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

The Court of Miracles – Kester Grant

A diverse fantasy mash-up of Les Miserables and The Jungle Book? Sign us up right now.

That is, apparently, what we can expect from debut author Kester Grant’s The Court of Miracles, a novel that’s already being hyped as one of the biggest and buzziest releases of 2020. The story’s unique premise is certainly something that feels fresh and exciting in the world of YA fantasy. Plus, it’s focused on Eponine, the Les Mis fan favorite who really gets a bum deal from the entire story – and deserved so much better than Marius Pontmercy.

Here, Eponine is a cat burglar in the days following a failed French Revolution. However, Paris in this reality is a dark and dangerous jungle with a complex criminal underworld and a glittering royal court. Oh, and she also has to save her sister Cosette from crime lords. Because this book seems determined to fix every problem I’ve ever had with Victor Hugo’s story all at once!

The official synopsis is fairy vague, but still enough to feel exciting.

"In the dark days following a failed French Revolution, in the violent jungle of an alternate 1828 Paris, young cat-burglar Eponine (Nina) Thenardier goes head to head with merciless royalty, and the lords of the city’s criminal underworld to save the life of her adopted sister Cosette (Ettie). Her vow will take her from the city’s dark underbelly, through a dawning revolution, to the very heart of the glittering court of Louis XVII, where she must make an impossible choice between guild, blood, betrayal and war."

The Court of Miracles is available on June 2.