Women’s words are incredibly powerful. They’ve moved us, they’ve changed us, they’ve healed us and they’ve shaped us. They’ve broken down barriers and built up beauty within and outside of ourselves, and have taught generations upon generations to share this beauty in hopes of creating a brighter place for all, too. The good change from the power of women’s words doesn’t just stop with what has already been done, though. It’s always working and moving within the words of the women today and within the words of the women tomorrow. And, more specifically, within the words of the women writing and releasing note-worthy Young Adult narratives in 2021.
So, from the ever so beautiful catalog of Young Adult fiction — with some definite romance involved — that women are releasing this year, here are some titles I’d recommend anyone add to their bookshelves. They’re effortlessly poignant, swoon-worthy, and inspiringly creative, all while pushing for diverse voices, protagonists and experiences to be included in their narratives. And, if nothing else, these words are guaranteed to leave you with at least one new perspective to take on the world, because like I said before, women’s words are just that powerful.
- ‘Instructions for Dancing’ by Nicola Yoon
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From the unstoppable and ever-so-talented Nicola Yoon comes another heart-stopping YA romance. Releasing on June 1, this next creative venture from the Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also A Star author takes the reader through the life of its protagonist, Evie Thomas, who just doesn’t believe in love anymore. That is, until she is paired with a boy named X to do the tango in a dance studio with, and until she’s enamored by his very prominent “say yes to everything” nature (which, for a girl who doesn’t believe in love anymore, is the complete opposite of what she knows and is comfortable with). Through X’s adventurous and spirited perspective, the two strangers find themselves competing in a ballroom dance competition together, and quite literally spend the days stepping on each other’s toes. But Evie comes to find that there may be more between her and X than just falling for a dance — there may just be some falling for hearts, too. As she and X are busy dancing, Evie is forced to face the truth she’s held onto for so long, and to open herself up to discovering that it may not be so true after all. With this third novel releasing from a true force among the YA community, you’re definitely gonna want to mark your calendars for this one. And maybe you’ll find yourself dancing, too.
- ‘Perfect on Paper’ by Sophie Gonzales
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Now, this book has technically already been released (March 9), but the premise of this stunner is just too good not to share. Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales speaks to those of us who seem to be experts on others’ love lives, all while watching our own love life collect cobwebs in the shadows. The story follows Darcy Phillips, a bisexual girl who is secretly giving love advice to her classmates out of a locker at school. However, when a determined Alexander Brougham catches Darcy in the act of giving secret love advice out of this locker, he proposes a deal with her and promises not to spill her secret if she accepts it. The deal, though, is not as simple and easy as Darcy would hope. In return for a kept secret, Alexander asks Darcy to essentially become his personal dating coach in hopes that he’ll win his ex-girlfriend back, and while Darcy is in the midst of her own unrequited love, she very begrudgingly agrees to do so. But is this all Alexandar and Darcy find themselves up to amidst the love advice and kept secrets? I guess the only thing left to do now is read the book for yourself to find out.
- ‘Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous’ by Suzanne Park
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Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous by Suzanne Park — releasing on June 1 — introduces its readers to a girl named Sunny Song who has all of her summer goals lined up in a pristine and perfect order. Number one involves finally turning a friend into a boyfriend, number two involves hitting 100,000 followers on her social media, and number three is a wish for the best last summer before high school ends forever. But while Sunny is planning for all of these things to happen, something unimaginable happens instead — she accidentally films a PG-13 cooking video that unfortunately goes viral. And what does Sunny endure to bounce back from this horrific incident? She endures being shipped off to a remote digital detox camp in Iowa, turning in her phone and her summer goals while she’s at it. But despite this, Sunny is still determined to grow her social media this summer and finds herself getting involved with unexpected friendships and cute farm boys. But will disconnecting from the digital world be enough for Sunny to let go of her summer goals? Looks like we’ll have to join Sunny in getting our hands dirty with a butter churn to find out.
- ‘Counting Down with You’ by Tashie Bhuiyan
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PSA: You’re gonna want to stick around for this one. Why, you may ask? Well, simply for the fact that this book, releasing on May 4, takes the reader through a seriously fun fake dating trope. And who doesn’t love a fake dating story? Especially when it involves Karina Ahmed, a reserved Bangladeshi teenager who is just trying to survive high school without a fuss, fake-dating her school’s resident bad boy, Ace Clyde. And what’s even better — or worse, depending on how you look at it — is that Ace does everything right. He buys the flowers, provides the coffee, and swiftly impresses the friends. He is the perfect fake-boyfriend, and Karina finds herself questioning whether or not she wants this fake-dating facade to be so fake in the end. And after learning that in addition to the coffee and the flowers, Ace also promises to buy Karina a dozen books per week, I seriously can’t blame her for feeling that way. I mean, a girl just really loves and needs her books, am I right?
- ‘Jade Fire Gold’ by June C.L. Tan
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Moving away from YA contemporary romance, this unique and breathtaking YA fantasy is inspired by East Asian mythology and releases into the world on October 12. It’s told in a dual point of view narrative and has been compared to the “magical Asiatic setting of Avatar: The Last Airbender,” which automatically piques my interest. Jade Fire Gold is set in high stakes as the protagonist, a peasant girl cursed with the power of stealing souls, has to save her grandmother from a cult of harmful priests, and does so by forming an alliance with an exiled prince. This mysterious prince has his own mission as well, and is set on taking back the Dragon Throne. And, on top of their rigid goals, finding ways to trust each other is one thing that these two have to work through, while being haunted by their pasts and the nature of dark magic is another. It’s a cinematic telling of family, forgiveness, revenge, and believing in yourself despite what’s true of the darkness, which sounds like a lesson every reader could use right about now. Looks like we’ll be marking our calendars for this beauty, too.
From one reader to another, I hope you feel just as hopeful as I do after learning about all of these wonderful new releases written by women that will soon be gracing our shelves. They’re bound to be world changers, even if just for one small world of someone who really needs them the most. That’s the beauty of literature and the beauty of women, after all — we’re always changing worlds. We’re always moving hearts. And we’re always creating a space for others to do the same. So, Happy Women’s History Month to all of my fellow world changers out there, and happy reading to those who pick up these beauties as they’re released. May we always continue to celebrate the power of women’s words and the change they bring to our world yesterday, today, and tomorrow.