Sample-Chapter Showdown: Young Adult II

Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee (Penguin Young Readers Group)
Of Flame and Fury by Mikayla Bridge (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
The Dead of Summer by Ryan La Sala (PUSH)

It's time for a sample-chapter showdown! This edition features YA books with three very different settings—one historical, one fantasy, and one contemporary...with a twist.

Kill Her Twice
It's the 1930s in LA, and times are tough: May and Gemma are struggling to keep their family afloat while their father recovers from illness, a task made that much harder by the country's economic slump...and harder still when racism limits their opportunities. Then Lulu Wong, the shining star of Chinatown—who has found mainstream success—is found dead, perhaps murdered, and one thing is certain: the police cannot be trusted to handle this case on their own.

It's been a while since I read one of Lee's books, but if I remember correctly, this is true to form—rich in detail and bringing history to life. This isn't a time or place (LA generally, Chinatown more specifically) about which I know all that much, but I came out of these sample chapters thinking that Lee has done her homework. The plot moves pretty quickly, with a body discovered and a possible love interest introduced and a possible arranged marriage discussed before the end of the sample. I'm not entirely sure where all of this will go (although I can make a few educated guesses), but, well, I think we can safely say that I'm invested now.

Of Flame and Fury
In a world where phoenix racing can bring fame and, critically, fortune, Kel is desperate to win to stave off financial ruin. But even with a star phoenix, that's not an easy task, and she's left with the question: how far is she willing to go?

I read a ten-chapter sampler of the book, which is more than enough to introduce Kel and her teammates and to get a sense of the perils of the world she lives in. Kel and team are all teenagers, operating more or less without adult oversight in a wildly dangerous sport—phoenix racing is not just a matter of speed and skill but one of dodging obstacles designed to kill. Kel says that pheonixes are "godly creatures meant to be feared and protected" (loc. 135*) but also that because they are "continually captured for [racing] and killed on tracks, their population was dwindling" (loc. 662); I'm not sure how these two things are balanced—how widely phoenixes are viewed as godly—but I hope this dichotomy of Kel caring so deeply for her phoenix but also being heavily involved in a sport designed to kill both humans and phoenixes is explored in depth as the book goes on.

This is very very clearly set up as an enemies-to-lovers story—Kel knows Coup from the racing circuit, and she can't stand him (mostly, I think, because he's willing to take bigger risks than she is, and is more likely to win). I've never been one much for enemies-to-lovers stories (give me mutual respect and cooperation!), but I imagine that this will go over very well with readers who are fans of I-can't-stand-him-so-why-do-I-want-to-kiss-him YA romance.

The Dead of Summer
Ollie's return to Anchor's Mercy is a homecoming—and perhaps something much, much worse.

I could have sworn that I'd read something by La Sala before, but...well, I checked, and to the best of my knowledge I haven't. So this was an intriguing first look: a few quick chapters at what promises to be a twisty story, with elements of horror and queer love and perhaps a bit of science fiction. (I'm reminded somewhat of Wilder Girls and am curious whether that sense holds throughout the book.)

The book opens into a standard YA love story, but it quickly becomes something much darker: it is clear that all is not well in Anchor's Mercy; it is clear that all has been not well in Anchor's Mercy for quite some time. But what that means, exactly, remains to be seen in the rest of the book. I'm guessing that this will be a fast-moving one, and if I was only neutrally interested by the thought of another YA summer island romance, I'm very intrigued by whatever experiments are going on in the rest of the book. Likely one for those who enjoy a bit of weird in their reading, a bit of twist, a world off its kilter.

The verdict: While Of Flame and Fury feels like a good fit for an audience looking for energetic, speculative YA, I'm a lot pickier about speculative fiction (and YA in general) than I used to be, so I'll likely hold off on this one. Kill Her Twice and The Dead of Summer both intrigue me, for different reasons: from the former, I know I can expect a well-written, well-researched story about a time and place and community that doesn't get enough literary love; from the latter, I'd anticipate something twisty and weird. So I'll just have to see what I end up in the mood for first!

Thanks to the authors and publishers for providing these previews through NetGalley.

*Quotes are from an ARC sample and may not be final.