The Most Exciting Young Adult Books Coming in 2024
by Meghan McCullough
The promise of a new year brings the promise of new books! 2024 has much to offer in the YA arena — from sweet rom-coms to exciting fantasy series to blood-pumping thrillers from beloved authors and newcomers alike. Readers of all stripes will find something to look forward to in this year’s new releases. So, get out a pen and your “to-be-read” list because it’s about to get a whole lot longer!
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Dungeons and Drama
Available from:In this adorable YA rom-com that Publishers Weekly calls “boisterously geeky,” Riley’s top priority is saving her high school’s musical. So, she has to get out of spending every afternoon working at her dad’s game shop. But what starts as a deal to escape her shifts (she’ll help the adorkable Nathan get the girl if he covers for her) soon turns into something more.
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The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee
Available from:Ellen Oh is a prolific and beloved author of Middle Grade and YA fiction and a founding member of We Need Diverse Books. In this contemporary speculative YA novel that Publishers Weekly calls “gripping,” she puts a unique spin on tropes from K-dramas and Korean webcomics. Korean American senior Mina Lee gets sucked into the world of her own webcomic and must confront a supervillain and a boyfriend she invented.
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The Invocations
Available from:You might know Krystal Sutherland as the author of the New York Times bestselling novels House of Hollow and Our Chemical Hearts, which was adapted into a 2020 film starring Lili Reinhart and Austin Abrams. Sutherland’s latest offering is an irresistible witchy thriller. It follows teen girls Zara Jones, Jude Wolf, and Emer Bryne and their journey into the occult as they try to stop a serial killer.
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These Deadly Prophecies
Available from:Fans of Knives Out and The Inheritance Games will love this fantastical murder mystery that keeps you guessing until the final page. Tabatha Zeng gets more than she bargained for as an apprentice to the famed Sorcerer Solomon. He predicts his own death, which tragically comes true. When Tabatha and Sorcerer Solomon’s son Callum become the prime murder suspects, they team up in a race against the clock to clear their names and find the true killer.
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Wander in the Dark
Available from:Amir Trudeau can’t believe his luck when he goes to his stuck-up half-brother’s birthday party and leaves with the beautiful and rich Chloe Danvers. That is, until he wakes up in the middle of the night and finds Chloe dead. Now, Amir is the prime murder suspect. He knows he’s innocent, but the rest of the world sees a dead white girl and a guilty Black teenager. Author Jumata Emil explores real-world themes of social justice in this thoughtful and high-stakes thriller.
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Skater Boy
Available from:Kirkus calls this YA contemporary debut “endearing and nuanced.” It follows closeted Wes MacKenzie as he navigates his senior year. He’s failing classes, has anger issues, and is preoccupied with the recent implosion of his parents’ relationship. But when openly gay Tristian Monroe catches his eye, Wes imagines a different future for himself — one where he graduates and gets the boy.
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Black Girl You Are Atlas
Available from:New York Times bestselling, award-winning author Renée Watson gives us a collection of semi-autobiographical poems in Black Girl You Are Atlas, which Publishers Weekly calls “a tender ode to universal yearnings for safety, love, and justice.” The collection honors Black girlhood with gorgeous illustrations by fine artist and Caldecott honoree Ekua Holmes as Watson taps into her youth with warmth and celebration.
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Snowglobe
Available from:Originally published in Korean, Snowglobe is a dystopian thriller that Entertainment Weekly calls “The Hunger Games meets Squid Game,” and which was called “transporting and unputdownable” in a starred review from Kirkus. Earth has been plunged into an eternal winter, and only the residents of Snowglobe have access to warmth. In exchange, their lives are broadcast to those who toil in the cold outside Snowglobe’s protection. But when Chobahm gains entry to Snowglobe, she learns that the picture-perfect city has a dark underbelly.
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Last One to Die
Available from:This supernatural thriller from TikTok’s “CEO of plot twists” promises a creepy and suspenseful story right up until the very end. Young, brunette women are being attacked in the city of London, women that look uncannily like 16-year-old, Irish-born Niamh. As Niamh strives to immerse herself in her summer drama course at the Victorian Museum, an unsettling series of events unfold, leaving her anxious about her own safety and the looming possibility of becoming the next target. A spine-tingling read, this is horror at its finest.
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Just Another Epic Love Poem
Available from:Parisa Akhbari’s debut novel is a joyous, moving ode to queer love and friendship. Best friends Mitra Estefani and Bea Ortega have been filling a journal they call “The Book” for the past five years — creating a never-ending poem. The Book is where they can be their most authentic selves, completely safe and open. But Mitra has one secret she hasn’t put in The Book: she’s in love with Bea.
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The Breakup Lists
Available from:YA darling Adib Khorram stole readers’ hearts with his award-winning, bestselling 2018 debut, Darius the Great Is Not Okay. In The Breakup Lists, Khorram gives us a queer rom-com set in the world of high school theater. Jackson Ghasnavi is happy to work as a stage manager for his high school’s theater department and live vicariously through his sister Jasmine’s romantic life. But living in the background gets complicated when the boy his sister is crushing on catches his eye, too.
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Every Time You Hear That Song
Available from:This country music-inspired story splits its time between the present and 1963. When legendary country singer Decklee Cassel’s longtime songwriting partner dies, their adoring public anticipates unveiling her time capsule — but it’s found empty. 17-year-old aspiring journalist Darren Purchase joins a scavenger hunt to find the real capsule and the truth about Cassel’s rise and fall from fame.
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Hearts Still Beating
Available from:If you (or your teen) were glued to your sofa every Sunday this past winter, tuning into HBO’s “The Last of Us,” Brooke Archer’s debut novel is a must-read for 2024. Hearts Still Beating is a post-apocalyptic novel, but it’s also a queer love story about two teen girls who haven’t seen each other since their first kiss — and since one of them was infected by the deadly virus that swept the globe. But a treatment has been found, and as Mara and Rory reunite to heal and rebuild, their fledging love will be put to the test.
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The Reappearance of Rachel Price
Available from:Holly Jackson is the bestselling author of Five Survive and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series. In this new mystery thriller, the past comes knocking on 18-year-old Bel’s doorstep when her long-lost mother, Rachel Price, reappears after a 16-year-long disappearance. True crime lovers will tear through this story of dredging through a murky past in search of the truth.
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Kill Her Twice
Available from:Stacey Lee is the author of bestselling, award-winning YA historical fiction, including The Downstairs Girl, which was a Reese’s Book Club YA Pick. Lee transports us to 1932 Los Angeles in her latest novel, Kill Her Twice. After sisters May, Gemma, and Peony Chow stumble upon the movie star Lulu Wong’s dead body, they know the case isn’t as open-and-shut as the LAPD would have the public believe. But they also know they can’t trust the police to bring justice to a murdered Chinese girl, no matter how famous she was — so they take matters into their own hands.
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Blood at the Root
Available from:Pitched in the author’s viral tweet as “What if Harry Potter went to a HBCU in the South?” Blood at the Root begins a fresh, epic fantasy series from playwright and screenwriter LaDarrion Williams. Seventeen-year-old Malik discovered his magical powers ten years ago. Now, at Caiman University, he has the chance to explore them openly. Malik searches for answers about his past as he navigates a high-stakes world of ancient magic and first love.
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The Davenports: More Than This
Preorder from:The Davenports, Krystal Marquis’s debut novel, was an instant New York Times bestseller earlier this year (and luckily, fans will only have to wait a little longer to read its much-anticipated sequel!). Inspired by the true story of C.R. Patterson, a Black man who escaped slavery and carved out a place for himself and his family in Ohio society, the Davenports series follows one wealthy Black family in the early 1910s. The second installment picks up right where book one left off, and readers will delight in seeing where Ruby, Olivia, Amy-Rose, and Helen go next in their journeys through life and love.
(On sale: 11/12/2024)
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Two Sides to Every Murder
Available from:Danielle Valentine, bestselling author of How to Survive Your Murder and The Merciless series, is back with another pulse-pounding thriller. Olivia and Reagan are an unlikely duo: Olivia was born during the infamous Camp Lost Lake murders — murders which Reagan’s mom was blamed for. They get thrown together when Camp Lost Lake reopens, and they each return, searching for answers.
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The Color of a Lie
Available from:This new social justice thriller from the author of the critically acclaimed This Is My America and Invisible Son takes place in segregated 1955 America. When Calvin and his family move into a “Whites Only” suburb after fleeing tragedy in Chicago, Calvin must do all he can to hide his true identity and pass for white. He has lots of practice doing it — but insidious danger lurks beneath the surface of this small town.
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Such Charming Liars
Preorder from:I am always ready for a new book from YA thriller mastermind Karen McManus, author of the bestselling One of Us Is Lying series. In this new standalone mystery, teenage Kat and her mother, Jamie, are jewel thieves. Jamie is ready to leave the life of crime behind — after one final heist at billionaire Ross Sutherland’s birthday party. But when the birthday boy turns up dead, can Kat outrun the killer? YA readers everywhere will burn the midnight oil to finish this heart-pounding thriller.
(On sale: 7/30/2024)
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Love Requires Chocolate
Preorder from:The first installment in an irresistible new romance series, Love Requires Chocolate follows Whitney Curry on her semester abroad in Paris. Whitney can’t wait to explore the city of her idol, Josephine Baker, and find inspiration for her own playwriting and directing. But she becomes homesick and overwhelmed until she meets a handsome soccer star (or should we say football star?) named Thierry Magnon.
(On sale: 8/20/2024)
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