October young adult highlights!

It is somehow October already and it’s raining YA — no literally, there are too many exciting new book releases to keep track of and time has lost all meaning. So this list is here to reassure you that clocks and calendars are still a thing and that, as always, there is no shortage of YA books to get lost in this month! Read on …

The Gilded Cage

by Lynette Noni

Kiva Meridan is a survivor. Not only did she survive Zalindov Prison, but also the deadly Trial by Ordeal. Now, Kiva’s purpose goes beyond survival to vengeance. But now that she has escaped Zalindov, her mission has become more complicated than ever.

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Daughter of the Deep

by Rick Riordan

Ana Dakkar is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, training centre for the best marine scientists and underwater explorers in the world. When Ana embarks on the sea trials that mark the end of her freshman year, her life as she knows it is blown out of the water…

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Dark Rise

by C. S. Pacat

The ancient world of magic is no more. Its heroes are dead, its halls are ruins, and its great battles between Light and Dark are forgotten. Only the Stewards remember. For centuries they have kept vigil, sworn to protect humanity if the Dark King ever returns. Sixteen-year-old dock boy Will is on the run in London, pursued by the men who killed his mother. When an old servant urges him to seek out the Stewards, Will is ushered into a secret world, where he must train to fight for the Light in the oncoming war.

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self/less

by AViVA

Seventeen-year-old Teddy lives in the walled-in city Metropolis. Radical laws condemn all forms of self-expression and creativity, and the lives of the people are carefully constructed and controlled by the City Council: We watch because We care. When Teddy finds out the truth behind one of the City’s biggest lies, she slips out into the darkness of the City after curfew.

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Kingdom of the Cursed

by Kerri Maniscalco

With the enigmatic Prince of Wrath at her side, Emilia sold her soul to become Queen of the Wicked and travelled to the Seven Circles to fulfil her vow of avenging her beloved sister. But the first rule in the court of the Wicked? Trust no one. And it quickly becomes clear that nothing in Hell is what it seems. Even Wrath, her onetime ally, may be keeping secrets about his true nature. But that suits Emilia just fine – she’s got secrets of her own.

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Once Upon A Broken Heart

by Stephanie Garber

For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in happily ever after. Until she learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, and her dreams are shattered. Desperate to stop the wedding, and heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic, but wicked, Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing. But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game – and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she pledged.

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The Storm of Echoes

by Christelle Dabos

After their initial distrust of each other, Ophelia and Thorn are now passionately in love. But they must continue to keep their love hidden. And listen out for the mysterious echoes…Only then can they attempt to decipher a cryptic code and discover the truth behind the sinister figure of the Other, whose devastating power continues to bring down entire arks, plunging thousands of innocents into the void.

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The Last Graduate

by Naomi Novik

The dark school of magic has always done its best to devour its students, but now that El has reached her final year — and somehow won herself a handful of allies along the way — it’s suddenly developed a very particular craving … For her. As the savagery of the school ramps up, El is determined that she will not give in; not to the mals, not to fate, and especially not to the Scholomance. But as the spectre of graduation looms, El will need to realise that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules.

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Vespertine

by Margaret Rogerson

Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, a nun who cleanses the bodies of the deceased so that their souls can pass on. She’d rather deal with the dead than the living, who point and whisper about the odd girl who was once possessed by a violent spirit. When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia fights back by awakening an ancient spirit bound to a high saint’s relic. It is a revenant, a malevolent being now whispering in her head. Wielding its extraordinary power almost consumes her in body and soul. But death has come to Loraille, and only a vespertine, a priestess trained to wield a high relic, has a chance of stopping it.

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Iron Widow

by Xiran Jay Zhao

The boys of Huaxia dream of the celebrity status that comes with piloting Chrysalises – giant transforming robots that battle the aliens beyond the Great Wall. No one cares that their female co-pilots must serve as concubines and sacrifice their lives. When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, her plan is to assassinate the man responsible for her sister’s death. But on miraculously emerging from the cockpit unscathed after her first battle, she has a new plan. The time has come to overturn the entire patriarchal military system.

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Social Queue

by Kay Kerr

Zoe Kelly is starting a new phase of her life. High school was a mess of bullying and autistic masking that left her burnt out and shut down. Now, with an internship at an online media company — the first step on the road to her dream writing career — she is ready to reinvent herself. But she didn’t count on returning to her awkward and all-too-recent high-school experiences for her first writing assignment.

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The Break

by Phillip Gwynne

Growing up with the famous Bali surf at his back door, sixteen-year-old Taj had an idyllic childhood – until ten years ago when his father was arrested for smuggling drugs. He’s been on death row in Bali’s infamous Kerobokan Jail ever since, leaving Taj in an uneasy limbo. When an execution date is set, Taj is left with one course of action: bust his dad out of jail and hightail it back to Australia.

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If Not Us

by Mark Smith

Hesse lives a small coastal town, where a coalmine and power station are a part of the scenery, and a part of the ever-growing problem of climate change. His mum is a member of a local environmental group campaigning to close the mine and shut down the power station. It’s a no-brainer, of course, but Hesse is more interested in surfing-and in Fenna, the new exchange student from the Netherlands. But when someone seems to be trying to derail the campaign, and his friends’ families face losing their jobs, Hesse begins to realise that things are complex.

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Little Thieves

by Margaret Owen

Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given, not even a mother’s love. The adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune, Vanja has long made her own way in the world as the dutiful servant of Princess Gisele. Until a year ago, when her otherworldly mothers demanded payment for their care, and Vanja decided to steal her future back … by stealing Gisele’s life.

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Jade Fire Gold

by June CL Tan

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

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About the Contributor

Eden Samuel