School is in session, so it’s time to learn about the latest releases from West 44 Books. Continue reading to discover our latest YA offerings and stock up on all your soon-to-be favorite fall novels! All books are available for purchase starting today.
by Katy Grant
Read If You Like: the I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis, the Survivor Diaries series by Terry Lynn Johnson, or Shari Green’s Missing Mike
Synopsis: Oliver loves mountain biking on rocky, wooded trails. Now, he has an unlikely partner: his much older half sister Morgan. One summer evening while out with their dog, Oliver tries to impress Morgan by leading her down a new trail he claims to know. The two siblings end up at the bottom of a canyon with no choice but to push their bikes up the steep trail. Disaster strikes when Morgan slips and injures her ankle. As daylight begins to fade, danger awaits in the wilderness. With no cell service, it’s up to Oliver to hike out of the canyon, get help, and save the day.
Publishers Weekly says: “Grant depicts the unfolding sibling relationship and Oliver’s burgeoning self-confidence with tenderness and heart, while unadorned first-person verse forefronts the situational complications, including coyotes and a lack of cell service.”
by Ryan Wolf
Read If You Like: the Spy School series by Stuart Gibbs, R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps series, or Netflix’s Stranger Things
Synopsis: Dennis feels out of place after he moves to a gloomy town where his dad accepted work at a controversial chemical plant. He struggles to fit in and soon senses something may be very wrong with his middle school. When he finds the journal of a student who went missing decades ago, he begins exploring the haunting truth behind the disappearance. Everything points to a strange place behind the school walls. Dennis must uncover a long-buried secret if he hopes to make it through the year.
Nora Wright and the Secrets of The Knight
by Max Howard
Read If You Like: The Amelia Six by Kristin L. Gray, Mystery on Magnolia Circle by Kate Klise, or Angela Cervantes’s Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring
Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Nora’s mom manages The Knight, a medieval theme restaurant on the verge of shutting down. When Nora and her new friend Mavis stop by The Knight to borrow costumes for their school play, a snowstorm hits, leaving them trapped overnight with the eccentric cook, Diane. When Nora and Mavis find evidence that Diane’s crazy tales she frequently tells may be true, Nora starts to wonder if treasure really is hidden in the crumbling castle—and if it could save the restaurant.
by Claudia Recinos Seldeen
Read If You Like: The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas, Listen Up by Sandi Van, or Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens by Marieke Nijkamp
Synopsis: Mia’s world crumbles when she finds out she has to move across the country, but her autism makes it hard to handle new situations. Everyone at her old school was familiar with her autism, but life at her new school is different. Kids don’t understand Mia’s behaviors and needs; she coped by relying on the familiar and routines. How can Mia survive when she is so far away from everything she knows?
by Mel Mallory
Read If You Like: Ava Dellaira’s Love Letters to the Dead or Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry, and Tobias Iaconis
Synopsis: Living with an energy-limiting chronic illness, Val spends a lot of time in her bedroom. Her older sister, Lia, has always found ways to make “bed world” feel just as fun as the outside world. But all that changes after Lia dies in a tragic accident. On an online support forum, Val meets someone she can finally open up to about grief. Through a series of letters to her sister, Val confronts life after her sister’s death as she finds a way to make both “bed world” and the rest of the world livable again.
by Maija Barnett
Read If You Like: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell or The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
Synopsis: Despite crippling anxiety, Skyler Reeds has weathered her parents’ divorce, and along with her twin sister Katy, has moved to her mom’s boyfriend’s house in Vermont. Now Skyler must deal with living in a new blended household and brave a new high school while dealing with worsening dermatillomania, a disorder that causes her to obsessively pick her skin. Skyler’s only refuge is her singing voice, which she’s silenced as her face fills with wounds and scars. But Skyler is given the chance to join the school’s elite chorus—a dream come true. Skyler has tried so hard to remain invisible, but this may finally be her chance to shine.
by Max Howard
Read If You Like: Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed or The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert
Synopsis: Fun-loving troublemaker Ivy Sawyer is unjustly fired from her ice cream shop job, and now she’s out for revenge. The owner of the shop is running to be reelected mayor of their small town, and Ivy will do anything to keep him from winning. What she does not expect is being elected mayor herself as the candidate of the prankish “Surprise Party.” Now Ivy must juggle her senior year of high school, her activist friends’ expectations, and governing the town while determining the difference between a troublemaker and a leader.
by Kate Karyus Quinn
Read If You Like: Tracy Wolff’s Crave series, Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, or Kate Karyus Quinn’s Down with the Shine
Synopsis: With an addict mother and a deadbeat dad, Shelby truly hopes that blood does not define her. She discovers a passion for photography, hoping to make something of herself through art. When her mother dies of an overdose, she finds herself in a dark place, rebels in school, and turns away from everyone, except a mysterious classmate named Brandt. Shelby doesn’t realize he’s a vampire until it’s too late. Overwhelmed by her new cravings for blood, Shelby must decide to satisfy her hunger—or fight for the life she’s always wanted.
by Ryan Wolf
Read If You Like: Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay, Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Synopsis: Nate Reilly is having the worst summer of his life; his parents are never home, he lost his job, and his arts program was cancelled. Nate comes across a “game” that promises knowledge and is quick to click the link. Soon, he finds himself down a rabbit hole of strange theories, dark plots, and fanatical believers. As he grows alienated from his family and friends, Nate is consumed by his newfound ideas. Can he unplug from a destructive alternate reality before he takes it too far?