There are SO many awesome books coming out in 2021. So I want to share some of the most-anticipated YA book releases for winter 2021!
I’m including books releasing in January, February, and March, and focusing on the mystery/thriller, contemporary, romance, and fantasy genres.
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Young Adult/YA Book Releases Winter 2021
One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite
Genre: YA Contemporary
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“The Hate U Give meets Get Out in this honest and powerful exploration of prejudice in the stunning novel from sister-writer duo Maika and Maritza Moulite, authors of Dear Haiti, Love Alaine.”
Release date: January 5th, 2021
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
Genre: YA Fantasy
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“From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Darkest Minds comes a sweepingly ambitious, high-octane tale of power, destiny, love and redemption amongst Greek gods living as mortals.”
Release date: January 5th, 2021
You Have a Match by Emma Lord
Genre: YA Contemporary/Romance
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“From the beloved author of Tweet Cute comes Emma Lord’s You Have a Match, a YA novel of family, friendship, romance and sisterhood.”
Release date: January 12th, 2021
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
Genre: YA Contemporary
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“International phenomenon Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood.”
Release date: January 12th, 2021
The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe
Genre: YA Contemporary/Thriller
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“A slick, twisty YA page-turner about the daughter of a con artist who is taken hostage in a bank heist.”
Release date: January 26th, 2021
What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo
Genre: YA Horror/Paranormal
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“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children meets The Addams Family in this haunting story of one girl’s attempt to reconnect with her monstrous family.”
Release date: February 2nd, 2021
The Project by Courtney Summers
Genre: YA Mystery/Thriller
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“Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died, Lo’s sister, Bea, joined The Unity Project, leaving Lo in the care of their great aunt. Thanks to its extensive charitable work and community outreach, The Unity Project has won the hearts and minds of most in the Upstate New York region, but Lo knows there’s more to the group than meets the eye. She’s spent the last six years of her life trying—and failing—to prove it.”
Release date: February 2nd, 2021
The Obsession by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Genre: YA Thriller
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“A classic sort of love story… except somebody might wind up dead.
Nobody knows Delilah like Logan does. Nobody. He makes sure of it by learning everything he can through her social media and watching her through a hidden camera he has trained on her house. Some might call him a stalker. Logan prefers to be called romantic.”
Release date: February 2nd, 2021
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
Genre: YA Fantasy
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“Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.”
Release date: February 9th, 2021
Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher
Genre: YA Contemporary/Romance
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“Eighteen-year-old Amelia Griffin is obsessed with the famous Orman Chronicles, written by the young and reclusive prodigy N. E. Endsley. When a mysterious, rare edition of the Orman Chronicles arrives, Amelia is convinced that it somehow came from Jenna, [her friend who was tragically killed in an accident]. Tracking the book to an obscure but enchanting bookstore in Michigan, Amelia is shocked to find herself face-to-face with the enigmatic and handsome N. E. Endsley himself.”
Release date: February 16th, 2021
The Valley and the Flood by Rebecca Mahoney
Genre: YA Fantasy/Contemporary
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“Rose Colter is almost home, but she can’t go back there yet. When her car breaks down in the Nevada desert, the silence of the night is broken by a radio broadcast of a voicemail message from her best friend, Gaby. A message Rose has listened to countless times over the past year. The last one Gaby left before she died.”
Release date: February 23rd, 2021
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
Genre: YA Mystery/Crime
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“The highly-anticipated crime-thriller sequel to the no. 1 debut of 2019, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.” I won’t include a full synopsis here, because I don’t want to share any spoilers if you haven’t read the first book. But in general, this series is about a young woman (kind of like a modern Nancy Drew) who attempts to solve true crime cases.
Release date: March 2, 2021
Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft
Genre: YA Fantasy/Romance
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“A gorgeously gothic, deeply romantic YA debut fantasy about two enemies trapped inside a crumbling mansion, with no escape from the monsters within.”
Release date: March 2nd, 2021
Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales
Genre: YA Contemporary/Romance
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“In Sophie Gonzales’ Perfect on Paper, Leah on the Offbeat meets To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before: a bisexual girl who gives anonymous love advice to her classmates is hired by the hot guy to help him get his ex back.”
Release date: March 9th, 2021
She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard
Genre: YA Thriller
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“An electric romance set against a rebel art scene sparks lethal danger for two girls in this expertly plotted YA thriller. For fans of E. Lockhart, Lauren Oliver and Kara Thomas.”
Release date: March 30th, 2021
The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis
Genre: YA Contemporary/Thriller
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“In the first book of this duology, award-winning author Mindy McGinnis draws inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe and masterfully delivers a dark, propulsive mystery in alternating points of view that unravels a friendship . . . forevermore.”
Release date: February 23rd, 2021
Click here to view my full list of most-anticipated YA book releases in Winter 2021.
These should keep you busy for a while, but check back later for even more book lists!
If you’re looking for more awesome books to read, check out my list of the best thriller books of 2020 (so far)!