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The Best Young Adult Books of February
As dedicated readers already know, some of the best and most innovative stories on the shelves come from the constantly evolving realm of young adult fiction. Every month our team looks at the books being published and how they're resonating with early readers. We use this information to put together a roundup of soon-to-be favorites.
New in February: As an assassin and an apprentice team up to restore justice in a new story from Melissa de la Cruz, Libba Bray brings us the concluding volume of The Diviners series, featuring smugglers, flappers, and ghosts. And young love blooms in the fertile fields of grassroots activism in Yes No Maybe So. Also: pirates, an isolated boarding school, and a modern riff on Beauty and the Beast.
Add the books that catch your eye to your Want to Read shelf and let us know what you're reading and recommending in the comments!
New in February: As an assassin and an apprentice team up to restore justice in a new story from Melissa de la Cruz, Libba Bray brings us the concluding volume of The Diviners series, featuring smugglers, flappers, and ghosts. And young love blooms in the fertile fields of grassroots activism in Yes No Maybe So. Also: pirates, an isolated boarding school, and a modern riff on Beauty and the Beast.
Add the books that catch your eye to your Want to Read shelf and let us know what you're reading and recommending in the comments!
Seventeen-year-old Cal is a successful social media star with half a million followers and no secrets at all. He's used to living life online with radical transparency. But when his father is selected for a prestigious NASA mission, Cal earns a different kind of attention and encounters that uniquely American phenomenon known as a media circus. Making things weirder, he's falling hard for fellow “astrokid” Leon. First love is always hard to manage, but this is going to be especially tricky.
Read our interview with Stamper.
Release date: February 4
Read our interview with Stamper.
Release date: February 4
Author Adalyn Grace launches a new fantasy series with this tale of mermaids, pirates, and Amora Montara, princess of the island kingdom of Visidia. To ascend to her rightful place on the throne, Amora must prove her worth as a High Animancer and master the monarchy’s difficult soul magic. So she takes to the high seas with the corsair known as Bastian. Grace says she hopes to push the boundaries and explore the limits of upper young adult fiction with her new series.
Release date: February 4
Release date: February 4
Caledon Holt is the Queen’s assassin, generally acknowledged as the most dangerous killer in the land. The young girl known as Shadow is just getting into the family business and hopes to join her mother and aunts in the arts of lethal stealth. Assassin and apprentice come together to uncover a conspiracy and eliminate a treacherous new threat to the kingdom of Renovia. Author Melissa de la Cruz (The Au Pairs series) brings a new voice to YA fantasy with this first installment of a planned new series.
Release date: February 4
Release date: February 4
In this concluding book of The Diviners series, the King of Crows has brought our heroes to the brink of war. The Diviners recruit a new ally in the unlikely town of Bountiful, Nebraska, in the hope of finally stopping the army of the dead. Sounds fun, right? Author Libba Bray’s sprawling storytelling combines historical fiction with paranormal fantasy in a compelling 1920s-era American past. Flappers! Rumrunners! Ghosts!
Release date: February 4
Release date: February 4
Love and grassroots politics come together in this story of two young community activists who find principle and purpose and maybe even love while going door-to-door together. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely. Author Becky Albertalli is a former clinical child psychologist and the author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, later adapted into the film Love, Simon.
Release date: February 4
Release date: February 4
A contemporary riff on the Beauty and the Beast template, this new series debut takes young adult romance in another direction entirely. Lord Grey Emerson is the brooding sort, and with good reason–he’s cursed to certain doom when he turns 18. Princess Jaya Rao hates the Greystone family, in accordance with a feud that goes back centuries. There’s just no way these star-crossed lovers could come together at an isolated international boarding school. Right?
Release date: February 18
Release date: February 18
Which new YA books are you most excited to read? Let us know in the comments!
Check out more recent articles:
February's Most Anticipated New Books
The Top 12 Trending Fantasy Novels on Goodreads
21 Debut Authors to Discover Now
Check out more recent articles:
February's Most Anticipated New Books
The Top 12 Trending Fantasy Novels on Goodreads
21 Debut Authors to Discover Now
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There's sooooo many good YA novels coming out in 2020! I'll try to shorten my list to my top 29 (they're not in any sort of order):1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
2. One of Us Is Next
3. Chain of Gold
4. All the Stars and Teeth
5. Imagine Me
6. The Hand on the Wall
7. The King of Crows
8. A Heart So Fierce and Broken
9. The Silvered Serpents
10. My Calamity Jane
11. The Kingdom of Back
12. Loveless
13. Ruthless Gods
14. Where Dreams Descend
15. The Damned
16. The Gravity of Us
17. The Night Country
18. The Silence of Bones
19. Tweet Cute
20. Of Curses and Kisses
21. Incendiary
22. The Lucky Ones
23. Only Mostly Devastated
24. The Queen's Assassin
25. Yes No Maybe So
26. More Than Maybe
27. Clap When You Land
28. Cemetery Boys
29. The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks
Adding all these books was a pain 😅
There's The Sound of Stars which I thought was okay with good themes and world, but wasn't in love with other aspects. I'm sure those that love books, music and a romantic road trip during the end of the world would enjoy it though.In the Shadow of the Sun by EM Castellan also looks interesting.
Maria wrote: "There's sooooo many good YA novels coming coming out in 2020! I'll try to shorten my list to my top 29 (they're not in any sort of order):1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
2. ..."
These books look great! There are a few here that I already added to my most anticipated bookshelf, but some of these I've never heard about. Thanks for sharing! I'm always looking for new recs :)
I loved last months new ML Greye, Entwined Paths, and A Throne of Swans by Katherine & Elizabeth Corr
Maria wrote: "There's sooooo many good YA novels coming coming out in 2020! I'll try to shorten my list to my top 29 (they're not in any sort of order):1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
2. ..."
Thank you so much for taking the time to link all those! <3 My TBR just got bigger, but that's what it's there for, haha.
No problem guys! Just wanted to share. Also, I feel you, Hyzie, lol. My TBR is getting out of control. 😄 <33
There are many good books already listed by other readers, but also I would love to see more YA contemporary books like FRANK LI IN LOVE and DARIUS THE GREAT IS NOT OKAY.
Maria wrote: "There's sooooo many good YA novels coming out in 2020! I'll try to shorten my list to my top 29 (they're not in any sort of order):1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
2. [book:O..."
Thanks so much for making this list of amazing 2020 reads!! I added so much to my TBR - it was more useful than some of these Goodreads articles are! I know it must've been a pain to list them all out, but I found a lot of books from your list that I'm excited about!! <3
Kiri wrote: "Maria wrote: "There's sooooo many good YA novels coming out in 2020! I'll try to shorten my list to my top 29 (they're not in any sort of order):1. [book:The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes|463463..."
That's great to hear! Let's hope that they're just as good as they sound. 😊
Hate me, but I think that the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes might be a little disappointing... But I have high hopes!
I'm also looking forward to Heartstopper: Volume Three by Alice Oseman :3