November is traditionally the month we all are meant to meditate on gratitude, and book lovers certainly have a lot to be thankful for this year, no matter what genre they predominantly read in. And this statement is more true for YA fans than most.
A genre that contains multitudes, YA covers everything from contemporary romance and historical adventure to epic fantasy quests and disturbing thrillers. And November’s new releases run the gamut accordingly. With everything from must-read sequels to buzzy standalones, there’s something for virtually everyone this month.
Here are our picks for the best YA books hitting shelves this November.
Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez
Release Date: November 5 from Wednesday Books
Why You’ll Love It: This thrilling sequel to 2023’s underrated historical fantasy What the River Knows features adventures, betrayals, and one of the most nuanced romances of any story on this list.
Publisher’s Description: Inez Olivera traveled across the world to Egypt, seeking answers into her parents’ recent and mysterious deaths. But all her searching led her down a perilous road, filled with heartache, betrayal, and a dangerous magic that pulled her deep into the past.
When Tío Ricardo issues an ultimatum about her inheritance, she’s left with only one option to consider.
Marriage to Whitford Hayes.
Former British soldier, her uncle’s aide de camp, and one time nemesis, Whit has his own mysterious reasons for staying in Egypt. With her heart on the line, Inez might have to bind her fate to the one person whose secret plans could ruin her.
The Donut Prince of New York by Allen Zadoff
Release Date: November 5 from Holiday House
Why You’ll Love It: A charming tale of self-discovery about a fat high school junior who finds his long-denied dreams of popularity within reach after accidentally breaking the school quarterback’s wrist and joining the team as penance. Eugene is an immensely likable main character whose big theater kid energy and snarky commentary make him easy to root for.
Publisher’s Description: As Eugene “Pudge” Gutterman starts his junior year of high school, he is hoping just to get through life. His father has abandoned the family, his mother nags him about his size—and about going to med school—and Eugene would like to just hide out through the year, and maybe write a play.
But his plan doesn’t work when he accidentally tackles the star of the high school football team in gym class, and Eugene gets recruited to play the team. Him, Eugene, a football star? Suddenly popular, Eugene has access to the world he’s dreamed about. The life of “The Pops”, the secret world of athletes, parties, and dating. To Gutterman, it’s like a school within the school he’s known.
But it’s not all it seems from the outside—the cool kids have a lot of pressure on them, too, and Eugene has to find out if he has the guts to break out on his own, and finally be seen for who he really is, in plus size clothing and all.
Heist Royale by Kayvion Lewis
Release Date: November 12 from Nancy Paulsen Books
Why You’ll Love It: This highly anticipated follow-up to Thieves Gambit, Heist Royal follows Ross Quest in another competition against a group of internationally renowned thieves and contains much of the same breakneck pacing and nail-biting action as its predecessor, set against a backdrop of thrilling new settings.
Publisher’s Description: It’s been six months since the end of the Gambit. Instead of winning an impossible wish, Ross has the threat of her family’s execution hanging over her head. Devroe, the only person Ross thought she could trust, could wish the Quests into oblivion at any time. Shockingly, despite his betrayal, Devroe is still making a play for Ross’s heart as the two work together pulling jobs for the Organization. But Ross has learned her lesson: A Quest can only trust another Quest.
When Ross finds herself at the center of a power struggle within the Organization, she sees her chance to change her fortunes. As a new deadly Gambit develops for control of the criminal underworld, Ross strikes a risky deal to guarantee protection for herself and her family.
In this final clash, Ross will square off against a ruthless opponent who will stop at nothing to seize power, and in their corner will be not only Devroe but his mother, who wants to destroy the Quests at any cost.
The new Gambit takes Ross and her crew into the intoxicating casinos of Monte Carlo and across treacherous snow-covered slopes in Antarctica as Ross competes against Devroe in a fight for her life. Loyalties will be tested, backs stabbed, hearts broken. May the best thief win.
Games Untold by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Release Date: November 12 from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Why You’ll Love It: This collection of novellas and short stories from Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s wildly popular Inheritance Games series features the cast of the original trilogy and, per the author, is meant to build on some of the mysteries revealed in her latest novel The Grandest Game. A must-read for fans of Barnes’ competitive, high-stakes universe.
Publisher’s Description: There is nothing frivolous about the way a Hawthorne man loves.
An amnesiac playboy and the woman with every reason to hate him. A daredevil, his favorite heiress, and three nights in Prague. An unlikely pairing between a cowboy and a goth. Four brothers with an inescapable bond, strengthened by the family they chose, in a house of wonders that promises to always deliver one more secret.
Discover their stories of love and loss, power, puzzles, and life-and-death secrets in this mind-blowingly romantic collection that proves that when you love the way Hawthornes love, there is no going back.
Our Deadly Designs by Kalyn Josephson
Release Date: November 12 from Roaring Brook Press
Why You’ll Love It: This Dark Descent was one of the best YA books of 2023, and many of us (read: me) have undoubtedly been waiting (impatiently) to return to this world and this compelling quartet of lead characters.
Publisher’s Description: The Illinir may be over, but the race for Enderlain’s future has just begun. The hunt for the old king’s lost heir is on, and the first to find them will win the throne.
Mikira has allied herself with the rebels in pursuit of the heir, but the deeper her search takes her, the closer she gets to the royal family’s wicked past.
Ari is struggling to control her own growing power as she grapples with a dark secret that may be her undoing ― and the truth behind Damien’s greatest foe.
Damien, the new head of House Adair, joins the race to find the royal successor and secure the crown. But as his influence at court grows, so do his paranoia and hunger for power.
Reid is trying his best to stay true to the friend who’s always had his loyalty ― and the flame who has his heart ― while trapped in a web of chaos and lies.
All the while, a darker force is festering in Enderlain’s underbelly. Mikira, Ari, Damien, and Reid will need to find a way back to one another ― and themselves ― before the kingdom is torn apart.
Skyshade by Alex Aster
Release Date: November 12 from Amulet
Why You’ll Love It: Skyshade is the third installment in Alex Aster’s bestselling Lightlark Saga, and at this point in the series, you probably know whether this particular story, with its nods to elements from many other popular YA fantasy stories is for you. If you’re into it, buckle up, because there’s more of everything you enjoyed about the first two books in this series, from the messy love triangle at its center and another seemingly impossible quest.
Publisher’s Description: Back in Grim’s castle on Nightshade, Isla is reeling in the wake of a brutal battle and the devastating truths it exposed. Her future—and the fate of the world—now hinge on a heart split in two.
Past Isla, who fell in love with the ruler of Nightshade, fights to resist feelings she considers treasonous. The Isla of the present, who has seen the ruin her powers can cause, will do anything to save Lightlark and its king.
As the line between enemy and friend is tested, Isla is more desperate than ever to understand the oracle’s final prophecy and change her heartrending fate. But a storm is coming. And with it, a long-buried evil greater than anything the realms have faced before.
With the clock ticking on her destiny and the survival of two warring kingdoms hinging on her own shattered heart, Isla Crown will either save the world—or destroy it.
A Queen’s Game by Katharine McGee
Release Date: November 12 from Random House Books for Young Readers
Why You’ll Love It: This Victorian-era-set YA historical from the author of American Royals is the first in a new duology and is inspired by the real lives of three princesses — Alexandra of Hesse, Hélène d ’Orléans and May of Teck — who were all connected to the same trio of princes and each went on to influence history in their own ways.
Publisher’s Description: In the last glittering decade of European empires, courts, and kings, three young women are on a collision course with history—and with each other.
Alix of Hesse is Queen Victoria’s favorite granddaughter, so she can expect to end up with a prince . . . except that the prince she’s falling for is not the one she’s supposed to marry.
Hélène d’Orléans, daughter of the exiled King of France, doesn’t mind being a former princess; it gives her more opportunity to break the rules. Like running around with the handsome, charming, and very much off-limits heir to the British throne, Prince Eddy.
Then there’s May of Teck. After spending her entire life on the fringes of the royal world, May is determined to marry a prince—and not just any prince, but the future king.
I Am the Dark That Answers When You Call by Jamison Shea
Release Date: November 12 from Henry Holt & Co. (BYR)
Why You’ll Love it: This sequel to I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me promises to be even darker and bloodier than its predecessor as a former prima ballerina must reckon with her decision to make a deal with a primordial deity.
Publisher’s Description: Though Laure has tried to close the lid on her ballet shoes and the feelings she once held for dance since the Palais Garnier incident two months ago, Laure is spinning out. Between partying, drinking, and avoiding anything and, well, everyone, she has no time to be anything but a monster. But when Laure stumbles across a mysterious dead body during one of her nights out, she’s forced to notice the cracks stretching beyond herself.
Below the streets of Paris, Elysium is dying, and Acheron and Lethe’s influence is spilling into the streets like a blight. Laure isn’t the only of Elysium’s beasts to rise from the ruins of Palais Garnier, and someone is mobilizing an army of monsters with plans greater than Laure, Andor, and Keturah could have ever guessed. While Laure is warring between her wants and Acheron’s ever-demanding appetite, she and her circle of monsters are left to reckon with a not-so-simple question: how do you save yourself from oblivion?
Thanks for Listening by Molly Horan
Release Date: November 19 from HarperCollins
Why You’ll Love It: Described as perfect for fans of Loveless and You Should See Me in a Crown this story features both necessary asexual representation and a touching character-driven central story about a high school senior who starts an anonymous social media advice account to get her friends to listen to her.
Publisher’s Description: Mia knows what she’s talking about.
Class schedules, significant others, existential life crises—you name it, she’s talked someone through it.
The problem? No one actually takes her advice.
So when her latest round of (very sensible!) guidance is ignored, resulting in a class flyer stapled to her best friend’s arm and her brother going steady with a girl he doesn’t have feelings for, Mia is done talking. Instead, she creates HereToHelp, an anonymous account to give advice. If her friends don’t know it’s her behind the account, maybe they’ll finally listen for once.
Throw in the girl of her dreams, a plethora of sound (and not-so-sound) advice, and a couple of best friends who seem to have a lot more to hide than Mia knows…and Mia could use some advice of her own to make it through this senior year.
Serpent Sea by Maiya Ibrahim
Release Date: November 19 from Delacorte Press
Why You’ll Love It: In this second installment in Maiya Ibrahim’s underrated Spice Road trilogy, Imani and Taha must save their home from an invasion after the magical enchantment that hid them from the world is defeated.
Publisher’s Description: Imani is a magic-wielding warrior sworn to protect her land from the monsters that roam the desert. But an even worse enemy now threatens the Sahir. As the powerful Harrowlanders march south with their greatest weapon—spice magic—Imani knows it’s only a matter of time before their invasion of her land begins . . . and it will be a losing battle for her people.
But Imani also knows that one way to fight magic is with monsters. If she can restore Qayn’s stolen powers, together they can summon a supernatural army to defend the Sahir from the Harrowlanders. Forming an alliance with a djinni king is risky, but Imani will do anything to save her people, even embarking on a dangerous quest beyond the sands to find the magical jewels of Qayn’s lost crown.
As Imani journeys far from home, she will discover monsters that warriors have only heard about in myths . . . monsters that can strike at any moment. Meanwhile, her rival, Taha, has been captured and is on a dangerous mission of his own.
One wrong move could cost them their lives—and everyone they love. But they may find that there is more than meets the eye crossing the Serpent Sea . . . and betrayal cuts deeper than any dagger.
Heart-Shaped Lies by Elizabeth Agyemang
Release Date: November 26 from Delacorte Press
Why You’ll Love It: When an internet-famous (and occasionally controversial) teen prankster is found dead on a school trip, a hacker turns suspicion against the three young women who were (unbeknownst) to one another dating him. Now the girls must work together to clear their names. An entertaining addition to the growing social media thriller sub-genre, which wrestles with the dark side of influencer culture, misinformation, and more.
Publisher Description: Kiara, Priscilla, and Nevaeh have nothing in common—except they just found out that they’re all dating Tommy Harding, the internet’s most famous teen prank star.
KIARA is the girlfriend who the cameras know and love, the academic star who Tommy parades around in public to keep his image in check.
PRISCILLA is Tommy’s co-star. As a beauty influencer and an accomplice to Tommy’s notorious antics, she’s always known that the two of them could be the Internet’s power couple—if only he would confess to his girlfriend what really goes on during their ‘rehearsals’.
And NEVAEH is the good girl, the pastor’s daughter who’d never dream of dating a boy who’s already taken.
When a viral post from Tommy’s social media account exposes his cheating ways during their high school class trip to Florida’s biggest theme park, the girls are crushed—and furious. Tommy claims his account was hacked. Now, Kiara, Priscilla, and Nevaeh want him out of their lives. Forever. After all, Tommy doesn’t just hold their hearts—he holds their secrets, too.
But when Tommy’s body is found the next morning, their so-called wish becomes a twisted reality. Because Tommy may be gone, but the internet is forever. And the girls are about to go from strangers to suspects….
Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher
Release Date: November 26 from Wednesday Books
Why You’ll Love It: Another entertaining YA historical romance from the author of Gwen and Art Are Not In Love, Not for the Faint of Heart puts a queer spin on the Robin Hood legend told through the eyes of his granddaughter and the girl she accidentally kidnapped.
Publisher’s Description: Mariel, a newly blooded and perpetually grumpy captain of the Merry Men, is desperate to live up to the legacy of her grandfather, the legendary Robin Hood. Clem, a too-perky backwoods healer known for her new-fangled cures, just wants to help people.
When Mariel’s ramshackle band of bandits kidnap Clem as retribution for her guardian helping the Sheriff of Nottingham, all seems to be going (sort of) to plan … until Jack Hartley, Mariel’s father and Commander of the Merry Men, is captured in a deadly ambush. Determined to prove herself, Mariel sets out to get him back – with her annoyingly cheerful kidnappee in tow.
But the wood is at war. Many believe the Merry Men are no longer on the right side of history. Watching Clem tend the party’s wounds and crack relentlessly terrible jokes, Mariel begins to doubt the noble cause to which she has devoted her life. As the two of them grow closer, forced by circumstances to share a single horse and bed, one thing is clear. They must prepare to fight for their lives and for those of everyone they’ve sworn to protect.
Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter @LacyMB
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