Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Sandra Proudman’s Salvación, which is out May 20th 2025.

Lola de La Peña yearns to be free from the societal expectations of a young Mexican lady of her station. She spends her days pretending to be delicate and proper while watching her mamá cure the sick and injured with sal negra (black salt), a recently discovered magic that heals even the most mortal of sicknesses and wounds. But by night, she is Salvación, the free-spirit lady vigilante protecting the town of Coloma from those who threaten its peace and safety among the rising tension in Alta California after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

But one night, a woman races into Coloma, barely alive, to tell the horrifying tale of how her town was obliterated by sal roja (red salt), a potent, deadly magic capable of obliterating anything it comes into contact with, and about the man who wields it: Damien Hernández. So when Hernández arrives the next day with a party of fifty strong and promises of returning Alta California to México, Lola knows it’s only a matter of time before he brings the region under his rule—all Hernández needs is the next full moon and the stolen, ancient amulet he carries to mine enough sal roja to conquer the land. Determined to protect everything she loves, Lola races against time as Salvación to stop his plans. What she didn’t count on was the distracting and infuriating Alejandro, who travels with Hernández but doesn’t seem to share his ambitions. With the stakes higher than ever and Hernández getting closer to his goals, Lola will do anything to foil his plans, even teaming up with Alejandro—who she doesn’t fully trust but can’t help but fall in love with.

CHAPTER 1

The line of people waiting for un milagro stretched into the endless rolling green hills of the midsummer Alta California horizon. I watched from where Mamá and I sat outdoors on a couple of plain wooden chairs facing the newly empty stool at the front of la fila.

At midday, the sun shone directly on the spot Mamá had chosen for us upon our arrival in Coloma, a glade surrounded by tall pine trees, with a view of a calm river. We had set up halfway between our claim, where my brother and father mined sal negra, and the outskirts of town. Despite the sun shining on this spot for hours, it felt like bad luck to abandon it now.

In this place, Mamá had used sal negra on herself to reveal its magic to us, and it was here that Mamá and I—two women in flowing dresses, a barrel for sal behind us, a pail of it between us, our house visible off in the distance—had been healing the sick ever since.

“Loli, más sal,” Mamá said, patting me roughly on the forearm, diverting my attention from the others. Her tone was firm but tired as always as she wiped beads of sweat from her wrinkled brow and underneath her straw bonnet.

I grunted, a bit tired myself after a late night out. Then I set my cross-stitch down on the rim of my chair, acting as if the heat of the day made it hard to breathe instead of how tight Mamá had made the bodice of my dress this morning. I hurried toward a barrel to the right of Mamá that had once contained liquor and now held magia. The more people who lined up, the shorter the rope of Mamá’s temper. And she always hated when I paid them too much attention.

It was my parents’ wish that I feign a lack of interest in sal—or in Mamá as a curandera generally. I was just a girl minding my needlework, no real threat to someone who might want to take the sal from us. My job was to survive. I was here with Mamá only because my parents didn’t want me home alone. And they didn’t want me helping at the mines either.

Of course, I paid close attention to every miracle Mamá performed, and in the darkness of night, in my own way, I did help.

When I returned to Mamá, old man Álvaro was next in line. I’d been following his story for three days as he advanced to the front. His journey here became all anyone seemed to talk about. Blind, el viejito had traveled 150 miles on foot, accompanied by two of his eight children, the ones now leading him forward to the vacant chair.

Voluminous clothing hung from their bodies in tatters, ruined materials of fine linen and cotton now the only evidence of noble blood. Faces covered in dirt and grime bore the same dark circles around the eyes. The siblings dragged their feet as if hurting with every blistered step. Don Álvaro could barely walk with their aid. But they’d made it, survived the trek and endured the wait. Don Álvaro y familia had earned the right to the sal negra from our claim and to the miracle we shared with everyone who came to us.

Mamá welcomed the three travelers with her usual worn-out smile. She hadn’t stopped working since we arrived in Coloma three months back, not even for a day. And she didn’t eye the long line as I did or see how endless it was when every day brought more people. Three months ago, despite our own grueling trek, Mamá had been full of energy.

The line moved forward, and people in it continued to chatter away. There was a lull now—almost comforting, like the sound of grillos at night.

Before Mamá, the sal negra was going to be sold as black table salt, a minor commodity. Before Mamá, nobody had realized what it was they were really sent to find, what Abuelo had invested in because Mamá told him to. Despite the war, he dispatched dozens of men out here on his daughter’s whim; he financed our entire voyage—and the venture had paid off. We were able to send word back to Abuelo that la magia was real. Mamá had been right.

Magia—for the very first time, evidence of real magic in our world.

And now … the plan was to mine as much sal negra as possible before the white man came to claim it for himself, the same way he had done with our lands. We’d lost the war. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. Abuelo urged us to hurry home before Alta California got too dangerous.

The dark circles around Mamá’s eyes never disappeared, and she was starting to develop a hunch from leaning over the sick and the injured all day. The sal negra she herself took never seemed to heal it. If she would only let me help, outside of bringing her more sal. But no.

Stay out of the way. That was all she wanted me to do—her and Papá, and sometimes I thought even my brother, Víctor. I had to pretend that I was weak and worthless and uninterested in anything besides elaborately designed vestidos like the one I wore today, expensive makeup, and trends: a true lady of Mexican nobleness who had been dragged into the wilderness.

At first, I didn’t mind playing the part, because it had been true. I was brought to Coloma against my will. But every miracle I witnessed chipped away that side of me. In Sonora, I was a porcelain doll, but along the road, the glaze had cracked, and underneath it was something finer altogether—someone who actually cared about others, about everyone.

The siblings set el viejito on the stool in front of Mamá. She reached for don Álvaro’s hand. The top of it was covered in lines and sunspots, while Mamá’s fingertips were stained black from handling so much sal negra. The black salt might have healed any effects of overwork on her fingers, but the color never washed away no matter how many times she bathed in the river, no matter how often I caught her scrubbing them roughly with soap.

Despite the changes in her, Mamá was still the most beautiful woman in the world. Her pine-brown hair was tied back in a tight bun she smoothed with bandoline. Her features were still perfectly balanced, from the roundness of her cheeks to the curve of her nose. Her eyes wide, eyelashes long and glorious, she turned to me now, talking without speaking the way mamás do. She wasn’t tall, was in fact shorter than me by more than a foot, but her presence was godly and could not be ignored.

I picked up the pace, breathless—wishing I could shuck off my dress right here, and the high-heeled lace-up botas—and managed to lug another pail filled with sal negra, the fourth one since Mamá got started at sunrise. It was the last we’d have until Papá and Víctor returned with more. Back in Sonora, I would never have been expected to do physical labor like this. I’d been so different then. I had been a girl who was interested only in dresses and boys and makeup. That was all I ever knew.

Now I knew magia.

I set the pail down, careful not to spill a single grain of sal, then stood to one side, eager to get a closer look before Mamá waved me back to my chair. Mamá nodded to me, grunted an acknowledgment. A gracias never escaped her lips casually.

She scooped up some of the sal negra with a tiny spoon made of plata fina that was etched with lavish designs on its handle. She cupped her hand under the bowl of the spoon. Small blue flowers sprouted from the few grains that made it through her fingers and dropped to the soil at her feet. However careful she was, a small bed of flowers always grew around her from the day’s work, making Mamá look like una reina hada, a fairy queen—a miracle in itself that never ceased to amaze me.

I wondered what magia would feel like at my own fingertips. But so far I hadn’t needed to be healed, and Mamá conserved the sal—always said it was to be used only on those who truly needed it.

And because Mamá’s father was financing the construction of this whole town, because her father owned the mines and had gifted Mamá our claim, our family controlled the supply of sal negra. What the workers here mined outside of our personal claim was sent back to Abuelo, who was planning to make a fortune selling it to his closest friends. The only problem had been the outcome of the war and the new dangers we faced after losing it. Abuelo had given us two more months, then expected us back home. But I was not sure Mamá would be willing to leave this place.

Mamá focused fully on her work, added the spoonful of sal to a sterling silver cup that sat on her lap and held a single ounce of water. Over the last three months, I’d seen la magia work every single time, but the injuries it healed had been newer—a broken leg or brazo or a gash that had gotten infected and was covered in pus, sicknesses that had made grown-ups suddenly cough up sangre or nauseated them so much they couldn’t even keep water in their bellies—nothing that wasn’t a recent injury or sickness yet.

“Open your mouth,” Mamá said like a priest giving sacrament, and scooped one spoonful of the salted agua. Again, she cupped her hand underneath the spoon, kept the cup balanced on her lap. She held her breath as she moved it forward.

A single drop of water fell, una flor sprouting in the soil under Mamá in a blink as if it had always been there. Mamá eyed it, growled to herself, but kept going.

Don Alvaro opened his mouth wide and tilted his head up to the sky, as if the light of the sun could pierce the darkness he’d been living in for so long.

Every time someone received the sal, everyone else in line quieted, like they were dreading the possibility that la magia would not work this time—or ever again. I myself didn’t doubt la magia; I just wasn’t completely sure of its strength. Restoring don Álvaro’s eyesight wasn’t healing so much as building something anew, two different things in my mind.

I focused on don Álvaro, even forgetting the pain of my cinched corset. Who could breathe at a time like this anyway?

I knew the following: A simple wound like an infected gash or a broken bone seemed to heal within ten seconds. A sickness affecting the entire body could take whole minutes. But I wasn’t sure how long it might take for sal negra to heal someone injured so long ago.

For the sake of Mamá’s good temperament, this had to work.

From Salvación by Sandra Proudman. Copyright © 2025 by the author, and reprinted with permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.

The post Read An Excerpt From ‘Salvación’ by Sandra Proudman appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

We apologise in advance to your TBR and bank account, but there’s so many fantastic upcoming young adult books hitting shelves between January and June 2025! There’s new releases from Brigid Kemmerer, Libba Bray, Neal Shusterman, Allison Saft, Tracy Deonn, Ava Reid, Jennifer Dugan, Dahlia Adler, Elizabeth Lim, Becky Albertalli, and many more, plus incredible debut novels!

Read on to discover new books hitting shelves in the first half of the year and be sure to check out our other 2025 round-ups too, including our Most Anticipated, Romance, Fantasy & Sci-Fi and Fiction lists.

JANUARY 2025 YA BOOKS

Breath of the Dragon by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee

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A young warrior dreams of proving his worth in the elite Guardian Tournament, fighting not only for himself but the fate of everything he loves.

Bingsu For Two by Sujin Witherspoon

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This outrageously charming and infuriatingly adorable enemies-to-lovers coffee shop romance is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Better Than the Movies.

Everything Is Poison by Joy McCullough

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This historical novel in prose and verse tells the story of a deadly secret hiding in plain sight and of the women who risk everything to provide care for those with nowhere else to turn, perfect for fans of Blood Water Paint and The Lost Apothecary.

Royal Heirs Academy by Lindsey Duga

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In this story filled with “romantic tension, royal drama, and family secrets” (Kristy Boyce), four teens living in a glamorous boarding school must compete in order to inherit a European kingdom.

Liar’s Kingdom by Christine Calella

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An Into the Woods-inspired fairy tale retelling where Cinderella never went to the ball and must lie to get her prince.

Brewed With Love by Shelly Page

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A cozy sapphic romantasy about a teen witch trying to keep her family’s apothecary up and running, with a little help from her ex-best friend—and first crush.

I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang

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From the bestselling, and award-winning author of If You Could See The Sun comes a new page-turning speculative YA about a girl who wishes she could be as perfect and successful as her cousin… then wakes up the next morning in her cousin’s body.

Ex Marks the Spot by Gloria Chao

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A swoony rivals-to-lovers romance . . . Family secrets that can’t stay buried . . . A globe-spanning treasure hunt with puzzles to solve . . . This latest YA novel by acclaimed writer Gloria Chao takes readers on a soaring adventure through love, loss, and the lively streets of Taiwan.

The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King by Harry Trevaldwyn

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Heartstopper meets Derry Girls in this wonderfully hilarious rom-com about finding your first love when your personality might be too big for the world around you.

The Queen’s Spade by Sarah Raughley

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In this riveting historical thriller inspired by true-life events, Belladonna meets Bridgerton as revenge, romance, and twisted secrets take center stage in Victorian England’s royal court when Sally, a kidnapped African princess and goddaughter to Queen Victoria, plots her way to take down the monarchy that stole her from her homeland.

Build A Girlfriend by Elba Luz

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A teen deep-dives into her dating history to uncover her mistakes, become the perfect girlfriend, and get revenge on the wrong guy so she can ride into the sunset with the right one in this debut rom-com.

Carving Shadows into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer

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Dangerous magic. Fateful choices. Broken promises. The spellbinding series by New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer continues.

FEBRUARY 2025 YA BOOKS

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor

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The New York Times bestselling author of Hotel Magnifique returns with another glittering dark fantasy about a deadly mystery that spans worlds and a teenage girl who must risk everything to uncover the truth.

Wicked Darlings by Jordyn Taylor

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From the author of The Revenge Game comes a twisty YA thriller about the underbelly of Manhattan’s high society, where nothing is off-limits—not even murder.

Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray

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From New York Times-bestselling author Libba Bray comes an evocative and groundbreaking young adult historical mystery that examines truth, rebellion, reconciliation, and what must be sacrificed for a better world.

Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours

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In this debut speculative YA mystery, a Black teen with premonition-like powers must solve her friend’s disappearance before she finds herself in the same danger, perfect for fans of Ace of Spades.

These Vengeful Wishes by Vanessa Montalban

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A vengeful female spirit with a thirst for justice ignites a teen girl’s rage in this new YA horror, perfect for fans of She Is a Haunting and House of Hollow.

The Wildest Things by Andrea Hannah

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In this sapphic Snow White retelling, if Snow is to save her kingdom from being ravaged by the Blight, she’ll have to kill the Evil Queen’s daughter…if she doesn’t fall in love with her first.

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman

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From New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman comes a young adult thriller about a world where happiness is contagious but the risks of catching it may be just as dangerous as the cure.

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith

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The Cruel Prince meets The Selection in this captivating duology opener brimming with heart-pounding romance, vicious competition, and beautiful, cruel fae, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven, Sasha Peyton Smith.

Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft

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Brimming with magic and romance, a young fairy queen must form an unlikely alliance or risk an unspeakable danger destroying all she holds dear in this fantasy adventure from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft.

Unlock the Dark by Sasa Hawk

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Perfect for fans of Brigid Kemmerer and Lexi Ryan, this debut romantasy stand-alone novel blends an immersive world, unique magic system, and swoon-worthy romance to create an unputdownable read that explores the great and terrible lengths to which love compels us to go.

Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson

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A teen girl travels to an exclusive boarding school after a deadly incident at her old school, but the wood-paneled halls of Agathion are built over centuries of secrets—including an ancient society which may have ties to demonic magic—in this dark academia fantasy perfect for fans of Curious Tides.

This Ends in Embers by Kamilah Cole

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Perfect for fans of Raybearer and Fourth Wing, this astonishing sequel to the bestselling novel So Let Them Burn doesn’t hold back. After all, there are no easy endings in war—especially when sisters are forced to fight on opposite sides.

MARCH 2025 YA BOOKS

All the Hidden Monsters by Amie Jordan

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With a crew so entertaining and unique―All the Hidden Monsters is funny, serious, scary―and you’ll never guess who did it. There’s a world below our own, but who is killing who in both of them?

Say a Little Prayer by Jenna Voris

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Saved! meets Casey McQuiston in this wry, heartfelt tale of a teen who’s taking her church camp by storm—one deadly sin at a time.

Nightweaver by R.M. Gray

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Filled with elemental magic, forbidden romance, and breathtaking twists, Nightweaver is a propulsive romantasy about an iron-willed heroine avenging her brother and discovering her destiny.

Oathbound by Tracy Deonn

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Tracy Deonn’s #1 New York Times bestselling Legendborn Cycle continues in the sensational third book about a dazzling contemporary fantasy world that blends Southern Black Girl Magic with secret societies and the legend of King Arthur!

When The Bones Sing by Ginny Myers Sain

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From New York Times bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies comes a new southern gothic supernatural thriller about a teen girl in a small Ozark town who can hear the bones of the dead.

Fable For The End of the World by Ava Reid

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The Last of Us meets The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in this stand-alone dystopian romance about survival, sacrifice, and love that risks everything.

Hangry Hearts by Jennifer Chen

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Jennifer Chen’s Hangry Hearts is a funny, big-hearted romance about friendship, family, and first love―and being brave enough to have it all.

Lovely Dark and Deep by Elisa A. Bonnin

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From author Elisa A. Bonnin comes Lovely Dark and Deep, a YA dark academia novel exploring magic, loneliness, and the power of found family.

What Wakes the Bells by Elle Tesch

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Inspired by an ominous Prague legend, What Wakes the Bells is a lavish gothic fantasy by debut author Elle Tesch that is perfect for fans of Adalyn Grace, Margaret Rogerson, and V.E. Schwab.

In The Company of Killers by Elora Cook

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Gossip Girl meets The Sopranos in this fast-paced drama about a teenage mafia heiress who would do anything to avenge her family, even join forces with her handsome enemy.

How to Survive a Slasher by Justine Pucella Winans

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You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight meets Scream in this YA slasher that turns classic horror tropes on their heads.

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

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The phenomenal fifth book in the Hunger Games series. Sunrise on the Reaping revisits the world of Panem twenty-four years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the Fiftieth Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.

APRIL 2025 YA BOOKS

The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton

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Bestselling Rebel of the Sands author Alwyn Hamilton is back with a glittering fantasy thriller about a glamorous media darling, a surprise heiress, and the magical competition of a lifetime.

Run Away With Me by Brian Selznick

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From #1 New York Times bestselling author/illustrator Brian Selznick, a profoundly romantic YA novel about two boys finding each other and falling in love over one summer in Rome.

The Floating World by Axie Oh

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From Axie Oh, the New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in this lighthearted romantic fantasy reimagining the Korean legend of Celestial Maidens.

Somadina by Akwaeke Emezi

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From the National Book Award finalist and author of Pet comes a novel set in a magical West African world, about a teen girl who must save her missing twin while learning to navigate her own terrifying new powers.

Boys with Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell

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We Were Liars meets The Raven Boys in this mind-bending YA debut about dark revenge, twisted desire, and the sinister secrets lurking behind the walls of an elite boarding school.

Pride or Die by C.L. Montblanc

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In this delightful dark comedy debut, when the members of an LGBTQ+ club find themselves accidentally framed for attempted murder, it’s up to them to clear their names before it’s too late.

The Coven Tendency by Zoe Hana Mikuta

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Zoe Hana Mikuta delivers a bloody and unrelenting fantasy about young witches dangling on the edge of love and obsession, of magic and madness, of life and death (and death and death and death). . .

If We Were a Movie by Zakiya N. Jamal

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Booksmart meets Phantom of the Megaplex in Zakiya N. Jamal’s debut enthralling enemies-to-lovers queer romance, set against the backdrop of a historic Black-owned movie theater, the quirky employees who work there, and the suburbs of Long Island. Perfect for fans of Leah Johnson and Today Tonight Tomorrow.

Nav’s Foolproof Guide to Falling in Love by Jessica Lewis

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Giving the new girl lessons in romance so she can woo your best friend couldn’t possibly go wrong…right? Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Casey McQuiston, this romantic comedy from Jessica Lewis is packed with heart.

Murder Between Friends by Liz Lawson

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Two years ago, the murder of a neighbor tore three best friends apart–now the killer is going to walk free and the ex-friends are going to have to face the past–and each other–in another twisty thriller from the New York Times bestselling co-author of The Agathas.

Chaos King by Kacen Callender

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The explosive sequel to instant New York Times bestselling YA debut Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender.

Lady Knight by Amalie Howard

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The daughter of a duke defies the rules of London high society with the help of the resident rake—who just so happens to be her brother’s best friend—in this fun teen historical romance from the USA Today bestselling author of Queen Bee.

MAY 2025 YA BOOKS

The Thrashers by Julie Soto

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A twisty thrill-ride of unforgettable drama and suspense that “encapsulates the vulnerability of adolescents playing adult games” (Ali Hazelwood) from USA Today bestselling author Julie Soto, The Thrashers will keep you up at night desperate to read just one more page.

Audre and Bash Are Just Friends by Tia Williams

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Scorching-hot summer. Scorching-hot chemistry. Two teens can’t forget they’re just friends in this sweet, funny, electrifying romance from New York Times bestselling author Tia Williams. Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Nicola Yoon.

Salvación by Sandra Proudman

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In this Latinx YA fantasy inspired by El Zorro, Lola de La Peña becomes the masked heroine Salvación in order to save her family and town from a man who would destroy it for the magic it contains…if she doesn’t fall in love with one of his men first.

The Lost Queen by Aimee Phan

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A heroine like no other, ancient magic unleashed, a fated epic battle–the first book in an enchanting YA fantasy duology inspired by Vietnamese lore, weaving magic, sisterhood, and self-discovery.

Summer Girls by Jennifer Dugan

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From the author of Some Girls Do comes a YA sapphic romance about two girls from different sides of the tracks.

This Moth Saw Brightness by A. A. Vacharat

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A weird and revelatory debut that vividly captures the dislocation of growing up BIPOC and neurodivergent in a country awash in both conspiracy theories and genuine conspiracies.

Come As You Are by Dahlia Adler

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Dahlia Adler’s Come As You Are is about refusing to accept less than you deserve, and realizing that the best relationships are with people who know exactly who you are.

Cruel is the Light by Sophie Clark

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An epic new fantasy about a demon hunter and a foot soldier thrown together in a centuries-old war. . . and the forbidden love that could change the course of history.

All-Nighter by Cecilia Vinesse

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Booksmart meets Today, Tonight, Tomorrow in this page-turning romp about two archnemeses—the valedictorian and the class slacker—who band together for a whirlwind night after discovering that they need each other to achieve their very different sunrise goals.  

Out of Step, into You by Ciera Burch

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Out of Step, into You is a sapphic contemporary romance following childhood friends turned cross-country team rivals who are forced to work together to win the state championship – for fans of She Gets the Girl.

Titan of the Stars by E.K. Johnston

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Alien meets The Titanic in this tense YA science fiction horror series by #1 New York Times bestselling author E.K. Johnston.

Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala

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The young adult debut from the award-winning author of Arsenic and Adobo! When a high school tarot reader’s latest client goes missing after a troubling reading, she must apply everything she’s learned from her private investigator mother to solve a case of her own.

JUNE 2025 YA BOOKS

Celestial Banquet by Roselle Lim

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Iron Chef meets The Hunger Games in Roselle Lim’s dazzling YA fantasy debut, following a young noodle chef who competes in a cutthroat cooking competition for the gods.

Heir of Storms by Lauryn Hamilton Murray

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RED QUEEN meets SHADOW AND BONE in this explosive start to a YA romantasy trilogy about dangerous magic, forbidden love, and a cut-throat competition for the throne in an empire where crowns are not inherited — they’re won.

The Beautiful Maddening by Shea Ernshaw

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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw comes a haunting romantic contemporary fantasy about a teen navigating her family’s love curse that blooms with their enchanted tulips every year.

Never Thought I’d End Up Here by Ann Liang

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From the author of the instant New York Times bestseller I Hope This Doesn’t Find You, Never Thought I’d End Up Here is another hilarious and romantic romcom from Ann Liang, this time following a former model determined to get revenge on the boy who ruined her life.

A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim

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A breathtaking romantic fantasy inspired by Beauty and the Beast about a girl who paints the future and a cursed dragon lord, bound by love and deception in a plot to bring down the gods.

Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales

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Young Royals meets The Prince and Me when a disgraced princess falls for a new student at their all-girls boarding school, but the two must hide their forbidden love at all costs.

Kill Creatures by Rory Power

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From the bestselling author of Wilder Girls and queen of twisty narratives, Rory Power, comes her highly anticipated new Young Adult thriller.

A First Time for Everything by K.L. Walther

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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer of Broken Rules comes a fun new coming-of-age romance full of dating disasters, powerful firsts, and the importance of family.

Amelia, If Only by Becky Albertalli

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The beautiful and heartwarming new romance from Becky Albertalli, best-selling author of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

A Treachery of Swans by A.B. Poranek

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From the New York Times bestselling author of Where the Dark Stands Still comes an atmospheric fantasy based on Swan Lake, following Odile as her plan to restore magic to her kingdom gets disrupted by a murder—forcing her to beg for help from the young woman whose identity she stole.

Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman

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Set in the world of New York Times bestseller Seraphina, a boy on the run from a dragon—among other dangers—seeks refuge in a haunted abbey in this wholly original ghost story about what haunts us, and what connects us.

If We Survive This by Racquel Marie

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The Walking Dead meets Yellowjackets in If We Survive This, a tense and emotional young adult horror novel from award-winning author Racquel Marie about a teen girl leading a group of survivors on a perilous journey during the apocalypse.

What YA books are you looking forward to? Any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

The post 72 Of The Most Anticipated YA Books Of 2025 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Sandra! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi everyone! I am a Mexican American author, mom to an incredible toddler, huge advocate for more marginalized voices in publishing, and a literary agent at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency. I was born in Mexico, but grew up in California, where I really have learned to love everything from camping and being outdoors to enjoying a great Sunday brunch or farmer’s market morning with my husband and kiddo. I am a fan of speculative fiction and at heart am a science fiction nerd, which is why I am so excited to debut in the traditional publishing world with a post-apocalyptic story in Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories!

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I’ve loved books all my life. Both of my parents were big readers and I grew up going to the library every single week and immersed in the world of books. So I owe my love of writing and stories to my family and libraries.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: I truly have the worst memory and can’t name anything really, but I do remember I enjoyed Caroline B. Cooney books when I was younger.
• The one that made you want to become an author: There are way too many to name, the one that made me believe that I could become an author, though, as a Latina who understood the lack of Latinx representation in the industry, was Zoraida Córdova’s Brooklyn Bruja’s series. And now, I have the honor of having Zoraida as one of my contributors in Relit, which has been incredible.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: A recent one that I thought was absolutely brilliant is Amber McBride’s Gone Wolf.

Releasing on February 6^th, Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories is a new YA anthology, which is edited by you! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Magical. Diverse. Adventurous. Feels. Wondrous.

What can readers expect?

Readers can expect cinematic adventures from diverse Latinx perspectives. Lots of amazing queer voices, queer love, and queer crushes. Heartache that cuts you to the core, and healing moments that offer you hope for a better world. Readers can expect to be taken on a ride through the cosmos or under water or to places they’ve never ventured before. Most of all, readers can expect to see Latinx teens as the heroes of their own stories.

Where did the inspiration for Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories come from?

I wanted to give a go at editing a Latinx anthology and, with a background in project management, I knew that I could do a good job. But, of course, I still needed to come up with the concept or hook. I ultimately decided that since I love speculative fiction, it made sense to make the anthology a little bit of everything within that realm. The idea of integrating that with classics retellings really came from wanting there to be a strong library and school presence for the book in order to give as many teens access to the anthology as possible. During the time I was coming up with this concept, there was also a huge debate regarding whether we needed to modernize classics for the teens of today. I figured I’d combine these two ideas into one truly special project that is Relit!

This is your first anthology! Can you tell us a bit about the process of how it came together?

It is! It’s been a really fun process, but not without its challenges. Once I knew what I wanted the theme of the anthology to be, I started to contact contributors and was able to put together a really incredible list of amazing authors. We sold the anthology to a perfect imprint, but soon after we lost our first editor when they moved soon after they acquired the anthology, which was heartbreaking since Stephanie Cohen is amazing. Our second editor for the anthology, Meghan Maria McCullough, who is equally amazing, we lost when Inkyard Press was shuttered, which again, was so heartbreaking. But we’ve been tremendously lucky to have landed with our third and final editor for the project, Carolina Ortiz. She’s been such a joy to work with and has taken this project and cared for it as much as I could have hoped. In terms of the stories coming together, everyone on the contributor list for Relit is a true professional, so the stories came easily, contributors brought their A+++ game, and now we get to celebrate its launch!

What’s next for you?

I have a YA horror short story in an anthology edited by a good friend of mine, Alex Brown, titled The House Where Death Lives, which is coming out on August 6, 2024 from Page Street Books. It’s Squid Game meets Escape Room, but also focuses on the teens that have to do impossible things for themselves and their families. I am also working on wrapping up revisions for my first full-length novel that will be released, a historical fantasy called Salvación, which is coming out from Wednesday Books in spring or summer of 2025. It’s a Zorro retelling with salt magic that imagines a world where magical healing salt has been discovered instead of gold during the pre-gold-rush era. As you can expect, it has a lot of action, a lot of adventure and romance, and underneath it all (in full Zorro fashion) it talks about colonialism and doesn’t shy away from having a strong take there.

Lastly, are there any 2024 book releases that you’re looking forward to?

Outside of ALL of the books being released from Relit contributors this year (including NoNieqa Ramos’s Best Believe, which also comes out February 6^th), I’m really excited for Damara Allen’s The Skeleton Flute. Damara was a mentee of mine when Pitch Wars was still running, and I can’t wait for everyone to read her amazing MG horror. I’m also really excited for Jonny Garza Villa’s Canto Contigo and Aiden Thomas’s Celestial Monsters.

Will you be picking up Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Sandra Proudman, Editor of ‘Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.