Today is the day to talk September 2021 YA Releases. And more specifically my Top 5 Reads. In this post I’ll be sharing my Top 5 books of September (plus some more, because September has so many great books).

A Closer Look: September 2021 YA Releases

What books are you looking forward to in September?

Well book friends this Top 5 are books I’ve read or I’m planning on reading once I get the physical copy in my hands.

And have you seen the covers of these books? They’re making me ache for fall. Plus, with this heat wave, I wouldn’t mind the cooler weather.

Now, this months list of books I’ve had on my radar for a while and I cannot wait to read. A number of books I’ve already had the pleasure of reading. And I hope you do too.

As always, remember, as we continue to read, make sure that we keep adding Own Voices, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ reads to our shelves. Keep the momentum friends of broadening our bookshelves to reflect the diverse topography of the world.

Let’s dive into the new September 2021 YA Releases that you should definitely add to your TBR’s.

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Historical Fiction

So Many New Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow

North Carolina, 1863. As the American Civil War rages on, the Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island is blossoming, a haven for the recently emancipated. Black people have begun building a community of their own, a refuge from the shadow of the old life. It is where the March family has finally been able to safely put down roots with four young daughters:

Meg, a teacher who longs to find love and start a family of her own.

Jo, a writer whose words are too powerful to be contained.

Beth, a talented seamstress searching for a higher purpose.

Amy, a dancer eager to explore life outside her family’s home.

As the four March sisters come into their own as independent young women, they will face first love, health struggles, heartbreak, and new horizons. But they will face it all together.

Science Fiction

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.

When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​

To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.

Fantasy

The Bronzed Beasts by Roshani Chokshi

In love they breathed. In destiny they believed. In the end, will divinity be their demise?

After Séverin’s seeming betrayal, the crew is fractured. Armed with only a handful of hints, Enrique, Laila, Hypnos and Zofia must find their way through the snarled, haunted waterways of Venice, Italy to locate Séverin.

Meanwhile, Séverin must balance the deranged whims of the Patriarch of the Fallen House and discover the location of a temple beneath a plague island where the Divine Lyre can be played and all that he desires will come to pass.

With only ten days until Laila expires, the crew will face plague pits and deadly masquerades, unearthly songs and the shining steps of a temple whose powers might offer divinity itself…but at a price they may not be willing to pay.

The Hollow Heart by Marie Rutkoski

At the end of The Midnight Lie, Nirrim offered up her heart to the God of Thieves in order to restore her people’s memories of their city’s history. The Half Kith who once lived imprisoned behind the city’s wall now realize that many among them are powerful. Meanwhile, the person Nirrim once loved most, Sid, has returned to her home country of Herran, where she must navigate the politics of being a rogue princess who has finally agreed to do her duty.

In the Herrani court, rumors begin to grow of a new threat rising across the sea, of magic unleashed on the world, and of a cruel, black-haired queen who can push false memories into your mind, so that you believe your dearest friends to be your enemies.

Sid doesn’t know that this queen is Nirrim, who seeks her revenge against a world that has wronged her. Can Sid save Nirrim from herself? Does Nirrim even want to be saved? As blood is shed and war begins, Sid and Nirrim find that it might not matter what they want…for the gods have their own plans.

Contemporary Romance

Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn

Raised by conservative parents, 18-year-old Meg Hennessey just found out her entire childhood was a lie. Instead of taking a gap year before college to find herself, she ends up traveling north to meet what’s left of the family she never knew existed.

While there, she meets Micah Allen, a former pastor’s kid whose dad ended up in prison, leaving Micah with his own complicated relationship about the church. The clock is ticking on Pastor Allen’s probation hearing and Micah, now 19, feels the pressure to forgive – even when he can’t possibly forget.

As Meg and Micah grow closer, they are confronted with the heavy fluttering’s of first love and all the complications it brings. Together, they must navigate the sometimes-painful process of cutting ties with childhood beliefs as they build toward something truer and straight from the heart.

Additional September 2021 YA Releases To ADD to Your TBR AND Pre-Order!

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• Big Boned by Jo Watson
• The Jasmine Project by Meredith Ireland
• The Night When No One Had Sex by Kalena Miller (review coming soon)
• Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson (review coming soon)

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Backlist Recommendation

Crier’s War by Nina Varela

Impossible love between two girls —one human, one Made. A love that could birth a revolution.

After the War of Kinds ravaged the kingdom of Rabu, the Automae, Designed to be the playthings of royals, took over the estates of their owners and bent the human race to their will.

Now, Ayla, a human servant rising the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging the death of her family… by killing the Sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier. Crier, who was Made to be beautiful, to be flawless. And to take over the work of her father.

Crier had been preparing to do just that—to inherit her father’s rule over the land. But that was before she was betrothed to Scyre Kinok, who seems to have a thousand secrets. That was before she discovered her father isn’t as benevolent as she thought. That was before she met Ayla.

Is your backlist finally shrinking? If you’re like me, Beat the Backlist Challenge is the perfect way to keep track of ticking off books from our backlist.

Sheaf & Ink

Search no further for a Backlist Recommendation for the month of September. As I post books I’m eyeing to read and purchase this month, I still have a goal of reading books from my backlist. Yes, I know I’m a mood reader… but if I want to check off those titles that have been on my shelves for well… You know what I mean, then I’ll be joining you this month on my backlist recommendation of Nina Varela’s Crier’s War.

See any September 2021 YA releases you can’t wait to read?

Share any September 2021 YA releases you’re looking forward to in the comments.

We love hearing from you.

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Support Local Bookstores

September 2021 YA releases on my Bookshop site. Click the link in the caption above to pre-order or order your copy ⬆️

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