Read on to discover our picks and tell us in the comments below if you’re looking forward to any!

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
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New York Times bestselling author Andrew Joseph White returns with the transgressive gothic horror of our time! A blood-soaked and nauseating triumph that cuts like a scalpel and reads like your darkest nightmare.

This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson
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The Shadows Between Us meets Six of Crows in this spellbinding new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, and pulse-pounding action, where the eldest daughter of a renowned family on the verge of ruin joins forces with a mysterious, rogue enchanter and a handsome, ambitious heir to win a deadly race.

Foul Heart Huntsman by Chloe Gong
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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends comes the second book in the captivating Foul Lady Fortune duology following an immortal assassin in 1930s Shanghai as she races to save her country and her love.

Into the Bright Open: A Secret Garden Remix by Cherie Dimaline
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This queer YA reimagining of The Secret Garden subverts the cishet and white status quo of the original in a tale of family secrets wonderful and horrifying.

Monstrous by Jessica Lewis
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Forced to spend her summer in her aunt’s strange small town, a teen girl discovers dark secrets hidden in the woods. From the author of Bad Witch Burning comes another pulse-pounding novel perfect for fans of Supernatural and Lovecraft Country.

Your Lonely Nights Are Over by Adam Sass
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Scream meets Clueless in this YA horror from Adam Sass in which two gay teen BFFs find their friendship tested when a serial killer starts targeting their school’s Queer Club.

A Prayer For Vengeance by Leanne Schwartz
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An orphan out to find the truth within a warped religion turns his poetry into prayer―a prayer that awakens a cursed girl hungry for revenge.

The Library of Shadows by Rachel Moore
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Funny, moving, and heart-achingly real, this romantic romp and paranormal romcom debut—through a haunted library with trapdoors, ghosts, and memories—is full of great love that triumphs over even death, perfect for fans of Ninth House and Cemetery Boys.

For Girls Who Walk Through Fire by Kim DeRose
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The Scarlet Veil by Shelby Mahurin
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A dark and thrilling vampire romance set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Serpent & Dove series.

If I Have to Be Haunted by Miranda Sun
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Cemetery Boys meets Legendborn in this thrillingly romantic, irresistibly fun YA contemporary fantasy debut following a teenage Chinese American ghost speaker who (reluctantly) makes a deal to raise her nemesis from the dead.

When a Brown Girl Flees by Aamna Qureshi
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In this searing contemporary YA novel from new voice Aamna Qureshi, a Muslim teen runs away from home only to find herself on a breathtaking journey of healing, self-love, and hope.​

Nightbreaker by Coco Ma
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Fifteen years ago, The Vanishing thrust Manhattan into darkness, forever changing the City That Never Sleeps. By day, resilient New Yorkers have adapted, clinging to the vestiges of their cosmopolitan lives. By night—well, you never go out at night unless you have a death wish.

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
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Bestselling author Ava Reidmakes her YA debut in this dark academic fantasy perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Elana K. Arnold.

How to Find a Missing Girl by Victoria Wlosok
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For fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and Veronica Mars, this whip-smart thriller follows a sapphic detective agency as they seek the truth behind a growing trail of missing girls in small-town Louisiana. 

Mermaids Never Drown: Tales to Dive For
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14 Young Adult short stories from bestselling and award-winning authors make a splash in Mermaids Never Drown – the second collection in the Untold Legends series edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker – exploring mermaids like we’ve never seen them before!

A Hundred Vicious Turns by Lee Paige O’Brien
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The heir to an arcane bloodline must outwit their ambitious rival to stop a ruthless magical adversary in Lee Paige O’Brien’s A Hundred Vicious Turns, a YA fantasy debut—first in The Broken Tower series—perfect for fans of A Lesson in Vengeance and Hell Followed With Us.

All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr
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In the vein of Grown and The Poet X, Hannah V. Sawyerr’s All the Fighting Parts is a searing and defiant young adult novel in verse about reclaiming agency after a sexual assault within the church community.

Everyone’s Thinking It by Aleema Omotoni
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Mean Girls meets Dear White People in this big-hearted, sharp-witted UK boarding school story about family, friendship, and belonging—with a propulsive mystery at its heart.

A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak by Laura Taylor Namey
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In this highly anticipated companion to the New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club YA Pick A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, Flora Maxwell heads to Miami to find a path for her future…and finds her heart along the way.

The Society For Soulless Girls by Laura Steven
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A sapphic enemies-to-lovers retelling of Jekyll & Hyde, this dark academia thriller follows two roommates who must solve an infamous cold case of serial murders on their campus after an arcane ritual gone wrong prompts another death.

There’s No Way I’d Die First by Lisa Springer
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A spine-tingling contemporary horror-comedy novel that follows a scary-movie buff as she hosts an elaborate Halloween bash but soon finds the festivities upended when she and her guests are forced to test their survival skills in a deadly game, from debut author Lisa Springer.

Cage of Dreams by Rebecca Schaeffer
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In this thrilling sequel and conclusion to the City of Nightmares duology, Ness is forced to make a twisted deal with the Nightmare Phantom—only to find herself embroiled in the explosive fallout of the agreement when a botched assassination attempt unleashes chaos into the City of Newham.

Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis
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The Inheritance Games meets Ocean’s Eleven in this cinematic heist thriller where a cutthroat competition brings together the world’s best thieves and one thief is playing for the highest stakes of all: her mother’s life.

What YA books are you looking forward to picking up this month? Tell us in the comments below!

The post 24 YA Books Releasing In September 2023 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

In the vein of Grown and The Poet X, Hannah V. Sawyerr’s All the Fighting Parts is a searing and defiant young adult novel in verse about reclaiming agency after a sexual assault within the church community. All The Fighting Parts releases on September 19th with an excerpt to read after the guest post.

When I first started writing All the Fighting Parts, I knew if I wanted to tell Amina’s story honestly, that it would be a heavy read. The story uses poetry, court transcripts, and text messages to amplify the voice of 16-year-old Amina as she comes forward against her abuser, a popular community figure and pastor. Throughout the novel, Amina’s close relationships are heavily impacted but with the help of her community–including a panty-obsessed best friend–she learns how to reclaim her narrative and sense of self.

Because I knew the nature of Amina’s story would carry a lot of emotional weight, I often relied on humor to carry the reader through the narrative. This particular scene falls about fifty pages into the novel, but it was the first scene in the book I wrote after finishing the opening six pages. The idea of Amina having a best friend who suggests Amina “cuts the cheeks out of her six-pack Walmart panties” because “she needs underwear that flaunts her ass” in case she runs into her boyfriend at the (church sponsored) cookout was funny–and the best kind of absurd to me. I was quite literally in the middle of a Walmart when I had the idea and I laughed to myself and started jotting down lines in the notes app of my phone. I didn’t know exactly how I would incorporate a scene like this into the novel, but when I got home I immediately wanted to write it.

Eventually, the relationship between Amina and her best friend Talia became a lot more nuanced. While Amina and Talia share an incredibly precious and close friendship–close enough to talk about panty choices–I don’t believe any friendship is perfect, and theirs isn’t. As I thought more about their relationship, I wanted to write honestly about some of the ugly and not-so-talked-about parts of high school (and even some adult) friendships. Amina and Talia are two girls who love each other dearly, but still experience bouts of insecurities, comparison, and even jealousy that crop up in friendships from time to time. Despite the occasional hiccups, Amina and Talia love and support each other. They often take turns taking care of one another in times of need. Amina teaches Talia that it’s okay to speak up for yourself and after Amina is assaulted, Talia reminds her that her story is valuable even when Amina struggles to believe so. Their love was at the center of the story before anything else—even before I knew how it was going to be fully shaped on the page.

We often take platonic love for granted. Amina has a fierce community behind her, and while I love the romance Amina shares with her boyfriend and enjoyed writing their relationship, Amina and Talia’s was at times more beautiful and resonated more deeply with me. Like real life relationships, Amina and Talia grow stronger from their mistakes and those lessons keep their friendship thriving. During the lowest moments of our lives, it’s our community–which is often made largely of found family–that holds us up when we cannot hold ourselves. And for Amina, the person who she can always rely on, comes in the form of a panty-obsessed, sometimes oblivious but always, always, well-meaning, best friend named Talia.

Fashionable Friends Like Talia

A fashion-forward friend might ask to pick your outfit for a cookout,
but fashion-forward friends like Talia ask to pick your entire outfit—
including your panties.

Best friends like Talia say:

“You need underwear that flaunts your ass! Not covers it!”

Talia says:

“If you see Deon tonight and you’re in the moment
and you start feeling the conversation,
and you start feeling each other,
you’ll be happy he’s not feeling on your six-pack Walmart panties.”

Says I’ll be thankful she didn’t allow me to wear
underwear the size of a flag marking my uncharted territory.
I tell her,

“Deon said his mom might be working late tonight.”

Besides, just because Deon and I haven’t had sex,
doesn’t mean he hasn’t seen me in my underwear.

I remind Talia I’m not volunteering at any party.
It’s an annual block party,
with every family,
a.k.a every adult,
a.k.a every parent in our community.
Sponsored by a literal church.
But Talia only says:

“Okay, but is it in a church?”

Perfect Panties

Talia’s family has the money for her to believe
the solution to every dilemma is an entirely new outfit.
Says,

“You know if we had a little bit more time,
I could have driven us to the mall to buy you some new clothes–
and some real underwear.”

Sometimes she offers to buy things with her allowance.
Her intentions are always good,
but it’s hard feeling like you’re taking some sort of handout.

Even when I refuse, she just
gives    gives    gives

I don’t want to be the friend who can only
take     take     take

So, I always pretend I don’t want it.

“Girl, not everybody is as obsessed with clothes or panties as you are!”

It’s hard knowing as much as I’d like to dress the way she does
I never can because I ain’t got the cash the way she does.

Jealous (I’m Not Supposed to Be)

I know you’re not supposed to be jealous of a friend
and I know it’s worse when you’re jealous of a best friend,
but at times I wish I could trade lives with Talia.

Talia is tall and thin and can work any outfit she owns.
She never has to worry about a bad hair day.
Her hair falls down her back after being straightened
every two weeks by the Dominican-hair-Gods at her aunt’s salon.

Talia has both her parents at home
and both of them would rock the whole world
if anybody tried to hurt her.

Don’t get me wrong.
I know how to walk in a room,
be the loudest person without speaking.

Hips that occupy the space of a small doorway–
I may not be stopping traffic,
but I’m known to make a guy
do a not-so-quick double take.

Deep brown skin that can steal a sold-out show,
the sun serves me as a personal bronzer.

Hair that shrinks in water,
and a self-esteem that grows with my ability
to speak up and call out anyone’s bullshit.

But sometimes it feels like as much as I love the way I look,
I live in a world that doesn’t.

While Talia lives in a world that does.

Sexy… Adjacent.

After rummaging through my clothes
probably looking for a thong she’ll never find, Talia figures
my red romper, faux leather sandals, & plain black pair of panties
are sexy adjacent and will do.

Says I’m “lucky” she doesn’t cut the cheeks out.
That most guys would
“like them better if I would just cut the damn cheeks out!”

I agree to wear the plain black flag panties
(with both cheeks intact)
raising a white flag in surrender.

The post Author Hannah V. Sawyerr On The Importance of Found Family in ‘All The Fighting Parts’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.