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We’ve officially entered the second quarter of 2025. How has your reading been going so far this year? For me, it’s been a solid one. I have read almost every night before bed–something I haven’t done in a long time–which means I’ve also read way more books this year so far than in many recent years. It’s been primarily YA, so one of my goals for this quarter is catching up on some of the non-YA I have on my TBR but haven’t gotten to yet. Those’ll be punctuated, of course, with YA.
The start of April means we’ll get a nice deluge of new YA books on shelves. This is busy season in publishing, but like with March, new releases tend to happen more at the top of the month than later on.
As we move through the month, I wanted to give a heads up that you might see some of my colleagues heading up this newsletter a little bit more than usual. I’ll be on leave for a bit to take care of a family member, but you will be in excellent hands. It’s always nice to hear from new voices on a topic, and no one will steer you wrong.
Let’s dive into this week’s new releases. As usual, series books are listed beneath their respective format.
New YA in Hardcover
Beasts by Ingvild Bjerkeland, translated by Rosie Hedger
Society collapsed after the world was taken over by the beasts. There’s no power. Cars have been abandoned everywhere. People who haven’t disappeared are hiding.
Abdi and his little sister are on the run, hoping to save their lives by getting to the sea. As their journey unravels, they share what happened to bring the beasts about and how it is they have survived so far.
This work of horror straddles the line between middle grade and YA and is in translation from Norweigan.
The Coven Tendency by Zoe Hana Mikuta
It’s been the family legacy to as premiere necromantic Spectacle at the Museum entertaining the City’s elite, so while it is annoying Vanity Adams has to be shielded from the outside while she waits, she at least knows it’s better than being stuck in the Sanatorium with less fortunate witches.
As much as it is also annoying she’s had her magic taken from her while she waits, Vanity’s sister Arrogance might hold the key for remembering how and where to use that magic. Perhaps life in a holding pattern is more exciting than Vanity could have ever imagined.
This one’s for fans of bloody magical witch stories.
Meet Me at Blue Hour by Sarah Suk
Yena Bae is spending the summer working in her mom’s memory-erasing clinic in Busan, South Korea. She’s never quite felt happy or eager to build new relationships after her best friend Lucas walked out of her life unannounced four years ago.
By happenstance, Lucas is also in Busan for the summer. He’s there helping with his grandfather who as Alzheimer’s. Lucas wants to get his grandfather in a clinical trial to restore his memories.
Yena and Lucas run into each other, and while Yena is shocked to see him, she’s far more shocked that he doesn’t remember a thing about her or their friendship. His memories are gone.
They’ll spend the summer figuring out what happened in the before and figuring out whether or not rebuilding the friendship is possible.
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Messy Perfect by Tanya Boteju
Cassie Perera is a junior at St. Luke’s, and she’s always been a stellar student. As she’s starting the new year, she’s surprised to see her former best friend Ben back at St. Luke’s. He was bullied for being gay, and Cassie believes that she could have done more at the time to help him.
So she’s decided to be proactive this time around. Cassie has teamed up with the local public school to create an underground Gender and Sexuality Alliance. It’ll help Ben, maybe, while also really and truly being an opportunity where Cassie can become a little more honest about her own identity.
But as Cassie’s new friends are helping her find who she truly is, she’s finding herself in a sticky spot of balancing her new found freedoms and happiness with the responsibilities she feels she has to be a perfect daughter, perfect student, and perfect Catholic girl.
The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton
Nora is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in the entire country. Her mother owns all of the money and magic imaginable, and Nora herself has plenty of attention for being born into such a lot. But when Nora’s mom is found dead, suddenly the family fortune and acclaim are the center of a power grab. It’s not just Nora who will get the goods. She’s competing against her cousins in an ultimate magic competition.
It won’t be easy, and it won’t be straightforward. There’s a twist: Nora’s aunt’s illegitimate daughter, Lotte, is part of the competition as well. She’s not particularly welcomed into the competition, either.
Then Nora discovers that there’s something even more dark afoot: her mother’s death was nothing short of murder. Nora must entrust a reporter to help uncover what happened, even though that reporter hates everything Nora and her family stand for.
It’s a story of political power, of class differences, and of a magic competition with intense stakes not only for the country, but for the cousins, too.
Run Away With Me by Brian Selznick
Danny’s spending summer in Rome as his mom is working at a mysterious museum. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a 16-year-old, of course, and he’s taking advantage of getting to know the ancient city. That’s when he encounters Angelo.
Before long, Danny and Angelo are spending every moment together. At first, it’s all about the city. Soon, though, they begin to share bits and pieces of their own lives with one another. That helps them build a home between them and romance begins to flourish.
But as much as Danny worries about telling Angelo about never feeling like he has had a home or fallen in love with another boy, the reality is that Angelo might be harboring even darker secrets that could end things between the two before they ever really begin.
New series releases in hardcover this week:
New YA in Paperback
You may need to toggle your view when you click the link to see the paperback edition.
Ariel Crashes a Train by Olivia A. Cole
Ariel’s mind is scary. Aside from everything she contends with on the outside—demanding parents, being queer, being a “big girl,” no longer having her older sister at home to spend time with—she cannot stop imagining violent situations.
She’s hopeful that a new summer job at a carnival will help, even if it means some of her rituals and routines are not what they used to be. She’s making friends and enjoying herself.
But how long until she cracks and what’s going on inside splits her in half?
This is a book exploring obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Deadstream by Mar Romasco-Moore
Teresa survived a car accident that killed her best friend, and she’s been struggling to do more than hang out in her bedroom and watch her favorite streamers. She’s found an online community that’s helped as she’s worked through her grief and her fear of what might happen if she leaves home.
But one night while watching a favorite streamer, Teresa notices a weird figure in the background. The streamer’s behavior becomes weirder and weirder over the next few videos before he dies on screen.
Teresa is scared and worried about what happened, and things only amplify as more streamers seem to be visited by this weird figure and then seeing their own behaviors change. But what’s going on? What can Teresa do to save her community and herself?
Getting to the bottom of this may require working through the walls she’s put up in her physical life first.
Emmett by L. C. Rosen
A gay take on Emma? Yes, please!
Emmett Woodhouse lives the good life and he knows it. So to keep himself humble, he likes to volunteer. Among those things are charity work and letting an irritating friend sit with him at lunch. Then Emmett decides he’s going to provide his services as a matchmaker. He set up his bestie with her boyfriend and they’ve been very happy.
Now he’s putting his skills to the test with Harrison. Harrison, who happens to be one of Emmett’s friends-with-benefits, wants a boyfriend and per Emmett’s extensive list of things that at part of gay culture, this situation is fine. Emmett doesn’t want a boyfriend and Harrison does, so he’ll find Harrison a good one.
In the quest to pair Harrison up, though, Emmett’s beliefs about what he does and doesn’t want in terms of his own romantic life come into question. What happens when he’s so determined to make someone else happy that he loses his own happiness in the process?
The Payback Girls by Alex Travis
Meghan is going to have the best senior year possible. Everything’s going her way, and while her basketball star boyfriend’s friends haven’t been the most welcoming of her, Meghan knows what it is to feel left out. She’s always been one of the only Black kids in her school.
So when Meghan learns that her boyfriend Nate is also still dating two other girls, Robin and Bria, she’s furious. Why wouldn’t she be? He’s been lying to her.
But when Nate is found beat up in the locker room after a game, all finger point to the three girls. The three of Nate’s girlfriends now need to work together to clear their names.
Too bad Meghan doesn’t remember everything that happened the night of the game. Too bad the more things the girls learn about that night actually further implicate them in the crime.
New series releases in paperback this week: