This Week in YA — Issue #67
Welcome to the Voyage newsletter!
It’s another new week and another installment of this newsletter for you this week, my fellow YA enthusiasts. Along with an interview with the author of this summer’s perfect European travel read (dank u wel!), we’ve got a plethora of great book lists for you this week. Truly something for everyone! Yeah, that sound you hear is my TBR exploding.
News and Resources
The poetic festivities for the month continue with National Poetry Month: Books for Teens from the Princeton Public Library!
The team at The Booked Shelf recently shared April 2023 YA Books for Your TBR!
Looking a bit farther ahead, Shavantay at shereads has a list of the Most Anticipated YA Books of Summer 2023.
As always, Dahlia features books that end up being favorites, this time 15 Amazing Upcoming YA Books with Queer Characters over on BuzzFeed.
For historical (and Stranger Things) fans, you’re not going to want to miss Millie Bobby Brown Debut Novel Nineteen Steps Set During World War II, Inspired by Her Family’s History. Can’t wait!
Finally, in Why the Current String of Book Bans Hurt Teens More Than Any Other Demographic, Deborah Crossland shares some insightful expertise.
The 5 Questions Interview Series
Each week, this newsletter will include interviews with industry professionals sharing insight about the who, what, where, when, why in YA today.
Today we’ve got an interview with YA author Kristy Boyce, whose sophomore YA novel, Hot Dutch Daydream, releases today. If you were a fan of Kristy’s debut, Hot British Boyfriend, then you won’t want to miss this one. And if you missed that one, take this chance to pick up both of them. This one certainly promises to be every bit as fun!
5 Questions Interview with Kristy Boyce, YA author
ABOUT HOT DUTCH DAYDREAM
Rom-com lovers and fans of Elise Bryant and Jenna Evans Welch will adore this next summer read from Hot British Boyfriend author Kristy Boyce.
No one has ever accused Sage Cunningham of being easily distracted. She has a plan, and she won’t be swayed. She’ll spend the summer interning in her mentor's lab in Amsterdam, and then she’ll be ready for college. All she needs to do to pay for the summer abroad is agree to serve as the au pair for Dr. Reese’s three-year-old.
Sage has it all down to a science, but she doesn’t anticipate the surprise arrival of Dr. Reese’s teenage son. Ryland is spontaneous, flirty, and impulsive—everything Sage isn’t. He’s a talented artist, but he’s desperately in need of someone to keep him focused. And as nannying proves harder than Sage had expected, it turns out she might need help too.
The two strike a deal. Sage will stop Ryland from going out with a different girl every day, and Ryland will pitch in with his little brother.
Spending the summer stuck together is the perfect way to keep distractions to a minimum. Right?
ABOUT KRISTY BOYCE
Kristy Boyce lives in Pickerington, OH and teaches psychology as a senior lecturer at The Ohio State University. When she’s not spending time with her husband and son, she’s usually writing, reading, putting together fairy gardens, or planning her next trip back to Europe.
1. Who: Who are your instabuy, go-to YA authors? And which new talent have you discovered recently?
For YA fantasy, I always love Maggie Stiefvater and Laini Taylor. Kasie West’s YA romance novels really inspired me when I first started to write in the genre and she’s an instabuy too.
I recently read the debut novel, Bellegarde, by Jamie Lilac and absolutely loved it! It’s a historical rom-com with a modern voice and I flew through the pages.
2. What: What was the most joyful moment in preparing to bring Hot Dutch Daydream into the world?
There were many, but probably the most joyful moment happened while I was sitting in the backseat of a taxi, driving through Amsterdam during my research trip in 2021. The borders had just opened after the pandemic lockdown, so I jumped on a plane to visit the city again, and I remember silent tears of joy rolling down my cheeks as I watched the city through the car window. I was so happy to be traveling again, and the fact that this was a work trip for my second novel felt like the biggest privilege in the world.
3. Where: Where is the state of YA right now, from where you sit? Where do you hope to see it go next?
Oh, it’s always so hard to know the state of publishing! From where I sit, it feels like YA fantasy continues to be popular, and that thrillers and horror are doing extremely well right now. I have heard that contemporary and “quiet” books are getting harder to sell, but I really hope that turns around. I’ve noticed a lot of YA novels (particularly romances and thrillers) are starting to come out as paperbacks first, and I hope that allows greater access to readers and keeps YA selling!
4. When: Looking ahead to next year (or beyond), what exciting things are next on the horizon for you?
Next year, my third YA romance—Dungeons & Drama—will be published and I’m excited to share it with readers! It’s an enemies-to-lovers, fake dating book between a theater-loving girl and a D&D-loving boy, and it was super fun to write!
5. Why: Why YA? What draws you to writing for this age group?
I love writing for (and about) this age group because it’s such a turning point in all of our lives. This is the time when we’re really contemplating our futures, our dreams, and who we want to become. I also love that often there’s still so much hope for the future and this feeling that anything is possible. I like writing about characters who are starting that next step in their lives.
Writing Inspiration from Kip
I think it’s probably clear from some of the books I’ve gushed about before that my favorite books are usually historicals, often with a tragic bent to them. But that doesn’t mean I don’t also adore other sorts of stories, and fun books like Kristy’s—especially in a unique setting like this—are sometimes just what the doctor ordered. I’m already looking forward to the escape to the Netherlands offered in these pages.
I also love Kristy’s backstory on bringing this particular book to life during the pandemic. Because I also had to put research travel on hold in 2020 and finally made it to my destination in 2022, I totally get that feeling of utter joy in finally being in the place you imagined—finding out what you got right, taking in any details you got wrong.
I’ve written plenty of manuscripts without the luxury of being able to visit the specific setting, so it’s certainly not to say it’s not possible to write a book set far afield without travel. And there’s a wealth of information available these days—from youtube videos to online access to museum collections—more and more is possible from the armchair than ever. But if you ever get the chance to supplement your research from home with research in person, definitely seize that day!
Thank you for joining me on this voyage!