Kidlit Fall Preview: Young adult

Sadie
Courtney Summers
Wednesday Books, St. Martin’s Press/Raincoast Books, Sept.

The buzz is building for the latest emotionally scorching novel from Courtney Summers (This Is Not a Test; All the Rage). The titular character is an older teen who’s been raising her sister in an isolated small town. When her sister is murdered, Sadie goes in search of the killer. A visiting radio personality overhears her story and starts a Serial-type podcast tracking Sadie’s journey.

Wild Horse Rescue: The Alberta Adventures Book 1
Nancy M. Bell
BWL Publishing, Sept.

In Nancy M. Bell’s latest series, protagonist Laurel Rowan has recently returned to her family’s Alberta ranch. Almost immediately, she realizes a childhood friend and his father are looking to capture a band of wild horses and sell them to meat packers. Now Laurel’s determined to save the animals.

Body Swap
Sylvia McNicoll
Dundurn, Sept.

Sylvia McNicoll, author of The Great Mistake Mysteries series, changes things up with a Freaky Friday–inspired story starring 15-year-old Hallie and 82-year-old Susan. After crashing their cars into one another, the women switch bodies. Hallie now has to navigate medications and achy joints, while Susan struggles with technology and zits.

Black Beach
Glynis Guevara
Inanna Publications, Oct.

Set in the Caribbean fishing village of La Cresta, Black Beach – the second YA novel from Trinidadian-born Glynis Guevara – follows 16-year-old Tamera, who finds herself at the centre of a mystery involving a classmate’s disappearance. Meanwhile, her hometown is reeling from an environmental disaster.

Murder at the St. Alice
Becky Citra
Coteau Books, Oct.

Versatile children’s writer Becky Citra (The Griffin of Darkwood; Ellie and Max series) sets her latest novel in 1908 at the St. Alice Hotel – once a popular hot springs resort in British Columbia. In the story, 16-year-old Charlotte is working at the popular hotel when she gets swept up by the suffragette movement.

Confessions of a Teenage Leper
Ashley Little
Penguin Teen Canada, Sept.

Described as darkly comic, this story revolves around Abby, a popular Texas high school cheerleader who is diagnosed with … leprosy. Sent away for treatment – and worried she won’t make it to prom – Abby must face a serious reality check.