Yes! October is one of my favorite months! It holds Halloween, the Teen Texas Book Festival and the weather starts to get to a decent temperature in Texas, and best of all, MY NEW BUDGET YEAR STARTS! YES! While school librarians have had their budget (what little there is, I know) for a good month if not longer, all of the libraries I’ve worked for have been public libraries. And as such, our fiscal year “officially” closes on September 30, while in reality our ordering ends in August if not before. But OCTOBER is like the holidays, because it’s a WHOLE NEW BUDGET! And just for me, well, maybe not just for me, publishers are coming out with some wonderful new October books to add to the teen/young adult collection! Take a look!
Want to know more?
- Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel: High-school junior Leila has made it most of the way through Armstead Academy without having a crush on anyone, which is something of a relief. Her Persian heritage already makes her different from her classmates; if word got out that she liked girls, life would be twice as hard. But when a sophisticated, beautiful new girl, Saskia, shows up, Leila starts to take risks she never thought she would, especially when it looks as if the attraction between them is mutual.
Beautiful book and writing, and a story that grips readers.
- The Young Elites: Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her. First in the Young Elites series.
I adore Marie Lu, and a retelling of plague survivors set in medieval times sounds wondrous. I haven’t gotten to this one yet, but it is on my list. It was one of my HAVE TO GETS at ALA Annual. She will be at the Teen Texas Book Festival in Austin October 18.
- Sweet Unrest: When her family moves to an old plantation outside New Orleans, Lucy starts having intense new dreams, vivid scenes of a bygone era filled with people she shouldn’t know but does. Searching for answers to her haunting visions, Lucy reluctantly descends into the city’s mystical culture. What she finds is Alex, a charming but mysterious boy who behaves as if they’ve known each other forever. Trapped in a dangerous crossfire, Lucy must act fast to save her future—and everyone she loves.
So interested in this one- I love this sort of paranormal mystery twist, and New Orleans is one of my favorite settings.
- The Cure for Dreaming: Olivia’s father, concerned that she’s headed for trouble, convinces a stage mesmerist to try to hypnotize the rebellion out of her. But the hypnotist, an intriguing young man named Henri Reverie, gives her a terrible gift instead: she’s able to see people’s true natures, manifesting as visions of darkness and goodness, while also unable to speak her true thoughts out loud. These supernatural challenges only make Olivia more determined to speak her mind, and so she’s drawn into a dangerous relationship with the hypnotist and his mysterious motives, all while secretly fighting for the rights of women.
I had the pleasure of meeting Cat Winters at the YALSA Author Coffee Klatch in Las Vegas, and have been hooked on the idea of this book.
- Mortal Gods: Cassandra Weaver is a weapon of fate. The girl who kills gods. But all she wants is for the god she loved and lost to return to life. If she can’t have that, then the other gods will burn, starting with his murderer, Aphrodite. The alliance between Cassandra and Athena is fragile. Cassandra suspects Athena lacks the will to truly kill her own family. And Athena fears that Cassandra’s hate will get them all killed. The war takes them across the globe, searching for lost gods, old enemies, and Achilles, the greatest warrior the world has ever seen. As the struggle escalates, Athena and Cassandra must find a way to work together. Because if they can’t, fates far worse than death await. Second in the Goddess War series.
I have been waiting for this one FOR-evah. Antigoddess, the first in the series, was so good and so complicated and twisted that I wanted more immediately.
- Clariel: Clariel wants no part of the throne. But many forces conspire against Clariel’s dream. A dangerous Free Magic creature is loose in the city, her parents want to marry her off to a killer, and there is a plot brewing against the old and withdrawn King Orrikan. When Clariel is drawn into the efforts to find and capture the creature, she finds hidden sorcery within herself, yet it is magic that carries great dangers. Can she rise above the temptation of power, escape the unwanted marriage, and save the King? A prequel to the Old Kingdom series.
I have been a fan of Nix for a long while, and I have had teens devour the Old Kingdom series. He will be at the Teen Texas Book Festival in Austin October 18.
- My True Love Gave to Me: Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers (Holly Black, Ally Carter, Matt de La Peña, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Myra McEntire, Rainbow Rowell, Stephanie Perkins, Laini Tayler and Kiersten White), edited by the international bestselling Stephanie Perkins.
I have so many teens that say they dislike short stories, and this is going to be a wonderful way to hook them with their favorite authors.
- Snow Like Ashes: Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend and future king, Mather—she would do anything to help Winter rise to power again. So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore their magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers and fighting enemy soldiers just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics—and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own. Debut novel.
I’ve heard a ton of good things about this book and while I believe that you make your own destiny, my teens BEG for stories similar to this- where destiny is preordained.
- Blue Lily, Lily Blue: Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs. The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost. Friends can betray. Mothers can disappear. Visions can mislead. Certainties can unravel. Third in the Raven Boys series/ The Raven Cycle (different places call the series different things).
OMG, if you have to catch up on one series before you read a new book, THIS IS THE ONE. If you haven’t read The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves, GO NOW.
- How It Went Down: When sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson dies from two gunshot wounds, his community is thrown into an uproar. Tariq was black. The shooter, Jack Franklin, is white. In the aftermath of Tariq’s death, everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events line up. Day by day, new twists further obscure the truth. Tariq’s friends, family, and community struggle to make sense of the tragedy, and to cope with the hole left behind when a life is cut short. In their own words, they grapple for a way to say with certainty: This is how it went down.
With Treyvon Martin, Michael Brown, and everyone else, this needs to be in your collection.
- Atlantia: For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamed of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all Rio’s hopes for the future are shattered when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected choice, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long silenced—she has nothing left to lose. Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the corrupted system constructed to govern the Divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.
I got to meet the author and hear her talk about this new book, and it is so entrancing.
- Talon: Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George. Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon’s newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey—and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember’s bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him—and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons. First of a new series.
If you don’t think this is going to be awesome, go take a look at her pictures of dragons on Julie’s Twitter. Go ahead.