Eight top contemporary YAs set amid high-stakes competition

At the BN Teen Blog Dahlia Adler tagged eight "contemporary YAs [that] lay it all on the line with intense competitions, life-changing prizes, and vicious rivalries," including:

Rites of Passage, by Joy Hensley

Military school is tough enough, but joining up in its first class to include females? Sam McKenna may not quite have grasped what she was signing on for when she enrolled on a dare from her now-deceased brother, but she’s certainly ready to rise to the task. As Sam toughs it out through grueling training, classmates faltering, and all the abuse the other cadets and staff can dish out, there’s no ignoring that all her endeavors may be pointless if she’s been set up to fail. What do you do when the one person you trust is the last person you should? This authoritatively written debut has its high stakes and pacing nailed down beautifully, and while Sam and her journey and strength are absolutely the heart of the novel, I’d be remiss not to mention that it’s got one of my favorite slow-burn romances, too.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue