Young Adult New Releases April 1st 2025
Happy April!! I am so excited for so many April YA Releases, so please excuse my lack of words – but the excitement is real (*cough Holy Terrors cough*). So Happy Book Birthday to ALL the many new YA books hitting shelves today! As always you can check out our Bookshop for more book recs!
Holy Terrors (Little Thieves, #3)
by Margaret OwenPublished by: Henry Holt & Co. (BYR)
on April 1, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
It's been nearly two years since Vanja brought down the cult she started, and she’s still paying the price. As the Pfennigeist, she bucks the law in order to help the desperate and haunt the corrupt all across the empire—and no matter what, she works alone.
But an impossible killer is tearing through royalty, and leaving Vanja’s signature red penny on every victim. Suddenly the Pfennigeist is no longer a folk hero but a nightmare. When even the Blessed Empress falls, the empire’s seven royal families must gather to elect her successor within a matter of weeks, or risk the collapse of reality itself… even though it puts every house in the killer’s sights.
Vanja tells herself she’s wading into the royalty’s vicious games only to save the name she made, and the loved ones also in jeopardy. But the Order of Prefects has also put their sharpest official on the case, the one who swore he’d always find Vanja—until she broke his heart. Journeyman Prefect Emeric Conrad may no longer be the boy Vanja knew, but they’ll have to work together one last time to have any chance of surviving the deadly catastrophe coming for them all.
With bloody conspiracy, sinister magic, and old adverseries closing in, it will take everything Vanja has to save not just the people she loves, but the future she’s fought for. In this thrilling final chapter of the Indie Next series Little Thieves, New York Times-bestselling author Margaret Owen shows us the pain and beauty of choosing which demons to face, and which to forgive.
The Hallow Hunt (The Revenant Games, #2)
by Margie FustonPublished by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
on March 18, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
Bly has nothing left to lose in her quest to save her sister in this thrilling sequel to The Revenant Games that’s perfect for fans of All of Us Villains meets Kingdom of the Wicked.
Bly won the Revenant Games, but she lost everything else.
In her desperation to resurrect her sister, Bly betrayed Kerrigan, the vampire who she’d planned to sacrifice to the witches before she fell in love with him—only to find out that Elise was never dead. With nothing left, Bly will do whatever it takes to locate her sister.
Her only lead on Elise lies with Kerrigan’s brother, Donovan, who she turned over to the witches in place of Kerrigan. She spends her nights tracking down witch prisons to rescue him. Meanwhile, Kerrigan is also searching for Donovan, but after Bly’s treachery, he refuses her help.
But when the vampire queens accuse the two of them of treason, they’re only offered one escape from retrieving a mystical root that only grows on the banks of the Hallow Pool, where legend says that vampires and witches were created. Now Kerrigan and Bly must find a way to work together if they want to keep their lives and save their siblings.
But they’re not the only ones hunting in the forest, and as their feelings for each other rekindle, they risk being torn apart once more.
Into the Light (Star Wars: The High Republic)
by Claudia GrayPublished by: Disney Lucasfilm Press
on April 1, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
The New York Times best-selling series is coming to an epic conclusion—witness the beginning of the end!
Written by one of the original High Republic story architects and the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark, Star Wars: Lost Stars, and the upcoming original X-Files novel, Perihelion. This sci-fi mystery is, at its heart, about the importance of found families and overcoming great odds.
As several crises all hurtle toward their thrilling and shocking conclusions, fan-favorite Jedi Knights and Padawans must band together to save the galaxy from the Nihil, the Nameless, and perhaps worst of all, a mysterious blight that turns everything in its path to dust and is seemingly impossible to stop.
King's Legacy (Tennessee Russo)
by L. C. RosenPublished by: Union Square and Co
on April 1, 2025
Genres: LGBTQIA+, Sci-Fi, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
Tennessee Russo has done more difficult things than this before.
He’s evaded traps, found lost treasures, become kind of famous, gotten over a bad relationship, and survived all that. Filming a new season of his artifact-hunting reality show for a major international streaming service should be easy, right? His archeologist dad even said Tennessee is in charge of what artifacts they go after. Plus, Ten’s awesome best friend (and sometimes more), Gabe, gets to come along on the adventure.
But here’s the Tennessee wants to hunt down a long-lost gift that King David gave Jonathan. Queer history, especially of Biblical figures, isn’t easy for some people to believe or accept. Tennessee has done his research, and he knows where the clues point. But what happens when the producer of the show threatens to misrepresent not just Ten’s ideas, but his identity?
To tell the true story of his queer legacy, Tennessee will have to race through Rome and Paris, stand up to the actual Vatican, crack ancient puzzles, and maybe hardest of all, reclaim the power of being his authentic self. Along the way, author L.C. Rosen delivers the excitement, romance, and magic of a wildly fun adventure.
The Coven Tendency
by Zoe Hana Mikutaon April 1, 2025
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
Zoe Hana Mikuta delivers a bloody and unrelenting fantasy about young witches dangling on the edge of love and obsession, of magic and madness, of life and death (and death and death and death). . .
Just like her mother and her mother’s mother, 18-year-old Vanity Adams is destined to lead a lavish life under the patronship of the Museum, someday taking her place as its premiere necromantic Spectacle and the centerpiece of their weekly soirees thrown for the City’s elite.
But until that day, Vanity (and the other young witches of the Museum) is isolated from the outside world and purged of her magic—magic being particularly unstable for teenagers and often leading to antisocial conduct, mood swings, bloodlust, delusions, and, most concerning, a habitual, violent obsession with one another.
To all of this, Vanity thinks: Well, whatever. Better than being confined to the Sanatorium with the less fortunate witches, imprisoned in a chemically induced coma as her blood is harvested to make World, the City’s favorite designer drug. At least she’ll be dead someday, there’s always that. And at least the Museum has Arrogance, Vanity’s twin sister, who just might remember how to do magic, and who just might be where our story begins. . . .
Meet Me at Blue Hour
by Sarah SukPublished by: Quill Tree Books
Genres: Contemporary, Sci-Fi, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Past Lives in this gripping, emotional story of two childhood friends navigating the fallout of one erasing their memory of the other, from acclaimed author Sarah Suk.
Seventeen-year-old Yena Bae is spending the summer in Busan, South Korea, working at her mom’s memory-erasing clinic. She feels lost and disconnected from people, something she’s felt ever since her best friend, Lucas, moved away four years ago without a word, leaving her in limbo.
Eighteen-year-old Lucas Pak is also in Busan for the summer, visiting his grandpa, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. But he isn’t just here for a regular visit—he’s determined to get his beloved grandpa into the new study running at the clinic, a trial program seeking to restore lost memories.
When Yena runs into Lucas again, she’s shocked to see him and even more shocked to discover that he doesn’t remember a thing about her. He’s completely erased her from his memories, and she has no idea why.
As the two reconnect, they unravel the mystery and heartache of what happened between them all those years ago—and must now reckon with whether they can forge a new beginning together.
Huda F Wants to Know?: A Graphic Novel
by Huda Fahmyon April 1, 2025
Genres: Contemporary, Graphic Novel, Humor, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
In the hilarious and poignant follow-up to National Book Award Finalist Huda F Cares?, Huda's life and worldview is turned upside down when her parents announce they're divorcing.
Huda Fahmy is ready for junior year. She’s got a plan to join all the clubs, volunteer everywhere, ace the ACTs, write the most awe-inspiring essay for her scholarship applications. Easy.
But then Mama and Baba announce the most unthinkable they’re getting a divorce.
Huda is devastated. She worries about what this will mean for her family, their place in the Muslim community, and her future. Her grades start tanking, she has a big fight with her best friend, and everything feels out of control. Will her life ever feel normal again? Huda F wants to know.
All the Stars Align
by Gretchen SchreiberPublished by: Wednesday Books
on April 1, 2025
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
All the Stars Align is the magical love story that is Taylor Swift’s Enchanted meets Cyrano, from the author of Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal.
All the women in Piper’s family know their true love at first sight, complete with butterflies, heart eyes, and a gut instinct. The kind of fated love that lasts forever. Piper grew up with her ancestors' epic love stories repeated like fairy tales, and yearns for the day she’ll start her own. Already singled out in her family due to her physical disability, Piper collects a second strike against her when her parents announce their divorce, which convinces her family that she’s doomed.
When she finally finds her true love at a party, she’s more determined than ever to attain her love story and earn a spot in her family. But after completely botching their first meeting, she realizes that she’ll need help from her best friend Leo, who is sort of a love expert. The catch—he and Piper haven’t talked in six months, since he needed a “break” from their friendship.
To win over the love of her life and a place in her family, Piper must convince Leo to teach her his ways. And it’s all going as planned…until Leo confesses his own love for Piper. Now, she must decide which fate to follow.
Thieves
by Lucie BryonPublished by: Flying Eye Books
on April 1 2025
Genres: Contemporary, Graphic Novel, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
What happened last night?
Ella can’t seem to remember a single thing from the party the night before at a stranger’s mansion, and she sure as heck doesn’t know why she’s woken up in her bed surrounded by a magpie’s nest of objects that aren’t her own. And she can’t stop thinking about her huge crush on Madeline, who she definitely can’t tell about her sudden penchant for kleptomania . . . But does Maddy have secrets of her own? Can they piece together that night between them and fix the mess of their chaotic personal lives in time to form a normal, teenage relationship? That would be nice.
Where Shadows Meet
by Patrice CaldwellPublished by: Wednesday Books
on April 1, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
The dark and thrillingly romantic debut vampire fantasy that questions what it truly means to sacrifice for love.
You have no idea what I’ve done for love. Just as you have no idea what you may one day do.
Once long ago, a girl named Favre sacrificed her wings for love. Thana, the young goddess she so willingly gave them up for, sacrificed that same love for power. But everything has a cost.Favre never got over the loss of her wings. And Thana’s choices led to a life of eternal night, and later, their destruction. Favre has bided her time ever since, waiting for the chance to resurrect the girl she loves who turned her into the creature she hates.
Now, a thousand years later, Leyla, the crown princess of the malichora—an ancient race that survives on human blood —must travel to the Island of the Dead when her best friend is captured during an attack on her nation’s capital. Along with Najja, a fierce, beautiful seer, and the last person she expected to help her, Leyla forges down a dangerous path, intent on saving her friend. But nothing is as it seems. The closer she gets to her goal, the more she risks awakening an ancient evil and destroying everything she holds dear.
Set in the aftermath of a war between vampires, humans, and the gods that created them, Patrice Caldwell’s devastatingly romantic fantasy debut, Where Shadows Meet, centers the heart-wrenching pain of loss and the struggle of self-discovery to ask: do we choose our fates, or do our fates choose us?
Messy Perfect
by Tanya BotejuPublished by: Quill Tree Books
on April 1, 2025
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
Perfect for fans of Mason Deaver and Becky Albertalli, this tender, raucous novel follows a rule-following, perfectionist teen who starts an underground GSA club at her conservative Catholic high school, from the acclaimed author of Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens.
Cassie Perera is a star student in St. Luke's junior class. But the new school year brings an unwelcome surprise—the return to St. Luke's of Cassie's former friend, Ben, who left a few years ago after a homophobic bullying incident Cassie knows she didn't do enough to prevent.
Still harboring guilt from her inaction, Cassie decides, in her usual, overzealous way, to team up with the neighboring public school to found an underground Gender and Sexuality Alliance—as a complicated strategy for making things up to Ben. Secretly, Cassie is also tempted by the possibility of opening up about her own sexuality for the first time.
As Cassie’s new friends urge her out of her comfort zone, she unlocks a kind of joy and freedom she’s never felt before—even as she struggles to balance these experiences with her typical tightrope of being the perfect daughter, student, and Catholic.
Cassie’s perfectly curated life unravels into turmoil, but can she embrace the mess enough to piece together something new?
Deadstream
by Mar Romasco-MoorePublished by: Viking Books for Young Readers
on April 1, 2025
Genres: Thriller, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
Rear Window meets The Ring in this sinister YA thriller, in which a teen girl witnesses the livestreamed murder of a popular online streamer by a paranormal entity . . . and could be its next victim.
After surviving a car accident that claimed the life of her best friend, Teresa is now terrified to leave the safety of her bedroom. Since then, her only solace and window to the outside world has been the online community she found through streaming.
But one night, the safe world Teresa created starts to break down. A shadowy figure appears in the background of her favorite's streamer's video, and his behavior mysteriously changes over the next few days before he dies in front of thousands of viewers. Teresa finds herself at the center of a life-and-death investigation as the world tries to figure out what or who this figure could be . . . especially as it begins appearing in the other people's streams, compelling them to "open the door" and let it in—including Teresa’s own. In order to save herself and the rest of the internet from this relentless entity, Teresa must venture outside of the mental and physical walls she’s created. But will she be able to conquer her fears before anyone else loses their life?
Lady Knight (THE DIAMONDS)
by Amalie HowardPublished by: Joy Revolution
on April 1, 2025
Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
The daughter of a duke defies the rules of London high society with the help of the resident rake—who just so happens to be her brother’s best friend—in this fun teen historical romance from the USA Today bestselling author of Queen Bee.
“A ridiculously romantic, womanist, hilarious, and hugely entertaining romance that had me smiling and swooning from start to finish.” —Elizabeth Everett, USA Today bestselling author of the Damsels of Discovery series
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.
Rebis: Born and Reborn
by Irene Marchesini, Carla Roncalli Di Montorio, Carlotta DicataldoPublished by: First Second
on April 1, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Paranormal, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
For fans of Nimona and Snapdragon comes an exquisitely drawn medieval story about the friendship between a runaway child and a mysterious witch.
Born with paper-white skin, Martino is an outcast. To the villagers, albinism is more than a curiosity—it’s a curse. Bullied and shunned, Martino seeks refuge in the deep woods—and finds it in Viviana. Powerful and beautiful, Viviana belongs to a sisterhood of outcast women. Martino is welcomed into the fold and, drawing on the magic of the forest, is reborn.
In Rebis, Italian duo Irene Marchesini and Carlotta Dicataldo deliver a medieval fantasy steeped in mystery—a haunting and hopeful tale of transformation and found family.
Renegade Girls
by Nora Neus, Julie Robineon April 1, 2025
Genres: Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
A swoonworthy queer romance set against a riveting story of social change in the 1880s, this historical graphic novel reimagines the life of America’s first stunt girl—a young undercover reporter—and her whirlwind summer of romance and fighting injustice.
Seventeen-year-old Helena “Nell” Cusack came to New York this summer looking for a story—a real story. She dreams of one day writing hard-hitting articles for the New York Chronicle, but so far she's only managed to land a job as a lowly society reporter. That is, until Alice Austen strolls into her life, an audacious street photographer who encourages Nell to shake up polite society…and maybe also take a chance on love.
When her best friend, Lucia, is injured while working in a garment factory, Nell is determined to crack the story wide open. Posing as a seamstress, she reports on the conditions from the inside, making a name for herself as the Chronicle’s first ever stunt girl. But as Nell’s reporting gains momentum, so do the objections of those who oppose her. Will Nell continue to seek justice—even if it hurts her in the end?
Based on real-life stunt girl Nell Nelson and photographer Alice Austen, this tenderly drawn narrative is about bringing buried stories to light and the bravery of first love.
Rival Darling (The Darling Devils, #1)
by Alexandra MoodyPublished by: Avon
on April 1, 2025
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
Alexandra Moody's YA ice hockey rom-com—the first of the BookTok sensation Darling Devils series—will warm your heart!
She has a (fake) date with a Devil . . .
When Violet is left heartbroken by the captain of her school’s ice hockey team, she vows never to date a jock again. But to prove she’s moved on, she turns to the most unlikely person: her ex’s biggest rival, the notorious captain of the Ransom Devils.
Reed Darling is gorgeous, mysterious, and intimidating—the only thing people love to talk about more than his hockey skills are his exploits as a ruthless heartbreaker and bad boy. Who better to serve as Violet’s fake boyfriend until her ex gets the message, right?
But Violet soon starts to wonder if there’s more to Reed than the gossip suggests. And Reed is determined to win her over and show her he’s not the guy everyone thinks he is. Is this jock about to break all her rules?
Run Away with Me
by Brian SelznickPublished by: Scholastic Press
on April 1, 2025
Genres: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
A profoundly romantic YA novel about two boys finding each other and falling in love over one summer in Rome.
"I'm going to call you Danny. What are you going to name me?"
"Angelo."Danny is spending his sixteenth summer in Rome. As his mother spends the day at work in a mysterious museum, he wanders the ancient sites and streets. Soon after his arrival, he encounters a shadow... who becomes a voice... who becomes a boy his age. Angelo.
Soon Danny and Angelo are spending as much time as they can together, piecing together stories of the city while only gradually letting their own histories be shared. Attraction leads to affection, and affection leads to both an intimate closeness and a profound fear of what happens next. Danny has never really had a home, or known the love of another boy. Angelo seems to have more experience... but he also has secrets just out of Danny’s reach.
Run Away With Me is a stunning creation, weaving words and illustration to tell the story of a transformative love over the course of one Roman summer.
The Notorious Virtues (The Notorious Virtues, #1)
by Alwyn HamiltonPublished by: Viking Books for Young Readers
on April 1, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
A glamorous media darling, a surprise heiress, and the magical competition of a lifetime.
At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of Walstad. Her family controls all the money–and all the magic–in the entire country. But despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one family heir.
But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt. When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to, Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want her dead.
And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random–it was murder. And the only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter who despises everything Nora and her family stand for.
With everyone against her, Lotte’s last hope is hunting for the identity of her father. But the dangerous competition–and her feelings for Theo, one of the Holtzfalls’ sworn protectors–turns her world upside down.
Give Up the Night (Moonstruck, #2)
by P.C. Cast, Kristin CastPublished by: Wednesday Books
on April 1, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
New York Times bestsellers P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast return with the astonishing conclusion to their new duology set in a dark and magickal world filled with incredible danger and irresistible romance.
Since becoming Moonstruck on her eighteenth birthday, Wren Nightingale has found herself thrust into a world filled with deception, danger, and murder. Uncovering that their magick was fractured and limited when the original Moonstruck ritual was broken by Selene, Wren is determined to find a way to restore it. But the Elementals are split into two factions―some want the ritual completed and their freedom―and others are so terrified of change that they’re willing to end Wren before she can reach the center of the island where the ritual Selene ruined can be completed.
Between his overbearing father’s arrival, Rottingham delegating him more and more responsibility, and Celeste taking a special interest in him, Lee Young has been struggling to find his own path. As much as Lee wants to take his place in the Moonstruck hierarchy, he knows something’s not right at the Academia de la Luna. He thinks if he can talk some sense into Wren and get her to return to the Academia, that everything will turn out alright.
As Wren and Lee both battle for what they believe is right, they’ll have to uncover who their true allies are…and if they’re even on the same side of this magickal fight.
Unboxed
by Non PrattPublished by: Union Square and Co
on August 15, 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads
Unboxed is about four teenagers who come together after several months apart. In previous years, they had put together a time capsule about their best summer with a friend who was dying. Now that their friend has passed, they reunite to open the box.
After years of no contact, former friends Alix, Ben, Zara, and Dean meet up at their old school to keep a longstanding promise: to open a memory box they left there when they were thirteen. But there is a gaping hole--their friend Millie has died. Secrets tumble out and old feelings rise to the surface as they dredge up the past. Can they save the friendships that once meant everything to them, or is it time to let go and say goodbye?
Union Square & Co.'s EVERYONE CAN BE A READER books are expertly written, thoughtfully designed with dyslexia-friendly fonts and paper tones, and carefully formatted to meet readers where they are with engaging stories that encourage reading success across a wide range of age and interest levels.
Rebellion 1776
by Laurie Halse AndersonPublished by: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
on April 1, 2025
Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade
Bookshop
Goodreads
From New York Times bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson comes an eerily timely historical fiction middle grade adventure about a girl struggling to survive amid a smallpox epidemic, the public’s fear of inoculation, and the seething Revolutionary War.
In the spring of 1776, thirteen-year-old Elsbeth Culpepper wakes to the sound of cannons. It’s the Siege of Boston, the Patriots’ massive drive to push the Loyalists out that turns the city into a chaotic war zone. Elsbeth’s father—her only living relative—has gone missing, leaving her alone and adrift in a broken town while desperately seeking employment to avoid the orphanage.
Just when things couldn’t feel worse, the smallpox epidemic sweeps across Boston. Now, Bostonians must fight for their lives against an invisible enemy in addition to the visible one. While a treatment is being frantically fine-tuned, thousands of people rush in from the countryside begging for inoculation. At the same time, others refuse protection, for the treatment is crude at best and at times more dangerous than the disease itself.
Elsbeth, who had smallpox as a small child and is now immune, finds work taking care of a large, wealthy family with discord of their own as they await a turn at inoculation, but as the epidemic and the revolution rage on, will she find her father?
Leave a Reply