October 2023 YA Book Releases

October 2023 YA Book Releases are about more than just Halloween. There’s even a Christmas title that won me over.

Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello

Let’s get Christmas out of the way first. An African-American boy who works at his family’s bookstore falls in love with a fellow employee when they must stop a gentrifier from shutting down the bookstore on Christmas Eve. Still, it’s a swoon for me. Adorable.

The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson

Kirkus called it a bold addition to the queer academia genre. A student at a private school trying to solve a mystery stumbles upon something even more dangerous in the forest.

Plan A by Deb Caletti

Starred Kirkus review. A girl goes on a road trip away from her small Texas town to get an abortion when she finds out she’s pregnant.

When Ghosts Call Us Home by Katya de Becerra

Starred Kirkus Review. When Sophia Galich was twelve, she starred in her older sister Layla’s amateur horror movie Vermillion, which recorded raw footage of her very real reactions to scenes her sister concocted in their old Californian house on the coast. A good follow-up would be Home Before Dark by Riley Sager, which I recently devoured, along with The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

The Blackwoods by Brandy Colbert

Starred Kirkus Review. This is about four generations of a famous family and what happens when you’re born into it with no option to escape.

2023 Recommendations

Check out all my 2023 recommendations here.

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