Exciting New Releases in Middle Grade and Young Adult Literature for 2024: A Must-Read List for Librarians and Educators, a guest post by Amanda Hunt

I get a lot of questions from the librarian and educator community about collection development. As someone who is a voracious reader in the middle grade and young adult realm, in all genres, I love curating lists for teachers to use to either build their libraries or to recommend to students. 2024 has a great group of titles releasing in a wide range of authors, genres, and formats. 

Librarians and educators have a wealth of literary treasures to offer young readers in 2024. From magical quests to thought-provoking explorations of identity and history, these middle-grade and young adult releases are sure to capture the imaginations of diverse audiences. As we celebrate the power of storytelling, let these new books transport readers to exciting worlds, spark their curiosity, and inspire a lifelong love for literature. Get ready to fill your shelves with these enchanting tales that promise to leave a lasting impact on the hearts and minds of the next generation.

Upcoming Middle Grade Gems:

1. Finally Heard by Kelly Yang out February 27.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Front Desk comes the sequel to Finally Seen in which Lina gets a phone and tries to navigate social media, only to discover not everything online is what it seems.

2. The Partition Project by Saadia Farqui out February 27.

In this engaging and moving middle grade novel, Saadia Faruqi writes about a contemporary Pakistani American girl whose passion for journalism starts a conversation about her grandmother’s experience of the Partition of India and Pakistan–and the bond that the two form as she helps Dadi tell her story.

3. Winnie Nash is Not Your Sunshine by Nicole Melleby out April 2. 

12-year-old Winnie Nash is forced to live with her grandma for the summer and finds herself torn between her family’s secrets and the joy of celebrating Pride.

4. The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley out April 9.

A young Jewish girl narrowly escapes capture and hides out at a Catholic school in the French countryside. When she finds an opportunity to escape to safety, she must decide whether to flee or stay in hiding and help others find freedom.

5. Rebellion, 1776 by Laurie Halse Anderson out October 15.

From New York Times bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson comes an eerily timely historical fiction middle grade adventure about a girl struggling to survive amid a smallpox epidemic, the public’s fear of inoculation, and the seething Revolutionary War.

Future Young Adult Must-Reads:

1. Skater Boy by Anthony Nerada out February 6.

Closeted Wes MacKenzie navigates his senior year. He’s failing classes, has anger issues, and is preoccupied with the recent implosion of his parents’ relationship. But when openly gay Tristian Monroe catches his eye, Wes imagines a different future for himself — one where he graduates and gets the boy.

2. Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee out April 23.

Lee transports us to 1932 Los Angeles. After sisters May, Gemma, and Peony Chow stumble upon the movie star Lulu Wong’s dead body, they know the case isn’t as open-and-shut as the LAPD would have the public believe. But they also know they can’t trust the police to bring justice to a murdered Chinese girl, no matter how famous she was — so they take matters into their own hands.

3. The Color of a Lie by Kim Johnson out June 11.

This new social justice thriller from Kim Johnson takes place in segregated 1955 America. When Calvin and his family move into a “Whites Only” suburb after fleeing tragedy in Chicago, Calvin must do all he can to hide his true identity and pass for white. He has lots of practice doing it — but insidious danger lurks beneath the surface of this small town.

4. Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus out July 30.

In this new standalone mystery by Karen M. McManus, teenage Kat and her mother, Jamie, are jewel thieves. Jamie is ready to leave the life of crime behind — after one final heist at billionaire Ross Sutherland’s birthday party. But when the birthday boy turns up dead, can Kat outrun the killer? YA readers everywhere will burn the midnight oil to finish this heart-pounding thriller.

5. The Davenports: More Than This by Krystal Marquis out November 12.

Inspired by the true story of C.R. Patterson, a Black man who escaped slavery and carved out a place for himself and his family in Ohio society, the Davenports series follows one wealthy Black family in the early 1910s. The second installment picks up right where book one left off, and readers will delight in seeing where Ruby, Olivia, Amy-Rose, and Helen go next in their journeys through life and love.

Meet the author

Amanda Hunt, aka TheNextGenLibrarian, is a 6th-8th middle school librarian in New Braunfels ISD and is the Secondary Lead Librarian for NBISD. She’s been a librarian for twelve years at both elementary and secondary campuses. She was the chair for the Mavericks Graphic Novel Reading List Committee for TLA from 2021-2023. She was also the chair for TxASL Talks Editorial Board and presently is the TxASL Councilor through 2025. She also serves on the Conference Planning Committee for the TLA 2024 conference. Hunt is on the Bylaws Committee for TLA and the Operating Procedures Committee member for TxASL. She is on the AASL Committee for rewriting the new AASL Standards. Amanda has served on the Cybil Award YA Speculative Reading List Committee for 2023 and is on the Margaret Edwards 2025 Award Committee. She was a TLA TxASL Media and Visual Presence (MVP) Honoree for 2021 and 2023, and the TLA Branding Iron Award 2022 Winner for Digital Only Communications in a School Library. Amanda is a certified Apple Teacher and Apple Learning Coach, as well as a Google certified Trainer and Coach. She has certifications in a variety of #edtech tools and is a voracious reader. Visit her linktree: http://bit.ly/biolinkthenextgenlibrarian and follow her across social media @thenextgenlibrarian

Filed under: Guest Post