The coming months will bring many original, thought-provoking, and simply diverting young adult books—and if you’re stuck trying to figure out where to begin, this overview of a few themes I noticed might help. They can be summed up in three words: creepy, history, and identity.

Fans of the eerie have reason to rejoice. A deliciously spine-tingling collection spanning a range of genres, His Hideous Heart: Thirteen of Edgar Allan Poe's Most Unsettling Tales Reimagined edited by Dahlia Adler (Sept. 10), will appeal to lovers of Poe and those new to his work. Also check out Dreams Come to Life by Adrienne Kress (Sept. 3), which our reviewer describes as “sinister,” “twisted,” and “Faustian”; Now Entering Addamsville written and illustrated by Francesca Zappia (Oct. 1), which serves up the supernatural with a dose of humor and social commentary; and Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw (Nov. 5), perfect for those who enjoy a scary walk in ominous woods.

History and historical fiction are making a particularly strong showing this fall. The Dozier School for Boys: Forensics, Survivors, and a Painful Past by Elizabeth A. Murray (Sept. 3) and Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia by Marc Favreau (Oct. 1) cover very different topics, but both deal with subjects that are clearly relevant today, presenting impeccable research in a gripping way.

Several veteran authors have works of historical fiction coming out, titles that will transport readers to places as diverse as early 1980s Texas in Butterfly Yellow by Thanhha Lai (Sept. 3), World War II Chicago in Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby (Oct. 1), Franco’s Spain in The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys (Oct. 22), and a remote island in 18^th-century Scotland in Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean (Dec. 3).

If there’s one topic of perennial interest to YA readers, it’s the question of identity: Where do I belong? Who will accept me and love me for myself when sometimes I’m not even sure who I am? How do I survive in a world that erases me and tries to pull me down? How do I connect meaningfully with others? While the details may differ, these fundamental questions resonate across these upcoming releases that are particularly attuned to teens today: A black trans girl meets a being summoned from a painting and fights monsters of various kinds in Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (Sept. 10); girls in a conservative community (most of them white) negotiate sisterhood and their different feelings about abortion in Rebel Girls by Elizabeth Keenan (Sept. 10); in Frankly in Love by David Yoon (Sept. 10), a Korean American boy navigates love and family, exploring the ties that buoy and bind us; and a Jewish and Dominican girl in the male-dominated sport of boxing figures out how to achieve her dreams in Gravity by Sarah Deming (Nov. 12).

If there’s one thing all of the above have in common, it’s that they are both timely and timeless, and they will be welcome additions to teetering book piles everywhere.

Laura Simeon is the young adult editor.