New year, new books: 15 YA releases to watch out for this January

Wings of Ebony by J. Elle

Rounding out this month’s releases is J. Elle’s debut fantasy story, Wings of Ebony, which is already being touted for fans of Angie Thomas, Tomi Adeyemi, and The Hunger Games. And Elle’s story sounds every bit as fantastical and impactful as those it’s been compared to, so fantasy fans will want to mark its release date (January 26) on their calendars.

Wings of Ebony follows Rue, whose way of life amounts to “make a way out of no way.” That motto becomes harder to live by, however, when her mother is killed and she’s forced to leave her younger sister and home behind to go live with the father she never knew.

Complicating matters is the fact that Rue’s father lives on an island of magic wielders, where Rue is the only half-god, half-human. Rue finds life on Ghizon miserable, and its Do Not Leave Law doesn’t exactly help. That’s why she breaks it to return to Houston, where she discovers too many Black kids being pulled into criminal behavior and violence. Rue fears her sister could wind up heading down this path, eventually leading her to the same end as their mother.

As though that’s not enough to contend with, Rue also realizes Ghizon may be in trouble, meaning she’ll have to deal with chaos unfolding in both of her homes:

"“Worse still, evidence mounts that the evil plaguing East Row is the same one that lurks in Ghizon — an evil that will stop at nothing until it has stolen everything from her and everyone she loves. Rue must embrace her true identity and wield the full magnitude of her ancestors’ power to save her neighborhood before the gods burn it to the ground.”"

Wings of Ebony sounds like the perfect fantasy story to whisk readers away without taking them too far, because it still offers plenty of commentary on real-world problems. If that combination is appealing to you (and honestly, who doesn’t love a fantasy story with a powerful message behind it?), make sure to pick up this debut when it arrives later this month.

Which YA releases are you planning on kicking the year off with? Share your recommendations in the comments below!