YA Speculative – Page 7

Jabberwocky by Daniel Coleman

Title: Jabberwocky

Author: Daniel Coleman

Publisher: CreateSpace

Release Date: April 2, 2011

ISBN: 978-1461047377

Size: 142 pages, 5×8, softcover

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Also available on Smashwords

“One, two! One, two! and through and through the vorpal blade went snicker-snack!” Blood pounded in Tjaden’s ears as he breathed in the acrid odor, and his sword didn’t falter. Not after the convoluted road that had led him to set out alone to find and slay the manxome Jabberwocky. But the secrets he’d learned about the Jabberwocky’s sorrowful past made it a sour victory.

How different would the situation be if the girl he loved wasn’t at risk? Why didn’t Captain Darieus tell him the dark secrets surrounding the Tumtum tree?

Jabberwocky, a short novel by Daniel Coleman, is the untold story behind Lewis Carroll’s beloved poem. Meet the characters and creatures that inhabit the world long before Alice ever fell down the rabbit’s hole.

While staying true to every detail of Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece, Jabberwocky provides twists that will keep you turning pages. You might know how it ends, but you won’t believe how it happens.

My Unfair Godmother by Janette Rallison

Title: My Unfair Godmother

Author: Janette Rallison

Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers

Release Date: April 12, 2011

ISBN: 978-0802722362

Size: 352 pages, 6×8, hardcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

Series: My Fair Godmother

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Tansy Miller has always felt that her divorced father has never had enough time for her. But mistakenly getting caught on the wrong side of the law wasn’ texactly how she wanted to get his attention. Enter Chrysanthemum “Chrissy” Everstar, Tansy’s fairy in shining, er, high heels. Chrissy is only a fair godmother, of course, so Tansy’s three wishes don’t exactly go according to plan. And if bringing Robin Hood to the twenty-first century isn’t bad enough for Tansy, being transported back to the Middle Ages to deal with Rumpelstiltskin certainly is. She’ll need the help of her blended family, her wits, and especially the cute police chief ‘s son to stop the gold-spinning story from spinning wildly out of control. Janette Rallison pulls out all the stops in this fresh, fun-filled follow-up to the popular My Fair Godmother.

Veiled by S.B. Niccum

Title: Veiled

Author: S.B. Niccum

Publisher: TreasureLine Publishing

Release Date: April 14, 2011

ISBN: 978-1617520259

Size: 320 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: YA Paranormal

Read excerpt here.

“I have always existed, not just me but all of us, the un-embodied spirits who wait to live.”

Tess is an unborn spirit, who is about to embark on a much awaited journey into mortality to a brand new planet called Earth. She is chosen by the Eternals for an important mission, and is put under a rigorous training by a half-human, half-lion Seraph. This training exposes Tess to some of her darkest fears and insecurities. These experiences force Tess to work on her gift as a discerner of thoughts and reader of auras—thus helping her become one of Heaven’s most powerful angels. But even angels falter, and deep inside her a gnawing fear is growing. Will she meet her soul mate in life? Will their love be strong enough to overcome the forgetting effects of the Veil? And, is she prepared to take on the responsibility of keeping the most dangerous renegade and leader of the Fallen Angels at bay during mortality?

Wings of Light by Laura Bingham

Title: Wings of Light

Author: Laura Bingham

Publisher: Sweetwater Books (CFI)

Release Date: April 8, 2011

ISBN: 978-1599554921

Size: 240 pages, 5.5×8″, softcover

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Series: Alvor (#1)

Sixteen-year-old Erin and her twin brother, Bain, have recently become immortal elves—but the search for their mother has just begun. With new information that their mother may be alive, Erin desperately seeks to bring her back home. But when old enemies threaten her quest, Erin must turn to new friends for help and learn that some magic is better left unexplored.

Fateful by Cheri Schmidt

A huge fan of Jane Austen, Danielle hopes to find her own Mr. Darcy when she leaves Colorado to attend art school in London. Of course she knows it’s silly to wish for that, naive even. But she’s met enough males who lacked respect for women, a growing trend it seemed. And at nineteen…well….

However, on only her second night there she gets lost and is threatened by a stalker who proves to be immune to her martial arts training. Before she is completely overpowered, she is then saved by Ethan Deveroux.

While Danielle does find the romance she seeks in Ethan, he’s no Mr. Darcy. Her hero is held by a spell which fractures their chance at a happy ending. During the day Ethan is closer to mortal than immortal and can date her like any other man. Yet, as the sun sets, the powerful magic of an ancient curse returns and the evil of that spell is revealed. When that magic begins, Danielle’s fairytale romance ends because Ethan Deveroux is a vampire.

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Title: Fateful

Author: Cheri Schmidt

Publisher: Self

Release Date: April 7, 2011

ISBN: 978-1461103998

Size: 364 pages, 5.5 x 8.5, softcover

Genre: YA Paranormal

Second Sight by Sherry D. Ficklin

Title: Second Sight (Gods of Fate, Book 2)

Author: Sherry D. Ficklin

Publisher: Dragonfly Publishing

Release Date: April 2, 2011

ISBN: 978-1936381074

Size: 186 pages, 5.5×8.5, softcover

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Series: Foresight (book 1)

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When the man Grace Archer loves is pulled into the Underworld, she will stop at nothing to get him back. Her quest is complicated by the fallen god Samael, who is on the loose with a dangerous relic that puts all the immortals in jeopardy. With her powers on the fritz, Grace must help track down Samael and retrieve the deadly Eye of Hera before any more gods fall victim to his madness.

Daughter of the Greek Goddess Pandora and the Greek God Prometheus, Grace must dig deep to find the power she needs to infiltrate Hades and convince the God of the Dead to release Chris. But when you make a bargain with the devil, you pay with your soul.

Entwined by Heather Dixon

Title: Entwined

Author: Heather Dixon

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Release Date: March 29, 2011

ISBN: 978-0062001030

Size: 480 pages, hardcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

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Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it’s taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He’s trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Stone Dreams by Michelle Erickson

Title: Stone Dreams (Chest of Souls, Book 6)

Author: Michelle Erickson

Publisher: lulu.com

Release Date: March 17, 2011

ISBN: 978-1458373465

Size: 350 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: YA Speculative

Series: Chest of Souls (Book 1), Lend Me Your Mind (Book 2), Aftermath (Book 3), Sacrifice of Souls (Book 4), Traps (Book 5)

Talon and his men have been training for seven years, but there is one competition they can’t train for. Stone Dreams is an invitation-only nightmare Nez will arrange with one goal in mind: death of all competitors. There’s a good chance the traitor will make his move because Stone Dreams takes place at night and ‘accidents’ happen in the dark. Brenna now understands what it’s going to take to power the Chest of Souls. There’s only one choice she can make that will save Talon and bring about the fall of Sogo. She’d rather repeat all the traps the Ancients made by herself than tell Talon what will make the constellation Three Sisters fall and what his part in powering the Chest will be.

Curse of the Elfs by Anna del C Dye

Title: Curse of the Elfs

Author: Anna del C Dye

Publisher: Outskirts Press

Release Date: March 9, 2011

ISBN: 978-1432760946

Size: 342 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

Can a delirious curse destroy the saintly elfin race?

Zolotan has ideas of his own and creates beings without souls, for the sole purpose of doing his bidding. His colleagues do not like the possibility of a wizard having an army of creatures at his command. The head sorcerers judge the wavering wizard and their sentence is just. The transgressor is to undo his madness by destroying all his creations immediately.

All seems right, until he joins his creations and instead attacks the wizard stronghold. After a magical battle that devastates the land surrounding the wizard community, he is defeated. However, the old sorcerer’s unrepentant deeds cause the wizard council to chastise him severely.

It is shortly afterwards that elfs cross paths with the dying wizard. On his deathbed Zolotan asks the elfs for help. He wants to be moved to a faraway land to heal, but the unsuspecting elfs knew he wouldn’t survive, so they wait. Losing patience in his delirium, he curses them to a slow dead. It is a threat the elfs never take seriously until a hundred years later when their people come down with a strange sickness they can’t explain.

There is nothing they can do about it. If they return to their motherland they might spread the curse to the rest of their race and have it disappear forever.

Their only glimmer of hope lies in a servant of kings who must learn to love the elfs before he will attempt to save them. But no one, elf or mankind, has ever heard of this man. Nor does anyone know where to find him. Can the best healer in the land find this savior before their race is gone forever?

The Horn of Moran by M.L. Forman

Title: The Horn of Moran (Adventurer’s Wanted, Book 2)

Author: M.L. Forman

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Release Date: February 2, 2011

ISBN: 978-1606412268

Size: 400 pages, 6×8, hardcover

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Series: Slathbog’s Gold

The land of Alusia is on the brink of war as two men have each claimed the throne. Only the true king can sound the Horn of Moran and prove his nobility. But the Horn has been lost for years. If it is not found — and soon — it could mean the destruction of an entire nation.

It wasn’t that long ago that young Alexander Taylor embarked on his first adventure, where he discovered he was a wizard and destroyed the fearsome dragon, Slathbog. Now he joins a band of seasoned adventurers who have been called up to retrieve the legendary Horn of Moran.

Their journey to the mysterious Tower of the Moon will take them through an enchanted forest, into battle against a goblin army, past the watchful eyes of griffin guards, and face-to-face with a sphinx and her deadly riddles.

With his sword, Moon Slayer, and the wise counsel of his wizard mentor, Whalen Vankin, Alex must use all his wizard and warrior skills to fight a darkness that may consume them all.

Traps by Michelle Erickson

Title: Traps (Chest of Souls, Book 5)

Author: Michelle Erickson

Publisher: lulu.com

Release Date: February, 2011

ISBN: 978-1458341099

Size: 362 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: YA Speculative

Series: Chest of Souls (Book 1), Lend Me Your Mind (Book 2), Aftermath (Book 3), Sacrifice of Souls (Book 4)

Talon was born of a woman without a heart and a man without a soul into a world without a conscience. Now he has to fix it. Too bad he’s in the Sogoian Barracks, where hope of escape is trapped in the jaws of the hounds, the horns of the stone bull-men, and the look in his father’s eyes. The Book of Benamii claims there is a traitor among his men. He’s determined to find out who it is and save as many of his men as he can while they all train for the blood sport known as Cubes. Safe on the other side of time, Brenna is learning things she never wanted to know about the past, present, and future. The past concerns the fact the Five Creators are not myths and they left a deadly surprise beneath the Phoenix. The present concerns what the Forest Wife does to those who disobey, and the future has no guarantees.

The Scourge of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler

Title: The Scourge of Muirwood (Book 3)

Author: Jeff Wheeler

Publisher: CreateSpace

Release Date: February 10, 2011

ISBN: 978-1456406356

Size: 416 pages, 5×8, softcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

Series: The Wretched of Muirwood (Book 1), The Blight of Muirwood (Book 2)

The Scourge of Muirwood is the final installment of the Muirwood Trilogy.

Upon discovering she is the lost heir of Pry-Ree, Lia is forced to leave the protection of Muirwood once again. She embarks upon a perilous journey across the kingdom where she avoids capture and begs passage on a ship bound to Dahomey. Lia’s safety is in further jeopardy when she finally reaches Dochte Abbey and learns the hetaera have taken control. Lia must gather all her strength and muster the courage to defeat them, for if she fails, the consequence would be a world in ruin and the shattered lives of those she loves.

Gifted by Karey White

Title: Gifted

Author: Karey White

Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc.

Release Date: February 8, 2011

ISBN: 978-1599554747

Size: 224 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Young Adult

Susan and Brent Weller have been waiting for years for a baby of their own. They adopt Anna, a beautiful baby girl orphaned in a terrible car accident. As Anna grows, Susan and Brent discover that she’s blessed with unusual gifts that both bless and complicate their lives.

When Anna starts school, she meets Kelsey, a scared, poor and terribly neglected little girl who finds love and acceptance from Anna and her parents. As the years pass, Susan and Brent do their best to provide Anna with a normal, happy childhood, even as they feel a responsibility to protect her from having her special gifts exploited. But with maturity comes independence and Anna begins to make choices that threaten to shatter Susan and Brent’s happy and comfortable life. Will Susan and Brent be able to protect their daughter or will her choices change all their lives forever?

The Blight of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler

Title: The Blight of Muirwood (Book 2)

Author: Jeff Wheeler

Publisher: CreateSpace

Release Date: February 4, 2011

ISBN: 978-1456406271

Size: 548 pages, 5×8, softcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

Series: The Wretched of Muirwood (Book 1)

The Aldermaston, the protector of Muirwood Abbey, is directed by the Medium to make Lia the new hunter of Muirwood. This will take some doing and a lot of training, but with leather bracers, a shooting glove, and quivers in hand, Lia rises to the challenge. Her first real order is to protect Ellowyn Demont from rivals like the Queen Dowager and the Earl of Dieyre. Lia knows very little about the princess’s land of Pry-Ree, but when Ellowyn is abducted, Lia will join forces with Colvin to bring the her back. Lia and Colvin must venture into the heart of a fallen kingdom, one devastated by an encroaching sickness called the Blight. It is here that a dark new secret is revealed—one that will make safeguarding the Abbeys nearly impossible.

Sacrifice of Souls by Michelle Erickson

Title: Sacrifice of Souls (Chest of Souls, Book 4)

Author: Michelle Erickson

Publisher: lulu.com

Release Date: January, 2011

ISBN: 978-0557829941

Size: 322 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: YA Speculative

Series: Chest of Souls (Book 1), Lend Me Your Mind (Book 2), Aftermath (Book 3)

Brenna is on the other side of time to be trained. To her horror, it is a place she cannot reach or see Talon. Others are there, including her mysterious teacher — a woman known only as the Forest Wife. She has eerie eyes yet is beautiful, as hard as Tasut, and as intelligent as Brenna’s mother. That combination doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room. The Forest Wife already knows Brenna will do whatever she has to do, pay whatever price must be paid, to save Talon. That fact guarantees her obedience — for now. Talon is in Sogo — courtesy of his father’s great fist. He is to be sold at auction and join those destined for the Barracks. He doesn’t understand why. He can’t see how he can protect Brenna while he’s in Sogo. His plan at the moment is to survive the training and the odds are stacked against him: 300-1 .

Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck

Title: Tiger’s Curse

Author: Colleen Houck

Publisher: Splinter

Release Date: January 11, 2011

ISBN: 978-1402784033

Size: 448 pages, hardcover

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

*This book was originally published in 2009. It has been republished by a different publisher, but as a re-release it is not eligible for a Whitney award.

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Passion. Fate. Loyalty.

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.

Behind the MIst by M.J. Evans

Title: Behind the Mist

Author: M.J. Evans

Publisher: Bascom Hill Publishing Group

Release Date: January 3, 2011

ISBN: 978-1936183876

Size: 226 pages, 5.5×8.5, softcover

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Nick and his family spend their summers in the Colorado mountains where he first meets an exceptional horse named Jazz. What begins as a strong bond between a horse and his young rider goes beyond extraordinary when tragedy launches them on a thrilling journey to the land behind the mist.

Celestia is the immortal home to noble and great horses that, based upon the virtues they developed on earth, earned the privilege to be given the power and status of a unicorn. Once they receive their horns, they serve as guardian angels to animals on earth.

Nick is the only human in Celestia–or so it first appears. As they learn more about this magical land, Nick and Jazz are compelled to embark on a mission into the Dark Kingdom that is ruled by the evil unicorn, Hasbadana. Though aided by special skills and unusual allies, the boy and horse confront powers that threaten to destroy them.

Join Nick and Jazz as they battle the forces of evil and demonstrate the transcendent power of loyalty and love.

The Wretched of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler

Title: The Wretched of Muirwood

Author: Jeff Wheeler

Publisher: CreateSpace

Release Date: January 7, 2011

ISBN: 978-1456399481

Size: 348 pages, 5×8, softcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

Imagine a world where words are so precious they are only etched in gold, and only the privileged are allowed to learn how to read. Muirwood Abbey is one of the few places where learners are taught to read and engrave, and thirteen year-old Lia wants nothing more than to learn both of these skills—yet she is a wretched, an orphan, and doomed to remain in the Aldermaston’s kitchen, forbidden to read and subject to his authority. Her future is destined for preparing recipes in a privileged household until, unexpectedly, a mysterious knight-maston abandons the wounded squire Colvin at the Aldermaston’s kitchen in the middle of the night. Soon after, Sheriff Almaguer comes hunting for Colvin, and Lia is thrust into the greatest adventure of her life as she and the squire are forced into a partnership that brings her closer to her dream—and Colvin closer to his fear of dying on the battlefield. The Wretched of Muirwood is the first book of the Muirwood Trilogy.

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain

Title: The Lost Saint

Author: Bree Despain

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Release Date: December 28, 2010

ISBN: 978-1606840580

Size: 416 pages, hardcover

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

Series: The Dark Divine

Read Chapter 1

Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She gave her soul to the wolf to save him and lost her beloved mother. When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do. She must become a Hound of Heaven.

Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot – a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her be a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel begins to crumble.

Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace becomes prideful in her new abilities – not realizing that an old enemy has returned and deadly trap is about to be sprung.

Aftermath by Michelle Erickson

Title: Aftermath (Chest of Souls, Book 3)

Author: M. Erickson

Publisher: lulu.com

Release Date: December, 2010

ISBN: 978-0557792726

Size: 348 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: YA Speculative

Series: Chest of Souls (Book 1), Lend Me Your Mind (Book 2)

Brenna yearns for Talon’s love, but knows he sees her as a child. She’s determined to change that before her parents keep their word to take her away where Talon will never find her. No one seems to understand that Talon is the core of Brenna’s existence, not even Talon – yet. Brenna is unaware the evil that has been searching for her has found her and if it can’t take her, it will take those she loves. Talon has read the Book of Benamii and is beginning to understand that if Brenna dies, all hope perishes with her. He will not allow anyone or anything to hurt her. Not even Tasut. He is determined to stand between her and what is coming. He has a feeling of foreboding and his father is looking at him with an air of expectancy. Whatever it is his father wants from him, Talon wants to avoid at all costs.

The Peasant Queen by Cheri Chesley

Title: The Peasant Queen

Author: Cheri Chesley

Publisher: Cedar Fort

Release Date: December 8, 2010

ISBN: 978-1599554167

Size: 256 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

“Sire, I don’t understand your plans for me,” Krystal pleaded. “Please send me home. After all, I’m only a mere peasant girl.”

King Gregory stepped closer and lifted a strand of her hair in his hand. “I don’t want you to ask me that again. And as for being a mere peasant girl, you are that no longer,”

“What do you mean?”

“I have the authority to name a princess of Avolonya, and I have. You are now that princess.”

After running away from home, Krystal is transported to a faraway kingdom where an evil tyrant is bent on taking the crown—and Krystal’s hand in marriage. But when she falls in love with the rightful heir to the throne, she must make an impossible choice: sacrifice her one chance at happiness and agree to marry King Gregory, or face the destructin of an entire kingdom.

Matched by Ally Condie

Title: Matched

Author: Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Release Date: November 30, 2010

ISBN: 978-0525423645

Size: 384 pages, 6×9, hardcover

Genre: YA Dystopian

Matched website.

Read an excerpt.

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one… until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow — between perfection and passion.

Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card

Title: Pathfinder

Author: Orson Scott Card

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: November 23, 2010

ISBN: 978-1416991762

Size: 672 pages, 5.5×8, hardcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

A powerful secret. A dangerous path.

Rigg is well trained at keeping secrets. Only his father knows the truth about Rigg’s strange talent for seeing the paths of people’s pasts. But when his father dies, Rigg is stunned to learn just how many secrets Father had kept from him–secrets about Rigg’s own past, his identity, and his destiny. And when Rigg discovers that he has the power not only to see the past, but also to change it, his future suddenly becomes anything but certain.

Rigg’s birthright sets him on a path that leaves him caught between two factions, one that wants him crowned and one that wants him dead. He will be forced to question everything he thinks he knows, choose who to trust, and push the limits of his talent…or forfeit control of his destiny.

Absolution by Jennifer Laurens

Title: Absolution (#3)

Author: Jennifer Laurens

Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing, LLC

Release Date: October, 2010

ISBN: 978-1933963822

Size: 220 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: YA Paranormal

Series: Heavenly (book 1), Penitence (book 2)

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Zoe’s secret is out. And the powers of Hell are ravenous to claim her soul. Her brother, Luke, knows her secret: that she sees both good and evil spirits. Her boyfriend knows. At least Matthias is her guardian angel again. But now Hell’s most ruthless leader will stop at nothing to have her soul.

Albert, Matthias’ father, is relentless in his hunger for Zoe. He wants to destroy Matthias and will use Zoe to do so.

The battle between Heaven and Hell tests everything Zoe has. As she witnesses everyone important in her life suffering, she’s brought to the ultimate choice: will she sacrifice her soul to save the ones she loves?