October 2023 YA Book Releases

And Don't Look Back by Rebecca Barrow: After her mother's death, teen Harlow pieces together the truth of her family's past and what her mom was hiding from.

Beholder by Ryan La Sala: The only survivor of a NYC penthouse party massacre where dead bodies were arranged into disturbingly elegant sculpture, Athan becomes the prime suspect and, desperate to prove his innocence, must confront an ancient evil compelling its victims toward violence, chaos and self-destruction. 

The Blackwoods by Brandy Colbert: Told from multiple points of view, Ardith and Hollis Blackwood's lives are upended when their great-grandmother, legendary actress Blossom Blackwood, passes away, and family secrets emerge.

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber: Evangeline Fox finally has her happily ever after, but unbeknownst to her, she has paid a devastating price for this fairytale and her husband will stop at nothing, not even murder, to make sure she never finds out.

Eight Dates and Nights by Betsy Alredge: Hannah and Noah, who each have different ideas of how to spend Hanukkah, team up to save the last Jewish remnant in small-town Texas.

Hatchet Girls by Diana Rodriguez Wallach: In Fall River, Massachusetts, home to New England's infamous Bridgewater Triangle, Tessa must prove her brother innocent of murdering his girlfriend's parents with an axe, a mystery that proves all too close to the Lizzie Borden murders one hundred yearsearlier.

Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy by Faith Erin Hicks: It should have been a night of triumph for Alix’s hockey team. But her mean teammate Lindsay decided to start up with her usual rude comments and today Alix, who usually tries to control her anger, let it finally run free. Alix lashes out and before she knows it, her coach is dragging her off Lindsay, and the invitation to the Canada National Women’s U18 Team’s summer camp is on the line. She needs to learn how to control this anger, and she is sure Ezra, the popular and poised theater kid from her grade is the answer. So she asks for his help. But as they hang out and start get closer, Alix learns that there is more to Ezra than the cool front he puts on. And that maybe this friendship could become something more....

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. 

Plan A by Deb Caletti: Sixteen-year-old Ivy's road trip across the country to get an abortion becomes a transformative journey of vulnerability, strength, and above all, choice.

Salt the Water by Candice Iloh: A confrontation with a teacher and a family crisis force high school senior Cerulean Gene to drop out of twelfth grade and derails their dreams of moving cross-country and living off the grid.

The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker: In an alternate Tang Dynasty China, aspiring royal alchemist Zilan, who has the ability to resurrect the dead, arrives in the capital to compete against the best alchemists in the country and becomes drawn into the dangerous political games of the royal family. 

The Spells We Cast by Jason June: Sparks fly when eighteen-year-old Nigel meets Ori during the Culling, a competition that determines whether a magician is stripped of their powers or joins the magical society known as the Guild, but they soon realize the connection growing between them threatens their future, the Guild, and all of humanity.

A Twisted Tale Anthology edited by Elizabeth Lim: This Twisted Tale anthology features sixteen twisted short stories with new takes on fan-favorite Disney films. Swoon as Ariel and Eric meet right after the Little Mermaid saves her prince; join Tiana and Naveen on a race to get back to Maldonia; take a ride on a pirate space ship with Jim Hawkins; and uncover just what power Tinker Bell's pixie dust holds. 

True Beauty, Vol. 3 by Yaongyi: Jugyeong Lim has been treated unfairly by her family and bullied by her enemies due to being perceived as ugly. She learns how to use makeup by binge-watching online video tutorials. As she slowly masters the art of makeovers, her dramatic transformation leads to her overwhelming popularity and fame. Armed with her newfound beauty, Jugyeong is in a love triangle with two of the most handsome boys at school: Suho, the stoic mystery man who knows her secret and Seojun, the "bad boy." Jugyeong must balance the pitfalls of her popularity with the newfound pressures of young adulthood.

Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros: Created as an avenging golem in the image of a man’s daughter who was killed by the Nazis, Vera, the Jew the Nazis cannot kill, is made for vengeance but begins to wonder if she’s more than the wrath her creator infused within her.