Article contributed by Amerie Diaz
While summer is often associated with relaxation, light-hearted books, and beach reads, it is also a great time to dive into the darker side of fiction! If you want to add some thrills to your summer reading list, consider these twelve young adult titles, ranging from summer camp mysteries to this year’s hottest new horror.
All The Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley
A summer nannying position goes awry when Marin discovers a dark secret about the family she is working for. Offered the job by her favorite author and her late mother’s childhood friend, Alice Lovelace, Marin is initially excited to work for the family. But as Marin spends more time with them, she starts noticing peculiar behavior and strange occurrences, which leads her to realize that the Lovelaces are not at all what they seem.
Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare
After the death of her mother, Quinn, and her father relocate to the seemingly normal middle-of-nowhere town of Kettle Springs. What was supposed to be a fresh start turns deadly when a series of murders begin at a party celebrating the town’s founding.
The Counselors by Jessica Goodman
Ava, Imogen, and Goldie have been going to the elite Camp Alpine Lake since they were kids. Now they are back as counselors, ready to take on a new role. This summer is different, though, when a boy is found dead and Goldie knows she saw Ava nearby.
This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham
Three years ago, a new sickness known as the Hollowing grew rapidly, causing a portion of the population to have a craving for human flesh. Scientists were able to find a cure—fake human meat—that would cause the world to return to normalcy. To celebrate their high school graduation, Zoey and her four friends attend a music festival, but the fun ends when attendees drop dead and people affected by the Hollowing are unable to control their cannibalistic urges.
Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury
Told from two perspectives through different timelines, this novel offers a different approach to the haunted house story. Daisy sees ghosts. It’s unavoidable, considering she lives in a city populated by millions of people. When Daisy’s mother calls, informing her that she has inherited a mansion, she gets to start fresh, but things take a turn when Daisy soon discovers that the property is haunted. A decade later, light is brought to the haunted mansion as horror podcaster Brittney decides to investigate cases about missing Black girls overlooked in the media.
Good Girls Die First by Kathryn Foxfield
Thinking of going to a carnival this summer? You might want to rethink making plans after reading this murder-filled supernatural debut. Ava is among the ten teens who received an invitation to the abandoned carnival island, Portgrave Pier. Believing she is being blackmailed, she accepts this invitation without hesitation. Little does Ava know, the invitation is just the beginning of a twisted game where each teenager must fight to keep their deepest secrets hidden.
The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
After the strange death of his twin sister, Mars visits the Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy, a place where his sister attended each summer. The camp is known for its strict and traditional ideas, which makes it a toxic environment for Mars, but he is desperate to find the answers surrounding his sister’s death. At the camp, he is introduced to a mysterious group of girls known as The Honeys, and he suspects they have just the answers he is looking for.
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
Grey, Vivi, and Iris mysteriously vanished when they were children, only to turn up a month later with no memory of what happened. They reappeared with their original hair turned white, their eyes black, and matching scars on their throats. When the oldest sister, Grey, disappears once again, Vivi and Iris are left with a sense of deja vu. The sisters will do anything to get Grey back, even if it means venturing into the depths of their dark and forgotten past.
House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig
Twelve years have gone by since the events of “House of Salt and Sorrows”, and Verity, the youngest Thaumas sister, has spent her entire life confined within the walls of Highmoor Manor. Verity yearns for a taste of the outside world, so when she receives an invitation to paint a portrait of the Duchess’s son, she happily agrees. Her oldest sister, Camille, on the other hand, is hesitant to let her go and reveals that Verity has been seeing ghosts without her knowledge.
None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney
Emma Lewis is a sole survivor of an attack by the horrific young serial killer, Simon Gutmunsson. Travis Bell is the son of a murdered police officer. The teenagers both carry personal scars from their encounters with violence and are recruited by the FBI to interview young serial killers and study cold cases. When a killer targeting teens is on the rise, Emma and Travis find themselves caught in a dangerous game of cat and mouse, where their own lives may be at stake.
Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt
In this slow-burn romantic horror set to be released on August 29, Wil Green wants nothing to do with her former childhood friend, Elwood. She’s convinced that his family is involved in her mother’s disappearance. When Elwood flees unexpectedly and seeks her help, Wil reluctantly agrees to meet with him. Together, they dig deeper into Elwood’s family’s history, and Wil realizes that there may be more to their strained friendship than meets the eye.
You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron
For horror fanatic Charity Curtis, summertime means working at Camp Mirror Lake, where its visitors pay to get scared. As Charity prepares for the closing nights of the facility, she realizes her coworkers are nowhere in sight. What she doesn’t know, however, is that this summer will be different from any other, as the line between fiction and reality begins to blur and the horrors of Camp Mirror Lake become all too real.
