5 YA Reads Perfect for Autumn

The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater
Every November on the island of Thisby, riders race on the backs of carnivorous water horses in the Scorpio Races. Sean Kendrick is the returning champion, and Puck Connolly is the newcomer—not to mention the first girl to ever compete. They’re both desperate to win, but the competition will bring them together in altogether unexpected ways. There are few books that capture an autumnal atmosphere better than Stiefvater does here. By the time you finish, you’ll be craving a plate of November Cakes while dense mist raises goosebumps on your arms and salt-chilled wind off the sea whips against your cheeks.

A Study in Charlotte, by Brittany Cavallaro
When Jamie Watson (descendant of that Watson) gets a scholarship to a prestigious Connecticut prep school, he intends to keep his distance from Charlotte Holmes, fellow student and descendant of that Holmes. Then one of their classmates is murdered…in exactly the manner of the victim in one of Sherlock’s greatest mysteries. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed, and they’ll have to work together to find the culprit before they’re implicated, or worse. A Study in Charlotte is fun, tense, and the coziest mystery you’ll read that also happens to feature a fair amount of drug use.

When the Moon Was Ours, by Anna-Marie McLemore
Miel and Sam have been inseparable since the day she spilled out of the town’s water tower, and now their friendship is morphing into something new and wonderful. But the four beautiful and unnerving Bonner sisters have their sights on the roses that grow from Miel’s wrist, and they’ll use every one of her secrets—even, and maybe especially, the ones that would hurt Sam—to coerce her compliance. If you’re looking for a magical and romantic read filled with pumpkins, moonlight, and stars, McLemore’s latest can’t be beat.

Unspoken, by Sarah Rees Brennan
Kami Glass has been in love with the boy in her head her entire life. He’s a constant presence and comfort for her, but when the mysterious Lynburn family moves back to Kami’s quiet English town, Sorry-in-the-Vale, the boy in her head becomes a boy in the flesh. What’s more, strange things have followed in the Lynburns’ wake, and Kami’s determined to get to the bottom of them. Equal parts romantic, creepy, and funny, Unspoken will hit all your gothic buttons in the best way.

Daughters Unto Devils, by Amy Lukavics
After last winter—marked by her mother’s troubled delivery, the endless screams from her new baby sister, and visions brought on by cabin fever—Amanda Verner is hopeful a move to the wide-open prairie is exactly what their family needs. Maybe she’ll even figure out what to do about the baby swirling in her own womb. But when they arrive, they find the inside of their new home drenched in blood—and the horrors only build from there. If slightly creepy isn’t enough for you as the days grow shorter and darker, this debut will keep you shivering with fear into winter and beyond.