Here's a list of my favorite YA books—old and new

Old favorites cycle through my to-read pile every few years because they fill my heart with light—books like Madeleine L’Engle’s Austin family series and C. S. Lewis’s Narnia series. But my writing friends at the Habit have given me a few new favorites:

1) The Carver and the Queen, by Emma Fox, available on Amazon. Inspired by Russian folktales, this is a beautiful story of determination as the two main characters seek to learn their craft, gain their freedom, and marry (in that order of importance). The Arrow and the Crown is an older title I haven’t yet read.

2) Daughter of Arden Trilogy (Exile, Wandering, and Promise), by Loren G. Warnemuende, available at Bandersnatch Books or on Amazon. A fairy tale retelling, this pampered, indulged princess endures danger and gritty hardship to become the strong and wise leader her kingdom desperately needs.

3) The Wilderking Trilogy (The Bark of the Bog Owl, The Secret of the Swamp King, and The Way of the Wilderking), by Jonathan Rogers, available at the Rabbit Room or on Amazon. This delightful story takes place in the fictional land of Corenwald, which bears some resemblance to the swamps and rivers of Georgia. And it features a boy who bears some resemblance to King David. 

4) The poets at The Habit have been busy as well. While not YA, their latest collection can be found on The Habitation Poetry Collective page on Blurb.

And there’s my own YA novel, which I hope will become someone’s favorite—

5) Call of the Desert: Crossing, available from my publisher or Amazon. It’s the first in a five-part series that follows the protagonist through her senior year of boarding school. The second comes out later this fall.

Happy reading!