With the new year approaching fast, everyone is in a scurry to add new books to their TBR. Thankfully, 2027 is packed with many wonderful YA reads from a diverse pick of authors. Ranging from man-eating mantises to enchanting magical worlds, this list is sure to spark some reader imagination.

Gilded Wings by Emily Thiede (1/12)

In a world where standing out means survival, Stella feels invisible. Not only are the jewels and brilliant attire of the gilded wealthy for decoration, they also protect from the nighttime hunting dragons. In an attempt to escape her undesired betrothal, she runs away to the big city to become a factory girl. Although she knew of the dangers hanging above, she’s not ready to endure the threats on the ground. Gentry is a charming, ridiculously handsome, street savvy paperboy–but he’s concealing a front-page worthy secret. He’s enchanted by this gorgeous countryside girl, but then he realize he’s missing something invaluable. Regardless of her motives, he must retrieve it or his life hangs in the balance. As dragon attacks grow wild and unpredictable, infaerna, tiny thieving dragons, begin going missing–and flames engulf another factory. In order to expose what, or who, is scheming to control the city, Stella and Gentry must go undercover amidst the wealthy elite.

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Predestined by Rebecca Danzenbaker (1/19)

The 88.3% predictable life of Gloria St. John is pretty great–she makes wise choices, avoids unnecessary trouble, and complains about the country’s tyrannical predictability system while also harvesting the benefits. However, when Futurecast, the app that predicts her upcoming twenty-four hours, informs her that tomorrow morning she’ll suddenly disappear, Gloria panics. It has to be a glitch, right? Well, turns out the “glitch” is linked to Elwood, an obscure rebel who knows too much about Gloria, the predictability AI, and its progammer–a.k.a. Gloria’s dad. Completely fed up with her father’s control, Gloria accepts meeting Elwood for answers in return. But Elwood doesn’t want to help Gloria. He wants to ruin her. Gloria’s test against time to save herself and her loved ones suddenly reveals the truth about the unsolved murder of her mother. Not only is she rethinking her past but her every move, especially since Futurecast is positive she won’t see morning.

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House of Forgotten Souls by Kat Cho (1/19)

The mudangs of Taeyang Bathhouse know very well that LA is crawling with ghosts.

Even though Sujin comes from a long lineage of shamans who escort ghosts to the underworld, her family forbids her from beginning her training because of her rare ability–she can see beyond the lives of any spirit she touches, an erratic power that sent her into a coma one time. However, these spirits could prove to be crucial to finding her missing father. Rami is also haunted by the ghosts of her past. When Sujin’s family hired her to find rebellious spirits, she was smart enough to not ask for any in return. The arrangement would be perfect if it wasn’t for the irritating reaper, Seon, who continuously wrecks her hunts. When Sujin crosses paths with Daniel, a teen ghost who wandered into the bathhouse, she realizes he isn’t actually dead. In an attempt to help, she touches him and is thrown into his memories–including one involving her father. When Rami and Seon discover that spirits are vanishing across the city, their investigation could potentially lead them to the ghost Sujin is attempting to help. Secrets begin to surface, and if the four of them don’t stay on guard, they could risk being lost to the underworld themselves.

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Fleet of Wonders by Erin Hànyù Lynch (2/16)

Mixed-race best friends Eliza and Jules are hardly getting by in the slums of the Ikarian Empire. So when an opportunity arises for them to compete in the Fleet of Wonders, they immediately grasp it–even if they have to con their way in with false identities. As contestants race to invent a deadly war weapon, the Fleet of Wonders will clash the nation’s most brilliant minds against each other. The champions will win life-altering riches, but that’s only if they can avoid their opponents’ lethal attacks. Eliza and Jules won’t be alone, though. They’ll be sailing with the grimly alluring heir to a factory empire; a domineering son of an earl; a sweet, book-loving medical student; and a compelling aristocrat with her own secrets. Tensions are already high, and it doesn’t help that Eliza and Jules become intertwined in romances that risk their fake identities. Soon enough, the two of them realize chasing the Fleet’s glory may mean betraying the homeland of their parents. As the competition intensifies, Eliza and Jules begin quarreling, each of them being forced to confront the questions of how deep they’re willing to go to win–and if they’re willing to sacrifice anything.

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Tell Me Everything by Sara Shepard (3/2)

Sixteen-year-old Abby Ives’ life can’t get much worse. After a private photo gets leaked around school, leaving her embarrassed and avoided by everyone, even her best friend, Abby is set out to get revenge her junior year. She composes the perfect plan to strike back at her previous best friend, Olivia: programming an AI chatbot named Kitty. At first, this was only meant to toy with Olivia and possibly get her in trouble at school. But then Olivia begins exposing real secrets–and recommending the bot to other people. Abby suddenly holds everyone’s nastiest secrets and deepest fears. Behind the screen, Abby is powerful and untouchable in a brand new way. But she may be helping people through Kitty as well–until someone admits a threatening plan to the bot. If this plan is executed, someone is going to end up dead. Can Abby stop the sinister plot without exposing herself? Or will her attempts point the potential killer’s eyes on her instead?

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Blade of Honey by Hafsah Faizal (3/2)

Yasmine Ra’ad has a vendetta. But not against just anyone–against the King of Arawiya himself. The bones of her family built his throne, and even though she has no experience with a blade, she fantasizes about ending his life one day. That day arrives with ease. The king needs a wife. Unless he finds a bride, Altair al-Badawi is destined to die by the next full moon. But if she’s chosen from one of the old houses, everyone will riot. To hopefully avoid this, his captain of the guard proposes that a competition be held so that anyone can try at becoming queen–the king agrees. To enact her revenge, Yasmine must pose as a suitor, and she does it well. Maybe a little too well. Even when he desires nothing less, Altair knows he must marry. Will a love worth forgiving, or dying for, appear?

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When Life Gives You Corpses by Lene D. Buttner (3/23)

A colossal secret lingers over Theory. Although he works at Fiendworld, the world’s leading magical sinkhole turned theme park, he isn’t a typical search-and-recovery guide–he’s a cursed, man-eating mantis. Thankfully for him, he’s found a way to manage: when recovering the bodies of gone adventurers, he nibbles on a couple fingers. When his latest assignment tasks him with retrieving park management’s missing son, the offspring of the wizard who doomed Theory, he discovers the wizard is surprisingly still alive. Nim does not want to be rescued. Driven to find the bottom of the sinkhole, he denies Theory’s offer to bring him back to the surface. Equipped with barely anything but confidence and a magical backpack, he recruits Theory to assist him in continuing his journey below–whether Theory wants to or not. In order to survive, the two of them must confront human-eating fish, walls of tentacles, and heartbreaking secrets: personal ones and even ones the park tries to hide. As they go about their journey, they may just realize that they are better together than separate.

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A Totally Fake Love Story by Zoe Hana Mikuta (3/30)

Anna Nari doesn’t want to be in a K-drama–she’d rather just write them. With divorced, basically alienated parents, real-life romance has always felt more fake than anything else. Especially since Jun Park, her childhood best friend, left her heartbroken the summer before junior year. Was flirting with him a bit too fun for her? Perhaps. Did she become avoidant when things got too real? Well, that’s a personal issue. But it’s okay, because writing about love is much more fun anyway. When Anna decides to enter the Seoul Production Co. Screenplay Contest, the alluringly attractive lead of her script, Do-Yun, suddenly appears on her doorstep! With three weeks hanging in the balance, she must complete her script and figure out a way to send him back…even if she actually falls in love. Could Jun helping with her script turn into romance? Or is Do-Yun about to make everything more complicated?

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Prank Night by Kelly Coon (3/30)

Even though graduation at Bloomfield Academy is just around the corner, golden boy Mason can’t bear to leave without doing a killer senior prank. His very type A girlfriend, Lucy, is only attending because he practically begged her. Nerds Alex and Brady are there to figure out problems. Kenzie the theater star is ecstatic to–finally–be included. And mischievous Ian? Well, technically nobody invited him, but that’s not enough to stop him. One night, one epic prank. Everything is going smoothly until one of them is found at the bottom of the stairs, lifeless. And it has an uncanny resemblance to murder. When the school’s security system suddenly locks them inside, they quickly realize they are trapped inside with a killer–and no one is coming to save them. As the night prowls, paranoia rises, and secrets remain hidden, it’s obvious the surviving bunch must use their wits if they wish to see daylight. But as truths are uncovered, a horrifying question lingers: what if one of them is the killer?

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The Fox Bride by Sasha Peyton Smith (4/6)

When Cass finds herself in an arranged marriage with the prince of Alcadia, she is bewildered to see her childhood best friend and first love standing at the altar. But the boy she once cherished is gone, replaced by a distant stranger who leads an infamous ring of magical art thieves, The Foxes, behind closed doors. He attempts to push Cass away, but her rare abilities may prove to be his only hope in finding an enchanted painting theorized to show the finality of the world. As Cass and Holden’s connection deepens while they attend dazzling parties and perform challenging heists, Cass attempts to decipher another mystery–why Holden initially vanished from her life. As their hunt for the painting grows urgent, the two of them realize they may be the sole thing placed between their vulnerable country and devastation–hopefully they don’t ruin each other first.

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Love Me Always by Emiko Jean (4/6)

Even though eighteen-year-old Emma Nakamura-Thatcher vowed she was finished with futuristic letters, she can’t seem to help herself. As a first-year student at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Emma quickly realizes she’s in over her head–her classmates are terrifyingly talented, and she’s also doing a hardcore work-study job. When her and her boyfriend, Colin, finally break off because of the distance, Emma asks the future for assistance. However, it answers with a warning: Emma, as the letter says, is on the verge of a life-altering mistake. She finds herself snarled in two mysteries: who is writing to her beyond time, and, of the two boys in her life now, which one is her soulmate? Could it be Theo, her beloved childhood best friend turned brilliant physicist at MIT? Or is it the grumpy and enraging Sebastian St. James, Colin’s twin brother, who is for some reason essential to her new life? As the letters increase in urgency and she feels dragged in opposite directions, Emma must make a choice: can she risk the present to trust the future? And what would life be like if she stopped relying on signs and began trusting her own heart?

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Not Your Typical Love Story by C.R. Averett (4/20)

Analeigh Tate has never been much for dating, partly because she cares more for being valedictorian and getting into her dream college, and partly because she doesn’t think anyone desires an asexual girl. When she realizes she needs to convince her domineering parents that a musical theater degree can lead to a serious career, it comes at a cost: showing them she can get a boyfriend. Drew Eberstark has finally gained the confidence to ask his online best friend to meet up in person–only to discover it’s Analeigh Tate, his academic rival. Since she is his only friend and also shares the same feelings of being asexual and aromantic, he desperately wants to remain close. So, he creates a plan: be her (fake) boyfriend. The only problem is that he must ensure he doesn’t reveal his true identity, which definitely isn’t stressful. As the two of them confront family expectations, sorrow, identity confusion, and doubtful futures, they’ll have to determine if their friendship is worth the burden, and if there’s a happy ending to their (atypical) love story.

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