August 2024 YA Horror Roundup: Engaging Teenage Fiction

August 2024 YA Horror Roundup: Engaging Teenage Fiction

Our latest YA roundup has a fine range of engaging teenage fiction, four of the nine authors featured in my own almanac, The YA Horror 400, which was published last June. If you want to take an ultra-deep dive into the world of YA horror, that is the place to go, with more information available at the end of this article. 

It was great to reacquaint myself with the fiction of April Henry, her The Lonely Dead (2019) was featured in The YA Horror 400, and her latest is a dark page-turning conspiracy thriller with an environmental twang. I have also enjoyed several novels by Danielle Valentine (has How to Survive Your Murder (2022) in The YA Horror 400 and Two Sides to Every Murder is another smart blend of horror and thriller. 

The YA Horror 400 by Tomi Oyemakinde also featured The Changing Man (2023) and in his latest, We Are Hunted, abandons boarding schools for an exclusive island where absolutely everything goes wrong. Daniel Kraus is another author I have reviewed widely; The YA Horror 400 featured the excellent Bent Heavens (2020) and Monster Variations is a rerelease of his debut novel. 

Scarlett Dunmore’s fun serial killer thriller How to Survive a Horror Movie drops its readers on a small island near Ireland, where two horror loving best friends are sucked into a murder mystery not dissimilar to the horror films they are both obsessed with. There was more comedy in O. R. Sorrel’s Apocalypse Cow where a virus sends animals on a bloody zombie style warpath. Neither of these books are to be taken seriously and also feature LGBTQIA+ storylines. I’ve read a few Vincent Ralph novels, but One House Left is the first time I have reviewed him and this was a very twisty and dark horror novel based around an urban myth which seems to be real.

Finally we have two books which put Black teenage girls front and centre. Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell edit The Black Girl Survives in This One: Horror Stories, with the exception of the title being a spoiler this anthology had a solid collection of tales. Last but not least, Sami Ellis’s Dead Girls Walking has the troubled daughter of an incarcerated serial killer seeking the body of her mother at a camp for LGBTQIA+ Black teenage girls. 

The books are presented in alphabetical order. 

August 2024 YA Horror Roundup: Engaging Teenage Fiction

Scarlett Dunmore – How to Survive a Horror Movie

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little Tiger 

YA horror novels which pay homage to slasher films from the eighties and nineties continue to hit the bookshelves at speed. In How to Survive a Horror Movie the two main characters spend their weekends watching horror films, sticking to DVDs rather than streaming, whilst struggling to fit in at their remote island boarding school. Set somewhere between the UK and Ireland, there is also a nearby boarding school for boys, otherwise it is a lonely, isolated location in which supplies are shipped in once a week.

After the first murder is played down by the school as an unfortunate accident, the police remain strangely absent, with the headmistress huffing and puffing about an increasing number of ‘accidents,’ with one pupil falling and being impaled on a fence. There was a lot of humour in How to Survive a Horror Movie and it was not to be taken too seriously, otherwise you would start picking holes in the silly plot, which is loaded with fun chapter headings akin to rules on how to survive a horror film, such as rule seven; don’t be the last one in gym or rule fourteen, interview witnesses – even if they’re dead. 

When the novel kicks off Charley is determined to keep a low profile and is no longer quite the ‘new girl’ after enrolling late. With her new best friend and roommate they find the body of a fellow pupil, with events escalating when they also discover the second body. The story then staggers between thriller, horror, teen drama with an LGBTQIA+ vibe with Charley having a crush on a classmate. There are the usual mean girls, hormones, a good dose of mystery, countless horror film referencing, with the action upping the ante when Charley starts seeing the ghosts of the dead classmates. This was fast-paced tongue-in-cheek stuff and have fun figuring out who the killer is. AGE RANGE 13+ 

Sami Ellis – Dead Girls Walking

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amulet Books

YA horror novels set in summer camps is a trope which, in recent years, has been done to death but Sami Ellis does manage to being some fresh twists and turns in Dead Girls Walking. I had mixed feelings about this debut novel; I found the backstory of the incarcerated serial killer father more intriguing than the bratty teenage girls under threat in a horror themed camp. Main character Temple Baker’s father is the North Point Killer, convicted of murdering twenty people and possibly more.

The cult built around the ‘NPK’ was cleverly drawn, also the references to the book about him, as Temple is both drawn to her past and trying to escape it. When Dead Girls Walking Temple has just been hired to work at a horror camp aimed at Black queer girls, with the location being the grounds where her father committed the murders, with nobody knowing who she really is or her true motive. The NPK was suspected of killing her mother, but the body was never uncovered, whilst working on the camp Temple intends to find it.

This was a great idea but the execution dragged slightly and I struggled with parts of the book, even though when it goes full-blown supernatural things get really wild (and bloody). I struggled telling the girls apart and I am unsure whether making them all Black and LGBTQIA+ added much to the plot or narrative. Also, Temple was supposed to be a camp counsellor but behaved exactly the same as all the other moody teenagers and showed zero leadership qualities.

Furtherly, for a horror themed camp it was pretty tame, the novel lacked all the self-referential horror stuff (not necessarily a criticism) you normally get in this type of story, except watching IT Part 2 on Blu-Ray. The mystery itself was surprisingly good and I enjoyed the various flashbacks and the deeply traumatic secrets in Temple’s family, which are all part of the reveals. For a YA novel there were a surprisingly high number of kills and many f-bombs making this a mature and more challenging read. AGE RANGE 14+  

Desiree S. Evans & Saraciea J. Fennell – The Black Girl Survives in This One: Horror Stories

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Flatiron Books 

In the opening notes of The Black Girl Survives in This One the co-editors note that when they were growing up they rarely or never came across Black characters in teen fiction and that those who appeared in films were often expendable. So this collection of fifteen stories, all by Black authors puts Black females front and centre and does what the title suggests; The Black Girl Survives in This One.

Short stories should allow authors to provide twist endings, get darker than they might in a novel and test boundaries. Some of the stories here failed to do this and lacked bite, there were still some strong entries, but others were forgettable. I had read or reviewed these authors previously for GNOH: Tananarive Due (foreword), Justina Ireland, Daka Hermon, Brittney Morris and Vincent Tirado.

These were new or reviewed for the first time: L.L. McKinney, Kortney Nash, Erin E. Adams, Desiree S. Evans, Zakiya Dalila Harris, Camara Aaron, Maika Moulite, Maritza Moulite, Saraciea J. Fennell, Monica Brashears, Eden Royce and Charlotte Nicole Davis. 

The stories vary widely in how crucial the fact that the main characters are Black and for the most part come across as natural with teenage girls dealing with a wide range of supernatural instances. Even if not all the stories hit the mark there was a fine range (one even takes place in outer space) and I am going to focus on a few of my favourites. Zakiya Dalila Harris’s Tmi was a beauty, a teenage girl meets a successful author, who is an alumni of her school, and whilst getting her autograph picks up her phone by mistake (or is it?) and odd things begin to happen.

Inheritance by Camera Aaron focuses on the desire of teenagers to fit in, and when a game of spin the bottle sends Delany into the loft alone with older Miles, but their deep family connections with Domenica bubble to the surface and the power shifts.

In Vincent Tirado’s The Black Strings Mel sees black strings hovering above about to die and when the strings repeatedly appear at a music competition there is trouble in the air. In Eden Royce’s Local Color Veronne has a very protective grandfather, and with good reason, as she strays off the path whilst out and about. Finally Charlotte Nicole Davis’s Foxhunt has some bite, Flex is new to Arbor Hill High and is invited to participate in a secretive local event, without truly realising the part she is expected to play. As with Rob Costello’s excellent We Mostly Come Out at Night: 15 Queer Tales of Monsters, Angels & Other Creatures it is fantastic to see another collection focusing on otherwise underrepresented groups, but if there is a sequel I want to see a few deaths. AGE RANGE 13+

August 2024 YA Horror Roundup: Engaging Teenage Fiction

April Henry – Stay Dead

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Christy Ottaviano Books

April Henry has an impressive range of adult, YA and Middle Grade fiction. This prolific and stylish author is as comfortable writing thrillers as she is horror and her latest, Stay Dead, falls into the former category. Often the supernatural is a slow-burning aspect of April’s fiction, but in her latest page-turner she plays it completely straight in a dark conspiracy thriller, with an environmental message bubbling in the background.

The novel opens with sixteen-year-old Milan struggling to recover from the recent death of her politician father in a tragic car crash. Milan’s father was a prominent US Senator, some months after his passing his political seat was taken over by Milan’s mother, meaning that she rarely sees him mother and is shunted through a series of boarding schools due to disciplinary issues and is expelled from three schools. The novel kicks off after Milan’s latest expulsion when she is picked up her mother and political entourage in her private jet.

This fast moving narrative unfolds over sixty-seven short chapters which focus on Milan’s predicament after her plane crashes and she finds herself alone in a remote wilderness. However, the story also jumps back a couple of years in time with another character which sows the seeds of the conspiracy and also follows a third person in the present timeline.

They all eventually connect nicely together in what was a fun to read thriller where it was easy to get behind Milan, who is stalked whilst grieving the loss of both her parents. This troubled teenager is both resilient and has great survival skills as she realises his father’s death and the subsequent plane crash were no accidents and she is the next target. This was a fine political thriller which never gets preachy and keeps the realistic pain of its pain character as the main drive of the novel without getting too deep. AGE RANGE 12/13+  

Daniel Kraus – Monster Variations

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cemetery Dance Publications

Monster Variations was originally published in 2009 and was the beginning of Daniel Kraus’s impressive career as a Middle Grade, YA and adult writer of dark fiction, fantasy and horror. Upon original release Monster Variations was a hundred page novella aimed at the YA market, whilst this new 2024 version is longer and, according to the author notes, is now aimed at the adult market. Kraus reveals there are new story strands, includes stronger character development and other elements which push it from YA into the realms of adult fiction. I have not read the original release, but this updated version of Monster Variations still felt like a YA story and little of the content had me leaning towards the adult market.

The story had a strong Stephen King Stand By Me (AKA The Body in print) vibe and is a very nicely judged coming-of-age story which atmospherically captures the feel of small town America. At the start of the story the three main characters are twelve-going-on-thirteen and leaving sixth grade and are largely innocent and the problems of adults are implied; alcoholism, affairs and depression all being thrown into the mix, without being understood by the boys. 

The story opens with a boy (Willie, one of the main three characters) being hit by a truck after playing baseball and as a result loses an arm. A short while later another boy is killed by a truck in a hit and run, the small town is shocked and a serial killer is suspected, as a result a curfew enacted to keep kids off the streets. This spells disaster for the kids enjoying their summer holiday, the 8pm curfew could ruin everything, but James, Willie, and Reggie will do anything to stay out late and beat this new system. Monster Variations generally follows their summer adventures, with the potential serial killer lurking in the background and the three friends also trying to deal with Willie’s new disability.

The three boys all come from vastly different backgrounds and as they head towards puberty this becomes more apparent, with James already planning for college and Reggie with a struggling single parent mother with a string of boyfriends. The story beautifully encapsulates the idea that the best friends you will ever have are at the age this story is framed around and that the intensity will fade, but never truly be forgotten. Part melancholic, thriller and family drama, this coming-of-age drama is a worthy addition to any YA collection, which can equally be enjoyed by adults, even if they might find it slightly simplistic. AGE RANGE 13/14+ 

Tomi Oyemakinde – We Are Hunted

Publisher ‏ : ‎ First Ink; Main Market edition 

Tomi Oyemakinde follows his excellent boarding school set horror thriller The Changing Man (2023), which we have covered in the past, with We Are Hunted which successfully blends horror with science fiction. In this sophomore effort the posh atmospheric boarding school is replaced by a secretive island, which only the super-rich ever visit, but due to top level secrecy are not allowed to talk about it, share photos or videos.

Is it all smoke and mirrors or is this remote location truly a comparison to Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park? It is and it isn’t. Don’t go expecting to see a rogue brontosaurus sauntering past, but there are certainly creatures which have been genetically altered in strange ways and are very well described and whilst not as threatening as Crighton’s velociraptors, are not something you want to bump into whilst on an evening stroll. Once We Are Hunted picks up the pace it does get gory, with many holidaymakers savaged, torn apart and eaten. 

The action starts with seventeen-year-old Femi and his brother accompanying their father on a secretive business trip to the island, the three are looking to bond and instead get much more than they bargained for when the security systems fail and the island wildlife encroaches and threatens. There is a lot of fun technology in We Are Hunted as Femi is sucked into a deepening mystery in which a local girl he meets hints at what is going on under the surface.

Meanwhile Femi has to deal with family problems, the girl he has a crush on whilst trying to stay alive. In the background he dreams of being a musician and abandoning school to follow his heart, whilst not being able to tell his father. Femi was a sympathetic and believable teenage character and I had a fun time on this wild dangerous island and will not be asking for a refund. AGE RANGE 12/13+ 

Vincent Ralph – One House Left 

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wednesday Books

One House Left is Vincent Ralph’s fourth dark thriller and probably his closest to a straight horror novel. I previously enjoyed both Are You Watching? (2019) and Lock the Doors (2021) but this is the first time I have reviewed him for Ginger Nuts of Horror. For teens who get a kick out of urban legends then One House Left is unmissable as the key story thread is cleverly built upon an urban legend which is so notorious even the police believe it to be real.

Main character Nate (with his family) are the only survivors, frequently moving houses to stay ahead of the ‘curse’ which has repeatedly led to deaths in a street in a small town, bleeding out into the houses close to the street. When the novel opens Nate, his troubled big brother and grieving sister are making yet another clean start in a fresh non-descript town. Nate swears to not make friends in his new school and keep himself to himself. This does not happen and this is where his problems start.

Almost against his will, Nate is sucked into the friendship group of horror loving Max (a girl), Tyler and Seb who see a kindred spirit when they clock his Scream t-shirt. The trio don’t just love horror films, they are obsessed with urban myths (but don’t know about Nate’s dark history) and fool around with Candyman style legends to see if they can get some supernatural action. Considering Nate’s history I initially thought it was the height of stupidity getting involved in something like this, but there is good reason with a big reveal later in the story.

Nate also has a thing for Max and the friendship group bounce along nicely until it seems a couple of the urban myths they were messing around with are coming to life, with Nate being the catalyst. There were some seriously big plot twists and some hair raising moments in the final third where the reader finds out how real the myth of the Hiding Boy is as the group of friends head back to Murder Row. DO NOT GO! This was a very smart blend of horror, superstition, pop culture and bleak dark thriller. AGE RANGE 13/14+ 

O. R. Sorrel – Apocalypse Cow

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Guppy Books

The jokes and sexual references come thick and fast in Apocalypse Cow and considering the cover is fairly juvenile I imagined this might be a 12+ book, but with referencing to “scissoring” and other stuff I realised it was aimed at older teens. Imagine a year 7 kid borrowing this from the library and asking the family over dinner “what does scissoring mean mum?”

Set a decade in the future, where the temperature is 30+ in January, and Climate Change dominates the news and early in the plot some weird outbreak turns the animals into rabid zombie like killers. As apocalypses go this one was pretty dull and most of it was built around teen social situations and I would have preferred more killer badger action or mutant cows. Even though it had its bloody moments, teens looking for a more traditional horror novel might be underwhelmed by the stop start romance and sexuality themes which dominate the book which become slightly repetitive.

Early in the story the reader is told Mel is the only ‘out’ lesbian in her school and has lost friends because of it and has caused her other problems. This was all handled with good humour and Mel was a great lead character but too much was made of her sexuality and the book could have done with a few less pages going on and on about it and perhaps given the reader a few more killer cows.

Mel is also in love with her best friend Sasha, who begins to date posh Dorian, who Mel doesn’t like as they work in the village shop together. When the apocalypse happens the friends, frenemies and others end up isolated in a huge mansion whilst the world goes to pot. This was a funny LGBTQIA+ story which does not take its too seriously and it taken in the right spirit raises laughs and chuckles, but few scares. The gore was sporadically bloody, but the f-bombs and sexual inuendo increase the age rating. AGE RANGE 14+ 

Danielle Valentine – Two Sides to Every Murder

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin 

Back in 2022 we positively reviewed Danielle Valentine’s How to Survive Your Murder and the author returns with another twisty horror thriller which keeps the reader guessing until the final pages. Valentine’s previous novel was top heavy with horror film references and as Two Sides to Every Murder is set around Camp Lake Lost (remind you of anything?) I thought this book was going to be similar, but instead it plays out as a whodunnit horror thriller.

The opening premise was very clever:

a successful true crime podcast resurrects interest in a triple murder which took place at Camp Lake Lost sixteen years earlier. However, the book is not about the podcast, rather the ripple effect of what the podcast does to the survivors, the teenage children involved and the search for the truth around the murders which were sensationally attributed to the Witch of the Lost Lake who used a crossbow on her victims.

The narrative is mainly split between two teenage girls ‘Reagan’ and ‘Olivia’ who do not know each other when the novel starts, with flashbacks to the time of the murders in 2008. Both have different vested interests in the resurgence of interest in the murders; Olivia was born during the night of the murders on the camp, with her mother being a victim who survived. When the story begins the podcast has ruined the life of Reagan as her mother is the suspected killer and she heads for Camp Lost Lake intending to clear her mother’s name.

What follows is a complicated murder mystery, with some particularly good twists, with the story moving through the gears after the two teenage girls meet. They have different agendas, but something brings them together in a very well plotted murder mystery. This was one of those books where the killer (who returns) was not the most obvious character, but I still made a fairly good stab at figuring it out. I’m not sure if the extra ‘final’ twist was altogether necessary or whether it made much sense but this was still a fun thriller. AGE RANGE 13+ 

Tony Jones

Praise for the recently published YA Horror 400 almanac:

“Massive congrats to Tony Jones, his colossal almanac of teen horror is out! With a whopping 400 reviews, it’s a corker!” RL BOYLE (YA author of The Book of the Baku)

“If you’re looking for a curator for your reading journey, Tony Jones is about as excellent as you could ask for. And if you wanted that curation available in a one-stop shopping destination, he has just published an extensive almanac of young adult horror over the years. It’s available for the kindle and in print as well. I was truly honoured to see one of my books gracing its pages and there is a short piece I wrote for this project as well. Do yourself a favour – if you’ve been looking for a great reference book to grace your home, check this out!” CHAD A. CLARK (YA and adult author of The Curse of Worthwood Castle, Tracing the Trails & Winward)

“The YA Horror 400 is a spectacular resource for lovers of horror and YA fiction. It’s a comprehensive guide to the past 15+ years of YA horror with reviews and author insights on over 400 YA horror novels and books, including my ‘We Mostly Come Out at Night’. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to YA horror readers. 10/10!”

ROB COSTELLO (YA author and editor of We Mostly Come Out at Night & The Dancing Bears)

“Thanks so much to Tony Jones for featuring FOUND in his awesome ‘YA Horror 400’ almanac and for the opportunity to talk about my love of found footage horror.” ANDY CULL (Adult author, editor and filmmaker of FOUND & Remains)

“My first novel ‘Parasite Life’ gets a mention in this fabulous mega resource for all things YA. Check it out!” VICTORIA DALPE (YA and adult author of Parasite Life & Les Femmes Grotesques)

“The YA Horror 400 is such a good and constructive push for YA horror.” JEREMY DE QUIDT (YA author of The Wrong Train & The Toymaker)

“Tony Jones is a rare expert on YA horror, an influential reviewer who’s been a school librarian for 30 years. This A-Z almanac is a must own for horror fans and writers.” CAROLINE FLARITY (YA author of The Ghost Hunter’s Daughter)

“An amazing teen horror guide, with fabulous features like fear factor ratings and ‘If You Like This Try” recs. Perfect for librarians, teachers, and anyone who wants to live their best YA horror life” ANN FRAISTAT (YA author of What We Harvest & A Place for Vanishing)

“A must have for anyone looking to help connect younger readers to the best genre in the world. Expertly compiled by Tony Jones” PHIL HICKES (Middle Grade author of the Aveline Jones and Shadowhall Academy series)

“Humbled to feature in ‘The YA Horror 400’ almanac, out now from top genre librarian and reviewer Tony Jones” DAVE JEFFREY (YA and adult author of the Beatrice Beecham series & A Quiet Apocalypse series) 

“So excited that my books have been featured here. Teachers and librarians – this is the PERFECT resource for you!” LORIEN LAWRENCE (Middle Grade author of The Stitchers series)

“If you’ve ever wished there were an easily accessible almanac of YA horror, I’ve got great news, Tony Jones, who has been reviewing and supporting my work since I first started and is one of my biggest professional cheerleaders has released his YA Horror 400 almanac! I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to contribute to it, too. What a cool project! Go Tony!” AMY LUKAVICS (YA author of Daughters Unto Devils & The Ravenous)

“This almanac is massive! Huge congratulations to Tony Jones on his new book on YA Horror! Very grateful to contribute a wee bit to it.” TIM McGREGOR (Adult author of Wasps in the Ice Cream)

“I want to alert English teachers and librarians to the most definitive resource I’ve ever seen highlighting the best YA horror novels since 2008. 400 of the best dark fiction for readers 9-15+ . Where do you go for advice yourself to know what to purchase? It’s all here. What do you give a middle-grade reader or teen with a taste for the darker side? This … and let them pick and choose their own! CLIFF McNISH (YA author of Breathe & The Hunting Ground)

“Librarians! Bloggers! Readers! Educators! I am wildly pleased to see The Call on, and between, the covers of THE YA HORROR 400 by Tony Jones. Reviews of brilliant books, author interviews. Scares aplenty”. PEADAR Ó GUILÍN (YA horror/fantasy author of The Call duology)”

“Great news for teen horror fans! The YA Horror 400 is out! A massive horror almanac w/ fab features including fear factor ratings, articles, notes from authors and much more. Absolutely perfect for librarians, teachers and anyone who reads YA horror.” BRYONY PEARCE (YA author of Raising Hell)

“I highly recommend the YA Horror 400: an almanac of 400 teen horror novel reviews published between 2008-2024 by Tony Jones, featuring reviews of the best YA and middle grade horror (including my own novel Channel Fear”. LISA RICHARDSON (YA author of Channel Fear)

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