Read Rec Rachel: New YA Releases for October 2024

Spooky month is here, and not only am I thrilled for the fall breezes and pumpkin decor, but I’m also excited for so many incredible YA releases that arrive this month. And there are so many. I cut this list down at least four times, and we’re still at 16 books! So here’s the 16books of the approximately 5,000 (I’m exaggerating, but it doesn’t feel like by much) I really really really think you should get for your teens.

Make My Wish Come True by Rachael Lippincott & Alyson Derrick

Simon & Schuster BFYR, October 1, 9781665937566

Pitch: Arden is a teen actress in search of good publicity, returning home for the holidays to finalize a lie that might get her reputation out of the doghouse. That lie means she’s on the doorstep of her former best friend and aspiring journalist, Caroline, asking her to write up their secret romance. Over the course of 12 dates, and with the promise of a byline in Cosmo for Caroline, they might just fall for each other in their exceedingly Christmas-y hometown.

Shorter pitch: A teen actress returns home for the holidays and ends up fake dating her former best friend to get some good publicity.

Give to readers who ask for: rom-coms, queer books

For book displays on: holiday, fake dating, limited time frame

Killer House Party by Lily Anderson

Henry Holt, October 1, 9781250909473

Pitch: Arden’s hoping to throw the graduation party of the season, and with the keys she grabbed from her mom’s office, it’s looking like she’ll do so. Her mom’s real estate office is selling the Deinhart Manor, which has been abandoned for years and is finally up for sale, so what better setting for a great party? As it turns out, anywhere else would have been better, because the manor doors won’t open again, and the walls have started to bleed, and party turns to panic quickly as it becomes a fight to survive.

Shorter pitch: Arden and her friends throw a graduation party at an abandoned gothic manor, and when the manor bars the doors, they might not all make it out alive.

Give to readers who ask for: horror

For book displays on: parties gone wrong

The Dark Becomes Her by Judy I. Lin

Rick Riordan Presents, October 1, 9781368099097

Pitch: Listen, younger sister’s can be monsters but sometimes it isn’t their fault. Take Ruby’s younger sister, Tina, who is quite literally being possessed right now after Ruby was attacked by a ghost. Ruby wants to save her sister, but it does mean getting involved in a battle for a gateway to the underworld.

Shorter pitch: Ruby is thrown into an ancient battle while trying to rescue her sister from a sinister demonic possession.

Give to readers who ask for: horror

For book displays on: spooky supernatural, mythology

Heir by Sabaa Tahir

Putnam, October 1, 9780593616949

Pitch: Aiz is an orphan who grew up in the slums, imprisoned after a mistake made in the heat of the moment. Sirsha is a tracker, banished from her people but on the hunt for a killer. Quil is the crown prince who should be taking the throne after his aunt steps down, but he’s seen the corruptive effect of power. The stories of all three intersect in this series starter set in the world of An Ember in the Ashes.

Shorter pitch: The stories of Orphan Aiz, banished tracker Sirsha, and Crown Prince Quil intersect in the world of An Ember in the Ashes.

Give to readers who ask for: multi-POV fantasy, scream-inducing reads

For book displays on: the best fantasy worlds

Inheritance of Scars by Crystal Seitz

Margaret K. McElderry, October 1, 9781665959926

Pitch: Astrid’s grandmother has vanished in Tiveden Forest, a dangerous place filled with bloodthirsty draugrs. As she heads to track down her grandmother, she accidentally awakens Soren, a deadly (and enticing) draugr who was the enemy (and ex) of her ancestor. Astrid needs Soren’s help to make it through the forest alive, and it’s up to her to finish a dark ritual to save her home and find out what happened to her grandmother.

Shorter pitch: Astrid accidentally awakens a deadly draugr while searching through the forest for her missing grandmother.

Give to readers who ask for: dark fantasy

For book displays on: chronic illness (crohn’s disease), mythology

Please Be My Star by Victoria Grace Elliott

Graphix, October 1, 9781338840414

Pitch: Erika often talks to herself and finds comfort in obsessing over handsome celebrities. When she transfers to a new school, she finds a muse in Christian, the cutest boy in her theater class. With him as inspiration, she writes a play, which he somehow agrees to star in, despite how she sees herself and the questions she has about what he’d see in her.

Shorter pitch: Erika begins obsessing, over Christian, the cute boy in her theater class, even writing a play for him to star in.

Give to readers who ask for: graphic novels, mental health

For book displays on: retellings (phantom of the opera), theater

Zodiac Rising by Katie Zhao

Random House BFYR, October 1, 9780593646410

Pitch: The Descendants of the Chinese zodiac have lived as creatures of darkness, held by a terrible curse after the source of their magic was vandalized and lost. But with the resurfacing of the source, and the death of a classmate, the Descendants are ready to break the horrid curse and keep the fae at bay. To reclaim what is theirs, they’ll assemble a crew featuring Evangeline (a vampire), Nicholas (a shapeshifter), Alice (a mortal looking into her heritage), and Tristan (a werewolf).

Shorter pitch: A vampire, shapeshifter, mortal, and werewolf must team up to complete a heist and break the curse on the Descendants of the Chinese zodiac.

Give to readers who ask for: fae/vampires/werewolfs/etc, thriller/fantasy crossovers

For book displays on: curses!

The Art Thieves by Andrea L. Rogers

Levine Querido, October 8, 9781646143788

Pitch: It’s 2052. Stevie is a Cherokee girl, saving up money to go to college by working at a museum. Museums get all sorts of different visitors, but usually they aren’t mysterious boys claiming to be from the future. Adam says he is from almost a century and a half in the future, and he needs her help to steal a piece of art.

Shorter pitch: Stevie, a Cherokee girl in the year 2052, is visited at her museum job by a boy claiming to be from the future.

Give to readers who ask for: unique reads

For book displays on: dystopians!

Fledgling by S. K. Ali

Kokila, October 8, 9780593531242

Pitch: Raisa of Upper Earth knows that her impending wedding to Lein, the Crown Prince of Lower Earth, will unite their worlds and usher in peace. But Nada, Lein’s cousin recently released from imprisonment, will do anything to disrupt the wedding, worried about what an alliance with Upper Earth will actually mean for the future. With Nada undercover, and Raisa going missing with just a week to go before the wedding, everything is on the line.

Shorter pitch: Nada, a recently released cousin of the Crown Prince of Lower Earth, sets out to stop his wedding to an Upper Earth girl and sparks a revolution.

Give to readers who ask for: thrilling reads

For book displays on: dystopians!

The Dividing Sky by Jill Tew

Joy Revolution, October 8, 9780593710357

Pitch: Liv and Adrian live in the Metro in 2460, and unexpectedly begin to fall in love. Proxy Liv sells memories as a way to make money from folks wealthier than she using her neurochip, and she’s on her way to a dangerous assignment. Adrian is tracking her down, looking for the rogue Proxy to eliminate her, before he realizes that she doesn’t have memories of what she’s done.

Shorter pitch: Rookie Forceman Adrian’s vow to take down a threat turns complicated when he learns she doesn’t remember what she’s done, and begins to fall for her.

Give to readers who ask for: science fiction, page turners

For book displays on: high-stakes romance, dystopians!

Divine Mortals by Amanda Helander

Disney Hyperion, October 8, 9781368096171

Pitch: Mona has been gifted a power to divine soulmates by the gods, a power that brings her a request from royalty. The king is dying, and with no heir there’s a threat to the royal line, so Mona is asked to discover who the kings soulmate, and queen, is. Regrettably, it’s her. Not wanting anything to do with that (and also falling for the advisor to the king, of course), she works to hide the truth at whatever cost.

Shorter pitch: A girl with the power to divine soulmates discovers she’s the soulmate of the dying king while falling for his advisor.

Give to readers who ask for: dynamic leads

For book displays on: romantasy, soulmate finders / matchmakers

Lucy Uncensored by Mel Hammond and Teghan Hammond

Knopf, October 8, 9780593814055

Pitch: Lucy is excited for the prospect of a fresh start in college, where she’ll be able to fully introduce herself as Lucy and not worry about the people she’s known for ages. She and her best friend Callie head to the school Lucy thought would be a dream, only to get transphobic comments while on the campus tour. In her research after, she finds a new dream school, one with a theater program that is listed as super LGBTQ+ friendly, and she and Callie decide to road trip to find out for sure.

Shorter pitch: Lucy and her best friend Callie road trip to a women’s college that might just be Lucy’s dream school, if it turns out it’s a place Lucy as a trans girl can feel like herself.

Give to readers who ask for: trans main characters

For book displays on: college YA, road trips

Twenty-Four Seconds from Now… by Jason Reynolds

Atheneum, October 8, 9781665961271

Pitch: Neon is currently locked in Aria’s bathroom. Two years ago (twenty-four months), her dog chased him around a parking lot and they met. Six months ago (twenty-four weeks), his dad had a talk with him about intimacy. Three and a half weeks ago (twenty-four days), he was practicing unhooking a bra. As the seconds tick down to when Neon and Aria are planning to do it for the very first time, Neon reflects on everything leading up to this moment.

Shorter pitch: Twenty-four seconds from now, Neon and Aria are going to do it, though right this second he’s in her bathroom freaking out.

Give to readers who ask for: realistic contemporaries, love stories from a boy main character

For book displays on: sex, limited time frames

A Vile Season by David Ferraro

Page Street, October 22, 9798890030726

Pitch: Count Lucian is in hiding, after having been run out of his castle by vampire hunters. Vrykolakas, the god of vampires, is suspicious about how many vampires have recently been taken down, so he gives Lucian a test. Stripped of his immortality for the first time in centuries, Lucian goes undercover as a human to infiltrate the marriage mart for the future duke to unveil the identities of secret vampire hunters. Passing the test means that he’ll be turned into the most powerful vampire ever.

Shorter pitch: A vampire goes undercover in the marriage mart of a future duke to uncover vampire hunters.

Give to readers who ask for: vampires, historical romance

For book displays on: regency romance

I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conner

HarperAlley, October 29, 9780358682387

Pitch: Eleanor and Charlotte are cousins who love to spend time together and with their best friend George. All three should be prepping for a future marriage, but each is certainly not focused on that. George has secretly been dressing in men’s clothing while trying to run the failing estate they’ve just inherited, Eleanor hasn’t ever found a boy she is interested in despite the fact she’s trying to follow the “right” path, and biracial Charlotte is feeling out of place in society.

Shorter pitch: Three teens trying to find themselves in Regency England are deeply stressed out when it comes to the concept of relationships

Give to readers who ask for: graphic novels

For book displays on: regency romance

For She is Wrath by Emily Varga

Wednesday Books, October 29, 9781250877383

Pitch: Dania was betrayed by the boy she loved, and after nearly a year spent in prison for a crime she was framed for, she’s on the road to revenge. Making an escape with fellow prisoner Noor, she assumes a new identity and uses the djinn magic Noor has access to in hopes of taking down everyone who took away her former life.

Shorter pitch: Dania must not fall prey to dark magic and attraction as she seeks revenge on the boy she loved for betraying her.

Give to readers who ask for: fantasy, romantasy, lovers to enemies to lovers

For book displays on: revenge is a book best served…, retellings (count of monte cristo)

Filed under: Book Lists, Teen Fiction