12 must-read new YA book releases to get us through April

Redemption Prep – Samuel Miller

In the promotional materials for Samuel Miller’s Redemption Prep, the story is described as Twin Peaks meets Riverdale, which, let me tell you is kind of all I personally need to know to add it to my TBR pile.

The novel is set at the titular elite prep school, which is something of a cross between the Vatican and a top secret military facility. When popular Emmalynn Donahue goes missing, her disappearance ignites a campus-wide search, involving everyone from her roommate to her basketball star boyfriend to the student who’s been stalking her all semester long. (Um…yikes?) Did Emma find a way to escape the school grounds, or was she taken?

As the mystery surrounding Emma deepens, the school’s dark past begins to come to light, everyone suddenly wants answers. But will they like what they find?

The official synopsis has more details.

"Everyone knows Emma. Neesha’s her best friend, Aiden’s her basketball star boyfriend, and Evan’s her shadow, following Emma’s every move. She stands out, which is hard to do at Redemption Prep, a school where every student has been handpicked to attend its remote campus in the forest of Utah. So when she goes missing in plain sight, everyone notices. And everyone becomes a suspect, especially at a school with strict rules: Don’t skip mass. Don’t break curfew. Don’t go into the woods. Emma’s disappearance ignites an investigation, and Neesha, Aiden, and Evan all want to find her—for different reasons. But they each have their own secrets to hide, and not everyone wants Emma to be found. As the search continues, the students realize that they’re not the only ones trying to hide something. Redemption Prep has secrets, too—secrets bigger than any of the students could have imagined, and Emma could be the key to finding out the truth… if anyone can find her."

Redemption Prep is available on April 14.