Predicting My 19 Favourite Books of 2019

How is it the end of the year already?! Even though I’m slightly annoyed that we’re meant to be celebrating New Year in just over a week when it feels like it was June last month, but hey, it also means that I get to flail about all the upcoming releases I’m most excited for!

I say this every year, but 2019 looks like the best year of YA yet. We have anticipated sequels from some of our favourite authors, new books from people we know and love, and, of course, this year we’re going to get to fall in love with new writers and their worlds for the very first time. We’ve been promised zombies, and queer witches, and murder, and drag queens, and ghosts, and I couldn’t be more excited for all the 2019 releases.

It’s becoming a tradition that I predict my favourite books of the next year and then reminisce on what I actually thought of them one year later, and I had so much fun this year that I thought I’d do it again! If you want to check out my thoughts on my predicted favourites of 2018, check out this post. Aaaaand… here are my predicted favourites of 2019!

Slayer by Kiersten White

Expected publication: January 8

You’re not going to believe this, but I started watching Buffy for the first time ever about seven months ago and it has CHANGED MY LIFE. One of my friends has telling me to watch it for LITERAL YEARS because they said I’d love it, and THEY WERE RIGHT. And guess what?! Just as I’m in my Peak Obsession phase, a YA novel set in the Buffy universe is being released! I could NOT be more excited. 2019 is off to an incredible start already!

Highway Bodies by Alison Evans

Expected publication: February 1

Okay, I might be cheating a little bit here because I received a very early copy of this book and have already devoured it… but Highway Bodies is sure to be one of my favourite books of 2019! It’s queer! It has zombies! It’s #LoveOzYA! I don’t want to spoil anything but TRUST ME WHEN I SAY THIS IS A BOOK YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE. What a rollercoaster ride!

What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume

Expected publication: February 26

Yas yas YAS! I’ve loved Jenna’s content on Buzzfeed for quite a while, and I was lucky enough to spend half a day with her at the Melbourne Writers Festival this year, and she’s absolutely the SWEETEST PERSON EVER – and her novel sounds just as incredible as she is! It’s about an Aussie summer and body positivity and a beauty pageant, and I’m just SO EXCITED. It’s going to be adorable, if that cover is anything to go by.

Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner

Expected publication: February 26

I read Goodbye Days when it was released last year and I absolutely adored it, and when I saw the cover for his next novel, I knew I’d most likely fall in love with this one too. Whoever said you can’t judge a book by its cover is CLEARLY WRONG. I mean, how stunning is it? It’s about making a TV show and graduating high school and trying to figure out what to do with your life, and it just sounds so heart-wrenchingly beautiful.

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

Expected publication: February 26

Yes, this is probably a book you’ve been seeing everywhere recently – and I’m sure it’s absolutely, 100% deserving of the hype! Astrid is an absolutely incredible human being and we’re lucky to claim her here in Australia, and again, LOOK AT THAT COVER! We’ve been promised murder and queens and mystery, and I’m just so looking forward to finally reading this book that I’ve had my eye on for ages. You’re not going to want to miss out on this one!

You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman

Expected publication: March 5

Oh my GOODNESS, this book just sounds like PERFECTION! It’s about a boy who pushes himself to the absolute limits at high school to be valedictorian and the perfect college applicant, and I just see so much of teen me in this book already. But we’re also getting hints of a queer romance, and y’all know I’m 110% here for that. I just feel like You Asked for Perfect is going to be such an important, necessary novel for so many high school students and I can’t wait to see this book out in the world.

The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drews

Expected publication: April 4

Cait’s first novel, A Thousand Perfect Notes, was one of my favourite books of this year, so of course her next one had to be on my Predicted Favourites list for 2019! I’m sure it’ll be just as unputdownable and just as soul-crushing (in a good way) as the last one. It’ll rip out my heart and force me to eat it and I’ll say thanks. The Boy Who Steals Houses is about cinnamon roll boys and family and it has autism representation, and I’m just so excited to have a good cry sesh.

How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow

Expected publication: April 9

I’m just going to go right ahead and say it: THAT IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COVER I’VE EVER LAID EYES ON. How could it not be one of my most anticipated releases of 2019?! I’m also expecting to love it because I adored Girl in Pieces in a this-book-has-killed-me-emotionally kind of way, and I know this book is going to do the exact same thing to my emotions. I’M NOT READY. But also… GIVE ME THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW PLEASE.

Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens by Tanya Boteju

Expected publication: May 7

YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW EXCITED I AM FOR THIS BOOK. Judy Bloom meets RuPaul’s Drag Race? Yes please! This book just sounds like so much fun and it’s exactly the thing I need in my life right now. Apparently it’s about a girl from an insular community who’s in love with her friend and then finds herself suddenly immersed in drag culture – how great does that sound?! I can’t wait to get my hands on this book.

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Expected publication: May 7

Amie and Jay are back at it again! THE ICONIC DUO ARE HERE TO RIP OUT OUR HEARTS AGAIN. I’m so excited to get to know this new squad, including, but not limited to, a sociopath scientist, an alien warrior with anger management issues, and a sarcastic diplomat. HOW AWESOME DOES THAT SOUND?! And not to mention, that cover is absolutely stunning.

Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist

Expected publication: May 21

Did someone say urban fantasy with a bisexual lead?! SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY. Lexi, our lead, can tell when someone’s going to die – but then a ghost of a girl who died wants help in getting revenge on her killer, so of course Lexi is going to do anything she can to help (and to keep this beautiful ghost of a girl by her side as long as possible). YEP, I’M GOING TO FALL FOR THE GHOST AS WELL. I CAN ALREADY TELL. Why am I like this?

These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling

Expected publication: May 28

I just have two words for you: QUEER. WITCHES. Have I got your attention? This book just sounds absolutely incredible – it’s about a coven of witches who have to keep their powers secret, which is the least of Hannah’s worries when she’s falling for the new girl in the midst of a supernatural crisis. It sounds fun and gripping, and I honestly couldn’t think of a book more up my alley. I’m still devastated that Willow Rosenberg from Buffy probably won’t a cameo in this, being my favourite queer witch and all, but I’ll take what I can get.

Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories, edited by Michael Earp

Estimated publication: June 1

SOMEONE HOLD ME. This anthology is honestly everything I’ve ever wanted, and I’m so excited to get a copy in my hands. Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology is one of my favourite books of all time and has so many incredible contributing authors, and I’m sure Kindred will sit next to it on my shelf. I’m always here for more queer content, and you know it’s going to be spectacular when it’s edited by the incredible Michael Earp. SO READY FOR THIS BOOK.

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi

Estimated publication: June 11

LOOK AT THOSE BEAUTIFUL QUEER GIRLS ON THE COVER. Heart-eyes for days! And I think it has the hate-to-love trope! YAAAAS! Someone hold me. Someone bring me my rainbow cape and some cake. I’m so excited for this book and I really hope it’s everything I want it to be – and more! I always need more happy queer novels in my life, and I’m sure this one will soothe my soul.

Graveyard Shift in Ghost Town (Gap Year in Ghost Town #2) by Michael Pryor

Estimated publication: July

I literally haven’t stopped talking about Gap Year in Ghost Town since it came out – that’s how amazing it is! It’s set in Melbourne and it’s funny and there are ghosts, and it’s just one of the most enjoyable #LoveOzYA novels I’ve ever read. I don’t know any specifics about the sequel, but I’m sure it’s going to be just as humorous and spooky as the last. And I hope it has just as many coffee references as the last one, if not more. If you haven’t picked up the first one, you have to add it to your TBR!

Oasis by Katya de Becerra

Estimated publication: September 15

This book is going to give me nightmares for a solid month, and I’ll thank it for that. I mean, how could I not be excited for this book after utterly adoring What the Woods Keep?! To be fair, that book has scarred me for life, but I can’t say I wasn’t warned. And now Katya’s second book is going to make me scared of sand and will get me questioning what’s real and what isn’t, and it’s going to be incredible. I just know it.

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Estimated publication: November 19

EDWARDIAN LONDON?! A NEW HERONDALE?! Sign me the heck up! I don’t really want to know too much about this book because I love going in unaware of any potential I have of my heart being ripped out, but if it’s anything like Queen of Air and Darkness, I know having my emotions shredded is the reality I’m facing. I could not be more ready and more unprepared for this novel at the same time. JUST TAKE MY SOUL, CASSIE. GO RIGHT AHEAD.

Tunnel of Bones (City of Ghosts #2) by Victoria Schwab

Estimated publication: 2019

OF COURSE I HAVE QUEEN V ON MY LIST. Not many details have been released about this book, but I know it’s got to have my faves Cast and Jacob in it, and it may possibly be set in Paris? I DON’T KNOW BUT I’M EXCITED. The first book in this series allowed us to get to know Cass and her ghost best friend, Jacob, and I’m looking forward to falling in love with them even more in the sequel. IT’S GOING TO RIP MY HEART OUT, I CAN TELL.

Untitled by Alice Oseman

Estimated publication: 2019

I honestly don’t know anything about this book except that it might be the most personal book to Alice that she’s ever written, and that’s really exciting to hear. I Was Born for This was my favourite book of 2018, so of course her next one has to be on my list of Predicted Favourites! To be fair, Alice could hand me her shopping list and I’d flail. I JUST LOVE HER WRITING SO MUCH, OKAY?!

What upcoming releases are you most looking forward to? Have I named any of the ones that are on your 2019 TBR? What was your favourite book of this year? I’d love to hear your thoughts!