Happy September, friends! I have been eagerly awaiting the end of the summer months because some of the best books to read now are some of my most-anticipated of the year. As the summer comes to a close, hopefully you can enjoy the beginning of the new season with this list of the best new books to read beginning this Fall.
Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
I’m not sure what my exact reaction was when I found that Sarah Rees Brennan has a new book coming out but it might have been a cross between a happy squeal followed by a happy dance. She’s one of my favorite authors. Her books are phenomenal and her words mean so much to me. I’ve started reading this one already and I can tell it’s going to be one of my favorite of the year. And this one, about a terminally ill young woman who becomes the villain in her favorite fantasy novel so that she can save her life, promises to be just as amazing as her other novels and is certainly one of the best books new books to read beginning this Fall.
Synopsis: When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favorite fantasy series.She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she’s not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor’s tale. So be it.
The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they’re doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor’s fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.
Available now via Orbit. Order here.
Ash’s Cabin by Jen Wang
I love Jen Wang’s work and Ash’s Cabin is a new favorite in her collection. A beautiful, wild graphic novel to enjoy by the lake or in your own cabin, this is one of the best books to read beginning this Fall.
Synopsis: Ash has always felt alone.
Adults ignore the climate crisis. Other kids Ash’s age are more interested in pop stars and popularity contests than in fighting for change. Even Ash’s family seems to be sleepwalking through life.
The only person who ever seemed to get Ash was their Grandpa Edwin. Before he died, he used to talk about building a secret cabin, deep in the California wilderness. Did he ever build it? What if it’s still there, waiting for him to come back…or for Ash to find it? To Ash, that maybe-mythical cabin is starting to feel like the perfect place for a fresh start and an escape from the miserable feeling of alienation that haunts their daily life.
But making the wilds your home isn’t easy. And as much as Ash wants to be alone…can they really be happy alone? Can they survive alone?
Available now via First Second. Order here.
Medici Heist by Caitlin Schneiderhan
If you like heists and historical fiction, then the Medici Heist is one of the best new books you could read beginning this Fall. Caitlin Schneiderhan uses her screenwriting background to create a cinematic and fun debut that readers will be sure to devour.
Synopsis: Welcome to Florence, 1517, a world of intrigue and opulence, murder and betrayal. Seventeen-year-old conwoman Rosa Cellini arrives in the city the same day that the Medici Pope, Leo X, returns to take up the reins of power. This is not a coincidence. The new Pope is extorting a mountain of indulgence money from the people of Florence to bolster his power and standing, and Rosa has a plan to take it back.
To pull off the Renaissance’s greatest robbery, she’ll recruit a team of specially-chosen, highly-skilled misfits: Sarra the tinkerer, Khalid the fighter, and Giacomo, the irrepressible master of disguise. To top it all off, and to smooth their entrance into the fortress-like Palazzo Medici, Rosa even enlists the reluctant help of the famed artist Michelangelo.
But as the authorities draw closer and the Medici’s noose pulls tighter around the land, old secrets resurface and tensions in the group start to flare. What began as a robbery could be the key to saving the city itself—if Rosa and company don’t destroy each other first.
Available now via Feiwel & Friends. Order here.
Indiginerds by Alina Pete and various contributors
I LOVE the idea behind this anthology, a collection celebrating the varied pop-culture and cultural impact on First Nations and Indigenous lives. A must-read for anthology fans and a celebration of the creative impact pop-culture has on Indigenous lives, this is definitely one of the best books to read beginning this Fall.
Synopsis: First Nations culture is living, vibrant, and evolving, and generations of Indigenous kids have grown up with pop culture creeping inexorably into our lives. From gaming to social media, pirate radio to garage bands, Star Trek to D&D, and missed connections at the pow wow, Indigenous culture is so much more than how it’s usually portrayed. Indiginerds is here to celebrate those stories! Featuring an all-Indigenous creative team, Indiginerd is an exhilarating anthology collecting 11 stories about Indigenous people balancing traditional ways of knowing with modern pop culture.
Available now via Iron Circus Comics. Order here.
Sync by Ellen Hopkins
If you love and know novels-in-verse, you’ve probably devoured Ellen Hopkins entire collection. Quick reads that often punch a reader in the gut with its challenging topics. Sync is another gut-punch, hard read that will likely stay with you long after you finish, about twins separated by the foster care system. Even though it’s not an easy read, her gripping poetry makes this one of the best books to read beginning this Fall. Be sure to heed the content warnings.
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old twins Storm and Lake have always been in perfect sync. They faced the worst a parent could do and survived it together. In the wake of their mother’s rejection, they’ve spent the last five years moving from foster home to foster home—sometimes placed together, sometimes apart.
After being separated from his sister once again, Storm is devastated. He’s the older brother and promised to always take care of Lake. But after a stint in juvie, his newest placement has him feeling almost hopeful. His foster dad is kind, and his girlfriend, Jaidyn, is the first person other than Lake he feels he can trust. But when Jaidyn is sexually assaulted by a violent ex, it pushes Storm over the edge. He retaliates and lands back in lockup—and he fears this time it will be for good. He wishes he could talk to Lake, but he doesn’t know where she is, and he’ s now feeling more alone and out of sync than ever before.
Lake, like Storm, has found her own happiness in a relationship with someone new—her fellow foster, Parker. Life with Parker is never boring, but Parker has her own scars. She can be withdrawn and unpredictable, and that can be dangerous, especially after Parker convinces Lake to run away from their Bible-thumping fosters after they are caught in a compromising position. With no money, shelter, or ID, they’re living on the streets. Lake thinks of Storm and his promise to take care of her, and wonders where he could be now.
Available now via Nancy Paulsen Books. Order here.
No More Secrets by Lucy Score
Fans of Lucy Score and small-town romances will love No More Secrets, the re-release in the first book of her beloved Blue Moon Series. If you like your romances light and sweet, you’ll enjoy this series and find it’s one of the best books you can read beginning this Fall. And it has one of the best covers I’ve seen of books that come out this month.
Synopsis: Carter Pierce wants to spend his days tending the family farm he inherited, and that’s about it. After a tour of duty and a few bullet holes, he’s looking forward to some peace and quiet in his hometown. Unfortunately, Blue Moon doesn’t believe in peace and quiet. And his nosy neighbors sure as hell don’t know how to mind their own business.
As it turns out, neither does the big city journalist who arrives to interview him for a magazine article. Summer Lentz is out of place with her designer wardrobe and workaholic schedule. She asks too many questions and gets under his skin with her smart mouth and those denim-blue eyes. She’s also typing his family’s story a mile a minute at his kitchen table and sleeping in the bedroom across the hall. Carter’s only chance for peace is to scare her away from farm life so he can go back to his comfortable, solitary existence.
But Summer’s got a stubborn streak and secrets of her own. And once Carter starts pulling at those threads, he’s not so eager to send her packing. Will a nudge from the matchmaking Beautification Committee result in a happily ever after or a homegrown disaster?
Available now via Bloom Books. Order here.
Wisteria by Adalyn Grace
Like many other readers, I love a good romantasy and Adalyn Grace has written a stunning series of them. The conclusion to the trilogy, Wisteria is one of the best books you could read beginning this Fall. I love that this book focuses on one of my favorite characters from the first book, Blythe, a woman who definitely deserves her own happy ending.
Synopsis: Blythe Hawthorne has never let anyone tell her what to do–not society, not her overprotective father, and certainly not the man she’s bound herself to, no matter how rude and insufferable he is. In fact, she’s determined to be a thorn in his side for the rest of her days, even as he ensures that her life in his palace is anything but a fairytale. But as Blythe discovers a new side of herself linked to his past, she’ll have to decide if she’s willing to let an unexpected spark ignite…and to discover the truth about who she really is.
Available now via Little, Brown and Company. Order here.
The Cottage Around The Corner by D.L. Soria
Described as the next best cozy read for fans of You’ve Got Mail and Practical Magic, I can think of no better of no better addition to our list of the best books to read beginning this Fall then The Cottage Around The Corner.
Synopsis: Chanterelle Cottage is Charlie Sparrow’s whole world. The cozy spellshop where she and her moms practice their witchcraft, selling goods and services to the people of small-town Owl’s Hollow, has been in her family for generations.
Okay, business has been a little slow and a recent burglary hit their inventory pretty hard. And the bank may not agree to restructure their loan. But Charlie is talented and savvy, and she’ll keep things afloat once her parents finally let her buy into the business as a co-owner. Still, when a competing magecraft firm opens in town, things start to look bleak. After all, everyone knows there’s room for only one magic shop in Owl’s Hollow.
So what if Fitz, the mage who owns the new Maven Enterprises, happens to be ridiculously handsome in his ridiculously expensive suits? Who cares that, when Charlie can forget for a moment or two that Fitz is her competitor, things between them are as easy as breathing? None of that matters—because Charlie is not going to get involved with the competition. In this battle of the businesses, she’ll do whatever it takes to make sure Chanterelle Cottage is the last spellshop standing.
But when strange supernatural events begin to plague the citizens of Owl’s Hollow, Charlie and Fitz must put their rivalry aside and their magic together to save the town. As they grow closer, it becomes harder for Charlie to keep her carefully drawn line in place—maybe Owl’s Hollow is big enough for a witch and a mage, after all.
Available now via Del Rey Books. Order here.
Lola by Karla Arenas Valenti
A beautiful and enchanting middle-grade novel about incredible sibling bonds and magic, this should be a top new release beginning this Fall and a perfect read to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage month.
Synopsis: Ten-year-old Lola has always been touched by magic. In her Mexico City home, built around a towering tree, she is accustomed to enchanted blooms that change with the seasons, a sandbox that spits out mysterious treasures, and mischievous chaneques that scuttle about unseen by all but her. Magic has always been a part of her life, but now she must embrace the extraordinary as never before.
Ever since The Thing That Happened, Lola’s brother Alex has been sick. As his condition worsens, something begins eating away at the tree, causing its leaves and blossoms to crumble like ash. The two are related, Lola is sure of it, but how? Seeking a cure, she visits a grocery store oracle who bids her to follow the chaneques down one of their secret passages… into a hidden world.
Here in Floresta, a land of myths and monsters and marvels untold, lies the key to healing her brother. But the kingdom’s young queen stands in the way. Lola must use her wits and face her deepest fears if there’s any hope of saving Alex in time.
Available now via Random House Children’s Books. Order here.
Splinter and Ash by Marieke Nijkam
One of the best middle-grade books to be released beginning this Fall, Splinter and Ash is an exciting and thrilling new series starter for fans of Esme Symes-Smith and Tamora Pierce.
Synopsis: Ash–or Princess Adelisa–is the youngest child of the queen, recently returned to the city of Kestrel’s Haven after spending six years on the other side of the country. Ash was hoping for a joyous reunion, but the reality is far from it. Her mother is holding the kingdom together by a thread; her brother has only taunts and jibes for her; and court is full of nobles who openly mock and dismiss Ash, who uses a cane and needs braces to strengthen her joints.
Splinter is the youngest child of one of Haven’s most prominent families. She’s fierce, determined, and adventurous, and she has her sights set on becoming a knight just like her older brother. Even if everyone says she can’t because she’s not a boy. So what? She’s not a girl, either.
A chance encounter throws Ash and Splinter into each other’s orbits and changes the course of the kingdom’s history. The princess and her new squire will face bullies, snobs, gossips, and their own disapproving families. But when they uncover a shadowy group of nobles plotting to overthrow the queen, they will show everyone how legends are born. Together.
The first in a trilogy, bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp’s medieval fantasy is an action-packed love letter to nonbinary, queer, and disabled kids. Splinter & Ash evokes the classic adventure and atmosphere of fantasies by Lloyd Alexander and Tamora Pierce and the fresh, inclusive lens of writers such as Rick Riordan, Angie Thomas, and Soman Chainani. It invites everyone–no matter who they are or what they look like–to fight for what they believe in.
Available now via HarperCollins Children’s Books. Order here.
Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood
This book reminds me of Sangu Mandanna’s delightfully cozy book The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, a charming magical found-family novel that you should read immediately and have on your TBR beginning this Fall. I’m getting those vibes from Rewitched and and I have a feeling I will love it just as I loved The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.
Synopsis: Belladonna Blackthorn hasn’t lost her magical spark, precisely . . . but she hasn’t seen it in a while either.
With her witchcraft under wraps and a toxic boss making her days miserable, Belle is struggling to keep her beloved Lunar Books afloat and just make it through the day. The last thing she has time for is perfecting her magic.
So when her thirtieth birthday brings a summons from her coven and a trial that tests her worthiness as a witch, Belle fears the worst. With only the month of October left to prove herself or risk losing her magic forever, Belle will need all the help she can get—from the women in her life, from an unlikely mentor figure and even from an infuriating coven watchman who’s sworn to protect her.
Available on September 17, 2024 via Ace Books. Order here.
Dear Dad: Growing Up With A Parent In Prison And How We Stay Connected by Jay Jay Patton
I’m so glad this book exists. There are very few books that talk about having an incarcerated parent. That’s why each one, especially this accessible graphic novel which discusses the very hard reality of trying to stay connected with a parent in prison, is so important. This important and necessary read should be at the top of your TBR beginning this Fall.
Synopsis: ” …Your dad is coming back home.”
As far back as nine-year-old Jay Jay Patton can remember, her dad, Antoine has been in prison. Growing up in Buffalo, New York with her mom and younger brother, she’s only been to visit him twice. Instead, the two have sent each other numerous letters — Jay Jay’s letters can take weeks or months to reach her dad, and some never even get delivered. What’s it going to be like having Dad home?
This powerful coming-of-age graphic novel memoir tells Jay Jay Patton’s life of growing up with a dad in — and out of — prison. How she and her dad were able to develop a powerful father/daughter bond and create Photo Patch — a life-changing application that connects children to incarcerated parents. Because no child should have to grow up unable to engage with their parents. As Jay Jay says: “it’s not a privilege for a kid to be able to talk to their parent. It’s a right.”
Available on September 17, 2024 via Graphix. Order here.
On A Wing and A Tear by Cynthia Leitich Smith
With respect for her Muscogee heritage on display, this beautiful and adventurous middle-grade will thrill readers of Dan Gemeinhart, Kate DiCamillo, and Brian Young.
Synopsis: A living legend roosting in the backyard. An unmissable game. A hair-raising mystery. A road trip full of adventure and danger. And all the overlapping circles that connect us throughout Creation.
Melanie “Mel” Roberts and Ray Halfmoon may be from different Indigenous Nations, but the friends have become like siblings since the Robertses moved in with the Halfmoons. And they soon welcome a distinguished guest: Great-grandfather Bat, whose wing is injured, has taken refuge in their old oak tree.
A rematch of the legendary Great Ball Game is coming up, with Bat as the star player. Grampa Charlie Halfmoon offers to drive Bat from Chicago down to the traditional playing field outside Macon, Georgia, and Mel and Ray are determined to help out.
Together, they all set off on a road trip—facing adventure, danger, and a hair-raising mystery—on the way to the historic game.
With loving care and boisterous humor, acclaimed author Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee) tells a modern folklore story about friendship, embracing the unexpected, and all the overlapping circles that connect us throughout Creation.
Available on September 17, 2024 via Heartdrum. Order here.
The Naming Song by Jedediah Berry
I’ll admit that it was the title that initially intrigued but then I read the early quotes from Holly Black, Kelly Link and Erin Morgernstern and it is clear that this is a top new release beginning this Fall.
Synopsis: When the words went away, the world changed.All meaning was lost, and every border fell. Monsters slipped from dreams to haunt the waking while ghosts wandered the land in futile reveries. Only with the rise of the committees of the named–Maps, Ghosts, Dreams, and Names–could the people stand against the terrors of the nameless wilds. They built borders around their world and within their minds, shackled ghosts and hunted monsters, and went to war against the unknown.
For one unnamed courier of the Names Committee, the task of delivering new words preserves her place in a world that fears her. But after a series of monstrous attacks on the named, she is forced to flee her committee and seek her long-lost sister. Accompanied by a patchwork ghost, a fretful monster, and a nameless animal who prowls the shadows, her search for the truth of her past opens the door to a revolutionary future–for the words she carries will reshape the world.
The Naming Song is a book of deep secrets and marvelous discoveries, strange adventures and dangerous truths. It’s the story of a world locked in a battle over meaning. Most of all, it’s the perfect fantasy for anyone who’s ever dreamed of a stranger, freer, more magical world.
Available on September 24, 2024 via Tor Books. Order here.
The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society by C.M. Waggoner
If you’re looking to start your spooky season beginning this fall by reading a fun, supernatural mystery, look no further than C.M. Wagonner’s new The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society.
Synopsis: Librarian Sherry Pinkwhistle keeps finding bodies–and solving murders. But she’s concerned by just how many killers she’s had to track down in her quaint village. None of her neighbors seem surprised by the rising body count…but Sherry is becoming convinced that whatever has been causing these deaths is unnatural.When someone close to Sherry ends up dead, and her cat, Lord Thomas Crowell, becomes possessed by what seems to be an ancient demon, Sherry begins to think she’s going to need to become an exorcist as well as an amateur sleuth. With the help of her town’s new priest, and an assortment of friends who dub themselves the “Demon-Hunting Society,” Sherry will have to solve the murder and get rid of a demon. This riotous mix of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Murder, She Wrote is a lesson for demons and murderers alike: Never mess with a librarian.
Available on September 24, 2024 via Penguin Publishing Group. Order here.
When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson
Jandy Nelson wrote one of my all-time favorite books and so any book by hers will always be a top new release for me. This book, like her last, promises to be just as whimsical and wondrous. Beginning this Fall, be sure to add this magical book to your TBR.
Synopsis: An explosive new novel brimming with love, secrets, and enchantment by Jandy Nelson, Printz Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of I’ll Give You the SunThe Fall siblings live in hot Northern California wine country, where the sun pours out of the sky, and the devil winds blow so hard they whip the sense right out of your head. Years ago, the Fall kids’ father mysteriously disappeared, cracking the family into pieces. Now Dizzy Fall, age twelve, bakes cakes, sees spirits, and wishes she were a heroine of a romance novel.
Miles Fall, seventeen, brainiac, athlete, and dog-whisperer, is a raving beauty, but also lost, and desperate to meet the kind of guy he dreams of. And Wynton Fall, nineteen, who raises the temperature of a room just by entering it, is a virtuoso violinist set on a crash course for fame . . . or self-destruction. Then an enigmatic rainbow-haired girl shows up, tipping the Falls’ world over. She might be an angel. Or a saint. Or an ordinary girl. Somehow, she is vital to each of them. But before anyone can figure out who she is, catastrophe strikes, leaving the Falls more broken than ever. And more desperate to be whole.
With road trips, rivalries, family curses, love stories within love stories within love stories, and sorrows and joys passed from generation to generation, this is the intricate, luminous tale of a family’s complicated past and present. And only in telling their stories can they hope to rewrite their futures.
Available on September 24, 2024 via Dial Books. Order here.
The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig
I’ve been eagerly reading updates from the author on The Thirteenth Child since the book was first announced and so I’m extremely excited this YA that takes inspiration from the Brothers Grimm tale.
Synopsis: Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather–Merrick, the Dreaded End–to arrive.When he does, he lays out exactly how he’s planned Hazel’s future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick.
But all gifts come with a price. Hazel can see when Death has claimed a patient–when all hope is gone–and is tasked to end their suffering, permanently. Haunted by the ghosts of those she’s killed, Hazel longs to run. But destiny brings her to the royal court, where she meets Leo, a rakish prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. And it’s where Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet–to save the life of a king marked to die. Hazel knows what she is meant to do and knows what her heart is urging her toward, but what will happen if she goes against the will of Death?
Available on September 24, 2024 via Delacorte Press. Order here.
Brianna Robinson is a book publicist and Sarah Lawrence College alum. She lives in New York with too many books and two enthusiastic dachshunds. You can find her on twitter @blrobins2.
