Young adult books of the month: sisters, lovers and assassins

Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women gets a 21st-century murder-mystery makeover in Katie Bernet’s novel Beth Is Dead (Scholastic, £8.99). Six months after her father is cancelled on social media for his thinly veiled tell-all novel about the lives of the March sisters, Beth is found dead in the snow. Her sisters are desperate to unmask the killer and alternating chapters reveal Jo, Meg and Amy’s perspectives – and possible motives. Bernet does a fine job in capturing the distinct characters and spirit of sisterhood but this is a smart, unpredictable thriller in its own right.

There are more twists in Sarah Crossan’s verse novel Gone for Good (Simon & Schuster, £9.99, published 26 February). The Irish author and poet who won the Carnegie Medal for One, a story of conjoined twins, takes a new direction with this missing-girl thriller. Connie, grieving the death of her mother, is seemingly kidnapped and finds herself at a reform school for so-called troubled teens. It is run like a prison and surrounded by wilderness, and Connie is drawn into a chilling mystery. Crossan’s signature verse drives a propulsive plot, conjuring a growing sense of dread alongside astute observations about mental health and control.

Jewell Parker Rhodes’s acclaimed Ghost Boys is now reimagined as a graphic novel illustrated by Setor Fiadzigbey (Orion, £9.99). The story follows Jerome, a 12-year-old Black boy who was shot and killed by a police officer, as he unravels what happened to him and the other “ghost boys” he encounters. First published in 2018, the original book has faced repeated challenges in school districts across the US; the graphic novel format adds new perspective and nuance, and should engage younger teenage readers in its exploration of racism.

One of spring’s most notable debuts is Bad Queer by Gayathiri Kamalakanthan, featuring illustrations by Chi Nwosu (Faber, £9.99, 26 March). Although confident in themselves, the non-binary Surya finds their attraction to Blessing, a boy at drama club, to be altogether trickier. The pair may be experiencing the whirlwind of first love and attraction, but can Blessing accept Surya and see them as they really are? A tender coming-of-age verse novel about navigating teenage first love.

Petra Lord’s Queen of Faces (Harper Fire, £16.99) is set in a magical world where the wealthy can buy and trade bodies like clothes. Seventeen-year-old Ana, penniless and trapped in a decaying male form, has no choice but to become an assassin for a prestigious school of magic, where she is swept up in a dangerous rebellion. This original fantasy debut explores intriguing questions about identity against a backdrop of exquisite world building.

Finally, a sequel to one of last year’s most enjoyable YA fantasy debuts. A War of Wyverns by SF Williamson (Harper Fire, £16.99) picks up a few months after the action of A Language of Dragons and sees code-breaking heroine Viv head to a remote Scottish island in search of a long-forgotten species of dragon that may hold the key to ending Britannia’s civil war. A delicious mix of rebellion, romance and complex female characters, both human and dragon.

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Illustration from Bad Queer by Chi Nwosu