12 Most Anticipated YA, MG, And Children's Books For Back To School

Meyer's worldwide bestseller and blockbuster hit, Twilight drew readers and viewers alike into a deep and dark love story between Edward and Bella, vampire and girl. But what sets Midnight Sun apart as Stephenie Meyer’s latest thrilling love story is that we finally have the chance to hear the story from Edward's perspective and dissect his inner thoughts. From resisting his animalistic urges to understanding his unconditional love for a mortal, this new POV is sure to reignite the Twilight fandom.

Enchanted Jones is a seventeen-year-old with larger-than-life dreams. She’s a great student and hopes to be selected for a swimming scholarship for college, but during class she’s humming R&B hits and writing her own music. Following her true passion, she auditions for BET’s version of American Idol, and meets Korey Fields, a famous artist who takes her under his wing to coach her and give her lessons. But as their relationship quickly evolves from professional to personal, things take a violent turn and suddenly everyone is asking “Who killed Korey Fields?”

Roberta Forest doesn’t see the world in black and white. She is a feisty, teenage girl conflicted about being young, smart, Black, and Catholic. As she begins to question her faith, she focuses on poetry, an upcoming essay contest, and reads The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which leads to an explosive realization about the adults in her life that she looks up to. This coming-of-age novel is all about self-discovery and questioning the things that make us who we are and where we come from.

Abby Wambach gives “Girl Power” a new meaning in this empowering book. As a New York Times bestselling author, two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA World Cup champion, she is no stranger to hard work, leadership, and success and uses her experience to share the important lessons of honor, commitment, resilience, and sisterhood. This book teaches you how to recognize the power you have and to use it to rally those around you to create a better world.

The first book in a science-backed, high-action series with an important environmental message, The Endangereds follows a handful of unlikely heroes – a group of spunky endangered animals that are determined to save a dying earth beset with climbing temperatures and rising tides. Through twists and turns, underground caverns, sneaking through private buildings, and a villainous kidnapping, these four daredevils will stop at nothing to save the animal kingdom.

Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five come together in this powerful novel of discrimination and justice to pen a story that Yusef knows far too well – innocence and being incarcerated for a crime you didn’t commit. Amal Shahid is a rising artist and poet using his art to set him free from a world that judges him by the color of his skin. Similar to the fateful night with the Central Park Five, Amal’s bright future is crushed when he is wrongfully convicted and sent to prison at sixteen-years-old. During his sentence, he uses his art to capture his fury and pain. His fight to uncover the truth empowers him to be an advocate for change.

Alane Adams is back this fall with Witch Wars, book three in her popular Witches of Orkney series. The story follows Abigail in her disastrous second year at the Tarkana Witch Academy. With the evil Odin rising to power and all of Orkney under the threat of war, Abigail and her friend Hugo set off to find the one thing that can save them —Thor's hammer. But when an old friend becomes her new enemy, Abigail realizes she’s made a catastrophic mistake trusting the wrong ally and is determined to set things right.

Forced against his will, Everson becomes a soldier and gears up for battle to appease his Indiran family. He soon finds himself stranded on the enemy planet with nowhere to turn and everyone out to get him. Now a prisoner of planet Mano under the evil command of its inhabitants, Everson is required to overthrow the mad king, Xander the Firm by finding a mysterious and powerful piece of ancient technology called the Tinderbox. In his quest for freedom, he meets the king’s daughter Allegra and falls head over heels. The forbidden love between these two unlikely strangers may be just the key to ending the brutal war in this adult/YA crossover.

Jeff Rosen kicks off his comical new fantasy sci-fi series with his first book that follows the strange and peculiar Caley Cross. Caley isn’t your typical thirteen-year-old and has the power to create zombie animals to prove it. Her luck begins to turn when she becomes the crowned princess of a distant world known as Erinath, where people have “baests” that live inside them, giving them fantastic, animal-like powers. With the help of her newfound friends, Caley trains for the Equidium contest, a competition held at Erinath Academy and must escape an evil stalker who wants her powers for immortality.

If you’re looking for some hope during quarantine, this book will do just the trick. In this touching poem that has gotten the attention of countless A-list celebrities like Jake Gyllenhaal, Jennifer Aniston, and Drew Barrymore, and audiences around the globe, Tomos Roberts, shares this bedtime story for his younger siblings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This uplifting piece, originally shared on YouTube, tackles some of the world’s heaviest adversities and shares messages of hope and resilience, rebirth and renewal in a world that feels so unfamiliar.

If you’re a fan of The Hunger Games, you’ll revel in book one of this new dystopian sci-fi series. It follows Niko and El, who are trapped in a brutal and corrupt city. When Niko tosses aside his chance to join the city’s inner circle by choosing El as his prize for a race, he puts them both in danger. With the Regime hunting them and the youth of the city preparing for a guerrilla revolt, the two attempt a daring escape to the possibly mythical utopia, Zamora.

What does immigration really look and feel like? Told by bestselling and up-and-coming YA authors, these fifteen stories take the reader from international countries such as India, Ecuador, and Australia to bustling cities in New York, New Jersey, and Utah to capture the immigration experience. Each account illustrates the many frustrations and issues with the current immigration system like dealing with the TSA, ESL classes, and the culture shock of adapting to a new city and country.