Have you ever had to close a book and take a walk because you were so blindsided by a plot twist? Experienced a turn of events that was so unlikely but somehow made complete sense after you connected all the puzzle pieces? Or have you simply watched the ending of Inception a dozen times, trying to discern whether Leonardo DiCaprio was trapped within a dream within a dream the entire time? Then this list might help you to find the next book that will make you gasp out loud at the final plot twist – or, you know, stare blankly at the pages because you’ve somehow lost part of your soul to that crushing open ending that will leave you to contemplate the future of your favourite characters for years to come. If that sounds like something you would like to experience, read on to find your next read!
Sadie by Courtney Summers
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Sadie is the story of a young girl who’s missing and a podcast following the clues Sadie has left behind. Determined to find her sister’s killer, Sadie goes on a journey of revenge. As West McCray – a prominent radio personality – overhears part of Sadie’s story, he decides to follow up, resulting in his own podcast trying to find out where she might have gone. As America begins to follow Sadie’s story, McCray finds himself caught up in a story of abuse, neglect and pain, and you can’t help but pray to any gods out there that he will find Sadie…before it’s too late.
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
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This book’s plot twist will hit you like a ton of bricks, I’m warning you. Spanning multiple years and following a tight-knit group of young thespians studying at an elite boarding school, If We Were Villains pulls you in with beautiful writing and the immediate feeling of being an outsider looking in while also belonging to a group of people who are pretentious, self-absorbed and more interesting than any human you’ve ever encountered in your life. As friendship turns into something more sinister, you will feel the dread coming…and then, in a very Shakespearian twist, there’s a murder. Now, ten years later, as Detective Colborne releases the man who confessed to the murder but never seemed all that guilty, he begs for the one thing that has haunted him this past decade: the truth about that night when friends turned to foes…
People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins
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People kill people. Guns just make it easier.
A tale spun with a sense of dread through every page, People Kill People chronicles one week in the life of six teens in a town in the throws of political and personal tensions. Then, a gun is purchased by someone for protection and it will fire before the week is out. The question is, who’s the one to pull the trigger? The member of a white supremacist youth organization? The teen who’s scared of being attacked because of the color of his skin? The married teenager who owns a gun to be able to protect his son if the need ever presented itself? Or the girl who lost everything in a devastating accident, throwing her into a deep depression? The ending will leave you scarred for life…and shows that no hands are ever the “right” ones to hold the responsibility of another’s person’s life in them.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
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Ah, yes. The OG of making teens lose their minds because of a plot twist. If you watch any booktube video made after 2012, chances are pretty good that you have already heard of this one. We Were Liars has it all – a beautiful private island setting, a group of friends whose friendship turns destructive, all the lies and drama you could ever want and a plot twist that will haunt you until your dying days. A novel about true lies and dishonest truths.
The Wicker King by K. Ancrum
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Granted, this book doesn’t just have one plot twist; it’s more of an amalgamation of plot twists horrifying you in almost every chapter. But in a good way, I promise.
The Wicker King chronicles the story of two best friends, August and Jack, as Jack starts showing his first signs of a degenerative hallucinatory disorder that slowly take over their world. Jack’s visions of an elaborate, enchanting and yet terrifying fantasy world ruled by the feared Wicker King turn far too real as he and August embark on a quest to fulfil a prophecy in this magical world that will change your perception of what is real and what is imaginary. Lines become blurred, emotions heightened and your hands will be gripping the pages until the very last plot twist.
