Scanning the upcoming book release lists is one of my favorite New Year’s traditions. I know, I’m a real party animal. I spend hours looking for upcoming books that I want to read to add to my wish list. That way, when I have a few extra bucks (and extra time) or someone wants to know what to get me for my birthday, I already have plenty of ideas lined up. Here’s what I’m most looking forward to in 2018!

I’m calling this the top 40 YA book releases of 2018, but as you know, “top” is subjective. While this is mostly about me and my reading tastes, I did try to include a few highly anticipated books that, while I might not read, I know many of you will love.

Top 40 Upcoming YA Book Releases in 2018

*This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through my links I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks a bunch! I’m formatting this one a little different than the usual book posts. List first, then we’ll talk more about some of the books I’m really looking forward to reading.  It’s easier for you to copy and paste the list into a word doc this way, in case you want to save it. Some of the books releasing later in the year have zero info available. Not even an actual title in some cases. However, they’re written by authors that always top my “must-buy” list.

1. 1. The Cruel Prince (Folk of the Air) by Holly Black – Jan 2nd
   2. Everless by Sarah Holland – Jan 2nd
   3. The Forgotten Book by Mechthild Gläser -Jan 2nd
   4. You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by  Rachel Lynn Solomon- Jan 2nd
   5. Truly Devious: A Mystery by Maureen Johnson- Jan 16th
   6. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert- January 30th
   7. Losing Brave by Bailee Madison and Stefne Miller- January 30th
   8. Tempests and Slaughter (The Numair Chronicles, Book One) by Tamora Pierce- February 6th
   9. Shadowsong (Wintersong #2) by S. Jae-Jones- Feb 6th
   10. Ink Iron and Glass by Gwendolyn Clare- Feb 20th
   11. The Traitor’s Game by Jennifer A Nielson- Feb 27th
   12. The Case for Jamie (A Charlotte Holmes Novel) by Brittany Cavallaro – March 6th
   13. The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw- March 6th
   14. Restore Me (Shatter Me) by Tahereh Mafi- March 6th
   15. The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch)- by Rin Chupeco- March 20th
   16. Beyond a Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake- April 10th
   17. The Summer of Broken Things by Margaret Peterson Haddix- April 10th
   18. Ash Princess by Laura Sebastion- April 24th
   19. A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas- May 1st
   20. Allied (Ruined) by Amy Tintera May 1st
   21. Royals by Rachel Hawkins –May 1st
   22. War Storm (The Red Queen) by Victoria Aveyard – May 15th
   23. The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik by David Arnold
   24.  Legendary (Caravel) by Stephanie Garber- May 29th
   25. Save the Date by Morgan Matson- June 5th
   26. Neverworld Wake by  Marisha Pessl– June 5th
   27. Wild Blue Wonder by Carlie Sorosiak -June 26th
   28. Dawn of Legends by Eleanor Herman – June 26th
   29. The Emerald Sea by Richelle Mead- June 26th
   30. The Letting Go by Deborah Markus- July 3rd
   31. Like Never and Always by Ann Aguirre – July 17th
   32. Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart – July 24th
   33. The Girl You Thought I Was by Rebecca Phillips – July 31st
   34. The Other Side of Lost by Jessi Kirby – August 7th
   35. Girl at the Grave by Teri Bailey Blake – Augst 7th
   36. Never Wake by Amy Plum -Aug 7th
   37. The Raging Ones– Krista and Becca Ritchie- August 14th
   38. Toil & Trouble: 16 Tales of Women & Witchcraft by Various Authors- Aug. 28th
   39. Broken Things by Lauren Oliver- October 2nd
   40. Throne of Glass #7 (title currently unknown) by Sarah J. Maas- October 30th (FYI, there is literally nothing at the link right now aside from what I assume is a placeholder so you can add it to your wishlist for later, and the publication date might change, but it’s still one of my most anticipated YA books of 2018!)

Okay, so now that we have that list out of the way, let’s talk 2018 YA book releases! It looks like it’s going to be another great year for fantasy, but I also see mysteries making a bit of a comeback.  At the VERY top of my “I’m totally holding my breath until the release date” list is War Storm by Victoria Aveyard. I read the first three books in the series last February during a weekend binge fest. I’ve been waiting anxiously for the final installment to find out what happens. I’m hoping it’s worth the wait.

On the fantasy front, I’m also looking forward to the new Sarah J. Maas books (who isn’t?). I’m a little apprehensive about A Court of Frost and Starlight because I feel like the Court of Thorn and Roses ended with good closure with the last book. According to the description, this one will bridge the gap between the Rhys/Feyre storyline and the next books in the series. It’s a short book, at just 250-ish pages. The Hazel Wood, releasing later this month, is an unexpected find for me. I love all things Alice in Wonderland, including unique tales that are very loosely based upon the classic. Check out a sample below.

While fantasy continues to reign supreme in the YA world, it’s not the only genre in town. I’ve kind of overdosed on fantasy over the last year, so I’m mixing things up with mysteries and even a few coming-of-age style books. In the mystery genre, I’m most looking forward to the new Charlotte Holmes books, A Case for Jamie. I like that series way more than I thought I would. I picked up the first one on a fluke. I was bored, had nothing to read, and it was on sale. The witty dialogue and mellifluous writing hooked me right away.

There are an unusual amount of “Contemporary/Coming of Age/Whatever You Call Them” books on my list this year. I don’t know if that’s just me deciding to try this genre out more or if these types of books are trending right now. The Summer of Broken Things sounds pretty good. It’s about two ex-friends thrown back together when popular Avery’s dad invites not-so-popular Kayla on their family vacation to Spain and they discover some shocking family secrets.

While I may not actually get around to all 40 of these books in 2018, they’re definitely going on my wish list for those days I have extra time to read! Except the Caravel sequel. I only put that on there for you guys, because I know a ton of people absolutely loved the first book. Honestly, I tried four times to read it and couldn’t finish it, which stinks because I paid full price the day it came out and really wanted to love it. Great concept, but the execution needed a lot of work in my opinion.  If you were one of the zillions of people who loved the first book, though, at least now you know when to expect the next one.

Sources used to compile this list:

Huge thank you to Book Birds for making pretty much a complete list of every single YA book releasing in 2018. Her lists saved me a lot of time searching ten different sites to find the books I wanted to read the most. I suggest checking that out because she obviously worked crazy hard on it. It took me 3 hours to write this post, so I can’t even imagine how long it must have taken her to write 75,000+ words! I also used this GoodReads list to find a lot of books to read in 2018.

What 2018 YA book releases are going on your wish list?