October is traditionally the time of year when spooky stories of all stripes make their way to bookstore shelves, calling to readers who can’t wait for the evenings to get a little longer and the shadows to creep a little closer. But while you’ll certainly find both disturbing monsters and grisly murders among this month’s new releases, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the world of YA can’t possibly be contained by something as simple as seasonality.
No, despite this month being universally acknowledged as a time for horror, there are still timely contemporary stories, period historical tales, a high-stakes treasure hunt, and magical fantasies all arriving this month in a bookstore near you.
Here are our picks for the best new YA books hitting shelves this October.
Plan A by Deb Caletti
Release Date: October 3 from Labyrinth Road
Why You’ll Love It: This heartfelt story about a young girl’s trip across the country to get an abortion could not be more timely or necessary than it is right now.
Publisher’s Description: Ivy can’t entirely believe it when the plus sign appears on the test. She didn’t even know it was possible from . . . what happened. But it is, and now she is, and instead of spending the summer working at the local drugstore and swooning over her boyfriend, Lorenzo, suddenly she’s planning a cross-country road trip to her grandmother’s house on the West Coast, where she can legally obtain an abortion.
Escaping her small Texas town and the judgment of her friends and neighbors, Ivy hits the road with Lorenzo, who, determined to make the best of their “abortion road trip love story,” has transformed the journey into a whirlwind tour of the all the way from Paris, Texas, to Rome, Oregon . . . and every rest-stop diner and corny roadside attraction along the way.
And while Ivy can’t run from the incessant pressure of others’ opinions about her body or from her own expectations and insecurities, she discovers a new world of healing and hope. As the women she encounters share their stories, she chips away at the stigma, silence, and shame surrounding reproductive rights while those collective experiences guide her to her own rightful destination.
Salt the Water by Candice Iloh
Release Date: October 3 from Dutton Books for Young Readers
Why You’ll Love It: A unique novel-in-verse about a genderfluid teen frustrated with the rigid expectations of public high school—and a particularly problematic teacher—whose desire to live off the grid with a group of friends after graduation reflects their longing to abandon the larger problematic systems of traditional society for one that embraces free expression. But those dreams become much more complicated after a family emergency, they must decide whether the life they want is one that it’s possible to truly live.
Publisher’s Description: Cerulean Gene is free everywhere except school, where they’re known for repeatedly challenging authority. Raised in a free-spirited home by two loving parents who encourage Cerulean to be their full self, they’ve got big dreams of moving cross-country to live off the grid with their friends after graduation. But a fight with a teacher spirals out of control, and Cerulean impulsively drops out to avoid the punishment they fear is coming. Why wait for graduation to leave an oppressive capitalist system and live their dreams?
Cerulean is truly brilliant, but their sheltered upbringing hasn’t prepared them for the consequences of their choice — especially not when it’s compounded by a family emergency that puts a parent out of work. Suddenly the money they’d been stacking with their friends is a resource that the family needs to stay afloat.
Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros
Release Date: October 10 from Inkyard Press
Why You’ll Love It: A Jewish historical horror story about a golem created from magic and the body of girl murdered by Nazis is created to seek vengeance on those who killed her. A dark, haunting story that is like nothing else on shelves right now.
Publisher’s Description: Vera was made for vengeance.
Lithuania, 1943. A father drowns in the all-consuming grief of a daughter killed by the Nazis. He can’t bring Chaya back from the dead, but he can use kishuf — an ancient and profane magic — to create a golem in her image. A Nazi killer, to avenge her death.
When Vera awakens, she can feel her violent purpose thrumming within her. But she can also feel glimpses of a human life lived, of stolen kisses amidst the tragedy, and of a grisly death. And when she meets Akiva, she recognizes the boy with soft lips that gave warm kisses. But these memories aren’t hers, and Vera doesn’t know if she gets—or deserves —to have a life beyond what she was made for.
Vera’s strength feels limitless—until she learns that there are others who would channel kishuf for means far less noble than avenging a daughter’s death. As she confronts the very basest of humanity, Vera will need more than what her creator gave Not just a reason to fight, but a reason to live.
Hatchet Girls by Diana Rodriguez Wallach
Release Date: October 10 from Delacorte Press
Why You’ll Love It: This YA horror novel aims to put a new spin on the story of Lizzie Borden with this bloody tale of a family who moves to the accused axe murderer’s hometown and becomes entangled in a dark curse. Hatchet Girls boasts both a wildly unique premise and a story with surprising depth.
Publisher’s Description: When Mariella Morse accuses her boyfriend, Vik Gomez, of murdering her wealthy parents with an axe, the town is quick to believe her. It doesn’t help that Vik is caught standing over her parents’ bodies with blood on his hands, unable to remember anything about the night in question.
But Vik’s sister, Tessa, knows that Vik would never be capable of such a gruesome crime. Haunted by the mistakes she made that led her family to move to Fall River, MA in the first place, she sets out to prove her brother’s innocence.
Tessa’s search for answers will lead her into a sprawling, notoriously cursed forest, where she and Mariella must face a darkness that has lurked within their town since before the days of Lizzie Borden—the original axe murderess of Fall River.
Bittersweet in the Hollow by Kate Pearsall
Release Date: October 10 from
Why You’ll Love It: The Practical Magic vibes of this dark YA debut make it perfect for spooky season, and its unique tale of mysterious disappearances, an Appalachian urban legend, and a quartet of sisters with magical abilities is engrossing from the first pages.
Publisher’s Description: In rural Caball Hollow, surrounded by the vast National Forest, the James women serve up more than fried green tomatoes at the Harvest Moon diner, where the family recipes are not the only secrets.
Like her sisters, Linden was born with an unusual ability. She can taste what others are feeling, but this so-called gift soured her relationship with the vexingly attractive Cole Spencer one fateful night a year ago . . . A night when Linden vanished into the depths of the Forest and returned with no memories of what happened, just a litany of questions–and a haze of nightmares that suggest there’s more to her story than simply getting lost.
Now, during the hottest summer on record, another girl in town is gone, and the similarities to last year’s events are striking. Except, this time the missing girl doesn’t make it home, and when her body is discovered, the scene unmistakably spells murder.
As tempers boil over, Linden enlists the help of her sisters to find what’s hiding in the forest . . . before it finds her. But as she starts digging for truth–about the Moth-Winged Man rumored to haunt the Hollow, about her bitter rift with Cole, and even about her family–she must question if some secrets are best left buried.
Flower and Thorn by Rati Mehrotra
Release Date: October 17 from Wednesday Books
Why You’ll Love It: The latest fantasy from the author of Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove, Flower and Thorn is a richly realized tale of a teenage girl who sets out to find a powerful magical flower that could change the course of her kingdom. The Indian-inspired historical details are especially well done.
Publisher’s Description: Irinya has wanted to be a flower hunter ever since her mother disappeared into the mysterious mist of the Rann salt flats one night. Now seventeen, Irinya uses her knowledge of magical flowers to help her caravan survive in the harsh desert. When her handsome hunting partner and childhood friend finds a priceless silver spider lily–said to be able to tear down kingdoms and defeat an entire army–Irinya knows this is their chance for a better life.
Until Irinya is tricked by an attractive imposter.
Irinya’s fight to recover the priceless flower and to fix what she’s done takes her on a dangerous journey, one she’s not sure she’ll survive. She has no choice but to endure it if she hopes to return home and mend the broken heart of the boy she’s left behind.
I Loved You in Another Life by David Arnold
Release Date: October 10 from Viking Books for Young Readers
Why You’ll Love It: If you’re a sucker for a soulmate romance, you’ll swoon over this love story about two teens whose souls come together time and again through the ages. Bring tissues.
Publisher’s Description: Evan Taft has plans. Take a gap year in Alaska, make sure his little brother and single mother are taken care of, and continue therapy to process his father’s departure. But after his mom’s unexpected diagnosis, as Evan’s plans begin to fade, he hears something: a song no one else can hear, the voice of a mysterious singer . . .
Shosh Bell has dreams. A high school theater legend, she’s headed to performing arts college in LA, a star on the rise. But when a drunk driver takes her sister’s life, that star fades to black. All that remains is a void—and a soft voice singing in her ear . . .
Over it all, transcending time and space, a celestial bird brings strangers together: from an escaped murderer in 19th century Paris, to a Norwegian kosmonaut in low-earth orbit, something is happening that began long ago, and will long outlast Evan and Shosh.
People to Follow by Olivia Worley
Release Date: October 31 from Wednesday Books
Why You’ll Love It: An entertaining thriller about a group of Gen Z content creators who sign up to participate in a reality show that subsequently turns deadly, People to Follow is the latest entry in YA’s newfound “social media influencers in peril” trend. And honestly, it’s a lot of fun.
Publisher’s Description: Welcome to “In Real Life,” the hot new reality show that forces social media’s reigning kings and queens to unplug for three weeks and “go live” without any filters. IRL is supposed to be the opportunity of a lifetime, watched closely by legions of loyal followers. But for these rising stars–including Elody, an Instagram model with an impulsive streak; Kira, a child star turned fitness influencer; Logan, a disgraced TikTok celeb with a secret; and Max, a YouTuber famous for exposés on his fellow creators—it’s about to turn into a nightmare.
When the production crew fails to show up and one of their own meets a violent end, these nine little influencers find themselves stranded with a dead body and no way to reach the outside world. When they start receiving messages from a mysterious Sponsor threatening to expose their darkest secrets, they realize that they’ve been lured into a deadly game…and one of them might be pulling the strings.
With the body count rising and cameras tracking their every move, the creators must figure out who is trying to get them canceled—like, literally—before their #1 follower strikes again.
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez
Release Date: October 31 from Wednesday Books
Why You’ll Love It: A lush historical fantasy set in nineteenth-century Argentina and involving the search for Cleopatra’s tomb, What the River Knows deliciously mixes romance and adventure.
Publisher’s Description: Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old-world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents—who frequently leave her behind.
When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and an ancient golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.
With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance—or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.
The Rosewood Hunt by Mackenzie Reed
Release Date: October 31 from Harper Teen
Why You’ll Love It: This entertaining high-stakes treasure hunt has plenty of unexpected and entertaining twists.
Publisher’s Description: Lily Rosewood dreams of taking over her family’s company one day. Her grandmother, Rosewood Inc’s current chair, has always encouraged her, and Lily can’t wait for Gram to teach her everything she needs to know to run the business.
But then Gram dies suddenly, and Lily’s world is upended. When it’s revealed that Gram’s quarter of a billion dollar fortune is missing, Lily can’t fathom what her future will hold now.
Even in death, Gram has a few tricks up her couture sleeve. A last letter from her with a cryptic clue sends Lily and three other teens on a treasure hunt that could change their lives forever-if they can survive it. And if they pull it off, they may be rewarded with more than just money. But they’re not the only ones hunting for Gram’s treasure, and soon the hunt becomes more dangerous than they ever could have imagined.
Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter @LacyMB