A Racist Cult, Revenge at a Private Academy, and More New YA Books for July 22, 2026

 ”Lethal Lullaby.” That’s the name of the podcast Alex’s friends help him start as he awaits trial in a case that promises to change his life forever. “Lethal Lullaby” is where Alex tells his story of growing up as a victim of Munchausen by proxy at the hands of his mother. As he has worked to recover, though, he’s now facing the reality of testifying against his mother. The podcast, as powerful as it is for him, is also leading him to uncover more revelations about his life, who he is, and what he wants.

Alex’s current mental health is challenging him. This time, he knows it’s not because of his mom–or at least not directly. Does he have the capacity to find the courage to testify? To get the help he needs in untangling the truth of his life from that which is fiction?

This one’s getting comps to Sadie.

Two words: racist cult.

Junie Daniels was in a car accident a month ago. Her sister died, and her mother has since been so deep in her grief that she’s mostly just checked out of life. She’s unable to plan a funeral for her daughter, so Junie decides she has to do it.

The cheapest place where Junie can get a grave for her sister is in the next town. But Williamsville has a sinister history and legacy, including that its namesake was an enslaver who practiced dark magic. Janie can only worry so much, as she lives in North Carolina, where such historical stories aren’t exactly rare.

But things at the cemetery are feeling weird. Janie enlists her best friend Omari to help her investigate what’s happening. Then, the two girls are taken. It seems like Williamsville’s legacy isn’t a rumor…nor is it gone.

Dina Soto’s father confessed to killing two of his students. One of the many consequences is that Dina’s mom has made them keep their profile as low as possible. The family doesn’t need any more attention.

But when Dina’s invited to spend the weekend at a weekend with Kai Thompson–a cute and kind classmate–and his friends, she decides it’s worthwhile. Except people begin to turn up dead at the cabin pretty quickly, and secrets start to spill out from all of those in attendance. And no matter how much Dina insists she has nothing to do with the murders, her father’s reputation isn’t helping her. She has to prove to her classmates that she’s not only innocent but also worthy of fitting in with them, despite her father’s legacy.

At Blue Waters Secondary School–a prestigious institution–Uyai and Fiyin are roommates. But that’s all. They have nothing in common.

At least, that’s the perception.

The reality is they have both been humiliated by the same boy. And despite Uyai thinking Fiyin is uptight and Fiyin thinking Uyai is a mean girl, they know they have to work together to get revenge on the golden boy. It’s not something either can do alone.

Readers who like campus novels and revenge stories will eat this one up.

For 30 years, Max has been dead. Worse, he’s stuck in the room he grew up in, at the age of 16, and with no memory of how he died.

Joaquín is obsessed with the paranormal and wants nothing more than to have an experience with it. His desire to ghost hunt is causing a real rift in his relationship with his boyfriend, too.

So when Joaquín enters an abandoned house to ghost hunt, he could never have imagined it would lead him to Max. The two of them–one earth-side and one not–begin to develop a friendship. Too bad Max’s growing powers could do real harm to their connection.

It’s a moonlit night when Mazzy and Nora decide to head down to the beach and cast a spell. But their night of fun is interrupted when they discover a dead body.

Though they should leave the investigation to the police, the girls feel a connection to the dead woman and want to know what happened. They’ll use their spell work and divination skills. But the further they dive into this exploration, the more they’re discovering about a history of similar crimes in their community–and the more the girls themselves are being haunted by strange visions and ghostly whispers.

Nora then finds a second body and is hearing those voices tell her where to uncover even more bodies. Mazzy is desperate to end whatever spell they’ve cast before they become the next victims.

Publishing both in paperback and hardcover is a work of cosmic horror. Harrow Lane, 16, struggles with depression, recklessness, and impulse control. Part of that may be because when she was born, her father cursed her. This is the same father whose death she needs to understand better, and so she heads to an isolated island to seek out the truth.

Things go bad immediately. Whatever is on the island is not happy Harrow and her friends have arrived. It’s out to get them, and as much as they’re all in mortal danger from the unknown, Harrow is also struggling with a heap of emotions inside her that threaten to come out and unleash even more hell.