Are you a fan of horror but looking to switch it up with something a little different? Then look no further! Here’s five of the best young adult horror novels – perfect for chill-inducing and heart-stopping thrills. From horror fantasies set in alternate worlds to psychological thrillers that will keep you second-guessing until the very last page, you’ll find your next favorite here. So buckle up, and prepare for an adventure full of eerie settings, spine-tingling monsters, and the potential to be scared, long after you turn the last page.
The Shadow Sister
About the Book
The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade
Genre: Thriller, Paranormal, YA Horror
Book Review
An enthralling thriller that dives into the murky depths of sibling rivalry with a beautifully spooky twist.
When Sutton disappears, Casey thinks it might be a manipulative trick. Their last fight, Sutton told her she wished Casey had never been born. Casey’s trying to squash her guilt and hold it together. Her parents aren’t helping, with her white TV reporter mom who’s attempting to control the narrative to help bring Sutton home and her Black historian father, who struggles with how people treat the disappearance.
When Sutton’s found a week later, Casey’s relieved, even after they discover that most of Sutton’s memories are gone. Casey studies her for glimpses of her old sister. But the Sutton who comes back is different, clinging to Casey as her only lifeline. Casey’s determined to find out what’s behind the changes in Sutton, as the two sisters grow close, despite Casey’s unease.
This book dives into the racial dynamics around disappearances, with Sutton’s treated differently because of her white mother. Through Casey’s father and his family history project, the reader gets a glimpse of the struggles that generations of Casey and Sutton’s family have gone through.
The secret behind what happened to Casey and why she’s different was brilliant and shocking. This was a fast-paced, impossible to put down read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book.
Holly Horror
About the Book
Holly Horror by Michelle Jabès Corpora
Genre: YA Horror
Book Review
A fast-paced thriller about things that go bump in the night.
After a bad divorce, Evie Archer’s mom moves the family to Hobbie House, colloquially known as horror house. The house unsettles Evie right away, and the reader’s alarm bells will go off along with Evie’s as the unexplainable keeps happening. This is made even more frightening as both the reader and Evie are unsure at first if it’s a haunting or if Evie is hallucinating. Two girls have disappeared in Hobbie House over the years, and Evie decides that finding out what happened to them is the key to finding out what’s happening to her. When she finds a diary and a doll from one of them, she has a hard time thinking of anything else.
Evie’s an interesting character. She loves nothing more than designing and sewing her own clothes, going for a shabby prairie chic look. She’s pretty, immediately catching the eye of the golden boy at school. But it’s Evie’s struggles to reconcile reality with the shadow world lurking beyond that adds the most intrigue.
This book ends with a cliffhanger twist, paving the way for a sequel.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Strange Unearthly Things
About the Book
Strange Unearthly Things by Kelly Creagh
Genre: Paranormal
Book Review
A devastatingly haunting love story that reverberates through the ages.
Jane’s a psychic who has been hired – along with two other companions with gifts – to rid Fairfax Hall of an unwanted presence. But Jane isn’t there long before she begins to suspect that it’s the owner, Elias Thornfield, who’s haunted, not the manor itself. The secrets Elias is keeping threaten to undo them all.
I love the energy of the group of friends who form, even though they don’t get off to the best start. Giovanni’s an unrelenting flirt built like a Greek god with a gift for seeing glimpses of the lives of people he touches. Ingrid’s a purple-haired punk tarot card reader who can see glimpses of possible futures during readings. Together with Jane and a mysterious housekeeper, Mr. Poole, they form caring band. Even better, their interactions at times are hilarious. I love how the author juxtaposed the modern slang of the teens against the 18th century speech of Elias.
Jane finds herself drawn to Elias for reasons she can’t quite explain, even though she keeps calling him a dumpster fire. Their connection carried the story as literal demons try to rip them apart.
This book left me teary and gave me a book hangover, in the best way. I didn’t want to leave Jane’s world behind!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.
House of Hollow
About the Book
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
Genre: Horror, Dark Fantasy, YA Fairytales
Book Review
“What you don’t understand is that I am the thing in the dark.” – Grey Hollow
The perfect Gothic horror fairytale! Three little girls vanished into thin air, then came back, a month later, with no memory of what happened. But they were just a little bit different. Their blue eyes turned black. Their brown hair turned white. Even their extraordinary, intoxicating beauty couldn’t explain all the odd things that happen around the Hollow sisters.
Grey Hollow’s the biggest supermodel out there, with her picture in the cover of Vogue. Vivi Hollow channels her energy as a punk rocker. And Iris Hollow tries her best to be a normal teenager, getting good enough grades to get into med school. But anytime her sisters come to town, the weirdness that Iris works so hard to ignore seeps back in. But this time, Grey disappears, and Iris keeps seeing a man with the head of a bull. She may finally have to face the mystery of what happened all those years ago.
This book is intoxicatingly gorgeous from the very first page, as you immediately fall under the spell of the Hollow sisters. It’s perfectly paced, leading you down the dark path towards . . . Somewhere you wouldn’t want to visit. But you’ll feel like you can smell the scent of rot and death even after you’ve finished the last page.
This is so well-done! The best horror I’ve read in a long time.
Thank you to Penguin Teen for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It Looks Like Us
About the Book
It Looks Like Us by Alison Ames
Genre: YA Horror
Book Review
This book made me so glad I wasn’t sleeping alone after I finished it late at night! As someone who normally reads light horror, this book had me turning pages so fast and still thinking about the ending.
In the first few pages, the reader finds out that teenage Riley is the sole survivor of the disaster at Victoria station in the Artic. Something stalked them through the ice for several days before it struck, taking them down one by one. Then the story flashes back to Riley and four other teens arriving at the station to take ice samples with a scientist, Greta, and a chaperone, Asha, as part of a teen outreach program run by a tech billionaire. Through Riley’s eyes, the readers see and feel the building horror, as all their attempts to escape the monster are foiled.
The teenage friendships the characters form in only a few days add depth to the book. Riley, normally a loner who’s prone to panic attacks, bonds with everyone and wants so badly to save them all. There’s Ilse, a tough Swedish girl who’s prepared for almost anything; Dae, the Korean computer genius; Nelson, the wealthy playboy, who’s out in the Artic as an adventure after his last round of rehab; and, finally, Luke, who’s lost someone close to him, but his kind heart is drawn to Riley, and he looks out for her for as long as he can. The characters really make the book sparkle and provide a balance to the horror of the monster stalking them all.
Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Want more to read? Find all my YA recommendations here.
