September 2022 YA Book Releases

Teo lives in a world where every 10 years, young people are chosen to compete in the Sunbearer Trials, which will determine the next person to help spread light throughout Reino de Sol…but the loser will be sacrificed to the sun. Teo is more concerned about his best friend’s odds in the competition, but when he is chosen to compete in an unprecedented move, Teo finds himself working to protect those he loves and as well as survive unscathed. With a trans hero and Mexican-inspired mythology, this is the exciting start to a new duology!

Tiffany D. Jackson’s newest horror novel is here just in time for spooky season! Madison Washington has always passed as white in her small Georgia town, until one day her secret is revealed. With the school desperate to change its racist image, Maddy is invited as a pawn to the school’s first integrated prom…but when the cruel prank is revealed, so is Maddy’s other secret, and this one could be deadly.

Nicolás Caraveo is a 17-year-old trans boy from Wisconsin who has just arrived in 1922 New York City hoping to establish himself in a career. He rents a house from Daisy, his white-passing cousin, who is wealthy and engaged to be married. When Nicolás meets his neighbor, Jay Gatsby, he discovers there is more to this rich party boy than meets the eye — Jay is also trans, and he’s desperate to get Daisy’s attention. Nicolás decides to help Jay, but soon finds himself falling for him in this queer, trans retelling of the classic novel The Great Gatsby.

Addie isn’t exactly thrilled to be dragged to Eulalie Island as a tagalong on her mom’s honeymoon. Most people might find the idea of a tropical island vacation exciting, but there’s something off about this place. Addie can’t stop sleepwalking, there’s something eerie in the woods, and the birds keep calling her name. As she digs into the island’s history, she learns that Eulalie Island is hiding something dark.

In this thrilling new historical mystery set against the backdrop of World War II, Kit Sutherland is recruited to work at Arlington Hall, a former women’s college turned intelligence facility, and Kit trains as a codebreaker. But when a murderer starts targeting government girls, she’s drawn to three other codebreakers to try and track down a killer before one of them becomes the next to die.

Jay lives at Karloff Country, one of the world’s most exclusive resorts. It’s a great life — he has friends, a job, and his family all right there. But then Jay starts to notice something strange: Guests are checking in and not checking out, and they’re taking the place of his friends. The more questions he asks, the greater danger he faces…but something very wrong is at work at Karloff Country and Jay and his friends won’t stop until they’ve figured it out.

Set in a magical alternate 1937, this exciting new historical fantasy is about Laura Ann Langston, a girl bent on becoming a mage despite the shift in the country to favor technology over magic. But when she runs out of money, she joins the Bureau of the Arcane’s Conservation Corps and is tasked with fixing magically blighted areas of the country in order to make way for progress. Instead, she stumbles upon one of the country’s darkest magical secrets.

Hannah is Korean American but she’s spent years embracing the American side of herself…so it’s weird that now everyone in her life is obsessed with Korean culture and her lack of interest is what sets her apart. But when her ex-friend Jacob, an actual K-drama star, comes back into her life on an under-the-radar trip to the U.S. for a break from his fame, Hannah finds herself spending time with Jacob and trying to figure out just what went wrong between them all those years ago…and what kind of future they might have together.

Books set in Salem, Massachusetts usually have a dark and spooky vibe but this novel is a little on the lighter side of magical. It follows Willow, who is dragged to Salem with her mom to settle the affairs of her aunt, who is rumored to be a witch. There, she meets Mason, someone with his own baggage who’s searching for his missing mom. The two are drawn to each other as they uncover their own family secrets and the legendary history of Salem.

Shay is a student at T.K. Anderson Magical Magnet School, and she’s determined to win a scholarship that will open up her future. She’s up against her rival Ana Álvarez, and in order to beat her, she has to impress their drama teacher, Mr. B. Forced to work with Ana, Shay finds her feelings for the other girl shifting, but she’s shocked to find herself on the receiving end of Mr. B’s unwanted attention…and she isn’t the first witch at T.K. Anderson to have to deal with this. This is a witchy #MeToo novel about queer witches and finding the strength to speak up for yourself and others.

Emsy is a witch, but she’s less interested in practicing her skills as a fire elemental and more into going to the beach or hanging out with her girlfriend. But when two members of her coven are murdered on the other side of the country, she travels to New York with her family to investigate the deaths…and finds herself needing to brush up on her magic before she becomes a target in this witchy graphic novel.

The island of Kisapmata is a gorgeous, untouched destination…but the local Filipino population knows better than to set foot there. The island is cursed. When a Hollywood film crew arrives to make a documentary about the island, they convince local teen Alon to be their guide. And it’s not long before things start to go terribly wrong. Alon knows that the curse will claim them all unless she can convince the crew to leave before it’s too late.