25 Most-Anticipated YA Books Coming Winter 2025
Now that the season is practically half over, I’m finally ready to post my list of my 25 most-anticipated YA books coming out in winter 2025. I’ve had my eye on some of these books since early last year. Others were recent discoveries. The list spans various genres from historical to fantasy to contemporary and even a few horror novels.
I’d love to know if any of these books are on your reading list, so be sure to comment below if they are or if you’ve read them already. Let me know if I’ve left off any sure winners you’re looking forward to reading this season, too!
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25 Most-Anticipated YA Books Coming Winter 2025
The Devourer by Alison Ames
What you need to know: I’m a huge fan of this author, so all I had to see was her name on the cover to add this to my reading list. However, the plot about pirates seeking a missing enemy (brother) and monsters attacking ships has me deeply intrigued.
Published January 7, 2025 | My Review to Come
The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
What you need to know: A boy with a bit of a Holden Caulfield vibe and grieving a girl he was secretly dating for a year finds letters she wrote to him before she died. This has big emotions and complicated grief.
Published January 7, 2025 | My Review
Breath of the Dragon (Breathmarked #1) by Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee
What you need to know: A novel based on teachings by Bruce Lee. A young man enters a contest that will name the nation’s leader in martial arts. Political intrigue, magic, and romance weave through the intricate fantasy world crafted here.
Published January 7, 2025 | My Review
Liar’s Kingdom by Christine Calella
What you need to know: Ell didn’t attend the ball, but when the Prince’s mystery love’s shoe fits her foot, she jumps at the chance to escape an abusive family. When she discovers a plot to harm the prince, she vows to stop it, even if it exposes her true identity. Cinderella as you’ve never seen her before! This was a really fun read.
Published January 14, 2025 | My Review
A Dangerous Idea: The Scopes Trial, the Original Fight Over Science in Schools by Debbie Levy
What you need to know: A timely, carefully researched walk through the Scopes Trial and its impact on school curriculum. The parallels between this moment in history and conflicts over teaching science and history in school will be impossible to ignore.
Published January 14, 2025 | My Review
Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon
What you need to know: An enemies-to-lovers romcom about two people trying to save a family-owned Korean coffee shop. An inclusive cast filled with great friendships and fun moments. A charming, romantic read.
Published January 14, 2025 | My Review
Build a Girlfriend by Elba Luz
What you need to know: A girl uses the mistakes in her dating history to make herself the perfect girlfriend and perhaps get revenge on the boy who broke her heart. A debut rom-com that looks smart and funny.
Published January 14, 2025 | My Review to Come
True Gretch: Lessons for Anyone Who Wants to Make a Difference (Young Adult Edition) by Gretchen Whitmer
What you need to know: Key wisdom from the governor who survived a kidnapping plot and led her state through a global pandemic for teen who want to make a difference. Funny and insightful.
Published January 28, 2025 | My Review to Come
Carving Shadows into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer
What you need to know: The second book in the Forging Silver into Stars series follows the now nineteen-year-old Tycho as he seeks to preserve peace between two kingdoms as the courier to the king. Cursebreakers fans will love revisiting the familiar cast of characters and the romantic developments.
Published January 28, 2025 | My Review
Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours
What you need to know: A girl who can sense tangible things people need uses her ability to find her missing best friend– though the ability may place her in the same danger her friend was in. A debut speculative mystery that explores justice, friendship, and family.
Published February 4, 2025 | My Review to Come
The Underwood Tapes by Amanda DeWitt
What you need to know: A girl running from grief over her mom’s death realizes she can communicate with a boy who lived thirty years earlier through voice recordings. Explores the ripple effects of unresolved grief. Grab your tissues for this one!
Published February 4, 2025 | My Review to Come
All Better Now by Neal Shusterman
What you need to know: What if there was a deadly pandemic that… made you happy? Shusterman brings a whole different spin on a pandemic and explores the meaning of and happiness and what price people are willing to pay for it in this fascinating novel.
Published February 4, 2025 | My Review to Come
Why On Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology by Vania Stoyanova and Rosiee Thor
What you need to know: An absolutely adorable story collection in which each story connects through characters and/or events. I loved every single page. Favorite anthology so far. If you need some humor and hope in your life, grab this one!
Published February 4, 2025 | My Review
The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush with Rebecca Stefoff
What you need to know: History prominently remembers Sally Ride, but what about the other five women at her side, helping to blaze the trail for female astronauts? This timely book reveals their stories.
Published February 11, 2025 | My Review to Come
I am the Cage by Allison Sweet Grant
What you need to know: After a massive snowstorm, a girl who has shut out the world reaches out for help. Contains flashbacks to childhood trauma, haunting poetry, and a sense of hope and possibility for the future. If the blurbs for this one are any indication, it is too good to miss.
Published February 18, 2025 | My Review to Come
Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers Rights edited by Ashley Hope Pérez
What you need to know: A powerful anthology that explores the impact of book bans through fiction, essays, graphic narratives, memoir, and poetry from fifteen acclaimed authors.
Published March 4, 2025 | My Review to Come
They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran
What you need to know: After a catastrophic hurricane submerges a town, the wildlife mutates, and a monster tries to drown the remaining townsfolk until a girl is tasked with saving them. Looks inescapably haunting.
Published March 4, 2025 | My Review to Come
How to Survive a Slasher by Justine Pucella Winans
What you need to know: I’m not usually a fan of slasher stories, but I’m always intrigued by the ones that turn the tropes on their heads. A mysterious manuscript predicts new murders in a town that is no stranger to massacres. CJ vows to save the first girl slated to die, but in doing so becomes the story’s new lead.
Published March 11, 2025 | My Review to Come
What Wakes the Bells by Elle Tesch
What you need to know: Bells awake a monster in a sentient city, and Mina has to decide how far she’s willing to go to stop the evil in this gothic fantasy. Something about this reminds me of Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek, which I loved.
Published March 11, 2025 | My Review to Come
The Deathly Grimm by Kathryn Purdie
What you need to know: In the conclusion to the Forest Grimm duology, Clara and Axel must return to the forest to find out why villagers continue to disappear. Monsters, riddles, and more dark fairytale-ish things abound. I cannot wait for this one!
Published March 25, 2025 | My Review to Come
The Fragments That Remain by Mackenzie Angeconeb
What you need to know: A bereft sibling writes letters to her brother exploring her identity. She discovers a cache of secret poetry from her brother and reads it to try to make sense of his death. Looks heartfelt and poignant.
Published March 29, 2025 | My Review to Come
What YA Books Coming Winter 2025 are you most looking forward to reading?
Are you looking forward to any of the books on my list? Have you had a chance to read any of them yet? What else needs to be on my reading list this season? Leave a comment and let me know!
