In Francesca Padilla’s new heist novel, a desperate 17-year-old girl and her drug-dealing friend hatch a scheme to rob a corrupt, money-laundering ice cream stand and get revenge on the stand’s creepy sex pest owner. Never have I seen a book so clearly focused on the narrative of a life as the source of its power. She must face danger and engage in far-reaching activism, or the circumstances of her sister’s death, like those of so many other young Black women, will be changed to justify the actions of police. When Beau Willett’s sister is killed by an off-duty cop, she makes it her mission to track down the only witness and prove her sister was murdered in cold blood. In the tradition of Angie Thomas and Pamela Harris, Juliana Goodman has written a powerful social novel that captures the struggle for justice in modern America. Juliana Goodman, The Black Girls Left Standing Wake the Bones follows a college dropout turned taxidermist whose return home doesn’t exactly go as planned. Wednesday Books has been publishing some of the best YA mysteries and thrillers around, and now I’m excited to report they are also publishing some excellent new horror. Melissa Albert’s Our Crooked Hearts lands squarely in the supernatural, as teenage girls in multiple timelines find themselves in possession of great powers, and even greater enemies. Great title, and even better cover! I love a good creepy rabbit. Together, they are the intense authors of fan fiction starring some of their fellow high-schoolers, but when they try to enact some of their fantasy in real life, the night ends with a corpse and a whole lot of questions. Celeste and Vivvy are fast friends ever since Celeste moved to Montreal from Montana, despite Vivvy’s less-than-popular status. Unlike most of the books on this list, I have yet to dive into this one, but I’m including it because it looks great and because the publisher compared it to Mare of Easttown (but like, YA). (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, July 12) This is noir for teen readers at its best (and most surprisingly hopeful). We Weren’t Looking To Be Found follows two teens, depressed dancer Camila and rebellious rich girl Dani, as they navigate their time in a treatment facility with echoes of Girl, Interrupted. When the two run away and are assigned to clear the lost and found, they find a stack of letters from a previous resident that just might provide them with a path towards healing and acceptance. Stephanie Kuehn, We Weren’t Looking to Be Found Each of the characters is complex, beginning as someone you love to hate and slowly morphing into the kind of characters you can root for (or at least, hope for a quick death). In order to escape for good, Benji must embrace his terrible new powers in a perfect metaphor for coming-of-age that is also a disgusting pile of blood and viscera (and I mean that in the best possible way).Īnd Then There Were None meets Fire Fest as 10 social media influencers find themselves trapped in a deadly vacation nightmare in which someone is determined to expose their misdeeds-and make each of them pay. He’d love to just be happy with his new friends, but his old community is in hot pursuit-they’ve injected him with a transformative virus that gives him control over the many monsters created by a deadly plague, and they’re not about to let him go.
In White’s debut, trans boy Benji is on the run from his fundamentalist mother and her apocalyptic cult when he finds shelter with the kind denizens of a LGBTQ Center, and budding romance with the mysterious and deadly Nick. The weather is hot, the campers are scared, the townspeople are resentful, and the lake is as creepy as… all other lakes.īody horror meets apocalypse noir meets queer love story in Andrew Joseph White’s viscera-filled YA novel, Hell Followed With Us, perfect for those who appreciated Manhunt earlier this year but wished it came with more intestines. Goldie, Ava, and Imogen are psyched they’re finally going to be counselors, but when one of their cohort turns up dead, it’s the signal to start digging into everyone’s secrets. Now, I am way more a fan of a good summer camp slasher than I ever was of actual summer camp, and Jessica Goodman’s The Counselors delivers on all its promises of summer thrills. From summer camp slashers, to gothic romance, visceral horror to devastating psychological thrillers, powerful social issue dramas to crackling social parody, you’ll find everything you’re looking for on this list, and more.Ĭheck out part one of this list, which ran back in January. It is hot out there, so why not read a YA mystery or thriller? Young adult crime and suspense is booming, and this list is the proof, with 18 riveting, thrilling, thought-provoking, new and upcoming YA novels.