I hope you got through your TBR piles over the winter break because I’ve got 20 young adult science fiction, fantasy, and horror books for you. These are my most anticipated new books coming out in January and February 2024, books full of adventure, drama, and a whole lotta chaos.
Magic with a Twist
No Time Like Now by Naz Kutub
Bloomsbury YA; February 6, 2024
Hazeem can do magic, but that doesn’t stop his father or grandmother from dying. When he uses his power to give some of his life to his Nana to bring her back to life, Time themself intervenes. This time he traded more life than he has to give, and the entire timeline is at risk of collapsing. Hazeem must go back in time and take back some of his life that he’s given to others.
Out of Body by Nia Davenport
Balzer & Bray; February 6, 2024
Body swap! Making friends with new girl LC was Megan’s first mistake. Trusting her was the second. After a wild night, Megan wakes up in the body of a girl named Jade while LC has stolen her body. The longer she stays in Jade’s body, the harder it is to remember who she was. She’ll have to find LC before she loses herself completely and before LC’s enemies catch up with them both.
Heists
Into the Sunken City by Dinesh Thiru
Harperteen; January 23, 2024
It’s 2532 and it has rained for five centuries straight, leaving sunken cities across what is left of the US. A drifter presents Jin with an offer she can’t refuse: dive to sunken Vegas to find a literal treasure trove. To keep her and her little sister safe, Jin agrees. Along the way, she battles pirates, monsters, and traitors. Loosely inspired by Treasure Island but set in a post-climate disaster future Arizona.
The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton
Peachtree Teen; February 6, 2024
Best friends Sybil and Esme live in Severon, a city reminiscent of 1870s Paris. When the two girls are caught trying to steal posters to sell for rent money, they’re caught by a beautiful cabaret owner called Maeve. She hires them to infiltrate the Fae realm and steal the crown jewels from Queen Mab. If they succeed, they’ll be financially secure for life. If they fail…
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal (Blood and Tea #1)
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; February 20, 2024
Vampires! Arthie may be a brown girl in a white supremacist society, but that hasn’t stopped her from building her own little empire in White Roaring. By day she runs a popular teahouse, and by night she serves blood to the local vampires. But she’s not satisfied with money, not when she has the chance to knock the colonizing nation of Ettenia down a peg or two. All she has to do is form a crew, infiltrate the vampires, steal a ledger, and make it out alive. Easy enough.
Outcasts, Outlaws, & Rebels
Sky’s End by Marc J Gregson (Above the Black #1)
Peachtree Teen; January 2, 2024
After his parents die and his uncle takes over his island, Conrad tumbles from being a High to a Low. His only way to move up in the hierarchy is by rising through the ranks of the Twelve Trades and winning the brutal competition called the Gauntlet. He’ll have to fight monsters like the one that killed his mother, as well as more human battles like betrayal, competition, and rebellion.
Somewhere in the Deep by Tanvi Berwah
Sourcebooks Fire; January 9, 2024
Sea monsters! Orphaned as a child, Kress fights monsters in underground matches to earn enough to one day pay off her parents’ debts and escape the island of Kar Atish. She’s offered the chance to make a lot of money for a seemingly easy job, and of course jumps at it. But the job, guarding a search-and-rescue mission for some lost divers. The crew isn’t who they say they are, the mission is riddled with corruption and Kress is caught in the middle of a life-or-death fight.
The Diablo’s Curse by Gabe Cole Novoa
Random House Books for Young Readers; February 20, 2024
No matter how much they try to pretend they’re human, Dami is still a demon. They hatch a plan to cancel all the deals they’ve struck so they can be free, but doing so would kill Silas, a very cute and very cursed young man. They team up with a shipwrecked teen, Marisol, and head up the New England coast in hot pursuit of Captain Kidd’s fabled treasure. Although a standalone, this takes place in the same world as The Wicked Bargain.
Snowglobe by Soyoung Park, translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort (Snowglobe #1)
Delacorte Press; February 27, 2024
In the future, the world is kept at a freezing -50 degrees Fahrenheit, all except within the Snowglobe. The lives of the wealthy people in the dome are projected into the televisions of those outside. After popular star Haeri dies, Chobahm is pulled from the snow into the globe as her replacement. But while the dome may seem like paradise on the surface, terrible secrets lurk in the shadows. This dystopian duology was first published in South Korea in 2020.
Thrills & Chills
The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert
Flatiron Books; February 20, 2024
Four people disappear in one night in Nora’s hometown, including her estranged friend Becca. She hadn’t heard from her in ages, until just before she vanished. Now she keeps finding clues seemingly left by Becca, and they all lead back to a game they used to play as children involving a forgotten goddess and a dangerous legend.
Tender Beasts by Liselle Sambury
Margaret K. McElderry Books; February 27, 2024
After her mother’s death, Sunny tries to keep a brave face. But then her brother Dom is charged with the murder of his girlfriend. And then she finds him standing over the body of a high student, blood on his hands. Dom swears he’s innocent, but their dead mother’s secrets may doom them all. Something monstrous haunts their family’s legacy.
Crime Scenes
These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers; January 30, 2024
Tabatha Zeng is apprenticed to the notorious fortuneteller Sorcerer Solomon. When his prediction of his own murder comes to fruition, she and Solomon’s son Callum are the main suspects. Detective Chang is supposed to arrest the teens, but she reluctantly agrees to help them find the real killer.
Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender (Infinity Alchemist #1)
Tor Teen; February 6, 2024
After Ash is rejected from alchemy school at the prestigious Lancaster College, he trains in secret even though it’s technically a crime. When the haughty apprentice Ramsay Thorne catches him in the act, the boys make a deal. Ash agrees to help Ramsay find the Book of Source, which will grant its bearer untold power. They aren’t the only people searching for the book, and Ash soon learns their partnership is more tenuous than he anticipated.
Remixes
A Drop of Venom by Sajni Patel
Rick Riordan Presents; January 16, 2024
Manisha lives in a temple where she keeps the secret that she’s naga, a being that can turn people into stone. Pratyush is the king’s best warrior who has spent his career slaying monsters. A chance meeting and the two fall in love…until Manisha is assaulted and tossed into a pit of vipers. She emerges full of fury and power. Is Pratyush’s love stronger than his loyalty? A retelling of the Medusa myth, influenced by Indian folklore.
Evergreen by Devin Greenlee
Entangled: Teen; January 16, 2024
Quill loves plants more than just about anything. Not unexpected for a dryad, even if he is the first ever male dryad. To keep his identity a secret, his mother keeps him hidden away. When he meets Liam, the boy next door, nothing can keep the boys apart, not even when a mysterious intruder breaks into Quill’s magical garden. Inspired by The Secret Garden.
The Cursed Rose by Leslie Vedder (The Bone Spindle #3)
Razorbill; February 6, 2024
In the first book, Fi, Briar, Shane, and Red were thrown together. In the second book, they were torn apart. In the third and final book, their fates are out of their control. The Lord of the Butterflies left a weapon that could defeat the Spindle Witch, but Shane has to find it first. If she doesn’t, Fi and Briar could be lost forever. Only Red, Shane’s lover and betrayer, stands in her way. The series is loosely inspired by the story of Sleeping Beauty.
Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories edited by Sandra Proudman
Inkyard Press; February 6, 2024
Sixteen authors reimagine classic stories through Latinx and speculative lenses. Everything from ancient mythology to space, android mermaids to shapeshifters, and everything in between. Authors include: Olivia Abtahi, David Bowles, Zoraida Córdova, Saraciea J. Fennell, Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, Torrey Maldonado, Jasminne Mendez, Anna Meriano, Amparo Ortiz, Laura Pohl, Sandra Proudman, NoNieqa Ramos, Monica Sanz, Eric Smith, Ari Tison, Alexandra Villasante.
Gods & Monsters
Beasts of War by Ayana Gray (Beasts of Prey #3)
Nancy Paulsen Books; January 16, 2024
Koffi may be free from Fedu, the god of death, but Fedu is not through with her. He plans to kill her during a rare celestial event known as the Bonding; however, if Koffi can get to the Kusonga Plains first, she’ll survive. She enlists the help of Ekon and other gods in her escape. The fate of the world rests on what comes next.
So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole (The Divine Traitors #1)
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; January 16, 2024
Faron is the human host for the gods of the island of San Irie. With her powers, she freed her people from the colonizers of the Langley Empire. With no wars left to fight, Faron is born and itching for trouble. Her older sister Elara forms an unbreakable bond with one of the imperial dragons, forcing Faron to choose between the stability of her nation and the life of her sister.
The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna (Deathless #3)
Delacorte Press; February 13, 2024
Sixteen-year-old Deka has been through a lot the past year. She began the series conscripted into an army of alaki, immortal-like beings of great power. Now she knows the truth about her powers, and she’ll use it to stop the gods who are stripping everything from the land of Otera. Her quest takes her to faraway realms that will once again change everything she thought she understood.
Alex Brown is a Hugo-nominated and Ignyte award-winning critic who writes about speculative fiction, librarianship, and Black history. Find them on twitter (@QueenOfRats), bluesky (@bookjockeyalex), instagram (@bookjockeyalex), and their blog (bookjockeyalex.com).
