There have been several documented incidents involving self-driving cars in California going rogue lately.  Earlier this month in San Francisco, two Waymo taxis collided. Then the situation became more complicated when a third Waymo autonomous vehicle arrived at the scene and stopped, resulting in a three-way “Waymo standoff” that became funny social media fodder.  The drivers on the road that day were less amused as the street was blocked until Waymo reps arrived on scene to break up the mess.  Days later, a San Francisco man recorded the frightening moment a Waymo self-driving vehicle he was riding in pulled out onto the road and into the path of another car, almost causing a collision. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships “I already almost got into a car accident. Oh my God. I am never doing this again,” Chris Rogers said in a video clip.  “The other car absolutely had the right of way, and there was no way for me to fix the situation. I would’ve been forced to endure a really bad car accident,” Rogers told Storyful, adding that it was his first – and probably last – experience with a self-driving car. “Thank God the other driver was a human being and managed to swerve at the last moment,” he added. Also this month, a Waymo robotaxi went viral after it rolled straight through a police standoff in downtown Los Angeles. Bystander video shows the driverless car turning directly beside several police vehicles with their lights flashing, even as a suspect lay on the pavement. Near misses and crashes might not be as common in Waymos when compared to human drivers, but now there’s a new danger to contend with. Most recently, a Los Angeles woman checked the trunk of a self-driving taxi and discovered a man hiding inside, per MotorBiscuit.   The incident occurred near MacArthur Park in the Westlake District of Los Angeles. The woman said she ordered the Waymo for her daughter. In a TikTok captioned “This was real life and not a skit,” she can be heard recounting what happened to authorities. “Why the f*ck are you in the trunk?” the woman can be heard asking the man in a TikTok video.  “I’m trying to figure this out. This sh*t won’t let me out,” he replied. “They just put me in it.” “Who put you in it?” she asked.  “The people,” he replied. Police responded but did not arrest the man as he technically committed no crimes, FOX 11 News noted.  A Waymo spokesperson made the following statement on the incident, per CBS LA News: “We’re committed to keeping our riders safe and earning the trust of the communities where we operate. This experience was unacceptable, and we are actively implementing changes to address this.”  Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company and a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., which offers on-demand transportation in select cities across the United States, including Austin, Phoenix, and Atlanta. Waymo claims its cars have 90% fewer accidents compared to human drivers.

The Michigan Republican-controlled House used a little-known provision in state law to cut $645 million in government funding, including slashing multiple left-wing causes, last week. The cuts were a major move for Republicans who are up against a Democrat-controlled state Senate and a Democratic governor that have pushed for bigger state budgets and a more expansive state government. Republican House Speaker Matt Hall told The Daily Wire that the cuts came after Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer asked for an extension on $2.7 billion that had been earmarked under a previous budget, but had not been spent by the end of the fiscal year. “We had the opportunity using this law to cut more spending before Whitmer was able to put it into her slush funds,” Hall said. The State Budget Office, which is controlled by Whitmer, sent letters to the House and Senate budget committees, requesting an extension on the $2.7 billion in funding that was not used, Bridge Michigan reported. The GOP-controlled House budget committee opposed many of the programs in the Whitmer administration’s funding request and decided to send $645 million back to the state’s general fund. Hall accused Whitmer and Democrats of requesting “a lot more money than they need” for the budget extension, adding, “And then they keep the money and they work-project it into their slush fund, so they have it for years.” The biggest cut was $159 million to Whitmer’s Make It in Michigan Competitiveness Fund. The fund, which Whitmer created with the approval of the state legislature in 2024, matches federal grants with the state’s job creation goals. Another target of the Republican cuts was the Community Enhancement Grants, which were denied nearly $103 million. Some of the money from the grants has gone toward a festival in Detroit to celebrate diversity, according to WWMT News Channel 3. The Community Enhancement Grants were combined under one line item, meaning Republicans had to cut all of them to slash funding for the grants that promoted diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Other priorities that were among the Republican cuts included over $1.2 million for a program aimed at stocking public bathrooms with feminine hygiene products. Hall told The Daily Wire that the program also requires boys’ bathrooms to be stocked with tampons. Republicans also slashed funding for some of Whitmer’s green energy projects, such as her goal to build electric vehicle chargers along the coast of Lake Michigan. Another department that took a hit from the cuts was the Office of Global Michigan, which housed a program that Whitmer used to make government handouts available to illegal immigrants. The Office of Global Michigan, which lost around $1.3 million in the cuts, is also riddled with diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Michigan Democrats blasted Republicans over the cuts, calling them “cruel” and “disgusting.” Democrats specifically called out cuts to the RxKids program, which helps some parents pay for their children’s prescriptions. Democrats also blasted Republicans for making cuts to “Wigs for Kids,” which provides wigs and other services for children going through cancer treatments. Democratic state Rep. Will Snyder said the GOP cuts were one of the most “unprecedented displays of cruelty that I’ve ever seen during my time here in Lansing,” according to Michigan Advance. “This budget instrument was never intended for this purpose, and using it with such haste and scale proves the dangerous nature of crossing pre-existing and long standing-lines, even if (it was) potentially legally permissible,” Snyder said. “We are just now beginning to understand the full scope of these disgusting actions.” “There’s a special place in hell for someone willing to yank money away from moms and babies 15 days before Christmas,” said Senate Democratic Majority Leader Winnie Brinks. “I hope Matt Hall takes this holiday season to look within himself and reevaluate what exactly he’s doing here.” Democratic leaders also suggested that they could pursue legal action to prevent the massive cuts. Hall brushed off the criticism from Democrats, arguing that the state could still use some of the other government funding in its “slush fund” to put toward charities, such as Wigs for Kids. “We can reappropriate funds that have a good purpose. We can come back through a supplemental budget, and we can put it back to use,” Hall said. “But I think the Whitmer administration should come in and they should explain to us where every one of these dollars is going. Something they wouldn’t do when they were trying to prevent us from making the cuts.”

The horror genre and comedian Rodney Dangerfield have something in common. Neither gets much respect. Sure, audiences flock to horror movies as much as any genre over the decades. We turn cinematic serial killers like Art the Clown, Freddy Krueger, and Jason Voorhees into pop culture icons. The films rarely get a once-over when it’s time for awards season. This time it’s different. And it’s not just about golden statuettes. Horror kept this year’s box office afloat in 2025, a year that saw a shocking number of commercial duds litter movie houses. Think Robert De Niro’s “The Alto Knights,” Disney’s “Snow White” and Robert Pattinson’s “Mickey 17” as prime offenders. Multiple horror movies will be vying for the year’s biggest prize – the Best Picture Oscar. They may come up short to “One Battle After Another,” a prestige film that sends the exact message progressive Hollywood craves in President Donald Trump’s second term. Stop ICE at all costs. Still, these horror entries matter, and they may scoop up a golden trophy or two before the dust settles. It starts with director Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” an unconventional vampire movie that doubled as an exposé of early 20th century racism. The film hit theaters in April, with forecasters wondering if its large budget ($90 million) might preclude it from making a profit. Most horror movies are made for a fraction of that amount. Credit: Warner Bros. The film opened big and expanded its audience week after week, wrapping its run with a gaudy $279 million stateside haul. Critics and crowds alike rallied behind it – witness the film’s dueling Rotten Tomatoes’ scores – 97% “fresh” from critics, 96% “fresh” from general audiences. Now, it’s front and center in the current Oscar race, with experts predicting nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and maybe Best Actor for Michael B Jordan in a dual role. Coming in a close second is director Craig Zegger’s “Weapons,” a deliriously original film about a town where an entire class of children disappeared overnight, save one. What happened? Is the class’s teacher (Julia Garner) to blame? The film’s core mystery is told via multiple perspectives, adding layers to the eventual shocks.  Credit: New Line Cinema. Once again, critics and customers hailed the film (Rotten Tomatoes – 93/85) and the box office sales soared ($151 million). The price tag? A modest $38 million. The film’s Best Picture chances are less secure than “Sinners,” but creepy co-star Amy Madigan is a lock for a Best Supporting Actress turn for her memorable turn as Aunt Gladys, and Best Screenplay honors are also likely. And then there’s “Frankenstein.” Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro brought the classic monster story back from the grave via Netflix. His take on the property earned him a Best Picture nomination from the Golden Globes, and Oscar love may shortly follow. Del Toro’s brand matters to Academy voters, and he treated the pulpy material with a keen idea for the humanity within the reconstructed monster. Imagine not one or two but three horror films gracing this year’s Best Picture nomination list? The last time horror had such a prestigious close-up was when 1991’s “The Silence of the Lambs” swept that year’s Oscars ceremony, netting five statues (including Best Picture). The year’s box office picture is another, murkier matter. Yes, the numbers are up from 2024, but that’s hardly something to crow about. This year’s domestic box office is up 1%, but the industry battle cry “survive until 2025” when more populist films were lining up for release didn’t quite transpire. Don’t blame horror movies. Not only did “Sinners” and “Weapons” pull their weight (“Frankenstein” barely played in theaters before jumping to Netflix), but other horror hits stunned Hollywood. The fourth film in the “Conjuring” series, “Last Rites,” made $177 million and a total of $494 million globally. That made it the most profitable film in the saga. “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” the first film in that lo-fi saga since 2011’s “Final Destination 5,” made $138 million in the U.S. alone and revived the franchise. That film also included an emotional farewell to horror favorite Tony Todd, who knew he was gravely ill when he shot his final scene for the series. Recent horror hits include “Black Phone 2” (a respectable $77 million US to date), “28 Years Later” ($70 million US) and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” (a $64 million opening weekend). Why is horror having a moment? Start with a new crop of directors who know the genre well, from Coogler and Cregger to Osgood Perkins (“Keeper,” “The Monkey”) and Jordan Peele (“Get Out”). Horror films don’t require starry casts and can be made on a shoestring budget. Plus, when they insert the obligatory left-leaning messages, it’s embedded in the scares, not force fed to us in lectures. Audiences crave the unfettered escapism the genre offers. We’re living in a divided age, but political ideology mostly gets left behind when settling in for a horror film. Jump scares don’t ask audiences how they vote. And while video games and social media keep cutting into the theatrical pull, there’s nothing like being scared silly in the dark with a group of like-minded strangers. It helps to savor some A-plus films that respect that reality. * * * Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of HollywoodInToto.com. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at HollywoodInToto.com. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships

Actor James Woods is mourning the loss of his friend, Rob Reiner, and calling out anyone who is less than sympathetic to Reiner’s murder. Some conservatives have posted about Reiner being an outspoken liberal and a Trump critic. But Woods, a conservative, insists that doesn’t change how much sympathy the world should have. “Rob literally saved my career and really put me back on track in a way that was so important and rewarding in my life. He really fought for me when a studio didn’t want me in a movie,” Woods said during a Fox News appearance Monday night, saying he fought for Woods to get a role when the studio didn’t want him. “I went from really being basically out of a job to getting an Academy Award nomination, and I give all the credit to Rob.” The longtime actor became emotional several times while speaking with host Jesse Watters on “Jesse Waters Primetime.” “I judge people by how they treat me, and Rob Reiner was a godsend in my life. We got along great, we loved each other… He was always on my side,” Woods continued, “When people would say to me, ‘What do you think of his politics?’ I would say, ‘I think Rob Reiner is a great patriot. Do I agree… on many of his ideas on how that patriotism should be enacted, to celebrate the America that we both love? No. He doesn’t agree with me either, but he also respects my patriotism. We had a different path to the same destination, which was a country we both love.” “Because you disagree with people doesn’t mean that you have to hate people,” he added. Woods also mentioned the compassionate way Reiner responded to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, which stood in stark contrast to many of his Hollywood comrades. “I knew Charlie Kirk, I supported him… people said such horrible things, and Rob did not,” Woods told Watters. “When people say horrible things about Rob right now, I find it, quite frankly, infuriating and distasteful. Did I agree with his politics? I did not. Did I love him as a friend, as an artist, as an icon of Hollywood, and as a patriot? I most certainly did, and I am just absolutely devastated by this terrible event.” Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Reiner and his wife, Michele Reiner, were murdered on Sunday. President Trump has been criticized for his reaction on Truth Social, which said Reiner “passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS.” Trump doubled down during a press conference on Monday. “I wasn’t a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned. … I thought he was very bad for our country.”

Interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the daughter of an 86-year-old Holocaust survivor injured in the Bondi Beach massacre blasted the network, along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, for their handling of the tragedy. “He’s 86; he’s a Holocaust survivor,” she began. “He’s a survivor of antisemitism in the ex-Soviet Union. He grew up tough, my dad. He came to Australia and brought us here because he didn’t want my mother and I to go through the same experience. And we didn’t for many years; we didn’t for many years — until October 7, 2023.” James Glenday, co-host of News Breakfast, the ABC’s flagship morning TV program, tried to skate past the horrific massacre with this lame question: “How are you feeling right now, because there’s some really good things happening in this community, like a lot of people are coming together.” “We’re so appreciative of that, yeah,” she acknowledged, then responded to the insipid question, repeating: “How are we feeling?” Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships She offered a rhetorical question to the government after the murders: “Is this what you wanted? Is this enough now? Will you listen to us? Albanese, Wong, will you listen to us? Will you actually do something? Will you actually — Don’t have to stand up and say anything because we don’t believe you anyway.” Then she directly challenged the interviewer, his network, and the media in general: “And ABC, I’ve gotta say, will you cut out the biased reporting? Mainstream media, will you cut it out? Will you actually let us have a voice? Because we feel that part of the reason that the Jewish people have experienced such a massive change in Australia toward us — I’m Aussie. I’m Aussie. I’m not a religious Jewish girl but since October 7, since all the hatred that’s been thrown at us, I’ve started to wear my Magen David (star of David) because I’m Jewish and if you have something to say, you can say it to me.” “And ABC, please stop with the biased reporting,” she concluded. ??? Her dad is an 86-year-old Holocaust survivor. He is in hospital after being injured at Bondi beach. That ABC talking head James Glenday asks, ‘How are you feeling right now… ?’ OUCH! He got a well-deserved smack!! Good on that lady. She didn’t miss #THEIRABC pic.twitter.com/rZ9XMYEV7u — JILL (@1Swinging_Voter) December 15, 2025 Last July, Australian MP Andrew Wallace slammed Albanese and Wong, stating after the release of the Special Envoy’s Plan to Combat Antisemitism: “I am staggered that it has taken this long for the Albanese Government to finally prioritise the safety and dignity of Australia’s Jewish community. Let’s be clear: the kind of antisemitic hate this plan seeks to address are violent attacks on synagogues, harassment of Jewish students, and the open spread of hate symbols and rhetoric on our streets, which has been amplified since October 7, 2023. That’s nearly three years that this Government has sat on its hands while Jewish Australians were threatened, abused and intimidated in their homes, their schools, and their places of worship.” “The Albanese Government has been dragged kicking and screaming to this point,” he continued.

Doors, everywhere, slammed shut

'it won't sell'

Books Best of 2025 Notable Young Adult Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror of 2025 Check out 30 of the best young adult titles of the year By Alex Brown | Published on December 16, 2025 Comment 0 Share New Share It’s that time of year: best of list time! “Best” is such a subjective term, so I like to craft my list more like a “most notable” or “top picks.” I’m less interested in star ratings and more at books that compelled me, moved me, made me think of the world in a new way, had interesting or creative narrative styles, that sort of thing. Some of these were bestsellers while some were released with little fanfare.  There were around 300 young adult speculative novels traditionally published in 2025, and after a lot of research, reading, and hemming and hawing, I narrowed them down to 30 must-haves. Science Fiction Coldwire by Chloe Gong (The StrangeLoom Trilogy #1) In a world ravaged by climate change and economic disparity, there are two main societies: the privileged who reside upcountry in virtual reality and everyone else in the harsh real world of downcountry. Several teens from both social stratuses are pulled into the cold war raging between two upcountry nations. Espionage, murder, kidnapping, and mass surveillance abound. The L.O.V.E. Club by Lio Min A couple years ago, Elle disappeared, and the L.O.V.E. Club—best friends Liberty, O, Vera, and Elle—shattered. Now the three survivors find themselves sucked into a video game that seems to have been built by Elle. Each level seems designed specifically for each girl, and the boss fights test their relationships with each other as much as their physical strength. All the traumas the girls experienced in the real world bubbles up in the virtual one, with deadly consequences. Titan of the Stars by E.K. Johnston (Titan of the Stars #1) Celeste and Dominic don’t have much in common other than both traveling on the maiden voyage of the spaceship Titan. She is a dirt poor engineer hoping for new opportunities on Mars, and he is the privileged and bored son of the ship’s builder who dreams of going to art school. Someone releases ancient aliens onto the ship, and the luxury liner becomes a killing floor. To survive, Celeste and Dominic must set aside their class differences and work together. Fantasy Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman Several years ago, Eileen escaped her abusive noble husband with her young son, a knight, a lapsed nun, and a dragon in human form. They wound up in the perpetually muddy village of St. Muckle’s and rebuilt their lives. Now, the deaths of several of Charl’s bullies in an abandoned abby kick off a series of unfortunate events. A plague races through the villagers, a dragon burns the town down, and enemies threaten Charl and his mother. He’ll need the help of some grumpy ghosts and a guilt-ridden ex-nun to save the day. Although a standalone novel, this is set in the same vaguely medieval European world as Hartman’s other YA fantasies.  I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang At the prestigious Havenwood Academy, Chinese American cousins Jenna and Jessica are always being compared, Jenna less favorably. So when Jenna wakes up one day in Jessica’s body, she thinks she’s won the lottery. Except now she’s stuck in a life that isn’t hers and one she doesn’t actually want to live. Worse, everyone seems to be forgetting the real Jenna even existed.  The Leaving Room by Amber McBride This novel-in-verse begins in death. Teenage Gospel helps newly dead children move onto whatever comes next. As a Keeper of the Leaving Room, her whole world is contained in the small closet lined with shelves of jars with memories from those who have passed through. She doesn’t know what came before she entered that room, only that the rules say she can never leave. Everything changes when Melodee, another Keeper, leaves her room and enters Gospel’s.  Love at Second Sight by F.T. Lukens Cam expected his sophomore year of high school to be boring. Instead, his best friend and witch-in-training Al ditched them right when he discovered he was psychic. Now he, his werewolf crush Mateo, a nemesis who also happens to be an elemental spirit, and a ninth grader who is far too nosy for her own good try to help him save the life of a young woman whose bloody future Cam prophesies. The themes of commentary on queerphobia, how adults try to legislate bigotry by pretending they’re “protecting” children, and the ways parents can push their own fears onto their kids give this cozy fantasy real depth. Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours Sariyah has the uncanny ability to hear what people need, but there is a cost. If she doesn’t get the person what they need soon, she’ll suffer a terrible migraine. After her best friend Deja vanishes in the wake of one of Sariyah helping someone, she feels partly responsible. Her homelife goes chaotic as the secrets of friends and family are exposed. As she searches for Deja, she makes choices that might bring her home or put her in the same danger Deja is in. Skipshock by Caroline O’Donoghue The train Margo boards is supposed to take her to her boarding school in Dublin. Instead, she ends up on a train that can travel between worlds with a strange boy, Moon, who claims he’s an interdimensional salesman. The train goes North, where time is fast, and South, where time slows. Margo’s arrival throws the orderly Southern rules into chaos and puts a target on her back. Moon might be the only one who can keep her safe long enough to return her to Earth. Horror And the River Drags Her Down by Jihyun Yun Soojin has the magical ability to bring the dead back to life, but not without consequences. When she discovers her sister drowned in the river, she makes the impulsive decision to resurrect her. At first Mirae seems fine, but it becomes increasingly clear she came back…wrong. Mirae wants to use her second chance to get revenge on the people she blames for their mother’s death, and there may not be much Soojin can do to stop her bloody rampage. The Dead of Summer by Ryan La Sala (The Dead of Summer #1) The vacation destination of Anchor’s Mercy, Maine, is a little slice of heaven for everyone except Ollie. He and his mother return after several months on the mainland where she’s been receiving cancer treatment. When he left he blew up his friendships, and repairing that is at the top of his list now that he’s back. Or, it would be if a terrifying eco-plague wasn’t spreading from the coral and turning people into zombies. The story is told partly in prose and partly through interviews, journal entries, and other ephemera gathered after the pandemic has already claimed the island. Hazelthorn by C.G. Drews Evander has spent most of his life trapped on the rundown Hazelthorn estate owned by his ultra wealthy guardian, Byron Lennox-Hall. After Byron’s grandson Laurie tried to kill Evander, he was banned from the gardens and leaving the property, and never allowed to be alone with the only other kid on the estate. When Byron dies a suspicious death, both boys reunite to search for the killer before they strike again.  The Others by Cheryl Isaacs (The Unfinished #2) Not much time has passed since the events of the first book, and Avery is trying to put that all behind her. But Key, who Avery rescued from imminent death, can’t move on, and other locals are still mourning their loved ones who never returned. Strange shapes begin to appear in reflective surfaces and once again she must draw on the stories of her Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) culture to stop the horrors trying to break free. Dystopian All Better Now by Neal Shusterman Like the next author in this category, Neal Shusterman is one of the all-time greats in YA dystopian fiction. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve also seen several YA books dealing with plagues and mass death. Shusterman does his take on the pandemic with Crown Royale, a virus that, if it doesn’t kill you, makes you permanently ecstatic and easy-going. Of course, capitalism immediately discovers how to exploit that. The stories of three teens, Morgan, Rón, and Mariel, converge as they move through this strange new world. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games) Collins takes readers back to the Hunger Games with this story of Haymitch as a teen. We already knew that Haymitch had won the 50th competition, and now we get to see how. This isn’t a cash grab “how did Han Solo get his last name” story. True to form, Collins fills this prequel with biting commentary on propaganda, authoritarianism, and resistance.  These Vengeful Gods by Gabe Cole Novoa Sixteen-year-old Crow is one of the last descendants of the God of Death. The others were executed years ago at the behest of the powers that be, so Crow hides his abilities as a Deathchild. After his uncles are arrested, to secure their freedom Crow is forced to participate in the Tournament of the Gods. This takes the trope of highly stratified societies with economic and systemic disparities and runs it through a queer filter. This Is the Year by Gloria Muñoz Julieta is a rising senior living in a near-future Florida wracked by climate change. After her sister Ofelia’s death, Juli would do anything to escape. Her lucky break comes with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work for the StarCrest’s Cometa Initiative, a private space program that plans to have New American teens establish the first colony on the Moon. The narrative structure is so compelling, part prose and part poetry. Anthologies These Bodies Ain’t Broken edited by Madeline Dyer YA anthologies on disability are few and far between, so it was a relief that this one was so good. Dyer does a good job of covering a variety of disabilities, from neurodivergence to chronic illness to physical disabilities, and often the same disability from multiple perspectives. Looking at disability from a horror perspective is what turns this from a run-of-the-mill premise into something fierce. This is a vital, well-written anthology. Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology edited by Vania Stoyanova & Rosiee Thor I am a sucker for alien stories, especially of the YA variety, so this was practically tailormade for me. The concept revolves around Captain Iona, who is headed for earth to retrieve her brother, an extraterrestrial posing as a movie star. Their ship crashes, spawning eleven fun and funny stories about the aliens and humans dealing with the aftermath. I’ve been describing it as “cozy alien invasion.” Parallel Universe Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee Brenda Nguyễn and Kat Woo both live in Los Angeles, California, just not the same one. Brenda’s is wracked by climate change and underfunding while Kat’s is a magical utopia of wyverns and teleportation. When portals start to go haywire in Kat’s world, the two girls have an accidental meet-cute at Brenda’s father’s cafe. From there, they have to not only sort out who is creating the portals that are destabilizing the boundaries between the two worlds, but also things like college applications, prom, cat-sized dragons and dragon-sized cats, and being the Chosen One. The Singular Life of Aria Patel by Samira Ahmed Science nerd Aria broke up with her boyfriend, Rohan, in anticipation of going off to college. After witnessing a terrible car accident, she comes to in a parallel world. Every day she wakes in a new version of her world. The only consistent things are a poem from English class, her ex, and a raging headache. The more things change, the less she’s able to hold onto them, and the more drawn she feels to Rohan. Can she get back to the “real” world or will she spend eternity tumbling through the multiverse? Dark Fantasy Moth Dark by Kika Hatzopoulou A few years ago, ruptures burst forth in our world, connecting it to a place now called the Darkworld. On the other side of the Dark portal are the elves, one of whom, genderfluid Nagau, tries to kill Sascia. The timelines are out of sync between the two worlds, so when Nugau returns, they are younger and have no idea who Sascia is. As the two keep meeting, the mystery begins to deepen, as do Nagau and Sascia’s feelings for each other. With a war between humans and elves on the horizon, their love may not be enough to keep them together. The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor When she was a child, Maeve’s father was embroiled in a terrible tragedy that led to the Written Doors being destroyed and the people in Inverly killed. But when an otherwhere mail carrier delivers a letter to her declaring his innocence, she sets out to clear his name. Maeve scams her way into an apprenticeship at the Otherwhere Post to track down the letter writer and find out what really happened to her father all those years ago. Twin Tides by Hien Nguyen A woman’s corpse turns up in Les Eaux, Minnesota, and Aria and Caliste are shocked to learn she is their missing mother. Even more shocked because they didn’t know they had a mother who was missing or that they were identical twins separated as toddlers. Both live very different lives—Caliste is a wealthy influencer with an emotionally distant father, while Aria is working as much as she can to help pay her sick aunt’s medical bills—but they’re forced together to understand why so many people keep dying in Les Eaux and what connection the town has to their mom. Historical Costumes for Time Travelers by A.R. Capetta Calisto lives in the town of Pocket, a place outside time where time travelers often wash up. One of those travelers is Fawkes, a teen on the run from the Time Wardens. They want to destroy all aberrations to their preferred timeline, and that includes Fawkes and many of the folks in Pocket. The two teens jump across time, trying to escape the Time Wardens and to stop a man calling himself Korsika who wants to run time travel through the machinery of capitalism. As their journey takes them farther from home, it pulls them closer together. Empty Heaven by Freddie Kölsch In the early 21st century, Darian returns to the small New England village of Kesuquosh. She fled a year earlier after her crush, KJ, was sacrificed to a local god as part of centuries-old ritual. Now she’s back and with the help of her friends she’ll free KJ from Good Arcturus’ control. Except it turns out Good Arcturus has secrets of its own and something even more monstrous than a literal monster has its sights set on KJ. Monsters A Feast for the Eyes by Alex Crespo Shay and Lauren’s small Oregon town has a local legend about a creature, the Watcher, that haunts the local woods. The same woods Shay and Lauren are having a dramatic break-up in when they’re attacked. No one believes the Watcher is real, so Shay enlists the help of a new crush, Zoe, and a couple friends, to set the record straight. It’s all secrets and lies until someone gets hurt. He’s So Possessed with Me by Corey Liu After a wild night in a club, Colin loses track of his bestie Ren. When he finally tracks him down, Ren has no memory of what happened while he was lost. All he knows is that he’s suddenly and inexplicably in love. Colin hates his new boyfriend, especially once he realizes the guy isn’t what he claims to be. How do you say no to a book comped as Jennifer’s Body meets Heartstopper? A Mastery of Monsters by Liselle Sambury (A Mastery of Monsters #1) When August’s older brother Jules disappears from college, she is desperate to get him back. After she’s attacked by a massive, mysterious monster, she’s offered a spot in the secret organization, the Learners’ Society. They’ll teach her how to bond with and control the humans who can shift into monsters…humans like the hot guy who lured August into the society and is struggling to keep his powers in check. The two of them may be the only ones who can find Jules before it’s too late. The Transition by Logan-Ashley Kisner  Shortly after top surgery, Hunter is attacked by a monster in his backyard. On the plus side, his wounds are healing very quickly. On the negative side, he becomes sensitive to silver and starts his period for the first time in years since going on T. His friends, convinced the monster was a werewolf, join Hunter as they track down the beastie and try to stave off his physical changes. The trans werewolf body YA horror story I’ve always wanted!  The post Notable Young Adult Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror of 2025 appeared first on Reactor.