New YA Book Releases For The Rest of 2025

Set in the French countryside in a small town called Mende, this book is inspired by the true unsolved historical mystery of theBeastof Gévaudan.

Mende has seen a series of brutal murders taking place, and many in the community whisper that abeastfrom the mountains has arrived—it’s a curse and punishment for the sins of everyone living there.

Joséphine and Clara, though, know it’s no curse. It’s an opportunity for them to escape the oppressive town and escape the fathers, brothers, and townspeople who have been abused and kept prisoner. The girls begin to use thebeast’s attacks as cover.

One by one, Joséphine and Clara begin to fake the death of their friends, claiming it was thebeastwho got them. What’s really happening, though, is the friends are being hidden until it is safe for them to run.

Things aren’t going to plan, though, and now, Joséphine, Clara, and all of the girls they’re trying to save are facing a dwindling food supply, the fear of being caught by Mende residents, and the reality that they may become victims of thebeastthemselves.