Get excited YA lovers, because 2026 promises to be HUGE for young adult books! From debut authors and new series, to sequels returning to our favourite worlds, it's going to be a busy year!
For this list I've focused on books coming out in the first half of 2026 as there's just so many incredible new releases coming! But I'll be back later in the year to share more titles that are on their way …
Return to your favourite worlds ...
One Knight Stand (Lady’s Knight, book 2)
Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
We're still clutching our bellies from laughing so hard while reading Lady's Knight, so we're not sure if we're prepared for the next installement of Gwen and Isobelle's antics! But we're going to saddle up our dragons nontheless, and join them on their road trip this June.
Gwen and Isobelle's happily ever after in Darkhaven has hit a few speed bumps: Isobelle can't access her dowry, Gwen's meeting a mixed reception among the other knights, and the question of 'what next?' is looming large. If they're going to avoid focusing on these minor issues, they need a distraction, and fast. And you know where is lovely this time of year? The seaside. Never mind that it's midwinter. And never mind the sea monster …
I Could Give You the Moon
Ann Liang
We at Readings are particularly excited for this one! Ann Liang's debut, If You Could See the Sun, won The Readings Young Adult Prize in 2023 and we can't believe Liang is taking us back to that world with a brand new book, coming in April!
Everyone loves social media-personality, Chanel Cao – except Ares Yin. But Ares's brother is missing, and Chanel's parents have secretly separated, and their only hope is each other. When the two meet and share a vision of the future – where Ares's brother appears, as Chanel's house burns to the ground – they are determined to use each other. Ares believes Chanel is the key to finding his brother, and Chanel believes if Ares falls in love with her, she'll save her family house – and her parents' crumbling marriage. But to do this, Chanel will have to show Ares the true her.
Piper at the Gates of Dusk
Patrick Ness
It's been sixteen years since the last book in the Chaos Walking series came out, and now Patrick Ness is taking us back to New World with an extraordinary new trilogy! The first book, Piper at the Gates of Dusk, comes out in April.
It's been twenty years since the monstrous war that almost tore New World apart, and there's a new generation on the planet. Todd and Viola's sons Ben and Max have known only peace growing up on the family farm outside a bustling human settlement. But now sudden sickness has infected the young people of New World with Noise, in the form of their worst thoughts about themselves. And one by one, children begin to disappear. Ben and Max will go on separate quests for answers – journeys that will change everything.
Making Trouble (A Good Kind of Trouble, Book 2)
Brooke Blurton and Melanie Saward
Good news, Brooke Blurton and Melanie Saward haven't forgotten darling Stella and have written a sequel to A Good Kind of Trouble, which was shortlisted for The Readings Young Adult Prize 2025! This one is out in March.
Stella is nervous about another new city, a new school, and new friends. Her love for ballet – and Jamie – pulls her forward, but fear threatens to drag her back home. It's only when she thinks she's lost everything that Stella starts to see what she's been missing. Maybe she can shine – in class, on stage, and in her own story – and make her family and Jamie proud.
New from your favourite authors ...
Shadow Reaper
Lynette Noni
Lynette Noni fans rejoice! A new breathtaking duology is on its way with the first book, Shadow Reaper, coming in June. And just look at that cover!
The city of Aravell is in peril, plagued by a deadly blackmist that kills all it touches, and reapers who roam the streets, stealing magic from innocent children in their thirst for power. Seventeen-year-old Viridia Solace is a reaper hunter, searching for the man who murdered her parents – The Reaper Priest. When the Priest's most loyal follower, Reeve Ashton, is captured, he offers Viri a chance to avenge her parents … for a price. She knows better than to bargain with a reaper, let alone this reaper, but his offer is too good to resist.
Get excited for relentless twists, enemies-to-lovers romance, found family, and high stakes action!
Good Young Men
Gary Lonesborough
Gary Lonesborough is known for his award-winning contemporary coming of age stories including his debut The Boy from the Mish, which was shortlisted for The Readings Young Adult Prize 2021, and We Didn’t Think It Through, which won the 2024 prize! This one is another searing and unputdownable new book! March can't come soon enough.
In the idyllic coastal town of Carraway's Point, four Aboriginal boys grew up together on Chopin Drive, carefree and close. But they drifted apart in high school, and then everything changed forever the night Brandon was killed by a white cop.
Struggling to contain their emotions and process the murder of their friend, Kallum, Jordy and Dylan must navigate explosive events in a way that opens up a future they can't yet see.
My Wonderful Disgrace
Angourie Rice and Kate Rice
The mother-daughter duo behind the delightful Pride & Prejudice retelling Stuck Up & Stupid are back! This time, they've given us a deliciously dark comedy of errors about unrequited love, manipulation, misunderstandings and the tragic fate of one innocent goat. This one is out in May!
Amy Middleton has all her plans in place for the school ball – the perfect designer dress, the perfect dream date, the perfect night. When Leo Prince finally agrees to go with her, success seems assured, and the night belongs to Amy. But fate, it seems, has other plans, and with the buzz of an unexpected text, her perfect night begins to unravel.
The Escape Game
Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss
Marissa Meyer, queen of sci-fi, has teamed up with Australian author, Tamara Moss to gift us with a murder mystery filled with sabotage, betrayal, and puzzles to die for. I am SQUEALING! Out in April.
Six months ago, season four of The Escape Game ended in horror when contestant Alicia Angelos was found murdered on set. Now season five is underway with new contestants, including Sierra Angelos, the girl who got away with her sister's murder – or so everyone believes.
When the contestants begin uncovering clues that hint at the identity of Alicia's true killer, it becomes clear that the stakes aren't high in this competition, they're deadly …
Don’t Let Them Leave
Mike Lucas
Mike Lucas is the author of What We All Saw, which was shortlisted for The Readings Young Adult Prize in 2022; his latest book is a compelling and spooky thriller in the classic ghost story tradition! Out in May.
One island. One house. One curse. Ghosts aren't real and houses can't come to life. Charlotte knows these facts to be true. Yet when Charlotte and her siblings are orphaned and sent to live with their grandmother on remote Black Island, she begins to realise that only one thing is certain – they shouldn't be there. But will they ever be able to leave?
A Flash in the Dust
Meg Caddy
Meg Caddy is back with a gripping historical YA thriller, with a dash of queer romance – do we need to say more? Add this one to the top of your list and mark your calendars for early June!
1899, Fremantle Asylum, Western Australia. For three years now, Gilberta Brady has kept quiet and stayed out of trouble, hoping to soon be released. But when Norah Devaney screams into the ward with revenge in her heart and a story no-one believes, Brady's carefully guarded peace is shattered. On the run and out of options, they form an unlikely gang of bushrangers with Nyungar brothers, Kedalak and Malkar. Together the group embarks on a dangerous mission, but little do they know that the Whistling Man is hunting them too.
Debut novels to put on your radar
Vow of Eternal Night
Lily Crozier
If the cover (and sprayed edges!) hasn't instantly sold you, then the promise of a gothic, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy inspired by Beauty and the Beast surely will! We are counting down the days till the release in March!
Clara Wagner has always known that monsters are real, and that the worst of them is Prince Raleigh of Rostenburg. For years the prince has treated his people as livestock to sate his thirst for blood. But when he decides it's time to marry, Clara inadvertently finds herself at the centre of his attention. Abducted and forced into a betrothal against her will, Clara would do anything to escape her fate. And so she is given an ultimatum – lift Raleigh's vampiric curse before the end of the year or become his bride for eternity.
The Boy Maeve
Kai Ash
If you're a fan of queer spec-fic, then add this dazzling, beguiling debut about a trans boy to the top of your 'to read' list. Coming out in May.
He only knows two things for sure: his name is Maeve and he's a boy. It's 2002, and fourteen-year-old Maeve – an adopted, closeted trans boy – is facing another lonely year at school. At least he's got Jeremy, his lifelong imaginary friend, for company. But even Jeremy, in all their wild wisdom, can't explain the weird things that are happening to Maeve. Like why Maeve's hair spontaneously changes colour overnight. Or how Maeve knows his granny Beattie is dead, long before anyone can confirm it. Or why a stranger's voice sounds uncannily familiar …
Maeve is full of questions – about his birth family and adoption, about Beattie and Jeremy, and about himself. But the answers are out of this world … and Maeve may have to give up everything he's ever known to discover the truth.
Forever & Ever
Allanah Hunt
If you're looking for a heart-wrenching love story, in a distinctly Australian setting, then Forever & Ever is for you! Set in a Murray-Darling river town, it's simmering with deep-seated prejudice and long-buried secrets. Coming in March!
Talia is sixteen, pregnant and angry. Her family is broken. At school she is shunned. And Johnny – the one person she thought she could count on – just walked away.
Johnny is Barkindji, smart and confused. He's struggling with the weight of his parents' expectations; he wants to please them, but is the future they've planned for him the one he really wants? He makes a decision he knows he'll regret – leaving Talia behind. But some love, no matter how impossible, never lets go.
