The Best New YA Books of April 2025

Spring feels particularly volatile this year, from the chaotic weather that seems to be slinging most of the country from oppressive heat to unseasonable cold on what feels like a day-to-day basis, to the larger political scene unfolding around us, from expansive protests to an unstable stock market. At least, as ever, we can always count on books to be there for us when we need them, and YA fans get a wider variety of genres to pick from than usual this month.

Part of the reason YA fiction speaks to so many types of readers is simply that it includes so many types of stories. And this April is a prime example of this fact: From a Regency era romance to a future-set dystopian thriller, a meditation on the afterlife, and multiple vampire novels, there’s truly a bit of everything heading our way.

Here are the best new YA books hitting shelves this April. 

Lady Knight by Amalie Howard

Release Date: April 1 from Joy Revolution

Why We’re Excited:  The second installment in contemporary romance novelist Amalie Howard’s YA historical romance series, the Regency-set Lady Knight follows the story of a duke’s daughter whose determination to defy society’s rules leads to her joining a clandestine social club for rebellious girls. But when her participation is discovered, she’ll have to put her trust in an infamous rake (who also happens to be her older brother’s best friend) to help save her reputation. 

Publisher’s Description: Lady Zenobia “Zia” Osborn, a duke’s daughter, is frustrated that her entire life has been predetermined. What good is skill or intelligence if one is forced to suffocate it because of one’s sex? She’d much rather make her mark on the world than bat her eyelashes for the ton.

Zia only comes alive in the Lady Knights, a clandestine social club for rebellious girls. In it, she is free to compose music, fence, read controversial literature, and save orphans from destitution by any means necessary. Aside from her closest confidantes, no one knows about Zia’s indecorous other life. . . .

Until Mr. Rafi Nasser, a rogue with secrets of his own, finds out. Shocked yet intrigued by his best friend’s younger sister, he agrees to keep Zia’s secret—if only to help her avoid utter scandal.

Holy Terrors by Margaret Owen

Release Date: April 1 from Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) 

Why We’re Excited: The final installment in Margaret Owens’ thoroughly excellent Little Thieves trilogy, Holy Terrors brings everything full circle in a jam-packed, chaotic, and deeply satisfying story about justice, power, and the long-term impacts of the choices we make. 

Publisher’s Description: It’s been nearly two years since Vanja brought down the cult she started, and she’s still paying the price. As the Pfennigeist, she bucks the law in order to help the desperate and haunt the corrupt all across the empire―and no matter what, she works alone.

But an impossible killer is tearing through royalty, and leaving Vanja’s signature red penny on every victim. Suddenly the Pfennigeist is no longer a folk hero but a nightmare. When even the Blessed Empress falls, the empire’s seven royal families must gather to elect her successor within a matter of weeks, or risk the collapse of reality itself… even though it puts every house in the killer’s sights.

Vanja tells herself she’s wading into the royalty’s vicious games only to save the name she made, and the loved ones also in jeopardy. But the Order of Prefects has also put their sharpest official on the case, the one who swore he’d always find Vanja―until she broke his heart. Journeyman Prefect Emeric Conrad may no longer be the boy Vanja knew, but they’ll have to work together one last time to have any chance of surviving the deadly catastrophe coming for them all.

Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell

Release Date: April 1 from Wednesday Books

Why We’re Excited: An immersive debut YA vampire fantasy that asks what it truly means to sacrifice for love, Where Shadows Meet is told across dual timelines and features a captivating pair of lead voices in a star-crossed romance.

Publisher’s Description: Once long ago, a girl named Favre sacrificed her wings for love. Thana, the young goddess she so willingly gave them up for, sacrificed that same love for power. But everything has a cost.

Favre never got over the loss of her wings. And Thana’s choices led to a life of eternal night, and later, their destruction. Favre has bided her time ever since, waiting for the chance to resurrect the girl she loves who turned her into the creature she hates.

Now, a thousand years later, Leyla, the crown princess of a vampire nation, must travel to Nekros, the island of the dead, when her best friend is captured during an attack on her nation’s capital. But nothing is as it seems. The closer she gets to her goal, the more her body seems to work against her, and the more she risks awakening an ancient evil and destroying everything she holds dear.

Boys with Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell

Release Date: April 8 from Roaring Brook Press

Why We’re Excited: Described as a cross between We Were Liars and The Raven Boys, this addictively twisty dark academia YA story is romantic, sinister, and just the slightest bit toxic.

Publisher’s Description: Seventeen-year-old Marin James has spent her entire life living in the shadow of the exclusive Huntsworth Academy. And when her cousin’s dead body is found in a creek on school property, Marin knows exactly who’s to blame: Adrian Hargraves and Henry Wu, the enigmatic yet dangerously alluring leaders of the school’s social elite.

Swapping her ripped jeans for a crisp prep school skirt, Marin infiltrates Huntsworth to seek justice. But her quest is quickly muddied by a confusing attraction to her new life, and to the two dysfunctional and depraved boys who somehow understand her better than anyone ever has.

When Marin uncovers an otherworldly secret the boys are hiding within Huntsworth’s ivied gates, the lines between right and wrong, love and hate, and nightmare and reality begin to crumble — and nothing is as it seems.

Welcome to Huntsworth Academy.

Fearless by Lauren Roberts

Release Date: April 8 from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Why We’re Excited: The highly anticipated conclusion to Lauren Roberts’s wildly popular Powerless trilogy sees Paedyn and Kai return to the kingdom of Ilya. Kitt is newly king, grieving his father’s death, and planning to marry Paedyn despite his brother’s obvious feelings for her. How this will all end is a question we’re all desperate to know the answer to.

Publisher’s Description: Paedyn Gray and Kai Azer return to the Kingdom of Ilya… ​And Paedyn has a life-altering choice to make. Whatever she decides will determine her fate – and the fate of those around her – forever. ​

In the ultimate battle of love and loyalty, who wins?

The Summer I Ate the Rich by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

Release Date: April 22 from Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Why We’re Excited: Inspired by Haitian zombie lore, this modern-day YA fable about a young woman who uses her cooking skills to get back at wealthy elites is a timely exploration of wealth and class disparities.

Publisher’s Description: Brielle Petitfour loves to cook. But with a chronically sick mother and bills to pay, becoming a chef isn’t exactly a realistic career path.

When Brielle’s mom suddenly loses her job, Brielle steps in and uses her culinary skills to earn some extra money. The rich families who love her cooking praise her use of unique flavors and textures, which keep everyone guessing what’s in Brielle’s dishes. The secret ingredient? Human flesh.

Murder Between Friends by Liz Lawson

Release Date: April 22 from Delacorte Press

Why We’re Excited: The latest twisty teen thriller from the co-author of The Agathas (and former Paste contributor!) Liz Lawson, Murder Between Friends follows three childhood besties torn apart by the murder of a teacher—and the testimony that put one of their brothers behind bars for the crime. But with the alleged killer about to walk free, the ex-friends are going to have to face the past—and one another—to find out if he’s truly guilty. 

Publisher’s Description: Grace, Henry, and Ally grew up together on the same block. They used to be best friends–until Grace’s testimony put Henry’s brother, Jake, away for killing their English teacher. Now, two years later, Ally and Henry hate Grace, and Grace is doubting what she thinks she saw that night.

It feels like everyone’s getting a second chance, then, when due to a mistrial, Jake is suddenly released. And Henry knows his brother is innocent, but when Grace reaches out to say she’s rethinking what she saw the night of the murder, Jake’s reaction is confusing. He doesn’t want Henry—or Grace–getting involved.

For Ally not getting involved isn’t an option, and there’s nothing Grace can say to convince Ally she’s not the enemy. But can Ally afford to push Grace out when she’s one of the only other people willing to believe in Jake’s innocence?

The clock is ticking. Jake’s new trial date is about to be set, and he’s sure to be found guilty again unless there’s new evidence to prove he’s innocent. Grace, Henry, and Ally are going to have to decide whether you can trust an old friend now that they’re your enemy.

The Corruption of Hollis Brown by K. Ancrum

Release Date: April 22 from Harper Collins

Why We’re Excited: One part story of working class strike amid small-town decline, one part paranormal horror turned romance, The Corruption of Hollis Brown is like no other YA book you will read this month. Yes, the premise is incredibly strange—a queer boy stuck in poverty falls in love with the ghost that possesses him—but it also miraculously just works.

Publisher’s Description: Hollis Brown is stuck. Born to a blue-collar American Dream, Hollis lives in a rotting small town where no one can afford to leave. Hollis’s only bright spots are his two best friends, cool girls Annie and Yulia, and the thrill of fighting his classmates.

As if his circumstances couldn’t get worse, a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger named Walt results in a frightening trap. After unknowingly making a deal at the crossroads, Hollis finds himself losing control of his body and mind, falling victim to possession. Walt, the ghost making a home inside him, has a deep and violent history rooted in the town Hollis grew up in and he has unfinished business to take care of.

As Walt and Hollis begin working together to put Walt’s spirit to rest, an unspeakable bond forms between them, and the boys begin falling for one another in unexpected ways. But it’s only a matter of time before Hollis’s best friends begin to notice that something about Hollis isn’t quite…right.

With the threat of a long-overdue exorcism looming before them, will Walt and Hollis be able to protect their love and undo the curse that turned their town from a garden of possibility into a place where dreams go to die?

CALM by S.J. Baker

Release Date: April 22 from Neem Tree Press

Why We’re Excited: A propulsive dystopian thriller set in a near-future Britain where a drug added to the water supply keeps the population calm and docile, CALM is full of morally gray yet deeply compelling characters, and an incisive examination of human emotion. 

Publisher’s Description: In a near-future Britain, societyʼs calm facade conceals a sinister truth: the state maintains its control by meddling with the nationʼs water supply. The result? A population lulled into apathy. Lulled, apart from a courageous few known as the Resistors.

New Resistor Owyn and lifelong Resistor Tiegan face parallel struggles in their fierce quest for freedom. Spurred on by the promise of a mass Resistance, they ignite a chain of events that shakes the foundations of Britainʼs oppressive regime.

One thing is clear: the price of freedom is higher than they ever imagined.

Voice of the Ocean by Kelsey Impicciche

Release Date: April 22 from Blackstone Publishing, Inc.

Why We’re Excited: Inspired by The Little Mermaid, Kelsey Impicchiche’s debut takes us into the underwater world of sirens, where a young princess is desperate to prove her worth. A familiar coming-of-age story about self-acceptance and personal growth is deepened by its complex worldbuilding, which depicts the sirens’ complex history and tradition.

Publisher’s Description: As the youngest daughter of the siren queen, Celeste’s life is tightly controlled. Desperate to prove her worth and escape her destiny–trapped in the palace as a royal figurehead–she intends to join the Chorus, an elite group of siren warriors. With the final test on the horizon, Celeste feels the pressure to finally gain control over her temperamental Song–a magic gifted by the Goddess herself. But when Celeste encounters a seemingly harmless ship in Staria’s waters, helmed by the intriguing Prince Raiden Sharp, her path veers toward forbidden waters.

Believing the handsome sailor to be innocent of any wrongdoing, Celeste defies siren law to save Raiden’s life–despite knowing he is the son of a king who has murdered many of her kindred. The penalty for Celeste’s betrayal should be death, but the queen offers her an alternative: right her wrong by assassinating the prince. Determined to first discover the truth behind the prince’s clandestine mission, Celeste agrees to become human.

But the human world is nothing like she expected, nor is the prince the charming and noble man she assumed him to be. Disguised among Raiden’s ragtag crew, she searches for the truth. But as Celeste finds her place aboard the ship, friendships–and attraction–begin to grow. Will Celeste be able to do what must be done? Or will her choices unravel a kingdom, devastating sirens and humans alike?

What Comes After by Katie Bayerl

Release Date: April 29 from Nancy Paulsen Books

Why We’re Excited: This story about a teen who dies on the way to the SATs and has 90 days to figure out what happened to her is both biting and heartfelt. Mari’s time in the pseudo-spiritual way station known as Paradise Gate is distinctly Good Place coded as she deals with her unfinished business with her recently deceased mother, but What Comes After about letting go of the things that keep us stuck is powerful. 

Publisher’s Description: No one could be more disappointed about Mari’s sudden death than Mari, herself. And if she ever thought about the afterlife, she certainly didn’t think it would be a suburban enclave called Paradise Gate or that the biggest problem to plague her in life would follow her into the great beyond: her recently deceased mother, Faye. But that is exactly who greets her when Mari opens her eyes in the In Between—where the newly dead with no religious affiliation come to work out the unfinished business of their lives so they can ascend to whatever’s next.

Mari realizes quickly Faye is her unfinished business and in order to ascend and join her loving grandparents, she’ll have to make peace with and forgive her dysfunctional mother for being no mother at all  But there’s too much to forgive: never holding down a steady job, never having a stable home, Mari having to constantly change schools and in the end, Faye choosing her criminal boyfriend over Mari.

It’s a lot to sort through, but Mari tries to keep her eye on the ball—attending classes at the Center like Youga and sending grief scarves sailing in Expressive Arts to move her vibe tracker from an angry unsettled red to an ascend-worthy green—all the while trying to remember how she died and deal with Faye, who, of course, is in danger of being kicked out of Paradise Gate altogether. But then Mari discovers in addition to mother drama, there’s even friend drama and boy drama to be found in the afterlife and none are good for her vibes. Even worse is the suspicion that Paradise Gate isn’t at all what it purports to be…and revolution may be afoot.

Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter and Bluesky at @LacyMB