Looking for new young adult novels to immerse yourself in in 2023? Here are five fresh and captivating new YA New York Times bestsellers that were all new releases in 2023.
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Best New Young Adult Fiction in 2023
Young Adult novels are the ultimate companion for anyone who’s looking for a combination of discovery, intrigue, action and a little romance. Whether you were the ultimate Hunger Games fan or up to date with every Judy Blume book ever, any of these new young adult novels will be sure to hit the spot, even better: they all have a 2023 release date.
And, it’s true what they say; Young Adult novels aren’t just for young adults; people of any age can be truly captivated by YA books for their unique style, creativity, and ability to draw outside of the lines without too many repercussions.
Young Adult fiction is a unique genre in its ability to tie together a whole host of themes, most notably historical fiction, graphic novels and dark magic. And where would any good YA novel be without a reference or two to greek mythology? 😉
From captivating adventures to thought-provoking coming-of-age tales, these new novels for young adults 2023 are poised to captivate you from start to finish.
Looking for More Book Recs?
The Stolen Heir, by Holly Black (2023)
A runaway queen. A reluctant prince. And a quest that may destroy them both.
Suren, child queen of the Court of Teeth, and the one person with power over her mother, fled to the human world. There, she lives feral in the woods. Lonely, and still haunted by the merciless torments she endured in the Court of Teeth, she bides her time by releasing mortals from foolish bargains. She believes herself forgotten until the storm hag, Bogdana chases her through the night streets. Suren is saved by none other than Prince Oak, heir to Elfhame, to whom she was once promised in marriage and who she has resented for years.
Now seventeen, Oak is charming, beautiful, and manipulative. He’s on a mission that will lead him into the north, and he wants Suren’s help. But if she agrees, it will mean guarding her heart against the boy she once knew and a prince she cannot trust, as well as confronting all the horrors she thought she left behind.
This is the first book in a duology, so look out for the next instalment!
Published by Hot Key Books
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute, by Talia Hibbert (2023)
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of the Brown Sisters trilogy, comes a laugh-out-loud story about a quirky content creator and a clean-cut athlete testing their abilities to survive the great outdoors—and each other.
Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.
Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption—yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that’s how Celine sees it.)
These days, there’s nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she’s surprised to find Brad right beside her.
Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?
This young adult book is perfect if you’re looking for the ‘former best friend’ trope or books for teens in their senior year.
Published by Penguin Random House
We Are All So Good at Smiling, by Amber McBride (2023)
They Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma, from National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride.
Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. When she meets a boy named Faerry, she recognizes they both have magic in the marrow of their bones. And when Faerry and his family move to the same street, the two start to realize that their lifelines may have twined and untwined many times before.
They are both terrified of the forest at the end of Marsh Creek Lane.
The Forest whispers to Whimsy. The Forest might hold the answers to the part of Faerry he feels is missing. They discover the Forest holds monsters, fairy tales, and pain that they have both been running from for 11 years.
This book tackles subject matter around mental health, so may not be suitable for younger teens.
Published by Macmillan Pulishers
Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling, by Elise Bryant (2023)
Delilah always keeps her messy, gooey insides hidden behind a wall of shrugs and yeah, whatevers. She goes with the flow—which is how she ends up singing in her friends’ punk band as a favor, even though she’d prefer to hide at the merch table.
Reggie is a D&D Dungeon Master and self-declared Blerd. He spends his free time leading quests and writing essays critiquing the game under a pseudonym, keeping it all under wraps from his disapproving family.
These two, who have practically nothing in common, meet for the first time on New Year’s Eve. And then again on Valentine’s Day. And then again on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s almost like the universe is pushing them together for a reason.
Delilah wishes she were more like Reggie—open about what she likes and who she is, even if it’s not cool. Except . . . it’s all a front. Reggie is just role-playing someone confident. The kind of guy who could be with a girl like Delilah.
As their holiday meetings continue, the two begin to fall for each other. But what happens once they realize they’ve each fallen for a version of the other that doesn’t really exist?
We also highly recommend Elise Bryant’s first book, Happily Ever Afters!
Published by Harper Collins
Remind Me to Hate You Later, by Lizzy Mason (2023)
Seventeen-year-old Jules grew up in her mother’s spotlight. A “parenting influencer,” Britt shares details of her daughter’s life-pictures, intimate stories, insecurities, all-to a point that becomes unbearable to Jules.
And suddenly she’s gone.
Natalie has only barely begun to grieve her best friend Jules’s death when Britt announces her plans to publish a memoir that will dissect Jules’s life and death. But Nat knows the truth behind Britt’s “perfect” Instagram feed-Jules hated the pressure, the inauthenticity, the persona. There’s so much more to Jules than Britt and her followers could ever know. As Nat connects with Jules’s boyfriend, Carter, and their shared grief and guilt bonds them, she becomes determined to expose Britt, to understand what really happened, and who is to blame.
In a world that feels distorted by celebrity and the manipulations of social media and public opinion, Natalie and Carter need something real to hold onto. Remind Me to Hate You Later is a moving account of grief, depression, complex relationships, love, and the search for truth.
This is one of those coming of age tales that hits hard, and also tackles mental health. Mostly recommended for the older-end of the young adults category.
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing