Here’s the full list of young adult SFF titles heading your way in September!
Keep track of all the new SFF releases here. All title summaries are taken and/or summarized from copy provided by the publisher. Release dates are subject to change.
September 2
House of Hearts — Skyla Arndt (Viking Books for Young Readers)
Violet Harper knows her best friend was murdered. Even if everyone else has labeled her death a “freak accident,” Vi is sure she’d been trying to tell her something right before she died. Cryptic messages about her friend’s elite boarding school, her whirlwind romance, and the mysterious secret society she was entangled in all point to a more sinister fate. So, Violet does what no one else seems willing to do: She transfers to the same fancy school to dig into the society’s murky history and find out what really happened to her friend. She knows the truth might not be pretty, but what she doesn’t bargain for is the handsome boy at the center of it all—Calvin Lockwell, the brother of her prime suspect and descendant of the school’s founder. He’s obnoxious and privileged, and Violet can’t deny their haunting attraction. It soon becomes clear his family is hiding a dark secret that may not be of this world, and suddenly Violet’s following her friend’s doomed footsteps down the rabbit hole. Even as details emerge of a deadly curse plaguing the school, she can’t escape her true feelings for Calvin. But loving him may be the last thing she ever does.
Thorn Season (Thorn Season #1) — Kiera Azar (Storytide)
In the Kingdom of Daradon, a persecuted few are Wielders, in possession of a magical Spectre–a shimmering thread that can extend beyond their visible body to give a loving caress, pick a lock… even kill. Feared for this ability, Wielders have always been Hunted. Alissa Paine, heiress and daughter of a Hunter family… is also a Wielder. At eighteen, Alissa knows she’s escaped execution thus far only due to painful self-control and the efforts of her beloved father. Summoned to the harsh and glittering royal court for the debutante season, Alissa finds herself caught in a web of intrigue and betrayal—and caught between two equally dangerous men: one a brutal ruler with the handsome face of a fairy-tale prince, who would destroy her if he knew the truth—and the other a beguiling foreign ambassador with secret agendas of his own. With the threat of discovery lurking around every corner—and romance becoming an increasingly dangerous temptation—Alissa will find that she has more to lose than her secrets. It’s Rose Season at the palace, but to survive she’ll need to become the most vicious of thorns.
Season of Fear — Emily Cooper (Christy Ottaviano Books)
In the Bavarian village of Heulensee, women feed their terror to an ancient Saint of Fear. In return, it protects them from the monsters of the Hexenwald, the haunted forest on their doorstep. Born unfearing, Ilse Odenwald has felt like an outsider all her life. When the Saint discovers Ilse’s divergence, it levels a threat: she must find her fear, or the Saint will devour her sister, Dorothea—the only person who loves Ilse unconditionally. Unwilling to lose Thea, Ilse enters the Hexenwald. She hopes that its horrors will finally unleash her fear and, in turn, save her sister. But during her quest Ilse inadvertently uncovers something more sinister than the monsters that hunt her: a darkness within herself. As the forest closes in, Ilse’s hopes for a normal future begin to slip away, as well as the chance to save not just Thea, but all women in Heulensee.
Daughter of the Underworld (House of Shadows) — Katharine Corr, Elizabeth Corr (Candlewick)
Deina is trapped. As one of the Soul Severers serving the god Hades on earth, her future is tied to the task of shepherding the dying from the mortal world—unless she can earn or steal enough to buy her way out. So when the tyrant ruler Orpheus offers both fortune and freedom to whoever can retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice, from the Underworld, Deina jumps at the chance. To succeed, however, she must enter an uneasy alliance with a group of fellow Severers that she neither likes nor trusts. As their perilous journey into the realm of Hades begins, with the reward of freedom ahead, what will it take for Deina to reach her prize?
The Deep Well — Laura Creedle (Quill Tree Books)
Ever since April survived the strange and brutal massacre at the Copperton mine twelve years ago, she has been in the spotlight. At first, as the subject of internet urban legend. Then, as a horror movie inspiration. And most frighteningly, as the darling of a cult that believes that on her seventeenth birthday she will come into universe-altering power. April has unanswered questions about what really went down at the mine—most of all, what happened to her father, the foreman on the drill site, who disappeared on that day. Until the week before her birthday, when she is given a collection of documents and the words He’s alive. As April uncovers more about her childhood at the mine, the cultists’ beliefs don’t feel as impossible as she once thought, and she begins to hope that she truly can bring her father back. But even though she never wants to go near the edge of the open-pit mine again, there are forces in Copperton who want to see her fail… or watch her fly.
Girl, Goddess, Queen — Bea Fitzgerald (Sourcebooks Fire)
Thousands of years ago, the gods spun a myth based on a lie. They claimed that though Persephone was to be a prize-bride for the most deserving god, Hades kidnapped her for himself. That she was just a pawn in the complicated politics of Olympus. That her mother, Demeter, was so distraught she caused the Earth to start dying. The real story is much more interesting. Persephone wasn’t taken to hell: she jumped. There was no way she was going to be married off to some smug god more in love with himself than her. Now all she has to do is convince the Underworld’s annoyingly sexy, arrogant and frankly rude ruler, Hades, to fall in line with her plan. A plan that will shake Mount Olympus to its very core. But consequences can be deadly, especially when you’re already in hell
Nettle — Bex Hogan (Tundra Books)
A wild misfit in the human world, Nettle is enthralled by the glamor of the faery realm, with its two moons and scarlet stars. She grows close to Conor, a human stolen centuries before, and she also falls under the spell of mysterious Ellion, a shadow faery. To try to help her beloved grandmother who is fading in her world, Nettle makes a pact with the faery king. He’ll heal her grandmother in exchange for Nettle completing three tasks. She agrees, not realizing that deception lurks in this enchanted place, and that she has been tricked… In this dangerous fantasy kingdom, Nettle discovers—too late—her part in an age-old love story… and the price she will pay.
Grave Flowers — Autumn Krause (Peachtree Teen)
Princess Madalina and her twin sister, Inessa, were born attached at the hand and separated right after. That’s the only time the sisters ever held hands. The girls’ personalities have been shaped in the Sinet family’s drive to make their kingdom more than what it is: unrespectable and loathsome, a damp place where deceit fills the palace walls like mold. Madalina is different from her family. She’s considered the weak one and only finds peace in the garden, tending her magical flowers, which are pejoratively called grave flowers because they are ideal for torture and torment. Secretly, she dreams of escape and a new life. Then Inessa, who was betrothed to the heir of a wealthy kingdom—Prince Aeric—gets trapped in Bide, a terrifying purgatory, and begs Madalina to set her free. Now, not only must Madalina take her sister’s place as Aeric’s bride-to-be, but she also must finish Inessa’s secret mission: Inessa wasn’t just sent to marry Prince Aeric, but to kill him, too, and solidify a profitable pact with his traitorous uncle. On behalf of her family, Madalina will need to resist the infuriatingly clever prince—as well as her own heart—if she’s to free her sister and finish the job.
September 9
How to Survive a Horror Movie — Scarlett Dunmore (Union Square & Co)
Horror movie buff Charley Ryan isn’t expecting much when she’s enrolled at a girls’ boarding school on a remote island. That is, until someone starts killing off the senior class. From elaborate scare tactics to severed heads in fridges, these gruesome murders are straight out of Charley’s favorite films. To top it off, she’s also seeing the ghosts of her former classmates. No one’s surprised when Charley’s taste in movies makes her the prime suspect. Determined to clear her name, she sets out to find the killer before her campus becomes more graveyard than school. She’s equipped only with her encyclopedic knowledge of horror cinema and the help of her trusty cinephile best friend, Olive—oh, and those pesky ghosts, if they can shut up long enough to lend a helping hand.
An Embroidery of Souls — Ruby Martinez (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Jade Aguilar can stitch beauty and brilliance into existence—unravel life itself. Like her mother, she’s a thread speaker in the queendom of Mérecal, where their rare gift can be used only in service of the Crown. When her mother, the master thread speaker, goes missing amid a spree of unusual deaths, the queen orders Jade to find her or be conscripted into a life of servitude. Lukas Keller, a boy with a heart as bright as the universe, is desperate to save his family from the clutches of poverty. He gets caught up with a vicious gang and is forced to do the one thing he swore he would never do: seek the help of a thread speaker. Jade and Lukas form a mistrustful alliance. As Mérecal descends into chaos, it’s clear there is something monstrous on the hunt. Jade and Lukas cling to each other for survival—and perhaps… something more. In her spellbinding debut, Ruby Martinez weaves a wildly romantic, heart-pounding mystery set against the backdrop of Mexican and German lore.
The House of Quiet — Kiersten White (Delacorte)
In the middle of a deadly bog sits the House of Quiet. It’s a place for children whose Procedure triggered powers too terrible to be lived with—their last hope for treatment. No one knows how they’re healed or where they go afterward. Birdie has begged, bargained, and blackmailed her way inside as a maid, determined to find her missing sister, Magpie. But what she discovers is more mysteries. Instead of the destitute children who undergo the Procedure in hopes of social advancement, the house brims with aristocratic teens wielding strange powers they never should have been burdened with. Though Birdie wants to ignore them, she can’t help being drawn to stoic and silent Forest, charmed by clever River, and concerned for the youngest residents. And with fellow maid Minnow keeping tabs on everything Birdie does, danger is everywhere. In her desperate search for Magpie, Birdie unearths terrifying threats and devastating truths, forcing her to confront just how much she’s willing to sacrifice to save her own sister. Because in the House of Quiet, if you find what’s lurking beneath… you lose everything. Unravel the mystery. Ignite the rebellion.
September 16
If Looks Could Kill — Julie Berry (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
It’s autumn 1888, and Jack the Ripper is on the run. As London police close in, he flees England for New York City seeking new victims. But a primal force of female vengeance has had enough. With serpents for hair and a fearsome gaze, an awakened Medusa is hunting for one thing: Jack. And other dangers lurk in Manhattan’s Bowery. Salvation Army volunteers Tabitha and Pearl discover that a girl they once helped has been forced to work in a local brothel. Tabitha’s an upstate city girl with a wry humor and a thirst for adventure, while farmgirl Pearl takes everything with stone-cold seriousness. Their brittle partnership is tested as they team up with an aspiring girl reporter and a handsome Irish bartender to mount a rescue effort, only to find their fates entwine with Medusa’s and Jack’s.
Hekate: The Witch (Goddesses of the Underworld #1) — Nikita Gill (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Hekate sings the story of its eponymous heroine. Born into a world on fire and at war, she and her mother are left behind by the menfolk of their Titan family as the battle against the new Gods–the Olympians–begins. Soon, Hekate and her mother are forced to flee their home as the Olympians overpower and enslave the Titans, including Hekate’s father, Perses, and gain dominion over the universe. In a bid to protect Hekate from the clutches of Zeus and Poseidon, her mother leaves her in the underworld with the goddess Styx and king of the underworld, Hades, where she must make a life for herself and discover her divine purpose. Here begins Nikita Gill’s beautiful and propulsive reimagining of Hekate’s myth which unfolds into a coming-of-age adventure story and quest in which our young protagonist—not yet a goddess—sets out to discover what has happened to her parents, heal from the trauma of her separation from them, make a new home for herself in the underworld, and, eventually, step into her true power as a woman and goddess, before it’s too late.
The Others (Unfinished #2) — Cheryl Isaacs (HarperCollins)
Only weeks ago, Avery pulled her best friend, Key, from the deadly black water. The cycle from her family’s Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) stories is finally broken, the black water is now a harmless lake, and her problems are far from supernatural: All Avery wants is a normal summer with Key, her now-boyfriend. The trauma, however, casts a long shadow over the town. Some victims never returned. Terrifying memories threaten to resurface, but Avery pushes them down. Who she’s really worried about is Key. The two are supposed to be closer than ever—so why does he feel so distant? Wracked by anxiety, Avery begins to see a chilling reflection in every mirror, one that moves on its own—and she’s not the only one. With her family’s safety in the balance, Avery must decide: Run away to the safety of normal life with Key, or return to lake’s edge and face her reflection, before her home is subsumed by darkness once and for all…
The Dead of Summer — Ryan LaSala (PUSH)
Two Days Before: Ollie Veltman is finally coming home to the quaint island of Anchor’s Mercy after a year away while his mom battled cancer. It should be a celebration—his mom is cancer free, and she’s determined to have the best summer ever—but Ollie’s (now ex) best friends think he abandoned them, and he’s returning with a lot of questions. Because for a place that’s perfect on the surface, a secret rots below the waves. A secret that could explain his mom’s illness, and the illness of so many other locals. Ollie’s desperate search for the truth turns life-or-death when a storm descends upon the island. In its wake, a long-sunken horror rises… Three Weeks After: Ollie is being held in isolation aboard a military hospital ship in the harbor. They say he’s a survivor, but they only know half the story. The truth is more monstrous than Ollie ever believed, and he suspects his saviors aren’t here to save anyone. Only Ollie can stop what’s coming, but that means getting back to Anchor’s Mercy before it vanishes, taking with it everyone he has ever loved.
Fawn’s Blood — Hal Schrieve (Seven Stories)
Fawn and Silver share nearly everything: coming out together as trans in their small Maryland town, clocking a copious number of hours in detention, and spending their sleepovers secretly making out. They’re also uniquely obsessed with vampires, who are being hunted, imprisoned, and executed for the danger they allegedly pose to human life. Meanwhile in Seattle, Rachel’s relationship to her girlfriend and her membership in her mother’s vampire-slaying vigilante group is thrown into question when she’s bitten by her mother’s nemesis and awakes with a craving for blood. When Silver disappears and Fawn goes west in search of him, her and Rachel’s fates converge, both falling into the hands of Cain, an edgelord vampire known for his proselytizing for the drinking of human blood. But in discovering hidden tunnels and secret bars, youth shelters and punk shows and safe houses, Fawn find herself in the middle of a vampire underground in Seattle—an organized resistance keeping each other alive through a network of blood distribution and protection from slayers.
Nightshade (Rosenholm #3) — Gry Kappel Jensen (Arctis)
In this final book of the Rosenholm trilogy, the four friends have finally found out who murdered the young woman Trine in the 80s. However, it quickly turns out that the murder was only a small part of a dark and macabre past at Rosenholm, and several puzzles must be solved before Trine can get her revenge. They do their best to work around the new guidelines Jens has put in place in order to make room for the darm branches of magic. Nightshade draws on myth, folklore, and history, making for a compelling story from start to finish.
I Killed the King — Rebecca Mix, Andrea Hannah (Storytide)
After a decade of war, the kingdoms of Avendell and Istellia have finally agreed to peace. As nobles and magic wielders from both countries arrive at remote Castle Avendell for a historic all-night masquerade to celebrate, King Costis summons an unlikely group to his chambers: the crown prince, his Istellian bride-to-be, his personal guard, a wild beast tamer, and the palace’s questionable new healer. But before Costis can reveal why he has gathered them, the castle goes dark. When the lights come back, the king is dead—murdered with the princess’s knife, in a weak spot only his guard knew of, and with venom from one of the beast tamer’s monsters lacing the blade. With no clear killer—and everyone a suspect—they make a risky pact: Tell no one until the treaty is signed. But when a winter storm seals everyone inside and someone aware of the king’s untimely death begins to pick off guests one by one, the six suspects must work together to discover who killed the king… before one of them is next.
September 23
Extraordinary Quests for Amateur Witches — Kayla Cottingham (Delacorte)
Kieran has never had much luck in love or magic. Other than being freed from a family curse that would have killed him and doomed his twin sister, life isn’t going his way. So, after getting put on notice by his boyfriend and accidentally writing a poem so bad (and magically hazardous) that it makes him invisible to the guy, of course Kieran returns home to find the Witches Council sitting in his living room, demanding he complete his magical training. Panicked, he blurts out that his Calling—a kind of magical thesis—will be to find a magical cure-all that can break any curse… an enormous task that he absolutely doesn’t have the power to pull off. Nevertheless, Kieran sets off on this dangerous journey, accompanied by his sister Briar, her girlfriend Delilah, and a swoony new crewmate, Sebastian. If he survives, he may just learn how to turn his luck around and figure out what kind of witch, person, and boyfriend he wants to be.
This Raging Sea — De Elizabeth (Holiday House)
Historic Loch Creek is a witchy New England tourist trap—but it’s just a trap for Briar, who’s convinced she’ll die there among the waves that devoured her twin brother thirteen years ago. But when her best friend who she’s loved since childhood, Finn, vanishes from the seaside carnival, there’s only one person who can help Briar find him: Morgan, her biggest enemy who knows her darkest secret. As Briar uncovers hidden truths as deep and dark as the water that haunts her, it quickly becomes clear that Finn has gone much further than anyone could have imagined. He’s lost in time, and neither of them are safe. If Briar and Finn look too hard, they might find terrifying answers—not just about what’s buried beneath the shores, but also the threads tying them to each other. As past and future collide, the seductive yet evil underwater entity that intends to claim Briar still needs its sacrifice… And it’s too hungry to go unsated.
A Steeping of Blood (Blood and Tea #2) — Hafsah Faizal (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers)
White Roaring is sharpening its fangs after the deadly night that left the city in shambles. The press are dead, the public is calling for justice, vampires are in danger, and amid the turmoil, the Ram announces a celebration. Still reeling from the bloodshed, Arthie Casimir has no time to mourn the death of anyone, let alone her own. She has no time for love, either, even though it had saved her life. As Arthie navigates new emotions and new allies, she must reassemble her scrambled crew and scrape what little they have left to fight one last time—and she will need to face the ghosts of her past to do it. In Ceylan.
Unending (Unseelie #2) — Ivelisse Housman (Quill Tree Books)
Isolde Graygrove has always put her changeling twin sister first. But ever since Seelie returned from the faerie realms with a newfound confidence in her magic and secrets she’s keeping even from her twin, Isolde can’t help but wonder: who is she, if not her sister’s protector? Seelie knows there are some problems even magic can’t solve. Like the distance between her and Isolde, the terror of her growing and unfamiliar emotions for Raze, or the fact that the world’s last firedrake has imprinted on her like a baby duckling. Still, she can’t help but try. When Seelie accidentally splinters the three realms, tangling the human and faerie worlds together into something new, the vicious faerie Gossamer makes it his mission to take full advantage of the chaos unleashed. Seelie and Isolde will need to spill their secrets, decide who they can trust, and navigate the sinister glamour of the faerie courts to save humankind and fae alike.
Moonsick — Tom O’Donnell (Wednesday)
High school senior Heidi Mills seemingly has it all: a charming (arrogant) boyfriend, loving (wealthy) parents, and an acceptance letter to Harvard (well, not yet). With her mom and stepdad away on vacation, she’s going to host a rager at their mansion to celebrate the end of high school. The party is tomorrow. But the full moon is tonight—when the worldwide werewolf epidemic that has run rampant for the past few years turns deadly, and the infected transform into beasts. Safe in her home, with its state-of-the-art lockdown system to keep the monsters out, Heidi expects to wait out the night. But when two intruders show up to rob what they think will be an empty home, the life of privilege, ease, and safety that Heidi has taken for granted comes crashing down. Suddenly exposed to the realities of this virus and the way that the rest of the world has been living all this time, Heidi embarks on a dark adventure accompanied by the mysterious—but intriguing—-boy who broke into her house. As she fights to survive the underbelly of a post-pandemic society, she’ll learn that not all monsters have fangs.
Ice Moon (Blood Circus #2) — Camila Victoire (Blackstone)
Ava may have survived the deadly Blood Race at Circo, but on human soil, she is a fugitive, hiding her true identity for fear of being hunted. If she can’t complete the Klujn Blood Race—the real one, in the wild—before the Ice Moon rises, she faces permanent exile. On the run, she learns that Grouse, the ruthless autocrat, holds her adoptive mother captive. Ava’s only chance at true freedom and to save those she loves is to bring Grouse the heart of Warwick, Circo’s king—the same mad king who enslaved her and who has terrorized humanity for decades. Aided only by the intimidating but ailing Diablo, Ava embarks on an epic journey into the frozen wilds, where danger lies around every corner—and in her own mind. For survival is only the beginning. Ava must also impress the gods, because they are everywhere, and they are watching.
September 30
Showstopper — Lily Anderson (Henry Holt & Co Books for Young Readers)
The Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp isn’t the best program in the world, but to Faye, it’s home. Every summer since junior high, Faye and her friends have come together for a monthlong musical-theater intensive. For her last year before graduation, Faye’s finally ready to take center stage as her true Afro-Latina self and break out of her white-passing roles. But as Faye steps into her spotlight, complications arise. Suddenly, she’s competing with her BFF for lead roles and distracted by the attentions of the new camp hottie. Even when the drama turns deadly, Faye remains determined to make this the best production the Ghostlight has ever seen. It must be a coincidence that the stagehands keep disappearing and having gruesome accidents, right? But dark secrets are hiding behind the scenes, and opening night might turn out to be a bloodbath.
Grim and Oro (Lightlark) — Alex Aster (Amulet)
True love knows no bounds. This premium, dual-sided volume includes two complete novellas bound together to create one can’t-miss collector’s item. The first novella—told from Grim’s perspective—gives readers insight into his past: the motivations and events that cemented his fate as Isla’s eventual love interest. The second is narrated by Oro and offers a window into his complex identity: that of a king torn between desire for justice and passion for the woman he loves more than anything.
Make Me a Monster — Kalynn Bayron (Bloomsbury YA)
As a newly certified mortician’s assistant at her parents’ funeral home, her days are not for the faint of heart. Luckily her boyfriend Noah isn’t squeamish, and Meka is finally feeling ready to say the three little words that will change everything. But then tragedy strikes, and Meka’s world is torn apart. Nothing makes sense, especially the strange things start happening. Ravens are circling her home. Strangers are following her. Someone is leaving mysterious items at her door. And worst of all… The dead don’t seem to be staying dead. Meka thought she understood death better than anyone. Turns out, the family business is a bit more complicated than it seems. And Meka isn’t the only one desperate to unearth their secrets… because the truth may be worth dying for.
Holly (Belladonna #4) — Adalyn Grace (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Something strange is happening at Wisteria Gardens, the manor that Blythe and Aris call home. All they want is a peaceful holiday season with their family, but a group of restless spirits is determined to threaten their festivities. With a new mystery to solve, Signa, Death, Blythe, and Fate must uncover what happened to Wisteria’s ghostly inhabitants and help the spirits move on… before it’s too late.
Bitten — Jordan Stephanie Gray (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
After a vicious werewolf attack on the night of her seventeenth birthday party, Vanessa Hart loses everything she loves in a split second. Her best friend, her father, and even her home. Bitten and imprisoned without explanation, Vanessa endures an agonizing transformation into the very beast that maimed her, and her captors make it clear she cannot escape: she will either swear her life to the Wolf Queen’s Court, or she will die. With no other choice, Vanessa joins their enchanted Castle Severi—where flowering vines grow through the walls, gifts are bestowed by the stars, and a claw can break through skin as easily as silk—but she hasn’t forgotten what they stole from her. Vanessa still seeks vengeance, scheming in the shadows even as she finds herself mesmerized by the golden prince Sinclair Severi, who threatens to steal her heart though he is promised to her nemesis. And by his brooding, disgraced cousin, Calix, whose smoldering gaze hides even darker secrets. Immersed in the magic of their whimsical yet cruel society, Vanessa soon learns not all is as it seems. The Court is at war, and she may simply be a pawn in its lethal game.
The Weaver Bride — Lydia Gregovic (Delacorte)
Lovett Tamerlane is a silkwitch. Like all girls of her kind, she holds a rare magic—a magic that can be harnessed only through marriage to a Weaver. But finding a Weaver husband requires status, refinement, and money, all of which Lovett sadly lacks. Her one secret ability, to open any door, is her saving grace. Hidden in plain sight, Lovett spends her days using her gift to steal from wealthy families and her nights avoiding the fate imposed on all unwed silkwitches: a life confined to the cloisters. But opening doors can be dangerous, and when Lovett steals from the wrong person, she finds herself face to face with Eliot Lear, the notorious son of a prominent Weaver. It turns out Eliot’s been watching Lovett. He knows she’s a silkwitch, and he offers her a life-altering opportunity: entrance to the Vainglory, a competition with the ultimate prize—marriage to Noé Alaire, heir to generations of Weaver wealth. The catch? Last year, the Vainglory ended in tragedy. The winner died. And the winner was Eliot’s sister. The arrangement is simple: If Lovett solves the mystery of Ophelia Lear’s death and unmasks her killer, Eliot will ensure she has her pick of Weaver suitors, regardless of who wins the competition. Yet unraveling Ophelia’s murder proves far more complicated than either of them anticipated. And Lovett should know better than to take a Weaver at his word. After all… what is love without betrayal?
Hollow — Taylor Grothe (Peachtree Teen)
After a meltdown in her school cafeteria prompts an unwanted autism diagnosis, Cassie Davis moves back to her hometown in upstate New York, where her mom hopes the familiarity will allow Cassie to feel normal again. Cassie’s never truly felt normal anywhere, but she does crave the ease she used to have with her old friends. Problem is that her friends aren’t so eager to welcome her back into the fold. They extend an olive branch by inviting her on their backpacking trip to Hollow Ridge, in the upper reaches of the Adirondacks. But when a fight breaks out their first night, Cassie wakes to a barren campsite—her friends all gone. With severe weather approaching and nearing sensory overload, Cassie is saved by a boy named Kaleb, who whisks her away to a compound of artists and outcasts he calls the Roost. As Kaleb tends to her injuries, Cassie begins to feel—for the first time in her life—that she can truly be herself. But as the days pass, strange happenings around the Roost make Cassie question her instincts. Noises in the trees grow louder, begging the question: Are the dangers in the forest, on the trail, or in the Roost itself? In a world where autistic characters rarely get to be the hero of their own stories, Cassie Davis’s one-step-back, two-steps-forward journey to unmasking makes Hollow as much a love letter to neurodiversity as it is a haunting tale you’ll want to read with the lights on.
A Match Made in Hell — Charlotte Ingham (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
She’s annoyed about it. She was supposed to be graduating and turning into a responsible adult, not proving her family right when they called her a failure. Now, thanks to one tiny (if fatal) mishap, she’s landed in a dimension named Asphodel that looks suspiciously like Hell. Determined to redeem herself, Willow makes a deal with Asphodel’s ruler, the mysterious and unfairly attractive King Sath: complete seven tasks, resist the seven sins, and he’ll let her return to her human existence. But when Sath is temptation itself, sin may be hard to resist… Battling demons is one thing. Battling her growing feelings for Sath is another. After discovering a demon plot to unleash the worst of their kind, putting everyone in Asphodel at risk of an eternity of torment, Willow is torn: she can complete the tasks, return to the life she was on the brink of rebuilding, and abandon the dead—and Sath—to their grim fate, or she can stay and help him stop the uprising…even if that leaves her trapped in Asphodel forever.
The Transition — Logan-Ashley Kisner (Delacorte)
Hunter’s life is at a turning point: After years of fighting his father for it, he’s gotten top surgery. He’s finally starting to feel comfortable in his own skin… only to be attacked by a strange creature in his backyard. Luckily, his best friend Gabe intervenes, and Hunter is able to walk away from the incident with his life—and new body—mostly intact. Still, something isn’t right. First, his wounds are healing… strangely. Then there are the feverish nightmares, and his teeth… they’re falling out of his head. Enter Mars, Hunter’s other best friend, who points out the obvious: That mysterious creature was a werewolf, and Hunter is becoming one too—unless they can figure out a way to kill it. Now, Hunter, Gabe, and Mars are in a race against time. A voice that could only belong to the creature itself is worming its way into Hunter’s head, and as the days pass, it’s getting louder. It promises revenge on Hunter’s transphobic peers if he succumbs to his lycanthropic transformation. Or he can reject the monster and fight alongside his friends before the body—and life—he’s fought so hard for slips away for good. The choice is Hunter’s.
Every Spiral of Fate (This Woven Kingdom #4) — Tahereh Mafi (Storytide)
At long last, the wedding day has arrived. The Jinn queen and the enigmatic ruler of Tulan are to be married in a magical, enchanted ceremony—but Cyrus, tethered by a blood oath to his bride-to-be, can find nothing to celebrate in this union. He’s falling ever more deeply in love with the one person oathbound to kill him. Sworn to an ancient, unbreakable magic, Alizeh can only fulfill the prophecy to free her people by ensuring Cyrus dies by her own hand. And Cyrus is forced to await his end all while Prince Kamran inches closer, ready to take his place by Alizeh’s side. The countdown to murder coils tensions ever tighter, but the historic wedding has already drawn deadly attention. To prepare for war and protect her people, Alizeh must finally discover her magic—and outrun the enemies trying to stop her. Alizeh and Cyrus, along with Kamran and their friends from Ardunia, must flee on dragon-back to begin the perilous journey into the legendary mountains of Arya, where a firestorm of revelations, magical discoveries, and fresh allies awaits them. Every allegiance will be tested, every darkness uncovered, and when the shattering secrets of the Tulanian king are finally revealed… Nothing, and no one, will be the same.
The Sleepless (Sleepless #1) — Jen Williams (Wednesday)
Elver is the guardian of the wild and dangerous monster forest. Saved from the brink of death by a god, her skin will poison anyone she touches. Artair is on a mission—one that takes him face-to-face with Elver at her most ruthless. But her defenses are useless when she discovers he’s the only human impervious to her deadly gift. For Artair isn’t human: he’s one of the Sleepless, cursed to share his body with an evil spirit. Lucian inhabits their body while Artair sleeps, and he is hell-bent on manipulating Elver for his dark purposes. But Elver is harbouring secrets too, and she has her own reasons for feigning an alliance with these two souls. Caught in the crossfire of gods, monsters, and a dangerous magic they can barely understand, it is only a matter of time before the paths the three of them choose to take will set alight the very foundations of their world.
Demon Song — Kelsea Yu (Titan)
Places like this have a history. Desires. And this one is famished. Megan and her mom are on the run after narrowly escaping the clutches of an abusive man who dragged them from Portland to Beijing. With few options, Megan’s mom turns to an old friend who offers them room and board in Huihuang Opera Theater in exchange for cleaning the ancient building. Between her rusty Mandarin and constant reminders that she’s an outsider, Megan struggles with loneliness—until she meets Kristy, the glamorous young lead in the operatic adaptation of “The Monkey King and the White Bone Demon”. Soon, Megan’s free time is split between reading a battered copy of the Chinese classic that inspired the opera and her budding new friendship; Kristy’s love of singing brings out Megan’s long-buried ambitions. But the opera house has its secrets. There are passages within the walls that shouldn’t be there, and the more Megan delves into that old book, the more the myths begin to bleed into real life. As Megan finds it increasingly difficult to separate reality from folklore, she must uncover a decades-old mystery to discover the true, horrifying secret of the opera house before it casts its hungry eyes on her.
