Fall 2013 Children's Books

Browsing through the Fall 2013 Children’s Books issue of Publishers Weekly, and based solely on the brief descriptions provided, these are the soon-to-be released (or recently released) middle-grade and teen novels that most grabbed my attention:

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender. During a school trip to Paris, Colette realizes that the ghost of the historic queen is killing descendants of those responsible for her beheading.

Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America by Tonya Bolden tells the rags-to-riches tale of an African-American girl in the early 20th century whose government-bequeathed land held millions of dollars’ worth of oil.

Followers by Anna Davies. Someone has hacked Briana’s Twitter account and is live-tweeting murders on campus.

The Living by Matt de la Peña. Shy’s summer cruise-ship job turns into a fight for survival when a massive earthquake hits Southern California.

Dare Me by Eric Devine. Ben and his friends try to make a name for themselves by taking on a series of dangerous dares they film and post online.

If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan is a debut novel about forbidden love between two young women in Iran.

Fake ID by Lamar Giles. In this debut thriller, a teen in the witness protection program tries to maintain his cover while investigating his friend’s mysterious murder.

Jack Strong Takes a Stand by Tommy Greenwald, illus. by Mendes Melissa. Fed up with being overscheduled, Jack stages a sit-in on the family couch.

Hideous Love: The Story of the Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein by Stephanie Hemphill recounts the story of Gothic novelist Mary Shelley, who as a teen girl fled her restrictive home for her boyfriend, poet Percy Shelley.

Reality Boy by A.S. King. Gerald, part of a TV reality show when he was five, struggles to break free of his anger as a teenager.

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan. Based on true events, this story stars two 17-year-olds about to take part in a 32-hour kissing marathon to set a new Guinness World Record.

The Nine Lives of Alexander Baddenfield by John Bemelmans Marciano, illus. by Sophie Blackall. Wicked Alexander finds a way to transplant the nine lives from his cat into himself.

3:59 by Gretchen McNeil is a sci-fi horror story about two girls who are doppelgangers and see their worlds overlap every 12 hours.

Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill. Two very different girls with the same name meet by chance and trade places for the summer.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page. Oz has turned into a savage dystopia under Dorothy’s rule—and \now a new girl from Kansas must take her down.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick. Leonard says goodbye to those closest to him on the day he hides a gun in his backpack and plans to kill his former best friend and himself.

Tag Along by Tom Ryan. Four teens forge friendships on prom night as they help one another through disappointment, near-arrest, parental interference, and panic attacks.

Who I’m Not by Ted Staunton. A kid in trouble with the law assumes the identity of a boy who vanished three years earlier.

Fallout by Todd Strasser. In 1962, neighbors take refuge in the only bomb shelter around—the one that Scott’s dad was ridiculed for building.

My Totally Awkward Supernatural Crush by Laura Toffler-Corrie. In this spoof of the paranormal genre, a dorky girl meets her true love, an angel, at an Outback Steakhouse.

The Rule of Three by Eric Walters. What happens when the entire world goes dark?

The Fantastic Family Whipple by Matthew Ward. Eleven-year-old Arthur is the only one of 13 kids in the family who hasn’t broken a world record.