New YA Book Releases for September 17, 2025

Fawn and Silver are two trans teens in a small Maryland town who have a lot in common. One of those commonalities is an obsession with vampires, a creature that’s being targeted and hunted nationwide for the danger they supposedly pose to humans.

On the west coast, Rachel’s mother is a vigilante vampire hunter. But when Rachel is bit by her mother’s nemesis, Rachel begins to crave all things blood. And when Fawn goes missing, forcing Silver to head west in order to look for him, Rachel and Silver not only crash into each other. They’ve been pulled into the world of an edgelord vampire named Cain who has made a name for himself by shouting about the power of drinking human blood.

Fawn, meanwhile, has stumbled into Seattle’s vampire underground. The group has been working hard to protect the vampire world through safe blood distribution and through protecting one another from the slayer world.

It’s a vampy–err, campy–take on vampires that’s really a story about the highs and lows of being queer today.

Cesar Flores broke up with his boyfriend Jamal last school year for a whole host of reasons and none of those reasons were because he wanted to. He was scared of no longer being in the closet.

But it’s a new school year and he’s come out to some of the most important people in his life. He wants to talk with Jamal and see if they can work things out. Except Cesar is struggling with thoughts that won’t stop racing. He doesn’t think he’s good enough, either for Jamal or anyone else at all.

Cesar’s been lashing out and manages to keep what’s really going on behind humor. Except that one manic episode pushes what’s going on to a breaking point and now, Cesar realizes he has to choose continuing to ignore his mental health or ask for help, even if it means he’ll have to ask for it from some of the people he’s hurt the most.

This is a companion to The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School but you don’t need to read that book to pick this one up (though why wouldn’t you want to read ’em both?).

Okay, let’s keep this one really, really simple because the shortest pitch will be the biggest sell: what if Jack the Ripper were being hunted by Medusa in late 19th century New York? That’s the book, y’all.

There’s more, of course. Two girls working at a local Salvation Army who couldn’t be more different team up with a girl reporter and a bartender in order to take on a rescue effort. But that rescue effort puts them right in the path of Jack and Medusa’s story.

Yulieta Lopez has always been the dutiful one, the girl who always puts others before herself. But beneath the surface, she’s angry. She’s angry at the theater teacher who doesn’t like casting Black students in the play, angry at the way people on her school board are attacking her English teacher over the books she’s using, angry about having to keep quiet just to get through.

That anger can’t hold though, and Yulieta decides it’s time to do something. She and her friends begin an underground theater group and now the whole town is talking.

At some point in the future, I’m going to put together a big ole YA list of books featuring Dungeons & Dragons because there are a number of them. The first one I remember reading (and being charmed by) was published in 2009; it wouldn’t be until 2025 where we see multiple D&D themed books or D&D storylines pop up in YA.

All of that introduction is to say that this anthology centers a wide array of table top role playing games and explores topics of gender, queerness, relationships, and more within the context of interactive gaming. It’s an awesome collection of voices that Thor brings together, including Akemi Dawn Bowman, Andrew Joseph White, Rebecca Podos, and more. Nerds, this one is for you.

Something bad happened in the run-down house that Cas arrives at in West Texas. She’s come at the request of her best friend Drea, who has been living there for a few weeks with other classmates.

But things are off. Drea isn’t there, and her roommates aren’t talking. It’ll be up to Cas to find out what happened to her best friend and the role this terrifying house may have played in Drea’s disappearance.

Femi, who is 17, is forced to join his older brother and father on an island resort. You’d think he’d be cool with it, but his relationship with both brother and dad are Not Great. The resort promises luxury, but that luxury is shrouded in secrets.

Despite fears and frustration, Femi loves seeing the plant and animal life on the island. But he quickly realizes that those might be hiding some terrible secrets. It’s not long before the flora and fauna have gone feral and Femi has to work with his family and other guests to ensure they all survive.

Oh…and Femi may have played a part in why everything went feral.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit, but know going in you’ll be suspending disbelief. I don’t know about you, but sometimes knowing that the situations are implausible is what makes the story so fun.

Ariana is stoked to get away from home for a bit, thanks to an invitation from her new friend Oakley. Oakley’s parents own a wellness retreat in Barbados, and they’re offering to bring Ariana down for free.

Everything about The Dream retreat sounds good, but then Juniper-Moon, a wellness influencer, started to offer some strange activities. There are bee venom facials and strange mushroom tea ceremonies, yet those are the tip of the iceberg: there are a host of disturbing things happening around the island retreat.

Ariana wants out. But getting out may not be as easy as it seems for her or her friends. What was promised to be a retreat may, in fact, be deadly (Spoiler: there is a body count!).