New YA Book Releases, March 19, 2025
Roll up your sleeves: it’s yet another great week for new YA book releases. I don’t know about you, but I have not only been reading a lot of books this year, but the vast majority of the ones I’ve picked up have just been so dang good.
And to those who celebrate, Welcome to Hunger Games week. The latest in Suzanne Collins’s blockbuster series hits shelves, giving readers a glimpse into the youth of one of the most infamous characters in the series.
As always, this roundup includes novels only (we’ll dive into this month’s nonfiction and comics soon!). I’ve pulled out series books to avoid potential spoilers, and you’ll find those below each of the book format lists.
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New YA Hardcover Releases
A Catalog of Burnt Objects by Shana Youngdahl
Caprice’s brother just got back home from intensive rehabilitation for substance use and a subsequent accident that changed his life forever. As she’s navigating what their relationship will be like, she’s finding that her brother’s fun spirit seems to have returned — he’s teasing her for developing a little fascinating with a new boy who regularly runs by the house.
But it’s not just that boy, River, that has Caprice’s attention. She’s been working hard on developing an app with some seed money from a local investor. The app would help people take advantage of all the things there are to do in her home town of Sierra, California.
As Caprice is getting to know River and her brother, as well as spending more time with her best friend Alicia, things take an unexpected turn. Sierra is experiencing a wildfire like they have never experienced before. It wasn’t entire unexpected–living there was being aware wildfires could be a reality, especially thanks to climate change–but the extent to which Sierra is destroyed and Caprice’s life is turned upside down could never be properly prepared for.
This book is inspired by the Paradise, California, wildfires.
Camila Núñez’s Year of Disasters by Miriam Zoila Pérez
Camila is Cuban American, and she’s always been the kind of girl with a lot of anxiety and worry about the future. There’s good reason, she thinks, and that’s especially true now as she’s trying to navigate her first queer romance, challenges at her job, leaning how to drive, and the weird vibes between her parents.
For her 16th birthday, Camila’s bestie gives her a tarot card reading and the reading does anything but allay Camila’s anxious tendencies. In fact, there are so many things happening that the cards prophesied that she’s found herself more worried about her world now than ever before.
As her life gets harder and harder and it seems more bad things are happening to her, Camila will have to figure out a way to navigate to the future…and maybe find a way to ease some of the stress she herself cannot control.
Hangry Hearts by Jennifer Chen
Julie Wu and Randall Hur used to be besties, but now they’re rivals, thanks to their parents having a rivalry that shows up every Saturday at the Pasadena Farmer’s Market. But the two of them are forced to join with London Kim for a community service project.
There are are a lot of feelings flying among the three teens. London’s got feelings for Julie. But Julie has them for Randall. Randall? Well he can’t stop thinking about the fact London has feelings for Julie.
Those feelings are loud, and Julie and Randall decide to dip their toes into the water. They can use the service project as a front for them going out for breakfast at a local Taiwanese place.
Except their secret romance won’t be secret much longer, and it has the potential to completely reopen the long-time rivalry between the Wu and Hur families.
This one’s being called a modern foodie take on Romeo & Juliet.
The House No One Sees by Adina King
Penny is estranged from her mother, who struggles with an opioid addiction. On the night of her 17th birthday, Penny’s mom sends her a text that completely upends her celebration. Penny is dropped into a labyrinth of her home and is forced to confront the past and present to understand and unpack the traumas of her youth.
This one is a mix of prose and poetry, as well as a story told in multiple timelines.
Till Death by Kellan McDaniel
A queer, romantic vampire story? This sounds fang-tastic.
Howard is so ready to get to college. He’s ready to escape his current life and he’s ready to see how things get better. It’s been a promise he’s heard over and over. It gets better. It gets better.
What Howard did not anticipate was meeting George. He’s smitten immediately, entranced by everything about George, including his fashion, intellect, and formality.
George is not necessarily single, though. He’s been in a relationship with James for 20 years. Except because George is a vampire and James is human, George realizes that James’s time on Earth is almost done.
But as Howard and George grow closer, they start to recognize how well they work together. How what they’re feeling is real and supportive and safe. But can Howard give up mortality in exchange for the love of his young life or will the world around them take away the opportunity before he can even make such a decision?
True Life in Uncanny Valley by Deb Caletti
A new Deb Caletti is always an opportunity to celebrate.
Eleanor’s father is famous. He’s so famous everyone knows him and adores him from afar, just like Eleanor has. Hugo Harrison works on AI inventions, and, well, Eleanor’s mom getting pregnant by him was of no interest to him or his work. He has a reputation to keep.
But Eleanor wants to know her father, and she sees her in by applying for a job to serve as a nanny to his current child (and her own step-brother). To snag the gig, Eleanor tells a few lies, and she’s in. She’s taken on a new identity, and while it helps her learn more about her father, his job, and his current life, it’s made her own life far more complicated.
Eleanor then discovers the dangerous new project her father’s working on and realizes she can do something. Except how can she, if she’s not even being her true self?
This certainly sounds like a story inspired by another famous tech billionaire.
Series releases this week in hardcover:
- His Mortal Demise by Vanessa Le
- The Hallow Hunt by Margie Fuston
- Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
New YA Paperback Releases
In The Company of Killers by Elora Cook
In Scarsdale, New York, the mob runs everything. The most notorious group? The Nicastro family. While Tasha Nicastro lives the wealthy, popular life, she’s not entirely tuned into the role her family plays in town. This is despite herself being quite the sharpshooter. She’s 17–she only realizes so much, of course.
Tasha’s only real rivalry has been with Leo Danesi. He’s her former best friend and also the son of the Nicastro family’s biggest rival. He’s back in town, so Tasha prepares for Leo to be the thing that makes her life harder than necessary.
But then Tasha’s father and older sister are murdered in front of her, and the secret her family harbors comes spilling out before her.
Tasha’s going to get revenge and take down the crew her killed her beloved father and sister. She doesn’t want to, but she knows, that the person she has to turn to is the person who she should least turn to: Leo.
Nothing Bad Happens Here by Rachel Ekstrom Courage
Lucia, 16, is ready for a getaway. She needs a break from her life and her sadness. Good thing her mom and her mom’s new boyfriend know just the cure: a summer on Nantucket.
It seems perfect until Lucia stumbles upon the boy of a dead teen girl. Now, she is determined to figure out what happened. To do so, Lucia will befriend the dead girl’s former besties. She’s entranced by their wealthy world, but that world is one that has more secrets than Lucia can even imagine.
What’s Eating Jackie Oh? by Patricia Park
Jackie Oh is tired of being the perfect Korean American daughter. There is so much pressure on her to live up to her parents’ exacting standards. All she wants to do is be a chef, but she knows that expressing that would be rough on Mom and Dad.
But still, Jackie manages to work at her grandparents’ deli after school and at night, she practices her French cooking. She knows she should be studying, but being in the kitchen is a balm to the stress of school, studying, rising anti-Asian violence in New York, and more.
So when Jackie is given the shocking opportunity to compete on one of her favorite teen television cooking competitions, Burn Off!, she takes it. She thinks escaping into the world of privileged kids will be fun and more, she’ll get to hone and show off her skills in the kitchen. Yeah, the gimmicky challenges are just that, but this is her time to shine.
This book dives into identity and culture with both humor and heart.
Series releases this week in paperback:
- The Last Blood Carver by Vanessa Le
- The Revenant Games by Margie Fuston
- Saint Seducing Gold by Brittany N. Williams
