10 Spring 2022 YA Books to Add to Your TBR Immediately

Looking to add something new to your shelves? These spring 2022 YA books should be at the top of your list!

I don’t know all of the secrets of publishing, but I do know that spring seems to be the season when SO MANY amazing YA books come out each year. I’m not complaining-I love new books! (Okay, maybe I’m complaining a little bit-how can we possibly read all these amazing books, publishers?!) Anyway, for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl, I’ve combed through all of the books coming out in the next couple of months to narrow it down to just 10 super fantastic books that I can’t wait for, and that you absolutely should not miss either.

Also, a small disclaimer: I hope that, this close to publication, none of these books will have their publication dates changed, but, as we all know, there are a lot of complications going on with publishing right now, so, just to be safe, all of the dates listed below are expected publication dates.

So, enough talking-here are the books!

Does My Body Offend You? by Marie Marquardt and Mayra Cuevas

Expected Publication: April 5th

Goodreads Summary: Malena Rosario is starting to believe that catastrophes come in threes. First, Hurricane Maria destroyed her home, taking her unbreakable spirit with it. Second, she and her mother are now stuck in Florida, which is nothing like her beloved Puerto Rico. And third, when she goes to school bra-less after a bad sunburn and is humiliated by the school administration into covering up, she feels like she has no choice but to comply.

Ruby McAllister has a reputation as her school’s outspoken feminist rebel. But back in Seattle, she lived under her sister’s shadow. Now her sister is teaching in underprivileged communities, and she’s in a Florida high school, unsure of what to do with her future, or if she’s even capable of making a difference in the world. So when Ruby notices the new girl is being forced to cover up her chest, she is not willing to keep quiet about it.

Neither Malena nor Ruby expected to be the leaders of the school’s dress code rebellion. But the girls will have to face their own insecurities, biases, and privileges, and the ups and downs in their newfound friendship, if they want to stand up for their ideals and–ultimately–for themselves.

My two cents: We always love a good dress code rebellion, especially when it’s all about smashing the patriarchy. I’m excited to read this one!

An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan

Expected Publication: April 12th

Goodreads Summary: Hunter Yee has perfect aim with a bow and arrow, but all else in his life veers wrong. He’s sick of being haunted by his family’s past mistakes. The only things keeping him from running away are his little brother, a supernatural wind, and the bewitching girl at his new high school.

Luna Chang dreads the future. Graduation looms ahead, and her parents’ expectations are stifling. When she begins to break the rules, she finds her life upended by the strange new boy in her class, the arrival of unearthly fireflies, and an ominous crack spreading across the town of Fairbridge.

As Hunter and Luna navigate their families’ enmity and secrets, everything around them begins to fall apart. All they can depend on is their love…but time is running out, and fate will have its way.

My two cents: I don’t like Romeo and Juliet OR magical realism, yet somehow this book still sounds great-that’s how good Emily X.R. Pan is! 

Blaine for the Win by Robbie Couch

Expected Publication: April 12th

Goodreads Summary: High school junior Blaine Bowers has it all—the perfect boyfriend, a pretty sweet gig as a muralist for local Windy City businesses, a loving family, and awesome, talented friends. And he is absolutely, 100% positive that aforementioned perfect boyfriend—​senior student council president and Mr. Popular of Wicker West High School, Joey—is going to invite Blaine to spend spring break with his family in beautiful, sunny Cabo San Lucas.

Except Joey breaks up with him instead. In public. On their one-year anniversary.

Because, according to Joey, Blaine is too goofy, too flighty, too…unserious. And if Joey wants to go far in life, he needs to start dating more serious guys. Guys like Zach Chesterton.

Determined to prove that Blaine can be what Joey wants, Blaine decides to enter the running to become his successor (and beat out Joey’s new boyfriend, Zach) as senior student council president.

But is he willing to sacrifice everything he loves about himself to do it?

My two cents: There’s just something about a high school government election book that makes me want to read them all! Of course, this one sounds amazing-a campaign that’s part revenge, part winning back lost love? YES PLEASE.

This May End Badly by Samantha Markum

Expected Publication: April 12th

Goodreads Summary: Pranking mastermind Doe and her motley band of Weston girls are determined to win the century-long war against Winfield Academy before the clock ticks down on their senior year. But when their headmistress announces that The Weston School will merge with its rival the following year, their longtime feud spirals into chaos.

To protect the school that has been her safe haven since her parents’ divorce, Doe puts together a plan to prove once and for all that Winfield boys and Weston girls just don’t mix, starting with a direct hit at Three, Winfield’s boy king and her nemesis. In a desperate move to win, Doe strikes a bargain with Three’s cousin, Wells: If he fake dates her to get under Three’s skin, she’ll help him get back his rightful family heirloom from Three.

As the pranks escalate, so do her feelings for her fake boyfriend, and Doe spins lie after lie to keep up her end of the deal. But when a teacher long suspected of inappropriate behavior messes with a younger Weston girl, Doe has to decide what’s more important: winning a rivalry, or joining forces to protect something far more critical than a prank war legacy.

This May End Badly is a story about friendship, falling in love, and crossing pretty much every line presented to you—and how to atone when you do.

My two cents: I’ve actually already read this one, and if you’ve enjoyed books like The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, Amelia Westlake Was Never Here, or Jellicoe Road, then you’ll want to pick this one up too! Full of pranks and hate-to-love romance, you’ll be laughing and swooning simultaneously.

Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf

Expected Publication: April 19th

Goodreads Summary: CATALYST

13 points

noun: a person or thing that precipitates an event or change

When Najwa Bakri walks into her first Scrabble competition since her best friend’s death, it’s with the intention to heal and move on with her life. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to choose the very same competition where said best friend, Trina Low, died. It might be even though Najwa’s trying to change, she’s not ready to give up Trina just yet.

But the same can’t be said for all the other competitors. With Trina, the Scrabble Queen herself, gone, the throne is empty, and her friends are eager to be the next reigning champion. All’s fair in love and Scrabble, but all bets are off when Trina’s formerly inactive Instagram starts posting again, with cryptic messages suggesting that maybe Trina’s death wasn’t as straightforward as everyone thought. And maybe someone at the competition had something to do with it.

As secrets are revealed and the true colors of her friends are shown, it’s up to Najwa to find out who’s behind these mysterious posts—not just to save Trina’s memory, but to save herself.

My two cents: Please put this book into my hands immediately. Competitive Scrabble AND a mystery? I WANT IT NOW.

Cafe Con Lychee by Emery Lee

Expected Publication: May 10th

Goodreads Summary: Theo Mori wants to escape. Leaving Vermont for college means getting away from working at his parents’ Asian American café and dealing with their archrivals’ hopeless son Gabi who’s lost the soccer team more games than Theo can count.

Gabi Moreno is miserably stuck in the closet. Forced to play soccer to hide his love for dance and iced out by Theo, the only openly gay guy at school, Gabi’s only reprieve is his parents’ Puerto Rican bakery and his plans to take over after graduation.

But the town’s new fusion café changes everything. Between the Moris struggling shop and the Morenos plan to sell their bakery in the face of the competition, both boys find their dreams in jeopardy. Then Theo has an idea—sell photo-worthy food covertly at school to offset their losses. When he sprains his wrist and Gabi gets roped in to help, they realize they need to work together to save their parents’ shops but will the new feelings rising between them be enough to send their future plans up in smoke?

My two cents: I’m not a huge fan of the enemies to lovers trope in general, but the concept of boys from rival restaurants having to work together to save their parents’ businesses sounds so good!

A Show for Two by Tashie Bhuiyan

Expected Publication: May 10th

Goodreads Summary: Mina Rahman has a plan for her future:

• Finally win the Golden Ivy student film competition

• Get into her dream school across the country

• Leave New York City behind once and for all

Mina’s ticket to winning the competition falls into her lap when indie film star—and known heartbreaker—Emmitt Ramos enrolls in her high school under a secret identity to research his next role. When Mina sets out to persuade Emmitt to join her cause, he offers her a deal instead: he’ll be in her short film…if she acts as a tour guide to help him with a photography contest.

As Mina ventures across the five boroughs with Emmitt by her side, the city she grew up in starts to look different and more like home than it ever has before. With the competition deadline looming, Mina’s dreams—which once seemed impenetrable—begin to crumble, and she’s forced to ask herself: Is winning worth losing everything?

My two cents: First, pick this up if only because it is based on the ACTUAL time Tom Holland “went undercover” at the author’s NYC high school while she was a student there! Second, it is such a love letter to NYC-reading this made me miss the city SO much.

Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster by Andrea Mosqueda

Expected Publication: May 24th

Goodreads Summary: Growing up in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley, Maggie Gonzalez has always been a little messy, but she’s okay with that. After all, she has a great family, a goofy group of friends, a rocky romantic history, and dreams of being a music photographer. Tasked with picking an escort for her little sister’s quinceañera, Maggie has to face the truth: that her feelings about her friends—and her future—aren’t as simple as she’d once believed.

As Maggie’s search for the perfect escort continues, she’s forced to confront new (and old) feelings for three of her friends: Amanda, her best friend and first-ever crush; Matthew, her ex-boyfriend twice-over who refuses to stop flirting with her, and Dani, the new girl who has romantic baggage of her own. On top of this romantic disaster, she can’t stop thinking about the uncertainty of her own plans for the future and what that means for the people she loves.

As the weeks wind down and the boundaries between friendship and love become hazy, Maggie finds herself more and more confused with each photo. When her tried-and-true medium causes more chaos than calm, Maggie needs to figure out how to avoid certain disaster—or be brave enough to dive right into it.

My two cents: This book has SO MUCH disaster bi energy! But it also has great friendships, and lots of humor, and such vivid descriptions of the setting.

Kings of B’More by R. Eric Thomas

Expected Publication: May 31st

Goodreads Summary: With junior year starting in the fall, Harrison feels like he’s on the precipice of, well, everything. Standardized testing, college, and the terrifying unknowns and looming pressures of adulthood after that–it’s like the future wants to eat him alive. Which is why Harrison is grateful that he and his best friend Linus will face these things together. But at the end of a shift at their summer job, Linus invites Harrison to their special spot overlooking the city to deliver devastating news: he’s moving out of state at the end of the week.

To keep from completely losing it–and partially inspired by a cheesy movie-night pick by his Dad–Harrison plans a send-off a la Ferris Bueller’s Day Off that’s worthy of his favorite person. If they won’t be having all the life-expanding experiences they thought they would, Harrison will squeeze them all into their last day. They end up on a mini road trip, their first Pride, and a rooftop dance party, all while keeping their respective parents, who track them on a family location app, off their trail. Harrison and Linus make a pact to do all the things–big and small–they’ve been too scared to do. But nothing feels scarier than saying goodbye to someone you love.

My two cents: This one wasn’t actually on my radar until I started doing my research for this list, and it sounds so amazing! I love a good road trip story, though the reason behind it is a little sad.

The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna

Expected Publication: May 31st

Goodreads Summary: It’s been six months since Deka has freed the goddesses and discovered who she really is. There are now wars waging across the kingdom. Otereans now think jatu are traitors to the nation. Deka is called a monster.

But the real battle has only just begun and Deka must lead the charge. Deka is tasked with freeing the rest of the goddesses. Only as she begins to free them, she begins to see a strange symbol everywhere in places of worship and worn on armor. There’s something unnatural about that symbol; just looking at it makes Deka lose her senses. Even worse, it seems to repel her powers. She can’t command or communicate with the new deathshrieks. In fact, she can’t even understand them when they speak.

Deka knows freeing the goddesses is just the beginning. She can tell whatever dark force out is powerful and there is something sinister out there threatening the kingdom connected to that symbol–something merciless–that her army will need to stop before humanity crumbles. But Deka’s powers are only getting stronger…and her strongest weapon could be herself. 

My two cents: This is the only sequel on this list, because I don’t normally like to recommend those over first books in a series. But I am SO looking forward to getting back into the world of The Gilded Ones and seeing what happens next that I had to include this one! (Also, feminist Africa-inspired fantasy-need I say more?!)

Well, there you have it, my top picks of all the spring 2022 YA books coming out over the next few months! Tell me, what’s on your most anticipated list for spring 2022?

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