Hitting shelves next week are picture books featuring an imaginative toddler, a cat forced to make a new friend, and a YA novel in which two teens are recruited to be grim reapers.

If I Could Drive, Mama by Cari Best, illus. by Simone Shin. FSG/Ferguson, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-374-30205-4. Inviting Mama to take a spin in his cardboard box car (“the zippiest car in the whole world!”), young Charlie takes firm control of both the driver’s seat and the role of narrator in this picture book.

Plenty of Love to Go Around by Emma Chichester Clark. Penguin/Paulsen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-399-54666-2. Plum the dog returns in this sweet-natured sequel to Love Is My Favorite Thing,; in this story, she is dealing with an unwelcome addition in her family: a white cat named Binky who can perform neat tricks like climbing up trees and down banisters, and eagerly follows her around everywhere.

Gap Life by John Coy. Feiwel and Friends, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-250-08895-6. There comes a time in virtually every teenager’s life when the decision is made to step away from one’s parents to become independent. For Cray Franklin, that decision comes on the heels of high school graduation as he sidesteps the path his parents have set for him – namely a premed track at the all-male Catholic college his father and grandfather attended – and begins a tumultuous journey into adulthood in this YA novel.

The Effigies: Fate of Flames by Sarah Raughley. Simon Pulse, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-6677-6. A 16-year-old becomes the latest in a long line of young women imbued with elemental powers, who are charged with defending the world from invading monsters in the launch of this YA series.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Simon & Schuster, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-4424-7242-6. In this YA novel from the National Book Award medalist, the Earth of the future has secured its citizens from crime and poverty, but only by curbing population growth via human Reapers. The novel follows two teens Citra and Rowan who are selected for this grim position, as they grapple with the deep ethical questions their world presents, including whether the gleaning of a few acceptable if it maximizes the happiness of all? The book earned a starred review from PW.

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