Thrilling YA Reads this Fall

October's YA releases are heavy on the paranormal... and the awesome. Lots of cool books this fall, including the kick off of several new series by best selling authors.

PRETENDERS

The five most popular students at Noble High have secrets to hide; secrets they wrote down in their journals. Now one of their own exposes the private entries, exposing the elite group as the pretenders they are.

Lisi Harrison is the author of The Clique, Alphas and Monster High series, and this has a big Gossip Girls vibe to me. Tag this: non-paranormal and guilty pleasure

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PREMEDITATED

Seventeen-year old Dinah pieces together the mystery that surrounds the near death of her 14-year old cousin Claire. 
While Claire clings to life in the hospital, Dinah searches for the boy Claire writes about in her journal, the boy who caused Claire such humiliation that the thought of living one more day was just too much. 

Dinah is on a mission for revenge, but as things start to unfold, her plan isn't as simple as it seemed. Tag this: non-paranormal, mystery and thriller

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RED

Felicity St. John has it all: loyal best friends, a hot guy, and artistic talent. All because of one thing: her long, wavy, coppery red hair. In Scarletville. Redheads hold all the power. That's why Felicity is scared down to her roots when she receives an anonymous note: I know your secret. Felicity's hair color comes straight out of a bottle, and if anyone discovered the truth, she'd be a social outcast faster than she could say strawberry blond. Forget about winning that pageant crown and the prize money that that would allow her to fulfill her dream of going to art school. Felicity isn't about to let someone blackmail her life away. But just how far is she willing to go to protect her red cred?

 While the premise might sound silly, RED is getting praise for being:

"As thought-provoking as it is enchanting."—Rae Carson, author of the Fire and Thorns trilogy.
 
And: "Smart, funny, and full of Awesome Ladies Behaving Awesomely."
—Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of the Hex Hall series. Tag this: non-paranormal, social commentary that's not boring

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RAGS & BONES

Ready? Garth Nix, Saladin Ahmed, Gene Wolfe, Tim Pratt, Holly Black, Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Rick Yancey, Neil Gaiman, Kami Garcia, Carrie Ryan, Margaret Stohl (omg whew!) retell the classic (sexy, deadly, twisted) tales that have inspired, awed, and enraged them, the ones that have become ingrained in modern culture, and the ones that have been too long overlooked.

Written from a twenty-first century perspective and set within the realms of science fiction, dystopian fiction, fantasy, and realistic fiction, these short pay homage to the past while celebrating each author's unique perception and innovative style. 
Tag this: popular authors, realistic, fantasy, dystopian, buy now

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PERFECT RUIN

On the floating city of Internment, getting too close to the edge leads to madness. Morgan is determined not to end up a Jumper like her brother. But then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. Morgan is convinced that the accused is innocent, but investigation will reveal the secrets that lay at the heart of Internment.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Chemical Garden trilogy. Tag this fantasy, new series, and romance

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THE EYE OF MINDS

Michael is a gamer who spends most of his time on the VirtNet rather than the actual world. But then the unthinkable happens: a hacker takes players hostage inside the VirtNet, leaving the brain-dead in real life. The government knows you need a hacker to catch a hacker, and they tap Michael for an off-grid, back-alley mission that will blur the line between game and reality forever.

From James Dashner, the author of the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series, comes a new series set in a world of hyperadvanced technology, cyberterrorists, and gaming beyond your wildest dreams . . . and your worst nightmares. Tag this: science fiction, cyberpunk, and thriller

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Finally, here are some new installments (and final installments!) in series that I can't not mention! Tag these all: ongoing series, favorites, and paranormal

DESERT TALES by Melissa Marr (10/8 from Harper Collins)

BANG (Visions #2) by Lisa McMann (10/8 from Simon Pulse)

UNSOULED (Unwide #3) by Neal Shusterman (10/15 from Simon & Schuster)

REVEALED (House of Night #11) by Kristin Cast and P.C. Cast (10/15 from St. Martin's Griffin)

THE ENCHANTER HEIR (The Heir Chronicles #4) by Cinda Williams Chima (10/22 from Hyperion)

ALLEGIANT (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth (10/22 from Katherine Tegen Books)

HORDE (Enclave #3) by Ann Aguirre (10/29 from Feiwel & Friends)