Young Adult New Releases August 26th 2025
Hard to believe that August is almost over…time is just, well you know the idioms. Anyway, welcome and happy book birthday to all the new YA books releasing today! You can find most of them below, and if you appreciate our ad-free posts, you can support our work by using our affiliate links to Bookshop or Libro.fm – two of the best alternatives to the giant conglomerates, and they both support indie bookstores with every purchase!
The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood and Boyfriends
by Jamie D'AmatoPublished by: Wednesday Books
on August 26, 2025
Genres: LGBTQIA+, New Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
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Heartstopper meets Buffy in this queer paranormal rom-com where a college sophomore must survive becoming a vampire—and the cute boy who discovers his secret.
It’s only natural nineteen-year-old Brennan’s life would be upended by something as ridiculous and unexpected as turning into a vampire. But if there’s one thing Brennan can do, it’s pretend everything’s fine when he’s close to losing his mind. Brennan is nineteen and just clawed his way back to Sturbridge University after recovering from a suicide attempt, and this is not the new life he was hoping for.
Brennan’s newly bloodthirsty existence gets way more complicated when Cole, the super cute librarian and everyone’s campus crush, stumbles on Brennan drinking from a stolen blood bag. Luckily, adorable Cole is happy to keep Brennan’s secret, and even seems to maybe like him? Navigating a new relationship is hard enough without the added struggles of vampire puberty, an eclectic clan of self-proclaimed “good” vampires, and growing feelings for the one person who makes Brennan feel normal. With swirling rumors of a missing student and a rise in strange “animal attacks” near campus, Brennan must uncover the secrets of the clan and figure out how to balance vampirism and humanity, or risk losing the first real friends he’s ever had.
Filled with humor and heart, The Good Vampire's Guide to Blood & Boyfriends has a gentle bite.
The Executioners Three
by Susan DennardPublished by: Tor Teen
on August 26, 2025
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
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From New York Times bestselling author Susan Dennard comes The Executioners Three, a mystery filled with rivalry, romance, best friends, and a gruesome curse that dates back centuries.
*This beautiful hardcover edition will include designed printed edges and special endpapers.*
Freddie Gellar didn't mean to get half the rival high school arrested. She’d simply heard shrieks coming from the woods, so she’d called the cops like any good human would do. How was she supposed to know it was just kids partying?
Except the next day, a body is found. And while the local sheriff might call it suicide, Freddie's instincts tell her otherwise. So, like the aspiring sleuth (and true X-Files aficionado) she is, Freddie sets out to prove there's a murderer at large.
But her investigation is quickly disrupted by the rivalry between her school and the school of the partying teens she got arrested. For over twenty years, the two student bodies have had an ongoing prank war, and Freddie's failed attempt at Good Samaritanism has upped the ante. Worse, the clever—and gorgeous—leader of the rival prank squad has set his sights on Freddie.
As more pranks unfurl, more bodies also start piling up in the forest. But it's the supernatural warning signs around town, each plucked straight from an old forgotten poem called "The Executioners Three," that worry Freddie the most. She knows the poem and its blood curse can’t be real, but she's quickly running out of time to prove it.
Because the murderer—or executioners?—knows she's onto them now, and their next target just might be Freddie.
Dream by the Shadows (The Shadow Weavers Duology, #1)
by Logan KarliePublished by: Christy Ottaviano Books
on August 26, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
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Beauty and the Beast meets Labyrinth in this YA romantic fantasy about a deadly dream world and the shadow-cursed girl who must venture its depths to save her family, all while she falls in love with the prince of darkness.
The Kingdom of Noctis is plagued by Corruption: a curse that spreads through dreaming. The Shadow Bringer rules from his castle in the Dream Realm, stealing souls one dreamer at a time. Only an elixir, taken every night before sleeping, can ward off the dreams and halt Corruption. But for some, the allure of the Dream Realm proves too strong.
Esmer Havenfall desperately wants to escape her dreadful village. When her sister, Eden, succumbs to Corruption and their elixir-dealing parents are accused of a horrific crime, Esmer’s life unravels into a nightmare. Then she dreams of the Shadow Bringer and learns that his sinister magic might be a part of her, too.
Enticed by the prospect of ending her kingdom’s curse and avenging her family, Esmer follows him deeper within the Dream Realm. But the prince of darkness has a haunted past, one that might change the fate of Esmer’s kingdom–and her heart–forever.Lush and vividly imagined, this seductive gothic fantasy is filled with magic, secrets, and dreamy shadow-haunted romance.
The Hex Girls: A Rogue Thorn (Scooby-Doo and Friends)
by Lily MeadePublished by: Random House Books for Young Readers
on August 26, 2025
Genres: Media Tie-In, Young Adult
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Everything’s chill in Coolsville. . . until the Hex Girls move to town. Can Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang solve the mystery surrounding the goth rockers before someone gets hurt? Find out in this dark, mysterious, and exciting take on the beloved Scooby-Doo cartoon!
Coolsville is shaken up when eco-goth band The Hex Girls move to town. Teenagers Thorn, Luna, and Dusk are looking for a fresh start for themselves and their band after the disastrous events that destroyed their hometown and Thorn’s reputation. But things take a turn for the worse when a mysterious mist starts killing crops and making people sick wherever Thorn goes. She quickly becomes the town’s prime suspect and is outcast once again.
As her band falls apart, Thorn turns to the Mystery Inc. gang, especially Velma, for help as they try to solve the mystery and prove Thorn’s innocence. While the gang thinks that Thorn’s magical powers are the key to stopping the growing threat to Coolsville, Thorn is sure magic will only bring more harm than good—and that revealing her true nature would make her an outsider forever. Can they solve the mystery and save Coolsville before someone gets seriously hurt. . . or worse?
Full of classic Scooby-Doo antics mixed with darker, more mysterious horrors, this spooky, romantic mystery is sure to thrill teens and Scooby-Doo fans!
Roar of the Lambs
by Jamison SheaPublished by: Henry Holt & Co. (BYR)
on August 26, 2025
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
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If you knew the world was ending, who would you save? And would they let you?
Sixteen-year-old Winnie Bray is a liar. As the resident psychic at an oddities shop, Winnie truly can see the future. But her customers only want reassurance, and Winnie only wants their money. Favorable fortunes are a fast track to funding her way out of Buffalo, New York for good, after all.
But all of that changes when a vision sends her stalking in the remains of her family home that burned down in a fire 10 years ago. Among the ash and rubble, Winnie finds a box made of bone, untouched by flames and…whispering. At the touch of her finger, the box shows her a vision of death, chaos, and apocalypse, with her and rich kids Apollo and Cyrus Rathbun at the center.
Apollo knows their cousin is up to no good, and with the Rathbun family scattered to the wind, they know Cyrus is aiming to present himself as the new patriarch. Despite an initial attraction, Apollo is reluctant to believe Winnie. But soon it becomes clear that their family histories are intertwined, with the whispering, hungry box at the very center, and more than their lives are on the line. Together, they must discover the origins of the box and stop unforeseen forces from fulfilling the apocalyptic prophecy, or die trying.
From the author of I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me comes a speculative thriller about the ties that bind us to places and people, perfect for fans of Andrew Joseph White and Tochi Onyebuchi.
A Bite of Pepper
by Balazs LorincziPublished by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
on August 26, 2025
Genres: Graphic Novel, LGBTQIA+, Paranormal, Young Adult
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A skateboarding vampire falls for a human artist as they combine their talents to create a skating brand in this lightly paranormal coming-of-age young adult graphic novel romance for fans of Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and The Girl from the Sea.
Pepper Mint might be born a vampire, but she’s pretty much your average teenager who loves skateboarding and her dog. What she doesn’t love is her mother’s continuous efforts to find her a vampire bride so that she can become fully immortal. Then Pepper meets Ana—she’s a charming art student, a part-time waitress…and interested in Pepper.
Ana’s presence changes everything, especially when she uses Pepper for the inspiration behind her art. But the two girls’ instant chemistry seems to provide the perfect opportunity for Pepper to finally commit to becoming the immortal creature of the night her mother desperately wants her to be.
Between the pressure from her mom and her inability to figure out whether Ana likes Pepper for herself or her aesthetic, it feels like everyone just wants a bite of Pepper. And with all these looming questions, will Pepper be ready to take the biggest bite of her life, committing to an unchanging immortality?
Lady Dragon
by A.M. StricklandPublished by: Feiwel and Friends
on August 26, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
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Rachel Hartman's Seraphina meets The Priory of the Orange Tree in Lady Dragon, a sapphic YA romantasy from A.M. Strickland.
The age of queens is over…unless they can save it.
Since the last war between humans and dragons left the leaders of both species slain - the last human king of Andrath and the legendary dragon queen - both queendoms have been living under a tentative truce: only women will sit on the throne of Andrath, the dragons will have free passage through the human lands...and if men ever try to retake the throne, the draconic realm will retaliate.
Samansa and Kirek are two new leaders coming of age in war-scarred lands - Samansa a reluctant human princess and Kirek the favored contender for the draconic queenship. Per tradition, Kirek must undergo the distasteful task of using a mysterious gem called the Heartstone to shift into human form and maintain the strained ties between the species . . . and study human weaknesses, a new and secret task she’s been given by her queen. As the princess and the dragon girl grow closer, they are sent to investigate a potential breach of the treaty and encounter a plot that could reignite an even bloodier war. While fighting to maintain the peace their ancestors fought for and uncovering centuries-old secrets, Samansa and Kirek must grapple with betraying their clashing nations . . . or their unexpected feelings for each other.
"A master of twisty, imaginative YA fantasy, Strickland delivers everything you could want and more: succession drama; awesome dragon battles; and a romance with the slow, intense burn of dragon fire and the sweetness of first love. By turns full of rage and tenderness, Lady Dragon is sweeping, affirming, and completely unputdownable." —Allison Saft, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of A Fragile Enchantment
Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories
by Cynthia Leitich Smith, Kate Hart, Eric Gansworth, Marcella Bell, Darcie Little Badger, Karina Iceberg, Kaua Māhoe Adams, Andrea L. Rogers, Cheryl Isaacs, Christine Hartman Derr, Brian Young, K.A. Cobell, Jen Ferguson, A.J. Eversole, Byron Graves, Angeline Boulley, David Alexander RobertsonPublished by: Heartdrum
on August 26, 2025
Genres: Anthology, Contemporary, Young Adult
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Featuring the voices of both new and acclaimed Indigenous writers and edited by bestselling Muscogee author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of interconnected stories serves up laughter, love, Native pride, and the world’s best frybread.
The road to Sandy June's Legendary Frybread Drive-In slips through every rez and alongside every urban Native hangout. The menu offers a rotating feast, including traditional eats and tasty snacks. But Sandy June's serves up more than it hosts live music, movie nights, unexpected family reunions, love long lost, and love found again.
That big green-and-gold neon sign beckons to teens of every tribal Nation, often when they need it most.Featuring stories and poems Kaua Mahoe Adams, Marcella Bell, Angeline Boulley, K. A. Cobell, A. J. Eversole, Jen Ferguson, Eric Gansworth, Byron Graves, Kate Hart, Christine Hartman Derr, Karina Iceberg, Cheryl Isaacs, Darcie Little Badger, David A. Robertson, Andrea L. Rogers, Cynthia Leitich Smith, and Brian Young.
In partnership with We Need Diverse Books.
Wish You Were Her
by Elle McNicollPublished by: Wednesday Books
on August 26, 2025
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult
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Book Lovers meets Notting Hill with a slice of You've Got Mail in Wish You Were Her, the brand new rivals-to-lovers romance from bestselling, award-winning Elle McNicoll.
18-year-old Allegra Brooks has skyrocketed to fame after starring in a hit television show, and she's the overnight success that everyone's talking about. They just don't know she's autistic. Now, all she wants is a normal teenage summer.
Her destination for escape is the remote Lake Pristine and its annual Book Festival, organized by the dedicated but unfriendly senior bookseller, Jonah Thorne.
In small towns like Lake Pristine, misunderstandings abound, and before long the two are drawn into high-profile hostility that's a far cry from the drama-free holiday Allegra was craving. Thank goodness for her saving the increasingly personal emails she's been sharing with a charming and anonymous bookseller who is definitely not Jonah Thorne . . .
An unforgettable romcom about finding the one person who makes you feel yourself when the whole world is watching.
Going Under
by Kelley Skovron, Nel Robinsonon August 26, 2025
Genres: Graphic Novel, Young Adult
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From superstar YouTube creator LaurenZside comes GOING UNDER!
Meet Lauren, a fairly normal high school senior, navigating the ins-and-outs of life at 18.
With finals, college applications, and the unknown worlds of adulthood on the horizon, Lauren is grateful for her family, her close friends, and her love of all things spooky! But, when school starts and everything begins to change, how will Lauren find stability when nothing is as it seems?
A Spell to Wake the Dead
by Nicole LesperancePublished by: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
on August 26, 2025
Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller, Young Adult
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Two teen girls must uncover the dark, occult secrets lurking in their Cape Cod town to solve a series of murders—and save themselves from the same fate—in this twisty, witchy thriller.
When Mazzy and her best friend Nora sneak down to the beach one moonlit night to cast a spell, they don’t expect to find a dead body. But as the tide rolls in, it carries the remains of a woman who is missing her hands and teeth.
The girls know they should leave the investigation to the police, but they can’t shake the weird, supernatural connection they feel with the dead woman. Using spellwork and divination, they set out to find answers of their own. But after they uncover a rash of local disappearances stretching back years—and both girls start having occult visions and hearing ghostly, whispering voices—Mazzy worries that she and Nora are in danger.
Then, Nora finds a second body. And a whispering voice is telling her where to find more. With everything spiraling, Mazzy needs to figure out who to trust and how to sever this supernatural connection—or she and Nora might be the next bodies to wash up on the beach.
The Devil's in the Dancers
by Catherine YuPublished by: Page Street YA
on August 26, 2025
Genres: Mythology/Folklore, Retellings, Thriller, Young Adult
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Scholarship student Mars Chang has finally been accepted into the most prestigious dance academy—and she’ll do anything to stay.
Earning a scholarship to the Allegra Academy summer intensive was supposed to fix everything for Mars Chang. The academy is owned and run by the Bechlers, a big pharma family. And if Mars befriends the right girls, she could unlock the doors to the Ivy League future of her dreams.
When Mars is unexpectedly assigned to room with Alex Bechler, she knows impressing Alex will make or break all her plans. Alex is annoyingly attractive, the best dancer at the academy, and her great aunt runs the program. So when the headmistress pulls Mars aside and asks her to swap Alex’s supplements with a new Bechler product, APL, in exchange for year-round admittance, Mars can’t say no.
But as Mars gets to know Alex and how much she dislikes her family and ballet, swapping the pills proves harder than Mars bargained for. Knowing Alex better only makes it clearer how unfair the academy is. So Mars decides to help another scholarship student by letting her try the supplements. At first, the pills give the girl an instant edge in class. But when they also produce terrifying side effects, Mars suspects that APL might not be safe after all.
But how can Mars, the new girl, convince the academy’s best that her life is in danger without jeopardizing her own dreams in the process?
