Under the Radar YA is a Sunday feature of little-known YA books turning one year.
How does this work?
📚 The books featured on this little-known YA books list have less than 150 reviews on Goodreads and were published one year ago this week.
📚 There are no sequels featured, only standalones and first books in a series.
📚 The list used for reference is YA Novels of 2022.
📚 I’m not recommending any of these books, this is just a feature list.
I hope you enjoy these books and that maybe you find a new favorite in this little-known YA books list.
PUBLISHED MAY 15th TO 21st 2022
From Brick & Darkness
by J.L. Sullivan
GR rating: 4.57 (89 reviews)
Genre: Fantasy
Release date: May 16th 2022
Bax always fantasized something remarkable would happen in his life. So when a decrepit man with glowing purple eyes offers him a ring intended for his estranged father, Bax accepts.
The ring speaks to Bax in a dream, tempting him with a vision of a powerful djinn. Desperate to make his fantasies a reality, Bax unleashes a creature called Ifrit, but soon learns this djinn isn’t what the ring led him to believe. Feeding off the depths of his subconscious, the sinister demon fulfills what he thinks Bax wants by manipulating, threatening, and murdering. With everyone he loves in danger and a trail of crimes pointing back at him, Bax must scramble to solve the puzzle that will banish Ifrit forever.
Gideon Green in Black and White
by Katie Henry
GR rating: 4.08 (98 reviews)
Genre: Mystery | Contemporary | Romance
Publisher: HarperCollins US
Release date: May 17th 2022
Gideon’s short-lived run as a locally famous boy detective ended when middle school started, and everyone else — including his best friend, Lily — moved on while Gideon kept holding on to his trench coat, fedora, and his treasured film noir collection. Now, he’s sixteen and officially retired. That is, until Lily shows up suddenly at Gideon’s door, needing his help.
He might be mad at her for cutting him off with no explanation, but Gideon can’t turn down a case. As a cover, Gideon joins Lily on the school paper. Surprisingly, he finds himself warming up to the welcoming, close-knit staff… especially Tess, the cute, witty editor-in-chief.
But as the case gets bigger than Gideon or Lily could have anticipated, Gideon must balance his black-and-white quest for the truth with the full colours of real-life — or risk a permanent fade to black.
The Peach Rebellion
by Wendelin Van Draanen
GR rating: 4.37 (147 reviews)
Genre: Historical
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release date: May 17th 2022
A historical tale of friendship, family, and the power of sisterhood to help heal the wounds of the past and step boldly into the future of post-WWII America.
Ginny Rose and Peggy were best friends at seven, picking peaches on hot summer days. Peggy’s family owned the farm, and Ginny Rose’s were pickers, escaping the Oklahoma dust storms. That didn’t matter to them then, but now, ten years, hard miles, and a world war later, Ginny Rose’s family is back in town and their differences feel somehow starker. Especially since Peggy’s new best friend, Lisette, is a wealthy banker’s daughter.
Still, there’s no denying what these girls have in common — families with great fissures that are about to break wide open.
So when Ginny Rose imagines a radical plan to try to heal the rift in her family, these three not-quite-friends come together to see it through. They sense that this is a moment for them all — to prove they have the power to make things happen. To know that they can build better futures for themselves in a changing world.
How to Live Without You
by Sarah Everett
GR rating: 4.09 (62 reviews)
Genre: Contemporary | Mental Health
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release date: May 17th 2022
In this heart-wrenching, coming-of-age story about family, grief, and second chances, seventeen-year-old Emmy returns home for the summer to uncover the truth behind her sister Rose’s disappearance—only to learn that Rose had many secrets, ones that have Emmy questioning herself and the sister Emmy thought she knew.
Perfect Score
by A.M. Ellis & Angelica Monai
GR rating: 3.89 (37 reviews)
Series: Hunt a Killer
Genre: Mystery | Thriller | LGBT
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Release date: May 17th 2022
It’s time to HUNT A KILLER in this YA mystery series based on the bestselling subscription game!
In the world of Hunt A Killer, players help PI Michelle Gray solve murders through a variety of games using clues from autopsy reports to police records, and more.
Now, Hunt A Killer is making the leap to the page in this YA mystery series! Follow an original character as she investigates a brand-new case. Can she solve the crime before the killer strikes again?
Bardo by the Sea
by Chad Alan Gibbs
Series: Izzy and Elton Mystery Series #1
GR rating: 4.29 (43 reviews)
Genre: Mystery | Thriller
Publisher: Borne Back Books
Release date: May 17th 2022
When Izzy Brown, an anxiety-ridden sixteen-year-old, receives a scholarship to the prestigious Bardo Academy, she leaves the trailer park for a seaside villa in Florida’s most exclusive and secretive community. With a new address, new school, and cute new boyfriend, life is good — for once.
But then dreams of becoming a journalist prompt Izzy to join the school newspaper. With the help of Elton Jones-Davies, a gentle giant with autism and secrets of his own, she delves into the murder of a former Bardo Academy football star.
Together, Izzy and Elton uncover forbidden romance, shady business deals, and political corruption reaching the State Capitol. The case heats up just as Izzy’s life falls apart, but she presses on, risking everything to bring the killer to justice.
Set in 2008, at the precipice of the housing market crash and the height of Florida’s prescription opioid epidemic, Bardo by the Sea is Book 1 of the Izzy and Elton Mystery Series.
Vivid
by Ashley Bustamante
Series: The Color Theory #1
GR rating: 4.28 (110 reviews)
Genre: Fantasy | Christian
Publisher: Enclave Escape
Release date: May 17th 2022
DANGER LURKS BEHIND EVERY COLOR
When Ava Locke was five years old, she began a journey to join the Benefactors—the leaders of the magical continent of Magus. Twelve years later, she unwittingly started down the road to betray them.
On Magus, where colors fuel magical abilities, yellow is banned in an effort to protect people from its mind-controlling capabilities. When a rogue Yellow magic-user named Elm escapes imprisonment, Ava becomes innocently fascinated with his story. Once this mysterious Elm shows up at her school, Ava pushes her interest to the next level by helping him evade the Benefactors. Ava grows increasingly conflicted as her intrigue leads her down a dark road of secrets about her world. As she learns more about Yellow magic’s potential to control its victims, Ava now must question whether her rash decisions are all her own or if someone else is pulling the strings.
Have you heard of these books before?
Are you thinking about picking up any of them?
Pages & Plots 