Just so you’re up with the play (and sorted according to the colour of the cover):

Pinkish covers:

Mates, Dates: The Secret Story, by Cathy Hopkins (196 pages) – the back cover says “at last the full story of Tony and Lucy’s romance can be revealed.” Which must be a good thing if you’re a Mates, Dates fan. You get both sides of the story, too.

First sentence (Lucy’s side): It was a moment that was to change my life for ever.

Parties & Potions, by Sarah Mlynowski (340 pages) – teen witches have a lot of fun; they can throw awesome parties by using their powers, also producing backstage passes and magicking themselves to exotic locations. Life seems idyllic, except if your boyfriend’s not a witch and you don’t want him to know your secret.

First sentence: Do I like red?

Reddish/orangeish covers:

No More Us for You, by David Hernandez (281 pages) – the story of Carlos and Isabel and how they connect over the course of a few weeks, told in chapters alternating points of view.

First sentence (from Carlos): So there I was, sitting on my folding chair, my first day as a guard at the Long Beach Contemporary Museum, when a man walked in and stood with his back turned to me, arms dangling at his sides.

Zombie Queen of Newbury High, by Amanda Ashby (199 pages) – Amanda Ashby very kindly did an interview with us in February. Zombie Queen sees Mia bungling a love spell that ends up zombifying her entire class with rather tricky, messy consequences.

First sentence: Mia Everett was doomed.

Purplish covers (purple is the colour of choice today):

Bloodhound, by Tamora Pierce (549 pages – including glossary etc) – the second Beka Cooper book. Beka Cooper is now a fully-fledged member of the Provost’s Guard. When counterfeit coins begin appearing in Port Caynn she and her partner Clary are sent to investigate.

First sentence: I should have known tonight’s watch would kiss the mule’s bum when Sergeant Ahuda stopped me after baton training.

Fragile Eternity, by Melissa Marr (the third in the series behind Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange, 389 pages) – “Seth and Aislinn struggle to stay true to themselves and each other in a milieu of shadowy rules and shifting allegiances, where old friends become new enemies and one wrong move could plunge the Earth into chaos” (book cover).

First sentence: Seth knew the moment Aislinn slipped into the house; the slight rise in temperature would’ve told him even if he hadn’t seen the glimmer of sunlight in the middle of the night.

The Last Thing I Remember, by Andrew Klavan (282 pages) – normally Charlie leads an uncomplicated life, worrying about the usual things… until he wakes up one day in a windowless cell and hears someone ordering his execution. The last thing he remembers is falling asleep (at home, in his bed), so how has he got into this mess? And how will he get out?

First sentence: Suddenly I woke up, strapped to a chair.

The Gimlet Eye (Quentaris: Quest of the Lost City), by James Roy (226 pages) – the Archon is dead and things are changing, darkly, and Tab and her friends realise they’re Quentaris’ only hope.

First sentence: The Archon is dying.

Blueish covers:

Kyla, by Frances Cherry (191 pages) – Kyla’s beloved grandmother Nora has died and Kyla is sent to live with her aunt. She hates her new life and to feel better about it she makes up stories, but then the lies get hard to manage.

First sentence: As soon as I see the doctor’s face, I know Nora is dead.

The Scarecrow, by Sean Williams (continuing from The Dust Devils, 175 pages) – Ros is on a mission to drop the crystal containing the Golem of Omus to the bottom of the ocean, but the journey is complex and fraught, and the Scarecrow in question is some frightening half-man thing that’s keen to get its hands on said crystal.

First sentence: Somewhere between Chemaly and Smerdon, Ros suspected they had become lost.

Godmother: the Secret Cinderella Story, by Carolyn Turgeon (275 pages) – vamping on the Cinderella story: Lillian can make wishes come true, which seems ideal and fun really, except she has a dark past and a guilty secret that keeps her trapped in a spell and in Manhattan, far from home and happiness. 

First sentence: I loved arriving at the bookstore first thing in the morning, when the streets were still quiet, the sun half risen, and the whole place felt like a secret meeting room.

Greenish covers:

The Soul Trade, by E. E. Richardson (282 pages) – Nick’s happy when  the shopkeeper at Bargains (the shop)  accepts his artwork as payment, but then he finds himself trapped in a nasty job he didn’t bargain for: will he ever get out?

First sentence: It was getting late, it was getting dark, and Nick was running out of options.

Max, by James Patterson (309 pages) – Max is back. Something is lurking in the depths of the ocean and it’s not nice, and then there’s the criminal mastermind watching Max and the flock’s every move…

First sentence: There.

Yellowish covers (sort of):

One Trick Pony, by Daniella Brodsky (279 pages) – One Trick Pony is the name of the coffeehouse where Jesse and his friends hang out. When a mysterious French woman takes over the coffee house, with her delicious coffee, Jesse and his friends find their lives are changing in interesting ways.

The Winds of Heaven, by Judith Clarke (268 pages) – “Judith Clarke tells a moving and beautiful story as she traces the lives of two young women, separated by circumstance, but linked forever by blood and friendship.” (Book cover)

First sentence: These days Clementine has visions.

Also in brief (and purplish and greenish covers):

Wild Orchid, by Cameron Dokey – a retelling of “The Ballad of Mulan”

The Rose Bride, by Nancy Holder – a retelling of “The White Bride and the Black Bride”

The Night Dance, by Suzanne Weyn – a retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”