Explore our curated collection of young adult book reviews and recommendations.
Suzanne Collins's four-novel Hunger Games universe — The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes — is collected in a single paperback box set published by Scholastic Inc. In October 2023, giving readers the full arc of Panem from its dystopian origins to its electrifying conclusion. This review is based on the content of the novels and published reception from named sources; it does not assess the physical box set first-hand.
Jul 7, 2026
The graphic novel adaptation of Hollow City, illustrated by Cassandra Jean and published by Yen Press in 2016, brings Ransom Riggs's dark fantasy sequel to visual life — following Jacob Portman and his peculiar friends on a desperate flight from hollowgasts and wights toward WWII-era London, with Miss Peregrine's humanity hanging in the balance. The original novel debuted on the New York Times bestseller list, and the graphic novel format offers a distinct entry point into a sequel praised for its suspense-building and world-expanding storytelling.
Jun 9, 2026
Lynn Painter's Better Than the Movies is a young adult romance novel that follows Liz Buxbaum, a romcom-obsessed high schooler who enlists her lifelong frenemy and next-door neighbor Wes Bennett to help win her long-term crush Michael — only to find her feelings shifting in an unexpected direction. Originally published by Simon & Schuster in May 2021 and reissued in paperback in July 2022, the novel became a BookTok phenomenon and has spent 40 months on the New York Times Young Adult Paperback Best Seller List as of March 2026. Critics called it a "charming, fluffy concoction" that packs every conceivable romcom trope into one plot, while School critics praised its quippy banter and lovable characters. A sequel, Nothing Like the Movies, was released in 2024, and a Netflix film adaptation was announced in May 2026.
Jun 2, 2026
The Cruel Prince launches Holly Black's Folk of the Air trilogy with a mortal girl's dangerous bid for power inside the treacherous courts of Faerie — a New York Times bestselling series opener that delivers royal intrigue, complex characters, and a relentlessly unpredictable plot.
Jun 28, 2026
Megan Lally's debut YA thriller That's Not My Name, published by Sourcebooks Fire on December 26, 2023, delivers two interlocking storylines — a teenage girl with amnesia trying to determine whether the man claiming to be her father is telling the truth, and a boy racing to clear his name in his girlfriend's disappearance — that Kirkus Reviews calls "a thrilling delight right up to the unexpected and bittersweet conclusion."
May 19, 2026
The Escape Game is a YA murder mystery set aboard a reality TV escape-room competition, co-written by Marissa Meyer (New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles) and Tamara Moss (author of the Lintang series), published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on April 7, 2026. When a murder strikes the popular game show The Escape Game, a new cohort of teen contestants must solve deadly puzzles while racing to uncover who killed Alicia Angelos — before one of them becomes the next victim. Critics called it "exhilarating, nonstop fun," praising both its page-turning pace and its rotating cast narration, while blurb authors Karen M. McManus and Lish McBride highlighted its sharp suspense and intricate puzzle construction. The novel is a strong fit for readers aged 14 and up who enjoy whodunits, escape-room fiction, and soapy reality-TV drama laced with genuine stakes.
Jul 6, 2026
Verity Guild by Mai Corland is a romantasy murder mystery published by Entangled: Red Tower Books, earning starred reviews from both Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal. The novel traps enemies-turned-reluctant-investigators Kerasea Vestal and Torren Morvane inside a snowbound palace after a senator is ritualistically killed, weaving a slow-burn romance through a layered world of political intrigue, forbidden magic, and genuine suspense. It is designed for readers who want their romantic fantasy anchored in real mystery plotting and atmospheric world-building.
May 28, 2026
Five Total Strangers is a New York Times bestselling young adult thriller from Natalie D. Richards, published by Sourcebooks Fire, in which a teenager named Mira finds herself stranded at an airport during a snowstorm and accepts a ride home with four people she doesn't know — only to realize that one of them has been sending her threatening letters and has sinister plans for the journey. School critics called it "a page-turning thriller that will keep readers guessing until the very end," while critical coverage found the menacing letters melodramatic and the ending a stretch — making it a well-paced but uneven entry in the YA suspense genre, best suited for readers aged 14–18 who enjoy claustrophobic, whodunit-style tension.
Jun 21, 2026
Boys with Sharp Teeth is an instant New York Times bestseller and debut YA novel from Jenni Howell, published by Roaring Brook Press on April 8, 2025, in which a girl assumes a false identity to infiltrate her murdered cousin's elite boarding school and uncover the truth — a warped reimagining of The Picture of Dorian Gray that blends dark revenge with twisted desire. Critical coverage found it an intensely dark debut focused more on style than substance, while author blurbs from CG Drews, Jesse Q. Sutanto, and others praise its atmospheric tension and shocking twists. Readers drawn to heady, twisty dark academia will find much to savor here, though those seeking depth to match the dazzle may come away wanting more.
Jun 28, 2026
Batgirl of Burnside: DC Compact Comics Edition collects the celebrated run by writers Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher with art by Babs Tarr and Irene Koh, following Barbara Gordon as she trades the grim streets of Gotham for the vibrant, youthful energy of the Burnside neighborhood — a creative reinvention that reshaped how DC told Batgirl's story.
Jun 24, 2026![Shadow and Bone [SHADOW & BONE] [Paperback] by LeighBardugo](https://cdn.luvembooks.com/media/original_images/Shadow_and_Bone_SHADOW__BONE_Paperback_main_0.webp)
Shadow and Bone is the debut novel from Leigh Bardugo and the first entry in the Shadow and Bone Trilogy — a young adult fantasy set in the Russian-folklore-inspired world of Ravka, where orphan soldier Alina Starkov discovers a dormant power that could change the fate of her war-torn country. Originally published by Henry Holt and Company/Macmillan in 2012, it is a New York Times bestseller and the foundation of Bardugo's expansive Grishaverse.
Jun 21, 2026
Beneath a Scarlet Sky: Where the Scarlet Shadows Fall is Book 9 in Hom Chanthy's ongoing short story series, a Kindle collection designed for readers aged 5 to 17 that explores themes of courage, sacrifice, and hope set against backdrops of conflict and hardship. The series, which spans at least 20 entries, positions itself as a bridge between children's and young adult reading, making it a broad-tent offering rather than a tightly age-targeted one. Its Kindle-only format keeps it accessible digitally, though the absence of several enhanced reading features may limit its utility for younger or developing readers.
May 19, 2026Search
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