Best YA Books of October 2024

Fans of Chloe Gong, Tracy Deonn and all things dark academia: we have your next read. Immerse yourself in a magical school where the bodies start piling up and each answer leads to bigger (and more dangerous) questions.

If you enjoyed the Ember in the Ashes series, then jump 20 years into the future and settle into Heir. The world is back to its fraught and fractured ways and it’s up to three young heroes to untangle their own lives in the heart of the Empire.

Return to Panem and experience the thrills of the Hunger Games, this time with brilliant illustrations alongside.

A dazzling enemies-to-lovers romantasy set on a kingdom’s crime-ridden streets. This is the perfect next step for fans of Six of Crows.

Jason Reynolds (Long Way Down, Stamped) gives us a hilarious and honest portrayal of a teenage boy’s mind — before one of life’s biggest (and most nerve-wracking) firsts. Neon can play it cool, right…?

First love can be tricky — especially when you’ve already broken up once. Root on Wes to win back the girl and set things right with a little help from the movies.

We followed Isabel Ibañez deep into the Nile, and now we’re following her into a world of dragons, dancing, romance and inheritance.

A romantic retelling of a Chinese legend, Sher Lee (Fake Dates and Mooncakes) introduces us to two forbidden lovers in an impossible situation.

With a lingering terror that will lurk well after you finish, this psychological horror is packed with monsters of fairy tale, folklore and so much more. Good luck not getting hooked (and haunted).

A fiery tale of revenge, romance, magic and sword-fighting starring a stellar heroine.

One killer competition, two kingdoms, three determined contestants. Like Game of Thrones with a Hunger Games twist, the Hunt is an unforgiving — and life-changing — tournament.

Mona is content to live as a magical matchmaker and nothing more — especially when she learns of her true fate. Fall in love with this charming opposites-attract romantasy and live to tell the tale.

A haunted island’s inhabitants brave a legendary storm in this supernatural mystery, perfect for fans of A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid.

An intergalactic romance, a quest to save humanity and a sweeping space odyssey all in one. This is a tender depiction of life and love in the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

Fritzi and Otto are back, and this time, the whole world is in danger. Can they face their pasts and save magic against all odds?

A profound and hopeful story of struggle with mental health and addiction, Kathleen Glasgow (Girl in Pieces) writes a compassionate portrait of a teenage girl.

The Wild West, complete with gunslingers and an untamed frontier… then add werewolves. It’s dark, bloody and exhilarating.

Two former best friends agree to fake-date through the holidays and part ways for good. If they fall in love in the process, snow be it.

Halloween Town is home, but could Christmas Town be a better one? Sally is determined to find out — and she’ll find more than she bargained for in the process.

Happy Holidays, from the fantastic world of Caraval, where magic and gift-giving go hand-in-hand.

With her relationship in the dumps and war on the horizon, Grace is in for her most demanding year at Katmere Academy yet.

After surviving against all odds in None Shall Sleep, Emma and Simon reunite to solve an eerily familiar copycat killer case.