By Tony Jones 
Scary Books for Teens & Kids: Our Fall 2025 YA & MG Horror Guide
Our latest roundup features a nice split of Young Adult (YA) and Middle Grade horror, including two authors making their Young Blood debuts and a mixture of notable old hands, Kalynn Bayron, Lorien Lawrence and Kate Alice Marshall, who were all included in my YA Horror 400 almanac.
Distinguished adult horror author Paul Tremblay (I’ve read everything) makes an impressive splash into the Middle Grade age group with Another, a creepy golem inspired story guaranteed to scare the youngsters witless. Jack Mackay’s debut Gloam is equally striking (already have two copies in my school library), concerning a family of siblings sent to live in a creepy island mansion after the death of their mother.
Elsewhere Kevin Garrone keeps things very stupid and light-hearted in book two of his Alien Survival Guide series, Night of the Living Toilet Paper, which had me chuckling. Lorien Lawrence’s highly engaging The Many Hauntings of the Manning Family is about twin thirteen-year-old You Tube paranormal investigators who are not quite as keen on ghost hunting as their pushy mum! This is a great new series for Lorien after the conclusion of her quality Fright Watch trilogy.
A Grave Inheritance is the Victorian Era set debut from Felicity Epps, which bridges the gap nicely between YA and Middle Grade with an entertaining tale of seances, murder, mystery and friendship. Kalynn Bayron has authored numerous great novels and her Frankenstein inspired Make Me a Monster, set in a funeral parlour, is amongst her best. Logan-Ashley Kisner is developing into a powerful voice in the LGBTQIA+ community and his werewolf inspired second novel, The Transition, is a step up in quality from his 2024 debut Old Wounds. Finally, we have Kate Alice Marshall and We Won’t All Survive, I have reviewed Kate many times, and her latest is an entertaining survival thriller with a social media edge.
Until next time. The books are presented alphabetically.
Scary Books for Teens & Kids: Our Fall 2025 YA & MG Horror Guide
Kalynn Bayron – Make Me a Monster
Publisher : Bloomsbury YA
I have read and reviewed many Kalynn Bayron novels, my favourites being Cinderella is Dead (2020), This Poison Heart (2021) and You’re Not Supposed To Die Tonight (2023). The third of these titles featured in my own YA Horror 400 almanac and the first has been incredibly popular in my school library.
Bayron has also dipped into Middle Grade with her Vanquishers (2022-4) trilogy, but her YA work is significantly more impressive. Make Me a Monster ranks amongst her strongest work and is a clever spin, with both a supernatural and modern twist on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It is beautifully paced, with the first half setting the scene, built around a family who own a mortuary, with the second fanning out into supernatural realms.
Make Me a Monster is both a clever and thoughtful exploration of grief and love after the main character Meka loses somebody incredibly special to her. She works as a mortuary assistant and death is a part of daily life until it comes too close to home. Much of the narrative concerns how the teenager deals with death, having a closeknit group of friends she can rely upon and loving parents.
Meka embraces her unorthodox job as a mortuary assistant and the side-eyes it brings at school and I really enjoyed these sequences and the respect she shows the dead and the seriousness she gives her job. Early in the story a dead body inexplicably sits bolt up straight, with this being the first clue of the direction the story is heading into. Family beats strong at the centre of the novel, her boyfriend Noah is also fantastic, contributing to a plot which was both supernatural, connected to history and carries emotional punch. There is violent in parts, but little swearing and no sex. AGE RANGE 13+
Felicity Epps – A Grave Inheritance
Publisher : Hodder Children’s Books
A Grave Inheritance, the debut from Felicity Epps, was recently a ‘Book of the Month’ in Waterstones and although it is billed as YA, dips into Middle Grade territory and I would let both age groups read it. Combining both murder mystery and paranormal investigations three young women form a crime-solving/medium club (this is very Middle Grade) to try and find out if Dolores is being haunted by her dead sister.
In recent times there has been a lack of YA novels at the lower end of the age group and because this story lacks real threat or scares it is a safe choice for everybody. Instead it focuses on the power of friendship, whilst still having seances, a convincing Victorian setting, gothic atmosphere and a sweet love triangle as Delores dodges authority figures, investigates her sister’s secrets and explores both life after death, alchemy, and spiritualism.
The action opens a while after Dolores has accepted the family inheritance and possibly a haunted house after the deaths of her father and older sister and investigates whether cholera, or something more suspicious, was to blame for her ill-fortune, particularly around the death of her sister, Edith. After drinking a new health tonic she begins to see the ghost of her dead sister and her best friends help shake her out of her hypochondria, need to wear black and solve the mystery. At times, A Grave Inheritance heads into slightly cozy mystery territory and was a cute easy read for Middle Grade and young teens. AGE RANGE 11/12+
Kevin Garone – Night of the Living Toilet Paper (Alien Survival Guide book 2)
Publisher : Temor Press
Night of the Living Toilet Paper is a fun and humorous read aimed at the Middle Grade age group of nine to twelve, which is also a direct sequel to I Know What UFO Did Last Summer (Alien Survival Guide Book 1). The central character is alien obsessed twelve-year-old Marv, who plays everything with a straight bat (which makes really funny).
As the story evolves, we find out that Marv has ‘cried wolf’ many times and sees alien invasions around every corner. His family and friends humour him and I chuckled heartily as Marv drops various anecdotes about his various (false alarm) alien adventures. This second story has the same central characters as its predecessor; Marvin (code name: Gold Leader), Jace (code name: Baller One) and Nora (code name: Space Cadet). The story expands upon the mystery from book one and is enhanced by a very funny adult paranormal hunter, amusingly Marvin is happy enough to scoff at the idea of ghosts, as they are completely different from aliens!
Every chapter includes a humorous (or dumb) anecdote from Marv’s favourite book, Alien Survival Guide Book, which he uses as a blueprint for his own adventures. Friendship beats strongly at the centre of the story, even if Nora and Jace do not believe in UFOs, they tag along with the deadly serious Marvin, enjoying the midnight camps and other fun romps in the American countryside where teachers and parents remain in the distance.
Once the adventure picks up pace it is a lot of fun and Night of the Living Toilet Paper could be pitched perfectly at kids who are struggling to engage with reading and are seeking a none-too-serious read about shape shifting toilet paper monsters. Very dumb but also light-hearted fun. AGE RANGE 9-12
Logan-Ashley Kisner – The Transition
Publisher : Usborne Publishing Ltd
Last year we reviewed Logan-Ashley Kisner’s YA horror debut Old Wounds about two teen friends transitioning in different gender directions who get caught up with both monster and hillbilly trouble whilst on a road trip.
This was a thoughtful, but far from perfect debut, but their second novel The Transition has both more bite and a gender narrative which is fully formed and lacking the rather forced nature of the plot in Old Wounds. The Transition is a clever twist on the werewolf story, it does have some similarities to the cult horror film Ginger Snaps, which it self-references on several times, in which a teen girl turns into a werewolf and her transition is connected to her menstrual cycle.
Something similar happens in The Transition, which has a lot of detail regarding trans issues, the psychological impact of the connected operations and the menstrual cycle as the main character has been taking testosterone injections for over two years in his transition from girl to boy. When the novel opens he has had a major operation and is relatively far along in his transition. That is until he is bitten by a creature in a forest close to his home.
The novel concerns two transitions, from female to male and from male into something else, possibly a werewolf. Logan-Ashley Kisner is trans, and as with Old Wounds, there is a lot of information about the issues surrounding this and he does not shy away from graphic or uncomfortable details. Hunter is a fascinating main character, who has a strong network of close friends around him, to compensate for distant parents.
He lives with his dad, who accepts his transition without truly embracing it. Some of the most powerful scenes were set at school, where Hunter is bullied and has lots of other problems, which were very believable, some of which concerned teachers who understood little about what he was going through.
The story cleverly avoids turning into a traditional werewolf shaggy dog story and swerves into a different direction and I felt a lot of compassion for the creature who bit Hunter. This is an important novel, both educational and a great teen equivalent of Metamorphosis and clever nods to Ginger Snaps without ever copying. The Transition is not especially violent, has no sex, a lot of swearing and deals with mature gender themes. AGE RANGE 13/14+
Lorien Lawrence – The Many Hauntings of the Manning Family
Publisher : Amulet Books
I was a huge fan of Lorien Lawrence’s Fright Watch Trilogy and was interested to see how she would follow this highly entertaining Middle Grade series. I am happy to report that The Many Hauntings of the Manning Family is a fine follow up and engaging change of direction. Thirteen-year-old twins Gabby and Trent Manning are Connecticut’s youngest paranormal investigators.
Both have inherited ‘the gift’ from their grandparents, the Mannings, whose legendary ghost hunts inspired several books and films, but whose names have been nearly forgotten since their untimely deaths years earlier. The story revolves around their pushy mother trying to kick start their flagging You Tube channel, where they investigate various hauntings, whilst balancing this against their schoolwork and personal interests.
The twins are vastly different characters and one of the strengths of the dual narrative is their different takes on the ghost hunting. Trent is happy to follow their mother’s ideas and for a ghost hunter is easily scared, whilst the much more outgoing Gabby would rather be playing soccer for the school team than following the family business.
The main plot hangs around a haunting at the abandoned Majestic Theatre, which is also a place their grandparents failed to exorcise years before. This haunting story is nicely balanced against the personal issues of the ‘Ghost Twins,’ with things taking a dark turn when their mother disappears after a séance goes wrong. The novel also cleverly adds other articles, interviews, and found media which give the story an aura of authenticity.
The strength of the story is the wildly different two children and I really felt for poor Gabby when her mother told her she had to ghost hunt rather than captain the soccer team! The ghost hunting rules were also a nice touch and overall the novel has a pitch perfect Middle Grade emotional message that it is okay to be yourself and not who your parents want you to be. A terrific gateway horror novel with credible family dynamics balanced against the supernatural. AGE RANGE 10+
Jack Mackay – Gloam
Publisher : Rock the Boat
Gloam is the impressive recent Middle Grade debut from Jack Mackay and if you want to hear more from Jack, check out his contribution to our ‘Childhood Fears’ run of articles here:
It is tricky to review Gloam without namechecking both Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (for setting) and The Ocean at the End of the Lane (for evil babysitter), as this spooky novel sits in a similar ballpark to both. Thirteen-year-old Gwen is the oldest of four children, the lynchpin holding her family together after the death of their mother.
The story opens with the family relocating to the island of Gloam, where they have inherited the family home, Somnolent House, from their grandparents. Their guardian is their stepfather Henry, who was only married to their mother for two years, whilst their natural father is living in France (this was a bit strange, but the story never circles back to the father).
Whilst Henry looks for a new job he recruits a babysitter, Esme Laverne, which is the focus of the story as the children adapt to the island before school starts. Gwen feels that she is old enough to look after her siblings, Roger, and twin sisters, Hazel and Hester, and she takes an immediate dislike to their new babysitter and they quickly clash.
Gloam does not do much which I have not read before, but it does it very well. The house is an unsettling place and the younger children are quickly scared by the ‘Stitchy Man’ whilst the babysitter shows her true colours to Gwen early in the action. Gwen is a sympathetic main character, struggling to cope, briefly makes friends with a cat before chatting to a tree with supernatural powers who knew both her mother and grandmother.
Esme Laverne is a great character who is sure to scare younger readers whilst she feeds on the fear of the children, manipulating the youngsters. The story opens up into an entertaining adventure as they investigate ways of defeating the creature hiding behind the face of the babysitter and overcome their own fears. Aimed at Middle Grade readers with an interest in spooky and imaginative storytelling, this is a fulfilling read for young readers ready to face a nightmare full on. AGE RANGE 9-12
Kate Alice Marshall – We Won’t All Survive
Publisher : Penguin Young Readers Group
I have been a huge fan of Kate Alice Marshall for several years and have an impressive collection of her fiction in my school library which I regularly recommend. Marshall is equally skilled writing for both YA and Middle Grade audiences and is widely featured in my YA Horror 400 almanac: Thirteens (2020), Rules for Vanishing (2019), These Fleeting Shadows (2022), Our Last Echoes (2022), The Narrow (2023) and Extra Normal (2023) are all represented.
Marshall is seriously prolific and considering the amount of terrific novels she has authored I am surprised I don’t see much more online chat and hype about her fiction as she does seem to fly under the radar somewhat. Whilst I would not rank her latest We Won’t All Survive amongst her best, it is still a solid page turning thriller blending survival story with murder mystery and a social media twang thrown in.
The action opens with Mercy Gray arriving at a remote location to compete in a survival reality show, selected by billionaire turned TV host Damien Dare. All the contestants have some sort of trauma in their recent past, two years earlier Mercy was hailed as a hero for saving lives during a mall shooting, being injured in the process. She hopes to win the prize so she can send her sister to college and has a lot of guilt surrounding how the day unfolded.
We Won’t All Survive concerns what happens when things go horribly wrong. There are no TV cameras, wi-fi, hospitality packages and no sign of Damien Dare. The abandoned mine is a dangerous place and early in the action one if the contestants is found dead. The battle to survive is on with Mercy and the others unsure who they can trust, or each other.
The novel covers a lot of ground from trauma, PTSD to toxic masculinity with the eight contestants all having convincing back stories. Even if the story lacked something on the mystery front and the end was rather bland it is still a solid thriller. It contains some swearing, mild violence and no sex. AGE RANGE 13+
Paul Tremblay – Another
I am a huge fan of the adult fiction of Paul Tremblay, and having read most of it, was particularly curious how he would fare with his Middle Grade debut Another. The success rate of adult authors moving to Middle Grade or YA is pretty low, but Tremblay most definitely bucks the trend delivering a creepy and engaging horror novel which is sure to stay with younger kids long after they have turned the last page.
His adult fiction is often heavy on ambiguity and this is wisely toned down in Another which plays more heavily on childhood friends, family dynamics and fears, both irrational and very real. Middle Grade is usually billed at the 8-12 age group, I would recommend this for the upper end of that age bracket, as it might be slightly slow for those under ten.
The action opens with Casey Wilson’s parents telling him that a friend is coming over for a sleepover. Casey finds this strange as he has been struggling at school since he was bullied online and struggles to cope with his facial tics when he is anxious or stressed. Casey is a beautifully rounded character who loves art and attends baseball to please his dad, who is a coach, even though he regularly fumbles the ball. He is a rather sad little boy, who is pleased to meet Morel when he arrives at their house and they become friends.
The sleepover goes on and on, with Morel described through Casey’s eyes. He is not a normal boy, but Casey cannot but his finger on what is different about him, and as Morel’s stay lengthens he begins to change. Adult readers will easily see where the story is heading but put yourself in the shoes of a ten-year-old and this is riveting stuff as Casey’s voice slowly and helplessly disappears.
Another highlight of Another is the wonderful relationship Casey has with his sister Ally, who has recently left the family home for college, as she is the only person he can articulate his fears to. Another is loaded with memorable scenes, just the fact that Morel does not sleep and just stands in Casey’s room gave me the creeps! Terrific stuff. AGE RANGE 10+
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)
The Young Blood Library on Ginger Nuts of Horror
For fans of Young Adult (YA) Horror and Middle Grade (MG) Horror, the Young Blood section of book reviews on the Ginger Nuts of Horror website is a treasure trove worth exploring. This curated segment delves into the darker side of youthful literature, offering insights into the chilling narratives that have captivated young readers.
The beauty of YA and MG horror lies in its ability to tackle complex themes such as fear, identity, and resilience, all while maintaining an accessibility that appeals to younger audiences. Readers can expect reviews that highlight not only the spine-tingling plots but also the emotional depth and character development that are essential to these genres.
The Ginger Nuts of Horror Review Website showcases a diverse array of titles, from debut authors to established names, making it easy for fans to discover hidden gems and upcoming releases. The reviews are penned by passionate contributors who share a deep love for horror, ensuring that each piece is both informative and engaging.
By checking out this section, readers can stay ahead of the curve on the latest trends in YA and MG horror, enriching their reading experience and connecting with a community that shares their enthusiasm for all things eerie and unsettling. Whether you seek thrills or thoughtful narratives, Young Blood has something for everyone.
Jim Mcleod