24 of the Best New YA Novels of 2021

Ryan La Sala's Be Dazzled is a queer love story about second chances and nurturing your creativity. Raffy is on a mission to craft the perfect cosplay look in hopes of earning a sponsorship and recognition for his work — there's just one problem: his main competition is his ex-boyfriend, Luca.

Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant is so charming, it feels like it's destined to become a Netflix rom-com in the vein of To All the Boys I've Loved Before. At 16, Tessa lives and breathes romance. Not only does she love to read romantic books, she pours her heart into writing swoony tales, too. But when she gets accepted to a creative arts program, her inspiration seems to disappear, leaving her best friend to send her on a quest to find her own romance-novel-style happily ever after to get her groove back.

Set against the backdrop of the Agon, an event that occurs every seven years and finds nine Greek gods turned mortal and hunted by people eager to murder them for their own gain, Lore by Alexandra Bracken is an epic fantasy that blends elements of mythology with modern world touches. Years ago, Lore left her world and the Agon behind and settled in New York City, but when two gods seek out her help, she finds herself drawn back into the deadly ritual all over again.

Writers Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite craft a heartbreaking and thought-provoking story in One of the Good Ones. After social activist Kezi Smith is killed, her family is left to reckon not only with their loss, but with the way Kezi is depicted by the media. Her sister Happi is particularly frustrated by the way Kezi is depicted as "one of the good ones," and she embarks on a journey to honour her sister's memory in a way that feels more truthful to who she truly was.

Amy Noelle Parks's debut YA rom-com The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss is the delightful story of maths-obsessed teen Evie Beckham, who decides she's ready to try dating. But her desire to branch out and find her first love takes a surprising turn when she becomes caught between the new guy at school and her best friend, who has been nurturing a crush on her for years.

If you're still obsessing over Netflix's Tiny Pretty Things, Roman + Jewel by Dana L. Davis should be your next read. Jerzie Jhames wants nothing more than to land the lead in Broadway's hip-hop update of Romeo and Juliet, but when she becomes the understudy to the lead instead, things get complicated fast.

Set 17 years before the events of The Hate U Give, Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas is a story about what it means to be a young Black man in America. At 17, Maverick is dealing drugs for a gang to help his mother, who is already working two jobs. When he discovers he has a son, Seven, Maverick decides it's time to go straight, but he soon finds extricating himself from the gang isn't simple.

Emma Lord's second YA novel You Have a Match is a warm story about family, friendship, and young love. When Abby signs up for a DNA service to impress her crush, she never expects to discover she has an older sister, Savannah, but that's exactly what happens. Now she not only has to find a way to get to know the newest member of her family, she also has to unravel the secret behind why her parents gave Savannah up for adoption.

Set in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1954, Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo follows 17-year-old Lily Hu as she enters the lesbian bar the Telegraph Club and begins a journey of self-discovery that's as necessary as it is dangerous. Soon, Lily falls in love with Kathleen Miller, and finds herself risking everything to be with Kathleen at a time when the Red Scare is engulfing America.

Maxine Kaplan's Wench is a fiercely feminist fantasy about one barmaid's quest to defy expectations and convince the queen she deserves to run the bar she's worked at her whole life after the death of her guardian. Her journey will be a treacherous one that includes encounters with bands of thieves and a magical feather, but it will all be worth it if it means maintaining her independence.

Wider Than the Sky by Katherine Rothschild is a lyrical novel about family secrets. When twin sisters Sabine and Blythe's father dies, their mother moves them into a mansion owned by a man named Charlie. They soon learn that their father and Charlie were lovers, leaving them to wonder if they actually knew their father at all.

The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe is a thrilling story of a young con-woman who ends up in the middle of a bank robbery alongside her girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend. (And it seems this book is so good that Netflix is already turning it into a movie starring Millie Bobby Brown, according to Deadline, so it should definitely be at the top of your TBR this month.)

Dearest Josephine by Caroline George is a love story that spans centuries. In 2021, Josie De Clare finds a collection of letters from Elias Roch, a man in 1821 who met a woman once and then proceeded to write her dozens of letters. Of course, Josie falls hard for Elias, even though they're separated by time itself.

Crystal Maldonado's Fat Chance, Charlie Vega is a beautiful coming-of-age story about a young woman who is constantly told she's too fat, too brown, and too loud. But Charlie is tired of listening to everyone's voice except for her own, so when she discovers her new boyfriend asked out her best friend first, she makes it her mission to show the world who she truly is.

Maria E. Andreu's Love in English is the story of a young woman finding her way in America. At 16, Ana moves from Argentina to the United States and begins taking classes to master all of the weird quirks of the English language. Along the way, she finds herself torn between the cute boy in her maths class and a fellow student in her ESL course who is going through many of the same experiences she is as they adjust to life in a new country.

Courtney Summers, the bestselling author of Sadie, returns with a new twisted thriller in The Project. Budding journalist Lo is determined to extricate her sister from The Unity Project, a cult that's gained widespread acceptance due to its charitable donations. But in order to save her sister, Lo will have to infiltrate the cult, which proves to be far more seductive than she ever imagined.

This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria is a refreshing YA fantasy novel that doesn't revolve around romantic relationships. The story's main character, Karis, is ace, and her primary goal is to find her brother while defying the Scriptorium, a governing body that's only goal is to unlock an ancient magic in order to release an army of automatons.

Rose Szabo's gothic fantasy What Big Teeth is a fascinating debut about the lengths people will go to for their families. After she leaves boarding school in the aftermath of an accident, Eleanor returns home to discover her family members have become actual monsters that stalk the woods at night. Rather than flee, she becomes determined to save her family and confront the darkness that lives inside of her.

Mesmerising and romantic, Yesterday Is History by Kosoko Jackson follows Andre Cobb, whose recent liver transplant also gave him the ability to time travel. Soon, Andre is bouncing between 1969, where he's falling for a boy named Michael, and the modern day, where his donor's brother struggles to set his grief aside long enough to teach Andre how to use his new power.

As Far As You'll Take Me by Phil Stamper is a moving book about self-discovery and the search for a place to call home. When Marty arrives in London, he can't wait to finally be himself, but while he quickly finds his first boyfriend and enjoys bouncing around Europe, he discovers he can't stop yearning for home.

A football accident leaves a young man named Ash bouncing through universes in Neal Shusterman's powerful and twisty Game Changer. With each leap, Ash sees the world from new perspectives, gaining an understanding of people from all walks of life. There's just one problem: he doesn't know how to stop moving through dimensions and return home.

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le is a sweet romance that will leave readers swooning. For as long as they can remember, Bao Nguyen and Linh Mai's families have been feuding, but despite their parents' disdain for each other, when Bao and Linh bump into one other by chance, they develop a serious case of feelings that they can't deny.

Bethany Mangle's debut Prepped is a quirky love story set in the world of doomsday preppers. Becca Aldaine dreams of escaping her family's community of preppers as soon as she possibly can, but when a disaster leaves her parents even more panicked about the future than they were before, Becca turns to a fellow prepper who is ready to run away and dare to see the world in a positive light for a change.

Namina Forna is the fresh voice the world of YA fantasy has been missing. The Gilded Ones kicks off a new series where a group of girls who are outcasts because of their blood band together as warriors. The story centres on Deka, who leaves her village behind to journey to the capital where dangerous battles and political intrigue awaits her and her new comrades.