11 thrilling new YA releases hitting shelves this October
By Lacy Baugher
October 2021 release: The Violent Season Sara Walters
Author Sara Walters’s debut The Violent Season is a thriller that explores the darker side of human nature, and what makes people decide to hurt one another.
The story is set in Wolf Ridge, Vermont, a place where every November is deadly. For reasons unknown, every year the small town’s residents are overcome with an overwhelming urge to do violence. Someone always loses control, and someone is always brutally harmed.
Last year, it was Wyatt Green’s mother who was brutally murdered, and this year she’s determined to convince everyone that the so-called November Sickness is something they need to take seriously. Especially when it seems as though her best friend Cash may just be falling under its influence.
But the source of the November Sickness isn’t the only dark secret lurking in Wolf Ridge, and Wyatt may find out more than she ever wanted to know.
The official synopsis offers more details about the story.
"Every November, the people in Wolf Ridge are overwhelmed with a hunger for violence–at least that’s the town rumor. Last fall Wyatt Green’s mother was brutally murdered, convincing Wyatt that this yearning isn’t morbid urban legend. but rather a palpable force infecting her neighbors. This year, Wyatt fears the call of violence has spread to her best friend Cash–who also happens to be the guy she can’t stop wanting no matter how much he hurts her. At the same time, she’s drawn to Cash’s nemesis Porter, now that they’re partners on an ambitious project for lit class. When Wyatt pulls away from Cash, and spends more time with Porter, she learns secrets about both of them she can’t forget. And as the truth about her mother’s death begins to emerge from the shadows, Wyatt is faced with a series of hard realities about the people she trusts the most, rethinking everything she believes about what makes people decide to hurt each other."
The Violent Season is available on October 5.