Among the books hitting shelves next week are the conclusion to a high-octane YA thriller, an epistolary novel in which a schizophrenic boy reaches out to the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, and a Christmas picture book about unlikely friends, based on a true story.

Mortality Doctrine, Book Three: The Game of Lives by James Dashner. Delacorte, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-385-74143-9. The conclusion of The Maze Runner author Dashner’s latest series has Michael and friends pitted against a global tech mastermind.

Charlie the Ranch Dog: Rock Star by Ree Drummond, illus. by Diane deGroat. HarperCollins, $3.99 paper; ISBN 978-1-4814-5058-4. Pioneer Woman Drummond offers up another early reader in her series about ranch dog Charlie; this time, the basset hound is torn between the life of a rock star and the life of a ranch dog.

Calvin by Martine Leavitt. FSG/Ferguson, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-374-38073-1. This novel, presented as a single, extended letter, explores the impact of mental illness through the experiences of a 17-year-old diagnosed with schizophrenia, who is obsessed with Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes. If Calvin could just get Watterson to create a strip depicting the fictional Calvin as a healthy teenager, he thinks he’ll be fine as well.

Proverbs for Young People by Jack E. Levin. S&S/Aladdin, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-5945-7. Author-illustrator author Levin explains the meaning behind popular proverbs – “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine,” “Early to Bed and Early to Rise,” and more – in this picture book.

Strange Girl by Christopher Pike. Simon Pulse, $12.99 paper; ISBN 978-1-4814-5058-4. Bestselling teen thriller author Pike returns with a mysterious novel about a girl with curious abilities that have devastating costs on those around her.

An Invisible Thread Christmas Story by Laura Schroff, illus. by Root Barry. Little Simon, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-1930-7. Based on Schroff’s bestselling 2011 memoir, An Invisible Thread, also written with Tresniowski, this picture book focuses on a Christmas that Schroff spent with Maurice, a child she met after he asked her for change on a New York City street.

For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of November, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.