Caitlyn Paxson

Daughters and sisters are at the heart some new fantasy novels where supernatural bargains and shapeshifting transformations are just the beginning of stories that ultimately explore family dynamics.

The pale daylight and early darkness of winter create a space for stories — in particular for stories that ask the reader to mull themes and ideas that can sometimes be difficult.

As autumn's chill creeps in, we look to five new YA releases that will both haunt you and bewitch your heart, including books by the authors of Last Night at the Telegraph Club and The City Beautiful.

Beach reads are great — but here are some new books offering the stuff of sticky, heat-stroke dreams; overgrown, light-filled wildflower fields; and twisted alleys of old cities waking from winter.

T. Kingfisher treats source material like a buffet; the result feels like a cozy but still perilous D&D adventure, full of found-family, second chances, and winks to the folklore that inspired it.

These three YA fantasies offer up creative magic systems and mythologies, stakes as high as they come, and girls with the grit to get it done.

June Hur's history-based novel binds fiction to fact in a gripping young adult mystery. A nurse in 18th century Korea's royal court tries to track down the killer of four women.

The 19th century historical fantasy wherein magic is a layer over the already complicated strata of society is a fairly common genre, but Freya Marske makes it feel fresh in this treat of a book.

Natasha Bowen's new young adult novel is inspired by "The Little Mermaid," but charts a different course, using fairytale and folklore to deal with one of the grimmest chapters in human history.

The Death of Jane Lawrence asks that age-old question of gothic novels and fairy tales: What do you do if your very attractive husband is hiding a very dark secret in his crumbling manor house?