New YA Book Releases for October 29, 2025

Hazel Lejeune took a gap year after high school, despite her mom’s reservations about it. But Hazel’s luck is up, as she’s just scored a lead role in a slasher film. It’s the break she needs to get into the industry.

The film is being shot in Pine Springs, Louisiana. Hazel refuses to let this be a hindrance. Pine Springs was where her father was convicted of several murders 15 years ago.

But the moment shooting begins, things are off. The set has a lot of “accidents.” Hazel’s father’s name and story seem to continue popping up. And oh, there’s been a murder–one that begins to open up a lot of questions about whether Hazel’s father was the true culprit in the series of murders years ago or if the real murderer is still alive and still out for blood.

Whats Up in YA

Sign up for What’s Up In YA? to receive all things young adult literature.

Evander lives at the Hazelthorn estate and has since he was young and brought in by Byron Lennox-Hall, a reclusive billionaire who serves as his guardian. Byron’s always had three important rules for Evander to follow: do not leave the estate, do not go into the gardens, and do not be alone with Laurie.

Laurie is Byron’s grandson, and he’s both charming and an underachiever. Evander was almost killed by Laurie a few years back, and Evander is also obsessed with him still.

So when Byron dies unexpectedly, Evander is left the estate and a huge chunk of cash. No way was the death not planned, and Evander sets his sights on finding out who murdered Byron. He’ll have to break that last rule, though, to track down a suspect–Laurie may know something Byron simply doesn’t.

Add to the tension is a garden sprawling out of control and secrets spilling from both the house and the plants about the history of Byron’s family and estate. This is being described as “botanical body horror” with comps to Andrew Joseph White.

Living in the Iron Mountains is anything but easy, so when Yining loses her beloved uncle, she’s worried about how she’ll survive. She’s survived so far through lying and theft, which is where she’ll continue to work as she figures things out.

So when she steals a ring that promises her a bright future, it’s not long before Yining’s step-aunt steals it, forcing Yining to head into the heart of the kingdom to get it back.

Yining catches the attention of the prince when she’s in the kingdom, and she’s especially taken with his promise of a life within the palace that would change her entire future. But this promise isn’t what it seems and now she’s trapped inside. She’ll find solace in an unlikely rival, though it won’t be for long. It’ll be up to Yining to unravel the secrets of her past and their ties to the palace to find safety…and maybe even a meaningful future and romance.

This is the first in a new series steeped in Chinese fairy tales.

Readers who love verse novels and books told in dual timelines will want to get this one on their TBRs. The story follows Luciana “Lula” Gabroni, a homeschooled and introverted vocal prodigy, who enters the New England Conservatory of Music. Once there, she’s given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Venice, Italy, with several of her peers for a vocal competition.

Barbara Strozzi is gifted in music, but as a poor girl in 17th century Venice, she doesn’t have a lot of options outside her work as a servant girl. That doesn’t mean she won’t fight for it and push against the barriers of her class and gender to make her dream of music come true.

Lula finds Barbara’s music in the Conservatory library and falls down a rabbit hole about who this young woman was, as Lula feels a connection with her she can’t quite describe. This relationship will become even more important–and intertwined–as Lula finds herself scrambling to reclaim her own voice.

Bribri American brothers Max and Jay have grown up in a house with an abusive father and they stick together to protect themselves and their mother. So when they discover a classmate in trouble, they react on instinct, enacting violence on the soccer star at their high school.

Now the boys are in trouble…and they know what they did does not truly represent who they are or their ambitions for the future. The way they’ll get to the truth of what happened and who they are is by revisiting that day and everything that led up to their decision to turn to violence.

This one is told in vignettes and verse and tells the story of Indigenous Costa Rican American brothers — voices we rarely get to hear in YA.

Finley, Mya, River, and Eli were childhood besties and lived their lives deep in the wilds of Alaska. Finley moved away, though, following something tragic, and the group broke away. But it’s senior year now, and Finley is back. The crew’s got to make up for lost time.

Mya’s throwing a house party as a means of reconnecting, but things go south real fast, thanks to a mysterious stranger.

The police are investigating the four friends, and the cracks in their friendship are growing bigger and bigger through it all. They’re now being looked at as some of the most vicious teenagers in the country…but is that really who they are?

This is a tense, atmospheric, and fast-paced thriller.