New Release Tuesday: YA New Releases August 25th 2026

Young Adult New Releases August 25th 2026

Summerween is not done with us yet! Check out most of the YA books releasing today below! We work with independent affiliates to bring you anti-billionaire corporate alternatives. Libro.fm for all your audiobooks and Bookshop.org for all your digital or physical editions and the great thing is that local bookshops also earn money each time you shop!

But I Hate Him

by Page Powars
Published by: Roaring Book Press, Roaring Brook Press
on August 25, 2026
Genres: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
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From New York Times and #1 Indies bestselling author Page Powars, a sizzling queer YA romcom about academic rivals who face off at the most competitive camp in the country. Perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Alice Oseman.

Rory is academic royalty.

As the heir to the most successful tutoring company in the world, he can be nothing less than perfect if he wants to gain his parents’ approval. So it's simple. Rory studies harder than anyone else. He does not make mistakes. And he never loses.

Except to Luca Melendez. The infuriatingly good-looking hockey player who wins every academic competition without even trying.

When Rory has a very public meltdown, throwing a smoothie at Luca and shattering his own public image in the process – it feels like one more thing Luca ruined.

To salvage his reputation, Rory has his sights set on winning the most cutthroat academic camp in the country, BRAIN. There is nothing standing between Rory and the final medal.

Until, Luca Melendez shows up.

This means war and Rory has the perfect plan: Make Luca fall in love with him.

And then break Luca’s heart right before the final competition.

Bite Me: A Graphic Novel

by Jennifer Dugan, Kit Seaton
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
on August 25, 2026
Genres: Graphic Novel, LGBTQIA+, Paranormal, Young Adult
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A sapphic supernatural YA graphic novel featuring a vampire crushing on the girl hunting her, from the author of Some Girls Do and the illustrator of Wonder Woman: Warbringer.

Poe never imagined that during her senior year of high school she would be attacked by a pair of vampires and turned into one herself. And she never dreamed her longtime crush, Jolie—who seemed to maybe actually like Poe back—would turn out to be a slayer.

When Jolie drives a wooden stake into her chest, Poe's heart is broken at the betrayal. But somehow she survives the slaying, and when she awakens, it's unclear which is stronger inside her: the thirst for blood, or the thirst for revenge on Jolie.

Now the hunter has become the hunted. But, when the girls come face to face again, Jolie seems overjoyed that Poe is still alive. And beneath Poe's rage remains a burning passion of a different sort. But can a vampire and a slayer ever be more to each other than predator and prey?

The Harrow Home for Wayward Girls

by Jessica Spotswood
Published by: Henry Holt & Co. (BYR)
on August 25, 2026
Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller, Young Adult
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THE HARROW HOME FOR WAYWARD GIRLS has long stood as a place of secrets. The estate has housed hundreds of young women hidden away during their pregnancies, their homesick cries echoing through the halls, providing a haunting score to Grace Harrow’s childhood.

Now, in the summer of 1947, the Home has been sold to a wealthy hotelier. Grace expects the new owner's daughters to be spoiled. Yet Rose, the eldest daughter―unaware of Mr. Harrow's abusive tendencies―is jealous of Grace's seemingly easy confidence. But as they’re drawn into each other's lives, an unlikely friendship begins to form. Fortunately so, because not all of the wayward girls made it out...

One still lingers. Lurking in the shadows. Looking for vengeance.

To expose the truth buried in the walls of the Harrow Home, Grace and Rose must unravel a legacy of silence and cruelty. But Grace’s father will stop at nothing to keep the past hidden, and if the truth comes to light, it could destroy both their families.

Queens of the Crypt, Vol 1: A Graphic Novel

Published by: Penguin Workshop
on August 25, 2026
Genres: Graphic Novel, Paranormal, Young Adult
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E. M. Carroll meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a dash of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in this debut young adult graphic novel that is a celebration of horror, queerness, and figuring out who you want to be.

*Features bright neon purple sprayed edges that complement Dom&Ink’s stunning cover art!*

There is a crypt that sits in the darkness... A crypt that exists across multiple realms, that houses your worst fears... And it's coming to Widow's Creek...

When seventeen-year-old Barnaby Jones comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they expect that to be the toughest part of their day. But it turns out the toughest part might actually be when their best friend, Fi, is kidnapped by a faceless killer who's been abducting teens all across the small town of Widow's Creek. Or is it when Barnaby unwittingly summons the undead and fabulous Queens of the Crypt through a portal in their bedroom closet?

Either way, the Queens—the Phantom, the Countess, Lady Invisible, the Creature, and the Bogeywoman—are here to help. As the horrors creep closer, can Barnaby work together with the scream queens to save Widow’s Creek from destruction and unmask the Faceless Frightener?

Library or Lattes? (Love in Oak Falls)

by Lila Hazell
Published by: Candlewick Press
on August 25, 2026
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult
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A cozy, swoony autumn romance with a Sliding Doors twist, perfect for readers of Jenny Han and Lynn Painter. Like Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice for this fall!

One season, two choices for love…

Willa’s small town is at its best in the fall. Think crisp air, golden leaves, bonfires, hayrides, and pumpkin spice. It’s cozy and comforting, pretty much perfect, but sometimes Willa wonders if she’s destined for more.

Then she’s left some money by a distant aunt, with one condition: It must be used to see the world. The rest of the book unfolds in alternating chapters where she makes one choice or another about this inheritance.

In one strand, Willa decides to study travel journalism, but she has to hit the books if she wants to be accepted into a program. That why she spends her weekends in the library, where Theo, a grumpy out-of-towner, also hangs out. He may think everything in this town is beneath him, but… there’s something irresistible about him when he smiles.

In the other strand, Willa begins planning a perfect round-the-world trip. Meanwhile, she’s working at her favorite coffee shop… where she suddenly gets a new boss, monosyllabic James, who’s back in his hometown to nurse a broken heart.

Each potential choice leads Willa to love, and the final chapter is classic happily ever after.

The Kiss Bet, Vol. 4: A WEBTOON Unscrolled Graphic Novel

by Ingrid Ochoa
Published by: Webtoon Unscrolled
on August 25, 2026
Genres: Contemporary, Graphic Novel, Young Adult
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In this adorable coming-of-age comic for fans of This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki and Rainbow Rowell’s Pumpkinheads, Sara Lin has decided now is the time: she’s going to make her first kiss, something special and magical, happen.

It’s senior year and Sara Lin just turned eighteen. She’s got great friends, a cool dad (or so he thinks), and a whole lot ahead of her. The last thing she needs to worry about is her first kiss.

But that’s all about to change because her good pal Patrick just challenged her to a bet that will either lead to love, heartbreak, or embarrassment . . . or maybe all three. Along the way, as Sara explores her relationship options with three different boys, she discovers life isn't a fairytale and romance is inherently complex. It's messy and complicated, but boy, it sure can be fun.

Balancing new connections and confusing romantic feelings, Sara Lin begins to question where her heart truly lies. Turning a friendship into a relationship is fun in theory, but sometimes it’s hard to draw the line between the two.

This volume collects episodes 57 to 82 of the charming WEBTOON comic The Kiss Bet.

Natural Selection

by Clare Edge
Published by: Delacorte Press
on August 25, 2026
Genres: Contemporary, Humor, Thriller, Young Adult
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Three girls bond in unsettling ways when a grizzly starts picking off known abusers in their secluded mountain town in this darkly funny, deeply feminist novel for fans of books like The Honeys and Wilder Girls.

When it comes to boys and bears, always choose the bear.

The girls of Riverside are raised to grin and bear it. Until three of them can’t anymore.

Megan Lawless (aka Outlaw): Riverside born and raised. Lettered in volleyball, basketball, and track. HATES Kevin Johnson, but tolerates him for her best friend, Megan.

Megan Deloria: Outlaw’s ride or die. Riverside royalty and soon to be valedictorian. Shoo-in for the homecoming crown alongside her boyfriend, Kevin.

Meghan Bach (aka Bee): Moved to Riverside last year. Still the “new girl.” Pulls tarot cards daily. Just wants to forget what happened last summer at that party with Kevin.

And then there’s Kevin Johnson: Riverside’s Golden Boy. Only scared of two things—the dark and bears. Soon, he’ll be scared of three more.

Because Megan, Megan, and Meghan are done with Kevin, and they’re about to teach everyone in their tiny rural town the new natural order: Predator, meet prey.

Practically Magic

by Jen Calonita
Published by: Avon
on August 25, 2026
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Paranormal, Young Adult
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On the eve of Halloween, a sister’s well-intentioned love spell turns into a curse in this witchy, flirty rom-com perfect for fans of The Ex Hex, Gilmore Girls, and Practical Magic.

The Hadley sisters of Mystic Hollow are magic. Literally.

But for all the generations of witches behind her, Kat Hadley could swear that she’s utterly invisible to boys.

Then she learns that her perfect older sister, Harriet, cast a curse to protect her from heartbreak. Kat is so furious, she loses control—and it’s not just their sisterhood that shatters. It’s magic itself.

Suddenly, every spell a Hadley witch has ever cast starts reversing. Spells to do good start bringing evil. Curses to repel suddenly attract. And the veil between worlds begins to thin. If Kat and Harriet don’t do something fast, this Halloween might be Mystic Hollow’s last.

As they race to repair the balance of magic—and their relationship—Kat notices that every crush who’s ever rejected her is suddenly magically lovesick. Even her annoying class rival seems to have fallen under her spell. For the first time in her life, she feels practically magic. Who cares if it’s all just a spell?