Top New YA Books in August 2021

Today’s young adult books bring romance, adventure and social commentary. Take a look at our best bets for what to read this August.

Edie in Between by Laura Sibson

Type: Novel
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Release date: Aug. 24

Den of Geek says: The retro-style cover is charming, but the heartfelt story about family and loss really sells this witchy contemporary fantasy.

Publisher’s summary: It’s been one year since Edie’s mother died. But her ghost has never left.

According to her GG, it’s tradition that the dead of the Mitchell family linger with the living. It’s just as much a part of a Mitchell’s life as brewing healing remedies or talking to plants. But Edie, whose pain over losing her mother is still fresh, has no interest in her family’s legacy as local “witches.”

When her mother’s teenage journal tumbles into her life, her family’s mystical inheritance becomes once and for all too hard to ignore. It takes Edie on a scavenger hunt to find objects that once belonged to her mother, each one imbued with a different memory. Every time she touches one of these talismans, it whisks her to another entry inside the journal–where she watches her teenage mom mourn, love, and hope just as Edie herself is now doing.

But as Edie discovers, there’s a dark secret behind her family’s practice that she’s unwittingly released. She’ll have to embrace–and master–the magic she’s always rejected…before it consumes her.

Tinged with a sweet romance with the spellbinding Rhia, who works at the local occult shop, Edie in Between delivers all the cozy magic a budding young witch finding her way in the world needs.

Buy Edie in Between by Laura Sibson.

Cazadora by Romina Garber

Type: Novel
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release date: Aug. 17

Den of Geek says: Last year’s Lobizona came at a time when immigration was top-of-mind in the news. The sequel returns to Argentine werewolves for a journey into another world.

Publisher’s summary: Following the events of Lobizona, Manu and her friends cross the mystical border into Kerana―a cursed realm in Argentina―searching for allies and a hiding place. As they chase down leads about the Coven―a mythical resistance manada that might not even exist―the Cazadores chase down leads about Manu, setting up traps to capture and arrest her.

Just as it seems the Cazadores have Manu and her friends cornered, the Coven answers their call for help. As Manu catches her breath among these non-conforming Septimus, she discovers they need a revolution as much as she does. 

But is she the right one to lead them? After all, hybrids aren’t just outlawed. They’re feared and reviled. What happens when the Coven learns of Manu’s dual heritage? Will they still protect her? Or will they betray her? 

And after running this far, for this long―how much farther can Manu go before her feet get tired, and she stops to take a stand?

Buy Cazadora by Romina Garber.

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

Type: Novel
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release date: Aug. 3

Den of Geek says: On the line between YA and thriller sits this genre-aware paranormal adventure full of ghosts, pop culture and romance.

Publisher’s summary: Something is wrong in Snakebite, Oregon. Teenagers are disappearing, some turning up dead, the weather isn’t normal, and all fingers point to TV’s most popular ghost hunters who have just come to town. 

Logan Ortiz-Woodley, daughter of TV’s ParaSpectors, has never been to Snakebite before. But the moment she and her dads arrive, she starts to get the feeling that there’s more than ghosts plaguing this small town. Ashley Barton’s boyfriend was the first teen to go missing, and she’s felt his ghost following her ever since. Although everyone shuns the Ortiz-Woodleys, the mysterious Logan may be the only person who can help Ashley get some answers. 

When Ashley and Logan team up to figure out who―or what―is haunting Snakebite, their investigation reveals truths about the town, their families, and themselves that neither of them are ready for. As the danger intensifies, they realize that their growing feelings for each other could be a light in the darkness.

Buy The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould.