Owning One’s Identity, Immortality via Art, and More New YA Books for November 4, 2026

Gabby’s life has been a tightrope. She’s the Token Black Girl at her predominantly white school, and she’s also had to play the role of dutiful Nigerian daughter at home. As a senior, though, she’s finally feeling a little relief, knowing that she’s about to be done being everything people expect of her all the time.

But then a racist incident happens in her social circle, and Gabby can’t abide by staying silent any longer. Speaking up means she’s now an outcast, and Gabby’s forced to fight even harder to find what it means to have a normal school experience. Now she’s at the point where she’s realizing that subduing all of the parts of her that make her who she is–her Blackness, her Nigerian heritage, the places where all of her identities and experiences mingle–may be making her life not just harder, but one that’s not true to who she is.

The comps for this one include All American Boys and The Hate U Give.

Mirae has kept it a secret that she faked her way into a job as a kitchen maid in the royal kitchen and that she’s hoping to send the money she makes back to her family. It’s a tough job, and Mirae is almost fired when, after an attempted assassination of the king, she accidentally gets in the way of the crown prince’s investigation.

Things only get more dangerous when Mirae has a chance encounter with a witch in the spirit woods who makes Mirae the vessel of ten thousand spirits and deities. Her powers are spilling out on the job–not on purpose–and she’s being helped to keep all of her secrets under wraps by a nobleman named Wonshik. But Mirae is also finding herself wrapped up in a fight between Wonshik’s best friend and the queen.

Mirae is bound and determined to figure out who the palace traitor is. She’s going to work alongside a fellow kitchenmaid and a ghost to do so–but it will be hard, given not just the lies proliferating through the palace but also the spirits and deities around them. Who is trustworthy and who is out to protect only themselves?

Thorelea’s been imprisoned her entire life, and her existence has been about painting the dead animals that are pushed into her cell. She wants anything but this life and dreams of the world outside the tower where she’s stuck.

When one of the animals she paints comes back to life, suddenly, her entire life is upended. She’s brought to the royal court–even if it isn’t freedom, it is different.

She learns that the queen and king have ruled for centuries, and they’re immortal, thanks to their court painter. He does it through their magical portraits.

So when Thorelea meets Prince Kelter, she learns he’s the only other mortal in the court. He’s desperate for immortality and he offers Thorelea a deal: she paints his portrait–something denied by his parents–and he’ll help free her.

The work begins in secret, but it will unravel the depths and consequences of Thorelea’s power.

Jane Bushyhead wants to be a teacher someday, but those dreams are more and more uncertain, thanks to the U.S. soldiers who force her, her family, and her community from their ancestral Cherokee land. They’re forced to move to “Indian Country”–Oklahoma–and most of those pushed out are nowhere near prepared for the journey through a horrible winter across hundreds and hundreds of miles.

Despite the horrors, Jane finds romance along the way, as well as comfort from her family. She’s seeing the need to become a teacher in this moment, documenting and recording the stories of her people as they endure the worst conditions possible–hunger, disease, pain, and death.

This novel is based on the true story of the Trail of Tears. Broyles is herself an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation.

Epidemics and climate change force people to completely change their lives. Most people move “upcountry,” a virtual reality. Those who are poor, though, are forced to live in “downcountry.” In upcountry, things are far from perfect, though, as a Cold War rages between the two nations of Medaluo and Atahua. It’s Medan orphans in Atahua who suffer the most, though, forced to enroll in the Military Academy.

Eirale did everything as she was supposed to and, upon graduation, joined the private forces in downcountry. But then an anarchist from Atahua frames her for government assassination, and now she’s got to either partner with him for a dangerous assignment or be implicated in treason.

Meanwhile, Lia is nearly finished with her time at the Military Academy when she’s forced to do a final assignment with her nemesis. Lia will work with him, but she’s going to do it better so she can secure the status of valedictorian. Except there’s a lot more at stake than either of them knows.

When Eirale and Lia’s lives continue to intertwine, despite being in different reality planes, they start to wonder what their connection is . . . and what kind of conspiracy is at hand that keeps bringing them together.

Prophets Lake has secrets.

Mikky’s just left the town to live with his estranged mother elsewhere, and he has no plans to return. Except he’s forced to return when his sister Kyla’s best friend, Erin, is murdered.

Kyla is inconsolable, so moving back makes sense to Mikky. Not only does he want to help his sister grieve, but he also wants to help her figure out what happened to Erin.

But the deeper they dig into the town’s history and the beauty brand that’s currently taking hold of the community, it seems as though everyone in Prophets Lake has secrets. Kyla may be the one harboring the most.

Mallory Fontaine comes from a long line of witches, but she herself is a fraud and has never been thrilled with her talent. Seeing ghosts isn’t going to pay the bills. But she and her sister are making ends meet through a little fraud and clever lying. They sell tours to the mansion where the first of the Saphir murders happened.

Mallory does pride herself on being an expert, though, on Count Bastien Saphir (also known as Monsieur Le Bleu). That was the person who killed three of his wives. Little could Mallory ever expect to meet his great-great-grandson and heir to the Saphir estate, Armand.

Here’s the thing: Armand thinks the girls are the real deal. He offers Mallory a big chunk of cash in exchange for ridding his ancestral home of the ghost of Le Bleu. She’s all in on it until another murder lands upon the House Saphir. Now she’s got to solve both a murder and get rid of the ghost . . . something that might be tough to do as a fraud.

If you like retellings, this one’s a fresh take on Bluebeard.

A twist on Snow White? Yes, please!

Princess Eve has the power to conjure weapons from nature, which makes her an excellent person to have around. Her purpose is to destroy the Knight, an evil sorcerer who has created evil with his trickery throughout the royal kingdom.

But right before her 17th birthday, Eve’s mom, the Queen Regina, is behaving oddly. She’s been doing things like talking into a mirror by herself at night. So when a man claiming to be the Knight’s messenger delivers to Eve a message about her past that she’s never known, everything she thought she knew about herself, her family, and her future begins to unravel.

Will she find enough fight in her, though, to save her family and her future as queen? Or will this shocking truth upend everything?