Soman Chainani will publish a new young adult novel in 2026.
Random House Books for Young Readers will publish Young World next spring, the press announced in a news release. It calls the book “a renegade thriller, about a teenager elected President of the United States, sparking a global revolution of young leaders—until one of them is murdered and he’s the prime suspect.”
Chainani made his literary debut in 2013 with The School for Good and Evil, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno, a fantasy novel about two girls who attend the titular magical academy. The book spawned several sequels and two prequels, most recently Fall of the School for Good and Evil in 2023. The first book in the series was adapted into a 2022 film directed by Paul Feig and starring Sophia Anne Caruso and Sofia Wylie.
Young World is about high school senior Benton Young, who runs for U.S. president to impress a girl and finds himself elected by a write-in vote. Several other young people follow his example, becoming national leaders themselves, and one of them is murdered during a summit in Sweden.
“Young World is my call to revolution,” Chainani said in a statement. “For myself: tearing away from escapist fairy tales to invent a new kind of novel, in neon-bright color, equal parts words and visuals. And for the world: a siren call to protect the fast-disappearing right to be young. All wrapped in a dangerous thrill ride, mixing globe-spanning action, renegade romance, and murder mystery, as fast-paced as youth itself. But most of all, Young World is loud with fury and hope, a primal scream that the future is never handed down—it’s taken.”
Young World is scheduled for publication on May 5, 2026.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
