11 must-read YA books for February!

If you’re anything like me, you’re mostly trying to figure out how on earth it’s February already. But, while we’re both having a mini existential breakdown, I thought it would be a great time to check in with all the fantastic YA February releases!

There are super exciting fantasy releases from the likes of Tahereh Mafi and Julie Kagawa, plus Vanessa Len’s debut in Only a Monster, a heart-stopping romance in Golden Boys by Phil Stamper, and a classic Korean folktale retelling in The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh. Read on to discover the full list of books to put on your radar (or your bookshelf) now!

Only a Monster

by Vanessa Len

Only a monster would kill a hero. Right? Every family has its secrets, but the summer Joan Chang-Hunt goes to stay with her Gran in London, she learns hers is bigger than most. The Hunts are one of twelve families in London with terrifying, hidden powers. Joan is half-monster. And what’s more, her summer crush Nick isn’t just a cute boy – he’s hiding a secret as well; a secret that places Joan in terrible danger.

Buy it here

This Woven Kingdom

by Tahereh Mafi

To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight. The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can’t put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom – and the world.

Buy it here

The Iron Sword

by Julie Kagawa

Banished from the Winter Court for daring to fall in love, Prince Ash achieved the impossible and journeyed to the End of the World to earn a soul and keep his vow to always stand beside Queen Meghan of the Iron Fey. Now he faces even more incomprehensible odds. Their son, King Keirran of the Forgotten, is missing. Something more ancient than the courts of Faery and more evil than anything Ash has faced in a millennium is rising as Evenfall approaches. And if Ash and his allies cannot stop it, the chaos that has begun to divide the world will shatter it for eternity.

Buy it here

Castles in their Bones

by Laura Sebastian

The plot: overthrow a kingdom. The goal: world domination. The plan: marriage. Trained for from birth in espionage and seduction, the triplet princesses of Bessemia must travel to three distant lands to marry three princes and enact their Queen mother’s plan to rule from sea to sea. But when they arrive, each sister discovers her task is not so simple, and their mother’s motives may not be what they seem.

Buy it here

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

by Axie Oh

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering. Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village – and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon – may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Buy it here

Golden Boys

by Phil Stamper

Gabriel, Reese, Sal and Heath are best friends, bonded in their small rural town by their queerness, their good grades and their big dreams. But now it’s the summer before their last year of high school, and each of them is going on a huge new adventure. Reese has a design internship in Paris, Gabriel is going to Boston for an internship with a charity organisation and Sal is volunteering on Capitol Hill for a senator – while Heath is stuck going to Florida to help his aunt’s business. What will this summer of new experiences and world-expanding travel mean for each of them – and for their friendship?

Buy it here

The Gifts That Bind Us

by Caroline O’Donoghue

Maeve and her friends have revealed their powers and banded together as a coven: Roe can pick locks, Lily sends sparks flying, Maeve can read minds and Fiona can heal any injury. And even better than their newfound talents? Roe and Maeve are officially an item. But with strange things happening at school, and old enemies appearing in new places, it soon becomes clear their powers are attracting all the wrong attention. It’s not long before Maeve’s gift start to wane, drained by someone – or something – that’s hiding even from her second sight …

Buy it here

I Must Betray You

by Ruta Sepetys

Cristian has lived his entire life in the grip of a repressive dictatorship. The country is governed by fear. When the secret police blackmail him, Cristian has an impossible choice. Save the life of his sick grandfather by informing on his family, or risk his life – and all of theirs – by resisting? At 17, Cristian dreams of being free but doesn’t know where to turn. In this climate of constant suspicion, can he trust his best friend, his girlfriend or even his family?

Buy it here

The Other Side of Tomorrow

by Hayley Lawrence

When Abby traded her life in the city for a wholesome new life on the coast, it was meant to be a fresh start for her family. Behind them was the sickness and sadness of the past. But sickness doesn’t always play by the rules. And as Abby’s past threatens to swallow her future, she is forced to decide what is most important. What she will fight for. And she will fight. For however many days she has left.

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Fish Out of Water

by Kate Hendrick

Life is pretty simple for fifteen-year-old Finn- just keep following the black line in the pool. But in a moment it all changes- distracted by a familiar face in the crowd, he falters on the blocks and loses not just the race, but the single-minded focus that has driven him this far. Did he really see what he thinks he saw? It doesn’t seem possible – not after what happened – but now Finn can’t stop wondering, and everything is starting to unravel.

Buy it here

Horror Hotel

by Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren

When the YouTube-famous Ghost Gang — Chrissy, Chase, Emma, and Kiki — visit a haunted LA hotel notorious for tragedy to secretly film after dark, they expect it to be just like their previous paranormal huntings. Spooky enough to attract subscribers — and ultimately harmless. But when they stumble upon something unexpected in the former room of a gruesome serial killer, they quickly realize that they’re in over their heads. Sometimes, it’s the dead who need our help — and the living we should fear.

Buy it here

Which book are you looking forward to reading the most?

Tell us below in the comments!

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About the Contributor

Eden Samuel