Highly Giftable Books Every YA Reader Secretly Wants
With the holidays right around the corner, there’s no better time to start working on your gift list. Whether you’re looking for a special book to tuck into your YA reader’s stocking or a little something for yourself, you’ll find plenty of excellent options on this list. From hot new releases to special editions of beloved favorites, these are the most giftable books every YA reader secretly wants to receive as a gift this holiday season.
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Romance & Real Life
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1
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: Collector’s Edition
by Ann Brashares
Rediscover the beloved story of Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carmen — and the magical pair of jeans that keeps four best friends connected through a life-changing summer. This limited Collector’s Edition makes an especially giftable update to the modern classic, with a new hardcase, sprayed edges, character art, ribbon marker, and a foreword by actress Amber Tamblyn.
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$24.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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2
13 Little Love Stories
by Elise Bryant, Jennifer Dugan, J. Elle, Jessica Goodman, Sloan Harlow, Crystal Maldonado, Krystal Marquis, Katharine McGee, Julie Murphy, Lynn Painter, Laura Sebastian, Sara Shepard and Jesse Q. Sutanto
Thirteen bestselling YA authors turn the songs of Taylor Swift into contemporary love stories in this swoony anthology. From the soaring high of first love to heartbreak, friendship, and self-discovery, each story captures a different romantic mood. Featuring stories from Lynn Painter, Katharine McGee, Jesse Q. Sutanto, Julie Murphy, and more.
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$15.99Preorder from:
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3
We’re a Bad Idea, Right?
by K. L. Walther
Best friends Audrey and Henry have a plan: fake a relationship and solve their problems. Naturally, things get complicated when pretending starts to feel surprisingly real. From the bestselling author of The Summer of Broken Rules comes a breezy, swoony romance packed with schemes, chemistry, coastal summer vibes, and the risky realization that falling for your best friend might not be such a bad idea.
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$14.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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4
Everything’s Not Lost
by Frederick Joseph
Amid the chaos of grief and mental illness, a Black teen searches for the quiet beauty still present in her life. Frederick Joseph delivers a tender, hopeful novel about friendship, loss, identity, and finding reasons to keep moving forward. With compassion and emotional honesty, the story explores the difficult moments that can overwhelm us and the connections that help light the way.
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$20.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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Fantasy & Magic
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5
Our Strange Duet
by Erin A. Craig
Enter the haunting, romantic world of The Phantom of the Opera in this reimagining that puts Christine Daaé center stage. As Christine rises at Paris’s famed opera house, she’s caught between ambition, love, and the mysterious figure promising to unlock her talent. A lush, gothic story of obsession, music, romance, and the secrets lurking behind the curtain.
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$24.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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6
To Dance the Moon and Stars (A Graphic Novel)
by Tasia M S and Barbara Perez Marquez
In a kingdom where dance is forbidden, eighteen-year-old Myra is training to become high priestess — but secretly longs to dance. When an ancient evil threatens her people and the crown prince she loves, Myra must question tradition and uncover her kingdom’s forgotten history. A lush South Asian–inspired romantasy graphic novel filled with magic, romance, and dazzling artwork.
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$24.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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7
Carnival Fantástico
by Angela Montoya
Welcome to the Carnival Fantástico, a dazzling traveling spectacle of magic, mischief, and dangerous secrets. Runaway Esmeralda poses as a fortune-teller until the boy who once broke her heart appears with a warning: the carnival isn’t what it seems. Dark magic, second-chance romance, witty banter, and a sinister mystery collide in this atmospheric Latine-inspired romantasy.
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$19.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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8
Wings of Reverie
by Anna Bright
Return to Pixie Hollow centuries after Wings of Starlight. When frost fairy Periwinkle begins having visions of the Pixie Dust Tree’s destruction, mysterious dream-talent Weaver may be the only one who can help. Their quest takes them deep into the Winter Woods, where dangerous magic and unexpected feelings grow together in a romantic fantasy adventure.
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$20.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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9
The Dream Thieves: The Graphic Novel
by Maggie Stiefvater and Sas Milledge
Ronan Lynch has a dangerous secret: he can pull impossible things out of his dreams. Meanwhile, Blue and the Raven Boys’ search for the legendary Welsh king Glendower has stalled as the magical forest of Cabeswater disappears. Maggie Stiefvater’s bestselling Raven Cycle series continues in a stunning graphic novel adaptation filled with magic, secrets, friendship, and danger.
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$25.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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10
The House of Gardenias
by Isabel Cañas
Sixteen-year-old Minerva escapes a violent home and finds work as a lady’s maid to a wealthy widow, gaining food, safety, and a place in a world of privilege and magical chispa. But political upheaval sends the household to an isolated mountain estate, where scheming residents are only the beginning. Something older — and far more bloodthirsty — is waiting inside.
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$19.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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Mystery & Thrills
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11
The Escape Game
by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss
It’s all fun and games until someone ends up dead. Six months after a contestant was murdered on the set of the hit escape-room competition The Escape Game, a new season begins — and the victim’s sister is among the players. Packed with elaborate puzzles, sabotage, secrets, and betrayal, this fast-paced YA mystery turns a reality show into a deadly hunt for the truth.
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$22.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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12
That Which Feeds Us: A Sunnie Reads Select
by Keala Kendall
A Native Hawaiian teen travels to an exclusive island resort searching for her missing twin and uncovers something sinister beneath paradise. Steeped in Hawaiian culture and history, this atmospheric supernatural thriller blends a gripping sisterhood mystery with gothic horror while exploring colonization, family, identity, and the terrifying secrets an island can hold.
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$20.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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13
Lies Between Us
by Jessica Goodman
The Gold sisters and Silver brothers have spent their lives together in an idyllic waterfront community where nothing bad ever seems to happen. Then a summer beach party ends in a suspicious death. As secrets surface and loyalties fracture, three sisters find themselves at the heart of a twisty mystery about family, friendship, love, and how well we really know the people closest to us.
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$19.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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14
Deadly Little Lessons
by Danielle Valentine
High school becomes a survival game in this twisty YA thriller. Students are drawn into a deadly competition where the stakes go far beyond grades, forcing them to confront puzzles, pressure, morality, and one another. Fast-paced and packed with shocking turns, this suspenseful mystery brings Squid Game–style survival stakes into the halls of high school.
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$19.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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15
Doe
by Rebecca Barrow
The captain of a high school cheer team is caught in a bitter rivalry and turns to an ancient supernatural creature for help. But the bargain she makes may cost her everything — including her life. Told in verse, this dark YA horror story combines competitive girlhood, feminine rage, small-town secrets, and folk horror in a chilling tale about what happens when desperation demands a price.
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16
Mischief Girls
by Aashna Avachat
Thirty years ago, three students entered the woods around Ellison College and only one returned. Now freshman Raina arrives on campus just as another student disappears — after investigating those unsolved murders. With the missing girl’s stepbrother, Raina begins digging into the school’s secrets in a dark-academia puzzle-box mystery where old lies may be catching up with a new generation.
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$19.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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Action & Adventure
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17
Young World
by Soman Chainani
America is on the brink of collapse when a teenager is elected president, igniting a global movement of young leaders. But when one of them is murdered, he becomes the prime suspect. From the author of The School for Good and Evil comes a provocative thriller about power, revolution, and who gets to shape the future, presented in a visually striking first edition.
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$21.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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18
Blightfall
by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson
A new high-flying adventure begins in the universe of Brandon Sanderson’s bestselling Skyward series. Packed with space battles, strange discoveries, alien worlds, humor, and danger, this action-driven science-fiction adventure opens a new story within the Skyward universe while offering an entry point for readers ready to blast off into Sanderson’s expansive world.
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$22.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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19
Rootbound: A Tangled Novel
by Margaret Owen
Return to the world of Disney’s Tangled as Rapunzel and Eugene race to protect a neighboring kingdom. Written by bestselling fantasy author Margaret Owen, this adventure expands the beloved movie’s world with new danger, intrigue, and magic while bringing back two fan-favorite characters. A natural pick for teens who grew up loving Rapunzel and are ready for a bigger adventure.
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$18.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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20
Wondrous
by Heather Fawcett
Years after her first tumble down the rabbit hole, a teenage Alice returns to Wonderland searching for the freedom she can’t find in nineteenth-century London. But this Wonderland may not be hers after all. With strange new allies, fearsome jabberwocks, and questions about Alice’s place in the story, this YA sequel reimagines Disney’s classic for a new generation.
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$19.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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21
Waiting on a Miracle
by Anika Fajardo
What if Mirabel and her sisters had to leave the Encanto? When the Madrigal family’s magic begins to fail, Mirabel blames herself. Young Antonio sets off alone to find a solution. Mirabel, Luisa, and Isabela follow, launching a magical rescue mission that uncovers a family with a mysterious connection to their own in this new Disney Twisted Tale.
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22
Empire
by Sabaa Tahir
A falling empire. An ancient evil. A lost homeland. A lie that could destroy the world. Crown prince Quil Farrar and Empress Helene are losing their war against the Kegari horde as the gripping fantasy that began in Heir reaches its conclusion. Sabaa Tahir returns to her epic world with a story of rebellion, loyalty, legacy, freedom, and confronting the monsters within.
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23
Ashes at the Altar
by LaDarrion Williams
At a hidden magical HBCU, Malik Baron must confront evil spirits, dangerous family secrets, and loyalties pushed to their limits. In the conclusion to the Blood at the Root trilogy, bloodlines, betrayal, and legacy collide as Malik fights to protect the family and future he has built—with the power of his ancestors and loved ones behind him.
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Fun, Games & Inspiration
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24
The Unordinary Book of Ideas
by Half-Asleep Chris
Open the book, pick a page, and make something unordinary. Creator Half-Asleep Chris presents more than 50 inventive projects that turn everyday materials into surprising experiments and creations. Design an imaginary transit system, animate objects, grow a mystery seed, capture time, build contraptions, and rediscover the pleasure of making things just because you can.
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$29.99Preorder from:
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25
The Official F1 Trivia Book
by DK
Think you know Formula 1? Put your racing knowledge to the test with nearly 2,000 questions spread across 24 Grand Prix–themed rounds. Rookie, challenger, and championship difficulty levels let new and longtime fans compete together, covering drivers, races, rules, tracks, and surprising F1 facts. A fun, substantial gift for teens who follow the world’s fastest motorsport.
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$19.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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26
Game Plan
by Jake Humphrey, Damian Hughes and Oscar Millar
Drawing on lessons from elite athletes, entrepreneurs, and other high performers, this approachable guide offers strategies for motivation, handling pressure, overcoming setbacks, building resilience, and developing a positive mindset at school, in sports, and in everyday life.
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$16.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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27
Wild Things
by Johanna Basford
From bestselling coloring artist Johanna Basford comes an intricate collection of creatures and their habitats waiting to be transformed with color. Flying fish, enchanted dragons, delicate dragonflies, sleepy sea cows, and other real and imagined wild things fill the pages. A relaxing, creative gift for artistic teens who enjoy detailed illustration and screen-free downtime.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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28
Would You Rather? Teen Challenge Edition
by Lindsey Daly
Get teens laughing, debating, and thinking with more than 160 hilarious “Would You Rather?” questions created just for them. Covering technology, entertainment, adventure, and everyday life, the either-or challenges encourage quick thinking and imaginative answers while providing an easy screen-free game for friends, parties, sleepovers, road trips, and family gatherings.
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$9.99Buy from Other Retailers:
