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In addition to feeling the refreshment of a new year of possibility, there is excitement to be
This winter 2023 YA books roundup features something for every kind of reader, and it holds such promise
As always, this list of new winter 2023 YA books will not be comprehensive, especially as book publication
All series books are marked with a * and are listed first below each date
Those will both come in separate lists shortly for triple the YA new release goodness
Grab your TBR, open up your book tracker of choice, and add some great winter 2023 YA books
Descriptions come from Amazon because much as I wish I’ve read all of the books, I’
She has a cute boyfriend, gets good grades, and has the best bestie
It did not include helping her best friend through a pregnancy
But that’s what best friends do, right? Besides, Kelly has every intention of being a good
As the two girls navigate the pregnancy, they’ll learn some harsh realities about the world and
16 & Pregnant: A Novel honestly and openly explores pregnancy through the eyes of two young Black teens
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Tired of her abuela keeping secrets, especially about her heritage
Tired of her small Vermont town and hanging out at the same places with the same friends
It’s not long before she is under Sam’s spell and doing things she’s never
Mica’s gut instincts keep telling her something is off, yet Sam is the most exciting guy
But when Mica discovers his family’s roots, she realizes that instead of being in the typical
She has to leave Sam, but will ending their relationship also bring an end to everything she
Zahra Khan is basically Bangladeshi royalty, but being a princess doesn’t pay the bills in Paterson,
It’s nothing like the connection she has with Nayim Aktar, the new dishwasher at the tea
So, when Zahra finds out that Harun is just as uninterested in this match as she is,
And for once in Zahra’s life, she can have her rossomalai and eat it too: “dating”
With her feelings all mixed up, Zahra discovers that sometimes being a good Bengali kid can be
When her father arranges a match, Khadija leaps at the chance of escape — a rogue hot air
Soon, Khadija is flying over the desert sands, away from everything she knows
Khadija finds an unlikely ally in a poor young glassmaker’s apprentice, Jacob
The oppressed, pale-skinned hāri are restless — their infamous terrorist group, the Hāreef, have a new,
His older brothers are both actors, and one of his moms is an actor and the other
They even live in an enormous historic mansion owned by the Beauregard, Minnesota’s largest regional theater
Finn is desperate to be an actor, too, despite the fact that he can never seem to
Blessed with unspeakable powers that terrify even the most dangerous witches and fae, Calla hides her forbidden
After a betrayal from her infuriating ex Ezra leads her one step closer to fulfilling that age-old
So when a mysterious and charming witch offers to help Calla do just that, she immediately agrees
Only catch? That plan includes journeying into the deadly Neverending Forest with Ezra and said witch, who
As the group ventures into the enchanted woods together, they’ll all soon learn that choosing your
But in the end, Calla will have to fight to forge her own destiny and decide if
Now she goes by the one the Elantian colonizers gave her when they invaded her kingdom, killed
She spends her nights as a songgirl in Haak’gong, a city transformed by the conquerors, and
The mark is mysterious — an untranslatable Hin character — and no one but Lan can see it
Zen is a practitioner — one of the fabled magicians of the Last Kingdom
Their magic was rumored to have been drawn from the demons they communed with
When Zen comes across Lan, he recognizes what she is: a practitioner with a powerful ability hidden
Fate has connected them, but their destiny remains unwritten
There, she is using an ancient relic to create monsters of stick and snow who will do
Suren, child queen of the Court of Teeth, and the one person with power over her mother,
Lonely, and still haunted by the merciless torments she endured in the Court of Teeth, she bides
Suren is saved by none other than Prince Oak, heir to Elfhame, to whom she was once
But if she agrees, it will mean guarding her heart against the boy she once knew and
Once a luxurious cruise ship, it became a refugee camp after being driven from Europe by an
Now it floats near the coastline of the Federated States ― a leftover piece of a fractured USA
It is a world of extreme haves and have nots, gangs and make-shift shelters
Nik is a rebel, planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all
When events throw them both together, their lives, and the lives of everyone on the ship, will
Seventeen-year-old gaymer Noah Mitchell only has one friend left: the wonderful, funny, strictly online-only MagePants69
And Noah is certain that if they could just meet in person, they would be soulmates
Noah has never done anything like theater — he can’t sing, he can’t dance, and he’
And the longer Noah waits to come clean, the more tangled his web of lies becomes
By opening night, he will have to decide if telling the truth is worth closing the curtain
But if what he sees there is true, he might not have much longer to live, unless
He’s here because he needs her help — to unravel a tragedy that happened 15 years ago
One that holds the key not only to Rhia’s past, but to a future worth fighting
Enter Mackenzie Briggs, who isn’t afraid to be herself or wear her heart on her sleeve
Shani is eager to finally meet up, but Jonas isn’t so sure — he’s not confident
But Shani, who’s been burned before, may not give him a chance: she talks her best
When Ash falls for Jonas, too, he keeps that news from Shani, and soon they’re all
Because in Newham, the city that never sleeps, dreaming means waking up as your worst fear
Ness will do anything to avoid becoming another victim, even if that means lying low among the
These poems are visually stark, a gathering of gripping verses that unmasks a dialogue of tragic truths ―
Bold and deeply affecting, Dark Testament is a remarkable reckoning with our present moment, a call to
Devastated by the loss of her beloved older brother to cancer, Bugz returns to the place where
Even better, she’s been secretly working on a bot that will be both an incredible weapon
As they work through their complicated feelings of grief and loss, Feng and Bugz find themselves becoming
But disturbances in the Floraverse cannot be ignored, especially when Bugz realizes that her Waawaate bot is
She wants a break from worrying — about money, snide remarks from white classmates, pitying looks from church
But it’s not long before she’s buried in a mountain of bills, unfinished schoolwork, and
A novel about finding yourself, falling in love, and celebrating what makes you you
Mars is a secret adept — a person born with the ability to channel the magic that flows
And when his last mission ends in tragedy, Mars finally decides it’s time to escape to
But as Mars comes to know more about Fura, the Primer, and the true nature of the
He thrives off being the perfect prince as he prepares for the Investiture Ceremony on his 18th
But this closeted Crown Prince has just one tiny problem: he’s unsure how to tell his
His family’s ranch is his favorite place in the world, he loves his small town, and
When Edward and Billy meet by chance in New York City, they discover that they are long-lost
In a world where anyone can create a life-destroying curse, only one person has the power to
Kellen does not fully understand his talent, but helps those transformed maliciously — including Nettle
Recovered from entrapment in bird form, she is now his constant companion and closest ally
Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde…but as an autistic changeling left in the
In a heist gone wrong, the sisters make some unexpected allies and find themselves unraveling a mystery
Both sisters soon discover that the secrets of the faeries may be more valuable than any pile
But can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister and herself?
But to the rest of the world, Lagusa is a myth, its location shrouded in secrecy
Until the impossible happens — Lagusa is attacked by a Mistress sent to do Sothpike’s bidding with
The Mistress is looking for something, and she’s willing to let her Dambi destroy Lagusa to
Desperate to protect her home, Naira convinces her twin brother Nez and handsome refugee Kal to join
Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression
And when Faerry and his family move to the same street, the two start to realize that
They are both terrified of the forest at the end of Marsh Creek Lane
The Forest might hold the answers to the part of Faerry he feels is missing
Drizella and Anastasia only know one thing for certain: they will never end up like their mother,
A few years and one deceased stepfather later, the only version of Lady Tremaine that Drizella and
Anastasia and Drizella have promised themselves — and each other — that they’ll be different
They’ll find love, see the world, and never let their hearts go cold
For the first time in her life, Claire Emerson isn’t under a man’s control
And when King Washington descends on the small province, he brings with him his baseball team, Claire’
With few allies to support her, she determines her best chance at survival is earning the King’
Claire’s schemes quickly get out of hand, reminding her that it isn’t about who holds
Claire isn’t anyone’s muse, and if she can’t fix the system from within, she’
While she’s away at boarding school, however, she becomes a master at reinventing herself
Together the pair invents Robert Capa, a rich American photographer, and soon they’re selling “Capa’s”
As Gerda pushes closer and closer to the front line, eager to capture the lives and vibrant
Ro’s dream is to work in Silicon Valley, and she’ll do anything to prove to
Now thrust into a fake dating scenario, Ro and Miller must address the years of pain between
Since then, she’s been chasing the only lead she has: fellow genopath Kiran Lore, the same
She nearly caught up to him on Tundar before joining the infamous sled race alongside outcast Sena
But the storm — and the rebellion — are growing stronger by the minute
Instead, he offers her a deal: help with the revolution and he’ll reunite her with her
At 16, Perla is the youngest graduating senior of the hypercompetitive Monte Verde High
Then Perla doesn’t get in, and her meticulously planned future shatters
Soon, Perla is breaking into dorm rooms, crashing classes, and dodging questions from new friends about her
All it will take is ruthless organization, hard work, and her trademark unrelenting enthusiasm to pull it
But the moment Andie arrives, the rest of her plans go off the rails
Her rocky relationship with her boyfriend Connor only gets more complicated when she discovers he transferred out
with seafoam green eyes, is somehow disrupting all her ideas about love and relationships one sleep-deprived wisecrack
On his 16th birthday, a dormant curse kicked in and ripped away all his memories of his
He’s road-tripped up and down the East Coast looking for a way to get his memories
He doesn’t even know his true love’s name, but he feels the absence in his
When the creature in the woods sets its sights on them, their survival depends on the aid
Many of those targeted were Italians, Eastern Europeans, and other immigrants
When an armed robbery resulting in the death of two people broke headlines in Massachusetts, Nicola Sacco
A heated trial ensued, but through it all, the two men maintained their innocence
Protests sprang up around the world to fight for their lives
Sometimes the prettiest Instagram feeds mask the darkest, and bloodiest, secrets
Every moment of her life has been carefully planned and cultivated to complement her “imperfectly perfect” social
Grace, Summer’s camera-shy best friend; Adam, Summer’s gamer ex-boyfriend; Laney, Summer’s moody camp roommate;
Fifteen-year-old Kermit Sanders knows grief and its all-encompassing shadows
But then Kermit finds a mysterious invitation in his locker, signed anonymously with “-1
” He has no idea what he’s in for, but he shows up to find out
Dubbed the “Minus-One Club,” a group of his schoolmates has banded together as a form of moral
Slowly, Matt’s positive headstrong approach to life helps relieve Kermit of his constant despair
When Matt puts himself in danger by avoiding his feelings, Kermit must find the strength to not
After a cyberbullying incident at her school goes viral, Luna Iglesias finds herself at the heart of
And Luna increasingly begins to wonder if all these strange happenings are connected with the Retro Challenge
Unless she can figure out the truth behind who’s sabotaging the challenge, the next person to
Their mothers (life-long best friends) need them to be perfect, drama-free daughters when Penny’s mother becomes
Forced to live together as the Moms recover, the girls’ truce is essential in keeping everything — their
There’s one little hitch: Penny and Tate keep almost kissing
Told through two girls’ present and six moments from their past, this dynamic love story shows that
Sixteen-year-old Imani has the affinity for iron and is able to wield a dagger like no other
She has garnered the reputation as being the next great Shield for battling djinn, ghouls, and other
Soon after that, he disappeared, believed to have died beyond the Forbidden Wastes
Accompanied by other Shields, including Taha, a powerful beastseer who can control the minds of falcons, she
She wouldn’t trade Mia for anything, but there is never enough cash to go around
When their gentrifying Memphis neighborhood results in higher prices and then an eviction notice, B’onca’s
Desperate to make things right, B’onca forges a risky plan to help pay the bills
Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is dead
Not only is she beautiful, wealthy, and white, it’s her legacy — her grandmother, her mother, and
Everyone in Lovett knows Tinsley would do anything to carry on the McArthur tradition
No one is more certain of that than Duchess Simmons, Nova’s best friend
For Duchess, Nova’s crown was more than just a win for Nova
Duchess is convinced that Tinsley killed Nova — and that Tinsley is privileged enough to think she can
But Duchess’s father seems to be doing what he always does: fall behind the blue line
After struggling with depression during her senior year of high school, Ocean moves to New York City,
She also decides not to tell her mother (whom she loves very much but doesn’t want
She also meets a boy — Constantine Brave (a name that makes her laugh) — late one night on
Constant is a fellow student and a graffiti artist, and Constant and Ocean soon start corresponding via
But everything falls apart when Ocean goes home for Thanksgiving, Constant reveals his true character, Georgie and
So when the locals react with hostility to the very mention of her last name, Eva’s
Something sinister is lurking in the corners of Eva’s dreams, something that’s having devastating effects
People are dropping left and right, and Eva finds herself squarely in the town’s crosshairs
Only she can save the town from the dark power in her dreams — if the threat is
Four months have passed since his best friend Ed was killed by a white man in a
VZ’s determined to complete the video game Ed never finished and figure out who actually killed
With help from Diamond, the girl he’s crushing on at work, VZ falls into Ed’s
As the police close in on Jack, the game starts to uncover details that could lead to
Extreme discipline, they’ve been told, is what it takes to be college bound, to avoid the
With all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before
Delilah always keeps her messy, gooey insides hidden behind a wall of shrugs and yeah, whatevers
She goes with the flow — which is how she ends up singing in her friends’ punk band
These two, who have practically nothing in common, meet for the first time on New Year’s
Delilah wishes she were more like Reggie — open about what she likes and who she is, even
As their holiday meetings continue, the two begin to fall for each other
But what happens once they realize they’ve each fallen for a version of the other that
It feels like she’ll spend the rest of high school fantasizing on the sidelines while everyone
But when Freddie makes a move on Baylee and a virus shuts the world down, Baylee finds
Everything is happening at once, and she is left navigating the messy waters of love and desire
It helps that she’s observed her friends’ relationship drama, so she knows exactly what mistakes not
A 15-year-old boy wakes to find himself locked in a white, cube-shaped room
As the boy uncovers snippets of his story — an attempted abduction, a critial injury, a murder — it
But when some of the pieces don’t fit, how can he tell what’s real and
This is the life of the girls who compete in the Isle’s elite, all-female fighting sport
Then an attack from a powerful rival leaves the Mud without their top Bower, and Dirt is
Two track and field athletes find an unexpected but powerful love in this unapologetically blunt and unforgettably
Over being “Bash the Flash,” fastest sprinter in South Jersey
His dad is gone, his mom is dead, and his stepfather is clueless
When fate — in the form of a party that gets busted — brings these two very different boys
The only problem? Her best friend moved away; her parents don’t quite understand her love of
To escape her troubles, Ramona turns to cosplay and her original character, Rel, who gives her the
Embracing this confidence, she decides to strike up an email conversation with her crush, Caleb Wolfe, from
If you asked 17-year-old Cass Williams to describe herself, she’d happily tell you she’s fat,
But secretly retreating to her online life is starting to catch up with Cass
For one, no one in her real life knows her secret roleplay addiction is the reason her
Also? Cass has started catching feelings for Rowan Davies, her internet bestie…and Taylor might be catching
Cass must decide what to do — be honest and risk losing her safe space or keep it
As the youngest captain in the history of Palazzo security, Damian Venturi is expected to be ruthless
But three years spent fighting in a never-ending war have left him with deeper scars than he
As the body count climbs, the Palazzo is all too happy to look the other way — that
As they dive into the underbelly of Ombrazia, the pair will discover something more sinister — and far
When 17-year-old Eliza Lin’s essay about meeting the love of her life unexpectedly goes viral, her
Now she has the approval of her classmates at her new international school in Beijing, a career-launching
She’s never been in a relationship before, let alone in love
She’ll help him write his college applications if he poses as her boyfriend
But when her relationship with Caz starts feeling a little too convincing, all of Eliza’s carefully
Can she still follow her dreams if it means breaking her own heart?
When the boss denies Victoria an earned promotion to team leader in favor of Dean, her backstabbing
And when he entrusts the mission to her, kindness turns to mutual respect, turns to affection, turns
Not to mention his estranged best friend Yousuf, who’s coping with the shooting death of his
All he has to do now is convince his mother to let him try out for the
Not to mention somehow get Omar, the neighborhood bully, to leave him alone…
Plus, Miles’ new, slightly terrifying piano teacher keeps telling him that he’s playing like he “doesn’
But after Eric and Miles pretend to date so they can score an invite to a couples-only
After all, it’s not like he’s cool or confident or comfortable in his own skin
He’s not even good enough at piano to get his fellow competitors to respect him, especially
So why, when he’s with Eric, does it feel like the only person he’s ever
That is, until junior year struck: she got outed by a church elder and everything came undone —
Now, senior year is about to start and she is determined to come back faster and wiser
Except…well, with new friends, old flames, nosy school counselors, and teammates who don’t trust her
Because this is the year to prove to everyone — and most of all, herself — that she’s
She knows who to call, what to say, and how to make sure secrets stay where they
Except her own life, which was destroyed when her father, senator Skip Lerner, was arrested for an
So when she gets a job from an anonymous client called “Three” to follow her former best
As Hana uncovers a dark truth about her supposedly flawless classmates, she’s forced to face a
So when her mom gets engaged, Felicity sees the wedding as the perfect opportunity to show off
After Felicity’s long-distance friend Nancy offers up her family’s apple orchard as a venue, wedding
As someone on the asexual spectrum, what would dating even look like for her? And would Nancy
Scream meets Clown in a Cornfield in this young adult horror novel by national best-selling author Cale
He is the survivor of a horrific, and world-famous, murder spree known as the Lake Priest Massacre —
Sam had to do the unthinkable to survive that night, and it completely derailed his life
He sees college, and his new identity as a frat boy, as his best shot at living
A masked-murderer, one clearly inspired by the original, emerges, and starts stalking, and slaying, the frat boys
Elements of horror, mystery, and a gay romance make this a story readers won’t want to
On the island of Charmant, magic flows like bootlegged champagne, and fantasies can be bought for the
Luxe Revelle, star of her family’s fantastical show, knows the splendor is just an illusion
The moment Jamison Port sets foot in Charmant, he can’t shake the feeling of familiarity
But as he delves into the island’s secrets, he risks angering the wrong person and discovering
When Luxe and Jamison accidentally meet, the sparks that fly are more than her magical enchantments
But keeping secrets from powerful people is a dangerous game…one that could destroy them both
In her Jackson Heights neighborhood, she’s not Latinx enough
Ale wants nothing more than to escape the city for the wide-open spaces of the prestigious Wyder
But when a microaggression at school thrusts Ale into the spotlight — and into a discussion she didn’
Patricia Park’s coming-of-age novel about a multicultural teen caught between worlds, and the future she is
So when three more women disappear one stormy night, no one in Bishop is surprised
Until the wind kicks up a terrible secret at their mothers’ much-delayed memorial
With secrets come the lies each of the girls is forced to confront
After caring for the other girls, Delilah would like to move on with her boyfriend, Bennett, but
Jude, Whitney’s twin sister, would rather ignore it all, but the wind kicks up her secret
Something happened to their mothers and the townsfolk know what it was
But what the girls don’t know is that Bishop was founded on blood — and now it
Since Shelbi enrolled at Windward Academy as a senior and won’t be there very long, she
And there’s no doubt their connection has them both seeing stars…but the closer they get,
Daisy sees dead people — something impossible to forget in bustling, ghost-packed Toronto
She usually manages to deal with her unwanted ability, but she’s completely unprepared to be dumped
So when her mother inherits a secluded mansion in northern Ontario where she spent her childhood summers,
A decade later, Brittney is desperate to get out from under the thumb of her abusive mother,
But as she gets more wrapped up in the investigation, she’ll have to decide: if she
When high school sophomore Chris Moore is tragically killed in a car crash, Armstrong Prep is full
Who was at the wheel? And more importantly, who was at fault?
And their messy breakup has nothing to do with it — she can’t remember anything from that
Though his best friend convinces him to attend a meeting of Plus, a support group for LGBTQIA+
But after meeting easygoing Declan, Gael is welcomed into a new circle of friends who make him
As Gael’s friendship with Declan develops into something more, he finds himself caught between his mother’
In the summer of 1934, Joe Garbe arrives in Chicago with one goal: Earn enough money to get
Joe’s exposure to the surface of criminal Chicago pulls him into something darker than he could
When danger closes in — from gangsters, the police, and people he thought were friends — Joe needs to
But before he can figure out where to go, he has to decide who he wants to
Luckily, this disaster of a summer has another thing in store for her: a path of self-discovery
Along the way, she’ll encounter unexpected friends, a sweet romance, strength she didn’t know she
A “parenting influencer,” Britt shares details of her daughter’s life-pictures, intimate stories, insecurities, all-to a point
Natalie has only barely begun to grieve her best friend Jules’s death when Britt announces her
There’s so much more to Jules than Britt and her followers could ever know
In a world that feels distorted by celebrity and the manipulations of social media and public opinion,
Remind Me to Hate You Later is a moving account of grief, depression, complex relationships, love, and
A House with a terrifying appetite haunts a broken family in this atmospheric horror, perfect for fans
She’s always lied to fit in, so if she’s straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough,
She finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended
And at night Jade can’t ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves cryptic warnings:
Neither Ba nor her sweet sister Lily believe that there is anything strange happening
As she roots out the house’s rot, she must also face the truth of who she
Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice
But their magic isn’t enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father, and now
The task is impossible — Mar refuses to make a bargain, and there’s no way their magic
For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic
Eighteen-year-old Del is in a healthier place than she was a year and a half ago: She’
Her own suicide attempt is in the past, and living in San Francisco with her beloved aunt