Me on My 20 Most Anticipated Canadian YA of 2014

With the 2014 Canadian YA Lit Event only 4 months away, and with the National Post's Books Editor Mark Medley revealing his list of the 25 Canadian books he's most looking forward to in 2014, I thought I could make my own list.

And make it all YA. :)

It's alphabetical, and some don't yet have titles, but they're all on Goodreads. And, to make it clear, this is what I'm looking forward to. I'm sure there are more upcoming titles than what I have listed below, but we all have our own reading tastes.

Winterkill by Kate Boorman. The only thing that will save her family's reputation in their puritan, medieval-style world is Emmaline's marriage to the settlement leader, but her dreams are pulling her away and into the forest. Kate's debut YA will be out something this fall.

Real Mermaids Don't Sell Seashells by Hélène Boudreau. The fourth in Hélène's entertaining and fun series about Jade, a 14-year-old girl/mermaid trying to battle both high school and complicated underwater issues, comes out in February.

Tin Star by Cecil Castellucci. A new book by the Los Angeles Review of Books' YA editor, Tula and her family are on their way through space to a new home when they make a stop on a remote space station. This comes out late February.

Divided by Elsie Chapman. The sequel to the duology that started with Divided. West thought her time to kill was over, but the Board are sending her back out for one more, a face from her past. Look for this near the end of May.

Year of Mistaken Discoveries by Eileen Cook. Avery and Nora used to be best friends but have drifted apart. Now, in high school and after Nora's unfortunate overdose, Avery goes on a quest to honour her memory. This comes out late February.

The Worlds We Make by Megan Crewe. The last in the Fallen Worlds trilogy finds Kaelyn and her friends on the run from Toronto and the Wardens to Atlanta and the CDC with a vaccine to the virus and comes out in February (Megan's new series, starting with Earth & Sky, comes out sometime this fall).

16 Things I Thought Were True by Janet Gurtler. When Morgan's mother gets sick, it's hard not to panic, but then she discovers the dad who walked out when she was a baby is just a road trip away. Check this out in March.

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen. In this fantasy, farmer's daughter Cécile is kidnapped, taken beneath a mountain by trolls, and becomes part of a prophecy and a rebellion. This debut comes out in April.

The Story of Owen by E.K. Johnston. Described by Chandra Rooney of @IndigoTeenBlog as "CanLit in its sensibilities and its humour and its completely illustrated view of what it's like to grow up in rural Canada. Also it has dragons, and swordplay, and a cast of characters you will love." Coming out early March. (quote taken from Chandra's review on Goodreads)

Hexed by Michelle Krys. Indigo is a cheerleader dating a football star, but then a guy drops dead in front of her and her mother's family Bible is stolen and she ends up in a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerors. Because she's a witch, too. Comes out in June.

Now and for Never by Lesley Livingston. Clare and Allie's time travel shenanigans continue in the third book all about ancient Britons, Romans, Druids, an annoyed evil guy, pop culture references, and an awesome friendship. Look for this near the end of May (as well as the third book in Lesley's Starling series this fall).

The Shadow's Curse by Amy McCulloch. Raim is no closer to figuring out the meaning of the broken vow that marked him as an oathbreaker, but with his former best friend now a tryannical king holding the girl he loves hostage, he finds it hard to care. This comes out in July.

Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski. Taken from Goodreads: "What happens when a group of Tribeca high school kids go in for flu shots . . . and end up being able to read each others' minds?" This book comes out in March.

Untitled (Hemlock #3) by Kathleen Peacock. The final book in Kathleen's trilogy, a trilogy about werewolves, fear, the other, change, discovery, and romance starring a plucky heroine, her dead best friend, and a love interest or two, comes out in November.

Capricious by Gabrielle Prendergast. The sequel to Gabrielle's Audacious finds Ella deciding whether or not she could handle juggling two boyfriends and deciding whether or not to still be audacious in the face of school rules. This prose novel comes out in April.

The Bodies We Wear by Jeyn Roberts. Faye was eleven when some dealers forced her and her best friend to take drugs, killing her friend and ruining her life. Now she's ready to take revenge. This thriller comes out in September.

Push by Eve Silver. Miki is in charge of the team now in the Game, in charge of keeping them alive while they fight aliens in a video game-style scenario, but she's struggling to do so because things are changing. The rules are changing. And someone is watching her. The sequel to Rush comes out in June.

Boys Like You by Juliana Stone. While in Louisiana, trying to fill the hole in her heart after a terrible mistake, Monroe meets Nathan, a young man with regrets, his best friend trapped in a coma, and a court-appointed job and a B&B. This contemporary debut comes out in May.

Rain by Amanda Sun. The second in Amanda's Paper Gods series finds Katie staying in Japan, no matter how dangerous it is for her to stay, and Tomohiro, a kami with the ability to bring ink drawings to life, fighting against the ink's call. Look for this book in June.

Blues for Zoey by Robert Paul Weston. Every penny Kaz saves is to send his mother to an expensive clinic for her sleep disorder, but then pink-haired Zoey walks past his workplace and his life soon spirals out of control. This book comes out late January.

There are others coming out, of course, like a new Kelley Armstrong series, a new graphic novel by cousins Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki, and the final book in Moira Young's Dust Lands trilogy. What are you looking forward to and what would you suggest to those who might want to give Canadian YA lit a try?