Young Adult Horror and Dark Fiction The Best of 2024

Young Adult Horror and Dark Fiction The Best of 2024

Introduction to the Best YA Horror Books of 2024

As the world of Young Adult literature continues to evolve, the genre of horror remains a powerful and captivating force. In 2024, a remarkable collection of YA horror books has emerged, each bringing unique narratives that delve into the darker corners of human experience. From chilling tales of the supernatural to thought-provoking explorations of emotional trauma, this year’s selections offer something for every reader with a taste for the eerie and the unsettling.

In this roundup, Tony Jones highlights his top picks for the best YA horror books of the year. Each title promises to take readers on a thrilling journey, featuring diverse characters and intricate plots that not only entertain but also challenge perceptions. These stories weave elements of fear, suspense, and emotional complexity to resonate with both young adult and mature audiences alike.

Join us as we explore this carefully curated list that showcases the creativity and innovation within the YA horror genre, affirming its place as a vital part of contemporary literature. Whether you’re a die-hard horror enthusiast or a curious newcomer, these books are sure to leave a lasting impression. Prepare to be captivated by the chilling tales that await!

Tony Jones’s Young Adult Horror and Dark Fiction The Best of 2024

Here are my top ticks for 2024, featuring my favourite YA horror and dark fiction titles. Due to my own YA Horror 400 almanac being published last June I read and reviewed less than in previous years. Nevertheless, these are an engaging selection of books which are presented alphabetically, taking in sea monsters, comedy, haunted houses, demons, survival horror, rock music, vampires and an anthology. Watch out also for my accompanying Middle Grade ‘Best of 2024’ feature which will be published by Ginger Nuts of Horror shortly. The books are presented in alphabetical order by author. 

Amelinda Bérubé – The Ones Who Come Back Hungry

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sourcebooks Fire 

A few years back I was impressed by Amelinda Bérubé horror fantasy Here There Are Monsters (2019) which is also featured in my recent almanac review book The YA Horror 400 (2024). Amelinda returns in some style with The Ones Who Come Back Hungry, similar to her earlier novel in that it also deals with grief, loss, tragedy and broken families.

This is a vampire story like no other, do not expect any Twilight style swooning, this is more akin to John Ajvide Lindqvist’s Let The Right One In (2009), the lesser known Victoria Dalpe modern classic Parasite Life (2017) or Ravenous (2017) by Amy Lukavics. Interestingly the term ‘vampire’ or ‘zombie’ is rarely used in the book, but the story vaguely fits both terms, in a powerful narrative about a family attempting to recover from the sudden death of their elder teenage daughter Audrey. Shortly after her death Audrey reappears to her younger sister Jo, who narrates the story. Jo initially thinks the death of her elder sister is a mistake and is overjoyed to see her again, until she realises Audrey is no longer breathing, does not feel the cold and has other unsettling habits. 

By in large The Ones Who Come Back Hungry deals with how Jo copes with the return of Audrey,

whilst keeping this huge secret from her grieving parents. Although this is a supernatural story, little explanation is given for Audrey’s return, the book is more concerned with how Jo deals with this situation, with nagging doubts mounting. The ripple effect of the death takes Jo into the orbit of Audrey’s friends, toxic relationships, teen dynamics and problems with her own best friend, which has an LGBTQIA+ narrative.

Guilt lurks around every corner, as Jo believed Audrey to be perfect but in a previous argument had wished her sister were dead, as she could not live up to her incredibly high standards. As Jo crumbles mentally her grieving parents fail to notice, and Audrey begins to darken in mood and is continually hungry. Personal pain drowns this powerful novel and at times was a difficult read blending love, acceptance and complex sibling relationships. The balance between supernatural, family drama and teen dynamics is nicely pitched and this intense novel has the ability to creep under the skin.

AGE RANGE 13+ 

Young Adult Horror and Dark Fiction The Best of 2024

Rob Costello – We Mostly Come Out at Night: 15 Queer Tales of Monsters, Angels and other Creatures

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Running Press Kids

We Mostly Come Out at Night is a broad collection of fifteen short stories by LGBTQIA+ authors which have some form of queer message, characters or narrative. This is very varied, ranging from traditional horror stories to others which move towards fantasy, mythology and fairytales. As the title suggests the theme is ‘creatures’ and the anthology has a full smorgasbord to choose from, including Mothman, fairies, werebeasts, gorgons, sirens, angels and others. Ultimately this is a terrific book about acceptance and how there is freedom and power in embracing the things that make you stand out.

Each of the stories also has a very enlightening, and very personal, endnote (called Monster Reflections) about their story, monster and how it relates to their lives. I enjoyed the fact that the most common LGBTQIA+ narrative of ‘coming out’ in YA fiction are heavily disguised in most of the stories, but still present on a deeper level. The authors featured are Rob Costello, Kalynn Bayron, David Bowles, Shae Carys, H.E. Edgmon, Michael Thomas Ford, Val Howlett, Brittany Johnson, Naomi Kanakia, Claire Kann, Jonathan Lenore Kastin, Sarah Maxfield, Sam J. Miller, Alexandra Villasante, and Merc Fenn Wolfmoor.

I enjoyed the majority of the stories and will pick out a few of my person favourites.

In the YA horror world Kalynn Bayron is undoubtedly one of the book’s stars and her excellent House of Needs and Wants is worthy of her reputation. It concerns a foster house which has a reputation for being haunted, but instead it has a weird way of healing the damaged kids who end up staying there.

I also loved Merc Fenn Wolfmoor’s The Girl With Thirteen Shadows, in which a sinister doctor experiments on the girl and tries to remove her thirteen shadows one by one. But does she really need to be ‘cured’ of anything in what was a terrific story of acceptance. I was also a major fan of Claire Kann’s Bonnie Nuit about a group of silly kids who, for a prank, try to push a gargoyle off their school roof, only for it to come to life and they get much more than they bargained for. There is a huge amount to unpack in this thoughtful and diverse anthology.

AGE RANGE 13+

Young Adult Horror and Dark Fiction The Best of 2024

David Fenne – Overemotional

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ink Road 

Overemotional, the highly engaging debut from David Fenne, has an outstanding opening, seventeen-year-old Steven kisses a boy for the first time at a party and the head of the other kid immediately explodes. If you think Eleven from Stranger Things has powers, she has nothing on the confused (in more ways than one) Steven. On one level this was an engaging fantasy story but it was also a fantastic LGBTQIA+ celebration of finding yourself, accepting who you are and trusting your friends. Bizarrely, Steven tells his friends he has special powers before officially coming out as gay, which he has a complex mental block about. The action is set in the rundown seaside town of Grunsby-on-Sea, where nothing ever happens, until Steven’s special powers catch the eye of a secret (but rather inept) government organisation called DEMA. 

Overemotional’s real strength was the manner in which the characters bounce off each other and provide support,

even Marcus (the boyfriend of Freya) who Steven does not like adds to the fun. The powers were very cool and are connected to emotions, but effect those around Steven in other ways, for example, when Steven feels anger everybody else feels scared. Early in the novel he finds another boy (who he also thinks is cute) with the same gift who helps him control his powers, explaining he is an EMT, which is an Emotionally Manifesting Target.

What follows is a smart mashup of science fiction, wild situations, dodgy conspiracy, disappearances, teen emotions and an enjoyably wild ride. I loved how Steven dubbed himself an ‘Emomancer’ which had a certain ring to it and this was a magical, queer, coming-of-age story which is guaranteed to get you smiling. Book two and three, Overthinking and So Over This are also available.

AGE RANGE 13+  

Young Adult Horror and Dark Fiction The Best of 2024

Ann Fraistat – A Place for Vanishing

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Delacorte Press

Ann Fraistat’s debut What We Harvest was an absolute cracker and her sophomore effort A Place to Vanish is equally fascinating. Whilst What We Harvest has a bubbling environmental message A Place to Vanish is a more traditional haunted house novel, which is backed up by an outstanding setting, sympathetic characters, family drama and an unsettling vibe that vibrates from deep inside the history of the house.

This horror novel has much to say about mental health, with the main character with mental health issues and recovering from a suicide attempt which has led to her family relocating for a fresh start. Libby is a fragile, sensitive and incredibly well drawn character and her interactions with her younger sister Vivi (who has her own issues), single parent mother and potential love interest Flynn are all first rate. The personal problems of Libby raise this book beyond the levels of genre fiction and the manner in which it blends with the developing supernatural story is a real standout.

The story kicks off when Libby’s family move into a new house,

which has been uninhabited for years, but also a strong connection to a disappearance in their family years before. There are bugs and insects all over the house, Vivi is strangely attracted to the many butterflies and after the discovery of masks, which are in the shapes of insects such as beetles events get stranger, particularly after the girls try the masks on.

A Place to Vanish is a deliciously paced, atmospheric ghost story as the house is top heavy with spirits who have their own agenda for the two girls. The story picks up when Libby meets Flynn who has an unhealthy interest in the house and his own reason for inserting himself into their investigation. The legacy of Libby’s family runs deep in this modern gothic tale and endlessly inventive haunted house story with a fragile, but highly memorable lead character.

AGE RANGE 13+

Young Adult Horror and Dark Fiction The Best of 2024

Tess James MacKey – You Wouldn’t Catch Me Dead

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hodder Children’s Books 

Tess James MacKey follows her 2023 debut Someone Is Watching You, with another highly entertaining thriller, with a group of teenagers, lost in the remote Welsh hills, being stalked by someone of something. I prefer this second novel, mainly because it includes a much stronger set of characters and the traumatic backstory is gripping and beautifully balanced with the dangerous predicament the teenagers find themselves in. Like with Someone is Watching You the story nicely balances thriller and potentially supernatural shenanigans with the reveal coming around 75% of the story. All the characters are nicely pitched and very believable teens, main characters Keely was great, but Barry totally stole the show.

As the book hurtled in its final 10% my heart was in my mouth that something really horrible was going to happen to this lovely chap!

The story opens with sixteen-year-old Keely roped into joining a Duke of Edinburgh Scheme style outdoor programme in the Welsh mountains for three nights. She is new to the area and has no friends, even though others in the group try to connect with her, she pushes them away. Keely has a serious traumatic experience in her recent past, which is connected to her former best friend Amy, and is revealed in delicate flashbacks.

Before they have camped out one night, in thick fog, disaster strikes and one of the teachers falls off a ridge and dies. As they try to wait it out with no mobile phone service, small piles of rocks appear outside their tents and they realise they are not alone. This was a terrific thriller and as page turners go you are not going to read many better, balancing nicely with the huge reveals of Kelly’s recent past. I loved the manner in which the teens bounce off each other, with the tension ratcheting up forcing poor Kelly way out of her comfort zone.

AGE RANGE 12+

Brady J Sadler – Relic Meyers and the Rhythms of Ruin

I might be several decades older than the intended audience of Relic Meyers and the Rhythms of Ruin, but young at heart (and loving nineties nostalgia) had an absolute blast with this highly amusing novel. The main character fourteen-year-old Relic Meyers dreams of following in the footsteps of his semi-legendary father, who drummed in a heavy metal band before strangely disappearing and breaking contact with the distraught Relic, who feels abandoned. He lives with his mother, who is reluctant to see her son follow his musical dream. There are a lot of interesting reveals about Relic’s father, the cult of his music and the slow-burning supernatural story, which is strongly connected to the music, strengthening when Relic plays anything connected to his father’s back catalogue. 

I loved the nineties references, the cool times browsing covers of metal albums, and the spot on musical references.

The supernatural story was ridiculous but ultimately what made Relic Meyers and the Rhythms of Ruin a complete triumph were the characters and the manner in which they interact with each other. This is not a traditional YA novel and could be enjoyed by adults as well as teens, it was also a very horny book, but I never felt it got too crude or had too much bad taste.

When the action starts, Relic is seeing his best friend Bree for the first time in ages after she returns from summer band camp. He also realises (maybe for the first time) that she is a beautiful girl and that he has very complicated feelings for her. I thought the ending was absolutely pitch perfect, where heavy metal is abandoned in favour of Madonna, but it totally worked. Take me back to 1997 right now!

AGE RANGE 14+  

Young Adult Horror and Dark Fiction The Best of 2024

Krystal Sutherland – The Invocations

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hot Key Books

Back in 2021 Krystal Sutherland made a seamless move from mainstream teen fiction into much darker YA with the superb House of Hollow. With The Invocations Sutherland once again ups the ante with a full-blown mystery and gory horror novel. Gone are the dreamy subtleties and ambiguities of House of Hollow and instead we welcome demons, witchcraft, resurrected flesh-eating zombies, mass murder, curses and sweet, sweet revenge.

In the opening stages The Invocations is skilfully presented as a thriller, an unnamed woman is being stalked walking home after a party, she is not too scared as she has some unnamed supernatural power but is killed anyway. The reader quickly realises that five women have been murdered in similar circumstances which are connected by the fact that they all had some knowledge of magic. Although The Invocations is a very contemporary novel the idea that some women are able to practice magic (witch covens do exist) is seamlessly filtered into the story. One women even has control over a demon (almost) as a pet! Even if you do not like horror novels this was an incredibly captivating page-turning supernatural thriller which was bolstered by three young women who banter, clash and eventually support each other beautifully. 

We know right from the start that Emer Bryne is an Irish witch who is hiding in south London,

she is also a very powerful cursewriter who controls a demon. Soon she is introduced to Jude Wolf (the daughter of a billionaire) and Zara Jones, a grieving teenager who wants to use the occult to bring her sister back from the dead. Jude herself has been cursed and has sold off a part of her soul and the three women are sucked into a complex mystery.

The Invocations was a superb supernatural thriller, with engaging characters, an advanced magical system which does not hold back on the gore with a bloodthirsty ending. The three women initially clash as they all have their own particular agendas, with the first half of the book setting the scene, and the second deepening the conspiracy and throwing in some twists and a cute slow-burning LGBTQIA+ storyline. Adults could easily read The Invocations and not be disappointed as some of the demons were so vicious they would not have been out of place in an Adam Nevill novel.

AGE RANGE 13/14+

Melissa Welliver – Soulmates and Other Ways to Die

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chicken House

Melissa’s follow-up to My Love Life and the Apocalypse is another quirky off-beat rom com which is in no way derivative of its predecessor. Even if the book structure of ‘boy meets girl’ follow a similar pattern this latest novel is built around a very clever hook which is sure to catch the eye of teen readers. Due to an unexplained gene mutation, for the last ten years, everybody has a soulmate somewhere in the world waiting to be discovered. And there are fancy apps to help you make the connection and locate that perfect person. However, there are serious downsides, if your soulmate dies, the same thing happens to you. For example, early in the novel a plane crashes and this is because the soulmate of the pilot died, causing the second death and thus the crash. 

Main character Zoe is extremely safety conscious, scared of most things, and takes zero risks.

Early in the novel the app pairs her with Milo, who is the complete opposite of her and enjoys cutting loose. Initially they do not look like a great match, but hey, this is a romantic comedy, so you can guess where the plot heads. Both sixteen-year-old characters were great fun, ably supported by larger-than-life friends who mostly find their match to be unintentionally hilarious.

The plot is built around the pair initially trying to break the match via an urban myth which claims there is a woman out there who can do the job, which develops into a conspiracy adventure thriller and the origins of gene mutation. All of this takes Zoe in particular deeply out of her comfort zone and it was all light-hearted fun, with the many odd ways the gene mutation impacted lives explored in very observant and down to earth ways.

AGE RANGE 12+  

Nicole M Wolverton – A Misfortune of Lake Monsters

Publisher ‏ : ‎ CamCat Books

I thoroughly enjoyed Nicole Wolverton’s YA debut A Misfortune of Lake Monsters which has great fun playing around with monster tropes. First up, the original monster (‘Old Lucy’) does not appear in the novel very often, as it is revealed early on to be a fake. The family of main character Lemon Ziegler have for years kept the myth of the creature alive by staging fake sightings to boost local tourism.

When the novel opens seventeen-year-old Lemon, who wants to study to become a vet, is told that she is now responsible for ensuring the myth of Old Lucy continues and must wear the monster suit to engineer ‘sightings’. Lemon also has the burden of keeping this huge family secret from her two best friends Troy Ramirez (who has his own narrative) and Darrin. The three do everything together and Lemon struggles to keep this huge secret from them, with this developing into an entertaining family and teen drama.

This is also an extremely cute book,

as Troy is deeply in love with Lemon. Everybody is aware of this apart from her and much of the story sees the two characters edging closer together and you might even cheer when the first kiss actually happens. However, things get complex when there is an earthquake which awakens something in the lake, which is definitely not the fake Old Lucy and a shadowy government organisation arrive to investigate.

A Misfortune of Lake Monsters morphs into a highly entertaining high school and family drama, with superb characters, blended with action thriller, which heads into wild places in the final quarter. Overall the concept was very clever and it was easy to understand why the Ziegler family wanted to keep the Old Lucy legend alive and well. And hats off to author Nicole Wolverton for doing 100% thorough research (and I say this as a Scotsman) she even visited Loch Ness, but I don’t think saw Old Nessie!

AGE RANGE 13+

Young Adult Horror and Dark Fiction The Best of 2024

Tony Jones

Praise for the YA Horror 400 almanac:

“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)”

“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)