My Top 10 Most Anticipated YA Books (2020)

Well, isn’t this perfect timing. It’s summer, I’m out of school (for good! 🥳), and suddenly, all the big YA books are trickling out. The following list is only ten of the many that I’m excited to get my hands on. Mostly contemporary, that being my favorite genre, and some fantasy here and there. I went ahead and included stars to rate my personal excitement, as well as every book’s release date — so mark your calendars! Here we go!

1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

I never asked for a prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy, and I certainly never asked for it to focus on the villain President Snow, but there’s no way I’m turning it down. To be more specific, it focuses on Snow when he’s eighteen and about to mentor a tribute for the games. It’ll be interesting to get inside his head when he’s so young; perhaps it’ll give some insight as to how he become the vile man he was in the original series.

2. I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee

I’m always on the lookout for YA with Korean/Korean-American characters, and this one looks like a real good time. The novel follows a girl named Skye who’s always been told she’s too fat to have a dancing career. But that doesn’t stop her — she auditions for a K-Pop competition and totally rocks it. The novel’s description promises music biz drama and a little bit of romance, so maybe this could be Dream High in a book? I can dream!

3. Girl, Unframed by Deb Caletti

I’ve read two books by Deb Caletti (Honey, Baby, Sweetheart and Wild Roses), both of which were sweet and mellow coming-of-age stories. Caletti’s newest book seems to be the exact opposite of that, instead being a dangerous thriller. Protagonist Sydney visits her famous actress mother in California, finding herself mixed with some questionable people. The premise is a bit vague, but there’s enough there to make me curious.

4. Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey

I’m super stoked about this book, being a huge movie buff, but I won’t be able to read it since I’ve yet to read the previous book Waiting for Tom Hanks. I’m guessing that the books can be read as stand-alones, but *shrugs* I like to go in order. At least now I can experience these back-to-back.

5. 10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon

I got on the Sandhya Menon train pretty late, and I’ve still only read one of her books, but that one book really charmed me. Enough to put all of her work, Pinky included, on my To-Read list. Like #4, though, I’ll be wanting to read all of these in order. Again, not required, but the order does go with the characters we meet (think Anna & the French Kiss trilogy).

6. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

When I saw news of this release, I legitimately thought it was a joke. I thought I was being punk’d. I’d been dying to read Midnight Sun (basically Twilight in Edward’s POV) ever since I read the preview on Stephenie Meyer’s website YEARS ago. YEARS. And you know what? Yeah, I’m not thirteen anymore and yeah, my MFA has made me see Twilight for what it is. But I don’t care. I’m reading this whole damn thing in one night.

7. Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

If you want something like #2, only darker (way darker), then this is for you. Protagonist Enchanted finds herself thrown into the music business, into what sounds like a scary relationship with her R&B mentor, and eventually, into that mentor’s murder. Similar to Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, I think this book will tackle some heavy themes that are rarely talked about and need to be talked about in YA.

8. The Woods are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins

Stephanie Perkins wrote the Anna & the French Kiss trilogy, some of my favorite contemporary romance novels ever. The woman just knows romance; her couples are sweet and cute and funny and oh-so-relatable. She later ventured into YA horror with There’s Someone Inside Your House and now this. Of course, I’d prefer to have another romance novel, but anything from her I’m sure to love.

9. Breathless by Jennifer Niven

Phew. I’ve gotta say, going through this list, all the covers are gorgeous. I especially love the soothing palette for Breathless. Jennifer Niven wrote All the Bright Places, which I liked, and Holding Up the Universe, which was… eh. I think I might’ve read the latter at the wrong time or with the wrong expectations, but either way, it was a miss for me. I’m hoping this next one is a hit, because I do like Niven’s writing style.

10. Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao

Another writer I haven’t read but am very much interested in. The title pretty much says it all, setting up a sort of contract romance with the protagonist and her fake boyfriend. It’s tropey, for sure, but if done right, tropey can be clever and fun. After I read some of the more heavy stuff, like Girl, Unframed and Grown, this will be a nice little rom-com for the end of the year.