Secret Powers and Dark Academic Thrills: New YA Book Releases for January 14, 2026

Ella’s plans that night were to hang out with friends, but she ended up being roped into a babysitting job instead. Things go from bad to worse when she arrives at the house where she’s caretaking, though: the door’s open and it smells like gas. Even though Ella can call for help, not everyone survives.

As Ella begins her own recovery, things in the investigation take a turn for the worse. It seems that this was no accidental gas leak, and it appears that the person or persons responsible are not going to give up until they reach Ella.

Drew Tarpin’s room is haunted by the ghost of Liam Orville, who died 10 months ago. Liam can’t move on, but Drew can’t have him there. The longer he’s there, the more energy he’ll steal from her. Drew’s already got it hard enough being the new kid and trying to navigate a new school and new friendships.

A twist in the mix? Drew finds herself attracted to Hannah, who was Liam’s former best friend.

After getting tangled up with a ghost-eating monster, Drew and Liam realize they need to figure out what’s going on and where or how they can help one another. Drew is going to figure out why Liam is still around, and Liam, in return, will help Drew untie her tongue around Hannah.

The problem is they have little time to make either of these happen before Liam turns into a monster himself.

So the earlier note about there not being any new series books this week isn’t entirely true. This is the first in a forthcoming series of dark academic thrillers, although it’s not entirely clear whether these need to be read in order or if they can be read as a loose series, with no need to read them consecutively. Davis-Featherstone’s book is garnering comparisons to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder in the reviews.

Eva’s dream is to get into and study at Oxford University. It’s her path to freedom–something she’s always wanted. But when she and her best friend George show up for interviews, they’re surprised by just how cut-throat that academic world is. Worse, they find themselves subject to a rumor on the school’s anonymous social media network, Oxford Says.

Then Eva finds George dead, and she knows that it’s murder. Fingers quickly point to Eva as the suspect, and now, she’s not only got to fight for her spot at her dream school. She’s also got to clear her name and reputation. Oxford Blood delves into racism, privilege, and the darker aspects of the academic world.

Jasper is working a dead-end job as a cashier at Here For You discount mart. There is a portal to hell in aisle nine, part of the realities of life now, where demons may emerge at any minute.

Jasper doesn’t mind the job. He has no friends or family anyway (except a talking cat), and he also has no memories from before. Plus, the job allows him to be close to Kyle Kuan, a monster fighter he has a crush on but who hates him for reasons he cannot remember.

So when Jasper and Kyle realize they’re experiencing the same haunting visions of the end of the world, the two must team up to fight the demons around them and understand what the heck is actually going on. This story hits so many big, meaty issues about resistance and fighting back in a world that feels hopeless in a way that’s also a little, err, funny? Humorous? Bizarre? In other words, it feels fresh.

Senior Excursion is the talk of Warner Prep. It’s a trip the seniors take, and they’re so ready for the exclusive adventure.

However, instead of arriving at an amazing location, the teens are sent to an isolated ski chalet in Colorado. It’s a digital detox program and is going to be SO BORING.

Then one by one, students are dropping dead. What’s going on? Now the teens are bound and determined to figure out what’s going on before they’re taken down—and it’s a surprise blizzard keeping them further trapped that will unravel dangerous secrets and more.

Catie Carlson, who is Taiwanese-American, never fit in with her white family. She loves them, but she’s always wanted to connect with the culture of her biological mother.

She doesn’t expect the opportunity to arise, but it does, thanks to her coworker Toby, who offers to teach her Mandarin. She’ll repay him by teaching him how to date so that he can ask out his crush.

There’s one big problem: Catie has no idea how to date. She’ll pretend, though, and for a while, it works out well. But as the summer goes on, Catie’s getting much closer to Toby than she expected, and she’s getting closer and closer to learning what really happened to her biological mom.

Readers who like romances, stories about transracial adoption, and grief will appreciate this one.  

When the Storm hit, Liz holed up in the now-abandoned bookstore where she’d once worked. In it, she trades books for supplies, hoping to survive. It feels like the safest place to be when the world outside has become more than dangerous. In addition to trying to stay safe, Liz is mourning that her former coworker Eva has left her alone, which is just another loss in a long line of losses Liz has experienced…and has avoided acknowledging and mourning. 

But as a second Storm brews, a girl named Maeve barges into the bookstore hoping for safety. Immediately, she and Liz are at odds until they realize that each holds a special skill that can help them survive. Maeve is difficult, unfriendly, and, well, she barged into Liz’s space without asking and refuses to find her own shelter–or at least that’s the perspective we get from Liz. As readers, we pretty quickly see that Liz’s perspective might not be the truthful one, but one marred by some of her own difficulties and sometimes-challenging and, well, unlikable characteristics. But then Liz realizes Maeve has some skills that make her stay appealing, namely that she might be able to help fix up the store and prepare it for whatever storm will come next. Liz says she can stay. 

Perhaps it’s the fact they’re potentially witnessing the end of the world, and perhaps it’s the fact that opposites can attract, and perhaps it’s the fact they are holed up in an abandoned bookstore together, but Liz and Maeve are weathering the storm together and growing closer and closer. 

But Liz’s inner demons are roaring, and Maeve’s secrets are also showing up, all thanks to a trip the two of them make outside the bookstore to gather more supplies. Despite the growing feelings between the girls, their potential relationship might be over before it begins. Can they set their pasts behind them and hold on to one another through the rapidly devolving world around them, potentially surviving not only the storm but also long enough to have a genuine, meaningful relationship? 

This is a compelling sapphic dystopian climate change novel.