Fall 2025 promises to be an exceptional season for young adult fiction, with a diverse lineup of stories that capture the complexity and intensity of the teenage experience. Whether you’re drawn to stories about finding your identity, navigating first love, or confronting the darker mysteries that lurk beneath the surface of everyday life, these highly anticipated YA novels offer something for every reader. As the leaves change and the cozy reading season begins, these upcoming titles are ready to transport you into worlds both familiar and fantastical, each promising the emotional depth and authentic voice that make YA fiction so compelling.
If Looks Could Kill by Julie Berry
Jack the Ripper thinks he’s found fresh hunting grounds in 1888 New York—until something ancient and furious starts hunting him back. While Medusa stalks her prey through Manhattan’s shadows, Salvation Army volunteers Tabitha and Pearl are fighting their own battle to save a girl trapped in the Bowery’s brothels. One’s a wisecracking city girl hungry for adventure, the other a grimly serious farm girl with unshakeable principles. When their rescue mission collides, they’ll discover that sometimes justice wears a monstrous face—and mercy might be the real crime.
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We Fell Apart by E. Lockhart
Matilda thought finding her biological father would answer all her questions about herself. Instead, she finds Hidden Beach—a crumbling seaside house full of damaged kids. There’s Meer– the brother she never knew existed, Brock– hiding from his former fame, and Tatum who wants her gone before she discovers what they’re all protecting. But Kingsley himself is mysteriously absent, and the longer Matilda stays, the more she realizes that some families aren’t bound by love—they’re bound by secrets. And some secrets are worth killing for.
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Balancing Act by Paula Chase
Chyna’s gymnastics scholarship is her ticket out—if she can survive the elite mean girls and hide her family’s struggles. Jamaal’s basketball stardom is his way of honoring his dead brother’s memory—if his body doesn’t give out first. What neither knows is that they’re connected by more than just their new school: Chyna was secretly dating Jamaal’s brother before he died. In a city where sports dreams can save or destroy you, some truths are too dangerous to share. But secrets have a way of surfacing when the pressure gets too intense.
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Falling Like Leaves by Misty Wilson
Ellis thought senior year would be Manhattan college prep and city sophistication—not small-town festivals and her ex-best friend’s coffee shop. Cooper used to be her everything until an awkward goodbye ruined it all. Now he’s gorgeous, successful, and completely uninterested in rekindling anything. Between her aunt’s relentless autumn festival enthusiasm and Cooper’s determined avoidance, Ellis just wants to survive until she can escape back to real life. But Bramble Falls has other plans. And the longer she stays, the more she realizes that maybe running away isn’t always the answer—sometimes coming home is.
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When We Were Monsters by Jennifer Niven
Eight talented students. One exclusive program. A legendary mentor with dangerous methods. When Meredith Graffam handpicks her proteges, she promises to transform their artistic potential—but her teaching style involves breaking them down first. Effy’s hunting for answers about her mother’s death while dodging her ex-boyfriend Arlo, who shattered her heart three years ago. As competition intensifies and students are eliminated, secrets spill and alliances crumble. Everyone’s willing to do whatever it takes to win—until they realize their brilliant mentor might be playing a different game entirely. Some lessons are too expensive to learn.
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Sisters In The Wind by Angeline Boulley
Lucy Smith has been invisible for five years—sleeping in abandoned buildings, dodging social workers, surviving on her own terms. Then Mr. Jameson appears with impossible news: she has a family, a grandmother, an entire Ojibwe heritage her father never told her about. For the first time since his death, Lucy dares to hope for something better than hiding. But someone’s been tracking her, and the past she’s been running from is finally catching up. Now she has to choose: keep running alone, or trust these strangers enough to discover who she really is—and what that might cost.
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Dream by the Shadows by Logan Karlie
In a kingdom where dreams kill and everyone takes elixirs to stay awake, Esmer Havenfall thought she knew who the enemy was. The Shadow Bringer steals souls through nightmares, her sister fell to his Corruption, and her family’s been destroyed by accusations. But when Esmer discovers the same dark magic flowing through her veins, everything changes. The Dream Realm calls to her, and its ruler offers answers she desperately needs. Some curses have deeper roots than anyone imagined—and sometimes the only way to save your kingdom is to embrace the darkness everyone fears.
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Keep Your Friends Close by Cynthia Murphy
Chloe Roberts thought losing her best friend’s loyalty was the worst betrayal she’d face at elite Morton Academy. Then students started dying. The murders follow an ancient pattern from the mysterious Book of Crime and Punishment—a ledger that records every transgression and its “fitting” penalty. As members of the secret Jewel and Bone society drop one by one, Chloe realizes someone’s turning their school’s darkest traditions into a deadly game. With her former bestie as a suspect and her own name likely in that book, Chloe must solve the puzzle before justice comes for her.
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Very Dangerous Things by Lauren Muñoz
Dulce Castillo has been preparing for J. Everett High’s legendary criminology murder mystery all semester. She knows every trick, every red herring, every way to win. What she doesn’t expect is for Xavier Torres to actually die during the game—poisoned in the greenhouse while playing the victim. Now her ex-best friend Sierra is accused of real murder, the annual tradition has become a nightmare, and Dulce’s academic knowledge is the only thing standing between an innocent girl and prison. But solving a pretend mystery is nothing like catching a killer who’s still playing to win.
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You’ve Found Oliver by Dustin Thao
For a year, Oliver has been texting his dead best friend Sam, pouring out his heart to a number he knows will never answer. Until the day he accidentally calls—and someone picks up. Ben, the astronomy student who inherited Sam’s old number, has been reading every vulnerable message. When they finally meet, their connection is electric, but it’s built on the most intimate foundation imaginable: Oliver’s unprocessed grief. Now Oliver has to decide if love found through loss can survive the truth, or if some connections are too complicated to last beyond the stars.
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Everything About You by Robby Weber
Fashion apprentice Milo has everything mapped out: impress the Parisian design house, avoid distractions, secure his dream job. Then Rhodes walks in—tabloid prince, footballer’s son, and unfortunately gorgeous competition for the one permanent position available. Milo can’t afford to be charmed by someone whose family connections already give him an unfair advantage. But Rhodes isn’t just another privileged pretty boy coasting on his name. As their rivalry heats up in the City of Light, Milo discovers that sometimes the person standing between you and your dreams might actually be worth changing your plans for.
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Everything She Does Is Magic by Bridget Morrissey
Darcy Keller is Fableview’s perfect fall princess—charming, spirited, and completely trapped by everyone’s expectations. When mysterious new girl Anya needs a fake ally to fool her witch coven, and Darcy needs an excuse to avoid her parents’ suffocating plans, a pretend partnership seems like the perfect solution. Between costume parades and pumpkin patches, they’ll both get what they need: Anya gets her initiation, Darcy gets breathing room. Simple, right? Except somewhere between the apple bobbing and autumn magic, their carefully constructed lies start feeling dangerously like the truth neither was ready to face.
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The Dead Of Summer by Ryan La Sala
Ollie thought returning to Anchor’s Mercy would be simple: reconnect with friends, celebrate his mom’s recovery, enjoy the perfect island summer. Instead, he finds a community riddled with illness, former friends who won’t forgive his absence, and secrets lurking beneath the postcard-perfect surface. When a storm unleashes something ancient and horrifying from the depths, Ollie realizes his mom’s cancer might not have been random at all. Now he’s trapped on a military ship, labeled a “survivor” by people who don’t understand what they’re really dealing with—or what’s coming next for everyone he loves.
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Try Your Worst by Chatham Greenfield
Sadie and Cleo have been competing since their simultaneous births on New Year’s Day—and Cleo’s been winning ever since. Now someone’s framing them both for a series of escalating school pranks that could destroy their valedictorian dreams and college futures. Forced to work together to find the real culprit, these lifelong rivals discover they have more in common than perfect GPAs. Sadie’s burning out from academic pressure while Cleo’s tired of effortless success that feels meaningless. As they dig deeper into the mystery, they start questioning everything—including whether they were ever really enemies at all.
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Fake Skating by Lynn Painter
Dani expected to find the same sweet, nerdy Alec she left behind years ago. Instead, she discovers Minnesota’s hockey god—confident, popular, and everything she usually avoids. When circumstances force them into a fake relationship, Dani realizes the boy she once knew is still there, hidden beneath the star athlete persona. But in a town where hockey players reign supreme, admitting she’s falling for one feels like betraying everything she believes about herself. Sometimes the most dangerous lies are the ones you tell your own heart about who you’re supposed to love.
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All the Way Around the Sun by Xixi Tian
Stella Chen has been drowning in silence since her brother’s death shattered her family. Now her parents are forcing her on a college road trip with Alan Zhao—her former best friend who represents everything she’s lost: confidence, connection, the ability to move forward. What should be torture becomes something unexpected as California highways force them to confront the distance that’s grown between them. Some friendships survive anything, even years of avoidance and unprocessed grief. But when buried feelings surface alongside family secrets, Stella must decide if she’s ready to stop running from the life she’s afraid to want.
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Seven for a Secret by Mary E. Roach
Nev survived something unspeakable in the forests of Avan Island five years ago. Seven other girls from Sister’s Place didn’t. Now someone is systematically killing the men who ran their group home, and Nev realizes this massacre might be her only chance to uncover what really happened to her sisters. But the deeper she digs, the more she understands that her own fractured memories hold the key to everything. Sometimes the most dangerous truth is the one buried in your own mind—and sometimes revenge is the only path to peace.
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Hollow by Taylor Grothe
Cassie Davis thought returning home would mean reconnecting with old friends and finding her place again. Instead, she’s abandoned in the Adirondack wilderness after a disastrous camping trip goes wrong. When mysterious Kaleb rescues her and brings her to the Roost—a compound where outcasts and artists supposedly live freely—Cassie finally feels like she can stop masking her autism and be herself. But acceptance comes with a price, and the deeper into the forest community she goes, the more she realizes that some sanctuaries are actually traps. And the real predators aren’t always the ones you expect.
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House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt
Everyone says it was a freak accident, but Violet Harper knows her best friend was murdered. The cryptic messages about elite boarding schools and secret societies don’t lie. So Violet transfers to the same prestigious academy, determined to uncover the truth—even if it means getting close to Calvin Lockwell, whose family founded the school and whose brother is her prime suspect. Calvin is arrogant, entitled, and dangerously attractive. He’s also hiding a supernatural family secret that could explain everything. But some investigations lead to the same deadly fate as the last person who asked too many questions.
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Make Me a Monster by Kalynn Bayron
Mortician’s assistant Meka thought she understood death—it was literally the family business. Then tragedy shatters her world, and suddenly the rules she’s lived by don’t apply anymore. Ravens gather at her house. Strangers shadow her every move. Mysterious gifts appear on her doorstep. And the bodies in her family’s funeral home refuse to stay still. As supernatural forces close in, Meka realizes her family’s been keeping deadly secrets about their profession. Now someone wants those secrets badly enough to kill for them. In the funeral business, some customers never really leave—and some debts follow you to the grave.
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