40 More Highly Anticipated Young Adult Novels Releasing In 2022

BRB, trying to figure out if it's possible to just live in a bookstore this year

In case you missed it, here is a list of highly anticipated YA books releasing in the first half of 2022. But because there are so many incredible titles coming out this year, please enjoy 40 more YA novels you'll absolutely want to get your hands on!

1. A Magic Steeped in Poison and A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin

Via judyilin.com, Feiwel & Friends

Release date: March 29 and August 23

What it's about: If you are a fantasy reader that doesn't like long waits between series entries, do I have the duology for you! A Magic Steeped in Poison introduces Ning, who is heading to the imperial city to participate in a competition to find the kingdom's greatest shennong-shi, masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making. For Ning, more is riding on the competition than just pride, as the winner gets a favor from the princess, one that might be the only chance for her to save her sister's life. And it's crucial she does so, because not only did they recently lose their mother to the same poison tea making her sister sick, but it was Ning that unknowingly brewed the poison. With intrigue, inventive magic, and the sequel scheduled for August, make reading this one a priori-tea!

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

2. My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham

Sourcebooks, Via kaylacottingham.com

Release date: March 29

What it's about: Finch has just transferred to Ulalume Academy, an ultra-competitive Maine boarding school, and something is calling to her from the darkness. After all, she should be dead at the bottom of the river after the accident she and her parents were in, but something stopped her from drowning. And one night, when she and Selena St. Clair, another student who is suspicious of Finch, accidentally summon a carnivorous creature who grants desires in exchange for human body parts, they'll need to work together to stop the horror they let loose.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

3. Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak by Charlie Jane Anders

Tor, Sarah Deragon/Portraits to the People

Release date: April 5

In case you haven't read book one, Victories Greater Than Death: When the interplanetary rescue beacon that Tina has been the keeper of activates, she discovers that her destiny is even more dangerous than she assumed. After all, she's the clone of Captain Thaoh Argentian, a famed alien hero and brilliant tactician, who was left on Earth disguised as human. And though she looks like the captain, she's really just Tina, and she's now in the middle of a war that the Royal Fleet is very much losing.

What it's about: Tina is still struggling with the weight of expectations (namely, those expecting her to be a badass space hero) while studying at the Royal Space Academy with her friends. Rachael is the first artist to journey from Earth to the galaxy, but she is struggling to make art after an encounter with an alien artifact. And Elza wants the chance to become a princess, being the first human to venture into the Palace of Scented Tears to compete.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

4. Scout's Honor by Lily Anderson

Macmillan, Via mslilyanderson.com

Release date: April 5

What it's about: It's been three years since Prudence left the Ladybird Scouts, hunters disguised as a ladies' social organization that protect the world from interdimensional parasites. Unable to leave the guilt over the death of her best friend, the reason she left the Scouts behind, she decides to infiltrate the Ladybirds in order to nab the Tea of Forgetting, not realizing that old habits and new demons will draw her back to confront the past.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

5. With and Without You by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

Penguin, Via Sue Grubman

Release date: April 19

What it's about: Siena is going to break up with her longtime boyfriend, Patrick. After all, college is quickly approaching, and she's not sure staying together is the best idea. But right before she gets the chance, Patrick announces his family is moving out of state, and Siena assumes that along the way, their relationship will naturally end due to time and distance. But the more time that passes, and the more visits they have with each other, she begins to see a different side of him, and starts to fall in love all over again.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

6. I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

Wednesday, Sylvie Rosokoff

Release date: May 3

What it's about: Shara Wheeler is the principal's perfect progeny, the prom queen, and Chloe Green's rival for valedictorian. She's also disappeared — a month before graduation she kissed Chloe and then vanished in a cloud of cryptic notes. Following the trail are Chloe and two others that Shara also kissed: Smith, Shara's longtime quarterback sweetheart, and Rory, Shara's bad boy neighbor. As they journey through their Alabama town trying to decipher the clues Shara left behind, Chloe starts to realize there might be more, to not just the town but also Shara herself, than she thought.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

7. Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

Sourcebooks, Luis Rodriguez

Release date: May 3

What it's about: For the last year or so, the Bronx has been plagued by sudden, unexplainable disappearances. Though Raquel has been trying to keep her head down and ignore it, the disappearance of her crush — Charlize's cousin — gets her attention. Not to mention her mother's mysterious illness that might be linked. As Raquel and Charlize team up to investigate, they discover an urban legend called the Echo Game, rumored to trap people in a dark world underneath the city. And they'll need to risk everything in order to win.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

8. Beauty and the Besharam by Lillie Vale

Penguin, Lillie Vale

Release date: May 10

What it's about: The only thing worse than Kavya's very public breakup at the end of junior year was the fact that Ian, her nemesis, witnessed it. But she's trying to put that all aside for the summer and focus on her part-time job as a children's party princess. Regrettably, not only does she lose out on the role of her beloved Belle and instead get cast as Ariel, but she also finds out who her Prince Eric is: Ian. And when their friends tire of their feud, a plan is hatched to end their rivalry through a series of summer challenges. The biggest challenge of all? Not falling for each other along the way.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

9. The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson

HarperCollins, Mel Shea

Release date: May 10

What it's about: Métis teen Lou's summer is getting more complicated than she expected. Not only is she going to be working in her family's ice cream shack with her newly ex-boyfriend, but also with her former best friend, King, who has just returned to their town after a three-year absence. Plus, she's coming to terms with her demisexual identity and dealing with a letter from the newly released-from-prison white father she's never met. And despite wanting to have nothing to do with the latter, when the family business hits a troubled spot, she realizes she can't ignore him.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

10. The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

HarperCollins, Via sonorareyes.com

Release date: May 17

What it's about: This absolutely delightful contemporary needs to be on your reading list! Yamilet is the new kid at Slayton Catholic, a very rich (and mostly white) Catholic school. At least here, she's got a fresh start, since her ex-best friend and crush outed her as gay at her old school, and here no one knows. But staying under the radar is tough when falling for Bo, the only openly queer (not to mention perfect and cute and talented) girl at school, is all but inevitable.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

11. Love Radio by Ebony LaDelle

Simon & Schuster, Taylor Baldwin

Release date: May 31

What it's about: The voice behind Detroit's popular hip-hop show, Love Radio, is 17-year-old Prince Jones, who dishes out advice to the brokenhearted. But he doesn't have time for a love story of his own, being the main caretaker for his mother, who has multiple sclerosis, and his younger brother. Meeting Dani changes everything. She's got big plans — scholarships, a move to NYC, becoming a famous author — and is not willing to get off track for a smitten DJ. But Dani offers an opportunity: three dates for Prince to take his own advice and prove to her that he's worth falling for.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

12. Man o' War by Cory McCarthy

Penguin, Cory McCarthy

Release date: May 31

What it's about: River is on the annual field trip to Sea Planet, the nearly out of business marine life theme park in their small Ohio town. A chance encounter with a happy, healthy queer person leads River toward a discovery: While they might know who they've been told to be, they aren't sure who they really are. This gorgeous story of self-discovery is a triumph.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

13. TJ Powar Has Something to Prove by Jesmeen Kaur Deo

Penguin, Focal Point Studios

Release date: June 7

What it's about: TJ Powar and her cousin, Simran, were recently the subject of a meme. TJ, a pretty and popular debater, gets listed as the "expectation of dating an Indian girl," and Simran, who is Sikh and does not remove her body hair, listed as the "reality." So TJ decides to ditch her razors and waxing appointments and prove the point that she is still beautiful when being her hairy self. But with doubt setting in about her quest, even with a rival debater falling for her, the person she most needs to prove things to is herself.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

14. Zyla & Kai by Kristina Forest

Kokila, Steven Forest

Release date: June 7

What it's about: There are two things everyone knows: 1. Zyla and Kai broke up months ago; 2. Zyla and Kai just ran away together while on a school trip to the Poconos Mountains. But let's back up, all the way to last summer when the pair first met while working at an amusement park. Zyla, love cynic and fashion school hopeful and Kai, hopeless romantic trying to focus on school, couldn't have been more different. But as they start to become friends, and later fall for each other, their stories become entwined. This stellar love story from one of the best contemporary romance YA authors writing today follows its leads through their past and their present, the latter as the people in their lives try and piece together the new version of a story they thought they knew the ending of.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

15. Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler

Wednesday, Maggie Hall

Release date: June 7

What it's about: Dahlia Adler's delightful new romance follows newcomer Jack Walsh, who is about to be the quarterback at Atherton after their former quarterback, Robbie, died in a car accident. Amber is working toward cheer captain, but animosity toward a newcomer as well as collective grief over their loss makes it hard to cheer, especially when it turns out Jack is short for Jaclyn. As the football team fully turns against Jack, and Amber tries to unify a squad that wants her to help them take Jack down, the two have to figure out how to get through the season and deal with the romantic feelings springing up between them.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

16. This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron

Bloomsbury, Via kalynnbayron.com

Release date: June 21

In case you haven't yet read book one, This Poison Heart: Briseis can grow plants from seeds to blooms with a single touch, but she doesn't quite know how to control her gift. When her aunt dies and leaves her a dilapidated, rural New York estate, it comes with specific instructions, an apothecary, and a garden filled with some of the world's deadliest botanicals. And as strangers begin to arrive, asking for elixirs and such, Bri discovers that not only does she have a talent for making them, but there is also more to her inheritance than she ever could have imagined.

What it's about: To save her mother, Bri will need to locate the last fragment of the deadly Absyrtus Heart, but she's not the only one looking. Plus, she needs to learn about the secret powers of blood relatives she's never known in order to take her place in the lineage. This glorious sequel is everything I wanted it to be and more.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

17. This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede

Wednesday, Via goodreads.com

Release date: June 28

What it's about: One of the best fantasies of the year is this remarkable debut. There's an apocalypse coming up, but the Gods have chosen Alessa to help ward it off. It isn't wildly helpful that she's supposed to have a magical partner to help her, and her gifts keep killing anyone she touches. Or that a powerful priest convinced her own soldiers that assassinating her would be the best option to keep everyone safe. So for her own survival, she hires outcast Dante as her personal bodyguard, and as the duo tries to keep Alessa alive, Dante's secrets threaten to overtake them both.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

18. Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow

Simon & Schuster, Rebecca Barrow

Release date: June 28

What it's about: From the outside, Parris is an exclusive idyllic island. Luca knows that there's nothing idyllic about the many unsolved deaths of young women throughout the cursed island's history, including that of her best friend Polly three years prior. So when she comes home to see police cars outside her house, she's devastated to learn that her sister, Whitney, is the island curse's latest victim. But this time, Luca is taking the investigation into her sister's killer into her own hands. This thriller is an absolute pageturner.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

19. The Black Girls Left Standing by Juliana Goodman

Macmillan, Via julianagoodman.com

Release date: June 28

What it's about: This exceptional debut is a perfect addition to your shelves. After Beau's older sister, Katia, is killed by an off-duty police officer, Beau sets out to clear her sister's name. To do so, she'll need to track down her sister's missing boyfriend, Jordan, who was the only witness to the murder. Setting up a Twitter account with the help of her friend, she begins gathering anonymous tips, but the more she learns the more danger she is in.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

20. Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

HarperCollins, Via victoriaaveyard.com

Release date: June 28

In case you haven't yet read book one, Realm Breaker: Corayne an-Amarat can feel the oncoming darkness in her world, even if she's slightly distracted by the discovery that she is the last of an ancient lineage and the last hope to save the world from destruction. Luckily, she's not alone, for she's joined by an avenging immortal, an exiled assassin, an ancient sorceress, a bounty hunter, a squire, and a forger with a secret past.

What it's about: To face the oncoming forces of Queen Erida and Taristan, our leads will need to assemble an army. As Corayne inches closer toward her heroic destiny, Andry fights for hope, Dom tries to fulfill an oath while grieving, Sorasa faces her past, and Valtik summons a mighty power.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

21. Boys I Know by Anna Gracia

Peachtree, anna-gracia.com

Release date: July 5

What it's about: June isn't too worried about expectations. After all, it seems like she will never live up to her perfect older sister's footsteps, at least in the eyes of her Taiwanese mother. So she throws her focus into her not-quite-official relationship with her AP Bio partner, Rhys. But when her plan falls apart, she instead throws herself into the arms of a new guy who might actually call her his girlfriend. Messy relationships and impulse decisions abound in this authentic and bright debut.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

22. The Charmed List by Julie Abe

Wednesday, Via static1.squarespace.com

Release date: July 5

What it's about: Julie Abe's middle grade books are some of my favorites, and so this novel is a charming welcome to YA! Quiet girl Ellie is checking items off her Anti-Wallflower list, a set of 13 goals she's set for a life-changing summer. Though things like riding roller coasters and an epic best friend road trip are important, it's number four that goes horribly wrong — revenge on Jack Yasuda. Because Jack ends up taking the place of her best friend on the road trip, traveling down the California coast to a magical convention.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

23. The Darkening by Sunya Mara

Clarion, Via goodreads.com

Release date: July 5

What it's about: Vesper Vale is the daughter of failed revolutionaries. After 12 years on the run, the queen's soldiers have caught up to Vesper's father. Desperate to keep him from sharing the same fate as her mother, Vesper plans to infiltrate the squad of soldier-sorcerers commanded by the paranoid prince. But along the way, she might discover there's more for her to learn about her mother's death.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

24. What Souls Are Made Of by Tasha Suri

Macmillan, Shekhar Bhatia

Release date: July 5

What it's about: After being abandoned by his father, a Lascar (a sailor from India), Heathcliff has spent most of his time being treated as an outsider. Now living in the Yorkshire moors, and treated poorly, he finds solace with Catherine, the younger child of the estate's owner. The pair spend more time together, connecting over his missing father and her mother that no one speaks of, until the death of Catherine's father, which brings the household treatment of Heathcliff to a disastrous peak. This remix of Wuthering Heights is an epic piece of historical fiction, and a testament to Suri's incredible storytelling skills.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

25. Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham

Macmillan, Courtesy of the Publisher

Release date: July 19

What it's about: The town of Blackwater, Maine, has a lot of unexplainable things happening. Tony Price is a popular high school track star and occasional delinquent aching for his dad’s attention and approval. Eli Hirsch is a quiet boy with a chronic autoimmune disorder that has ravaged his health and social life. What happens when these two become unlikely friends (and a whole lot more...) in the spooky town of Blackwater, Maine? Werewolf curses, unsavory interactions with the quarterback of the football team, a ghostly fisherman haunting the harbor, and tons of high school drama.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

26. The Witchery by S. Isabelle

Scholastic, S Isabelle

Release date: July 26

What it's about: Logan has just arrived to Haelsford, Florida, the witchtown she thinks is a Hellmouth. The newest attendee of Mesmortes Coven Academy, Logan is quickly taken under the wing of Iris, Jailah, and Thalia, known as the Red Three. Iris is a deathwitch hoping to break the town's curse, Jailah has great power but also ambition with potential to turn dark, and Thalia is on the run from a family and a past that haunt her. As the Haunting Season begins, the uneasy truce between humans and witches is put to the test, two boys become involved with the witches' plan to end the reign of the Wolves who rise from the swamp to feed, and old dangers await in the shadows.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

27. Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen

Random House, Gina Chen

Release date: July 26

What it's about: Violet is positioned within the royal court as a prophet, one who provides divinations that are cleverly phrased and not quite true. And once Prince Cyrus takes the crown at the end of summer, he plans to remove her from her role. When the king asks her to falsely prophecy Cyrus's love story, it spirals when Violet awakens a curse...the outcome of which depends on who the prince chooses as a bride. And of course, there's that ill-fated attraction she has to Cyrus. Everything you want from an enemies-to-lovers fantasy starring morally gray characters.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

28. The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver

Scholastic, Via Trịnh Hồng Hương

Release date: August 2

What it's about: Neil Kearney is in a pickle. Right before he was supposed to fly across the country with his childhood friend/friend-with-benefits Josh for his brother's wedding, Josh admits he has feelings for Neil — feelings Neil doesn't reciprocate. So now, Neil is trying to find a new date to bring to the wedding with very little notice, and he ends up drafting his roommate, Wyatt. This fake dating story following two trans teens is sure to be magnificent.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

29. A Girl's Guide to Love and Magic by Debbie Rigaud

Scholastic, Via debbierigaud.com

Release date: August 2

What it's about: The West Indian Day parade that celebrates Caribbean culture and takes place in Cicely's neighborhood is going to be extra special this year. Not only is it scheduled for her birthday, but she'll also get to hang out with her social media influencer aunt, Mimose. But when Mimose's dabbling in Haitian vodou seems to lead to possession by a rogue spirit, Cecily will need to team up with her best friend, Renee, and her crush, Kwame, to head through Brooklyn on a scavenger hunt for the items that will undo the possession.

Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.

30. It Sounds Like This by Anna Meriano