Alone

by Megan E. Freeman

Maddie and her friends have the Best. Plan. Ever. Maddie tells her mom she's at her dad's. And tells her dad she's at her mom's. And her friends hatch a similar plan with their parents. But really, they're going to Maddie's grandparents' condo. They're only in town in the summer. It's the perfect plan, until Ashanti gets sick, and the whole thing gets called off. Maddie has already bought all the snacks, though, so she goes ahead and has the party by herself. She falls asleep with her phone on silent, and when she wakes up, she's... alone. Everyone has been evacuated for an unknown reason, and Maddie has to figure out what's going on and how to survive. I absolutely loved this tense, super suspenseful novel in verse!

 

The Canyon's Edge

by Dusti Bowling

Nora's mom died in a tragic restaurant shooting at Nora's birthday dinner. Understandably, her father wants to wrap her up and protect her from everything now, and she's suffocating. On the one year anniversary, he takes her on a camping/hiking trip to try to get their minds off what happened a year ago. But suddenly, tragedy strikes again, separating Nora from her dad. Now she's alone in the Arizona desert. It's hard enough trying to live through wild animals, hunger, and dehydration, but the ghosts of her past also won't leave her alone. Can Nora find her dad, and the peace she craves? This is a well-written and tensely paced novel in verse that will be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys survival stories.

 

Thirteens

 

by Kate Alice Marshall

Eleanor is the new girl in a tiny town. Her past is sad, and not really something you want to share with potential new friends, but she's doing her best to fit in. Unfortunately matters only gets worse when she starts seeing creepy things that no one else sees... a grandfather clock that appears out of nowhere, a big dog with red eyes, and a bird made of bones. Eventually she realizes that her classmates Pip and Otto see these "wrong things" too, and they find themselves as unwitting participants in a very old mystery. 

Not Quite a Ghost

by Anne Ursu
 

Violet’s new house has the space her growing family needs, but as soon as they move in, the house feels odd and lonely. Violet’s older sister Mia declares the attic room with the peeling yellow wallpaper to be “creepy,” so by default, that room becomes Violet’s. Violet is dealing with a lot of personal issues, including nervously starting middle school, and it doesn’t help when she gets sick the first week of school. When she’s finally able to return, she’s too tired for PE class, so she’s sent to study in the library. There she meets a boy named Will who regularly sits out PE due to health reasons. He’s researching ghosts and hauntings for a science credit, which Violet finds fascinating. She wants to help her new friend with his project, but her illness returns and she isn’t getting better. Visits to multiple doctors lead nowhere, and she ends up homebound in her attic room. The vines on the yellow wallpaper seem to be moving now, and she thinks she sees the shape of a girl trapped beneath them. She’s terrified, both of the girl, and her mysterious illness. Loosely based on Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s 1892 short story The Yellow Wallpaper, this is a story about a haunted house, but it’s also a fresh, modern look at unexplained health issues, post-Covid anxiety, changing friendships, and blended families. 

Under the Surface

by Diana Urban

Four American students studying French in Paris find themselves lost in the catacombs in this thrilling survival story. Val accepts an invitation to an illegal underground party from a handsome French stranger, Julien, and Ruby, concerned for her safety, follows to stop her. Olivia, four-time teen Jeopardy winner, and Selena, Ruby’s ex-best friend, get swept up in the effort, too. At the mouth of the catacombs, Selena falls and is injured, kicking off a terrifying chain of events. They quickly realize they’re being pursued by armed men in skeleton masks. The kids can’t figure out why these men are chasing them, but it’s clear the men mean them harm as they continue to push the students deeper and deeper into the catacombs. Julien is lost now, too, there’s no cell service, not much food or water, and it’s completely pitch black without their few weak flashlights. This book doesn’t pull punches as tragedy after tragedy strikes the group, revealing character-developing back stories along the way, as well as fascinating details about “cataphiles,” real-life catacomb explorers. The chapters are narrated in turns by Ruby and Sean, still above ground, who loves Ruby but hasn’t yet found a way to tell her. Lots of twists, heart-pounding near-misses, and heart-breaking turns of events make for an exhilarating read. (Please note: this book is only in the high schools.)

The Windeby Puzzle

 by Lois Lowry

When a body was found in Germany in the early 50's in a peat bog, it was so well preserved they thought it was a recent murder. They soon realized it was the body of a young person from several thousand years earlier. There was still skin, and hair, and pieces of cloth on the body. They assumed it was a girl, but years later, realized it was a young man. Lowry took this actual event, and told the story of how the body ended up in the bog from two perspectives--a young girl, and then, a young boy. The stories are sad, because you know how they end, but fascinating and rich in historical detail. She even figures out a way to somehow connect the two tales seamlessly.  

A quick, emotional, and highly engaging read from one of the kid lit greats.

What Lives in the Woods

                                                           

By Lindsay Currie

Ginny's dad renovates old houses, and he's got an opportunity to bring Woodmoor Manor back to life and restore it to its former glory. Ginny isn't happy about this, though--she'd rather be with her friends back in Chicago. Making matters worse, Woodmoor has a reputation for creepy events, and Ginny starts experiencing supernatural events herself. Can Ginny figure out what's causing the unexplained events? I really enjoy this author. She has such an easy-to-read style to her writing, and I love her scary, but not TOO scary plots. If you haven't given her a try yet, what are you waiting for?