It’s officially fall and that means all the spooky books are coming out as well as the start of the holiday romances. Looks like the fall book release season is going to be full of literary goodness for everyone.
Ros Demir is Not the One by Leyla Brittan
Holiday House
Ros will do whatever it takes to get the guy. At least… she thinks she will.
Sixteen-year-old Ros is a go-getter. When she wants something, she makes sure she gets it.
But a lingering rumor (and maybe some ambivalence about her half-Turkish heritage) has kept Ros from achieving the kind of reputation she deserves. So, after years of plotting her big comeback, she just needs one thing: a hot, adoring guy on her arm at junior year homecoming. And when she meets charming new classmate Aydın at the Pine Bay resort over the summer, she thinks she’s found The One.
It doesn’t work, though. And things get messy when Ros’s plan ends up hurting the only friend she has left… poor, sweet, forgiving Eleanor. This has happened before—things tend to get messy with Ros around—and it’s getting harder for her to ignore the pattern of hurt feelings. Plus, it seems like Ros and Aydın aren’t really meant to be. What kind of a plan results in everyone ending up unhappy? Not a very good one.
A not-quite rom com starring a bold, outspoken antiheroine, this Turkish-American Romeo and Juliet remix is refreshingly snarky. Witty, whip-smart dialogue plays with the complexities of multicultural identity and female friendships, from Ros’s very first screw-up to her unconventional happy ending.
No Rules Tonight: A Graphic Novel by Kim Hyun Sook & Ryan Estrada
Penguin Workshop
From the creators of Banned Book Club comes a young adult graphic novel about unveiling secrets, confessing your crushes, and finding yourself: all in the mountains of South Korea on Christmas Eve.
It’s time for the annual winter camp at Anjeon University. A full weekend, deep in the mountains, with no parental supervision. But this is no ordinary getaway. It is 1980s South Korea, where political tensions are high and curfew is strict. Luckily, it’s the only night of the year when Koreans have no curfew, no obligations, and no rules. Christmas Eve.
In the snowy mountains, everyone has a different plan for their one night of freedom. Hyun Sook is trying to restart her banned book club but has to hide from a boy she suspects of being a spy. Taehee and Kiwoo are trying to build up the nerve to confess their feelings for one another, while Sujji pines after her crush, ready to risk it all and finally tell someone the secret she’s been hiding for her entire life.
Acclaimed creators Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada deliver a cinematic, hilarious, and heartfelt story about the universality of growing up, making friends, and falling in love.
The Dark Becomes Her by Judy I. Lin
Rick Riordan Presents
Ruby Chen has always played the part of the dutiful eldest daughter: excelling in school; excelling in piano lessons; excelling at keeping her younger sister, Tina, focused on extracurriculars meant to impress college admissions officers.
But when a ghost from the spirit world attacks the sisters in the middle of Vancouver’s Chinatown neighborhood, Ruby’s life is plunged into a darkness that no amount of duty can free her from. Overnight, Ruby’s sister seems to change. There are strange noises coming from her bedroom at all hours; and the once sweet, funny Tina has been replaced by something dark and unnatural.
As Ruby races to save her sister from demonic possession, she is thrown into an ancient battle over the gateway to the underworld. On one side, an evil traveling temple known for making dark wishes come true has returned to Chinatown after many years—intent on breaking down the gateway and unleashing the evil within. On the other side, the guardians who must stop them.
And in order to survive, Ruby must not only face the horror taking over her community, but must also confront the horror within herself.
Chinese and Taiwanese mythology get the Junji Ito treatment in this bone-chilling, propulsive story that takes the horrors of the Asian diaspora experience to a whole new level.
Killer House Party by Lily Anderson
Henry Holt and Co.
Red Solo cups? Check. Snacks? Check. Abandoned mansion full of countless horrors that won’t let you leave? Check.
The Deinhart Manor has been a looming shadow over town for as long as anyone can remember, and it’s been abandoned for even longer. When the final Deinhart descendent passes, the huge gothic manor is up for sale for the first time ever. Which means Arden can steal the keys from her mom’s real estate office…
It’s time for a graduation party that no one will ever forget. Arden and her best friends Maddy, Remi, and Shane, each have different reasons for wanting to throw the party to end all parties. But when the manor doors bar everyone inside and the walls begin to bleed, all anyone wants to do is make it out alive.
The Dead Will Never Haunt Me (Murder, She Wrote #3) by Stephanie Kuehn
Scholastic Press
The final installment in the suspenseful, modern update of the classic mystery TV series. Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying, Sadie, and Gossip Girl.
“What does it mean if our own sense of right and wrong isn’t enough to keep us from committing the unspeakable?”
When Beatrice Fletcher joins her father on a work trip to the University of New Mexico, she knows she’s sacrificing time with her friends back in Cabot Cove trying to solve the last clue of an enigmatic game they’ve been playing. Yet it’s worth it if it means she can interview celebrated film studies professor William Vance, whose newest documentary touches on a murderous cult, a misdirected bombing, and a tragedy from Bea’s mother’s childhood.
But when a string of poisonings targets girls in Vance’s film program, Bea has more to worry about than ancient family history. Someone knew she was coming to campus and why. And now that she’s insinuated herself into the students’ circle, could she be next on the hit list? Like her great aunt Jessica, Bea will need cunning and logic to get to the bottom of the attacks and figure out what all of it has to do with the game back home.
And time is running out…
This Land is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Story by Julio Anta
DC Comics
Jaime Reyes is an ordinary high school student in El Paso, Texas, with a deep love for his family, culture, and home. Whether it’s working with his dad at the auto shop or a multi-generational barbecue filled with music and dance, Jaime loves nothing more than his neighborhood’s spontaneous gatherings that go late into the night. But lately he’s begun to realize that he and his border community are being used as pawns in an increasingly toxic immigration debate.
The last few months have seen armed troops deployed along the U.S. and Mexico border, manufactured crackdowns at official border crossings, and now at the community level, a mounting resentment amongst a group of disaffected and reactionary youth who believe they’re being “replaced” by El Paso’s growing immigrant population. And to make matters worse, one of Jaime’s oldest friends, Riley, has bought into the propaganda. What started off as innocent web searches has now led Riley down a path to joining an unabashed hate group with a chapter in El Paso looking to cause some real-world violence.
But Jaime’s problems get even more complicated when he finds an odd bug-like artifact while stargazing. He starts feeling a little different—like there’s another voice in his head pushing him towards his most base instincts. And to make matters worse, he’s been having surreal dreams that show him that the true threat El Paso faces isn’t “illegal aliens,” but actual aliens known as the Reach. In fact, according to his dreams, Jaime is meant to pave the way for the Reach’s impending invasion!
Heir (Heir Duology #1) by Sabaa Tahir
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
An orphan.
An outcast.
A prince.
And a killer who will bring an empire to its knees.
Growing up in the Kegari slums, AIZ has seen her share of suffering. An old tragedy fuels her need for vengeance, but it is love of her people that propels her. Until one hot-headed mistake lands her in an inescapable prison, where the embers of her wrath ignite.
Banished from her tribe for an unforgiveable crime, SIRSHA is a down-on-her-luck tracker who speaks to the earth, air, and water to trace her marks. Destitute, she agrees to hunt down a killer who has murdered children across the Empire. All she has to do is carry out the job and get paid. But then, she falls for a charismatic and inconvenient fugitive who keeps getting in her way.
QUIL is the crown prince of the Empire, nephew of a famed and venerated empress, but he’s loathe to pick up the mantle when his aunt steps down. As the son of the most hated emperor in the history of his people, he, better than anyone, understands that power corrupts. When a vicious new enemy threatens the survival of the Empire, Quil must ask himself if he can rise above his tragic lineage and be the heir his people need.
Beloved storyteller Sabaa Tahir masterfully interweaves the lives of three young people as they grapple with the burdens of power, the treachery of love and the devastating consequences of unchecked greed. Get ready for a dark and breathless journey that will captivate readers and that may cost these young people their lives―and their hearts. Literally.
Make My Wish Come True by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
A sapphic Netflix-esque Christmas movie meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days from the New York Times bestselling author duo of She Gets the Girl Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick.
Hollywood teen actor Arden James’ messy reputation is interfering with her career when a notoriously picky director won’t give her a role based on her party-girl image. So she and her publicist make up a lie – not only is she from a small town (true) but her childhood best friend Caroline, is her long-term girlfriend (false) and she can prove it when she goes home for Christmas.
Caroline Beckett hasn’t thought about her ex-best friend Arden James for years, focusing instead on her dreams about becoming a journalist. When Arden turns up on her doorstep and promises her an article in Cosmopolitan magazine on their twelve snow-covered romantic days together, Caroline agrees to play along.
But when old feelings start to bubble up, what will fall faster – Arden and Caroline or the Christmas Eve snow?
A gorgeous, heartwarming cosy romance – perfect for the holidays!