Read on to discover our picks and tell us in the comments below if any catch your eye!

Beyond the Ruby Veil by Mara Fitzgerald
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A dark, queer YA fantasy that’s perfect for fans of the Three Dark Crowns series and Wicked Saints. After Emanuela Ragno kills the one person in Occhia who can create water, she must find a way to save her city from dying of thirst. 

This Is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Set over the course of one day, Aminah Mae Safi’s This Is All Your Fault is a smart and voice-driven YA novel that follows three young women determined to save their indie bookstore.

Come On In by Adi Alsaid
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

This exceptional and powerful anthology explores the joys, heartbreaks and triumphs of immigration, with stories by bestselling and beloved YA authors who are themselves immigrants and the children of immigrants.

Hush by Dylan Farrow
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Graceling meets Red Queen in this exciting debut novel by an electrifying new voice.

Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Ashley Poston, acclaimed author of Heart of Iron, returns with a dark, lush fairy tale–inspired fantasy for fans of Sara Raasch and Susan Dennard.

Swamp Thing: Twin Branches by Maggie Stiefvater and Morgan Beem
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

#1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater (the Raven Cycle series) and artist Morgan Beem unearth the primal power of memory and how it twists the bond between two brothers.

The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice by Lisa DeSelm
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Pinocchio meets Frankenstein in this dark fairy tale retelling where a young girl is commissioned to build an assassin for a dark-hearted tyrant.

Something Happened To Ali Greenleaf by Hayley Krischer
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Perfect for fans of Rory Power and Laurie Halse Anderson, this sharp, emotional debut follows two girls as they navigate tumultuous relationships, the effects of trauma, and what empowerment means to them.

Daughters of Jubilation by Kara Lee Corthron
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the award-winning author of The Truth of Right Now comes a stunning, grounded fantasy in the vein of Dread Nation that follows a black teen as she finds her place among a family of women gifted with magical abilities.

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From Jennifer Donnelly, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller Stepsister, comes a fairytale retelling that’ll forever change the way you think about strength, power, and the real meaning of “happily ever after.”

Everything I Thought I Knew by Shannon Takaoka
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A teenage girl wonders if she’s inherited more than just a heart from her donor in this compulsively readable debut. 

You Know I’m No Good by Jessie Ann Foley
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

This razor-sharp novel from Printz Honor winner and Morris Award finalist Jessie Ann Foley will appeal to fans of Rory Power and Mindy McGinnis.

What October YA releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post October 2020 Book Releases: YA appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Lisa! Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’d love to! I’m a full-time mom, graphic designer and copywriter by day, and YA novel writer by night…and by early morning…and basically, well, whenever I can squeeze the time in. I’m a fangirl of all things Disney, Star Wars, LOTR and Narnia. Few things make me happier than a cup of tea and getting to sit down with a good book. I reward myself in chocolate for writing goals well-met.

The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice is your first novel. What was the moment when the idea of the book first came to be? What made you pursue it?

I don’t write any of my books by hand, but I do daily doodles and brainstorming by hand in stacks of notebooks that I keep lying around. I had just finished writing a sleeping beauty retelling that I was querying for at the time, and was brainstorming about what other fairy tales I’d like to explore and what unique angles I could take. I’d watched the Disney animated version of Pinocchio with my daughters not long before and felt that there was a lot left to the tale of Pinocchio that could be unpacked. As I brainstormed, my mind leaped to the question, “What if it was a girl made from wood, instead of a boy?” Once I landed there, that question hooked me and set me off on a spiral of imagining what it would be like to be a girl made from wood. I wanted to know how she came to be, and what she would struggle with and what she would want for her life. I instinctively felt like she would be an artist, a maker, in her own right.

Did you bring some of your own life experiences to this book through Piro and the other makers?

Yes, in an indirect way. I myself am not experienced at working with wood, but my dad is an excellent carpenter and builder, as was my grandpa. So I spent my growing-up years watching them work with wood, handing them tools (that was a job I could do!) and loving the smell of sawdust and glue. I’ve always had an appreciation for artisanship, for the old ways of making things that are so often lost—weaving, glass blowing, pottery, you name it. There’s such beauty and skill in working with your hands, and I love adding that to my stories. I lived in Germany during my high school years, and the opportunities I had during that time to travel in Europe and see the artisanship of people who still make candles and blow glass and build clocks and carve everything by hand is deeply embedded in my brain. I was constantly enchanted by what I saw.

How do you select the names of your characters? Are they just names that appeal to you or did you look them up for a special meaning?

It’s a little bit of both for me. I want names that feel right for the setting and time-period, which in this case is a gothic, old European world, heavily inspired by my own impressions of living in Germany. I also wanted it to be clear that this is a Pinocchio retelling, (which is originally Italian), so I wanted the main character to have a name starting with ‘P’ so it was clear what I was trying to do and there would be a direct tie. I tried out several ‘P’ names until I landed on Pirouette, which just felt right. As a nod to the original ‘Geppetto’ name for Pinocchio’s father, I settled on Gephardt, a more German-sounding name, which fit him perfectly.

I loved that makers and the Makers Guild were an integral part of the story. It made me curious to connect more with puppet makers, blacksmiths, tailors, glassblowers, clockmakers, etc. Did you talk to any while writing your book? What kind of research did you do for The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice?

Having spent four years living in Germany during high school, I had the incredible privilege to travel all over Europe—visiting castles and ruins and villages, watching blacksmiths at their forges, going into clock shops and strolling in the Black Forest. I’ve been to glassblowers’ studios in Venice and walked with my mouth open through the medieval crime museum (torture devices galore!) in Rothenburg, Germany. I’ve also been through several doll and toy museums and was captivated by the old wooden dolls, the intricate dollhouses and the elaborate puppets. So those years in Europe are really where I gathered all of my impressions and ideas for what became the Makers Guild, and are what piqued my own interest in how craftspeople do their work. Any specific research I needed to know, (for example, how long does it typically take to heat up a glass smith’s oven?), I went to the internet to hunt for the details or to watch videos of artisans at work.

Related to makers, how is art integrated in your life? Are there any special activities that you do that helps you in writing?

I’ve always loved art, specifically drawing and painting. As a graphic designer and amateur photographer, I get to get some of that creative energy out in my day job and doing things for my family, but I definitely don’t get to work with my hands and get dirty and painterly as much as I would like. When I have time to doodle and sketch before a writing session, I feel like that often helps warm me up, just the way you’d stretch before going on a long run.

I learned from your bio that you love fairy tales. Can you name two of your favorites from your childhood? Are there any stories that you would say influenced and shaped you as a writer?

The first would is Little Red Riding Hood. My grandparents babysat me when I was little and my grandpa read that to me every day. They owned one of those cloth dolls that looks like the old grandmother on one side and then you flip over her skirts and it’s the wolf underneath. I both loved and feared that thing (it lives on a shelf in my basement now) and it’s said that I would literally shiver and shake as he told the story. It didn’t hurt that a huge, black German shepherd lived next door and I was fully convinced it was the real wolf.

The second would be The Princess and the Pea, a story often read to me by my other grandma. I loved the illustrations in the book she had, the way all the pretty cushions were piled so high and how ridiculous it was to think of a girl feeling a pea through all those mattresses. And yet, that sensitivity was her superpower!

I think as far as retellings influencing me as a writer, those also often come in movie or TV form. I adored Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre as a kid, which we owned on VHS tape, and seeing many of those classic stories come to life for the first time that way was pure delight.

The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice is inspired by Pinocchio and Frankenstein. Have you read any retellings of fairy tales that you would recommend to your readers?

Indeed! It’s so hard to narrow the list, but here are a few of my favorites:

• Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (Beauty & the Beast retelling)
• Sun and Moon and Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George (Based on the Nordic legend East of the Sun, West of the Moon)
• Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (Peter Pan retelling)
• Enchanted by Alethea Kontis (Frog Prince retelling)
• Splintered by A.G. Howard (Alice in Wonderland retelling series)
• Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige (Wizard of Oz retelling series)

How important are stories to help us understand the world around us as well as the situations that come up in life?

I think they are vital, they are our oxygen. In Lisa Cron’s book, Story Genius (which I am re-reading again and getting so much out of of!) she says, “We don’t turn to story to escape reality. We turn to story to navigate reality.” This resonates with me, down to my bones. Being able to be inside someone else’s skin and hear their thoughts, feel their fears, navigate their tricky spots and face down danger is what helps prepare us to face the fear and the unknowns in our real lives. And there’s a lot of those going around—I’m looking at you, 2020. Stories arm us with empathy and ideas and solutions!

The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice is a Young Adult Fantasy. Do you envision yourself writing a book in another genre?

Not at this point. I adore contemporary YA and historical fiction, too, but for right now, I’m having such fun living in my fantasy, fairy tale worlds that I can’t see myself leaving anytime soon. I’ve drunk from the magical fountain, it’s too late for me! I would love to write for other audiences though, to challenge myself, and hope to try writing a middle grade series, as well as picture books, someday.

If readers could take one thing away from this book, what would you want it to be?

I think I want readers leaving this story with a sense of hope and belief in their own capacity to make beautiful things in the world. Whether you are fourteen or eighteen or eighty-seven, you have the capability to master something, to become skilled at it and to become an artisan. Just because you’re young (or older!), doesn’t mean you don’t know things and that you can’t accomplish huge undertakings. You’re so much more capable than you realize.

Will you be picking up The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Lisa DeSelm, Author of ‘The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Content Notes: Depiction of death, natural and by assassination.

Themes For Thought

Magical with a strong female protagonist and a guild of makers who will do anything to save their craft, The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice is a fun read. I found the writing to be beautiful and immersive, and the characters were people I cheered for. The book gave me insight into the art of puppet making, which was new to me. Here are four broad themes that spoke to me throughout this book.

On Resilience

Piro might be an apprentice but she is good at what she does. She has a special connection to the wood and she takes care with it, something that only a true craftsman can experience. Throughout the story, she engages with her creations and other puppets, some created by her father, and some by other people, wondering about their plight and comparing them to her own situations. She has an empathy and love for her creations that shows throughout the story.

Piro is also a resilient girl. She does not let anything come in her way. I liked that even in times of danger and hard choices, she was able to keep her head on her shoulders and follow through on her values. She may be young, but she provides strength to people who are dear to her. 

On Stories

One of the initial themes that this book touches on is the power of stories. Piro hosts puppet shows in the market to supplement her income. Though she is well aware of the politics of the place, she is a good storyteller and knows the kind of stories that people want to hear. It is risky to share tales that have a message, but sometimes, stories are the only way to make people think about their situation and what the world can be like.

On Identity

Using old magic under the blue moon, the puppetmaster carved Piro out of wood. This gives her an additional connection to her creations and the story acts as a catalyst for her to think about who she is and the things she stands for. Everything has a cost and Piro’s connection with nature and the wood makes her wonder about the intentions with which she builds a marionette and who it becomes if the marionette were to come to life.

On Creativity

Related to the above, this book does a great job of portraying the importance of creative arts. As someone who lives in a city, I have never been in close contact with professionals like puppet makers,  blacksmiths, tailors, glassblowers, clockmakers, etc. It is in stories such as these, set in small towns and focusing on the makers in the town, that we readers get to see these crafts in play. It takes away the commercialisation that we are used to and brings us face to face with the makers who work in these crafts and their services are integral to the people around them. The makers play an important role in this book and it was wonderful to see their solidarity.

Conclusion

Overall, The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice is a sweet story about a girl whose life seems full of challenges. The world is built beautifully and the descriptions help bring the characters and the town to life. There were times when I did not want to put the book down! The plot never rests and that kept me invested in this book. I hope you will enjoy this books much as I did!

The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of October 13th 2020.

Will you be picking up The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Pinocchio meets Frankenstein in this dark fairy tale retelling where a young girl is commissioned to build an assassin for a dark-hearted tyrant.

Impressed by the work of the puppetmaster and his apprentice, Tavia’s ruler, The Margrave, has ordered dozens of life-size marionette soldiers to be sent to Wolfspire Hall. When the orders for more soldiers come in with increasingly urgent deadlines, the puppetmaster’s health suffers and Pirouette, his daughter and protégé, is left to build in his stead. But there is something far more twisted brewing at Wolfspire—the Margrave’s son wants Pirouette to create an assassin. And he wants her to give it life.

With Tavia teetering on the brink of war and her father dying in the dungeons, Pirouette has no choice but to accept. Racing against the rise of the next blue moon—the magic that will bring her creations to life—she can’t help but wonder, is she making a masterpiece…or a monster?

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