It’s officially October, which means it’s spooky season! And it’s kind of scary how many great books are releasing this week. Grab a title or two (or three or ten!) and find a cozy place to read.
Happy Reading,
Jocelyn, Halli, Martina, and Elizabeth
YOUNG ADULT NOVELS NEW IN STORES NEXT WEEK
Blazewrath Games
by Amparo Ortiz
Hardcover
MacMillan
Released 10/6/2020
Dragons and their riders compete in an international sports tournament in this alternate contemporary world fantasy.
Lana Torres has always preferred dragons to people. In a few weeks, sixteen countries will compete in the Blazewrath World Cup, a tournament where dragons and their riders fight for glory in a dangerous relay. Lana longs to represent her native Puerto Rico in their first ever World Cup appearance, and when Puerto Rico’s Runner―the only player without a dragon steed―is kicked off the team, she’s given the chance.
But when she discovers that a former Blazewrath superstar has teamed up with the Sire―a legendary dragon who’s cursed into human form―the safety of the Cup is jeopardized. The pair are burning down dragon sanctuaries around the world and refuse to stop unless the Cup gets cancelled. All Lana wanted was to represent her country. Now, to do that, she’ll have to navigate an international conspiracy that’s deadlier than her beloved sport.
Purchase Blazewrath Games at Amazon
Purchase Blazewrath Games at IndieBound
View Blazewrath Games on Goodreads
Eventide
by Sarah Goodman
Hardcover
Tor Teen
Released 10/6/2020
MADNESS, SECRETS, AND LIES
Wheeler, Arkansas, 1907
When their father descends into madness after the death of their mother, Verity Pruitt and her little sister Lilah find themselves on an orphan train to rural Arkansas.
In Wheeler, eleven-year-old Lilah is quickly adopted, but seventeen-year-old Verity is not. Desperate to stay close to her sister, Verity indentures herself as a farmhand. But even charming farm boy Abel Atchley can’t completely distract her from the sense that something is not quite right in this little town. Strange local superstitions abound, especially about the eerie old well at the center of the forest. The woods play tricks, unleashing heavy fog and bone-chilling cold…and sometimes visions of things that aren’t there.
But for Verity, perhaps most unsettling of all is the revelation that her own parents have a scandalous history in this very town. And as she tries to unearth the past, sinister secrets come with it―secrets that someone will go to violent lengths to protect….
A haunting tale of long-buried secrets, small-town scandal, and single-minded vengeance by talented debut novelist Sarah Goodman.
Purchase Eventide at Amazon
Purchase Eventide at IndieBound
View Eventide on Goodreads
Five Total Strangers
by Natalie Richards
Paperback
Sourcebooks Fire
Released 10/6/2020
She thought being stranded was the worst thing that could happen. She was wrong.
Mira needs to get home for the holidays. Badly. But when an incoming blizzard results in a canceled layover, it looks like Mira might get stuck at the Philadelphia airport indefinitely.
And then Harper, Mira’s glamorous seatmate from her initial flight, comes to the rescue. Harper and her three friends are renting a car, and they can drop Mira off on the way home. But as their trip begins, Mira discovers her fellow travelers aren’t friends like she thought―they’re total strangers. And every one of them seems to be hiding something dangerous.
Soon, Mira is in a panic. The roads have gone from slippery to terrifying. People’s belongings are mysteriously disappearing. Someone in the car is clearly lying…and Mira beings to suspect that one of them is sabotaging the trip. If she wants to make it home alive, she’ll need to uncover the truth about these strangers before this nightmare drive turns fatal.
Purchase Five Total Strangers at Amazon
Purchase Five Total Strangers at IndieBound
View Five Total Strangers on Goodreads
Girl on the Run
by Abigail Johnson
Paperback
Random House
Released 10/6/2020
A fast-paced original paperback thriller about a girl who discovers that her mother might not be who she says she is . . . and now someone is hunting them both.
Katelyn wants the best for her widowed mom. Surprising her with an online dating profile seems like a good idea.
It isn’t. Katelyn’s mom hasn’t just been acting overprotective all these years–she’s been hiding something. And now that anyone can find them online , Katelyn is in a desperate race against time to uncover the secrets of the past–not only her mom’s, but also her own.
As Katelyn’s world unravels , she begins to trust the guy who brought this nightmare to her door and to doubt the one person she never thought she would. Because her mom has been hiding for a reason: she’s been waiting.
Purchase Girl on the Run at Amazon
Purchase Girl on the Run at IndieBound
View Girl on the Run on Goodreads
Hush
by Dylan Farrow
Hardcover
Wednesday Books
Released 10/6/2020
A stunning and timely debut from activist Dylan Farrow, Hush is a powerful feminist fantasy full of surprising insights, that casts a ray of light into the shadows of a society based on silencing and lies.
How do you speak up in a world where propaganda is a twisted form of magic?
In the land of Montane, language is literal magic to the select few who possess the gift of Telling. This power is reserved for the Bards, and, as everyone knows, the Bards have almost always been men.
Seventeen-year-old Shae has lived her entire life in awe of the Bards―and afraid of the Blot, a deadly disease spread by ink, which took the life of her younger brother five years ago. Ever since, Shae fears she’s cursed. But when tragedy strikes again, and her mother is found murdered with a golden dagger―a weapon used only by the Bards―Shae is forced to act.
With a heart set on justice, Shae journeys to High House in search of answers. But when the kind, fatherly Cathal, the High Lord of Montane, makes Shae an undeniable offer to stay and train as a Bard, Shae can’t refuse.
Through this twisty tale, Shae endures backbreaking training by a ruthless female Bard, tentative and highly-forbidden feelings for a male Bard with a dark past, and a castle filled with dangerous illusions bent on keeping its secrets buried.
But sometimes, the truth is closer than we think. We just have to learn to listen.
Purchase Hush at Amazon
Purchase Hush at IndieBound
View Hush on Goodreads
Into the Real
by Z Brewer
Hardcover
HarperCollins
Released 10/6/2020
n this gripping, genre-defying YA novel from New York Times bestselling author Z Brewer, three teens—one who presents as genderqueer, one who presents as female, and one who presents as male—are caught up in three very different stories of survival. But those stories intersect as the teens start to realize that they might in fact be a single, singular “they,” alternating among worlds—and that accepting themself might be the key to defeating the monsters that plague them in all three.
Three Quinns. Three Brumes. Three realities.
The first Brume is a waking nightmare, overrun by literal monsters and cutthroat survivors. For Quinn, who is openly genderqueer, the silver lining is their friendship with Lia—and that there might still be hope for salvation.
The second Brume is a prison with no bars. Forced to “sort out” their sexuality with other teens at Camp Redemption, Quinn must also figure out why presenting as female has never felt quite right.
The third Brume is a war zone. For Quinn, who presents as male, leading the Resistance against an authoritarian government is difficult, since even the Resistance might not accept them if they knew Quinn’s truth.
As Quinn starts to realize that they might be one person alternating among these three worlds and identities, they wonder: Which world is the real one? Or do they all contain some deeper truth?
Purchase Into the Real at Amazon
Purchase Into the Real at IndieBound
View Into the Real on Goodreads
Kingdom of Sea and Stone
by Mara Rutherford
Hardcover
Harlequin
Released 10/6/2020
The Cruel Prince meets Ash Princess in this thrilling fantasy, the much-anticipated sequel to Crown of Coral and Pearl.
Ever since Nor was forced to go to a nearby kingdom in her sister’s place, she’s wanted nothing more than to return to the place and people she loves. But when her wish comes true, she soon finds herself cast out from both worlds, with a war on the horizon.
As an old enemy resurfaces more powerful than ever, Nor will have to keep the kingdom from falling apart with the help of Prince Talin and Nor’s twin sister, Zadie. There are forces within the world more mysterious than any of them ever guessed—and they’ll need to stay alive long enough to conquer them…
Purchase Kingdom of Sea and Stone at Amazon
Purchase Kingdom of Sea and Stone at IndieBound
View Kingdom of Sea and Stone on Goodreads
Last Pick: Rise Up
by Jason Walz
Hardcover
First Second
Released 10/6/2020
Earth’s last hope are also the last picked, in this thrilling conclusion of Jason Walz’s dystopian graphic trilogy, Last Pick: Rise Up.
Wyatt is now the reluctant leader of the “last picked”―the disabled, the elderly, and those deemed too young to be useful for hard labor by their alien captors. But how can he and his ragtag allies take down an entire alien federation?
Meanwhile, Wyatt’s twin sister Sam and her girlfriend Mia are creating chaos all over the galaxy in an attempt to rescue Sam’s parents. But even if the family is reunited, can they stay alive long enough to see the end of the alien regime?
Purchase Last Pick: Rise Up at Amazon
Purchase Last Pick: Rise Up at IndieBound
View Last Pick: Rise Up on Goodreads
Return of the Thief
by Megan Whalen Turner
Hardcover
Greenwillow Books
Released 10/6/2020
Neither accepted nor beloved, Eugenides is the uneasy linchpin of a truce on the Lesser Peninsula, where he has risen to be high king of Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis. As the treacherous Baron Erondites schemes anew and a prophecy appears to foretell the death of the king, the ruthless Mede empire prepares to strike.
The New York Times–bestselling Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations, divine intervention, dangerous journeys, battles lost and won, power, passion, and deception. Features a cast list of the characters in the Queen’s Thief novels, as well as two maps—a map of the world of the Queen’s Thief, and a map exclusive to this edition.
Purchase Return of the Thief at Amazon
Purchase Return of the Thief at IndieBound
View Return of the Thief on Goodreads
Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf
by Hayley Krischer
Hardcover
Razorbill
Released 10/6/2020
Ali Greenleaf and Blythe Jensen couldn’t be more different.
Ali is sweet, bitingly funny, and just a little naive. Blythe is beautiful, terrifying, and the most popular girl in school. They’ve never even talked to each other, until a party when Ali decides she’ll finally make her move on Sean Nessel, her longtime crush and the soccer team’s superstar. But Sean pushes Ali farther than she wants to go. When she resists–he rapes her.
Blythe sees Ali when she runs from the party, everyone sees her. And Blythe knows something happened with Sean; she knows how he treats girls. Even so, she’s his best friend, his confidant. When he begs her to help him, she can’t resist.
So Blythe befriends Ali in her attempt to make things right with Sean, bringing Ali into a circle of ruthless popular girls, and sharing her own dark secrets. Despite the betrayal at the heart of their relationship, they see each other, in a way no one ever has before.
In her searing, empowering debut novel, Hayley Krischer tells the story of what happened that night, and how it shaped Ali and Blythe forever. Both girls are survivors in their own ways, on their own terms, and while their friendship might not be built to last, it’s one that helps each of them find a way forward.
Purchase Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf at Amazon
Purchase Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf at IndieBound
View Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf on Goodreads
Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy
by Kenneth C. Davis
Hardcover
Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Released 10/6/2020
What makes a country fall to a dictator? How do authoritarian leaders―strongmen―capable of killing millions acquire their power? How are they able to defeat the ideal of democracy? And what can we do to make sure it doesn’t happen again?
By profiling five of the most notoriously ruthless dictators in history―Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Saddam Hussein―Kenneth C. Davis seeks to answer these questions, examining the forces in these strongmen’s personal lives and historical periods that shaped the leaders they’d become.
Meticulously researched and complete with photographs, Strongman provides insight into the lives of five leaders who callously transformed the world and serves as an invaluable resource in an era when democracy itself seems in peril.
Purchase Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy at Amazon
Purchase Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy at IndieBound
View Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy on Goodreads
The Code for Love and Heartbreak
by Jillian Cantor
Hardcover
Harlequin
Released 10/6/2020
In this contemporary romcom retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma by USA TODAY bestselling author Jillian Cantor, there’s nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.
When math genius Emma and her coding club co-president, George, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born.
George disapproves of Emma’s idea of creating a matchmaking app, accusing her of meddling in people’s lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.
Emma’s code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other, and Emma’s own feelings defy any algorithm?
Purchase The Code for Love and Heartbreak at Amazon
Purchase The Code for Love and Heartbreak at IndieBound
View The Code for Love and Heartbreak on Goodreads
The Lives of Saints
by Leigh Bardugo
Hardcover
Imprint
Released 10/6/2020
Enter the world of the Grishaverse and Shadow and Bone, soon to be a Netflix original series!
Dive into the epic world of international bestselling author Leigh Bardugo with this beautifully illustrated replica of The Lives of Saints, the Istorii Sankt’ya, featuring tales of saints drawn from the beloved novels and beyond. Out of the pages of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, from the hands of Alina Starkov to yours, the Istorii Sankt’ya is a magical keepsake from the Grishaverse.
These tales include miracles and martyrdoms from familiar saints like Sankta Lizabeta of the Roses and Sankt Ilya in Chains, to the strange and obscure stories of Sankta Ursula, Sankta Maradi, and the Starless Saint.
This beautiful collection includes stunning full-color illustrations of each story.
Purchase The Lives of Saints at Amazon
Purchase The Lives of Saints at IndieBound
View The Lives of Saints on Goodreads
The Mirror Broken Wish
by Julie C. Dao
Hardcover
Disney-Hyperion
Released 10/6/2020
Sixteen-year-old Elva has a secret. She has visions and strange powers that she will do anything to hide. She knows the warnings about what happens to witches in their small village of Hanau. She’s heard the terrible things people say about the Witch of the North Woods, and the malicious hunts that follow.
But when Elva accidentally witnesses a devastating vision of the future, she decides she has to do everything she can to prevent it. Tapping into her powers for the first time, Elva discovers a magical mirror and its owner-none other than the Witch of the North Woods herself. As Elva learns more about her burgeoning magic, and the lines between hero and villain start to blur, she must find a way to right past wrongs before it’s too late.
The Mirror: Broken Wish marks the first book in an innovative four-book fairy-tale series written by Julie C. Dao, Dhonielle Clayton, Jennifer Cervantes, and L. L. McKinney, following one family over several generations, and the curse that plagues it.
Purchase The Mirror Broken Wish at Amazon
Purchase The Mirror Broken Wish at IndieBound
View The Mirror Broken Wish on Goodreads
The Shadow Mission
by Shamim Sarif
Hardcover
HarperTeen
Released 10/6/2020
Jessie Archer faced down death to prove her dedication to Athena, the elite organization of female spies she works for. Now she’s back on the team, in time to head to Pakistan to take down the man whose actions spurred Athena’s founders to create the secretive squad.
But his connections spread farther than anyone knew, and when a girls’ school in Mumbai is bombed, a shadowy far-right organization reveals itself—and its evil plans to continue attacks.
When someone close to the investigation turns on Athena, Jessie knows that their time to save everyone is nearly up. Once again, she’ll have to risk everything to protect the vulnerable and prove herself.
Purchase The Shadow Mission at Amazon
Purchase The Shadow Mission at IndieBound
View The Shadow Mission on Goodreads
We Were Restless Things
by Cole Nagamatsu
Hardcover
Sourcebooks Fire
Released 10/6/2020
From debut author Cole Nagamatsu comes an atmospheric contemporary fantasy about three teens coming of age in the wake of a mysterious death.
Last summer, Link Miller drowned on dry land in the woods, miles away from the nearest body of water. His death was ruled a strange accident, and in the months since, his friends and family have struggled to make sense of it. But Link’s close friend Noemi Amato knows the truth: Link drowned in an impossible lake that only she can find. And what’s more, someone claiming to be Link has been contacting her, warning Noemi to stay out of the forest.
As these secrets become too heavy for Noemi to shoulder on her own, she turns to Jonas, her new housemate, and Amberlyn, Link’s younger sister. All three are trying to find their place―and together, they start to unravel the truth: about themselves, about the world, and about what happened to Link.
Unfolding over a year and told through multiple POVs and a dream journal, We Were Restless Things explores the ways society shapes our reality, how we can learn to love ourselves and others, and the incredible power of our own desires.
Purchase We Were Restless Things at Amazon
Purchase We Were Restless Things at IndieBound
View We Were Restless Things on Goodreads
