January/February Essential YA and Middle Grade Horror
Essential
Life commitments have restricted my reading of YA and Middle Grade horror over the early part of 2025, so I am delighted to be back on track with the first of my roundups. There are many familiar names in the mix here, with Phil Hickes, Melinda Salisbury and Trang Thanh Tran all being reviewed previously and also feature in my own YA Horror 400 almanac, which is referenced at the end of this roundup.
The younger 9-12 Middle Grade is strongly represented with Phil Hickes continuing his terrific Shadowshall Academy series and Jim Cocklin delivering a spooky nautical themed tale with Ghost Tide. Elsewhere Alice Nuttall breathes new life into the zombie subgenre with The Zombie Project and dreams get very dark in Larry Hayes’s The Nightmares of Finnegan Quick. All four books are great for the top end of primary to lower secondary school.
Melinda Salisbury’s excellent AdelAIDE bridges the gap between Middle Grade and YA beautifully with a clever look at the obsession with online popularity, with a sneaky nod towards the dangers of AI. The final two books are much more mature reads, Tigest Girma’s Immortal Dark, which is a very complex Dark Academia style vampire fantasy novel and Trang Thanh Tran’s complex and highly original They Bloom at Night, which takes body horror and algae into unexpected directions with an LGBTQIA+ slant and an outsider theme.
The reviews are presented A to Z by author.
January/February Essential YA and Middle Grade Horror

Jim Cockin – Ghost Tide
Publisher : Lightning Books

If you fancy a trip to the remote coastal part of East Anglia there is fun, a few scares and adventure, to be had in Jim Cocklin’s Ghost Tide, a nicely judged Middle Grade supernatural thriller. The action starts with fourteen-year-old Londoner Charlie being sent to stay with an uncle he barely knows over the Christmas holidays, as his father is away and his mother is working.
The long and tedious train journey ends in a remote village, and the grumpy teenager struggling to accept he won’t be playing football with his friends, with things getting worse when he realises his new home has no wi-fi. His relatives have their own problems, with his cousin Ariel struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother, back from when they were living in India.
Meanwhile his uncle Patrick trying to survive by selling paintings and arts and crafts at the local markets. The action hots up with when Charlie finds an ancient brass box buried on the beach, after opening it unleashes a chilling sequence of events which connect to a famous local shipwreck from over a century earlier.
Ghost Tide was a fun and easy read for the top end of primary to lower secondary school, even if the main character Charlie was fourteen, he and his cousin felt slightly younger. When told to not open the box, you know that is what Charlie is going to do, leading to spooky whispering and the cousins battling to solve the mystery of the ‘box of souls’ and re-capturing the violent ghostly presence wreaking havoc around the town.
In the end outsmarting the ghost was probably a bit too easy to achieve but having an out of place Londoner trying to adapt to seaside life with his spiky troubled cousin were the true stars, with both characters growing personally over the course of this atmospheric (but not too scary) novel.
AGE RANGE 9-12
January/February Essential YA and Middle Grade Horror
Tigest Girma – Immortal Dark
Publisher : Hodder Children’s Books

Weighing in at a door-stopping 480 pages Immortal Dark would have been much less of a trudge if it had been a good 150 pages shorter, such was the level of detail I quickly found myself contemplating skimming the text, which became repetitive and heavy. How many times were the readers told there were certain rules which bound vampires and humans? Too many.
This dark fantasy reimagines the vampire mythology in an African setting, with Ethiopia being the strongest point of reference. In reality this novel is more fantasy than horror, leaning on the currently very trendy ‘romantasy’ subgenre where it is common for enemies to become lovers. If you follow that plotline then this book was incredibly predictable and took an incredibly long time to get there, with numerous teenage tantrums (even if the vampire was 200+ years old) along the way. Branching into the area of Dark Academia, this was a slow moving book, and although it might be too unhurried to engage with some of its targeted teen audience, could even fit into the older New Adult category.
The story features a predominately Black set of characters and concerns orphaned heiress Kidan Adane who heads to elite Uxlay University to find out what has happened to her sister June, who she heard recently disappeared. In this world vampires are only allowed to feed on certain ancient families and live by a set of rules which beat at the core of the book. Upon arriving at the university Kidan realises that at some point the vampire connected to her family will feed on her (if she decides to let him) such is their weird relationship. She also suspects this vampire, the cruel yet enigmatic Susenyos Sagad, to be behind the kidnapping or possible murder of her sister.
The book concerns how the impulsive, loud, aggressive and fairly unlikable Kidan negotiates the unwritten rules of university life and the various factors which connect the ancient families to the vampires. There is intrigue, backstabbing and bad decisions as Kidan sinks deeper into the lure of the vampire world and the murky promises Susenyos offers.
I’m sure a mature teenage audience will enjoy this book significantly more than I did, particularly fans of romantasy. Although the world building was interesting I found it all very vague and never felt this Black vampire society was fully developed, although this might perhaps pick up in book two, as it ends on a very predicable cliff hanger. Although steamy in parts, with lots of f-bombs, it never gets especially violent and its cumbersome page length is its biggest challenge.
AGE RANGE 14+
Larry Hayes – The Nightmares of Finnegan Quick
Publisher : Bloomsbury Children’s Books

The Nightmares of Finnegan Quick is an entertaining, slightly undemanding, Middle Grade fantasy horror novel for kids aged 10+, featuring mild scares and is suitable for the top end of primary or lower secondary school pupils. Finnegan’s nightmares are so terrifying they don’t just stay in his head; they can creep into the real world. Early in the action he dreams about a strange girl, who helps him fight the monsters.
When this girl, Cass, turns up as a new pupil at school, Finn teams up with her and his best friend Squid to investigate the mystery of his dreams, the connection to his missing parents whilst battling with an array of monsters, creatures, goblins and a powerful ‘Big Bad’ lurking in the background. And not forgetting to negotiate school and an increasingly distant grandmother.
The dynamics of the three characters were the major strength of this novel, as I felt the author could have come up with something more original that reheated goblins, which have been recycled continually since the days of Tolkien. I really enjoyed the shock of the two boys when the older Year 9 girl (Cass) saunters across the lunch hall and then deliberately causes a fight.
Even though the ages of the characters were leaning towards YA, this is most definitely a Middle Grade read. Squid was great backup and Finn was a believable character, feeling guilt over his parent’s disappearance, whilst being relentlessly being pushed by Cass (who has her own agenda) to shake off his fearfulness. We can’t all be heroes overnight! The dream sequences, living nightmares were well presented, and it was great all the characters had flaws in a story which balanced the supernatural with school with Finn picking up a detention and the wrath of a teacher who was scarier than the dream monsters. The action ends with potential for a sequel, which I would happily read.
AGE RANGE 10+
January/February Essential YA and Middle Grade Horror
Phil Hickes – Shadowhall Academy 2: Ghost Story Society
Publisher : Usborne Publishing

With his second entry in his Shadowhall Academy series Phil Hickes ups the ante in another spooky tale, set a term after the haunting which took place in book one, The Whispering Walls (2024). Perfectly pitched for the top end of primary school, to easy read for lower secondary, these are brilliant stories for kids who don’t want to be scared too much, or their parents could choose to read to slightly younger kids as bedtime stories.
The story follows Lilian Jones and her friends Serena Khan, Marion Dawson and Angela Radford, who start a midnight Ghost Story Society at their boarding school Shadowhall Academy. All four girls were in the opening book and this sequel is perfectly fine to read independently even if you haven’t read its predecessor. It also has a very cool Easter egg cross-generational connection to the author’s other terrific trilogy Aveline Jones (2020-2022), the clue is in the name ‘Jones’ as Shadowshall is set in the tail end of the eighties.
As a kid I would have loved to have attended Shadowshall Academy, loaded with drafty corridors, squeaking doors, eccentric teachers with lots of mischief to be found after lights out (and the odd midnight snack). I would also have been first in the queue to join Lilian’s Ghost Story Society to fool around in the school library after dark!
The fun starts after a school prefect gatecrashes the secret society and tells the story of a haunted or cursed book which is directly connected to the drama department of Shadowshall.
Seeking a good mystery, the girls join the drama club to try and locate the book, and once they do they wish they hadn’t as the tome has the power to bring your scariest secrets to life. These books are short enough to ensure they can hold the attention of even the most distracted child, are endearingly cute, have great banter between the characters and you just know everything is going to be fine in the end. The buildup towards the finale was particularly engaging, when something unnerving from Lilian’s childhood truly comes back to haunt her. Great stuff.
AGE RANGE 9-12
January/February Essential YA and Middle Grade Horror

Alice Nuttall – The Zombie Project
Publisher : Chicken House

Alice Nuttall’s The Zombie Project is a highly entertaining Middle Grade debut which like Justin Weinberger’s Zombie Season series, gives a fresh spin on the zombie storyline. Although they are completely different takes on the zombie genre, they are similar in that they are both backed up by incredibly well developed settings. Historically, there are significantly more zombie novels for the older YA age group, so it is good to see some quality undead action for younger children also.
The Zombie Project is set some years after worldwide environmental problems have led to the extinction of bees and the arrival of zombies. However, the zombie problem is kept under control and this is seen a necessity as death-flies feed on the undead and we need death-flies to help grow food in the absence of bees.
This was a complex basis for a story, so Middle Grade readers will have to follow the narrative closely otherwise they might get confused. Not everybody believe having the zombies around is a good idea and a sinister corporation lurks in the background with its own self-serving money-centred agenda. The hero of the story is Merian, who has grown up around zombies as her mother is a scientist who believes the creatures are part of the future.
Merian has her own rule book for survival and is sucked into a conspiracy, including the possibility that bees might not be extinct after all. This was a warm hearted story with a great central character, even the zombies are humanised, with clever social media drops throughout the story. Although a horror story, any child who likes a taste of adventure or thriller should find this charming novel entertaining.
AGE RANGE 10-12
Melinda Salisbury – AdelAIDE
Publisher : Barrington Stoke

I am a huge fan of Melinda Salisbury and in the past have reviewed many of her fantasy and horror novels. Both Hold Back the Tide (2020) and Her Dark Wings (2022) featured in my own almanac The YA Horror 400, which was published last year. In 2024 Melinda wrote EchoStar, which was her first novel for Barrington Stoke who specialise in dyslexia friendly fiction and returns with her second AdelAIDE.
I thoroughly enjoyed EchoStar, but I preferred AdelAIDE which is a fascinating take on the dangers of social media obsession and has a huge amount to unpack over its tight 140 pages. Neither is it patronising or heavy handed in its message and every teenager who would like more ‘likes’ for their postings, or engagement from their followers might see a little of themselves in main character Freya.
Freya desperately wants to be a social media influencer, like her former best friend, Hye-jin, but no matter what she tries, her posts flop and even if she posts on the same environmental issues as her former best friend she is totally overshadowed. Things change when Freya’s stepdad arrives home with AdelAIDE, a home-assistant robot which begins to give her suggestions on how to improve her online profile which take her far out of her comfort zone but continue supporting her environmental agenda.
I enjoyed the fact that the AI lurked in the background of the story and never threatened to turn into a monster or anything supernatural, whilst Freya follows its suggestions, which begin with an innocent makeover before escalating into believable vandalism. The book asks the question when is ‘normal’ not enough and through a very realistic teen driven story spins a highly entertaining thriller. Aimed at children around eleven, but with a reading age of eight.
AGE RANGE 8-13.
Trang Thanh Tran – They Bloom at Night

Trang Thanh Tran’s debut She is a Haunting (2023) was a fascinating haunted house novel featuring LGBTQIA+ themes and the struggles of a Canadian teenager to accept and understand her Vietnamese heritage. The book was featured in my own YA Horror 400 almanac and later won the YA Bram Stoker Award. Her second novel They Bloom at Night revisits many of the same themes, albeit in a fresh context. Instead of having a Canadian on holiday in Vietnam, the main character is the daughter of immigrant Vietnamese parents who have settled in Louisiana and scrape a living catching shrimp.
There was little in the book to date the plot, Nhung’s mother (translated to Noon) does not speak English and they were ‘Vietnamese Boat People’ who arrived in America after the Vietnam War, then the story might be set in the eighties. As there was a lot in the book about sexuality identity and acceptance it might have been better to make the date clearer, as in recent years this has changed dramatically. For example, there was a bisexual character who had fallen out with his parents because of his sexuality and it was hard to tell whether this was purely a cultural thing, or because of the period the story was set in.
The story revolves around the appearance of a red algae in the sea water after a hurricane and the pollution which follows, causing fish to mutate and people to disappear. Noon and her mother are coerced by a local gangster to investigate the phenomenon as its bad for business.
The gangster sends his teenage daughter Covey (very farfetched) to join them and after a slow start the novel explodes into full body horror as the small town of Mercy Cove falls under the deadly influence of the algae. Noon was a great lead character, who has trauma in her past, as well as a complex relationship with her mother, but it was her relationship with lesbian Covey which dominates the book.
As Noon is affected by the algae, she also begins to question her own sexuality and the story is a thoughtful meditation of being comfortable in your own skin, or whether you see yourself as male, female or neither. But whether folks thought like this in the eighties, I’m not sure. This was a fascinating and oddly dreamy book, the slowly collapsing town of Mercy Cove was outstanding, perhaps some of the story was too metaphorical, including the algae, and I wonder whether it will go over the heads of many teen readers. But for those who like a challenge, this was a highly absorbing read.
AGE RANGE 13+
Tony Jones
Praise for the YA Horror 400 almanac, published in 2024:

“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)
“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)
“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)
“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 Savage Island & Raising Hell)
“The YA Horror 400 is a fabulous resource for librarians, parents, and fans of horror kidlit.” Lora Senf (Bram Stoker Award winning author of The Blight Harbor series)
“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)
“Teachers, librarians, readers… This brand new almanac from horror guru Tony Jones is all you need to navigate your way through YA spookiness, gore and thrills. SJ Wills (YA author of the Bite Risk series)
January/February Essential YA and Middle Grade Horror
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