We promised you another actual Anticipated Releases post early into this month, so here we are with our largest list yet! When compiling this one, there were a whopping 85 books (!!!) listed on Goodreads with June release dates, so while this is, as always, in no way comprehensive, here are the June 2021 YA releases we just simply couldn’t let go unnoticed by us!
Missed our previous picks? Check them out below!
JANUARY | FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL | MAY
And here’s what we’ve already read this month (look out for reviews soon)!
An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi | Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin | The Sea Is Salt and So Am I by Cassandra Hartt
The Box in the Woods (Truly Devious #4) by Maureen Johnson
Publication Date: June 15, 2021
The Truly Devious series is hands-down the most expertly plotted and written mystery series that I have ever had the true pleasure of reading, and I was heartbroken when I thought it would end as a mere trilogy. So imagine my excitement when I saw that Stevie Bell’s crime-solving will continue on in some fashion—I cannot wait to see what this standalone mystery has in store.
Outisde of the walls of Ellingham Academy, Stevie Bell is itching for a good murder to keep her occupied this summer. When the owner of Sunny Pines, formerly Camp Wonder Falls and the site of the notorious and unsolved Box in the Woods murders, asks her to come to the camp to help him out with a true crime podcast on the case, Stevie jumps at the opportunity. But something evil continues to creep, and she and her friends may not make it out alive this time.
Blood Like Magic (Blood Like Magic #1) by Liselle Sambury
Publication Date: June 15, 2021
Fans of both the paranormal and urban fantasy should flock to Blood Like Magic this month—it promises to be a wicked and thrilling debut, richly imagined and utterly unique.
Voya Thomas never imagined that after waiting years for her Calling, the trial every witch must endure, she would fail. Voya’s been given an unprecedented second chance, but failure again means being stripped of her powers. But she is horrified anew by what she’s been asked to do—kill her first love.
The problem? She’s never been in love. To kill the perfect guy, she has to find him first. The solution? Voya joins a genetic matchmaking service, only to be paired with the infuriating Luc. Caught between mounting feelings and mounting pressure from her family, the only way out of this mess is to find something her ancestor values more than blood.
We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Publication Date: June 8, 2021
Rachel Lynn Solomon’s The Ex Talk is sitting with high priority on my TBR stack, but her next YA novel sounds so swoon-worthy that it may wind up in my hands first.
Quinn Berkowitz and Tarek Mansour’s families have always done business together—while Quinn’s family plans the weddings, Tarek’s caters them. After so many years, Quinn’s crush on Tarek became undeniable. And last summer, Quinn finally confessed via email—to no response and a move to college from Tarek.
Now, faced with another summer of each other’s endless company, they’ll have to endure wedding after wedding together. Quinn can’t deny that her feelings remain, and after learning the reason for Tarek’s silence, this wedding season might promise love after all.
The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
Publication Date: June 8, 2021
The minute I came across this mystical, magical debut inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology, I knew I had to get my hands on it.
When a young woman on the outskirts of her forest-veiled pagan village is betrayed by her people and surrendered to soldiers as a blood sacrifice, she imagines her fate is inevitable. But when monsters attack the Woodsmen, slaughtering all except Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen, Évike discovers that not all is as it seems. He is not actually a captain, but rather the disgraced prince Gáspár Bárány whose brother is planning a violent seizure of the throne. Similarly outcast, the two take advantage of their positions and make a tenuous pact to stop Gáspár’s brother before it’s too late.
As their journey takes them across mountains and through cities, their loathing turns to affection, magic reveals itself, betrayals occur—and the fate of the nation rests in the hands of those it has never cared for at all.
Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
Publication Date: June 1, 2021
If Book of the Month picks it, you know it’s likely to be fantastic. And if Nicola Yoon writes it, that’s basically a guaranteed fact.
Evie Thomas no longer believes in love, and especially not after witnessing an ordinary couple on an ordinary day kissing, only to have in response a vision of the beginnings of their romance…and its eventual ending.
As Evie tries to figure out what is happening and why, she finds herself at a dance studio in the arms of the passionate, daring X. He says yes to everything. But Evie never imagined saying yes to falling for him, risk of heartbreak and all.
The [Un]Popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez
Publication Date: June 1, 2021
When it comes to contemporary YA novels very explicitly about politics, my first instinct is to hesitate. I don’t really read them, and I don’t ever really plan to read them for pleasure. In my view, it seems like a lot can go really wrong, really fast, and I don’t know if I’m able to be as objective towards them as I should be when I’m just reading to review.
But when searching through upcoming titles, The [Un]Popular Vote caught my eye first for its cover, then thanks to this short review that piqued my true interest in it. Perfect for fans of The Politician and inspired by Scandal and The West Wing, if politics in YA is your game, this heartwarming book about a trans boy running for student body president is for you.
That Weekend by Kara Thomas
Publication Date: June 29, 2021
While I (sadly) have yet to make my way through all of Kara Thomas’s novels, The Cheerleaders was superb, and I have been eagerly anticipating finding time for another mystery from her—and this looks right up my alley.
Three best friends, a lake house, a secret trip—what could go wrong?
They were all set for the perfect prom weekend getaway. Until Claire wakes up one morning on the hiking trail, bloodied and alone, her best friends missing, with no memory of the past forty-eight hours. Everyone wants answers—most especially Claire. She knows that somewhere buried deep in her brain is the key to everything. But she knows she’s not going to like what she finds.
Darling by K. Ancrum
Publication Date: June 22, 2021
K. Ancrum’s eerie and startling debut The Wicker King proved what an immense talent she is, so I cannot wait to see what she does with a reimagined Peter Pan.
On Wendy Darling’s first night in Chicago, a boy named Peter appears at her window with the promise of a fantastic night out on the town. Wendy agrees to go with him, imagining a party and sights to behold, only to find herself thrust into Chicago’s underground and swarmed by Peter’s interesting friends—and enemies.
As secrets begin to emerge, Wendy will have to fight to survive the night—and make sure everyone else does too.
Blackout—Stories from Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon
Publication Date: June 22, 2021
It has been far too long since I’ve read an anthology, so when I stumbled across Blackout, I was immediately entranced. From six of YA’s most acclaimed authors comes this slim volume of interconnected stories about Black love and the magic and possibilities of one dark, star-filled night in the city.
A summer heatwave has blanketed New York City in darkness—and it is through forging new, unexpected connections that the light begins to pour out.
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Publication Date: June 1, 2021
Ace of Spades has already made a splash on my Goodreads feed, and it looks to be for good reason. With the promise of “Gossip Girl meets Get Out,” how could it not?
When Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo are selected as senior class prefects of Niveus Private Academy, their year couldn’t be off to a better start. But soon after the incredible announcement, their lives are turned upside down when they start receiving anonymous texts from someone who goes by the name “Aces” who is threatening to reveal all their carefully hidden secrets—and ruin their carefully planned futures as a result.
With the stakes mounting and the game quickly turning dangerous, Devon and Chiamaka will have to stop Aces before it turns downright deadly. And what awaits you, dear reader, is a heart-pounding YA thriller this June.
This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron
Publication Date: June 29, 2021
From the author of Cinderella Is Dead comes this new urban fantasy series about a girl with the power to grow plants and and bloom flowers with the touch of a finger.
When Briseis’s aunt dies and leaves her dilapidated, plant-filled estate to the family, Bri’s parents hope that a summer there will help her learn to control her gift. But the mansion is more sinister than Bri anticipated, deadly and dangerous in ways only she can hope to understand.
As strangers arrive on their doorstep looking for potions and elixirs, and Bri discovers a new talent for making them, a mysterious customer reveals the dark history of the home and its surrounding community. Suddenly, Bri has a curse and a wicked and deadly plant to contend with—and to save her family, she’ll have to hone her gift once and for all.
Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa
Publication Date: June 8, 2021
Julián Luna cannot wait to graduate and escape Corpus Christi, Texas, where he has never felt truly comfortable enough to live his authentic life. But all of his plans to continue living under the radar fly out of the closet—literally—with one impulsive Tweet.
Though Julián knows he might have to face rejection, he also can’t wait to openly be his true self. And when Mat, an empathetic Twitter crush, slides into his DMs one day, love might just be in the air too. But when all of Julián’s worst fears begin to come true, the person he needs most is fifteen hundred miles away. And he’ll have to learn how to face them alone.
Daughter of Sparta by Claire M. Andrews
Publication Date: June 8, 2021
A reinterpretation of the classic Daphne and Apollo myth, my somewhat unfounded mental ban on YA high fantasy just might have to lift for Daughter of Sparta.
Seventeen-year-old Daphne has been training her entire life in the hopes of joining the people of Sparta. But when the goddess Artemis visits her with a mission, she threatens everything Daphne has worked so hard for.
Nine mysterious items have been stolen from Mount Olympus, and if Daphne cannot find them, the gods’ powers will fade and the mortal world will devolve into chaos—and Daphne’s brother’s life will be forfeited in the process. With Apollo as her guide, Daphne will have to face godly task after godly task, mythological beast after mythological beast, until she comes face to face with the gods themselves.
The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons
Publication Date: June 1, 2021
After enduring a year of bullying after coming out as trans at his old school, fifteen-year-old Spencer is anxious for a fresh start at Oakley, the most liberal private school in Ohio. Here, Spencer finally seems to have it all—good friends, more accepting peers, a spot on the soccer team, and maybe even a budding romance. The only problem? No one at Oakley knows he’s trans.
When a discriminatory law benches Spencer from the boy’s soccer team, he has a choice to make: cheer from the sidelines, or stand up for his right to play—even if it means coming out to everyone, including the boy he’s falling for.
YA Books Daily 
6 replies on “Our 14 Most Anticipated YA Releases of June 2021”
Great list! The Wolf and the Woodsman sounds so good!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much!!! I agree, it’s definitely one I want to read sooner rather than later!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
great list! i’m so excited for daughter of sparta!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much!!! I am too, it sounds so fantastic 🥰
LikeLike
Great picks! We’re so excited for A Box in the Woods and Instructions for Dancing.
LikeLike
[…] sits in front of a laptop and creates ✨ content ✨, picking up projects like book tags and our Anticipated Releases series has just not even crossed my mind at all. This blog began to feel like work long before […]
LikeLike