YA Rights Guide – Kensington Publishing Corp. - Frankfurt Book Fair 2015

November 2015

DARK HEART OF MAGIC: Black Blade (#2) by Jennifer Estep BRIGHT BLAZE OF MAGIC (#3) – May 2016 Second in the mythical series from New York Times and USA Today-bestselling author Jennifer Estep: 17-year-old Lila is a thief and a bodyguard in her hometown – the most dangerously magical place in the world. When the head of the Sinclair Family, the rulers in her town, pick Lila to compete in the Tournament of Blades, there’s no escaping the spotlight – or the danger. Things get even more suspicious when all the contestants begin to have mysterious ‘accidents’. "Everything a fantasy should be--kick ass lead, nonstop adventure, and enough intrigue to keep you on the edge of your seat till the very end." - # 1 New York Times-bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout on Cold Burn of Magic

February 2016

ANY OTHER GIRL by Rebecca Phillips In the vein of Sarah Dessen and Huntley Fitzpatrick: 17-year-old Kat Henley loves being the center of attention. Having all eyes on her distracts people from focusing on what really makes her different—the fact that she has two dads. Growing up in a small town, she was often seen as maladjusted, rough around the edges, and in desperate need of a female influence. But all Kat has ever wanted is to be seen like any other girl. Once a tomboy, she has since exchanged her soccer balls for nail polish. The only place she ever unleashes her tough side is at her family’s summer cottage on the lake, surrounded by her family and several acres of forest. It’s there that she (almost literally) runs into Emmett Reese, a cute-but-moody new addition to her group of summer friends. Phillips is the author of, most recently, Faking Perfect (2015).: “Edgy and honest, Faking Perfect is the real thing.” - Huntley Fitzpatrick

YA Rights Guide – Kensington Publishing Corp. - Frankfurt Book Fair 2015

March 2016

BETRAYED: The Arnaud Legacy (#2) by Lynn Carthage Second in the trilogy, continuing the story of Phoebe, a 16-year-old American girl ghost who faces an unstoppable evil in a haunted French palace that she must fight with the help of her ghost-boyfriend, Miles. A classic haunted house story with a modern-day twist that will thrill fans of cable television’s American Horror Story. “Carthage makes Haunted work by doing a wonderful job of bringing her characters to life. Along with the twist, there’s a lovely romance, as well as a mystery… this is a fast, easy read that will keep you on your toes.”– RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars "[Carthage] takes a sharp, twisting turn away from the traditional haunted-house scares and happens upon something far scarier.”– Booklist on Haunted

April 2016

DREAMING OF ANTIGONE by Robin Bridges Issues-driven YA following 17-year-old Andria set in the aftermath of her twin sister Iris’s death by an accidental drug overdose. Struggling with guilt because she feels like her epileptic seizure took her parents attention away from her sister as she was unknowingly dying in her room, Andria tries to cope using poetry and stargazing. Andria is trying to keep her grades, her friends, and her family from falling apart. But stars and books aren’t enough to ward off her guilt that she—the freak with the strange disease and all-black wardrobe—is still here when Iris isn’t. And then there’s Alex Hammond. The boy Andria blames for Iris’s death. The boy she’s unwittingly started swapping lines of poetry and secret texts with, even as she tries to keep hating him.

YA Rights Guide – Kensington Publishing Corp. - Frankfurt Book Fair 2015

July 2016

THE DARKEST LIE by Pintip Dunn A thriller in the vein of Veronica Mars: clothes, jokes, coded messages…Cecilia Brooks and her mom shared everything. At least, CeCe thought they did. Six months ago, her mom killed herself after accusations of having sex with a student, and CeCe’s been the subject of whispers and taunts ever since. Now, at the start of her high school senior year, between dealing with her grieving, distracted father, and the social nightmare that has become her life, CeCe just wants to fly under the radar. Instead, she’s volunteering at the school’s crisis hotline—the same place her mother worked. As she counsels strangers, CeCe’s lingering suspicions about her mom’s death resurface. With the help of Sam, a new student and newspaper intern, she starts to piece together fragmented clues that point to a twisted secret at the heart of her community.

Dunn works as a guidance counselor in a high school.

September 2016

THE FORM OF THINGS UNKNOWN by Robin Bridges Issues-driven YA following an unreliable narrator: Natalie thinks her life is

over when her father moves their family to take care of their ailing

grandmother. A 17-year-old artist, Natalie is a romantic soul - though her

older brother just calls her a hippie and her grandmother calls her

crazy. And Grandma, who has battled schizophrenia for years, should

know. Natalie has just been released from an adolescent psych unit after

an “incident”, and promises her family that she will take her medicine,

that she can ignore the voices in her head, that she is fine.

While auditioning for the school play, Natalie sees Lucas, a patient at the

same psych ward as her. He is trying to pretend he doesn’t know her, so

she does likewise. Not that she was ever interested in quiet guys like

Lucas anyway. But tormented by mean girls, Natalie discovers the only

person she can trust is a boy who seems even crazier than she.

Bridges is the author of the forthcoming Dreaming of Antigone.

YA Rights Guide – Kensington Publishing Corp. - Frankfurt Book Fair 2015

Backlist Series

MYTHOS ACADEMY Series by Jennifer Estep Touch of Frost: Mythos Academy (#1): My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy — a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody’s head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest. But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I’m determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why — especially since I should have been the one who died Kiss of Frost (#2), Dark Frost (#3), Crimson Frost (#4), Midnight Frost (#5)

Killer Frost (#6): Linus and the Protectorate show up at Mythos Academy with powerful magical artifacts that need protecting. The evil god Loki needs one of the artifacts to restore him to his full strength, so the Reapers kidnap Grandma Frost to force Gwen to give it to them. When Gwen figures out how to use the bracelet given to her by a mysterious goddess to nullify the artifact, the Reapers launch a full-scale attack at the Academy. But Gwen and her friends will fight back in an epic battle that will decide Gwen’s future—if she survives “Estep blends the perfect amount of action, romance and comedy in a beautiful setting populated with well-rounded characters.” —RT Book Reviews Frost is a New York Times and USA Today-bestselling author. Rights to her Mythos Academy series have sold in Brazil, China, Germany, Poland, Taiwan, and Thailand.

YA Rights Guide – Kensington Publishing Corp. - Frankfurt Book Fair 2015

UNBOUND Series by Eve Marie Mont A Breath of Eyre: Unbound (#1) Emma Townsend has always believed in stories--the ones she reads and the ones she creates. Perhaps it's because she feels like an outsider at her school, or because her stepmother doesn't come close to filling the void left by her mother's death. And her only romantic prospect--apart from a crush on her English teacher--is Gray Newman, a long-time friend who just adds to Emma's confusion. But escape soon arrives in an old leather-bound copy of Jane Eyre. Reading of Jane's isolation sparks a deep sense of kinship. Then fate takes things a leap further when a lightning storm catapults Emma right into Jane's body and her 19th century world. As governess at Thornfield, Emma has a sense of belonging she's never known--and an attraction to the brooding Mr. Rochester. Now, moving between her two realities and uncovering secrets in both, Emma must decide whether her destiny lies in the pages of Jane's story, or in the unwritten chapters of her own. A Touch of Scarlet (#2), A Phantom Enchantment (#3) Book 2 focuses on THE SCARLET LETTER and Book 3 on PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. "This richly satisfying tale of first and last love transcends its genre-- not another breathless, fan-fiction take on a literary classic but an intertextual love letter...With evocative settings and compassionately drawn characters, this trilogy opener offers affectionate insight into the gifts literature gives readers. A smart and rewarding ode to literature." --Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW "Full of clever connections, tantalizing twists, and unexpected turns that will keep readers glued to its pages. Amazingly, in weaving Charlotte Bronte's beloved tome into the life of a modern day teenager, Eve Marie Mont has managed to create characters that believably embody dual roles in both settings...a well-blended work of fiction--- exception and unique in the arena of young adult fiction. This YA novel is a breath of fresh air for hungry readers looking for that special touch that makes a book stand out from the pack." --New York Journal of Books

"Bronte fans should appreciate this romantic, time-slipping reimagining that addresses finding a voice in writing and in life." --Publishers Weekly

YA Rights Guide – Kensington Publishing Corp. - Frankfurt Book Fair 2015

Backlist Standalones

BETWEEN NOW AND NEVER by Laura Johnston In the vein of Huntley Fitzpatrick and Simone Elkeles: a coming-of-age following a teenage girl who enters a beauty pageant to connect with her imprisoned mother. My heart thrusts with a force that takes me by surprise. Telling me something I don’t understand. A splitting pain, a longing to slip back under. They tell me I was in a hit-and-run, but I can’t remember what happened that night. All I know is that I woke up with pictures in my pocket, a card from one of those photo booths in the mall. And I’m in the pictures. Cody Rush. Me and Julianna. Her brother was there that night, and my dad, the FBI agent, was the one who put her mom behind bars. What’s the connection? And why won’t Julianna talk to me now? Somehow, she holds the key to it all, and getting close–real close—to her for the answers I need will be no hardship at all Previous Rights Sold: German

FAKING PERFECT by Rebecca Phillips Lexi thought all her secrets were neatly tucked away—until the dominoes start to fall one by one: When 17-year-old Lexi Shaw started sneaking Tyler, the school bad boy, through her bedroom window, she thought emotionless sex was the perfect outlet. After all, maintaining the façade of perfection in school can lead to a lot of pent-up energy, especially when your Mom is a drunk and your heart secretly belongs to Ben, the gorgeous president of the student council. But her biggest source of shame is her father, a down-and-out musician who abandoned her. The only person who knows the real Lexi is her childhood friend, Nolan, and that’s the way she intends to keep it. Lexi’s carefully built image starts to falter when she reconnects with the father she hasn’t seen or spoken to in 15 years. Growing up, she heard stories about all the terrible things her dad had done—like buy drugs instead of diapers. But as Lexi gets to know him, she discovers there are two sides to every story, and people aren’t always as they seem.