It’s the start of a new decade, so what better way to celebrate re-entering the twenties than with a list of YA books set in the 20’s of years past. Thinking of the twenties often leads to images flappers, decadent parties, and a time of amazing style. The Roaring Twenties are one of the most adored decades, which has led to plenty of inspiration for artists, musicians, and authors alike. This list brings you 10 young adult books set in the twenties, or you can think of it at one book a month for the rest of 2020!

The Diviners by Libba Bray | Goodreads

No list on the Twenties would be complete without mentioning The Diviners. Published in 2012, The Diviners is full of flappers and the quintessential Roaring Twenties along with some murder and supernatural. The fourth book in the series, The King of Crows, recently released on February 4th!

Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.

Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.

As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.

Debutantes by Cora Harrison | Goodreads

It seems that 2012 was the year for Twenties books with this new historical romance series released also set in the 1920s.

It’s 1923 and London is a whirl of jazz, dancing, and parties. Violet, Daisy, Poppy, and Rose Derrington are desperate to be part of it, but stuck in an enormous crumbling house in the country, with no money and no fashionable dresses, the excitement seems a lifetime away. Luckily the girls each have a plan for escaping their humdrum country life: Rose wants to be a novelist, Poppy a jazz musician, and Daisy a famous film director. Violet, however, has only one ambition: to become the perfect debutante, so that she can go to London and catch the eye of Prince George, the most eligible bachelor in the country. But a house as big and old as Beech Grove Manor hides many secrets, and Daisy is about to uncover one so huge it could ruin all their plans—ruin everything—forever.

Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George | Goodreads

Published in 2017, Speak Easy, Speak Love brings the classic Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing to the 1920s. This retelling weaves together the lives of six teenagers throughout one summer.

After she gets kicked out of boarding school, seventeen-year-old Beatrice goes to her uncle’s estate on Long Island. But Hey Nonny Nonny is more than just a rundown old mansion. Beatrice’s cousin, Hero, runs a struggling speakeasy out of the basement—one that might not survive the summer. Along with Prince, a poor young man determined to prove his worth; his brother John, a dark and dangerous agent of the local mob; Benedick, a handsome trust-fund kid trying to become a writer; and Maggie, a beautiful and talented singer; Beatrice and Hero throw all their efforts into planning a massive party to save the speakeasy. Despite all their worries, the summer is beautiful, love is in the air, and Beatrice and Benedick are caught up in a romantic battle of wits that their friends might be quietly orchestrating in the background.

Hilariously clever and utterly charming, McKelle George’s debut novel is full of intrigue and 1920s charm. For fans of Jenny Han, Stephanie Perkins, and Anna Godbersen.

Born of Illusion by Teri Brown | Goodreads

One thing that seems to go hand-in-hand with the 1920s is the aspect of spiritualism. Born of Illusion is the first book in a duology of the same name published in 2013.

Anna Van Housen has a secret.

A gifted illusionist, Anna assists her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and séances, easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums, and mentalists in 1920s New York. As the illegitimate daughter of Harry Houdini—or so Marguerite claims—sleight of hand illusions have never been a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her own gifts secret from her opportunistic mother. Because while Marguerite’s own powers may be a sham, Anna possesses a true ability to sense people’s feelings and foretell the future.

But as Anna’s powers intensify, she begins to experience frightening visions of her mother in peril, which leads her to explore the powers she’s tried so long to hide. And when a mysterious young man named Cole moves into the flat downstairs, introducing Anna to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, she is forced to confront her past and rethink everything she’s ever known. Is her mother truly in danger, or are Anna’s visions merely illusion? And could the great Houdini really be her father, or is it just another of Marguerite’s tricks?

From Teri Brown comes a world bursting with magic, with romance, and the temptations of Jazz Age New York—and the story of a girl about to become the mistress of her own destiny.

A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood | Goodreads

What happens when you leave everything you know and enter a seemingly new world? Find out in A Sky Painted Gold, which published in 2018.

Growing up in her sleepy Cornish village dreaming of being a writer, seventeen-year-old Lou has always wondered about the grand Cardew house which has stood empty for years. And when the owners arrive for the summer – a handsome, dashing brother and sister – Lou is quite swept off her feet and into a world of moonlit cocktail parties and glamour beyond her wildest dreams.

But, as she grows closer to the Cardews, is she abandoning her own ambitions… And is there something darker lurking at the heart of the Cardew family?

A gorgeously dreamy coming-of-age romance set against a stunning Gatsby-esque backdrop, this is perfect for fans of I Capture the Castle and Eva Ibbotson.

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen | Goodreads

Bright Young Things rounds out the Twenties and brings to life the world of flapper in 1929. From the author of The Luxe, the Bright Young Things was published in 2010. Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York’s glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star….

Cordelia is searching for the father she’s never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined — and more dangerous. It’s a life anyone would kill for…and someone will.

The only person Cordelia can trust is ­Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia’s brother, Charlie. But Astrid’s perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets.

Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the ­illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls’ fortunes will rise and fall — together and apart. From the New York Times bestselling author of THE LUXE comes an epic new series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age.

Vixen by Jillian Larkin | Goodreads

Vixen is the first book in the Flappers trilogy by Jillian Larkin. Vixen portrays the underground parties for socialites during the time. 

Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination. Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun . . . or are they?

Clara Knowles, Gloria’s goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch—but Clara isn’t as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she’ll do anything to keep hidden. . . .

Lorraine Dyer, Gloria’s social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria’s shadow. When Lorraine’s envy spills over into desperate spite, no one is safe. And someone’s going to be very sorry. . . .

The Blood Lie by Shirley Reva Vernick | Goodreads

While flappers and parties are habitually the setting for books set in the 1920s, The Blood Lie goes a different route. Based off of a true story stemming from anti-semitism, The Blood Lie seems more of a horror story on the hatred that humans can carry. This debut novel was published in 2011.

September 22, 1928, Massena, New York. Jack Pool’s sixteenth birthday. He’s been restless lately, especially during this season of more-times-at-the-synagogue than you can shake a stick at. If it wasn’t Rosh Hashanah, then it was Yom Kippur, and if it wasn’t Yom Kippur, it was the Sabbath. But temple’s good for some things. It gives him lots of time to daydream about a beautiful but inaccessible Gentile girl named Emaline. And if she isn’t on his mind, then he’s thinking about his music and imagining himself playing the cello with the New York Philharmonic. Yup, music is definitely his ticket out of this remote whistle-stop town—he doesn’t want to be stuck here one more minute. But he doesn’t realize exactly how stuck he is until Emaline’s little sister Daisy goes missing and he and his family are accused of killing her for a blood sacrifice.

Blood Lie was inspired by a real blood libel that took place when a small girl disappeared from Massena, New York, in 1928, and an innocent Jewish boy was called a murderer.

Zombie Abbey by Lauren Baratz-Logsted | Goodreads

Zombies and the 20s, need more be said? Zombie Abbey was published in 2018 by Entangled: Teen.

1920, England. And the three teenage Clarke sisters thought what they’d wear to dinner was their biggest problem… Lady Kate, the entitled eldest. Lady Grace, lost in the middle and wishing she were braver. Lady Lizzy, so endlessly sunny, it’s easy to underestimate her.

Then there’s Will Harvey, the proud, to-die-for—and possibly die with!—stable boy; Daniel Murray, the resourceful second footman with a secret; Raymond Allen, the unfortunate-looking young duke; and Fanny Rogers, the unsinkable kitchen maid.

Upstairs! Downstairs! Toss in some farmers and villagers! None of them ever expected to work together for any reason. But none of them had ever seen anything like this.

The Raven’s Tale by Cat Winters | Goodreads

Rounding out this list comes a book set in the 1820s. The Raven’s Tale follows a young Edgar Allan Poe striving to make a mark in the world. While it may be set in the oldest time period, The Raven’s Tale is the newest book on this list and was published in 2019 by Amulet Books.

Seventeen-year-old Edgar Poe counts down the days until he can escape his foster family—the wealthy Allans of Richmond, Virginia. He hungers for his upcoming life as a student at the prestigious new university, almost as much as he longs to marry his beloved Elmira Royster. However, on the brink of his departure, all his plans go awry when a macabre Muse named Lenore appears to him. Muses are frightful creatures that lead Artists down a path of ruin and disgrace, and no respectable person could possibly understand or accept them. But Lenore steps out of the shadows with one request: “Let them see me!”

Do you have any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Ten YA Books Set In The 20’s appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

There’s also many other books in store for you such as titles by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Tahereh Mafi, and Neal Shusterman! If you’re after a good fantasy, give Megan Shepherd’s Grim Lovelies a go, or perhaps you’re after more of a historical (which there is plenty this month), so pick up Virginia Boecker’s An Assassin’s Guide To Love & Treason. Pintip Dunn’s Star-Crossed will satisfy sci-fi fans, while Claire Legrand’s Sawkill Girls will provide an excellent mystery thriller!

Read on to discover our favourites and tell us in the comments below which one you are most excited for!

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Love and hate, revenge and redemption, destruction and salvation all clash in this gorgeous sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Strange the Dreamer.

The Lady’s Guide To Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Felicity Montague is through with pretending she prefers society parties to books about bone setting and he cares about anything more than her dream of becoming a doctor. A year after an accidentally whirlwind tour of Europe, she returns with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of Callum Doyle; and enroll in medical school. Doctor Alexander Platt is looking for research assistants in Germany. Luckily, a mysterious young woman is willing to pay Felicity’s way, so long as she’s allowed to travel with Felicity disguised as her maid. In spite of her suspicions, Felicity agrees, but once the girl’s true motives are revealed, Felicity becomes part of a perilous quest that will lead her from the German countryside to the promenades of Zurich to secrets lurking beneath the Atlantic.

The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

When seventeen-year-old Evie Dasher is caught up in a raid at a notorious club known as one of the few places where humans and the surviving Luxen can mingle freely, she meets Luc, an unnaturally beautiful guy she initially assumes is a Luxen…but he is in fact something much more powerful. Her growing attraction for Luc will lead her deeper and deeper into a world she’d only heard about, a world where everything she thought she knew will be turned on its head…

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments—even the physical violence—she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. She drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother. But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin.

Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The drought—or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it—has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up your pool, don’t take long showers. Until the taps run dry. Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbours and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. And when her parents don’t return and her life—and the life of her brother—is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she’s going to survive.

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it. Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things. But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The del Cisne girls have never just been sisters; they’re also rivals, Blanca as obedient and graceful as Roja is vicious and manipulative. They know that, because of a generations-old spell, their family is bound to a bevy of swans deep in the woods. They know that, one day, the swans will pull them into a dangerous game that will leave one of them a girl, and trap the other in the body of a swan. But when two local boys become drawn into the game, the swans’ spell intertwines with the strange and unpredictable magic lacing the woods, and all four of their fates depend on facing truths that could either save or destroy them.

Imagine Us Happy by Jennifer Yu
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Stella lives with depression, and her goals for junior year are pretty much limited to surviving her classes, staying out of her parents’ constant fights and staving off unwanted feelings enough to hang out with her friends Lin and Katie. Until Kevin. A quiet, wry senior who understands Stella and the lows she’s going through like no one else. With him, she feels less lonely, listened to—and hopeful for the first time since ever… But to keep that feeling, Stella lets her grades go and her friendships slide. With her life spinning out of control, she’s got to figure out what she truly needs, what’s worth saving—and what to let go.

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Who are the Sawkill Girls? Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires. Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight… until now.

The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Five years ago, Evelyn and Philippa Hapwell cowered from air strikes in a London bomb shelter. But that night took a turn when the sisters were transported to another realm called the Woodlands and found temporary refuge. When they finally returned to London, nothing had changed at all—nothing, except themselves. Now, Ev spends her days sneaking into the woods outside her boarding school, wishing for the Woodlands. Philippa, on the other hand, is determined to find a place in this world. But when Evelyn goes missing, Philippa must confront the depth of her sister’s despair and the painful truths they’ve been running from.

An Assassin’s Guide To Love and Treason by Virginia Boecker
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

When Lady Katherine’s father is killed for being an illegally practicing Catholic, she discovers treason wasn’t the only secret he’s been hiding: he was also involved in a murder plot against the reigning Queen Elizabeth I. With nothing left to lose, Katherine disguises herself as a boy and travels to London to fulfill her father’s mission, and to take it one step further–kill the queen herself. Katherine’s opportunity comes in the form of William Shakespeare’s newest play, which is to be performed in front of Her Majesty. But what she doesn’t know is that the play is not just a play–it’s a plot to root out insurrectionists and destroy the rebellion once and for all.

When We Caught Fire by Anna Godbersen
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

It’s 1871 and Emmeline Carter is poised to take Chicago’s high society by storm. Between her father’s sudden rise to wealth, and her recent engagement to Chicago’s most eligible bachelor, Emmeline has it all. But she can’t stop thinking about the life she left behind, including her childhood sweetheart, Anders Magnuson. Fiona Byrne, Emmeline’s childhood best friend, is delighted by her friend’s sudden rise to prominence, especially since it means Fiona is free to pursue Anders herself. But when Emmeline risks everything for one final fling with Anders, Fiona feels completely betrayed.

Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From New York Times bestselling author Megan Shepherd, Grim Lovelies is an epic and glittering YA fantasy. Prepare to be spellbound by the world of Grim Lovelies, where secrets have been long buried, friends can become enemies, and everything—especially humanity—comes at a price.

The Healer by Donna Freitas
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Marlena Oliveira has—mysteriously, miraculously—been given the power to heal all kinds of ailments. People around the world believe she is a saint. But her power comes at a price: she can’t go to school, she can’t have friends her own age, and she certainly can’t date. Then she meets Finn, a boy who makes her want to fall in love. For the first time, she begins to doubt whether her gift is worth all that she must give up to keep it.

Star-Crossed by Pintip Dunn
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Princess Vela’s people are starving. Stranded on a planet that lacks food, Vela makes the ultimate sacrifice and becomes an Aegis for her people. Accepting a genetic modification that takes sixty years off her life, she can feed her colony via nutrition pills. But her best friend is still getting worse. Now the king is dying, too. When the boy she’s had a crush on since childhood volunteers to give his life for her father’s, Vela realizes her people need more than pills to survive. As tensions rise between Aegis and colonists, secrets and sabotage begin to threaten the future of the colony itself.

Broken Things by Lauren Oliver
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Everyone thinks Mia and Brynn killed their best friend, Summer. That driven by their obsession with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn the three girls had imagined themselves into the magical world where their fantasies became twisted, even deadly. The only thing is: they didn’t do it. On the anniversary of Summer’s death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as the lines begin to blur between past and present and fiction and reality, the girls must confront what really happened in the woods all those years ago—no matter how monstrous.

Check out what else is coming out this month on our Goodreads list!

What book are you most excited for? Tell us in the comments below!

The post October Book Releases: YA appeared first on The Nerd Daily.