Best New Young Adult Books 2023
Embark on an exhilarating journey with the best new young adult books of 2023!
Bursting with adventure, romance, and unforgettable characters, this year’s lineup offers something for every reader. From dystopian thrillers and epic fantasy sagas to contemporary dramas and poignant coming-of-age stories, these top picks are guaranteed to keep you turning pages late into the night.
For the best of years past, visit the Best New Books for Kids.
You can find these best new young adult books at your local library or through the links provided for your convenience.
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Join us as we explore the rich tapestry of voices and narratives that make up the vibrant landscape of young adult literature, where every book has the power to transport you to new worlds and spark your imagination.
Best New Young Adult Books 2023
The Davenports delivers a totally escapist, swoon-worthy romance while offering a glimpse into a period of African American history often overlooked.
Take a peek inside Phoebe’s Diary into a bracingly honest illustrated account of the explosive turmoil and joy of adolescence, based on the author’s actual teenage journals.​
Master storyteller and internationally bestselling author Christopher Paolini returns to the World of Eragon in this stunning epic fantasy set a year after the events of the Inheritance Cycle.
Join Dragon Rider — and fan favorite — Murtagh and his dragon as they confront a perilous new enemy!
Return to the opulent world of Elfhame, filled with intrigue, betrayal, and dangerous desires, with this first book of a captivating new duology from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black.Â
A modern-day gay Emma, with the spikey social critique of Austen plus the lush over-the-top romance of Bridgerton.
A dramatic story of duplicity and resistance, betrayal and loyalty, set against the backdrop of World War II, by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Light in Hidden Places.
The Inheritance Games meets Ocean’s Eleven in this cinematic heist thriller where a cutthroat competition brings together the world’s best thieves and one thief is playing for the highest stakes of all: her mother's life.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Better Than the Movies, this entertaining rom-com in the vein of She’s All That and 10 Things I Hate About You follows a teen girl who unwittingly finds herself at the center of a bet while working at a waterpark.
Part dark gothic fantasy, part journey into the bizarre, this delicious blending of tall tales and Latin American surrealism will haunt you as you devour it!
Gideon the Ninth meets the Game of Thrones White Walkers in this dark, swiftly paced young adult fantasy about a disgraced ghost-fighting warrior who must journey into a haunted wasteland to rescue a kidnapped prince.
Heartstopper meets A Knight’s Tale in this queer medieval rom com YA debut about love, friendship, and being brave enough to change the course of history.
A Black teen desperate to regain her Ivy League acceptance enters an elite competition only to discover the stakes aren’t just high, they’re deadly, in this spine-chilling thriller.
In this clever and swoonworthy YA debut from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, life’s moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart.
A poignant coming-of-age story told in two alternating voices: a California teenager railing against the Vietnamese culture, juxtaposed with her father as an eleven-year-old boat person on a harrowing and traumatic refugee journey from Vietnam to the United States.
The explosive third and final thrilling installment in the acclaimed One of Us... series.
Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A Curse for True Love, the breathtaking conclusion to Stephanie Garber’s #1 New York Times bestselling Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy.
Four brothers. Two missions. One explosive read. Jennifer Lynn Barnes returns to the world of her #1 bestselling, TikTok sensation Inheritance Games trilogy, and the stakes have never been higher.Â
#1 New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper's Daughter Angeline Boulley takes us back to Sugar Island in this high-stakes thriller about the power of discovering your stolen history.
The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in What the River Knows, Isabel Ibañez's lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt and filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.
When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.