Summer is heating up and so are our bookshelves, because we’re
halfway through the year (also, how?!) and so many of the books we’ve
been looking forward to
forever are finally on the horizon! Yeah, we’re looking at you,
Soul of Stars.
There is truly something for everyone on this list, and while you’re
packing your beach totes and vacation bags, or just trying to decide on a
read to cuddle up with on a warm summer night, we bet you’ll find
something you’ll love down below. Things are getting weird, twisted,
dramatic—and we’re here for all of it.
Check out the official list of our most anticipated new YA books hitting shelves in July!
The 16 Most Anticipated New YA Books
TO READ IN JULY
1. Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
Maia
Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a
girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger
summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia
poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her
secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to achieve her dream
and save her family. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve
tailors vying for the job.
Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in
challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia’s task is further
complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan,
whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her.
And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew
three magic gowns for the emperor’s reluctant bride-to-be, from the
laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With
this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far
reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and
finding more than she ever could have imagined.
2. Wilder Girls by Rory Power
It’s
been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under
quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty’s life out from under
her.
It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to
infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut
off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their
island home, the girls don’t dare wander outside the school’s fence,
where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the
cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.
But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even
if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond
the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there’s more to their
story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.
3. The Traitor’s Kingdom by Erin Beaty
This is book #3 in The Traitor’s Trilogy.
A new queen under threat.
An ambassador with a desperate scheme.
Two kingdoms with everything to lose.
Once a spy and counselor to the throne, Sage Fowler has secured
victory for her kingdom at a terrible cost. Now an ambassador
representing Demora, Sage is about to face her greatest challenge to
avoid a war with a rival kingdom.
After an assassination attempt destroys the chance for peace, Sage
and her fiancé Major Alex Quinn risk a dangerous plot to reveal the
culprit. But the stakes are higher than ever, and in the game of
traitors, betrayal is the only certainty.
4. Soul of Stars by Ashley Poston
This is the sequel and conclusion to Heart of Iron.
Once
Ana was an orphaned space outlaw. Then she was the Empress of the Iron
Kingdom. Now, thought dead by most of the galaxy after she escaped from
the dark AI program called the HIVE, Ana is desperate for a way to save
Di from the HIVE’s evil clutches and take back her kingdom.
Ana’s only option is to find Starbright, the one person who hacked
into the HIVE and lived to tell the tale. But when Ana’s desperation
costs the crew of the Dossier a terrible price, Ana and her friends are
sent spiraling through the most perilous reaches of the Iron Kingdom to
stop the true arbiter of evil in her world: an ancient world-ending
deity called the Great Dark.
Their journey will take their sharp-witted pilot, Jax, to the home he
never wanted to return to and the dangerous fate he left behind. And
when Robb finds out who Jax really is, he must contend with his own
feelings for the boy he barely knows, and question whether he truly
belongs with this group of outcasts.
When facing the worst odds, can Ana and her crew of misfits find a way to stop the Great Dark once and for all?
5. The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson
In
the tropical kingdom of Rhodaire, magical, elemental Crows are part of
every aspect of life…until the Illucian empire invades, destroying
everything.
That terrible night has thrown Princess Anthia into a deep
depression. Her sister Caliza is busy running the kingdom after their
mother’s death, but all Thia can do is think of all she has lost.
But when Caliza is forced to agree to a marriage between Thia and the
crown prince of Illucia, Thia is finally spurred into action. And after
stumbling upon a hidden Crow egg in the rubble of a rookery, she and
her sister devise a dangerous plan to hatch the egg in secret and get
back what was taken from them.
6. Queen of Ruin by Tracy Banghart
This is the sequel and conclusion to Grace and Fury.
Banished
by Asa at the end of Grace and Fury, Nomi and Malachi find themselves
powerless and headed towards their all-but-certain deaths. Now that Asa
sits on the throne, he will stop at nothing to make sure Malachi never
sets foot in the palace again. Their only hope is to find Nomi’s sister,
Serina, on the prison island of Mount Ruin. But when Nomi and Malachi
arrive, it is not the island of conquered, broken women that they
expected. It is an island in the grip of revolution, and Serina–polite,
submissive Serina–is its leader.
Betrayal, grief, and violence have changed both sisters, and the
women of Mount Ruin have their sights set on revenge beyond the confines
of their island prison. They plan to sweep across the entire kingdom,
issuing in a new age of freedom for all. But first they’ll have to get
rid of Asa, and only Nomi knows how.
Separated once again, this time by choice, Nomi and Serina must forge
their own paths as they aim to tear down the world they know, and build
something better in its place.
7. Immunity by Erin Bowman
This is the sequel and conclusion to Contagion.
Survivors
of a deadly planetary outbreak take on a new, sinister adversary in the
white-knuckle sequel to Contagion, which New York Times bestselling
author Amie Kaufman called “gripping, thrilling, and terrifying in equal
measures.”
Thea, Coen, and Nova have escaped from Achlys, only to find
themselves imprisoned on a ship they thought was their ticket to safety.
Now the nightmare they thought they’d left behind is about to be
unleashed as an act of political warfare, putting the entire galaxy at
risk.
To prevent an interstellar catastrophe, they’ll have to harness the
evil of the deadly Achlys contagion and deploy the only weapons they
have left: themselves.
8. Symptoms of a Heartbreak by Sona Charaipotra
Fresh
from med school, sixteen-year-old medical prodigy Saira arrives for her
first day at her new job: treating children with cancer. She’s always
had to balance family and friendships with her celebrity as the Girl
Genius―but she’s never had to prove herself to skeptical adult
co-workers while adjusting to real life-and-death stakes. And working in
the same hospital as her mother certainly isn’t making things any
easier.
But life gets complicated when Saira finds herself falling in love
with a patient: a cute teen boy who’s been diagnosed with cancer. And
when she risks her brand new career to try to improve his chances, it
could cost her everything.
It turns out “heartbreak” is the one thing she still doesn’t know how to treat.
9. The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen
A future chieftain
Fie abides by one rule: look after your own. Her Crow caste of
undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when
they’re called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the
payout of a lifetime.
A fugitive prince
When Crown Prince Jasimir turns out to have faked his death, Fie’s
ready to cut her losses—and perhaps his throat. But he offers a wager
that she can’t refuse: protect him from a ruthless queen, and he’ll
protect the Crows when he reigns.
A too-cunning bodyguard
Hawk warrior Tavin has always put Jas’s life before his, magically
assuming the prince’s appearance and shadowing his every step. But what
happens when Tavin begins to want something to call his own?
10. The Beckoning Shadow by Katharyn Blair
Vesper
Montgomery can summon your worst fear and turn it into a reality—but
she’s learned the hard way that it’s an addicting and dangerous power.
One wrong move and you could hurt someone you love.
But when she earns a spot in the Tournament of the Unraveling, where
competitors battle it out for a chance to rewrite the past, Vesper
finally has a shot to reverse the mistakes that have changed her
forever.
She turns to Sam Hardy, a former MMA fighter who’s also carrying a
tragedy he desperately wants to undo. However, helping heal Sam’s heart
will mean breaking her own, and the competition forces her to master her
powers—powers she has been terrified of since they destroyed her life.
11. How We Became Wicked by Alexander Yates
A plague, called Wicked, is pulsing through the world; and in its wake, it’s dividing the population into thirds:
The WICKED: Already infected by the droves of Singers, the
ultraviolet mosquito-like insects who carry the plague, the Wicked roam
the world freely. They don’t want for much—only to maim and dismember
you. But don’t worry: They always ask politely first.
The TRUE: The True live in contained, isolated communities. They’re
the lucky ones; they found safety from the Singers. And while the threat
of the Wicked may not be eliminated, for the True, the threat has
certainly been contained…
The VEXED: The Vexed are the truly fortunate ones—they survived the
sting of the Singers, leaving them immune. But they’re far from safe.
The Vexed hold the key to a cure, and there are those who will do
anything to get it.
12. Destroy All Monsters by Sam J. Miller
Solomon and Ash both experienced a traumatic event when they were twelve.
Ash lost all memory of that event when she fell from Solomon’s
treehouse. Since then, Solomon has retreated further and further into a
world he seems to have created in his own mind. One that insulates him
from reality, but crawls with foes and monsters… in both animal and
human form.
As Solomon slips further into the place he calls Darkside, Ash
realizes her only chance to free her best friend from his pain is to
recall exactly what happened that day in his backyard and face the
truth—together.
13. The Arrival of Someday by Jen Malone
Hard-charging
and irrepressible, eighteen-year-old Amelia Linehan could see a roller
derby opponent a mile away—and that’s while crouched down, bent over
skates, and zooming around a track at the speed of light.
What she couldn’t see coming, however, was the flare-up of the rare
liver disorder she was born with. But now it’s the only thing she—and
everyone around her—can think about.
With no guarantee of a viable organ transplant, everything Amelia’s
been sure of—like college plans or the possibility of one day falling in
love—has become a huge question mark, threatening to drag her down into
a sea of what-ifs she’s desperate to avoid. Then a friend from the past
shows up. With Will, it’s easy to forget about what’s lurking between
the lightness of their time together. She feels alive when all signs
point elsewhere.
But with the odds decidedly not in her favor, Amelia knows this feeling can’t last forever. After all, what can?
14. Maybe This Time by Kasie West
Weddings.
Funerals. Barbecues. New Year’s Eve parties. Name the occasion, and
Sophie Evans will be there. Well, she has to be there. Sophie works for
the local florist, so she can be found at every big event in her small
hometown, arranging bouquets and managing family dramas.
Enter Andrew Hart. The son of the fancy new chef in town, Andrew is
suddenly required to attend all the same events as Sophie. Entitled,
arrogant, preppy Andrew. Sophie just wants to get her job done and
finish up her sketches so she can apply to design school. But every time
she turns around, there is Andrew, getting in her way and making her
life more complicated. Until one day she wonders if maybe complicated
isn’t so bad after all…
Told over the course of one year and following Sophie from event to
event, this delightful novel from master of romantic comedy Kasie West
shows how love can blossom in unexpected places.
15. Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells
Raised
among the ruins of a conquered mountain nation, Maren dreams only of
sharing a quiet life with her girlfriend Kaia—until the day Kaia is
abducted by the Aurati, prophetic agents of the emperor, and forced to
join their ranks. Desperate to save her, Maren hatches a plan to steal
one of the emperor’s coveted dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold.
If Maren is to have any hope of succeeding, she must become an
apprentice to the Aromatory—the emperor’s mysterious dragon trainer. But
Maren is unprepared for the dangerous secrets she uncovers: rumors of a
lost prince, a brewing rebellion, and a prophecy that threatens to
shatter the empire itself. Not to mention the strange dreams she’s been
having about a beast deep underground…
With time running out, can Maren survive long enough to rescue Kaia
from impending death? Or could it be that Maren is destined for
something greater than she could have ever imagined?
16. The Year They Fell by David Kreizman
Josie,
Jack, Archie, Harrison, and Dayana were inseparable as preschoolers.
But that was before high school, before parties and football and getting
into the right college. Now, as senior year approaches, they’re
basically strangers to each other.
Until they’re pulled back together when their parents die in a plane
crash. These former friends are suddenly on their own. And they’re the
only people who can really understand how that feels.
To survive, the group must face the issues that drove them apart,
reveal secrets they’ve kept since childhood, and discover who they’re
meant to be. And in the face of public scrutiny, they’ll confront
mysteries their parents left behind–betrayals that threaten to break the
friendships apart again.