The Most Anticipated YA Books of 2025
In a pop culture and political landscape that seems to be furiously contracting, it’s a relief to be a person who reads regularly in the YA space. Young adult books remain undaunted when it comes to featuring stories that push boundaries, give voices to underserved characters, or explore complex issues ranging from climate change to religion. We’ll likely need stories like this more than ever in 2025, which is why it’s such a relief that so many excellent ones are headed our way in the next few months. From new titles from longtime favorite authors, long-awaited sequels, and buzzy debuts that run the gamut from sub-genres ranging from historical fiction to horror, there’s something for every kind of YA reader arriving over the next weeks and months. Prepare your TBRs accordingly. Here are the YA books we’re most looking forward to in 2025. The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-ArnoldRelease Date: January 7 from Delacorte PressWhy We’re Excited: A slow-burn sapphic love story set in a post-apocalyptic New Jersey on the eve of another potentially world-ending event, The Last Bookstore on Earth explores our need for human connection and hope in dark times.Publisher’s Description: The world is about to end. Again.Ever since the first Storm wreaked havoc on civilization as we know it, seventeen-year-old Liz Flannery has been holed up in an abandoned bookstore in suburban New Jersey where she used to work, trading books for supplies with the few remaining survivors. It’s the one place left that feels safe to her.Until she learns that another earth-shattering Storm is coming . . . and everything changes.Enter Maeve, a prickly and potentially dangerous out-of-towner who breaks into the bookstore looking for shelter one night. Though the two girls are immediately at odds, Maeve has what Liz needs—the skills to repair the dilapidated store before the next climate disaster strikes—and Liz reluctantly agrees to let her stay.As the girls grow closer and undeniable feelings spring up between them, they realize that they face greater threats than the impending Storm. And when Maeve’s secrets and Liz’s inner demons come back to haunt them both, they find themselves fighting for their lives as their world crumbles around them.The Queen’s Spade by Sarah RaughleyRelease Date: January 14 from Harper CollinsWhy We’re Excited: In a story loosely inspired by Queen Victoria’s adopted goddaughter Sally Forbes Bonetta, a Yoruba princess whose family was killed in Africa. Given as a present to the queen, the real Sally grew up as a member of Victoria’s extended family, marrying a captain and Lagos philanthropist. In Raughley’s version of her story, Sally becomes more like Arya Stark, tired of being used as propaganda for the Empire, she seeks revenge on those involved in her kidnapping and subsequent imprisonment. This historical thriller is a satisfying blend of murder, political intrigue, and social critique.vPublisher’s Description: The year is 1862 and murderous desires are simmering in England. Nineteen-year-old Sarah Bonetta Forbes (Sally), once a princess of the Egbado Clan, desires one thing above all else: revenge against the British Crown and its system of colonial “humanitarianism,” which stole her dignity and transformed her into royal property. From military men to political leaders, she’s vowed to ruin all who’ve had a hand in her afflictions. The top of her list? Her godmother, Britain’s mighty monarch, Queen Victoria herself.Taking down the Crown means entering into a twisted game of court politics and manipulating the Queen’s inner circle—even if that means aligning with a dangerous yet alluring crime lord in London’s underworld and exploiting the affections of Queen Victoria’s own son, Prince Albert, as a means to an end. But when Queen Victoria begins to suspect Sally’s true intentions, she plays the only card in Victorian society that could possibly cage Sally once again: marriage. Because if there’s one thing Sally desires more than revenge, it’s her freedom. With time running out and her wedding day looming, Sally’s vengeful game of cat and mouse turns deadly as she’s faced with the striking revelation that the price for vengeance isn’t just paid in blood. It means sacrificing your heart.The Rival by Emma LordRelease Date: January 21 from Wednesday BooksWhy We’re Excited: Emma Lord, author of such books as Tweet Cute and Begin Again is in sparkling form with The Rival, an enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy about two high school rivals who wind up at the same college. The shifting expectations of this next stage of their lives—and their childhood memories—are relatably drawn and the dialogue crackles with Lord’s signature fast-paced wit.Publisher’s Description: At long last, Sadie has vanquished her lifelong academic rival — her irritatingly charming, whip smart next door neighbor, Seb — by getting the coveted, only spot to her dream college. Or at least, so she thinks. When Seb is unexpectedly pulled off the waitlist and admitted, Sadie has to compete with him all over again, this time to get a spot on the school’s famous zine. Now not only is she dealing with the mayhem of the lovable, chaotic family she hid her writing talents from, as well as her own self doubt, but she has to come to terms with some less-than-resentful feelings for Seb that are popping up along the way.But the longer they compete, the more Sadie and Seb notice flaws in the school’s system that are much bigger than any competition between them. Somehow the two of them have to band together even as they’re trying to crush each other, only to discover they may have met their match in more ways than one.On the Wings of La Noche by Vanessa L. TorresRelease Date: January 28 from Knopf Books for Young ReadersWhy We’re Excited: This emotional tale of a young woman whose mythic duty requires her to escort the soul of her dead girlfriend to the afterlife is a poignant and meaningful exploration of life, love, and what comes afterward.Publisher’s Description: Death waits for Estrella (Noche) Villanueva. In her human form, she is a lonely science girl grieving the tragic accidental drowning of her girlfriend, Dante Fuentes. At night, she is a Lechuza who visits her dead girlfriend at the lake, desperate for more time with her. The longer Dante’s soul roams the earth, the more likely it is that she will fade into the unknown, lost forever, but Noche cannot let go . . .That’s when a new kid comes to town, Jax, another science nerd like Noche. They connect in a way she can’t ignore, seemingly pulled together by an invisible thread. For the first time, Noche begins to imagine a life without Dante. As Noche’s heart begins to beat for two people, her guilt flares. Then, she finds herself at risk of losing both Jax and Dante, and Noche is forced to question her purpose as a lechuza and everything she has ever believed in.The Scorpion Queen by Mina FearsRelease Date: January 28 from Flatiron BooksWhy We’re Excited: Inspired by a Malian fairy tale about a princess whose suitors are challenged to gruesome trials, The Scorpion Queen features political intrigue, a complicated love triangle, intriguing magic, and a disgraced heroine determined to grab hold of her own destiny. Surprisingly brutal and dark at times, but memorable throughout.Publisher’s Description: Deep within the imperial palace at Timbuktu, Amie has suffered a devastating loss. Once the daughter of a prosperous salt merchant Amie’s life was cruelly overturned in a matter of months. At sixteen, Amie now finds herself disinherited, framed for a scandalous crime, and forced to serve Princess Mariama of Mali. Her father, Emperor Sulyeman, has created a series of impossible trials for his daughter’s suitors. When they fail, he publicly boils them alive, littering Mariama’s path to marriage with ninety-nine corpses.At first, Amie’s life at court is drudgery—the chores are difficult, the servants despise her, and Princess Mariama is prone to mood swings—but the more she learns about the princess’s circumstances, the closer the two girls become. Amie and her intended, Kader, plan to escape Timbuktu and make a new life far away from the shadow of death that has fallen upon the emperor’s court, but she finds herself increasingly drawn to the princess in ways she doesn’t understand.When a mysterious discovery forces her hand, she must choose between fleeing with the boy she loves or helping the princess to end the trials forever. Amie will need to draw on all of her strength and courage to make the perilous journey through the desert to seek the aid of an exiled god in a final, desperate attempt to take charge of her own destiny.The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King by Harry TrevaldwynRelease Date: January 28 from Wednesday BooksWhy We’re Excited: A hilarious, heartfelt debut about a gay teen in small-town England, who dreams of both being an actor and finally getting a boyfriend. Come for the laugh-out-loud funny narration as Patch sorts through his options, stay for the warm and heartfelt ode to being yourself.Publisher’s Description: Patch Simmons has decided that this is the year he will get a boyfriend, so it’s goodbye to his French pen-pal Jean-Pierre and hello to the world!Unfortunately, the only other “out” boys in his school year are dating each other, so finding a boyfriend isn’t going to be easy… Until fate finally intervenes and two new mysterious boys join drama club: Peter, who’s just moved from New York (very chic) and his best friend, Sam.Patch is confident that one of them (although either of them will do!) will be his first boyfriend. So armed with his single mum’s outdated self-help books, his over-supportive best friend Jean and an alarming level of self-confidence, Patch is confident that this mission will be a complete success. Whether or not they actually like boys or him is a problem for later.Carving Shadows Into Gold by Bridget KemmererRelease Date: January 28 from Bloomsbury YAWhy We’re Excited: The long-awaited second installment in Brigid Kemmerer’s Forgiving Silver Into Shadows series—itself a spin-off/sequel to her popular A Curse So Dark and Lonely trilogy—sees its trio of POV characters deal with the fallout from the events of the first book. In the wake of a royal kidnapping and widespread fear of magic, the tenuous alliance between Emberfall and Syhl Shallow is tested to the breaking point, as Callyn, Tycho, and Jax wrestle with personal questions of loyalty, duty, and forgiveness. Publisher’s Description: The King’s Courier Tycho has made a treacherous bargain. Now beholden to the magical scraver who saved King Gray’s life, one false move could end everything.Jax escaped his life in Briarlock and traveled with Tycho to Emberfall. But life outside his small village brings unexpected challenges–and unlikely adversaries.After years of hating the royal family and their magic, Callyn never expected to be at the Queen’s side, with magic on her fingertips. But at the royal court, she can’t trust anyone–including the man she thought she loved.Cast apart, Tycho, Jax, and Callyn must learn to wield the magic that is dividing their kingdom. As the magical scravers attack from the north and the king’s rivals gain strength, time is running out.War is looming. Love is tested. And magic could be the only answer. . .Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray Release Date: February 4 from Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)Why We’re Excited: The first book in five years from Libba Bray, author of books like The Diviners and A Great and Terrible Beauty, Under the Same Stars is a historical mystery spread across three different decades and timelines, from 1940s Germany to 1980s West Berlin and Brooklyn in 2020. The story explores hope, resistance, and messages passed through history. Publisher’s Description: It was said that if you write to the Bridegroom’s Oak, the love of your life will answer back. Now, the tree is giving up its secrets at last.In 1940s Germany, Sophie is excited to discover a message waiting for her in the Bridegroom’s Oak from a mysterious suitor. Meanwhile, her best friend, Hanna, is sending messages too―but not to find love. As World War II unfolds in their small town of Kleinwald, the oak may hold the key to resistance against the Nazis.In 1980s West Germany, American teen transplant Jenny feels suffocated by her strict parents and is struggling to fit in. Until she finds herself falling for Lena, a punk-rock girl hell-bent on tearing down the wall separating West Germany from East Germany, and meeting Frau Hermann, a kind old lady with secrets of her own.In Spring 2020, New York City, best friends Miles and Chloe are in the first weeks of COVID lockdown and hating Zoom school, when an unexpected package from Chloe’s grandmother leads them to investigate a cold case about two unidentified teenagers who went missing under the Bridegroom’s Oak eighty years ago.All Better Now by Neal ShustermanRelease Date: February 4 Simon & Schuster Books for Young ReadersWhy We’re Excited: A dystopian science fiction thriller about a pandemic virus that kills many but leaves those who recover from it gifted with utter contentment, Neal Shusterman’s All Better Now feels both timely and altogether too soon. Surprising, surprisingly grim, and strangely impossible to look away from. Publisher’s Description: A deadly and unprecedented virus is spreading. But those who survive it experience long-term effects no one has ever seen before: utter contentment. Soon after infection, people find the stress, depression, greed, and other negative feelings that used to weigh them down are gone.More and more people begin to revel in the mass unburdening. But not everyone. People in power—who depend on malcontents and prey on the insecure to sell their products, and convince others they need more, new, faster, better everything—know this new state of being is bad for business. Surely, without anger or jealousy as motivators, productivity will grind to a halt and the world will be thrown into chaos. Campaigns start up to convince people that being eternally happy is dangerous. The race to find a vaccine begins. Meanwhile, a growing movement of Recoverees plan ways to spread the virus as fast as they can, in the name of saving the world.It’s nearly impossible to determine the truth when everyone with a platform is pushing their agenda. Three teens from very different backgrounds who’ve had their lives upended in very different ways find themselves at the center of a power play that could change humanity forever.The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton SmithRelease Date: February 4 from HarperCollinsWhy We’re Excited: Described as a cross between Bridgerton, The Selection, and The Cruel Prince, The Rose Bargain is set in an alternate London ruled by an immortal fae queen, where girls must trade secrets for tokens that make them more appealing and compete for the hand of the prince. Come for the entertaining premise, stay for the strong bonds between the story’s female characters and the unexpectedly twisty plot. Publisher’s Description: London, 1848—For four hundred years, England has been under the control of an immortal fae queen who tricked her way onto the throne. To maintain an illusion of benevolence, Queen Mor grants each of her subjects one opportunity to bargain for their deepest desire.As Ivy Benton prepares to make her debut, she knows that not even a deal with the queen could fix what has gone wrong: Her family’s social standing is in shambles, her sister is a shadow of her former self, and Ivy’s marriage prospects are nonexistent. So when the queen announces a competition for Prince Bram’s hand, Ivy is the first to sign her name in blood. What a bargain can’t fix, a crown certainly could.Ivy soon finds herself a surprising front-runner—with the help of an unexpected ally: Prince Bram’s brother, the rakish Prince Emmett, who promises to help Ivy win his brother’s heart…for a price. But as the season sweeps Ivy away, with glittering balls veiling the queen’s increasingly vicious trials, Ivy realizes there’s more at stake than just a wedding. Because all faerie bargains come with a cost, and Ivy may have discovered hers too late.The Girl You Know by Elle Gonzalez RoseRelease Date: February 18 from Bloomsbury YAWhy We’re Excited: A dark academia thriller about a girl who, convinced her sister’s death wasn’t an accident decides to impersonate her twin at her bougie boarding school, Kingswood Academy, and search for the truth. As Luna’s understanding of who her sister was—and who she wanted her to be—begins to shift, the story deftly explores the complexity of grief and loss, alongside a furious desire for justice in the face of systems that frequently deny it to young women.Publisher’s Description The week before Luna’s twin sister Solina was supposed to head back for her final semester at Kingswood Academy, an elite boarding school in the Washington mountains, she told Luna she was dropping out. When Luna refused to let her throw away her future, Solina disappeared.Twelve hours later, she was dead.Luna knows Solina’s death wasn’t an accident, even if the police say otherwise. There’s a reason Solina didn’t want to go back to Kingswood, and Luna knows she’ll find the truth there. All she has to do is become Solina. Playing Solina comes easy, but finding answers is far from it. Between the cunning, cruel people Solina called her friends, Luna’s budding feelings for her roommate Claudia, and the harsh realization that Solina had dark secrets, getting to the bottom of her sister’s murder is more difficult than Luna could have ever anticipated. But when you have nothing left to lose, you’re willing to do anything to get what you want. There’s no limit to how far Luna will go to avenge her sister-even if she has to burn all of Kingswood to the ground.The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. TaylorRelease Date: February 25 from G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young ReadersWhy We’re Excited: This fast-paced YA fantasy from the author of Hotel Magnifique follows a teen trapped in a deadly mystery in an attempt to exonerate her dead father, a scriptomancer accused of destroying the Written Doors and essentially erasing a kingdom. To do so, she’ll have to pose as an apprentice courier for the Otherwhere Post and learn the dangerous art of traveling through worlds by means of enchanted letters herself. Publisher’s Description: Seven years ago, Maeve Abenthy lost everything: her world, her father, even her name. Desperate to escape the stain of her father’s crimes, she lives under a fake name, never staying in one place long enough to put down roots.Then she receives a mysterious letter with four impossible words: Your father was innocent.To uncover the truth, she poses as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post, where she’ll be trained in the art of scriptomancy—the dangerous magic that allows couriers to enchant letters and deliver them to other worlds. But looking into her father’s past draws more attention than she’d planned.Her secretive, infuriatingly handsome mentor knows she’s lying about her identity, and time is running out to convince him to trust her. Worse, she begins to receive threatening letters, warning her to drop her investigation—or else. For Maeve to unravel the mystery of what happened seven years ago, she may have to forfeit her life.They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh TranRelease Date: March 4 from Bloomsbury yYAWhy We’re Excited: Set in a post-apocalyptic drowned world in which red algae causes survivors to mutate into monsters, this haunting, frequently horrifying story from the author of last year’s excellent She Is a Haunting is disturbing on so many levels.Publisher’s Description: Since the hurricane, the town of Mercy, Louisiana has been overtaken by a strange red algae bloom. Noon and her mother have carved out a life in the wreckage, trawling for the mutated wildlife that lurks in the water and trading it to the corrupt harbormaster. When she’s focused on survival, Noon doesn’t have to cope with what happened to her at the Cove or the monster itching at her skin.Mercy has never been a safe place, but it’s getting worse. People are disappearing, and the only clues as to why are whispers of underwater shadows and warnings to never answer the knocks at night. When the harbormaster demands she capture the creature that’s been drowning residents, Noon finds a reluctant ally in his daughter Covey. And as the next storm approaches, the two set off to find what’s haunting Mercy. After all, Noon is no stranger to monsters . . .Our Infinite Fates by Laura StevenRelease Date: March 4 from Wednesday BooksWhy We’re Excited: A time-bending love story of two immortal beings, cursed to reincarnate and die throughout eternity. Evelyn is fated to die again and again before her 18th birthday, at the hand of her soulmate/lover/eternal betrayal Arden. Her death triggers his, which starts the seemingly unbreakable cycle all over again. The present-day plot, in which Evelyn is desperate to stay alive long enough to save the little sister she loves, is bolstered by flashbacks that track the doomed pair through many of their previous incarnations, and deepen the connection between them. Publisher’s Description: They’ve loved each other in a thousand lifetimes. They’ve killed each other in every one.Evelyn can remember all her past lives. She can also remember that in every single one, she’s been murdered before her eighteenth birthday by Arden, a supernatural being linked to her soul. The problem is that she’s quite fond of the life she’s in now, and her little sister needs her in order to stay alive. If Evelyn wants to save her sister, she’ll have to find the centuries-old devil who hunts her through each life before they find her first, figure out why she’s being hunted and finally break their curse, and try not to fall in love . . . again.Oathbound by Tracy DeonnRelease Date: March 4 from Simon & Schuster Books for Young ReadersWhy We’re Excited: We’ve been counting the days to this third installment in Tracy Deonn’s Legendborn series but it certainly sounds like Oathbound is going to be more than worth the wait.Publisher’s Description: Bree Matthews is alone. She exiled herself from the Legendborn Order, cut her ancestral connections, and turned away from the friends who can’t understand the impossible cost of her powers. This is the only way to keep herself—and those she loves—safe.But Bree’s decision has come with a terrible price: an unbreakable bargain with the Shadow King himself, a shapeshifter who can move between humanity, the demon underworld, and the Legendborn secret society. In exchange for training to wield her unprecedented abilities, Bree has put her future in the Shadow King’s hands—and unwittingly bound herself to do his bidding as his new protégé.Meanwhile, the other Scions must face war with their Round Table fractured, leaderless, and missing its Kingsmage, as Selwyn has also disappeared. When Nick is detained by the Order’s Merlins, he invokes an ancient law that requires the High Council of Regents to convene at the Northern Keep and grant him an audience. No one knows what he will demand of them…or what secrets he has kept hidden from the Table.As a string of mysterious kidnappings escalates and Merlins are found dead, it becomes clear that no matter how hard Bree runs from who she is, the past will always find her.Say a Little Prayer by Jenna VorisRelease Date: March 4 from Viking Books for Young ReadersWhy We’re Excited: Queer romance + a nuanced revenge plot + church camp = a must-read, in my opinion. Forced to attend church camp after getting in a fight at school and having been publicly shamed by the pastor for her sexual orientation, Riley’s determined to get revenge by penning an essay taking down his terrible views. But over the course of her sentence, she realizes that a lot of things—God, her friendships, her own feelings about everything—-are more complicated than she thought.Publisher’s Description: Riley quietly left church a year ago when she realized there was no place for a bi girl in her congregation. But it wasn’t until the pastor shunned her older sister for getting an abortion that she really wanted to burn it all down.It’s just her luck, then, that she’s sent to the principal’s office for slapping a girl talking smack about her sister—and in order to avoid suspension, she has to spend spring break at church camp. The only saving grace is that she’ll be there with her best friend, Julia. Even if Julia’s dad is the pastor. And he’s in charge of camp. But Riley won’t let a technicality like “repenting” get in the way of her true mission. Instead of spending the week embracing the seven heavenly virtues, she decides to commit all seven deadly sins. If she can show the other campers that sometimes being a little bad is for the greater good, she could start a righteous revolution! What could possibly go wrong? Aside from falling for the pastor’s daughter . .I Am Made of Death by Kelly AndrewRelease Date: March 4 from Scholastic PressWhy We’re Excited: The latest novel from the author of Your Blood, My Bones mixes creeping dread, unexpected romance, a genuinely intriguing premise, and a thoughtful exploration of emotional trauma with haunting prose and a heroine who is both monstrous and powerful in all the ways that matter. Disturbing and intense, but unlike anything else you’ll read this year. Publisher’s Description: Following the death of his father, Thomas Walsh had to grow up quickly, taking on odd-jobs to keep food on the table and help pay his gravely ill mother’s medical bills. When he’s offered a highly paid position as an interpreter for an heiress who exclusively signs, Thomas — the hearing child of a Deaf adult — jumps at the opportunity.But the job is not without its challenges. Thomas is expected to accompany Vivienne wherever she goes, but from the start, she seems determined to shake him. To make matters worse, her parents keep her on an extremely short leash. She is not to go anywhere without express permission. She is not to deviate from her routine.She is, most importantly, not to be out after dark.A selective-mute, Vivienne Farrow hasn’t said a word in years — not since going missing in Red Rock Canyon when she was four years old. No one knows quite what happened to her out in the dark. They only know that the sound of her voice is now as deadly as a poison. Anyone who hears her speak suffers a horrible death.Ever since that fatal family vacation, Vivienne has been desperately searching for a way to regain control of both her voice and her body. Because the face staring out of the mirror isn’t hers. It’s something with teeth.Thankfully, Vivienne has a plan. She’s finally found someone who claims to be able to perform a surgical exorcism. She just needs to find a way to get rid of Thomas first. But Thomas can’t afford to walk away, nor is he willing to abandon the mysterious girl he’s quickly falling for, no matter what dark powers threaten to swallow them both whole.Fable for the End of the World by Ava ReidRelease Date: March 4 from Harper CollinsWhy We’re Excited: The first of two (two!) entries on this list from A Study in Drowning author Ava Reid, Fable for the End of the World is a timely, propulsive dystopian tale about a post-apocalyptic society controlled by an all-powerful corporation and the teenage girl who must compete in a deadly live-streamed event where lab-modified humans hunt designated “Lambs” to pay off citizens debts. A dark yet strangely hopeful of resistance and perseverance with a beautifully written queer relationship at its center.Publisher’s Description: By encouraging massive accumulations of debt from its underclass, a single corporation, Caerus, controls all aspects of society.Inesa lives with her brother in a half-sunken town where they scrape by running a taxidermy shop. Unbeknownst to Inesa, their cruel and indolent mother has accrued an enormous debt—enough to qualify one of her children for Caerus’s livestreamed assassination spectacle: the Lamb’s Gauntlet.Melinoë is a Caerus assassin, trained to track and kill the sacrificial Lambs. The product of neural reconditioning and physiological alteration, she is a living weapon, known for her cold brutality and deadly beauty. She has never failed to assassinate one of her marks.When Inesa learns that her mother has offered her as a sacrifice, at first she despairs—the Gauntlet is always a bloodbath for the impoverished debtors. But she’s had years of practice surviving in the apocalyptic wastes, and with the help of her hunter brother she might stand a chance of staying alive.For Melinoë, this is a game she can’t afford to lose. Despite her reputation for mercilessness, she is haunted by painful flashbacks. After her last Gauntlet, where she broke down on livestream, she desperately needs redemption.As Mel pursues Inesa across the wasteland, both girls begin to question everything: Inesa wonders if there’s more to life than survival, while Mel wonders if she’s capable of more than killing.And both wonder if, against all odds, they might be falling in love. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne CollinsRelease Date: March 18 from Scholastic PressWhy We’re Excited: While some of us may have questioned author Suzanne Collins’s decision to give Cornelius Snow an origin story no one asked for in A Ballad of Songbird and Snakes, virtually every Hunger Games fan will be seated for Sunrise on the Reaping, the Haymitch prequel we all never knew we needed, but suddenly desperately want.Publisher’s Description: As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.Lady Knight by Amalie HowardRelease Date: April 1 from Joy RevolutionWhy We’re Excited: The second installment in adult favorite Amalie Howard’s delightfully fizzy Regency-set teen historical series (the first, Queen Bee, is excellent, FYI), follows the story of a duke’s daughter whose determination to defy the rules leads her to join a clandestine social club for rebellious girls and trust in an infamous rake to save her reputation when her participation is discovered. The Bridgerton vibes in this series remain strong. Publisher’s Description: Lady Zenobia “Zia” Osborn, a duke’s daughter, is frustrated that her entire life has been predetermined. What good is skill or intelligence if one is forced to suffocate it because of one’s sex? She’d much rather make her mark on the world than bat her eyelashes for the ton.Zia only comes alive in the Lady Knights, a clandestine social club for rebellious girls. In it, she is free to compose music, fence, read controversial literature, and save orphans from destitution by any means necessary. Aside from her closest confidantes, no one knows about Zia’s indecorous other life. . . .Until Mr. Rafi Nasser, a rogue with secrets of his own, finds out. Shocked yet intrigued by his best friend’s younger sister, he agrees to keep Zia’s secret—if only to help her avoid utter scandal.Boys with Sharp Teeth by Jenni HowellRelease Date: April 8 from Roaring Brook PressWhy We’re Excited: Described as a cross between We Were Liars and The Raven Boys, this addictively twisty dark academia story is romantic, sinister, and just the slightest bit toxic.Publisher’s Description: Seventeen-year-old Marin James has spent her entire life living in the shadow of the exclusive Huntsworth Academy. And when her cousin’s dead body is found in a creek on school property, Marin knows exactly who’s to blame: Adrian Hargraves and Henry Wu, the enigmatic yet dangerously alluring leaders of the school’s social elite.Swapping her ripped jeans for a crisp prep school skirt, Marin infiltrates Huntsworth to seek justice. But her quest is quickly muddied by a confusing attraction to her new life, and to the two dysfunctional and depraved boys who somehow understand her better than anyone ever has.When Marin uncovers an otherworldly secret the boys are hiding within Huntsworth’s ivied gates, the lines between right and wrong, love and hate, and nightmare and reality begin to crumble — and nothing is as it seems.Welcome to Huntsworth Academy.The Summer I Ate the Rich by Maika Moulitea and Maritza MouliteRelease Date: April 22 from Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)Why We’re Excited: Inspired by Hatiean zombie lore, this modern-day fable about a young woman who uses her cooking skills to get back at wealthy elites is a timely exploration of wealth and class disparities.Publisher’s Description: Brielle Petitfour loves to cook. But with a chronically sick mother and bills to pay, becoming a chef isn’t exactly a realistic career path.When Brielle’s mom suddenly loses her job, Brielle steps in and uses her culinary skills to earn some extra money. The rich families who love her cooking praise her use of unique flavors and textures, which keep everyone guessing what’s in Brielle’s dishes. The secret ingredient? Human flesh.What Comes After by Katie BayerlRelease Date: April 29 from Nancy Paulsen BooksWhy We’re Excited: This story about a teen who dies on the way to the SATs and has 90 days to figure out what happened to her is both biting and heartfelt. Mari’s time in the pseudo-spiritual way station known as Paradise Gate is distinctly Good Place coded as she deals with her unfinished business with her recently deceased mother, but What Comes After about letting go of the things that keep us stuck is powerful. Publisher’s Description: No one could be more disappointed about Mari’s sudden death than Mari, herself. And if she ever thought about the afterlife, she certainly didn’t think it would be a suburban enclave called Paradise Gate or that the biggest problem to plague her in life would follow her into the great beyond: her recently deceased mother, Faye. But that is exactly who greets her when Mari opens her eyes in the In Between—where the newly dead with no religious affiliation come to work out the unfinished business of their lives so they can ascend to whatever’s next.Mari realizes quickly Faye is her unfinished business and in order to ascend and join her loving grandparents, she’ll have to make peace with and forgive her dysfunctional mother for being no mother at all But there’s too much to forgive: never holding down a steady job, never having a stable home, Mari having to constantly change schools and in the end, Faye choosing her criminal boyfriend over Mari.It’s a lot to sort through, but Mari tries to keep her eye on the ball—attending classes at the Center like Youga and sending grief scarves sailing in Expressive Arts to move her vibe tracker from an angry unsettled red to an ascend-worthy green—all the while trying to remember how she died and deal with Faye, who, of course, is in danger of being kicked out of Paradise Gate altogether. But then Mari discovers in addition to mother drama, there’s even friend drama and boy drama to be found in the afterlife and none are good for her vibes. Even worse is the suspicion that Paradise Gate isn’t at all what it purports to be…and revolution may be afoot.Heir of Storms by Lauryn Hamilton MurrayRelease Date: June 3 from Roaring Brook PressWhy We’re Excited: This first installment in the Storm Weaver trilogy is a richly imagined, propulsive throwback to the golden days of YA fantasy. Heir of Storms has it all: elemental magic, forbidden love, and a cutthroat competition for a throne. Prepare to devour this in a sitting or two.Publisher’s Description: The very day Blaze came into the world, she almost drowned it. A Rain Singer born into one of the most powerful fire-wielding families in the empire, Blaze’s birth summoned a devastating storm that left thousands dead. She’s been hidden away ever since with a dark secret: the same torrential power that branded her an outcast disappeared that fateful day. And she’s not sure she wants it back.When an unexpected invitation arrives for Blaze and her twin brother, Flint, to compete as future rulers of the empire, she’s suddenly thrust into the limelight again — and into battle. Threats abound at the Golden Palace, where intrigue and romance await with not one but two handsome suitors: the enchanting Crown Prince and a dangerously alluring newcomer at court.As Blaze explores her untapped power, she discovers the throne may be within her grasp. But in order to take it, she’ll have to leave behind the stories that others have told about her, and find the courage to write her own.The Beautiful Maddening by Shea EarnshawRelease Date: June 3 from Simon & Schuster Books for Young ReadersWhy We’re Excited: A haunting contemporary fantasy about a teen who must navigate her family’s love curse, which blooms each year alongside the magical tulips on their land, in order to save her town. Publisher’s Description: Seventeen year-old Lark Goode wants only one thing: to escape her small town of Cutwater and the history of her family name. It’s a history that began during the Dutch tulip mania of 1636, when Lark’s ancestor stole the last remaining tulip bulbs and fled to America. But when the tulips bloomed on American soil, madness sprouted from their snowy white petals.The madness was love.Now, generations later, the Goodes remain cursed—the unnatural flowers outside their home causing locals to fall helplessly in love with anyone carrying Goode blood in their veins. While her brother embraces the strange power, Lark wants nothing more than to be free from it.But when she meets a boy who seems unaffected by the family curse, Lark finds herself falling headlong into a feeling she’s spent her whole life trying to avoid. Yet, all curses and magic come with a price, and the town of Cutwater soon sinks into a dangerous sickness tied to Lark and the ill-fated tulips.To save the town, Lark will need to sacrifice everything—even true love—to break the spell. Because in the Goode family, love has a way of destroying everything.The Nightblood Prince by Molly X. ChangRelease Date: July 1 from Random House Books for Young ReadersWhy We’re Excited: A unique, Chinese-inspired spin on established vampire lore from the author of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, mixes swoon-worthy romance with sharp political intrigue and a fearless young heroine with a prophesied destiny. Publisher’s Description: The night Fei was born, a prophecy was made: she would one day become the Empress of All Empresses.Torn from her family as a child and raised in the palace to one day marry the Crown Prince of the most powerful empire in the land, Fei has only ever known loneliness. When the opportunity arises to seize her own destiny for the first time in her life, Fei sets out to hunt a legendary tiger, knowing it might cost her everything. What she doesn’t expect is to fall under the mercy of Yexue, the beautiful runaway prince from a rival kingdom. Blessed by the night, harboring a dangerous magic, and capable of commanding an army of deadly vampires, Yexue could be the key to Fei gaining more than just her freedom.But to outrun destiny, Fei must spark a wave of events that will change the world as she knows it. Torn between two princes and plagued by nightmares of bloodshed, she finds that the stars might be more inescapable—and more irresistible—than she ever considered before. . . .A Theory of Dreaming by Ava ReidRelease Date: August 5 from HarperCollinsWhy We’re Excited: The second book from Ava Reid hitting shelves this year, this highly anticipated sequel to the excellent dark academia fantasy A Study in Drowning, A Theory of Dreaming adds a second POV character (fellow scholar and love interest Preston) and an increasingly complex emotional journey for heroine Effy as she becomes the first woman in history to enroll at the literature college and must decide who she is without the stories that have shaped her.Publisher’s Description: Effy learned that when she defeated the Fairy King. Even though she may never know exactly what happened at Hiraeth, she is free of her nightmares and is able to pen a thesis with Preston on the beloved national fairy tale Angharad. She has finally earned a spot at the literature college, making her the first woman in history to enroll.But some dreams are dangerous, especially when they come true. The entire university—and soon the entire nation—is waiting for her to fail. With the Fairy King defeated and Myrddin’s legacy exposed, Effy can no longer escape into fantasy. Who is she without her stories?With Effy under threat, Preston is surprised to discover a rage simmering inside him, ringing in his ears like bells. He begins to dream of a palace under the sea, a world where he is king—visions that start to follow him even in waking.As the war between Llyr and Argant explodes, Effy and Preston find themselves caught in the crossfire: Effy losing her dreams and Preston losing himself in his.Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter and Bluesky at @LacyMB
