Take 5: 2022 Sourcebooks Fire Showcase

It’s that time of year when everyone starts thinking about books coming out in 2022 that they can’t wait to read. I, personally, am super done with 2021 and hope that 2022 starts a big turnaround for this broken little world we are living in. And looking forward to 2022 with hope (please let it be better), I am thinking about some of the books I am looking forward to reading. My TBR list is growing and today I am going to talk about Sourcebooks Fire books. Sourcebooks Fire are one of my go to publishers for all things YA lit horror, mysteries and thrillers. If they aren’t on your radar, you should add them. So here is a look at 5 upcoming Sourcebooks Fire YA lit titles you should add to your TBR list.

At the End of Everything by Marieke Nijkamp

Publisher’s Book Description: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends comes another heartbreaking, emotional and timely page-turner that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

The Hope Juvenile Treatment Center is ironically named. No one has hope for the delinquent teenagers who have been exiled there; the world barely acknowledges that they exist.

Then the guards at Hope start acting strange. And one day…they don’t show up. But when the teens band together to make a break from the facility, they encounter soldiers outside the gates. There’s a rapidly spreading infectious disease outside, and no one can leave their houses or travel without a permit. Which means that they’re stuck at Hope. And this time, no one is watching out for them at all.

As supplies quickly dwindle and a deadly plague tears through their ranks, the group has to decide whom among them they can trust and figure out how they can survive in a world that has never wanted them in the first place.

Karen’s Thoughts: Marieke Nikjamp is a NYT bestselling author and she has written some amazing books. I once held a fantastic teen book discussion group centered around her book This is Where it Ends, and I think that this title has the same potential. Some might be thinking, oh no it’s too soon for a plague novel given our current situation, but I believe that it is the perfect vehicle to help those of us who wish to and need to process the events of the past two years while still giving ourselves the grace of a fictional narrative to do so. It’s like bibliotherapy, we can process our pandemic trauma by talking about a fictional plague. This book is slated for a January release.

The New Girl by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Publisher’s Book Description: Lia Setiawan has never really fit in. And when she wins a full ride to the prestigious Draycott Academy on a track scholarship, she’s determined to make it work even though she’s never felt more out of place.

But on her first day there she witnesses a girl being forcefully carried away by campus security. Her new schoolmates and teachers seem unphased, but it leaves her unsure of what she’s gotten herself into.

And as she uncovers the secrets of Draycott, complete with a corrupt teacher, a golden boy who isn’t what he seems, and a blackmailer determined to get her thrown out, she’s not sure if she can trust anyone…especially when the threats against her take a deadly turn.

Karen’s Thoughts: First, I just want to take a moment to note that it was amusing to me to see a book titles New Girl with an author named Jesse because, well, the TV show. I love the show. This book, obviously, has nothing to do with the show but who doesn’t love a deadly game of cat and mouse? This book is scheduled to come out on February 1st.

Lock the Doors by Vincent Ralph

Publisher’s Book Description: A brand new addictive, twisty thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of 14 WAYS TO DIE – for fans of Karen McManus, Holly Jackson and Lisa Jewell.

LOCK EVERY DOOR

Tom’s family have moved into their dream home. But pretty soon he starts to notice that something is very wrong – there are strange messages written on the wall and locks on the bedroom doors. On the OUTSIDE.

The previous owners have moved just across the road and they seem like the perfect family. Their daughter Amy is beautiful and enigmatic but Tom is sure she’s got something to hide. And he isn’t going to stop until he finds the truth behind those locked doors. . .

Will their dream home become a nightmare?

Karen’s Thoughts: Vincent Ralph is the author of the recent thriller 14 Ways to Die, which you can currently find on Riley’s dorm bed as she is reading it as we speak. A dream home turned into a deadly home is a pretty reliable trope so sign me up. This book is scheduled to publish in March 2022.

Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson

Publisher’s Book Description: Black Lives Matter meets Attack the Block with a dash of Under the Dome in this stunning story of teens using their talents to liberate a city from unjust police occupation

Jamal Lawson just wanted to be a part of something. As an aspiring journalist, he packs up his camera and heads to Baltimore to document a rally protesting police brutality after another Black man is murdered.

But before it even really begins, the city implements a new safety protocol…the Dome. The Dome surrounds the city, forcing those within to subscribe to a total militarized shutdown. No one can get in, and no one can get out.

Alone in a strange place, Jamal doesn’t know where to turn…until he meets hacker Marco, who knows more than he lets on, and Catherine, an AWOL basic-training-graduate, whose parents helped build the initial plans for the Dome.

As unrest inside of Baltimore grows throughout the days-long lockdown, Marco, Catherine, and Jamal take the fight directly to the chief of police. But the city is corrupt from the inside out, and it’s going to take everything they have to survive.

Karen’s Thoughts: First, I want to take a moment to say that Attack the Block is a great British sci fi movie starring none other than John Boyega and the current Doctor, Jodie Whittaker. So I was in the moment that it was used as a comp title. More importantly, the title is relevant and necessary as we as a nation and the world at large continues to wrestle with what policing can, should and does look like and the impact that it has on Black lives. Scheduled to be published in March 2022.

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

**please note, there has not yet been a cover released for this title**

Publisher’s Book Description: Mysterious disappearances. An urban legend rumored to be responsible. And one group of friends determined to save their city at any cost. Stranger Things meets Jordan Peele in this utterly original debut from an incredible new voice.

For over a year, the Bronx has been plagued by sudden disappearances that no one can explain. Sixteen-year-old Raquel does her best to ignore it. After all, the police only look for the white kids. But when her crush Charlize’s cousin goes missing, Raquel starts to pay attention—especially when her own mom comes down with a mysterious illness that seems linked to the disappearances.

Raquel and Charlize team up to investigate, but they soon discover that everything is tied to a terrifying urban legend called the Echo Game. The game is rumored to trap people in a sinister world underneath the city, and the rules are based on a particularly dark chapter in New York’s past. And if the friends want to save their home and everyone they love, they will have to play the game and destroy the evil at its heart—or die trying.

Karen’t Thoughts: Urban legends and deadly games? Yes please. This should be a great read for your Stranger Things fans. Vincent Tirado is a debut author and they should have a promising literary career. Scheduled for a May 2022 release.

Every single one of these book sounds like they have high appeal for teen readers. I know that the murder teen, also known as Riley, and I can’t wait to read them.

Filed under: YA Lit