There are really only two reactions to the word “earworm.” The first is a groan, and it comes from people who know exactly what it means. The second is a big question mark, and that reaction comes from people who don’t know what it means. Whatever side of the divide you’re on, know that by the end of this piece, you’ll have a song stuck in your head.
An earworm is precisely that: a song that gets stuck in your head. In the case of these books, the earworm comes from the titles of YA novels releasing this year, which either share a title with a well-known song or use a lyric very similar to one. The match doesn’t need to be perfect to be effective. Last year, for example, one of the YA book title earworms was Call Your Boyfriend by Olivia A. Cole and Ashley Woodfolk, which continues to make Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend” loop in my head.
Music and YA books go hand in hand. Teenhood is intricately tied to music, so tying a book’s title to a song makes sense. Here are some of the book titles you’ll be singing throughout 2026. This list isn’t comprehensive, as we still don’t know everything hitting shelves later in the year. It is, however, a pretty interesting playlist of themes, styles, and feelings!
As Long As You Loathe Me by Swati Hegde (March 31)
Meera Rao-George is a dorky girl who has spent her senior year with a mega-crush on her neighbor, Sushant. Too bad Sushant is head over heels for Lucy Hughson, a cheerleader. Lucy is, unfortunately, Meera’s ex-best friend.
Tired of being the dorky girl, Meera wants to do something bold. She’s going to date Sushant and knock Lucy off her pedestal.
What Meera–nor anyone else–knows is that while everything about Lucy’s life looks good, she’s struggling on the inside. It’s anxiety, it’s fear, and it’s the idea that she will never be good enough … and that she might not like Sushant as much as he likes her.
Meera’s plan to get close to Lucy again and take her down isn’t going to go the way she planned, though. Instead, it rekindles feelings between the two of them that led to their friendship breakup in the first place.
You know exactly what the earworm is, don’t you?
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Cruel Summer (The Taylors #2) by Elizabeth Eulberg (Available now)
This one’s going to be a bit on the nose because Eulberg’s book is part of a series inspired by Taylor Swift and her massive fandom.
Four girls, all named Taylor, have survived the first year of high school. While they’re all eager about summer finally arriving, each of the girls has a big secret or hurdle that is going to change the trajectory of this short time off school. They each need one another to get through things, but with this time apart, their friendships may be challenged more than any of them anticipate.
Obviously, this one’s a nod to Taylor Swift.
We’re not going to stop there, though. Bananarama deserves a little love here, too, since their “Cruel Summer” came a few decades earlier.
Everything Comes Back to You by Jackie Khalilieh (August 4)
Lennon is feeling all of the feelings about beginning high school. She’s autistic, and she’s Palestinian Canadian. Both of those mean that “normal” high school experiences come with more exacting standards and expectations, especially from her family. This is even more true when her sister, a senior, announces she’s become pregnant. Suddenly, Lennon has to be the perfect daughter.
Things become trickier when Lennon begins to fall for John, a white boy who is a year older than her. She knows he isn’t the kind of guy her parents would approve of. But over the course of high school, Lennon and John will grow closer, fall apart, and come back together, and these experiences will help Lennon figure out where and how she can be who she is (and where and how it might clash with what her parents demand of her).
This earworm is an example of the title serving as a prominent lyric rather than the song’s name. We’ve got Niall Horan’s “This Town” as our inspiration this time.
Fight Song by Kirk Van Brunt (September 15)
Nokes Lasley is an Indigenous hockey player who is hard to miss. She’s a killer right wing, and she’s, well, very tall. Her drive and temper have given her a reputation. Nokes is bound and determined to make the Olympics.
All of her hard work and passion for the game is one way she escapes her tenuous home life. Things only become more uncertain when her dad is arrested, accused of murder. Now, Nokes has been ripped from her home and is bouncing between foster stays.
She’s had enough. Nokes decides to leave Ontario and head to Minnesota on her own. She needs to get back into the game and reclaim her life. A family friend may have connections to the professional leagues, and anything is better than enduring uncertainty and pain.
It’s been years since this song was unavoidable anywhere you went, but if it’s been a while for you, as it has for me, here’s Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song.”
Good Luck, Babe by Erin Baldwin (June 23)
Noelle and Yumi were besties for 10 years, and one of the biggest things they bonded over was reality TV. Their junior year went off the rails, though, when one bad night and one attempted bad kiss ended their friendship.
Now, a year later, the two of them are offered a spot on their favorite reality show. The problem is that the season is for couples only, and filming begins in two days. Noelle needs the money badly, and she realizes that the need is so great that she could fake-date Yumi for the possibility of a cash-out.
Of course, Real Feelings may be on their way before too long–and in front of a national TV audience.
There’s probably no introduction necessary for this song, is there?
I’m Gonna Get You Back by Eva Des Lauriers (May 19)
A year after high school, Reid is nervous about returning to his town’s Legacy Weekend, a tradition that invites high school alumni back to their small town. See, Reid left for college on a scholarship as a championship runner, but he’s now got an injury no one can know about. It’s an injury that could put his future at risk.
Then there’s Clara. Her legacy can’t be failure either, especially because she’s spent the last year aimless. But her chances for redemption–AKA film school–are as close as making a film about Legacy Weekend. But she’s nervous about interviewing her former classmates, including her ex, Reid. She doesn’t want to revisit the scandal that rocked their senior year.
Too bad there’s an anonymous social media account out there now airing everyone’s secrets, even before the weekend has truly kicked off. While this book has plenty of secrets and legacies to unravel, it’s ultimately a second-chance romance.
Your earworm? It’s another Taylor Swift song.
Love Me Tomorrow by Emiko Jean (Available now)
Emma Nakamura-Thatcher grew up with divorced parents, and their bitter relationship is one of many reasons she doesn’t believe in love. But when she attends the Tanabata festival and makes a wish for proof that love is real, she could never have anticipated what would happen. She received a letter from someone in the future claiming to be her true love. The note writer knows things about Emma that only she herself knows, and it sets her off on a mission to uncover who the letter writer is.
As Emma works to find out who her true love from the future is, what she’ll discover along the way are the many shapes and sizes love can and does take.
We’ve got two bangers for this one! First up, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” from The Shirelles:
Then there’s “Love Me Tomorrow” from Chicago
We’re a Bad Idea, Right? by K.L. Walther (March 31)
Audrey’s always been the perfect daughter. The good kid. The ruler follower. So now, at 18, her parents have said no to her dream experience of studying glassblowing. Even though it’s a prestigious fellowship, they aren’t going for it.
Then her best friend, Henry, concocts a fake-dating scheme with Audrey to win back his ex-girlfriend. Audrey sees it as a way to step out of the perfect life that has left her unable to really live her life for herself. Then, when her parents go out of town, Audrey sees the door open wider: she’ll rent out her parents’ Connecticut mansion to make some cash to help pay for her fellowship. Her new (fake) boyfriend will be her ultimate partner in the endeavor.
Nothing will go as planned, though, and throughout the process–of the bad money making plans, of the fake dating scheme–Audrey will have to reckon with who she really is and what it is she wants out of her own life.
Last but not least, we wrap up the 2026 YA earworms playlist with a little Olivia Rodrigo.
Want more? You can check out the YA book title earworm posts from years gone by, including 2025, 2023, 2022, 2020, and 2019. The 2024 edition went out in a newsletter that, unfortunately, has been lost to the sands of time.
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