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Most anticipated YA books of 2024

Young adult authors are shaping up to deliver plenty of magic—real or metaphorical—in 2024. While authors like Kacen Callender and Hafsah Faizal whisk us away to fantastical worlds, others such as Marissa Meyer and Alexene Farol Follmuth will keep us spellbound by tales set closer to home.
Available 1/02/2024
YA

A Fragile Enchantment

By Allison Saft

After the passionate, bestselling A Far Wilder Magic, Allison Saft is back with another entrancing fantasy—this time featuring an intriguing setting based on Regency England. Fans of “Bridgerton” will want to keep an eye out for A Fragile Enchantment, which follows Niamh Ó Conchobhair, a magical dressmaker who is hired by the kingdom of Avaland to serve as the tailor for a royal wedding. However, the job of dressing the beautiful but thorny prince Kit for his impending political union comes with far more complications than she could have ever expected. 

Available 2/06/2024
YA, YA Fiction

Infinity Alchemist

By Kacen Callender
Full of smart dialogue, Infinity Alchemist moves with the kind of pace that will keep readers drawn in, but it is the overriding feeling of empathy that elevates this resonant fantasy.
Available 2/13/2024
YA Fiction

With a Little Luck

By Marissa Meyer

Beloved for her enthralling science fiction, which includes The Lunar Chronicles series and the Renegades trilogy, Marissa Meyer also proved herself a cross-genre champion with Instant Karma, her bestselling (as usual) first rom-com. In With a Little Luck, she’s taking fans back to the coastal town of Fortuna Beach to meet Jude, whose ordinary life—working at his parents’ vinyl store, drawing comics and playing Dungeons & Dragons—is transformed when he finds a special 20-sided die that gives him incredible luck. But what happens when this luck runs out? 

Book jacket image for A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
Available 2/20/2024
YA, YA Fiction

A Tempest of Tea

By Hafsah Faizal

With A Tempest of Tea, Hafsah Faizal plugs fully into the young adult fantasy zeitgeist, weaving serious themes into a fast-paced and thrilling heist story.

Book jacket image for The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black
Available 3/05/2024
YA, YA Fiction

The Prisoner’s Throne

By Holly Black

Holly Black captivated legions of fans with the Folk of the Air series, then she whisked them away once more to Elfhame with the Stolen Heir duology. The Prisoner’s Throne picks up where The Stolen Heir left off, switching to Prince Oak’s perspective as he struggles through the explosive consequences of his journey north with Wren.

Book jacket image for Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Abike-Iyimide
Available 3/19/2024
YA

Where Sleeping Girls Lie

By Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Faridah Abiké-Iyimidé won a 2022 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for her debut novel, Ace of Spades, a heart-pounding thriller about two Black senior class prefects at a prestigious private academy. So it’s with bated breath that we anticipate Where Sleeping Girls Lie, another mystery set at an elite school that promises just as many twists and turns, on top of Abiké-Iyimidé’s thoughtful, multilayered social commentary.

Book jacket image for The Black Girl Survives in This One by Desiree S. Evans
Available 4/02/2024
YA, YA Fiction

The Black Girl Survives in This One

By Saraciea J. Fennell

Zakiya Dalila Harris, Brittney Morris, Monica Brashears and more unite in this star-studded horror anthology of 15 stories about Black girls who face all sorts of terrors—and survive. Modern horror audiences are lucky to witness all the fresh, exciting ways in which the genre continues to evolve, and The Black Girl Survives in This One promises to push the “Final Girl” trope toward new horizons that will thrill and terrify readers. Bonus: Tananarive Due writes the forward.

Book jacket image for Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa
Available 4/09/2024
YA, YA Fiction

Canto Contigo

By Jonny Garza Villa

Jonny Garza Villa brought a sweetly poignant voice to contemporary YA romance with their tender, nuanced novels Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun and Ander & Santi Were Here. In Canto Contigo, the ​​Pura Belpré Honor recipient tackles rivals-to-lovers romance as talented singer Rafael Alvarez moves to San Antonio for his senior year only to discover that his new school’s mariachi band already has someone occupying the coveted lead vocalist role: a very cute boy that Rafie happens to have met before.

Book jacket image for Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger
Available 4/16/2024
YA, YA Fiction

Sheine Lende

By Darcie Little Badger, Illustrated by Rovina Cai

Sheine Lende focuses on a girl who must use her experience finding missing persons with ghost dogs to track down her own mother.

Book jacket image for Blood Justice by Terry J. Benton-Walker
Available 4/23/2024
YA, YA Fiction

Blood Justice

By Terry J. Benton-Walker

In the sequel to Terry J. Benton-Walker’s much-lauded debut, Blood Debts, Cris and Clem Trudeau find themselves defending their recently won throne in a version of New Orleans that is alive with deadly magic. Tensions run high as mighty forces descend upon the siblings amidst murders, power plays and quests for revenge. Readers will look forward to seeing how Benton-Walker once again pulls off untangling a knot of intricate plotting.

Available 6/18/2024
YA, YA Fiction

Twelfth Knight

By Alexene Farol Follmuth

In a starred review, we praised the “agile and cutting voice” of The Atlas Six, Alexene Farol Follmuth’s debut published under the pen name Olivie Blake. We’re eager to read her upcoming retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, in which Viola is a high school student who finds solace in an online role-playing game called Twelfth Knight. She’s also the student body Vice President to football player Jack Orsino’s President. When her virtual avatar, Cesario, meets his Duke Orsino online, sparks fly in a rom-com as hilariously tangled as its source material.

Book jacket image for Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron
Available 6/25/2024
YA, YA Fiction

Sleep Like Death

By Kalynn Bayron

Full of heroism, romance and wisdom, Sleep Like Death is a wonderful coming-of-age fantasy story that will delight readers searching for a robust fairy tale retelling.

Book jacket image for The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Available 7/30/2024
YA, YA Fiction

The Grandest Game

By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

It would probably be easier to win the Hawthorne fortune than to ignore the blockbuster success of Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ Inheritance Games series, which has won over global audiences, having been translated into 31 languages. Barnes invites us back into another lavish competition with The Grandest Game, in which Avery Grambs is now a billionaire giving seven contestants their own chance to win a fortune and change their lives forever.

Most anticipated by genre

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Recent YA reviews

Book jacket image for Our Beautiful Darkness by Ondjaki

Our Beautiful Darkness

With such a stunning representation of not only pain and conflict, but also the joy that is still able to make its way through, Our Beautiful Darkness is sure to leave readers considering, appreciating and reflecting on the world around them.

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Time and Time Again

Readers looking for a sweet, moving love story will enjoy getting to know Phoebe and Jess in Time and Time Again, a fun, speculative queer romance.

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Book jacket image for White Guy Dies First by Terry J. Benton-Walker

The White Guy Dies First

Readers won’t want to put down The White Guy Dies First, a creative and creepy collection in which expectations are subverted and underrepresented groups claim their power from ghouls and demons both real and supernatural.

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Book jacket image for Woe: A Housecat's Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley

Woe

Woe: A Housecat’s Story of Despair is a funny, touching saga that explores what it means to care for a beloved four-legged companion through thick and thin.

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Book jacket image for Ready or Not by Andi Porretta

Ready or Not

Andi Porretta’s debut graphic novel, Ready or Not, dances on the edge between youth and adulthood. Its characters are vibrant and fun, but they’re also facing a lot of change—which lets the story explore the joy, pain and chaos of growing up.

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Book jacket image for Age 16 by Rosena Fung

Age 16

With its unique multigenerational approach, Age 16 expertly tackles perceptions of weight, self-worth and parental conflict.

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Book jacket image for Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron

Sleep Like Death

Full of heroism, romance and wisdom, Sleep Like Death is a wonderful coming-of-age fantasy story that will delight readers searching for a robust fairy tale retelling.

Read More »
Book jacket image for Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin

The Wilderness of Girls

Magic, folklore and contemporary society collide in The Wilderness of Girls as it sensitively explores the pain of trauma, the beauty of found family and the possibility of magic.

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