Autumn has arrived which means it’s time to fall in love with this year’s crop of amazing young adult titles.  From fantasy to science fiction, contemporary to romance, and historical fiction to thrillers, this list is perfect for readers of all ages who love the magical firsts.

Wicked Endeavors by Kamilah Cole (9/8) 

The three witch houses have stolen power from the Coventry royal family leaving Caya without the privileged life she had. Now that she has turned eighteen, she’s after revenge. Caya disguises herself as a beautiful aristocrat, Marisol Vinyet, with the help of a mysterious financier. She plans to attend the witches social season where they gain all their power. During the social season, Marisol will kill the prince of a neighboring area, Tomás. It was because of him that the witches stole power from the Coventry family. Caya isn’t expecting to be charmed by Tomás and for him to be guarded by her childhood friend, Bas Arroyo who she has very conflicting feelings about. Caya must remember that her mission is bringing the witches down and that she can’t get distracted by a certain someone. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Of Sorcery and Science by Mike Chen (9/8)

Andy Lao entered a magical portal where he became a powerful mage and saved the distant realm. The problem is that now that he’s back in reality, he is just a regular high schooler getting subpar grades. Andy doesn’t know how to focus after being the Chosen One in a faraway land. One day, a mysterious teenage girl enters Andy’s world through the portal saying that she is the Chosen One and that he doomed the land. They must team up to save the world but instead of using magic, they turn to modern science. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

The Secret to Belonging by Megan E. Freeman (9/15)

Your parents spend all their time focusing on your brother that is addicted to drugs. You are invisible and no one seems to care about your dreams. Your ticket to a new life is a college fund that your grandfather left you but your parents spend it on your brother’s rehab. You think you’re doomed until you get a life changing scholarship to a remote school in Norway. This is your chance to create a future for yourself where you are loved, accepted, and belong. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Winterveil by Ava Reid (9/15)

In an alternate reality, the Cold War still wages on and four advanced teenage criminals are given a new opportunity at a secret military academy. Their understandings are shaken when instead of training to end the war, they are sent on a mission that tests loyalties, creates romances, and could result in the end of the world as they know it.  

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

The Velvet Knife by Maureen Johnson (9/29)

Stevie needs a good murder to distract her from her lousy boyfriend, David. She’s one of the best detectives at Ellingham Academy and possibly in the whole world. A dead person would give Stevie something else to focus on and that’s exactly what she gets when a body is found in the middle of the Manhattan apartment complex. This case is messy and complicated and has Stevie questioning human connection. Can she solve the case and fix things with David? 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

When the World Was Happy by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (9/29)

CheChe and his twin sister, Emma, lead quiet lives. They love to hang out with their grandparents, spend their time reading, and don’t have a bunch of friends. Most importantly, though, is that they are happy. That all changes when three gunmen target their Texas high school and change their lives forever. They both have friends who are killed and CheChe loses one of his legs. This tragedy deepens their love for each other, for their family, for their friends, and for their community. CheChe is finding himself doing things he never thought he would like learning to walk again, falling in love, and making new friends. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Trust Fall by Lynn Painter (9/29)

Living a quiet life in Nebraska is what Julia is used to until her secretly wealthy next door neighbor leaves everything to Julia and her family after he passes. This new money is unlocking new doors for Julia including an elite private school. It isn’t everything it’s made up to be because Julia doesn’t fit in and she’s failing. Damon, the cute and mysterious tutor, offers to help Julia with her classes but he is hiding a secret. He is the great nephew of Julia’s elderly neighbor that left her family millions and he is determined to prove that the man that treated him like a son didn’t leave his home and wealth to strangers. Damon’s plan to investigate Julia backfires when he begins to fall for her and she falls for him. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Night of Madness by Ryan Douglass (9/29) 

Mara is a horror buff but she’s especially a fan of horror producer Jack Stanley. She’s bonded with her dad over his movies for years but Stanley has slipped out of the public eye. That is until he decides to host a competition where five teen influencers get to spend the night on one of his famous film sets. Whoever can last until morning wins a hundred thousand dollars. Mara jumps on the opportunity and finds herself as one of the five influencers picked. When they arrive on set, the eerie asylum is a horror fan’s dream. As they begin the challenge though, they realize that they are not here for just a sleepover but they must fight for their lives. You’ll find out if Mara has what it takes to survive the night. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Up from the Ashes by Sharon Cameron (10/6)

Selma Wijnberg is deemed a criminal by Hitler’s regime solely because she is Jewish. She is sent to the Sobibor death camp and forced to labor. One day she is even forced at gunpoint to dance. However, someone offers to dance with her. Chaim Engel is a fellow prisoner and a Polish Jew. The pair might not speak the same language but that doesn’t stop them from making a deep connection. Prisoners of Sobibor make an escape plan, deciding that it is time to act. Chaim and Selma find that hope can be what keeps them alive. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Sunderworld Vol. 2 by Ransom Riggs (10/13)

After failing his channeler test and not becoming the hero that Sunder needs in, Leopold Berry is kicked out. He returns back to the regular world where he decides he is done with magic. That is until a trail of clues from his late mother pull him back in and lead him to the most powerful magic object: a ring. Leopold is being stalked by paparazzi, government agents, and magical creatures that all want to get the ring from him. He must learn how to yield the ring before someone kills him for it and then uncover his hidden family connection to Sunder before the magical world collapses. There’s still time for him to try again to be the hero that Sunder needs. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

You’re No Better by Andrew Joseph White (10/20)

Seventeen-year-old trans and autistic boy Morgan Slaughter is responsible for putting his serial killer father behind bars. Despite that, the people around Morgan think that he will grow up to be like his dad including the documentary crew following their family and maybe even Morgan too. He gets focused on his father’s final victim who was never identified, thinking that if he solves this mystery he can prove he’s better than his father. The problem is that Morgan’s investigation puts him in the path of his classmate Felicity Keating. Felicity knows the truth about Morgan–that he was not only a witness but an accomplice to his father’s heinous acts. If he doesn’t let Felicity help with the investigation, they’ll spill Morgan’s secret to everyone. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Everything’s Not Lost by Frederick Joseph (10/20)

Ella Washington, a sixteen-year-old Black girl with bipolar disorder, has had her fair share of disadvantages. After her adored sister unexpectedly passes away and the aftermath, Ella is hoping to find a sense of normalcy again. To make matters worse, someone at Ella’s school is trying to make her feel more sadness. She is struggling to navigate her grief and loneliness but through her love of art, some new friends, and sweet memories of her sister, Ella finds that she can have happiness again. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Scorpion Deep by C.G. Drews (10/27)

Jonathan Covey’s friends will all be leaving for college on the mainland but Jonathan will remain on the gloomy island of Kelcarrow with nothing but the ocean’s haunts for entertainment. Out of desperation from being left behind, Jonathan performs a ritual paying a tithe to Scorpion Deep, an eldritch sea god who is said to be a myth. He wants to be able to leave Kelcarrow and follow his friends. To Jonathan’s surprise and horror, it worked and Scorpion Deep awakens. He’s scared but also unexplainably drawn toward the mythical god who seems to have an affection for him. As the affection turns into a dangerous obsession, Johnathan realizes that to end this, he must destroy the monster.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Sun Chasers by Kacen Kallender (10/27)

Kole moves to St. Thomas to live with his dad but he knows exactly how to avoid explaining the real reason. He can also explain away the bruises and limps. He even starts dating a girl at his new school to avoid any questions. He is struggling though to hide how he really feels about Gabriel. Gabriel is struggling on this island he is meant to call home. He is misgendered, threatened, and haunted by a painful past while his single mother is struggling to make ends meet. Kole and Gabriel open up to each other becoming friends and supporters but maybe even more.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Mark of the Warrior by Shannon Lee, Fonda Lee (10/27)

After being exiled from the Guardian’s Tournament, Li Jun vows to recover the stolen Scroll of Heaven and to finish his father’s dying request–to find his mother and twin brother, Sai. In search of their friend Ren, Jun and his longtime rival Yi Yue must trust two women that saved their lives but they belong to the draconian Council of Virtue that tore Jun’s family apart. The biggest problem though is not only trying to prevent war by retrieving the Scroll of Heaven but finding out that the High Keeper that protects the scrolls is Jun’s long lost twin brother, Sai. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

The Last King of Faerie by Cassandra Clare (11/3)

Shadowhunter Academy fourth year Drusilla Blackthorn is kidnapped after an encounter at a nightclub. She is being held prisoner by Prince Ash Morgenstern in the land of faerie, a place both beautiful and dangerous. Surrounded by darkness, Ash is drawing Dru in but one wrong move and Dru could be in deadly danger. Meanwhile a disappearance is impacting the Shadowhunter world. Ty Blackthorn and Kit Herondale must set aside the animosity between them and work together to save what they love. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Deadlock by Chloe Gong (11/17)

Eirale Ward undertook a dangerous mission with the enemy, was rescued, and returned to NileCorp. Her status as an elite soldier has been reinstated. Now she is a spy for the Coalition, working to take down none other than her employer, NileCorp. Meanwhile, all eyes are on Nik Grant in Atahua. His last mission to retrieve Project Wit was a success but now there is a target on his loved ones and NileCorp will do anything to bring him in. Nik is working for the Coalition to help bring down NileCorp but he is running out of patience. Atahua’s vice president joins NileCorp making the company seem untouchable. Before NileCorp has total control, they must find a way to stop them. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

That Feeling When by Beth Reekles (12/8)

Anissa is a hardcore fangirl and she has finally found a group of friends that like fanfiction and role-playing games like she does. Even better, she got an internship on the set of her favorite show, Of Wrath and Rune. Anissa thought things couldn’t get better but then she meets Callum, one of the new actors on the show who happens to be extremely hot and playing her favorite character. Callum writes her off as an obsessive fangirl so it’s about to be a bit awkward working together. Anissa now considers Callum an enemy for brushing her off like that but the best love stories start with enemies. 

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon