If you attended this year’s CFBISD Secondary Literacy Night, you are aware that the Dallas area is hometown to many up-and-coming authors. Check out these book debuts from our local authors! This is a great reading list to enjoy over the summer.
Click the author’s name to go to their website. You can also interact with them on Twitter. Click the book title to purchase it on Amazon.
CHANDLER BAKER [@ChandlerBakerYA]
Alive by Chandler Baker available from Amazon & Barnes & Noble
Written in the vein of Gayle Foreman and Lauren Oliver, about a girl recovering from a heart transplant, whose recovery (acclimating back to home and school life) also introduces disturbing side effects and hallucinations that haunt her every day, as she soon discovers the line between life and death is more fragile than even a girl with a replacement heart could imagine.
Teen Frankenstein, first in the High School Horror Story series by Chandler Baker
High school meets classic horror in Teen Frankenstein, a modern reimagining of Mary Shelley’s gothic novel from Chandler Baker.
It was a dark and stormy night when Tor Frankenstein accidentally hits someone with her car. And kills him. But, all is not lost―Tor, being the scientific genius she is, brings him back to life…
Thus begins a twisty, turn-y take on a familiar tale, set in the town of Hollow Pines, Texas, where high school is truly horrifying.
Teen Hyde by Chandler Baker available from Amazon
Welcome to Hollow Pines, Texas, where high school is truly horrifying.
Cassidy Hyde is NOT having a good year. Her boyfriend cheated on her, killed her best friend’s date during homecoming, and was then murdered in turn by a serial killer―and that’s not even counting that one thing that no one knows about.
This is Not the End by Chandler Baker, available on August 8, 2017
LINDSAY CUMMINGS [@authorLindsayC]
The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings available at Amazon & Barnes & Noble
An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller—set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate. It’s a must for fans of action-packed dystopian novels like The Hunger Games and Divergent.
The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings available on Amazon & Barnes & Noble
Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is the dark and compelling sequel to the bestselling The Murder Complex.
Balance Keepers, Book 1: The Fires of Calderon By Lindsay Cummings available at Amazon & Barnes & Noble
The Fires of Calderon is Book One in Lindsay Cummings’s epic Balance Keepers series. These exciting fantasy-adventure books are full of magic, mystery, friendship, and humor, and are perfect for fans of books like Brandon Mull’s The Candy Shop War or the Unwanteds series by Lisa McMann.
Balance Keepers, Book 2: The Pillars of Ponderay available on Amazon & Barnes & Noble
These exciting fantasy-adventure books are full of magic, mystery, friendship, and humor, and are suitable for grades 3 – 7.
Balance Keepers, Book 3: The Traitor of Belltroll available on Amazon & Barnes & Noble
The explosive conclusion to #1 New York Times bestselling author Lindsay Cummings’s epic fantasy adventure series about a magical world at the center of the earth.
Zenith (The Androma Saga) available for preorder on Amazon
From #1 New York Times bestselling author duo Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings comes the first book in The Androma Saga, full of action, fantastical intrigue and steamy star-crossed romance.
KRISSI DALLAS [@KrissiDallas]
The Phantom Island Series by Krissi Dallas available on Amazon & Barnes & Noble
The imagery is vivid and the world Dallas has built is absolutely lush. For people looking for high fantasy mixed with teen angst and a lot of secrets, check out this book.
DORA HILBURN [@HilburnD]
Between by Carrollton resident Dora Hilburn – available now from Amazon
Part romance, part ghost story: love blooms for heroine Anna, who is seventeen, and Wyatt, who died in battle decades before Anna was born. Anna is soon entangled in a love triangle and swept into a battle of good against evil.
JENNY MARTIN [@readJennyMartin]
Tracked by Jenny Martin available now from Amazon & Barnes & Noble
The Fast and the Furious gets a futuristic twist in this action-packed debut! On corporately controlled Castra, rally racing is a high-stakes game that seventeen-year-old Phoebe Van Zant knows all too well. Phee’s legendary racer father disappeared mysteriously, but that hasn’t stopped her from speeding headlong into trouble.
Marked by Jenny Martin available now from Amazon
Mad Max meets Firefly in the exhilarating sequel to the sci-fi novel Tracked
Cash, the prince of Bisera and leader of the rebellion, is missing. Phee’s uncle James is dead. And Charles Benroyal, once again, is behind it all. Caught between grief, thoughts of revenge, and traumatizing flashbacks of battle, Phee struggles to aid the resistance and prove her worth, even as she attempts to reconcile her growing romantic feelings for Bear with her loyalty to Cash. But when Benroyal’s attacks grow bolder, no one is prepared for the sacrifices Phee will have to make to win this war once and for all.
JULIE MURPHY [@andImJulie]
Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy – available now on Amazon & Barnes & Noble
For fans of John Green and Rainbow Rowell comes this powerful novel about a girl with cancer who creates a take-no-prisoners bucket list that sets off a war at school—only to discover she’s gone into remission.
Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy available on Amazon & Barnes & Noble
Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin'” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. At least until she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.
Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy – available now on Amazon & Barnes & Noble
From Julie Murphy, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’ and Side Effects May Vary, comes another fearless heroine, Ramona Blue, in a gorgeously evocative novel about family, friendship, and how sometimes love can be more fluid than you first think. Perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell and Morgan Matson.
Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane Katrina changed her life forever.
Since then, it’s been Ramona and her family against the world. Standing over six feet tall with unmistakable blue hair, Ramona is sure of three things: she likes girls, she’s fiercely devoted to her family, and she knows she’s destined for something bigger than the trailer she calls home in Eulogy, Mississippi. But juggling multiple jobs, her flaky mom, and her well-meaning but ineffectual dad forces her to be the adult of the family. Now, with her sister, Hattie, pregnant, responsibility weighs more heavily than ever.
VICTORIA SCOTT [@VictoriaScottYA]
Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott available on Amazon & Barnes & Noble
A pulse-pounding thrill ride, where a teen girl and her animal companion must participate in a breathtaking race to save her brother’s life–and her own.
Salt and Stone by Victoria Scott, the sequel to Fire and Flood available on Amazon & Barnes & Noble
How far would you go to survive?
Violet Grenade by Victoria Scott available on Amazon & Barnes & Noble
When Madam Karina discovers Domino in an alleyway, she offers her a position inside her home for entertainers in secluded West Texas. Left with few alternatives and an agenda of her own, Domino accepts. It isn’t long before she is fighting her way up the ranks to gain the madam’s approval. But after suffering weeks of bullying and unearthing the madam’s secrets, Domino decides to leave. It’ll be harder than she thinks, though, because the madam doesn’t like to lose inventory. But then, Madam Karina doesn’t know about the person living inside Domino’s mind. Madam Karina doesn’t know about Wilson.
Hear the Wolves by Victoria Scott available on Amazon & Barnes & Noble
So she shouldn’t be afraid of anything. But ever since her mom left the family and she lost hearing in one ear in a blizzard, it’s been hard to talk to people, and near-impossible to go anywhere or do anything without her dad or big sister within eyesight – it makes her too scared to be on her own.
When they leave her home alone for what should only be two nights, she’s already panicked. Then the snow starts falling and doesn’t stop. One of her neighbors is hurt in an accident. And the few people still left in Rusic need to make it to the river and the boat that’s tied there – their only way to get to a doctor from their isolated Alaska town.
But the woods are icy cold, and the wolves are hungry. Sloan and her group are running out of food, out of energy, and out of time. That’s when the wolves start hunting them.
Kay Honeyman [@Kayhoneyman]
Interference by Kay Honeyman available on Amazon
As a Congressman’s daughter in Washington, D.C., Kate Hamilton is good at getting what she wants — what some people might call “interfering.” But when her family moves to West Texas so her dad can run in a special election, Kate encounters some difficulties that test all her political skills. None of her matchmaking efforts go according to plan. Her father’s campaign gets off to a rough start. A pro tip for moving to Texas: Don’t slam the star quarterback’s hand in a door. And whenever Kate messes up, the irritatingly right (and handsome) Hunter Price is there to witness it. But Kate has determination and a good heart, and with all her political savvy — and a little clever interference — she’ll figure out what it takes to make Red Dirt home.
Do you have more questions about summer reading? Leave your questions in the comment section below.
Compiled by Anne Thomas