In looking over our young adult Fall Preview picks, I’m struck by the number of books that feature original settings and rarely heard voices, as well as innovative works that blend genres and formats in surprising ways. Popular authors and debut writers alike make appearances. The varied subject matter shows that YA literature is attuned to the social, emotional, and political concerns that matter to young people today. Not sure where to begin reading? You can’t go wrong with these six books.
Horror continues to be popular, and these two titles offer page-turning thrills that unfold against beautifully realized, culturally rich backdrops:
We Run the Night by Peace Mbengei (Soho Teen, Sept. 15): Debut novelist Mbengei transports readers to her native Kenya with this boarding school story that’s infused with bone-chilling folklore. Shani is struggling—her father died, her family’s financial standing took a hit, and now she’s being blamed for her bully’s disappearance and the frightening antics of the otherworldly “night runners.”
The House of Gardenias by Isabel Cañas (Dutton, Sept. 29): Cañas makes her young readers’ debut with this work set in a Latin American nation marked by extreme socioeconomic inequality. Following a coup, lady’s maid Minerva Treviño flees with her new employer, Encarnación del Valle, to the aging socialite’s remote country home. But supernatural terrors await them in the lush jungle.
Magical elements, vividly portrayed wilderness settings, and evocative artwork distinguish these two upcoming releases:
The Twelve by Liz Hyder, illustrated by Tom de Freston (Pushkin Children’s Books, Sept. 1): In this award winner from the U.K., a family holiday on the South Wales coast turns into a dramatic, time-traveling quest when Kit’s little sister vanishes from an old church tower on the night of the winter solstice—and not even their mum seems to remember she ever existed.
Children of Owl by Darcie Little Badger, illustrated by Abigail Rajunov (Levine Querido, Oct. 6): The lives of three Lipan Apache cousins and Owl (son of the father of birds, Big Owl) intersect in rural Texas in this creative work that combines prose and comics. The teens’ eventful summer revolves around a haunted house, foster kittens, and a cryptic warning of impending doom.
The following atmospherically rendered titles weave elements of mystery around themes of storytelling and the search for the truth.
Tom Burne Has Left the Chat by Seán Farrelly (Faber & Faber, Sept. 1): This Irish playwright’s first novel dives into tough questions of mental health struggles and the cost of performing for social media. Dubliner Jamie is grieving his father’s passing when he finds the phone of teen influencer Tom, who died by suicide, and becomes drawn into its contents, seeking answers.
The Necklace of Seven Souls by Hooda Shawa, translated by Nour Jaluli and Sawad Hussain, illustrated by Nada Esmaeel (Yonder, Sept. 1): Award winner Shawa’s English-language debut is an immersive work that follows gifted young Palestinian painter Farida, who lives in Paris and is unwittingly pulled into an art forgery ring. After she befriends a young man called Mazen at the Louvre, they explore their family histories reaching back before the Nakba and uncover long-buried secrets.
Laura Simeon is a young readers’ editor.
