What YA' Reading: Books in bloom

There is something soothing about the growth of new plants after a long cold winter. The new growth of spring can be beautiful, like tulips, or even a bit dark, like the thorns of roses. Here are a few titles to quench your thirst for whatever kind of read your witchy plant self desires.

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

Ever since Briseis (Bri) could remember plants around her yielded to her touch even the dangerous plants. She never knew her biological parents so having such a strange talent is especially difficult for her to understand. Until she inherits a rundown estate from an aunt she's never met. Bri leaves Brooklyn behind to spend the summer at this surprise home and hopefully find out more about herself. What she doesn't expect is to discover a secret apothecary hidden on the estate that holds the secrets to her affinity for plants, poisons and something even darker.

“Kalynn Bayron's writing is alchemy itself, blending contemporary fantasy with a dose of haunting mystery and a dropper of gothic fiction. An intoxicating tale about the power of about Black motherhood and daughterhood, and family bonds that can't be broken. Like the poisonous plants Briseis tends to, This Poison Heart is mesmerizing and beautiful.” ―Tracy Deonn, New York Times bestselling author of Legendborn
 

The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye J. Walton

Nor lives on the small island of Anathema. She's the descendant of Rona, a woman who more than a century ago was was attacked by the other settlers for being a witch. Rona cursed the town but in doing so she cursed her own family as well. 

Nor is very aware of the curse after it nearly killed her mother, who she hasn't seen in many years. However, now Nor's mother is back with a mysterious book and she's selling black magic. Nor fears none of them will know the cost until it's too late.

"As in her 2014 debut, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, Walton’s writing is atmospheric and ethereal. Anathema Island, with its foggy shores, rich diversity of flora and fauna, and quirky tourist shops, comes to vivid life...Nor’s wicked and violent sociopath mother is memorable and her scenes are truly chilling...Walton’s sophomore effort is haunting and, especially in the last act, thrilling." —School Library Journal

"An atmospheric, blood-drenched dark fantasy for a cold and stormy night." —Kirkus Reviews

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore

The Nomeolvides women have created lush gardens on the grounds of La Pradera for nearly a 100 years. Unfortunately, the gift of growing beautiful things on the outside comes with a cost. If they fall too deeply in love, their love vanishes leaving them with heartbreak and loss.

However, things change when a young boy emerges from the garden and Estrella, a Nomeolvides girl, finds him. He remembers nothing about who he is and where he comes from. Estrella has fallen in love before, with heartbreaking consequences, but this unknown boy is different. Can the two of them change a century's worth of heartbreak?

“A story filled with vibrant characters that resonate, and plots that will pull you in with equal parts magic and mystery. . . . It's a refreshing combination of coming-of-age romance and with family legacy and feminine strength, by a writer who has made a commitment to bringing authentically complex Latinx and queer voices into the mainstream.” ―Bustle