It's always tricky to narrow down the month's the best YA books [1], but May is so full of amazing reads, it was extra difficult this time around. Whether you love getting lost in epic fantasies or falling in love with sweet rom-coms, May's best YA books have a little bit of everything. With stories set in the distant future, at a family resort, and on a holiday to New Delhi, these transportive reads are better than a holiday (and cheaper, too). Prepare to load up your TBR with new releases, because these 13 diverse YA books [2] are all must reads. (And just in case you need even more books to add to your TBR, don't forget to check out the best new YA releases of April [3].)
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
Better Than the Movies [4] by Lynn Painter is a book for anyone who loves staying up late watching rom-coms. For as long as Liz Buxbaum can remember, she's been madly in love with her school's ultimate cool guy, Michael. In an effort to get Michael to notice her, Liz decides to team up with her very annoying next-door neighbour Wes, who happens to be Michael's friend. But as their scheming intensifies, Liz begins to realise Wes isn't as annoying as she initially thought.
Out May 4
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney
Joya Goffney's Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry [5] is a funny and emotional story of one teen's journey to conquer her fears. Quinn loves to make lists, because every list is an outlet for her fears and worries. And that's why she's left reeling when her journal goes missing and one of her lists ends up on Instagram alongside a challenge: face seven of her fears, or have her identity exposed to the entire school. Now Quinn has no choice but to face the things that scare her the most if she has any chance of tracking down her blackmailer.
Out May 4
Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee
Luck of the Titanic [6] by Stacey Lee is a historical novel that reframes the sinking of the Titanic [7] from the perspective of a British-Chinese acrobat named Valora Luck. Valora wants nothing more than to leave England behind for a future as a circus performer in New York with her twin brother, but she's turned away when she attempts to board the ill-fated ship. Still, she persists and sneaks aboard as a stowaway, where her dreams of a new life will soon be overtaken by her need to survive the doomed voyage.
Out May 4
Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee
Meet Cute Diary [8] by Emery Lee is a charming rom-com about a transgender boy's first love. Noah Ramirez's popular blog, the Meet Cute Diary, chronicles trans love stories. The only trouble is, he made all of the stories up. When the truth is exposed, Noah wants to prove to his readers that the trans happily ever afters he write about do happen in real life, and he enlists a fellow student named Drew to help him finally tell a real love story to his readers.
Out May 4
The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He
The Ones We're Meant to Find [9] by Joan He is a breathtaking sci-fi novel about sisters separated by an ocean. In a future where global warming has ravaged the Earth, Celia is living alone on an island and desperate to return to her sister. Elsewhere, her sister, Kasey Mizuhara, believes Celia is lost forever, but she can't help but hold out hope Celia might be found alive. As she sets out to retrace her sister's steps, Kasey is about to discover her sister was keeping secrets from her — but then Kacey has secrets, too.
Out May 4
Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
Looking to get lost in an engrossing fantasy world? Then Realm Breaker [10] by Victoria Aveyard is the book for you. As a darkness grows in Allward, Corayne an-Amarat discovers she's the only person who can save the world from destruction, but that doesn't mean she won't have help from a group of unlikely allies.
Out May 4
Sunkissed by Kasie West
Inspired by Dirty Dancing, Kasie West's latest rom-com Sunkissed [11] will transport readers to a family resort where a young woman named Avery is about to fall hard for a member of the staff named Brooks. Soon, Avery's dreaded summer holiday turns into a journey of self-discovery and love that could take her somewhere entirely unexpected.
Out May 4
Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler
Cool for the Summer [12] by Dahlia Adler is the story of a teen named Lara whose life is feeling pretty perfect: she's finally dating the cool football player of her dreams, she has a fun job, and she has a great group of friends. However, her summer spent with a girl named Jasmine is about to make her reevaluate her entire life when her summer girlfriend transfers to her school.
Out May 11
From Little Tokyo, With Love by Sarah Kuhn
From Little Tokyo, With Love [13] by Sarah Kuhn is a modern fairy tale about an orphan named Rika, who is working for her aunt and two cousins. And although that may sound like the beginning of a Cinderella story, Rika loves her family, and the last thing she ever expects is to find herself on a journey to discover whether or not America's favourite rom-com star, Grace Kimura, is actually her mother.
Out May 11
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
Prepare to be transported back to the '70s in Anya Blau's riveting coming of age tale Mary Jane [14]. Set in 1970s Baltimore, the novel follows 14-year-old Mary Jane as she finds herself torn between her conservative upbringing and the progressive world full of rock stars and political activism she finds in the home of the hip couple she's nannying for over the summer.
Out May 11
The Marvelous Mirza Girls by Sheba Karim
After the loss of her aunt, Noreen embarks on a gap year with her mother in New Delhi in Sheba Karim's emotional and heartwarming The Marvelous Mirza Girls [15]. Shortly after her arrival in the bustling city, Noreen meets the handsome Kabir, who introduces her to Indian culture — including Bollywood and Sufi saints — and inspires her to explore an entirely new side of herself.
Out May 18
Off the Record by Camryn Garrett
Off the Record [16] by Camryn Garrett is a powerful story grounded in the #MeToo movement. At 17, Josie Wright wins a competition to write a profile for a celebrity magazine, but what starts as a simple article turns into something much larger when women begin sharing their stories of harassment and abuse at the hands of a powerful man with her. Now Josie will have to decide whether or not to expose the truth, even if it could mean ending her journalism career just as it's beginning.
Out May 18
Pumpkin by Julie Murphy
Julie Murphy wraps up her Dumplin series with Pumpkin [17], a book with a Texas-size heart that shines the spotlight on aspiring drag queen Waylon Russell Brewer. As a fat, gay teen living in a small Texas town, Waylon never fully feels like he can be himself. But when his audition tape for a popular drag TV series is shown to the entire school resulting in Waylon being nominated for prom queen as a joke, he decides to end his senior year by going full Waylon and winning that crown.
Out May 25