Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen.
It is hard to believe how fast October has flown by and with it, how many incredible YA books have hit shelves. Let’s round out one of the best months of the year with the last batch of new hardcover and paperback books releasing before the calendar changes over. As always, you’ll find a mix of genres and styles here and it is not a complete list—though it is pretty close!
New YA Hardcover Releases
The Ancient’s Game by Loni Crittenden
Kellan DuCuivre was born to a family of traitors and as such, she’s forbidden from practicing makecraft. Makecraft is the art of carving magic into metal. But despite being forbidden from it, Kellan has done it in secret anyway and she has been helping her adoptive father Edgar run a makecraft shop.
Edgar isn’t doing well, though, and his shop is in trouble. This is where Kellan strikes a deal with the Guild of Engineers: she’ll have to compete in the 84th Annual Makers’ Exposition and win a spot as a maker’s apprentice. Then she’ll be able to save Edgar and his shop.
The competition is anything but easy, though, and as something begins to target the competitors and the host city, Kellan won’t need to just survive. She’ll have to expose some dangerous secrets about the Guild itself.
The Debutantes by Olivia Worley
A bloody Mardi Gras ball? Count me in.
Les Masques Ball is THE event in New Orleans for debutants each year. But it has a not-so-great history given that sometimes the young woman named Queen ends up dead. Last year, the crowd wasn’t too surprised, since their Queen was a wild child. But this year’s Queen is Lily. Everything will be fine.
But then the ball is hijacked.
Lily sends a text to the three other members of her Court that night asking them to meet her in the morning. She never shows up, and now, the three girls with little in common, must find out what happened to Lily—and why the Ball is so troubled.
You can grab this new release in either hardcover or paperback this week.
Don’t Let The Forest In by CG Drews
Andrew likes to write twisted fairy tales, and he finds great refuge in them—and in sharing them with Thomas, who illustrates them. Thomas is Andrew’s rock, so when Thomas arrives at school one day with his abusive parents suddenly gone and blood on his sleeves, Andrew has questions. Thomas, however, won’t answer them.
Desperate to know what’s going on, Andrew follows Thomas into a forbidden forest in town. It turns out Thomas has been fighting monsters…the very monsters he had drawn for those twisted fairytales.
The boys are finding themselves fighting these monsters every single night and, to make matters more complicated, fighting off growing feelings for one another.
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For She Is Wrath by Emily Varga
Want a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo but with a Pakistani romantic flair? Look no further.
Dania has been in jail for more than a year for a crime she didn’t commit. She’s used the time to plot revenge against Mazin, the boy who got her imprisoned in the first place (and the boy she also can’t stop thinking about). When Dania discovers that a fellow prisoner has a stolen djinn treasure that would help her take down Mazin, the two of them plot a way to escape.
Now Dania is out and ready for revenge. But taking down Mazin won’t be easy, and it won’t get any easier the more she finds herself falling for him. This is a game of cat and mouse, and it would be easy for Dania to do too much damage in the name of revenge (or love).
They Watch From Below by Katya de Becerra
Addie Velde is excited to attend the University of the Arches, where her mother went and where she’s just accepted an invitation to go for an early orientation. She’s ready to make the place her own, even if she’s in a dorm that’s not the beachy retreat she envisioned.
She realizes quickly that this school has secrets. Students and faculty keep talking about “Buried Ones,” or omens of death around campus. As Addie investigates the omen more and more, she begins to see where her family is involved and now, she might be sucked into their swirl and bad deeds, too.
Another book for your hardcover release TBR is the second installment in The Sacred Bone series by Lena Jeong, The Witch of Wol Sin Lake.
New YA Paperback Releases
As always, you may need to toggle your view after clicking the link to see the paperback editions of the following titles.
The Rosewood Hunt by Mackenzie Reed
If you like mystery adventures, this treasure hunt is one you won’t want to miss.
Lily lost her father a year ago and has been living with her beloved Gram since. Gram and Lily have always been close, and Gram helped instill a love of fashion in Lily, in part because Gram owns a luxury coat store.
Then Gram dies suddenly and her half a billion dollar fortune is MIA. At the same time, Lily is banned from the manor where she and Gram lived. But then Lily and three other teens receive a letter from Gram that sends them on a treasure hunt throughout Rosewood. Now they’re on the move and hoping to find the money.
Of course, they’re not alone in that pursuit.
Wish of the Wicked by Danielle Paige
This is the first in a series, and I’m keeping this description super brief because it sells the entire thing. Ready?
Who was Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother anyway?
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English (US) · 