Young Adult New Releases October 12th 2021

Happy New Release Tuesday! Time to wish these books a happy book birthday and decide which you are going to add to your TBR, your shelves, and or library holds!

Check out our Bookshop page for more October releases, and our Signed Books page for upcoming titles!

Jade Fire Gold

by June C.L. Tan
Published by: HarperTeen
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
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In an empire on the brink of war...

Ahn is no one, with no past and no family.

Altan is a lost heir, his future stolen away as a child.

When they meet, Altan sees in Ahn a path to reclaiming the throne. Ahn sees a way to finally unlock her past and understand her arcane magical abilities.

But they may have to pay a far deadlier price than either could have imagined.

Ferocious action, shadowy intrigue, and a captivating romance collide in June CL Tan’s debut, a stunning homage to the Xianxia novel with a tender, beating heart, perfect for fans of The Bone Witch and We Hunt the Flame.

The Heartbreak Bakery

Published by: Candlewick Press
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
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Teenage baker Syd sends ripples of heartbreak through Austin’s queer community when a batch of post-being-dumped brownies turns out to be magical—and makes everyone who eats them break up.

“What’s done is done.”Unless, of course, it was done by my brownies. Then it’s getting undone.

Syd (no pronouns, please) has always dealt with big, hard-to-talk-about things by baking. Being dumped is no different, except now Syd is baking at the Proud Muffin, a queer bakery and community space in Austin. And everyone who eats Syd’s breakup brownies . . . breaks up. Even Vin and Alec, who own the Proud Muffin. And their breakup might take the bakery down with it. Being dumped is one thing; causing ripples of queer heartbreak through the community is another. But the cute bike delivery person, Harley (he or they, check the pronoun pin, it’s probably on the messenger bag), believes Syd about the magic baking. And Harley believes Syd’s magical baking can fix things, too—one recipe at a time.

Mooncakes Collector's Edition

by Suzanne Walker
Published by: Oni Press
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novel, LGBTQIA+, Magical Realism, Young Adult
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"If Mooncakes were a spell, it would be a housewarming charm that settles with care into the softest parts of a home and makes the houseplants grow. I wish I could live inside this book.”  — New York Times bestselling author Casey McQuiston

A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft, now in a deluxe collector's edition!

Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town. One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods.

As a genderqueer werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home. Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

2019 Goodreads Choice Award Finalist  2019 Cybils Award Finalist 2020 Hugo Award Nominee A 2020 ALA Rainbow Top Ten Book 

Ferryman

by Claire McFall
Published by: Walker Books US
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Retellings, Young Adult
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After a deadly train crash, the afterlife is waiting for Dylan. But that's only if she and her intriguing Ferryman can make it across the demon-infested wasteland--and if she can bear to let him go.

When Dylan wakes up after her train has crashed, she thinks she has survived unscathed. But she couldn't be more mistaken: the bleak landscape around her isn't Scotland, it's a wasteland--a terrain somehow shaped by her own feelings and fears, a border to whatever awaits her in the afterlife. And the stranger sitting by the train track isn't an ordinary teenage boy. Tristan is a Ferryman, tasked with guiding Dylan's soul safely across the treacherous landscape, a journey he has made a thousand times before. Only this time, something's different. The crossing, as ever, is perilous, with ravenous wraiths hounding the two at each day's end, hungry for Dylan's soul. But as Dylan focuses her strength on survival, with Tristan as protector, challenger, and confidant, she begins to wonder where she is truly meant to be--and what she must risk to get there.

An international bestseller with a phenomenal following, the award-winning Ferryman (with its sequels Trespassers and Outcasts) is in development to be a major motion picture.

The Delusionist

by Don Calame
Published by: Candlewick Press (MA)
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
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Quinn's illusions are as good as those in any Vegas act--but can he win a spot at a prestigious magic camp despite an upstaging partner, a cute rival, and a con-artist mentor?

Fifteen-year-old Quinn Purcell wants only one thing: to win a coveted spot at the Masters of Magic Fantasy Camp. But the competition is stiff, including Dani Darling, an incredibly talented, and incredibly attractive, rival magician who prestidigitates her way into Quinn's heart--unless that's just another of her tricks. To make matters worse, Quinn and his best friend, Perry, have always performed their magic as a team, but the judges want solo acts, and a two-man audition might disqualify them. When Quinn meets his idol, the Dazzling Lazlo, at a diner, it seems like a sign. If he can convince Lazlo to spill the secrets to his greatest trick, then the spot at the camp is all but Quinn's. But is the washed-up magician just using Quinn to run a few scams? When the chips are down, what will Quinn risk--his best friend, his new crush, or his career as a magician?

Hilarious and fast-paced, Don Calame's latest novel is full of complicated magic tricks and equally complicated friendships.

Tonight We Rule the World

by Zack Smedley
Published by: Page Street Kids
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
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From the critically acclaimed author of Deposing Nathan comes an explosive examination of identity, voice, and the indelible ways our stories are rewritten by others.

In the beginning, Owen’s story was blank . . . then he was befriended by Lily, the aspiring author who helped him find his voice. Together, the two have spent years navigating first love and amassing an inseparable friend group. But all of it is upended one day when his school’s administration learns Owen’s secret: that he was sexually assaulted by a classmate.
In the ensuing investigation, everyone scrambles to hold their worlds together.
Owen, still wrestling with his self-destructive thoughts and choices.
His father, a mission-driven military vet ready to start a war to find his son’s attacker.
The school bureaucrats, who seem most concerned with kowtowing to the local media attention.
And Lily, who can’t learn that Owen is the mystery victim everyone is talking about . . . because once she does, it will set off a chain of events that will change their lives forever.

Heartbreaking and hopeful, this is a coming-of-age story that explores how we rebuild after the world comes crumbling down.

Thronebreakers (Crownchasers, #2)

by Rebecca Coffindaffer
Published by: HarperTeen
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Sci-Fi, Young Adult
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Perfect for fans of Aurora Rising, The Hunger Games, and Three Dark Crowns, this electrifying duology closer is jam-packed with tension and thrills that will hook readers from its first page.

Alyssa Farshot never wanted to rule the empire. But to honor her uncle’s dying wish, she participated in the crownchase, a race across the empire’s 1,001 planets to find the royal seal and win the throne. Alyssa tried to help her friend, Coy, win the crownchase, but just as victory was within their grasp, Edgar Voles killed Coy—and claimed the seal for himself.

Broken-hearted over her friend’s death, Alyssa is hell-bent on revenge. But Edgar is well protected in the kingship. Alyssa will have to rally rivals, friends, and foes from across the empire to take him down and change the course of the galaxy.

Dragonblood Ring (Blazewrath Games, #2)

by Amparo Ortiz
Published by: Page Street Kids
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
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After the Sire’s capture, teen athletes Lana Torres and Victoria Peralta travel to Puerto Rico with their former Blazewrath team. While Lana discovers her roots, nothing fills the void Blazewrath’s cancelation has left in Victoria. But it’s up to their team and the Bureau to protect their dragons.

But when reports of burning towns and kidnapped dragons dominate the news, Director Sandhar refuses to answer the girls’ questions. So they follow him into his Transport Charm into Le Parc Du Chasseurs.

In this French theme park, they find dragons forced to fight. When the Blazewrath World Cup ended, people turned to this illegal sport for wealth. So now, not only are the Sire’s followers looking to release him, the leader of this fighting ring wants Puerto Rico’s dragons to fight in Bloodbath too.

The Keeper of Night (The Keeper of Night, #1)

by Kylie Lee Baker
Published by: Inkyard Press
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult
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Death is her destiny.

Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami, Ren Scarborough has been collecting souls in the London streets for centuries. Expected to obey the harsh hierarchy of the Reapers who despise her, Ren conceals her emotions and avoids her tormentors as best she can.

When her failure to control her Shinigami abilities drives Ren out of London, she flees to Japan to seek the acceptance she’s never gotten from her fellow Reapers. Accompanied by her younger brother, the only being on earth to care for her, Ren enters the Japanese underworld to serve the Goddess of Death… only to learn that here, too, she must prove herself worthy. Determined to earn respect, Ren accepts an impossible task—find and eliminate three dangerous Yokai demons—and learns how far she’ll go to claim her place at Death’s side.

The Gilded Cage (The Prison Healer, #2)

by Lynette Noni
Published by: Clarion Books
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
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Kiva Meridan is a survivor.

She survived not only Zalindov prison, but also the deadly Trial by Ordeal. Now Kiva’s purpose goes beyond survival to vengeance. For the past ten years, her only goal was to reunite with her family and destroy the people responsible for ruining their lives. But now that she has escaped Zalindov, her mission has become more complicated than ever.

As Kiva settles into her new life in the capital, she discovers she wasn’t the only one who suffered while she was in Zalindov—her siblings and their beliefs have changed too. Soon it’s not just her enemies she’s keeping secrets from, but her own family as well.
Outside the city walls, tensions are brewing from the rebels, along with whispers of a growing threat from the northern kingdoms. Kiva’s allegiances are more important than ever, but she’s beginning to question where they truly lie. To survive this time, she’ll have to navigate a complicated web of lies before both sides of the battle turn against her and she loses everything.

Kiva trades one cage for another when she leaves behind a deadly prison for a deceptive palace in this dark and dangerous sequel to The Prison Healer, which Sarah J. Maas called "a must-read."

Between Shades of Gray: The Graphic Novel

by Ruta Sepetys, Dave Kopka, Andrew Donkin
Published by: Philomel Books
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction, Young Adult
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Just in time for the 10th anniversary of Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys's award-winning debut novel, and inspiration for the major motion picture Ashes in the Snow, is now a gorgeous graphic novel!

From #1 New York Times and international bestselling author and Carnegie Medal winner of Salt to the Sea comes a story of loss and of fear--and ultimately of survival--in a brand-new four-color format.

"Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both." --The Washington Post
A New York Times notable bookAn international bestsellerA Carnegie Medal nomineeA William C. Morris Award finalistA Golden Kite Award winner

June, 1941. A knock comes at the door and the life of fifteen-year-old Lina Vilkas changes forever. She's arrested by the Soviet secret police and deported from Lithuania to Siberia with her mother and younger brother. The conditions are horrific and Lina must fight for her life and for the lives of those around her, including the boy that she loves. Risking everything, she secretly passes along clues in the form of drawings, hoping they will reach her father's prison camp. But will her messages, and her courage, be enough to reunite her family? Will they be enough to keep her alive?

A moving and haunting novel perfect for readers of The Book Thief, now available as a stunning graphic novel.

Any Sign of Life

by Rae Carson
Published by: Greenwillow Books
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Sci-Fi, Young Adult
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When a teenage girl thinks she may be the only person left alive in her town—maybe in the whole world—she must rely on hope, trust, and her own resilience.

Paige Miller is determined to take her basketball team to the state championship, maybe even beyond. But as March Madness heats up, Paige falls deathly ill. Days later, she wakes up attached to an IV and learns that the whole world has perished. Everyone she loves, and all of her dreams for the future—they’re gone.

But Paige is a warrior, so she pushes through her fear and her grief. And as she gets through each day—scrounging for food, for shelter, for safety—Paige encounters a few more young survivors. Together, they might stand a chance. But as they struggle to endure their new reality, they learn that the apocalypse did not happen by accident. And that there are worse things than being alone.

Black Was the Ink

by Michelle Coles
Published by: Lee & Low Books
on November 2, 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Young Adult
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Forgotten heroes still leave their mark.

Malcolm Williams hasn't been okay for a while. He's angry and despondent and feels like nothing good ever happens for teens like him in D.C. All he wants is to be left alone in his room for the summer to draw or play video games--but no such luck. With growing violence in his neighborhood, his mother ships him off to his father's family farm in Mississippi, and Malcolm is anything but pleased.

A few days after his arrival, his great-aunt tells him that the State is acquiring the farm to widen a highway. It's not news Malcolm is concerned about, but someone plans to make it his concern. One minute Malcolm is drawing in the farmhouse attic, and the next he's looking through the eyes of his ancestor Cedric Johnson in 1866.

As Cedric, Malcolm meets the real-life Black statesmen who fought for change during the Reconstruction era: Hiram Revels, Robert Smalls, and other leaders who made American history. But even after witnessing their bravery, Malcolm's faith in his own future remains shaky, particularly since he knows that the gains these statesmen made were almost immediately stripped away. If those great men couldn't completely succeed, why should he try?

Malcolm must decide which path to take. Can Cedric's experiences help him construct a better future? Or will he resign himself to resentments and defeat?

Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Nic Stone, and featuring illustrations by upcoming artist, Justin Johnson, Black Was the Ink is a powerful coming-of-age story and an eye-opening exploration of an era that defined modern America.

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World (Aristotle and Dante, #2)

by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
on October 12, 2021
Genres: LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
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The highly anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning novel Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is an achingly romantic, tender tale sure to captivate fans of Adam Silvera and Mary H.K. Choi.

In Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, two boys in a border town fell in love. Now, they must discover what it means to stay in love and build a relationship in a world that seems to challenge their very existence.

Ari has spent all of high school burying who he really is, staying silent and invisible. He expected his senior year to be the same. But something in him cracked open when he fell in love with Dante, and he can’t go back. Suddenly he finds himself reaching out to new friends, standing up to bullies of all kinds, and making his voice heard. And, always, there is Dante, dreamy, witty Dante, who can get on Ari’s nerves and fill him with desire all at once.

The boys are determined to forge a path for themselves in a world that doesn’t understand them. But when Ari is faced with a shocking loss, he’ll have to fight like never before to create a life that is truthfully, joyfully his own.

So, This Is Christmas

by Tracy Andreen
Published by: Viking Books for Young Readers
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
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Sarah Dessen meets Let It Snow in this new YA Christmas romance!

When Finley Brown returned to her hometown of Christmas, Oklahoma, from boarding school, she expected to find it just as she left it. Christmas hasn't changed much in her sixteen years. But instead she returns to find that her best friend is dating her ex-boyfriend, her parents have separated, and her archnemesis got a job working at her grandmother's inn. And she certainly didn't expect to find the boy she may or may not have tricked into believing that Christmas was an idyllic holiday paradise on her grandmother's doorstep. It's up to Finley to make sure he gets the Christmas he was promised. This is Finley's Christmas. It's about home and family and friends and finding her place, and along the way she also finds the best Christmas present of all: love.

In the Echo of this Ghost Town

by C.L. Walters
Published by: Mixed Plate Press
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Young Adult
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After getting in a fight with his best friends from high school—his bros—shortly after graduation, Griffin Nichols is faced with a reality he’d never imagined. He’s alone. In his version of manhood, he figures he needs to stash his feelings, packing them away among the ruins like dusty remnants. His job is to keep solitary watch, keep trudging through the dust, and keep protecting his jailed heart. Then he meets Maxwell Wallace, and she challenges everything he’s ever believed about what it means to be a man, flinging the jail door wide open. But is Griffin ready to face those feelings when they are too heavy to carry alone and he thinks it’s his job to do so?

Defiant: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South

by Wade Hudson
Published by: Crown Books for Young Readers
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Non-Fiction, Young Adult
Audible
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As the fight for equal rights continues,

Defiant

takes a critical look at the strides and struggles of the past in this revelatory and moving memoir about a young Black man growing up in the South during the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. For fans of

It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime, Stamped,

and

Brown Girl Dreaming.


Born in 1946 in Mansfield, Louisiana, Wade Hudson came of age against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement. From their home on Mary Street, his close-knit family watched as the country grappled with desegregation, as the Klan targeted the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and as systemic racism struck across the nation and in their hometown.

Amidst it all, Wade was growing up. Getting into scuffles in the schoolyard, playing baseball on a team he put together, immersing himself in his church community, and starting to write. Most important, Wade learned how to find his voice and use it. From his family, his community, and his college classmates, Wade learned the importance of fighting for change by confronting the laws and customs that marginalized and demeaned people.

This powerful memoir reveals the struggles, joys, love, and ongoing resilience that it took to grow up Black in segregated America, and the lessons that carry over to our fight for a better future.

Star Wars: Visions - Ronin

by Emma Mieko Candon
Published by: Del Rey Books
on October 12, 2021
Genres: Sci-Fi
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A mysterious former Sith wanders the galaxy in this stunning Star Wars tale, an original novel inspired by the world of The Duel from the Star Wars Visions animated anthology.

The Jedi are the most loyal servants of the Empire.

Two decades ago, Jedi clans clashed in service to feuding lords. Sickened by this endless cycle, a sect of Jedi rebelled, seeking to control their own destiny and claim power in service of no master. They called themselves Sith.

The Sith rebellion failed, succumbing to infighting and betrayal, and the once rival lords unified to create an Empire . . . but even an Empire at peace is not free from violence.

Far on the edge of the Outer Rim, one former Sith wanders, accompanied only by a faithful droid and the ghost of a less civilized age. He carries a lightsaber, but claims lineage to no Jedi clan, and pledges allegiance to no lord. Little is known about him, including his name, for he never speaks of his past, nor his regrets. His history is as guarded as the red blade of destruction he carries sheathed at his side.

As the galaxy's perpetual cycle of violence continues to interrupt his self-imposed exile, and he is forced to duel an enigmatic bandit claiming the title of Sith, it becomes clear that no amount of wandering will ever let him outpace the specters of his former life.