Sarah:
WE COME APART by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan

Dual POV novel-in-verse... I look forward to Sarah's latest projects each time. If you haven't checked her out, you should! Much deserved hype.

SPELLBOOK OF THE LOST AND FOUND by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Last year or the year before, I chose her debut THE ACCIDENT SEASON as my favourite, and this one has made it into my top three this year. Moira's books are firmly an insta-buy.

THE FIFTH SEASON by N.K. Jemison

This book is so many things that it's hard to put into words. So glad that I picked it up and, in a way, it's still doing its story-thing in my mind like it's stuck on a loop in the background of my other brain processes. I don't love this book like other books. It's not feel-good or romantic. I love it because it's a truth discovered and it's all the good and the bad mixed up. I love it because it's powerful and sharply beautiful. Truth is beauty.

Kristan:
SIX OF CROWS and CROOKED KINGDOM by Leigh Bardugo

Darker and even more clever than Bardugo's first trilogy, but set in the same Grisha universe, these two books are about a group of young criminals who take on an impossible heist. In addition to wondering whether or not they would be able to pull off the job -- and if so, HOW -- I also completely fell in love with the characters, particularly Nina, Mattias, and Inej. What a perfect mix of humor and heart, tragedy and triumph.

FAR FROM THE TREE by Robin Benway

I zipped through this emotional family drama about three siblings adopted into different families. It feels a bit like a show you might watch on ABC Family (now called Freeform), or maybe sort of a YA version of This Is Us. I'm a sucker for stories about family secrets, and I also have a soft spot these days for stories about pregnancy and motherhood; those are just a couple of the many issues that Far From the Tree manages to touch on.

Ingrid:
SALT TO THE SEA by Ruta Sepetys 

Another amazing read by one of my favorite authors. The story is told in alternating first-person accounts by four refugees whose paths cross in late WWII. They end up on a ship together, fleeing for safety from encroaching Russian forces. Their stories, told with poignancy and lyricism, don't shy away from the brutalities of war and the desperation that causes people to do both the unthinkable and the heroic.

GEM AND DIXIE by Sara Zarr

S​ara Zarr's latest release centers on two sisters who find their dad's bag of drug money and must decide what to do with it. This book has everything I love--family drama, emotional tension, characters trying to find and accept themselves, an amazing setting (Greater Seattle), and a satisfying but realistic ending. Bravo!

FEMALE OF THE SPECIES by Mindy McGinnis 

I dove into this book not really knowing much about it. Well, it was brutal and savage and utterly amazing. Alex Craft is the MC who takes down anyone who hurts the innocent. She calls herself vengeance, and that's pretty fitting. FOTS is not an easy read; it tackles issues like rape, violence, and revenge in an unflinching and complex way. It's an important book, but one that isn't preachy. You can't help but feel everything when lurking inside these pages. 

Stephanie:
CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber

I am so in love with this world. This book captured my imagination more than any story has in a long time. Every twist and turn caught me by surprise, and I loved not being able to guess what was coming next.

STRANGE THE DREAMER by Laini Taylor

I wanted to live in Lazlo’s dreamscape. Laini is so good at merging the strange and the beautiful. And the cultures were so rich and vivid.

LIESL AND PO by Lauren Oliver

So creepy and magical. This explored the foggy space between life and death, and I loved that.

Book that we are ALL most looking forward to in 2018

ALL OUT OF PRETTY by Ingrid Palmer

Dude, one of our own is getting published. Of COURSE we're all on the edge of our seats, eagerly awaiting the day we can get our hands on a copy! We have read AOOP -- many times, many versions -- and every time, we find something new to love.

Ing, you're so talented, and we're so proud of you. <3