The Ruined (The Beautiful #4) by Renée Ahdieh
The Sylvan Vale and the Sylvan Wyld are at war. Now that the unsteady truce between them has been broken, lines must be drawn. In an effort to protect the weakened Winter Court, Bastien rallies powerful allies and friends in New Orleans to come to their aid.

Meanwhile, under protection alongside her injured mother in the Summer Court, Celine is uncertain of whom to trust. She cannot get word to Bastien, and does not understand why he has not returned. When she realizes war between the fey courts is imminent, she journeys with Ali in an effort to find the time traveling mirror and change their fate. But when Celine’s rivals realize Bastien has rallied his allies in the mortal world, they decide to take the fight to him.

Caught in a Bad Fauxmance by Elle Gonzalez Rose
A fresh, fun contemporary rom-com from debut author Elle Gonzalez Rose, about an aspiring artist who agrees to fake date one of his family’s longtime enemies in the hopes of gathering intel good enough to take down their rivals once and for all.

Devin Baez is ready for a relaxing winter break at Lake Andreas. That is, until he runs into his obnoxious next-door neighbors the Seo-Cookes, undefeated champions of the lake’s annual Winter Games. In the hope of finally taking down these long-time rivals, the Baezes offer up their beloved cabin in a bet. Reckless? Definitely.

So when annoyingly handsome Julian Seo-Cooke finds himself in need of a fake boyfriend, Devin sees an opportunity to get behind enemy lines and prove the family plays dirty. As long as Devin and Julian’s families are at war, there’s only room for loathing between them. Which is a problem because, for Devin, this faux game of love is feeling very real.

Our Cursed Love by Julie Abe
Six days to remember. Love or lose him forever.

Remy Kobata has always wished she was destined to be with her best friend, Cam Yasuda. All the way from being neighbors from birth to mixing up magical prank potions together to their “just friends” homecoming date during their senior year in high school, nothing’s a secret between Remy and Cam―except for how much she is in love with him.

Remy is trying to work up the courage to confess her feelings during their winter break trip to Japan, when she gets selected for a mystical tea leaves reading and it reveals that they’re not meant to be together. After they stumble upon a secret magical apothecary in the back alleys of Tokyo, Remy and Cam are offered an ancient soulmate elixir, created before all love potions were banned by the magical government. They each have their reasons for wanting to take it, but what could go wrong with finding your soulmate a little earlier?

Except, after they drink up, their senior year trip flips into the worst vacation Cam has forgotten who Remy is. If she can’t help Cam remember her by midnight New Year’s Eve, they’ll both be cursed to forget each other. To unravel their past and rewrite the future, Remy and Cam must travel through Tokyo to rediscover Cam’s memories and make new ones―and maybe even fall in love all over again.

Seven Minutes in Candyland by Brian Wasson
Sophomore Kalvin Shmelton has finally perfected his underground candy-selling hustle at school. He keeps his prices reasonable, his inventory fresh, and himself out of the drama. But when a heartbroken Sterling Glistern—Kal’s longtime crush— barges into the storage closet where he keeps his candy supply, a new source of income unexpectedly presents itself: relationship therapist. Sure, he only meant to help Sterling realize she’s been dating a jerk—and maybe win her over—but news spreads fast that Kalvin’s not just the master of sweets…but hearts, too! And as the son of two famous therapists, he leans into this newfound reputation and the money that comes with it.

The truth, however, is that Kalvin’s parents’ “perfect” marriage is crumbling. He was supposed to woo the girl of his dreams, fix his parents’ relationship, and lend a listening ear to a school-full of heartbroken teens. But a jealous boyfriend, a vengeful competitor, and Kalvin’s own growing ego threaten those plans, forcing Kal to rethink all he thought he knew about friendship, family, and love.

Lucero (A Forgery of Magic #3) by Maya Motayne
In the aftermath of Sombra’s return, the balance between light and dark magic has been destroyed and chaos has broken out in Castallan and around the world. Sombra’s shadows have taken over to create monstrous versions of everyone Finn and Alfie love, and with war between Castallan and Englass looming, the prince and the thief must band together one last time—to save their entire world.

To stop the magical imbalance, they must find the stone relics of Sombra’s body before the god can unite the pieces and regain his full strengthonce more. But the laws of magic no longer apply, and with their own magic—and even the laws of time itself—drastically changing at every turn, Finn and Alfie are left on their own to stop Sombra and fulfill their prophecy before it is too late and the darkness reigns.

Will they restore balance to their world or will its light be gone forever?

Any of these books on your TBR list? What are you planning to read in December? Let us know! And thanks for following along on this reading journey for another year. Next up, we’ll be posting our 2023 favorites!

We’ve got four new YA books on our radar this week! Check out what’s on deck for launch this Tuesday:

The Lotus Flower Champion by Pintip Dunn and Love Dunn

It looks like paradise…only it’s not. This was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime family trip to Thailand. One last wish for my dying mama. Instead, we’re stranded on a lush, stunning island with ten strangers—held captive as Thai mythology unfolds around us…and within us.

Now we’re being tested. We’re expected to face our greatest fears—and possible deaths—in hopes of awakening some kind of dormant gift…or curse. One by one, we’re transforming, echoing the strange and sometimes wondrous abilities found in Thai folktales. But my mama has only days to live, my papa is missing, and I’m forced to trust a group of strangers…including our evasive, dark-eyed tour guide, who resembles a minor god. Toss me in the ocean and feed me to the naga now.

Only I’m no hero. My days are managed by numbers and the compulsions that used to keep me safe. I have to prove how far I can go. To survive. To protect my family. And to find a way off this perilous island where everything is a lie…including reality.

Carry My Secret to Your Grave (Murder, She Wrote #2) by Stephanie Kuehn

Small town murders. Big time thrills. The second 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.

“Someone knows where you live. And whoever they are, they want you to know… you’re next.” Bea Fletcher never met a cold case she didn’t want to solve. So when she finds herself staying with family near Lake Paloma, she’s torn. Sure, she’s not thrilled to be bunking with her moody, taciturn uncle and his wife while her father’s out of town. Being away from Cabot Cove means less time for Bea to work on her true crime blog, visit her great-aunt Jessica, and spend time with new friends Leisl, Leif, and Carlos and the mysterious underground treasure hunting game they’ve been playing.

But Lake Paloma has mysteries of its own, including the unsolved drowning of teenaged Eden Vicente the year before. And when Bea starts to ask questions about Eden’s death, the answers lead her closer to home than she ever imagined. If Bea isn’t careful, she could be the next girl to end up at the bottom of the lake.

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents—who frequently leave her behind.

When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and an ancient golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.

With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance—or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.

The Space Between Here and Now by Sarah Suk

Seventeen-year-old Aimee Roh has Sensory Time Warp Syndrome, a rare condition that causes her to time travel to a moment in her life when she smells something linked to that memory. Her dad is convinced she’ll simply grow out of it if she tries hard enough, but Aimee’s fear of vanishing at random has kept her from living a normal life.

When Aimee disappears for nine hours into a memory of her estranged mom–a moment Aimee has never remembered before–she becomes distraught. Not only was this her longest disappearance yet, but the memory doesn’t match up with the story of how her mom left–at least, not the version she’s always heard from her dad.

Desperate for answers, Aimee travels to Korea, where she unravels the mystery of her memories, the truth about her mother, and the reason she keeps returning to certain moments in her life. Along the way, she realizes she’ll need to reconcile her past in order to save her present.

Summary: The gothic worlds of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein, and more collide in this graphic novel series about buried secrets, mad science, and misunderstood monsters. For fans of stylish reimaginings like Lore Olympus and gaslamp fantasies like The Night Circus !

London isn’t the safest place for mad scientists these days. After that whole ordeal with Frankenstein, angry mobs have gotten awfully good at hunting down monsters and wiping out anything they don’t understand. In fact, if it weren’t for one extraordinary young man, every out-of-the-box thinker would have been locked up . . . or worse. That young man is none other than Dr. Henry Jekyll. He believes mad scientists would thrive if they could just fix their public image, which is why he founded the Society for Arcane Sciences, a place where like-minded eccentrics could come together to defy the laws of nature in peace.

But everything changes when a mysterious stranger arrives, bent on taking the Society in a radical new direction. With everyone turning against him, Jekyll’s life starts to spiral out of control, shattering all his carefully laid plans and threatening to expose his darkest secret—one that could destroy everything he has built from the inside out.

Review: I can’t get over what an exciting time in graphic novels it is right now, especially in the YA and Middle Grade space. There is just so much out there — from queer romcoms to thrilling adventures to well, graphic novels like The Glass Scientists. Creator S.H. Cotugno is someone I already follow online, since S.H. has worked on cartoons like Gravity Falls and The Owl House. Not to mention the graphic novel has garnered praise from creatores like ND Stevenson and Molly Knox Ostertag.

It’s gothic, it’s spooky, it’s funny, and it’s heartwarming — and I was along for the ride. The Glass Scientists follows one Dr. Henry Jekyll, the founder of the Society for Arcane Sciences — where quirky scientists (deemed “mad scientists” by society) go to follow their passions and find a home with other like-minded innovators. Outside the Society for Arcane Sciences lies the city of London, a place that is none too friendly (read: lots of angry mobs) when it comes to these scientific endeavors.

This is a story that mixes werewolves in with Frankenstein and the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — a delightful gtohic mishmash set in London. The illustrations are evocative and perfectly suited to the tone of the story, which veers between heartwrenching to laugh-out-loud hilarious. There are plenty of characters to root for, from side characters to the hero, who is in a battle with himself.

The Glass Scientists collects the first 7 chapters of its webcomic iteration — that means that the graphic novel does end on a note that leaves you looking for the next installment. I’ll definitely be checking out the webcomic to keep reading. If you’re interested in a fun, gothic read, perfect for spooky season, this is it. Check it out!

Recommendation: Get it soon!

I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea

There will be blood. Ace of Spades meets House of Hollow in this villain origin story. Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with an axe to grind. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, she will do anything to prove that a Black girl can take center stage.

To level the playing field, Laure ventures deep into the depths of the Catacombs and strikes a deal with a pulsating river of blood. The primordial power Laure gains promises influence and adoration, everything she’s dreamed of and worked toward. With retribution on her mind, she surpasses her bitter and privileged peers, leaving broken bodies behind her on her climb to stardom.

But even as undeniable as she is, Laure is not the only monster around. And her vicious desires make her a perfect target for slaughter. As she descends into madness and the mystifying underworld beneath her, she is faced with the ultimate choice: continue to break herself for scraps of validation or succumb to the darkness that wants her exactly as she is—monstrous heart and all. That is, if the god-killer doesn’t catch her first.

From debut author Jamison Shea comes I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me, a slow-burn horror that lifts a veil on the institutions that profit on exclusion and the toll of giving everything to a world that will never love you back.

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

At Camp Mirror Lake, terror is the name of the game . . . but can you survive the night? This heart-pounding slasher by New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Fear Street.

Charity Curtis has the summer job of her dreams, playing the “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests pay to be scared in this full-contact terror game, as Charity and her summer crew recreate scenes from a classic slasher film, Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. The more realistic the fear, the better for business.

But the last weekend of the season, Charity’s co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity’s role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they’ll need figure out what this killer is after. Is there is more to the story of Mirror Lake and its dangerous past than Charity ever suspected?

And Don’t Look Back by Rebecca Barrow

After her mother’s death, a teen pieces together the truth of her family’s past and what her mom was hiding from in this thriller that’s perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Tiffany D. Jackson.

Harlow Ford has spent her entire life running, caught in her mother’s wake as they flit from town to town, hiding from a presence that Harlow isn’t even sure is real. In each new place, Harlow takes on a new name and personality, and each time they run, she leaves another piece of herself behind.

When Harlow and her mom set off on yet another 3 a.m. escape, they are involved in a car accident that leaves Harlow’s mother fatally wounded. Before she dies, she tells Harlow two things: where to find the key to a safety deposit box and to never stop running. In the box, Harlow finds thirty grand in cash, life insurance documents, and several fake IDs for both herself and her mom—an on-the-run essentials kit. But Harlow also finds a photograph of her mom as a teenager with two other girls, the deed to a house in a town she’s never heard of, and a handful of newspaper clippings discussing the disappearance of a woman named Eve Kennedy, Harlow’s grandmother…relics of a part of Harlow’s life she never knew existed.

With these tantalizing clues about her mother’s secrets and the power to choose her own future for the first time, Harlow realizes she has two choices: keep fleeing her mom’s ghosts or face down the nebulous threat that’s been hanging over her for her entire life.

The Homecoming War by Addie Woolridge

When plunging enrollment forces two rival high schools to merge, two class presidents must work together to make the schools unite. But when a mutual crush emerges, they’ll both have to figure out what they want and where their loyalties lie before they become the most hated people at school.

Meg Williams is on the way to making her dreams come true. As the incoming Junior class president for Hirono High School, all she needs are a few more As and an excellent college recommendation letter, then she can leave Huntersville, California, and her ghosts behind.

Or, at least she was on track until the school district decided to combine Hirono with their rival, Davies High School. Now, Meg is wandering the pristine hallways of Davies High, her life plan threatened by Hirono’s queen mean girl, Freya Allenson, and the maddeningly perfect Chris Chaves, Davies High School’s class president.

When it turns out Huntersville’s Golden Boy won’t just step down, Meg begrudgingly accepts that they’ll have to work together for the year. Worse still, escalating pranks between the rival classmates and a developing crush threaten to throw Meg even further off course. As homecoming draws near, both Meg and Chris will have to decide where their loyalties lie.

The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker

Zilan dreams of becoming a royal alchemist, of providing for her family by making alchemical gold and gems for the wealthy to eat in order to stay young forever. But for now, she’s trapped in her impoverished village in southern China, practicing an illegal form of alchemy to keep food on the table—resurrecting the dead, for a price.

When Zilan finally has the chance to complete her imperial exams, she ventures to the capital to compete against the best alchemists in the country in tasks she’ll be lucky to survive, let alone pass. On top of that, her reputation for raising the dead has followed her to the capital, and the Crown Prince himself seeks out her help, suspecting a coming assassination attempt.

The more Zilan succeeds in her alchemy, the more she gets caught in the dangerous political games of the royal family. There are monsters lurking within the palace walls, and it’s only a matter of time before they—and secrets of Zilan’s past—catch up with her.

Kween by Vichet Chum

Soma Kear’s verses have gone viral. Trouble is, she didn’t exactly think her slam poetry video through. All she knew was that her rhymes were urgent. On fire. An expression of where she was, and that place…was a hot mess.

Following her Ba’s deportation back to Cambodia, everything’s changed. Her Ma is away trying to help Ba adjust to his new life, and her older sister has taken charge with a new authoritarian tone. Meanwhile, Soma’s trending video pushes her to ask if it’s time to level up. With her school’s spoken word contest looming, Soma must decide: Is she brave enough to put herself out there? To publicly reveal her fears of Ba not returning? To admit that things may never be the same?

With every line she spits, Soma searches for a way to make sense of the world around her. The answers are at the mic.

Salt the Water by Candice Iloh

Cerulean Gene is free everywhere except school, where they’re known for repeatedly challenging authority. Raised in a free-spirited home by two loving parents who encourage Cerulean to be their full self, they’ve got big dreams of moving cross-country to live off the grid with their friends after graduation. But a fight with a teacher spirals out of control, and Cerulean impulsively drops out to avoid the punishment they fear is coming. Why wait for graduation to leave an oppressive capitalist system and live their dreams?

Cerulean is truly brilliant, but their sheltered upbringing hasn’t prepared them for the consequences of their choice — especially not when it’s compounded by a family emergency that puts a parent out of work. Suddenly the money they’d been stacking with their friends is a resource that the family needs to stay afloat.

Salt the Water is a book about dreaming in a world that has other plans for your time, your youth, and your future. It asks, what does it look like when a bunch of queer Black kids are allowed to dream? And what does it look like for them to confront the present circumstances of the people they love while still pursuing a wildly different future of their own?

The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson

Summary: Mateo makes the dangerous journey back home to the United States through the Sonoran Desert with the help of a new friend, a ghost named Guillermo in a supernatural borderland odyssey by debut graphic novelists Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo.

As long as he remembers to stay smart and keep his eyes open, Mateo knows that he can survive the trek across the Sonoran Desert that will take him from Mexico to the United States. That is until he’s caught by the Border Patrol only moments after sneaking across the fence in the dead of night. Escaping their clutches comes at a price and, lost in the desert without a guide or water, Mateo is ill-prepared for the unforgiving heat that is sure to arrive come sunrise. With the odds stacked against him, his one chance at survival may be putting his trust in something, or rather someone, that he isn’t even sure exists. If you’d asked him if ghosts were real before he found himself face-to-face with one, Mateo wouldn’t have even considered it. But now, confronted with the nearly undeniable presence of Guillermo, he’s having second thoughts.

Having spent his afterlife guiding migrants to safety, Guillermo knows things about the Sonoran Desert far beyond what could be explained by a mere hallucination. But even as Mateo forms an uneasy partnership with Guillermo, survival is still uncertain. The Sonoran Desert, with its hostile temperatures and inhabitants, is teeming with danger as the Border Patrol and rogue militias prowl its deadly terrain. As his journey stretches on, Mateo will have to decide exactly what and who he’s willing to sacrifice to find home.

Review: I’ve had Frontera on my to-be-read pile for quite some time, and I was excited to pick it up recently and check it out. This graphic novel follows Mateo, a teen boy who journeys through the Sonoran Desert from Mexico to get to the United States, in a bid to return to his old life. Along the way, he gains the guidance and aid of a ghost named Guillermo, whose story unfolds alongside Mateo’s.

First of all, the art in this graphic novel is gorgeous and evocative. I’d say that it’s worth checking out for the illustrations alone, which do a great job of telling the story that is taking place. It really does feel like we’re living in an exciting time for illustration and graphic novels.

The art isn’t the only thing that stands out in this graphic novel. Mateo’s story is compelling and incredibly relevant, given the status of Dreamers in America right now. While the pacing and the execution of the story occasionally left something to be desired, overall it was an impactful and moving read. Guillermo’s story, in particular, was a high note of this graphic novel.

If you’re looking for your next graphic novel read, Frontera is it! Definitely check it out.

Recommendation: Get it soon!