25 YA Books to Add to Your 2018 TBR List Right Now

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke

When 17-year old Jane gets kicked out of high school, her parents push her to enroll in a completion program at the local community college. Jane agrees on one condition: she gets to move out. To solve her housing problem, she joins House of Orange, a reality-style web series that grows into an actual TV show with fans and bad t-shirts. She’ll use her fifteen minutes of fame to prove to the world–and herself–that she has what it takes.

Release date: January 9th

Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

Maya Aziz is many things: an Indian-American Muslim teenager, a friend, a daughter, an aspiring filmmaker. Her biggest concern is whether to follow her parents wishes to go to school in Chicago and marry a good Muslim boy or follow her dreams of going to film school in New York. But when a suicide bomber who shares her last name attacks the American heartland, she and her family–the only Muslim family in town–are suddenly faced with the hatred and fear of their community.

Release date: January 16th

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Odessa is a master necromancer, resurrecting the noble dead from the dangerous shadow world known as they Deadlands. The dead must be carefully shrouded or risk being turned into Shades, the zombie-like creatures created when even an inch of dead flesh is exposed. But an increase in Shade attacks reveals a deadly secret: someone is intentionally creating Shades and training them to attack. Faced with this terrifying reality, Odessa questions everything she thought she knew–including whether her own powers may play a role in destroying all she holds dear.

Release date: January 23rd

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Alice has always had bad luck. But when her grandmother–the reclusive author of a book of beloved fairy tales–dies and her mother is stolen away by a strange creature claiming to be from the Hinterland, the world her grandmother wrote about, her luck goes from bad to worse. The only clue left behind is a warning from her mother to stay away from the Hazel Wood. But in order to save her mother, she’ll have to do exactly that. Along with the help of a Hinterland superfan classmate, Alice ventures into the Hazel Wood, the estate of her mysterious grandmother, and into the heart of where everything went wrong.

Release date: January 30th

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis

Evan Panos has always survived by blending in– by avoiding the attention of his strict Greek mother, by going unnoticed by his workaholic father. His only escape is his art, which he quietly draws in an abandoned church. But now there’s Henry. Henry, his best friend. Henry, who, yes, he maybe kissed over the summer. Henry, who keeps trying to convince him he is more than his mother’s abuse. As he and Henry grow closer, Evan will have to figure out how to find his voice when he’s survived for so long by just blending in.

Release date: January 30th

Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi

Scott Ferdowsi is something of a quitter. He’s quit pretty much everything, from his attempt at writing the Great American Novel to his summer internship. College is looming, but Scott still doesn’t have any idea what he wants to do or be. A meeting with a college professor who specializes in the psychology of success may hold the answers. But what was supposed to be a one day visit turns into a wild adventure when he meets Fiona and accidentally gets into a high-speed chase on a bicycle. Between sneaking into bars and trying to pick up girls at the zoo, Scott begins to figure out who he is–and who he wants to be.

Release date: February 16th

Flight Season by Marie Marquardt

Vivi, TJ, and Ángel couldn’t be more different. Vivi is struggling not to fail out of Yale after the death of her father. TJ is working night shifts at his family’s Brazilian churrascaria while finishing his nursing school requirements. And Ángel is dying from heart failure in a hospital, surrounded by people speaking a language he’s only familiar with from rap songs. When each of their paths cross at the hospital, they discover that friendship can transcend all their differences. None of their lives will ever be the same.

Release date: February 20th

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena

Zarin Wadia is an orphan, a troublemaker, the subject of much schoolyard gossip, and the kind of girl parents warn their children to stay away from. But is there more to her than that? And how did she and Porus Dumasia end up dead, crashed on the side of the road in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? As the religious police show up and the story is pieced together, it becomes clear that there is far more to Zarin than just a girl like that.

Release date: February 27th

Your Robot Dog Will Die by Arin Greenwood

In a future where dogs are almost extinct, the remaining dogs and their robot replacements are studied on Dog Island. Nano Miller and her friends were born on dog island. She likes it there, but Nano is sick and tired of having her robot dogs ripped from her arms year after year only to be replaced with the latest model for testing. Then, Nano makes a startling discovery: a puppy that wags its tail– something no dog has done in years–and there’s no way Nano is going to let this be taken from her.

Release date: April 17th

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

The companion to Becky Albertalli’s breakout YA novel Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda (coming out as a movie later this year), Leah on the Offbeat focuses on Simon’s best friend, Leah. Leah Burke is always on beat when she’s drumming, but real life isn’t always so easy. Especially considering her friends–even her gay best friend Simon–don’t know she’s bisexual. Senior year is never easy, with college approaching and her friend group fracturing in new and unexpected ways. Things get even more complicated when she realizes that her feelings for one of her friends may go far beyond friendship. But when was real life ever as easy as music, right?

Release date: April 24th

The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk

Music was always the thing that brought Autumn, Shay, and Logan together. But in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy even music may not be enough to keep them together. As they each retreat into their own grief, they’re faced with the question of what if: what if this hadn’t happened? But it did. So now the question is how to–and can they–move on?

Release date: March 6th

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Xiomara Batista feels unheard in her Harlem neighborhood and by her mother who is determined for her to follow all the rules of the church. She has plenty to say, and she writes it all in her notebook. But when Xiomara discovers her school’s slam poetry club, she becomes determined to let her voice be heard–even in a world that seems determined to silence her.

Release date: March 6th

Feeder by Patrick Weekes

Lori Fisher hunts aliens– a very specific kind of aliens called “Feeders” who prey on humans. Then a job for the Lake Foundation goes wrong, and Lori discovers a group of mutant teenagers being held captive. Now the Lake Foundation is after her, and the more she learns the more Lori suspects she might not be the hunter at all. She might just be the bait.

Release date: March 6th

Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles

When Marvin’s brother Tyler goes missing after a party raided by the police, it’s up to Marvin to find him. But then a video leaks online, telling a chilling story of Tyler’s last minutes, shot and killed by a police officer. Now Marvin has to keep things together for his mom and figure out how to mourn a brother who’s become a hashtag.

Release date: March 20th

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas–bestselling author of The Hate U Give–returns to Garden Heights in her second novel, this time about an aspiring teen rapper and the fallout of getting everything you thought you wanted. Considering Thomas was a teen rapper herself–not to mention how amazing THUG was–I am very here for this book.

Release date: May 1st

My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma

Winnie and Raj’s love story was fated–literally. A pandit had predicted Winnie would fall in love before her 18th birthday, and Raj met all the qualifications. Until she returns from summer film camp to find him cheating on her. Dev, a fellow film geek, encourages her to choose her own destiny. But does giving up on Raj mean giving up on her perfect, fated Bollywood ending?

Release date: May 15th

LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff

The coauthor of the Illuminae Files is back with an all new sci-fi adventure. Eve spends her days searching the floating junkyard for scrap and hiding from the Brotherhood, who’ve wanted her dead since the recent discovery of her powers–powers that can destroy tech with just her mind. When she discovers a ruined android named Ezekiel in the junk heaps, though, it changes everything. Together, they set out on a quest that will push Eve, Ezekiel, and their friends to the very limits as they try to save themselves and discover the dark secrets of Eve’s past.

Release date: May 29th

From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon

Told in a series of letters to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, With Love is the story of aspiring filmmaker Twinkle Mehra and the year she directed a film and fell in love– except maybe not with the right guy. Twinkle’s always had a crush on Neil Roy, so when his twin brother Salil offers her the chance to direct a movie it seems like the perfect opportunity to showcase her talent and get closer to her crush. Only as filming progresses, Twinkle finds herself falling for the wrong twin. What’s an aspiring filmmaker to do?

If this book is anything like When Dimple Met Rishi, Menon’s first book, it should be a very fun, sweet read.

Release date: June 5th

Sometime After Midnight by L. Philips

A Cinderella retelling for the digital age. Nate and Cameron meet at the club one night, but when Nate learns that Cameron is the heir to the record label that destroyed his father’s life, he runs. The only evidence Cameron has of their encounter is a blurry photograph of Nate’s sharpie-marked sneakers. Cameron’s model / socialite sister posts the photo with a call to action for her fans: help her brother find the guy who was wearing those shoes. The internet quickly falls for this modern day Cinderella story and help Cameron and Nate find their way back to each other–and maybe, just maybe, fall in love.

Release date: June 12th

Not the Girls You’re Looking For by Aminah Mae Safi

Sometimes you can hurt the people around you, even if you didn’t mean to. Lulu Saad should know. Apparently she’s been causing a lot more damage than she realized. But she totally has it under control! Maybe. I mean, sure, she thought she accidentally drowned that guy at a party until it turned out he was faking. And she may have caused a bit of an incident at Ramadan, but who’s counting right? If Lulu doesn’t figure out some way to fix things–and fast–she’s going to have to do a lot more than just apologize to friends and repair family relationships. She’s going to have to find herself, somehow, in the process.

Release date: June 19th

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Art student April May goes viral after taking a video of a mysterious giant robot sculpture that appeared in Manhattan. Similar statutes have begun appearing in cities across the world, and April’s stardom grows as people try to get to the bottom of what these strange robot statues could mean.

This is the  first novel by Hank Green, internet sensation and brother of author John Green of The Fault in Our Stars fame, and it definitely sounds like it’s going to be a wild ride.

Release date: 2018

My Plain Jane by by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton

In this followup to My Lady Jane, the authors take on the story of Jane Eyre with the same fantastic imagination and irreverent charm. You may think you know the story of Jane Eyre, but think again. In this Gothic adventure, the lives of orphan Jane, aspiring author Charlotte Brontë, and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood intertwine in a ghost hunt of epic proportions.

Release date: June 26th

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

A love story inspired by Pride and Prejudice? Sign me up!

Release date: September 11th

What If It’s Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli

Ben meets Arthur at the post office while mailing a box of things to his ex-boyfriend. It’s a missed connection of the worst kind. The universe has other ideas, though, and the two are thrown back together in a series of failed “first” dates.

Silvera and Albertalli have so many great books between them (History is All You Left Me and The Upside of Unrequited, to name a few) that this is bound to be a hit. And knowing them, incredibly beautiful and moving, too.

Release date: October 2nd

And if you’re an overachiever and really want to get your TBR list going, check out this list of 101 great books coming out in 2018.