2023 is here and with it, a whole new bunch of books we want to read and won’t have time to get to, aerm. After sharing some of my most anticipated reads for this year as a whole, I really wanted to highlight some 2023 YA debuts I’m excited for. It’s their first novel (or first novel alone, for one case here below) and I feel like these deserve some extra love. Also I really wish I could read all of these right now, because they sound AWESOME okay.
I have a little mix of mystery, thriller, one fantasy and a bunch of contemporary books here. I hope you’ll enjoy this list and please, if you have recommendations, I’d love to hear them in comments!
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2023 YA Debuts I’m Excited To Read
The Unforgettable Alexandra Shaw, A. Lloyd Spanton
Seventeen years old Alexandra killed her father by accident. When a stranger named Logan arrives and tells her she’s dead, as well, they start a quest together to figure out what happened… This sounds messy and twisted and a whole lot of fun and honestly, I’m so here for this!
How To Find A Missing Girl, Victoria Wlosok
A year ago, a beloved cheerleader disappeared. Her sister, Iris, didn’t manage to solve the investigation at the time. When Iris’ ex girlfriend disappears after publishing a true crime podcast about Iris’ sister, she decides to seek the truth again. This sounds like so much fun! A sapphic mini detective agency, mysterious disappearances, I’m really here for this kind of book lately!
Find on Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Blackwell’s
Live Your Best Lie, Jessie Weaver
I love books dealing with social media and this one sounds awesome. It’s about a social media influencer disappearing… then unscheduled posts appearing on her feed. It seems like a thrilling mystery and apparently, it’s told with social media posts and flashbacks as well, which is, really, something I love!
Find on Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Blackwell’s
Where You See Yourself, Claire Forrest
This one sounds like such a wonderful coming-of-age story. It’s about Effie, starting her senior year and navigating between college applications, trying to find an accessible place enough for her wheelchair, figuring out her long-time crush might be going to the same college… it sounds heartwarming and important and yay for disability rep here! Excited for this one and I LOVE that cover.
Find on Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Blackwell’s
Their Vicious Games, Joelle Wellington
I am already absolutely obsessed with this book, okay. It’s about Adina, a Black teen at a prestigious academy who’s blacklisted for her top choice Ivy League college. In order to get her chances back, she’ll participate in a mysterious high-stakes contest… that ends up being a life-and-death kind of contest. This sounds SO good and thrilling and I love that cover and I’m here for it okay.
Find on Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Blackwell’s
That Wasn’t in the Script, Sarah Ainslee
This is about Josie, an aspiring screenwriter, dreaming of going back to her small town Ohio instead of staying in New York. She meets Rowan, Hollywood teen dreaming of escaping the limelight. Set over 24 hours, this book sounds like such a fun, adorable contemporary read and I need these kind of stories always.
Up in Flames, Hailey Alcaraz
Can we take a minute to stare at this cover, because, ART, I am OBSESSED with it. This is about gorgeous, entitled Ruby, whose world literally goes up in flames and who’s suddenly the head of the family, trying to put the pieces of her life back together again. This sounds absolutely incredible and I am so PUMPED.
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Forget Me Not, Alyson Derrick
Fair warning: this one sounds HEARTBREAKING. It’s about Stevie and Nora, the perfect couple, planning their lives after high school together. Then, Stevie has a terrible fall, forgets everything about Nora, her parents, her sexuality. This sounds, yeah, like it will be a very emotional read, but I’m here for it.
Add to Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Blackwell’s
More 2023 YA Debuts That Sound Awesome
This Is How You Fall in Love, Anika Hussain
Adnan wants to cover up his new, top-secret relationship. Zara wants her parents to be happy and to stop arguing, for once. Together, the two best friends have the perfect plan: pretend to date for a little while…. Give me all the fake-dating trope books okay, this sounds SO fun!!
Add to Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Blackwell’s
Midnight Strikes, Zeba Shahnaz
I clearly need more fantasy books on my radar, because this is the only one on this list, aerm. It sounds SO GOOD though! It’s about Anaïs, a seventeen-years-old outsider at the kingdom’s ball. At midnight, an explosion goes off, killing everyone… including hers. The next morning, she wakes up and the day starts… over and over again. Time-loop, court intrigue, princes and outsiders, this sounds so fun!!!
Find on Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Blackwell’s
The Davenports, Krystal Marquis
I already mentioned this one in my most anticipated YA books list, but it deserves another spot here! This story follows the Davenports, one of the few immensely wealthy Black families in the 1900. This sounds like a super fun historical romance!
Add to Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Blackwell’s
People To Follow, Olivia Worley
People To Follow is about 10 teen influencers, invited on an island in the Carribean for a new reality tv show… or so they think, until one of them turns up dead. This sounds like a thrilling story about influencers, what you show online vs. who you really are and I’m so here for this.
Add to Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Blackwell’s
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For more YA book recommendations, check out these blog posts:
- My top 10 most anticipated adult books for 2023
- 20 Most Anticipated YA Books for 2023
- 10 Backlist YA Books I Want To Read in 2022
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What are some of your most anticipated debuts for 2023?
Do you have any recommendations for me? I’d LOVE to hear them in comments!!
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Ahh so many great books! I really like the cover of The Unforgettable Alexandra Shaw. & How to Find a Missing Girl sounds great 🙂
Thank you so, so much!! Here’s to hoping we will love these books <3
I have to check this list in piece and quiet, because I saw some interesting ones on here when only skimming.
Oh yay! Hope you’ll find some you love here 🙂
Marie, you can’t keep doing this to me, I’m on a book buying ban this month!! But once again, I am very excited to come across some books I hadn’t heard of before, The Unforgettable Alexandra Shaw and Live Your Best Lie sound perfect for my YA thriller loving heart but I’m also incredibly intrigued by Midnight Strikes! I have a feeling 2023 is going to be a good reading year…👀
Ooooops ahah, I’m SO happy I could give you some new recommendations here!! we’ll HAVE to buddy read one of these sometime, that’d be really fun! 🥺
I am reading a LOT less YA these days, but the Claire Forrest book did make my TBR. Hope these are all gems for you
Thank you so much, Sam!! <3
All the covers are so gorgeous!!
I need to add this is how you fall in love onto the list- 👀 I’m wondering why they all get headphones??
I have noo idea ahah, but I love that cover!
Thank you, Kristina!! 🥺
i hadn’t heard of live your best lie before, but the format of the book sounds SO creative and intriguing! i can’t wait for forget me not, i always love a good contemporary that’ll make me cry 🥲 love this list!!
Thank you so, so much, May!! I hope we’ll love our most anticipated reads this year! <3
It’s the way I did not know of any of these but they all sound stunning, especially The Davenports gosh. I’m a sucker for yellow apparently??? And That Wasn’t in the Script also sounds SO GOOD <3<3<3 All the love Marie xoxo
Ahh yay! I’m so happy I could make your TBR grow🥺🥺
How To Find A Missing Girl and The Unforgettable Alexandra Shaw sound so interesting, I love a good Mystery 🥰 Midnight Strikes is intriguing as well, I love time loop stories 👀
YAY me too! I’ve been loving mysteries lately, so I can’t wait to read more! 😀