Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a middle grade bildungsroman, a novel about a grieving teen, a slapstick crime caper, and a YA novel in which an outsider observes a strange family.

In the Country of Queens by Cari Best. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-374-37052-7. Picture book author Best (If I Could Drive, Mama) sets her first novel in Queens, N.Y., in 1961, where Shirley Burns is finishing sixth grade and struggling to speak up for herself.

The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody. Simon Pulse, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-9918-7. Spanning less than 24 hours, Brody’s psychologically taut novel examines the internal and external crises of a grieving teen who is unable to express her emotions. The book earned a starred review from PW.

The Crims by Kate Davies. Harper, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-249409-2. Slapstick humor and one-liners drive this British caper about 12-year-old Imogen Crim, who hails from an infamously inept crime family.

Shadow Girl by Liana Liu. HarperTeen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-230667-8. In Liu’s second novel, the industrious heroine spends her summers working as an academic tutor, and takes on an unusual client.

Instructions for a Secondhand Heart by Tamsyn Murray. Poppy, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-316-47178-7. Jonny Webb, almost 16, has a life-threatening heart condition that has kept him in the hospital for years, and he must grapple with the implications of receiving a donor heart.

Three Sides of a Heart: Stories About Love Triangles by Edited by Natalie C. Parker. HarperTeen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-242447-1. More than a dozen YA writers take swings at the classic love triangle in this 16-story anthology edited by Parker (Beware the Wild), which features an array of genres and settings.

R.I.P. Eliza Hart by Alyssa Sheinmel. Scholastic Press, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-338-08762-8. In this tense boarding school mystery, Ellie Sokoloff, who conceals her debilitating claustrophobia from her fellow students, attempts to solve the mysterious death of her classmate and estranged childhood best friend.

No Hugs for Porcupine by Zoe Waring. Running Press Kids, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-7624-6225-4. In Porcupine’s neck of the woods, all of the other animals are hug crazy. That makes Porcupine the odd creature out in this picture book—no one wants to get stuck by his quills.

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