October 2026 list by K. Pearson |
|
|
|
72 Hours of You
by Darianne Schramm
If I Stay and After Life 72 hours before someone dies, Sydney Hoffman sees a pink clock over their head, counting down their final minutes. Seeing death's status updates in real-time without being able to save anyone is . . . pretty much the worst. Which is why she never gets involved. But then she meets Peter Beckett, her optimistic, book-obsessed, and (annoyingly) attractive new classmate.
|
|
|
|
Blightfall
by Brandon Sanderson
After decades of war against alien oppressors, the humans of the Defiant Defense Force are finally free. Yet for Arturo Mendez, leader of Skyward Flight, freedom isn’t what he thought it would be. His first postwar assignment seems simple: The DDF has found evidence of other settlements of humans who were isolated during their long war against the aliens, and Arturo and his flight of pilots are to escort a team of diplomats as they attempt to make contact. It’s an easy mission—get in, guard the diplomats, and get out.
|
|
|
|
Building 903
by Lois Lowry
Twins Tessa and Theo live in a world ruled by a tyrannical leader, where there are no dangers or rebels... or so they've been told. In this world, citizens live long lives, and while many hate their leader, they are comfortable and safe. So, when Tessa's brother disappears, nobody wants to discuss it. But then Miriam, their 135-year-old neighbor bound for the retirement community, slips Tessa a key--not only to her brother's disappearance, but to the source of all real magic . . . books.
|
|
|
|
Camp Half-Blood: The Wild Zone
by Rick Riordan
Five newbie demigods dare to enter Camp Half-Blood's forbidden Wild Zone, unleashing ancient curses, bloodthirsty monsters--and a fight to survive. Katie Kim may be a newcomer to Camp Half-Blood, but even she knows they weren't supposed to be running through the Wild Zone--the forest is off-limits to campers and staff. Why, then, did Clarisse, head counselor of the Ares cabin, take her and four other newbies there in the dark of night and tell them to race back to camp by morning? Clarisse's threat was scary enough, but when Katie's half-brother Grant goes missing, his disappearance sparks the arrival of vicious monsters and a mysterious curse.
|
|
|
|
Cursebreaker
by R. M. Gray
At last, pirate Aster Oberon is setting sail--but danger is on the horizon. Armed with her crew of family and friends, Aster is pursuing the evil queen Morana in order to save the world as she knows it. Her heart is desperately torn between Will and Titus, but she'll have to put her feelings aside to destroy the Underling army once and for all. Unfortunately, Aster isn't the only one hunting. Morana is seeking three mythical treasures: a helm that reveals the entrance to Elysia, a key to unlock the gates, and a sword to vanquish the creature within. If Morana is successful in her search, she could destroy the barrier between the heavens and their realm.
|
|
|
|
Demon in the Sand
by E. K. Johnston
After the horrific events on the Titan, where ancient aliens were released on the ship and massacred or possessed most of the travelers, Dominic finds himself on the surface of Mars amidst the wreckage of the ruined vessel. He made it out alive, along with a small number of other survivors -- including Ren, a smart and determined ship mechanic. Against all odds, Celeste also survived the crash . . . but that should be impossible, given she sacrificed herself to save the others . . .
|
|
|
|
The Gods Will Sing Our Song
by Autumn Krause
A divine favor can change everything. 1942. War rumbles across the world, gods stir in the wind, and two star-crossed souls are set on a path that will change them forever. Ren Hamada is defined by his troubled past, while Violet Aratani only worries about keeping her straight-A grades. They have little in common beyond the old magic that thrums in their family relics--until the US government forces them out of their homes simply because they're Japanese American.
|
|
|
|
Golden Flight: The Keeper's Records of Revolution
by S. K. Ali
Golden Flight returns to a divided world with war on the horizon. How difficult is it to crash the party of the decade? Literally crash it? The Golden Flight happens once every ten years--a gala to honor elites fallen in service of maintaining Upper Earth's powerful hold on earth's remaining populace and dwindling resources. It's a party where cunning new technology gets unveiled to masked revelers perpetually thirsty for fresh entertainment. It's also a party Raisa and Nayf plan to infiltrate to bring down Upper Earth for good.
|
|
|
|
Grim
by Alex Aster
Grimshaw Malvere had no choice in becoming a monster. Raised by a cruel father to be a killing machine, Grim learned at an early age to push down any emotion—grief, guilt, and especially love. When the curses are cast and Nightshade is thrust into turmoil, Grim makes it his mission to ensure his realm’s survival.
Then Isla appears in his castle, and Grim discovers the one thing that’s more powerful than pain…
|
|
|
|
Hawk & Sparrow
by Ayana Gray
Vesper Evans has always resented Basalton’s high society, and the sorcery that provides them with a luxurious life unimaginable to most. Orphaned as a child and rescued by the editor of The Basalton Globe, Vesper is now an ambitious reporter determined to keep her newspaper afloat. While covering a lavish society gala, Vesper happens upon a shocking scene: the murdered body of a man she had spoken with just minutes before. Several of the powerful magical elite may want the man dead, but the prime suspect is wealthy industrialist Maximilian Kite.
|
|
|
|
Heart of Thieves
by Jessica S. Olson
Lola St. James is trapped in a web of lies and deceit. But that only makes her more determined to find the truth. The truth about her past. The truth about her magic. And the truth about the curse that binds her to two warring brothers who she both hates and loves. With the Liar's Dice Tournament now only a painful memory, Lola dons a new alter ego, Nocturne, and creates her own elaborate game designed to lure both the Liar and the Thief into her clutches, certain this is the only way to give them a chance to break their curses. But Lola is not the only one with plans for the brothers. When a powerful figure from their past comes back to haunt them, will Lola's love be enough to hold them all together? Or will the lies they've told tear them apart forever?
|
|
|
|
Look What You Did
by Kaitlin Reilly
I know about Will....I know what he did that night. After the tragic death of golden boy Will Ashford, everyone in town is in mourning. Or almost everyone. Seventeen-year-old Mackenzie couldn't be more relieved. Because she knows Will's veneer of perfection hid something dark and dangerous. It was a truth she learned one night at the Ashford house and swore never to tell. But her plan is threatened when she starts receiving texts from an unknown number. Someone knows the secret Mackenzie has tried so hard to hide--and they are determined to reveal it. When Mackenzie's former best friend is found dead, she is convinced the anonymous texter is connected to her murder, and she will stop at nothing to find them.
|
|
|
|
Oro
by Alex Aster
Oro Rey was never meant to be king. As the second-born son with a rare and dangerous ability, his upbringing was an endless winter of training and control. When his entire family perishes and the realms are cursed, suddenly the people of Lightlark are his responsibility―and he will do whatever it takes to protect them. Then Oro meets Isla, the person who turns his winter into summer, and she changes everything…
|
|
|
|
Our Dark Unraveling
by Margot McGovern
Love never dies. That's the problem. At the ultra-elite boarding school of Milford, students sacrifice their phones, relationships, and contact with the outside world for the chance at a top-notch education . . . except Lyssa didn't. She risked a romance with Milford's golden boy Jude Sinclair. But when Jude dies in a freak accident, Lyssa's world is upended. She can't imagine her life without him--and when she discovers a way to summon his ghost, maybe she doesn't have to.
|
|
|
|
The Secret to Belonging
by Megan E. Freeman
You are invisible in your own family. Your parents spend all their care and attention on your brother, who is addicted to drugs. Your dreams don't matter to anyone but you. Your only ticket out is a college fund left by your grandfather--until your parents use it to pay for your brother's drug rehab. Just when your future seems about to collapse, you are offered a lifeline: a scholarship to become an exchange student in a remote part of Norway. It's an invitation to begin a new life in a new place with new people...a place where you might finally feel like you belong.
|
|
|
|
Storm Caller
by Nisha J. Tuli
Poet Graves has only ever wanted to be free. But no matter where she turns, she's held captive--by a power she doesn't understand, a truth she no longer believes in, and a love she can't deny. As Poet is drawn further into Rook's world, his secrets force her to question who she can trust. But when friends turn into enemies, enemies prove to be allies, and the place that was once a safe harbor is revealed as the eye of the storm, Poet's only choice is to fight for what she believes in.
|
|
|
|
Traitors' Nest
by Frances Hardinge
Far above the valleys and villages of the Kingdom of Thaletal, a Great Game is played. Players move castles around the realm like chess pieces--and the ordinary villagers are mere pawns at the whim of their tactics. When fifteen-year-old Burr's peaceful village is disrupted by the arrival of an ominous new castle, he decides he's had enough. But what starts as a plucky coup soon escalates--and then the castle is wrenched away to a far-flung corner of the kingdom, where whispers mount of a mysterious ancient maiden whose magpies collect her debts at dangerous prices. Here, the stakes are higher than the tallest turrets, and every move counts. Burr must work with his sisters and friends--and rely on the unexpected help of an intriguing heiress--to unravel the secrets of the Magpie Maiden and the origins of the Great Game before he becomes just another casualty of the Players' deadly contest.
|
|
|
|
We're All Going to Die Tonight!
by Veronica Bane
Seven teens, forced to spend a stormy--and deadly--night together. The members of the Coastal Canyon debate team have their reasons to hate each other: complicated pasts, thornier presents, a huge competition loss . . . Now they're stuck at an Airbnb together for a night during what feels like the storm of the century. Can it get any worse? Yes. Yes, it can. A flat tire, a severed landline, someone's unconscious, and there's a body outside. The night is unraveling, and it's becoming clear: No one is safe. But safe from who? A teammate? A teacher? Or is a stranger lurking in the woods? Seven students. Three teachers. One body.Lock all the doors and trust no one. After all, death isn't up for debate.
|
|
|
|
Winterveil
by Ava Reid
It's a game--until it's war. A disgraced politician from a powerful American dynasty.A coldly brilliant strategist who will sacrifice anything to win. A former pageant queen with a talent that could change the world. An expert female soldier with an enigmatic past--and a dangerous secret. In an alternate future where the Cold War still rages, four precocious teenage criminals with dark skills and darker secrets are offered a fresh start at a secret military academy. But instead of training to end the war, they find themselves on a mysterious mission that will test loyalties, forge romances, and maybe end the world as they know it.
|
|
|
|
The World at Midnight
by Ann Brashares
Henry, Frances, and Lukas are still stuck in Westfallen in 2023. They're out of ideas on how to get home until they discover a series of historical comic books that outline how Nazi high command in Germany found out the details of D-Day. Now they've got to work with their friends Alice, Lawrence, and Artie in 1944 to follow the clues in the comic books to stop the message from getting across the Atlantic. Lukas has been conscripted to play baseball--normally impossible for a Jewish kid in Westfallen, but his talent is undeniable--and he's got to find a way to stay on the team and stay alive when everyone around him wants to see him fail or worse.
|
|
|
|
|
