. And I’m ready for the queer romance too.
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Ages 14+ | Publisher: Harlequin Teen | April 10, 2018 | ISBN-13: 978-1335016416
Not the Girls You’re Looking For
Written by Aminah Mae Safi
I started reading this recently, and the voice is so strong and spot on that I can’t wait to finish it. I love stories that center female friendship, and I can already tell that that will be the case with Aminah’s debut.
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Ages 14+ | Publisher: Feiwel & Friends | June 19, 2018 | ISBN-13: 978-1250151810
We Are Okay
So full disclosure: This was the first book I’d read by Nina LaCour, and the second I finished it, I bought every other book she’d ever written. It was a gorgeous and completely original. I loved how the author used the main characters isolation at her boarding school during winter break as a parallel for the isolation she felt as she grieved, and I thought the love story was quiet, honest, and heartbreaking, but in all the best ways. And after reading HOLD STILL and Nina’s other exquisite novels, I’m bummed I hadn’t read her sooner, but so glad to have her books now.
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Ages 14+ | Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers | February 14, 2017 | ISBN-13: 978-0525425892
Little & Lion
Written by Brandy Colbert
This book is probably the best example of intersectional diversity I’ve ever seen. There is a Black Jewish protagonist who is questioning her sexuality. Her brother is white and bipolar, and her family is blended (her mom and her brother’s dad are unmarried). She has two love interests–one who is pan and Latinx and another who is disabled, and biracial: Black and Korean. And all these people are also JUST PEOPLE. They exist with these intersectional identities but have other goals and experiences undefined by the boxes we’d try to put them in. In the end, it’s a story about the secrets we keep, the lies we tell to protect the people we love most, and that family is ultimately more important than anything else.
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Ages 14+ | Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | July 3, 2018 (Reprint) | ISBN-13: 978-0316349017
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The Beauty That Remains
Written by Ashley Woodfolk
Publisher’s Synopsis: Told from three diverse points of view, this story of life and love after loss is one Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give, calls a “stunning, heart-wrenching look at grief that will stay with you long after you put it down.”
We’ve lost everything…and found ourselves.
Music brought Autumn, Shay, and Logan together. Death might pull them apart.
Autumn always knew exactly who she was: a talented artist and a loyal friend. Shay was defined by two things: her bond with her twin sister, Sasha, and her love of music. And Logan has always turned to writing love songs when his real love life was a little less than perfect.
But when tragedy strikes each of them, somehow music is no longer enough. Now Logan is a guy who can’t stop watching vlogs of his dead ex-boyfriend. Shay is a music blogger who’s struggling to keep it together. And Autumn sends messages that she knows can never be answered.
Despite the odds, one band’s music will reunite them and prove that after grief, beauty thrives in the people left behind.
Ages 14+ | Publisher: Delacorte Press | March 6, 2018 | ISBN-13: 978-1524715878
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About the Author
Ashley Woodfolk has loved reading and writing for as long as she can remember. She graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and currently works in children’s book publishing. She writes from a sunny Brooklyn apartment where she lives with her cute husband and her cuter dog. The Beauty That Remains is her debut novel.
http://www.ashleywoodfolk.com/ | Twitter | Instagram
Ashley Woodfolk, author of The Beauty That Remains, selected these young adult books. Discover more articles on The Children’s Book Review tagged with Best YA and Young Adult Fiction.
