The Most Anticipated YA Books of 2021

The best of the best to add to your TBR shelf this year – thrillers that will keep you up at night, romances to shatter your hearts to a thousand pieces and escapist fantasies for the daydreamers.

THE PRISON HEALER

Lynette Noni

Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer. When the Rebel Queen is captured and placed under Kiva’s care, Kiva decides she will do anything to keep the feverishly ill woman alive – including take the Rebel Queen’s place in the Trial by Ordeal: a series of challenges against the torments of air, fire, water and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals. Out April, with the sequel The Gilded Cage out September.

FANTASY • PLOT TWISTS • ACTION • AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR

HOUSE OF HOLLOW

Krystal Sutherland

When Iris Hollow was seven years old, she and her sisters, Vivi and Grey, went missing. Not long after their return, the sisters’ dark hair turned white and their blue eyes turned black. It’s been ten years since the Hollow sisters’ famous disappearance, and strange things have started happening again. Iris is being followed by a man wearing a bull skull for a mask, and Grey Hollow has disappeared completely. Nothing is safe anymore. Out April.

THRILLER • HORROR • SISTERS • MAGICAL REALISM • AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR

YOU'LL BE THE DEATH OF ME

Karen McManus

Another murder mystery from Karen M. McManus, need we say more? Ivy, Mateo and Cal are best friends who skip school together and accidentally stumble across the scene of a classmate’s murder. All three are connected to the victim and have secrets of their own. So… whodunnit? Out December.

MYSTERY • THRILLER • DRAMA

DAUGHTER OF THE DEEP

Rick Riordan

A brand-new adventure from global bestselling author of the Percy Jackson, Trials of Apollo and Heroes of Olympus series, Rick Riordan. Ana Dakkar is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, training centre for the best marine scientists and underwater explorers in the world. When Ana witnesses a tragedy during the annual sea trials, her life as she knows it is blown out of the water. Inspired by Jules Verne’s classic, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Out October.

FANTASY • RETELLING • SCI-FI • MYTHOLOGY

KATE IN WAITING

Becky Albertalli

Kate and Andy are inseparable best friends who share everything. But when both of them fall hard for the same guy, Matt Olsson, suddenly sharing seems a lot less fun. When Kate, Andy and Matt all try out for the same musical, the drama that unfolds threatens to bring the curtains down on Kate and Andy’s friendship once and for all. Out May.

DRAMA • ROMANCE • MUSICAL THEATRE • LGBTIQ+

INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING

Nicola Yoon

Evie is cynical. She lost her faith in love on the day her dad left her mum for another woman. When Evie meets a mysterious old woman, another strange and unwelcome gift is bestowed upon her: whenever a couple kiss in front of her, Evie can see their whole relationship play out from the blissful start til the treacherous ending. Love doesn’t last. As Evie learns to dance with X – tall, dreadlocked, fascinating and spontaneous – everything she thinks she knows about love will be challenged. Out June.

ROMANCE • SUPERNATURAL • BIPOC

BEASTS OF PREY

Ayana Gray

Fate binds Night Zookeeper Koffi and soon-to-be elite warrior Ekon as they strike a dangerous alliance to hunt down the ancient creature terrorising their broken city of Lkossa. The hunt begins – but are Koffi and Ekon the hunters or the hunted? Out October.

FANTASY • MYTHOLOGY • MONSTERS & MAGIC

WHAT BEAUTY THERE IS

Cory Anderson

Jack Dahl has nothing left. Except his younger brother, who he’d die for. With their mother gone, and funds quickly dwindling, Jack needs to make a choice: lose his brother to foster care, or find the drug money that sent this father to prison. Ava lives in cruel isolation and is now faced with a terrible choice: remain silent or speak out and help the Dahl brothers survive. Out April.

THRILLER • SUSPENSE • FAMILY • EMOTIONAL

TELL ME MY NAME

Amy Reed

A gender-flipped, feminist retelling of The Great Gatsby. Set in a near-future where the environment is collapsing, white supremacy is at a high, corporations are thriving and refugees struggle to find homes, Fern finds herself caught up in the drama and limelight of socialite Ivy Avila. Out June.

THRILLER • DYSTOPIAN • RETELLING

ANYTHING BUT FINE

Tobias Madden

Luca is ready to audition for the Australian Ballet School. All it takes to crush his dreams is one missed step . . . and a broken foot. Jordan is the gorgeous rowing star and school captain of Luca's new school. Everyone says he's straight – but Luca’s not so sure . . . As their unlikely bond grows stronger, Luca starts to wonder: who is he without ballet? And is he setting himself up for another heartbreak? Out September.

ROMANCE • BALLET • LGBTIQ+ • AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR

THE UPPER WORLD

Femi Fadugba

An epic, game-changing thriller set outside of time. Esso and Rhia live a generation apart, connected across time by one bullet about to devastate both of their lives. Soon to be a major Netflix movie starring Daniel Kaluuya (Black Panther). Out August.

SCI-FI • THRILLER • TIME-WARP

FROM LITTLE TOKYO, WITH LOVE

Sarah Kuhn

Rika’s life begins as an orphan, living with her two bossy cousins and working for her aunt’s business – the perfect fairy tale starting point. However, with her biracial background, amazing judo skills and red-hot temper, Rika is proud that she doesn’t fit the traditional princess mould. Until one day when Rika locks eyes with Grace Kimura, America’s rom-com sweetheart, and embarks on a desperate adventure of hope that Grace might be her long-lost mother. Out August.

ROMANCE • FAMILY • ASIAN-AMERICAN

THE MIDNIGHT GIRLS

Alicia Jasinska

Set in a snow-cloaked kingdom where witches are burned, and two enchantresses secretly compete for the heart of a prince, only to discover that they might be falling for each other. A magical story inspired by Polish mythology and folklore by the author of The Dark Tide. Out November.

FANTASY • WITCHES • LGBTIQ+ • RETELLING • AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR

OFF THE RECORD

Camryn Garrett

Imagine if a teenager broke the Harvey Weinstein story. That’s the premise of Off the Record, where seventeen-year-old Josie wins a contest to write a celebrity profile for her favourite magazine. Amongst the glitz and glamour, Josie discovers dark and terrible secrets, and is shocked to find she is in the perfect position to expose and unravel it all. What will she sacrifice for the truth? Out August.

DRAMA • #METOO • BIPOC

MAGPIE SOCIETY: TWO FOR JOY

Zoe ‘Zoella’ Sugg and Amy McCulloch

The chilling sequel to bestseller The Magpie Society: One for Sorrow. Audrey and Ivy, determined to bring their fellow student Lola Radcliffe’s killer to justice, find themselves in the middle of another mystery when a friend disappears in suspicious circumstances. Out November.

MYSTERY • THRILLER

HAWK 2: CITY OF THE DEAD

James Patterson

The action-packed sequel to Hawk: A Maximum Ride Novel which sees the eagerly anticipated return of the iconic Maximum Ride for a new generation. Out December.

ACTION • FANTASY • DYSTOPIAN

WHEN DAYS TILT

Karen Ginnane

A gripping fantasy adventure for fans of Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights. It’s 1858, and there are two queens on the throne. Victoria reigns over London, but Green Witch rules her own domain –time – in the secret shadow city, Donlon. Ava, a fourteen-year-old Londoner, has her predictable world turned upside down when she discovers that the body in her mother’s grave is a stranger. Searching for her real mother and true identity, Ava is thrust into Donlon and must battle to save those she loves and the future of both worlds. Out July.

HISTORICAL FANTASY • ADVENTURE • PARALLEL UNIVERSE • AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR

THE BREAK

Phillip Gwynne

A fast-paced rite-of-passage adventure set amidst the mythical surf and island culture of Bali, and up to its neck in the madness of politics and the terrifying consequences of breaking the rules. From the author of literary hit Deadly, Unna? comes a new whirlwind of a story about Taj and his father, Kimbo, who is on death row in Bali and counting on his son to save him. Out October.

CRIME FICTION • FAMLY • ACTION • AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR

THE QUEEN'S SECRET

Melissa de la Cruz

The riveting conclusion to The Queen’s Assassin duology. Taking her place on the throne has left Lilac without the love of her life, the kingdom’s assassin, Caledon Holt. Worse, Cal is forced to leave the castle when a horrific set of magical attacks threatens Lilac’s sovereignty. Now the two must battle dark forces separately as victory rests on a knife’s edge. Out March.

FANTASY • ROMANCE • MAGIC