20 upcoming YA books we can’t wait to read in 2020

The Midnight Lie – Marie Rutkoski

Marie Rutkoski, author of the best-selling Winner’s Trilogy, returns to YA fantasy with this rich LGBT romance that explores memory, illusion, truth and lies.

The Midnight Lie takes place 20 years after the events of the Winners Trilogy, but readers won’t need to be familiar with that story to appreciate this one. Nirrim lives in the Ward, where life is grim and dangerous, and she keeps her head down, trying to survive. But she begins to dream of a life – one that breaks from her current drab routine and has room for things like love and magic in it – when she meets the rakish traveler Sid. Instant attraction, and a compelling mystery soon follow. But the question of who can be trusted remains.

The official synopsis explains things a bit more.

"Where Nirrim lives, crime abounds, a harsh tribunal rules, and society’s pleasures are reserved for the High Kith. Life in the Ward is grim and punishing. People of her low status are forbidden from sampling sweets or wearing colors. You either follow the rules, or pay a tithe and suffer the consequences. Nirrim keeps her head down and a dangerous secret close to her chest. But then she encounters Sid, a rakish traveler from far away who whispers rumors that the High Caste possesses magic. Sid tempts Nirrim to seek that magic for herself. But to do that, Nirrim must surrender her old life. She must place her trust in this sly stranger who asks, above all, not to be trusted."

The Midnight Lie is available on March 3.