Best July - December 2024 Young Adult Book Releases

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Are you ready for your to-be-read list to explode? Here are some 2024 young adult book releases that need to be on your bookish radar.

👀  Best July - December Young Adult Book Releases  👈

Break To You by Neal Shusterman, Debra Young & Michelle Knowlden

Young Adult Contemporary Fiction

July 2, 2024

Adriana knows that if she can manage to keep her head down for the next seven months, she might be able to get through her sentence in the Compass juvenile detention center. Thankfully, she’s allowed to keep her journal, where she writes down her most private thoughts when her feelings get too big.

Until the day she opens her journal and discovers that her thoughts are no longer so private. Someone has read her writings—and has written back. A boy who lives on the other side of the gender-divided detention center. A boy who sparks a fire in her to write back.

Jon’s story is different than Adriana’s; he’s already been at Compass for years and will be in the system for years to come. Still, when he reads the words Adriana writes to him, it makes him feel like the walls that hold them in have melted away.

Why I want to read it: Because it's Neal Shusterman. I want to read everything he writes. I love his creativity and epic plot twists. His books always give me something to think about.

Buy it on Amazon

A Darker Mischief by Derek Milman

Young Adult Horror

July 2, 2024

When Cal Ware wins a scholarship to an elite New England boarding school, he's thrilled to leave his past behind. Back home in Mississippi, he was the poor, queer kid who never fit in. But at Essex Academy, he'll be able to reinvent himself. Or so he hopes . . . 

But at Essex, Cal's classmates only see his cheap clothes and old iPhone. They mock his accent, and can't believe he's never left the country, or heard of The Hamptons. Cal, at his breaking point, is about to give up and return to Mississippi when he learns about a secret society on campus—the key to becoming Essex royalty.

Cal knows he's not exactly secret society material, but to his surprise, he finds an unlikely champion in the handsome, charismatic, and slightly dangerous Luke Kim. As they get swept up in the mystery and glamour of the Rush process, Cal finds himself falling in love for the first time.

But as the initiation rituals grow riskier—and increasingly nefarious—Cal must decide how far he's willing to go, and how much of himself he's willing to sacrifice, to save everything and everyone he cherishes most. Because nothing at Essex—not even Cal's first love—is quite what it seems.

Why I want to read it: Secret societies! There's so much potential for chaos. I have a feeling I'd like the dark academia genre if I read more of it. I like dark stuff, and I've spent a lot of my life in academia.

Buy it on Amazon 

The Haunted States Of America by Ellen Hopkins (Editor)

Middle Grade Horror Anthology

July 9, 2024

Fifty two different stories. Fifty two different Authors. Endless fright for all ages.

Every state has an urban legend that evokes fear and curiosity in equal parts, and we've chronicled all of these logic-defying horrors here in the Haunted States of America anthology.

From the Jersey Devil to La Llorona, each story included introduces a new chill inducing, stomach churning monster, spectre, or poltergeist certain to keep you up at night. A broad ranging collection of authors, including seasoned veterans and some first timers making a fright-tastic debut, have all united to unearth the scariest lore from each state in the US, as well as D.C. and Puerto Rico. Make sure to strap in for this spooky cross country tour, but be extra careful not to let any of these terrors follow you home.

Why I want to read it: This is the exact type of book I loved as a middle schooler. I had a big collection of anthologies about urban legends and ghost stories. I know I would have devoured this one.

Buy it on Amazon

The Great Cool Ranch Dorito In The Sky by Josh Galarza

Young Adult Contemporary

July 23, 2024

Ever since cancer invaded his adoptive mother’s life, Brett feels like he’s losing everything, most of all control. To cope, Brett fuels all of his anxieties into epic fantasies, including his intergalactic Kid Condor comic book series, which features food constellations and characters not unlike those in his own life. But lately Brett’s grip on reality has started to lose its hold. The fictions he’s been telling himself—about his unattractive body, the feeling that he’s a burden to his best friend, that he’s too messed up to be loved—have consumed him completely, and Brett will do anything to forget about the cosmic-sized hole in his chest, even if it's unhealthy. But when Brett’s journal and deepest insecurities are posted online for the whole school to see, Brett realizes he can no longer avoid the painful truths of his real-life narrative. As his eating disorder escalates, Brett must be honest with the people closest to him, including his new and fierce friend Mallory who seems to know more about Brett’s issues than he does. With their support, he just might find the courage to face the toughest reality of all.

Why I want to read it: Honestly, I'm not going to read it. Parts of it sound too close to my real life. I just need to give it a shout-out because it has a most-excellent title. I think you should read it and tell me if it lives up to its title. I hope so.

Buy it on Amazon

Under The Surface by Diana Urban

Young Adult Thriller

August 13, 2024

Ruby is terrified to cave to her feelings for Sean and risk him crushing her heart.

Sean is pumped to spend a week with Ruby in Paris on their senior class trip, and he’ll wait however long until she’s ready to take things further.

But when Ruby’s best friend sneaks out the first night to meet a mysterious French boy, Ruby goes after her with two classmates, but caves to another temptation: attending mystery boy’s exclusive party in the Paris catacombs, the intricate web of tunnels beneath the city, home to six million long-dead Parisians. Only they never reach the party.

Underground, as something sinister chases them, they get lost in the endless maze of bones, uncovering dark secrets about the catacombs . . . and each other. And if they can’t find a way out, they’ll die in the dark beneath the City of Light.

Aboveground, Sean races to find the girl he loves as a media frenzy over the four missing teens begins.

Why I want to read it: Well . . . not because of the cover. It looks like someone spent 20 minutes with Photoshop and then declared the cover "good enough." The synopsis sounds cool, though. Getting lost in the catacombs would be terrifying.

Buy it on Amazon

When The World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson

Young Adult Contemporary

September 24, 2024

The Fall siblings live in hot Northern California wine country, where the sun pours out of the sky, and the devil winds blow so hard they whip the sense right out of your head. Years ago, the Fall kids’ father mysteriously disappeared, cracking the family into pieces. Now Dizzy Fall, age twelve, bakes cakes, sees spirits, and wishes she were a heroine of a romance novel. Miles Fall, seventeen, brainiac, athlete, and dog-whisperer, is a raving beauty, but also lost, and desperate to meet the kind of guy he dreams of. And Wynton Fall, nineteen, who raises the temperature of a room just by entering it, is a virtuoso violinist set on a crash course for fame . . . or self-destruction. Then an enigmatic rainbow-haired girl shows up, tipping the Falls’ world over. She might be an angel. Or a saint. Or an ordinary girl. Somehow, she is vital to each of them. But before anyone can figure out who she is, catastrophe strikes, leaving the Falls more broken than ever. And more desperate to be whole.

Why I want to read it: Remember Jandy Nelson? Her books were absolutely everywhere in 2010-2015. Then she kind of disappeared. I want to know what she was writing during the time she wasn't publishing.

Buy it on Amazon

The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys & Steve Sheinkin

Young Adult Historical Fiction

October 8, 2024

Summer, 1940. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his quirky younger sister Lizzie share a love of riddles and puzzles. And now they’re living inside of one. The quarrelsome siblings find themselves amidst one of the greatest secrets of World War II—Britain’s eccentric codebreaking factory at Bletchley Park. As Jakob joins Bletchley’s top minds to crack the Nazi's Enigma cipher, fourteen-year-old Lizzie embarks on a mission to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother.

The Battle of Britain rages and Hitler’s invasion creeps closer. And at the same time, baffling messages and codes arrive on their doorstep while a menacing inspector lurks outside the gates of the Bletchley mansion. Are the messages truly for them, or are they a trap? Could the riddles of Enigma and their mother's disappearance be somehow connected? Jakob and Lizzie must find a way to work together as they race to decipher clues which unravel a shocking puzzle that presents the ultimate challenge: How long must a secret be kept?

Why I want to read it: OMG, people, this is not a drill. Two of my favorite authors have written a book together. I never dreamed this could happen, and I know it'll be perfect. Both of these authors are brilliant researchers and excellent at writing about little-known events from history. I can't wait.

Buy it on Amazon

The Hollow And The Haunted by Camilla Raines

Young Adult Fantasy

October 22, 2024

Sixteen-year-old Miles Warren hails from a long line of psychics. Resigned to a life in the (not especially profitable) family business, Miles is perfectly happy, thank you very much—except for the part where he's constantly exhausted from long nights digging up graves, hiding his sexuality from his family, and unable to fulfil his dream of going to art school one day. Perfectly happy.

But Miles' comfortable routine is interrupted when has a premonition of a violent supernatural murder. He soon discovers that the victim is none other than Gabriel Hawthorne, whose family have a mysterious, decades-long feud with Miles' own. Gabriel is everything Miles expects from a Hawthorne—rude, snobbish, and irritatingly good-looking—but Miles isn't just going to stand by and let someone murder him. The two form an uneasy alliance, trying to solve Gabriel's murder and prevent it from taking place.

The odds are against them; death premonitions are notoriously hard to alter. As they uncover secrets about their families' feud and dark magic swirls around the pair, Miles is horrified to realize that he doesn't hate Gabriel as much as he's supposed to. He might even like him.

Too bad Gabriel is almost certainly going to die.

Why I want to read it: Does anyone else get Cemetary Boys vibes from this one? I hope they're similar because I loved Cemetary Boys. Enemies teaming up to solve a murder that hasn't happened yet seems like a good time.

Buy it on Amazon

Perfect Girl by Tracy Banghart

Young Adult Horror

November 19, 2024

Jessa has been raised to be the “perfect girl.” She is unfailingly polite, never rocks the boat, and always follows the rules―no matter what. Her friends love to give her a hard time for being such a goody two-shoes, but Jessa likes it this way. She knows what's expected of her, and she's happy to be the person her parents (and society) want.

When a freak storm takes out the power during a sleepover at Jessa’s creepy, old house, things go south before the pizza gets cold. Her friends are at each other’s throats, unexpected guests keep showing up (some more welcome than others), and it’s not just her brother serving up jump scares. A killer looking for the perfect girl has targeted Jessa, and she’ll have to reject everything she’s been taught if she wants to keep herself—and her friends—alive until sunrise.

Who knew perfection could be so dangerous?

Why I want to read it: It sounds like it's making fun of horror movie tropes. The young, beautiful, perfect girl is always a helpless victim. This book might turn the trope on its head. The perfect girl becomes the hero.

Buy it on Amazon

Which new releases are you looking forward to reading?