10 New Diverse YA Fantasies for Your Fall TBR

Kingdom of Souls, by Rena Barron
Shadow and Bone meets Children of Blood and Bone in this fantasy debut that draws on West African mythology to craft a darkly magic story. Sixteen-year-old Arrah descends from two lines of powerful witch doctors. But her powers have yet to manifest. That reality is a disappointment, but the situation becomes more desperate when children start disappearing in the kingdom of Tamar. To discover the culprit behind the abductions, Arrah’s willing to do anything—like undergoing the dangerous process of trading years of her life for the smallest taste of magic. What follows is a high-stakes quest, filled with twists, turns, complex gods, and a fearsome Demon King.

Pet, by Akwaeke Emezi
Monsters were banished from the town of Lucille a long time ago—or at least that’s what everyone thought. Jam’s been taught that the bigotry and injustice they brought with them are things of the past. But then hulking Pet claws its way out of her mother’s painting. Pet warns that there is a monster in Lucille, and it’s in her best friend Redemption’s house. Emezi’s YA debut is a compelling allegory for our time, carried on the shoulders of a fascinating cast of characters, at the center of which is Jam, black, transgender, and selectively nonverbal. We can almost guarantee you won’t read anything else like it this year.

Crier’s War, by Nina Varela (October 1)
I, for one, welcome our new AI overlords. In this first book of a planned series, the world is ruled by the Automae, Made beings who overthrew their human masters decades ago. We explore this world through the eyes of two young women: Crier, the Automae princess, and Ayla, her human handmaiden. Crier yearns for the respect of her father, while Ayla hungers for revenge upon the race of beings who killed her family. When their paths intertwine, however, their perspectives shift. All that Crier believed about herself, her family, and her kingdom may be a lie. Meanwhile, Ayla discovers that Crier may not be the enemy she’s imagined. In fact, she may just be someone she could love.

The Good Luck Girls, by Charlotte Nicole Davis
(October 1)
Your daddy’s Western, this ain’t. The luck of the titular girls is anything but good. Aster, Violet, Tansy, Mallow, and Clementine are trapped in the life of sundown girls at a “welcome house,” forced to entertain men, known as “brags.” When Clementine—whoopsy daisy!—murders a man, the girls go on the run, hoping to find freedom, but also revenge on the country and the system that would keep them down. The outlook is bleak, as the fivesome flees both mortal and supernatural forces. Hope comes from the unlikeliest of places: a story passed down from girls who came before them. Fast-paced and fiercely feminist, this is a novel you won’t want to put down.

War Girls, by Tochi Onyebuchi (October 15)
Part fantasy, part science fiction, War Girls is a unique novel and a stunning series opener. Its plot—inspired by the real events of the Nigerian civil war—has one foot in the past, but also one foot in a startling dystopian future. Two sisters, Onyii and Ify, are at the center of this post-apocalyptic story, set in an alternate future in which the planet has been ravaged by climate change and warfare. Theirs is a world of high-powered technology and soldiers with bionic limbs and medical enhancements, all designed to help them survive the harsh climate and enemy attacks. When Onyii and Ify find themselves separated by conflict, they both come to realize new aspects of themselves and their identities, as well as their fight.

The Never Tilting World, by Rin Chupeco (October 15)
Chupeco has a knack for writing about fascinating magic, as seen in her necromancy-forward Bone Witch series. In The Never Tilting World, the first novel in a planned duology, magic is tied more closely to the elements, themselves out of whack on a shattered planet. Seventeen years ago, the world of Aeon, long ruled by twin goddesses, stopped turning. Now, Aeon is divided into two realms: one marked by endless night and monster tsunamis, and the other relentlessly scorched by the sun. The daughters of the goddesses are being summoned by supernatural forces to the site of the Breaking so that they might fix their ailing world. Alternating POV chapters make for a tense adventure and allow room for some f/f romance.

Mooncakes, by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu (October 15)
Representation is magical, and so, this print debut of the long-running webcomic is sure to cast a spell on you. Nova Huang is a teen witch. She’s also Chinese-American, queer, and hard of hearing. Nova works in her grandmothers’ bookshop (whose inventory is heavy on the spellbooks) when she’s not investigating supernatural occurrences around town. When she follows a lead about a white wolf stalking the woods, Nova discovers a familiar face instead. The werewolf is none other than Tam, her nonbinary former childhood sweetheart. The two help each other fend off the dark forces of this world and the next in a story that’s as wholesome as the occult could ever be.

A River of Royal Blood, by Amanda Joy (October 29)
Calling all Three Dark Crowns fans! This North African-inspired fantasy is your next intricately vicious read. To ascend to the queendom of Myre, sixteen-year-old Eva will have to fight her sister Isa to the death. If that’s not enough, Eva must also grapple with the nature of her own powers: magick of marrow and blood. The last person to wield blood magick was Queen Raina, who massacred thousands. Generations later, the violence of her abilities frightens Eva, even as she stares down a battle. Things, of course, aren’t as straightforward as they seem. As Eva learns more about her magick, with the help of some unexpected allies, she also uncovers more than a few family secrets.

Beyond the Black Door, by A.M. Strickland (October 29)
Dark fantasy with an ace protagonist—is it Christmas already? Kamai is a soulwalker, able to walk through other people’s souls as they sleep. But in each soul she visits, she always sees a black door. Kamai’s been warned never to open the black door, no matter how tempting it may seem—no matter how much the door may beckon her to open it. And Kamai lives by that rule, until her life is turned upside down by tragedy. Opening the door unleashes the dark, twisty plot of dreams that involves heaps of court intrigue, high stakes, and oh-so-seductive villainy.

I’m a Gay Wizard, by V.S. Santoni (October 29)
You love to see a title that doesn’t beat around the bush. Johnny, a gay Latinx teen, and Alison, his trans BFF, just wanted to cast a few spells, maybe tweak the noses of some bullies. But their magical dabbling goes awry, big time, and they draw the swift attention of the Marduk Institute. Whisked off to the institute—presumably for wizarding “training”—Johnny and Alison find themselves far from the Hogwarts experience you might expect. The institute’s “students” (if you can call them that) aren’t allowed to return to their previous lives, and the motives of the Powers That Be seems less than well-intentioned. Can Johnny and Alison survive in this new world of magic and monsters?