One of the best parts of my job is ordering new books for the Edge–reading the reviews, seeing what popular authors come up with next, or finding out about an upcoming sequel to an old favorite. Read on to find out about some of the new YA fiction titles coming to our shelves this month.

How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog
“Queer Jewish love stubbornly blooms despite the cold of a Washington, D.C., winter. Fresh off a cataclysmic first semester of college, Shani is determined to pass her winter break internship at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History like a Jewish nun: no girls, no distractions, just fossils. Like all the best-laid plans, hers go awry when she finds herself on a literal collision course with a very cute girl named May. Hallmark movie–style shenanigans ensue.” –Kirkus Reviews

Runestone Saga: Children of Ragnarok by Cinda Williams Chima
Grades 8 and up
Library Catalog
“Eiric Halvorsen and his mysterious half sister, Liv, are fighting to maintain ownership of Sundgard, their unusually prosperous farm located in the depressed land of Muckleholm; Sten, their drunken stepfather, has designs on it himself. When their mother, Sylvi, dies of exposure while protecting the infant son that Sten has rejected and left out to die, Liv and Eiric know they will be the next victims. Instead, they kill Sten and, for protection, make a deal with Jarl Harald, the regional leader, to search out a group of mythical islands, where the volur, or witches, live.” –Kirkus Reviews

We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog
“Lately 17-year-old Avery feels like she needs a change of scenery, a break from Washington, D.C., and her singular focus on early admittance to Georgetown. When Avery’s mom, Zora, learns her mother is dying from cancer, she decides to move back home. After more than a decade away, Zora is not wholeheartedly embraced by Mama Letty. As a queer, biracial teen—Avery’s mom is Black, and her dad is White—Avery’s welcome in rural Bardell County, Georgia, population 9,127, is just as cold. Avery tries to understand what caused the rift between her mom and Mama Letty and what happened to her grandfather, but both women are reluctant to share. Avery befriends the pretty Black girl next door and the rich White girl whose family runs everything, and she discovers Bardell County is full of buried secrets.” –Kirkus Reviews

Whiteout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon
Grades 8 and up
Library Catalog
“The authors of Blackout (2021) return with a new collaboration. YA stars Clayton, Jackson, Stone, Thomas, Woodfolk, and Yoon’s second novel covers the same theme—Black teens falling in love—with two big differences. This story is set not during a sweltering New York City summer but a historic winter storm in Atlanta, and rather than each author’s penning a separate chapter focused on one couple, they all worked together on the snowy romance.” –Kirkus Reviews

My Good Man by Eric Gansworth
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog
“Onondaga, Eel Clan author Gansworth (Apple) traces the life of a Haudenosaunee 25-year-old from early childhood to adulthood in this heartfelt epic. The novel opens in 1992 with reporter Brian Waterson, the only Native person on the Niagara Cascade staff, struggling to persuade his editors to let him report on topics other than life on the Tuscarora reservation where he grew up. When the brother of his mother’s white boyfriend is hospitalized after a violent incident, Brian is drawn back to his childhood home. Thus begins a rewind to 1970, and—via six distinct parts—a forward chronology that delves further into Brian’s relationship with his family, his community, and himself.” –Publisher's Weekly

Cursed by Marissa Meyer
Grades 8 and up
Library Catalog
“Retaining all the magic woven into Gilded (2021), this duology ender picks up Meyer’s labyrinthine take on “Rumpelstiltskin” right where the first volume left off. At Adalheid Castle, Serilda currently resides with five ghosts, whom she cares for deeply and wants to protect. She is also grappling with anxiety over her upcoming (and unwanted) wedding to the Erlking (the Alder King). It’s clear that he wants to use her for his own gain, but the sinister depth of his plan isn’t revealed until after the ceremony.” –Booklist

Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell
Grades 9 and up
Library Catalog
“Romance blooms even during turbulent winters. Missed chances on New Year’s Eve, a Star Wars movie premiere, the soundtrack to grieving a breakup, breaking traditions for a school dance, celebrating holidays amid a pandemic, a modern fairy tale, stark realizations about life passing by, the awkwardness of bringing a boyfriend home for Christmas, and characters in limbo, waiting to be written into the story: Rowell weaves these scenarios into nine short stories, some realistic and some fantasy and most taking place during the winter or relating to holidays.” –Kirkus Reviews