Welcome to The Best of Book Riot, our daily round-up of what’s on offer across our site, newsletters, podcasts, and social channels. Not everything is for everyone, but there is something for everyone.
Being diagnosed with autism at 26 was simultaneously a relieving and lonely experience. It consoled me to know that some traits I’ve felt ashamed of in life—my difficulties with social situations, my intense passion for reading and fictional worlds—are integral parts of me. It helped me make peace with who I am. But there aren’t many outlets for adults to talk about being neurodivergent or find accommodations that work for them. So, in the months following, I read a lot of books about autism in search of the advice and belonging I couldn’t always find in real life.
If I pick up an epic fantasy book, it had better completely suck me in. It better have some dragons and princesses, lengthy quests, heroes and heroines attempting to save humanity from destruction, swords clashing to keep an empire from crumbling, or epic battles that hang the world in the balance. It must have a lush, fully realized world, an intricate magic system, and a dense mythology, a total escapism from my current reality.
If you love stories of coming out, The Magic Fish is one of my absolute favourite ones. Coming out can be such a scary, sweet, and emotionally rich experience—especially when it’s your parent you’re coming out to. You wonder how it’ll change your relationship, if it’ll change it at all. When you add to that the experience of being a child to an immigrant parent with both of you navigating language barriers as well, it makes it an even more nuanced process. If that isn’t stimulating enough, there are also illustrations that are guaranteed to fill you with awe.
It is hard to believe how fast October has flown by and with it, how many incredible YA books have hit shelves. Let’s round out one of the best months of the year with the last batch of new hardcover and paperback books releasing before the calendar changes over. As always, you’ll find a mix of genres and styles here and it is not a complete list—though it is pretty close!
If you’re looking for gothic horror or Victorian thrills, you’ve come to the right place. That’s exactly what these historical haunted house novels are full of. So lock your doors and leave the light on, because as soon as you pick up these books, you’ll be too terrified to put them back down.
