Young Adult Newsletter October 2026

All County buildings, including the Library, will be closed on
Monday, October 5, in observance of Mother Cabrini Day.

The Teen Librarians are reading...

The Dysfunctional Family's Guide to Murder by Kate Emery

Teen Collection Development Librarian Rachel is reading...

The Dysfunctional Family's Guide to Murder

Kate Emery

14-year-old Ruth was expecting a few fights on her family's vacation at their remote farmhouse. But she wasn't expecting a murder. And "death by typewriter" wasn't quite how she thought her step-grandmother, GG, would meet her end.

As an avid reader of mystery novels, Ruth is more than a little excited to have a real mystery to solve. (Though she's sad about GG. Obviously.) And she's read enough Agatha Christie that catching a killer should be a breeze... right?

With her annoyingly hot sort-of-cousin, Dylan, as the Watson to her Holmes, Ruth soon begins to uncover long-buried family secrets, finding that each of her relatives--her dad; her aunts and their partners; even, in the interest of fairness, Dylan and herself--had reasons to want GG gone.

But are any of them capable of murder? As tensions rise with everyone stuck in the house together, Ruth will have to dig deep to find out... before the killer strikes again.

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

Teen Programming & Publicity Librarian Lily is reading...

Slice of Cherry

Dia Reeves

Kit and Fancy Cordelle are sisters of the best kind: best friends, best confidantes, and best accomplices. The daughters of the infamous Bonesaw Killer, Kit and Fancy are used to feeling like outsiders, and that's just the way they like it. But in Portero, where the weird and wild run rampant, the Cordelle sisters are hardly the oddest or most dangerous creatures around.


It's no surprise when Kit and Fancy start to give in to their deepest desire - the desire to kill. What starts as a fascination with slicing open and stitching up quickly spirals into a gratifying murder spree. Of course, the sisters aren't killing just anyone, only the people who truly deserve it. But the girls have learned from the mistakes of their father, and know that a shred of evidence could get them caught. So when Fancy stumbles upon a mysterious and invisible doorway to another world, she opens a door to endless possibilities.

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

Children's Programming & Publicity Librarian Sierra is reading...

She is a Haunting

Trang Thanh Tran

When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. She’s always lied to fit in, so if she’s straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough, she can get out with the college money he promised.

But the house has other plans. Night after night, Jade wakes up paralyzed. The walls exude a thrumming sound, while bugs leave their legs and feelers in places they don’t belong. She finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended. And at night Jade can’t ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves her cryptic warnings: Don’t eat.

Neither Ba nor her sweet sister Lily believe that there is anything strange happening. With help from a delinquent girl, Jade will prove this house—the home her family has always wanted—will not rest until it destroys them. Maybe, this time, she can keep her family together. As she roots out the house’s rot, she must also face the truth of who she is and who she must become to save them all.

Upcoming Events

Dungeons & Dragons

Saturday, October 3, 17 | 3:30pm-5:30pm
Library Lab


Whether you're a fan of fantasy, gaming, acting, or some combination of the three, Dungeons & Dragons is here to fill your weekends with whimsy and magic. No experience necessary—all adventurers welcome.


Learn more.

polyhedral dice
Teen Advisory Board

Teen Advisory Board

Tuesday, October 6 | 4:00pm-5:30pm

Hotpick Meeting Room


Want to make your voice heard? Join Teen Advisory Board, where you'll partner with the Teen Librarians to learn more about the Library, offer suggestions on the young adult book collection, and help decide on future programs and activities.


Learn more.

Manga Book Club

Friday, October 9 | 4:00pm-5:30pm
Dunaway Community Room


Join us for snacks, activities, and all things manga! This month, we'll be discussing Blue Lock Vol. 3 and 4 by Muneyuki Kaneshiro.


Learn more.

Blue Lock 3 by Muneyuki Kaneshiro
Journaling Jam

Journaling Jam

Tuesday, October 13 | 4:00pm-5:30pm

Hotpick Meeting Room


Explore different methods of keeping a journal in a relaxed, self-driven environment. We'll provide a journal or sketchbook and decorative materials; you'll bring the creativity, whether you prefer to write or make art.


Learn more.

Book Thieves Book Club

Tuesday, October 20 | 4:00pm-5:30pm

Hotpick Meeting Room


At this meeting of the Book Thieves, we'll discuss We Could Be Anyone by Anna-Marie McLemore, enjoy snacks, and hand out our November pick.


Limited copies of the book are available on a first-come, first-served basis.


Learn more.

We Could Be Anyone by Anna-Marie McLemore

Day of the Dead: Arts & Crafts

Saturday, October 24 | 11:00am-1:00pm
Dunaway Community Room


Celebrate Día De Los Muertos with Anderson Ranch! Create traditional altars and colorful skulls while learning about this vibrant cultural tradition.


Learn more.

Halloween Movie Night & Monster Origami

Tuesday, October 27 | 4:00pm-6:00pm
Dunaway Community Room


Join us for specialty movie nights paired with popcorn, drinks, and a themed craft.


Our Halloween movie will be selected by the Teen Advisory Board and announced soon. While we watch, we'll make monster origami!


Learn more.

Halloween Movie Night
Werewolf DJ

Halloween Decorating Party

Friday, October 30 | 4:00pm-8:00pm
Dunaway Community Room


Help the youth services team decorate the Dunaway Community Room for our Library Trick-or-Treat and Costume Contest the following day! We'll be making spooky snacks and watching Halloween movies while we decorate.


Learn more.

Young Adult Recommended Reads

BROWSE THE YOUNG ADULT NEW BOOK COLLECTION

Every month, we highlight stories with a different genre or theme in the

Teen Area. These thrilling reads will keep you up all night!

They Want Us Dead by CL Montblanc

The Want Us Dead

C.L. Montblanc

Seventeen-year-old Sam Tombs hopes to get more eyes on the videos they make to raise awareness of crimes against LGBTQ+ teens. A true crime content creator event seems like the perfect opportunity to grow their channel—until the group becomes stranded at an eerie Victorian mansion, and one of them is killed in the night.

Sam’s alibi, and the only person they can trust, happens to be their mean, dorky internet nemesis Dylan. But the two must now put aside their rivalry and use their investigative skills to figure out who among the remaining teens is the killer, before their own deaths become tomorrow’s trending content.

In Case I Go Missing by R. N. Swann

In Case I Go Missing

R.N. Swann

Seventeen-year-old Fenny Allen has been Sarah Vincenty's sidekick for as long as she can remember, ever since the two of them solved the mystery of the stolen library books back in elementary school. Over the years, Sarah has ruffled a few feathers in their small town, building a reputation as both an amateur detective and a vigilante who has dispensed her own form of justice.

Now Sarah is missing. The police have written her off as yet another teen runaway, but Fenny is convinced that something more sinister has happened. When she discovers a binder Sarah left behind entitled In Case I Go Missing, Fenny learns that at the time of her disappearance, Sarah was investigating her biggest case yet.

Fenny knows that it's up to her to finish what Sarah had begun. As she and her friend Sam piece together the clues that Sarah left for them, they find themselves up against a decades-old mystery—one that links to the town's dark history. But is this binder a guide to finding Sarah—or are Fenny and Sam already too late?

Killing Sadie by Rachel Peterson

Killing Sadie

Rachel Peterson

Here’s what we do know: there was another infamous barn party at the McClain family farm last night, and things went horribly wrong. By the end of the night, there were two dead bodies in the old barn: seventeen-year-old Sadie Cooper and her killer, Mason Vreeland. The murder was heartbreakingly witnessed by Sadie’s twin sister, Jayne, and Sadie died in her arms. Mason was killed by Sadie’s boyfriend, Ben, in an attempt to save Sadie.

Aside from figuring out Mason’s motive, it should be an open and shut case.

But it’s not.

The story unfolds just after the murders, and Jayne, Ben, and Sadie’s best friend, Liz, are telling the cops what transpired at the party and the events leading up to it. But little details don’t match. And those little details start to add up to big discrepancies. But who’s lying, and why?

The shocking truth is revealed in the third act, when the POV shifts to victim Sadie herself, in the days leading up to the party. Witness exactly what happened—and see if you can piece it all together. Because poor Sadie totally missed what was right in front of her.

Thornbird by E. Kennedy

Thornbird

E. Kennedy

The world is hunting for answers—but what if the truth leads straight to you?

Ten years after her father—the infamous serial killer Gabriel Thorn—was caught, Ryan Shipley is back in Starling, Tennessee, trying to lay low. No one can know who she really is. No one can know the truth about her past.

But as fresh eyes dig deeper into the case, old secrets refuse to stay buried. Cryptic texts, eerie coincidences, and a chilling note leave everyone wondering—does Ryan know more than she’s letting on? As the truth unravels, one thing becomes in a town full of secrets, Ryan might be the biggest mystery of them all.

I Didn't Do It by Elle Gonzalez Rose

I Didn't Do It

Elle Gonzalez Rose

Dina Soto is used to laying low. Ever since her father confessed to murdering two of his students, Dina's mom has kept the family on a short leash to avoid drawing any more attention. But when cute, popular, and incredibly sweet Kai Thompson invites Dina to spend the weekend with him and his friends at his cabin, Dina thinks maybe being noticed wouldn't be so bad.

But once at the cabin, Dina realizes one night won't change her reputation as the daughter of a killer-especially not when people start turning up dead. Told in part through police evidence, the truth of what happened that night unravels alongside long-held secrets. But one thing remains true: Dina is adamant she didn't do it. Now, she just has to prove it.

Have questions?

Call 970-429-1900

Fb Email

Want more events?

View Full Calendar
Pitkin County Library
120 North Mill Street, Aspen, Colorado 81611
970-429-1900 | pitcolib.org