Here are 87 books that Ruin Road fans have personally recommended if you like
Ruin Road.
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As an expert in mind-body healing and a non-fiction author with four books on the topic translated into 20 languages, I’m fully aware of how loss affects each and every one of us.
As is always true with heavy topics, they are easy to lean away from. But there is nothing better than when we find a book that helps us move through the most difficult experiences in our lives by being part of another story. It allows us to see ourselves in new ways, and hopefully cry, laugh, and heal a little bit as we read, too.
I think this is my favorite novel about grief of all time.
I’ve read it more than once; I’ve studied its lines and have it on my ‘best books’ shelf at home. I love how E. Lockhart made each character so their own; yet fit them all together perfectly. I could relate to this story of cousins as I’m close to my own cousins and write about this strong bond myself.
I also fell in love with the perfect setting of this book—an island that becomes one extended family’s playground, with all its rituals and special spots. This is a must-read for the summertime for me (and maybe even every summer).
The TikTok phenomenon and #1 New York Times bestseller.
A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends-the Liars-whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth.
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honouree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.
Don't miss FAMILY OF LIARS, the thrilling prequel to We Were Liars, published in May 2022.
Lois Lowry looks back at history through a personal lens as she draws from her own memories as a child in Hawaii and Japan, as well as from historical research, in this stunning work in verse for young readers.
On the Horizon tells the story of people whose lives were…
As a former school counselor, I helped students navigate the ups and downs of friendships daily. As I mended relationships as part of my day job, my nights consisted of listening to true crime podcasts, reading murder mysteries, and watching enough thrillers on the Lifetime network to write a book about it. So, I did. Well, not literally, but I am the author of YA thrillers where friendships take centerstage. Now, I help fictional characters navigate friendships—this time, with disastrous results.
Monday Charles is missing, so why is only her best friend looking for her? The answer had my jaw dropping to the floor. Tiffany D. Jackson is the queen of twists and turns, and this thriller is her twisty-est yet.
I love a thriller with heart, and the friendship between Monday and the protagonist, Claudia, definitely broke mine.
"Jackson's characters and their heart-wrenching story linger long after the final page, urging readers to advocate for those who are disenfranchised and forgotten by society and the system." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")
From the critically acclaimed author of Allegedly, Tiffany D. Jackson, comes a gripping novel about the mystery of one teenage girl's disappearance and the traumatic effects of the truth.
Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. Claudia and Monday have always been inseparable-more sisters than friends. So when Monday doesn't turn up for the first day of school, Claudia's worried.
As a former school counselor, I helped students navigate the ups and downs of friendships daily. As I mended relationships as part of my day job, my nights consisted of listening to true crime podcasts, reading murder mysteries, and watching enough thrillers on the Lifetime network to write a book about it. So, I did. Well, not literally, but I am the author of YA thrillers where friendships take centerstage. Now, I help fictional characters navigate friendships—this time, with disastrous results.
I’m already a sucker for a locked-room mystery—but being locked inside a motor home? Sign me up! Well, not literally, but I certainly love reading about it.
Holly Jackson is an auto-buy for me, and this is her at her best. How she manages thrills and chills while keeping her characters in a tight space, I’ll never know. She also does an amazing job of showing the fragility of friendship when secrets are threatened to be exposed. This book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.
AN INSTANT NUMBER 1 NYT BESTSELLER AND SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER! THE EXPLOSIVE NEW YA CRIME THRILLER FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER.
AN INSTANT NUMBER 1 NYT BESTSELLER AND SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER!
WINNER of the CrimeFest award for Best Crime Fiction Novel for Young Adults!
'A blisteringly good standalone thriller.' The Observer, YA Books of the Year, 4/12/2022
'A thrill ride.'
The Guardian
Eighteen year old Red and her friends are on a road trip in an RV, heading to the beach for Spring Break.
A spy school for girls amidst Jane Austen’s high society.
Daughters of the Beau Monde who don’t fit London society’s strict mold are banished to Stranje House, where the headmistress trains these unusually gifted girls to enter the dangerous world of spies in the Napoleonic wars. #1 NYT bestselling author…
As a former school counselor, I helped students navigate the ups and downs of friendships daily. As I mended relationships as part of my day job, my nights consisted of listening to true crime podcasts, reading murder mysteries, and watching enough thrillers on the Lifetime network to write a book about it. So, I did. Well, not literally, but I am the author of YA thrillers where friendships take centerstage. Now, I help fictional characters navigate friendships—this time, with disastrous results.
Prep schools and YA go together like peanut butter and jelly, and Jessica Goodman certainly makes a delicious pairing in this thriller. Not only does it include a mystery of a dead best friend, but the social politics involved with solving the mystery made it even more intriguing.
I’m usually not a fan of books about popular kids because—plot twist—I was NOT a popular kid myself. But after reading about all the anxiety associated with maintaining that popularity, I understand now that I wasn’t missing out on anything!
"ONE OF THIS SUMMER'S BUZZIEST YA READS"--Entertainment Weekly
AN INSTANT INDIEBOUND BESTSELLER
Gossip Girl meets One of Us Is Lying with a dash of The Secret History in this slick, taut murder mystery set against the backdrop of an exclusive prep school on Long Island.
In Gold Coast, Long Island, everything from the expensive downtown shops to the manicured beaches, to the pressed uniforms of Jill Newman and her friends, looks perfect. But as Jill found out three years ago, nothing is as it seems.
Freshman year Jill's best friend, the brilliant, dazzling Shaila Arnold, was killed by her boyfriend.…
I’ve loved scary stories ever since I was a kid thumbing through Goosebumps, and I’m delighted that my children enjoy them as much as I do. Since they’ve outgrown spooky picture books like mine, middle grade horror audiobooks are our favorite way to pass the half-hour drive to school—but not every excellent book has an equally excellent narrator. Some sound downright bored with the material; others have such engaging voices that I will never read the books again without hearing them in my head. These are five of the most deliciously creepy middle grade novels that we’ve discovered for those long car trips.
This is my eleven-year-old son’s favorite book by master of kiddie horror K.R. Alexander, and I’ll admit that when I read the paperback, I didn’t understand why. The story of Kevin’s obsessive desire to win the annual haunted house contest—no matter what dark forces he angers in the process—was very good, but I thought some of Alexander’s other books were better. Then I listened to the audiobook, and I’ll be darned if I don’t agree with my son now. Michael Crouch infuses Kevin with exactly the right levels of vulnerability and desperation, making us understand every terrible decision he makes...even as we cringe in anticipation of the consequences.
A haunted house has come to life in this spine-tingling novel from the author of The Collector.
They've lost control of the haunted house.Every year, the town of Happy Hills holds its haunted house contest. In a spooky old manor, teams of kids come up with new ways to frighten people. The scariest team wins.But this year, all the teams are going to lose. Because this year the house itself has awakened . . . and it won't be happy until it's devoured all the people inside. What started out as a game has turned into something much more deadly.Is…
I'm an author, thought leader, activist, dreamer, and entrepreneur with a passion for change. I believe that creativity and imagination can lift anyone from where they are and usher them into destiny. Stories are a core part of human evolution, which means that stories have the power to change us inside and out. Growing up, I didn't see myself represented in the books and stories around me. I'm passionate about writing fantasy, sci-fi, whimsical tales, and historical action fiction because I believe that by telling our stories, we can help those who have limited opportunities see the world of possibilities and inspire them to dream and create their own magic in this world.
A brilliant follow-up to Amari and the Night Brothers, Amari and the Great Game is a mystical story of bravery, friendship, and perseverance wrapped up in magic. If you loved the first book in the series, this sequel does not disappoint its readers. B.B. Alston lights up the imagination and attention of readers with a tale of adventure while covering important themes of discrimination. I enjoyed how the young character, Amari, showed maturity, compassion, and humility. A clever and enchanting must-read for any young reader or adult who loves magic!
Sequel to the New York Times bestseller Amari and the Night Brothers!
Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this magical second book in the New York Times and Indie bestselling Supernatural Investigations trilogy—perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Percy Jackson series, and Nevermoor.
After finding her brother and saving the entire supernatural world, Amari Peters is convinced her first full summer as a Junior Agent will be a breeze.
But between the fearsome new Head Minister’s strict anti-magician agenda, fierce Junior Agent rivalries, and her brother Quinton’s curse steadily worsening, Amari’s plate…
India Muerte and the Ship of the Dead
by
Set Sytes,
India Muerte and the Ship of the Dead is the first book in a pirate fantasy adventure series, featuring the thrilling exploits of India Muerte in an exotic yet dangerous world.
After a night of misadventure, a roguish street lad from Mexico Island wakes up aboard a legendary ship crewed…
Once upon a time, I came to the realization that I had no idea what my parents were thinking, much less anyone else. This has turned into a life of repeated musing over how much I do and don't understand about other people. More recently, my mother's death brought to light the many different ways family and friends remembered her, with joy and pain, loss and wariness. I chose this topic for the list because these books help highlight and explore the mysteriousness of family and memory and how a person can be whole and complete and sure of what they've lived through, only to turn and see a new angle never before recognized.
I love how much Mercy learns about herself. I also really admire the time and space and, above all, respect Briggs's investments in Mercy's witting and unwitting explorations of her powers and heritage. And how Mercy reacts to revelations about her mother and mostly unknown father. I, at least, admire when Mercy is allowed to get cranky and try to pick and choose what she wants to keep or discard, approve or disapprove.
All this, and it's a heck of a roller coaster ride. I rode the slow build-up, increasingly bracing myself for the first big drop, and then whoop-whoop-whoop, I whirled up and down and sideways to the end.
The sixth novel in the international No. 1 bestselling Mercy Thompson series - the major urban fantasy hit of the decade
'I love these books!' Charlaine Harris
'The best new fantasy series I've read in years' Kelley Armstrong
MERCY THOMPSON: MECHANIC, SHAPESHIFTER, FIGHTER
Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. And she's never known any others of her kind. Until now.
I'm a fiction author and minister from Upstate New York. As a young boy, I had many supernatural experiences. My earliest memory is of a supernatural basis. For me, the unseen world, and those things that others either deny exist or have relegated to ancient history and myth, have always been real to me. Reading, films, video games, and all other forms of storytelling were ways for me to experience the strange and the mysterious. What I found as I walked through such places as Middle Earth, Narnia, and Ice Wind Dale, was that the stories of these characters that overcame adversity, failures, and weaknesses to become heroes inspired me as well.
Okay, if you try to tell me that Star Wars doesn’t have a magic system, then I will fight you right here and now. I mean it, I will actually fight you. In all honesty, Star Wars is sci-fantasy, not really sci-fi. I think every kid and even adult from my generation can remember trying to move something using the force. In fact, I still wave my hand in front of electric doors and pretend I am a Jedi. Oh, don’t judge me, you know you do it too. Jedi and Sith are, after all, simply space wizards. They even dress the part. Well, maybe more like space clerics, but you get the point. Why I chose this book is because I feel that it gets into a lot of discussion on how each side views the force and its applications. I am particularly fascinated by Malgus and his ideology…
The second novel set in the Old Republic era and based on the massively multiplayer online game Star Wars®: The Old Republic™ ramps up the action and brings readers face-to-face for the first time with a Sith warrior to rival the most sinister of the Order’s Dark Lords—Darth Malgus, the mysterious, masked Sith of the wildly popular “Deceived” and “Hope” game trailers.
Malgus brought down the Jedi Temple on Coruscant in a brutal assault that shocked the galaxy. But if war crowned him the darkest of Sith heroes, peace would transform him into something far more heinous—something Malgus would…
I’ve always loved fantasy. My mother told me fairy stories and I read every book of myth and legend in my local library. I’ve continued to read and love books of fantasy and magic. I guess it’s not surprising that all four of my novels and most of my short stories have a speculative aspect to them. Having grown up with the traditional view of the aged, ugly crone luring children away to their doom, I especially love stories of witches that come at the topic of witchcraft from a different angle. I live in the East of England, where the infamous witch-hunts of the seventeenth century took place.
The first in a trilogy of books of magical fantasy set in Renaissance Europe and beyond that looks at magic and witchery at an unusual slant. Centre stage is Damiano Delstrego: son of a wizard and alchemist with an inheritance of Dark Magics. Forced out by war, he goes on pilgrimage to seek the aid of the powerful witch Saara, but the road he is obliged to walk is a dark one. R. A. MacAvoy is another writer I have admired for a long time and I was very sad when ill health stopped her from writing. I believe, however, that she has started to write again, so I can but hope for new novels while recommending her older, skillful work.
This alternate history fantasy by a Nebula Award nominee follows a young alchemist's quest in Renaissance Italy under the wing of an archangel.
Set against the turbulent backdrop of the Italian Renaissance, this alternate history takes place in a world where real faith-based magic exists. Our hero is Damiano Dalstrego. He is a wizard's son, an alchemist, and the heir to dark magics. But he is also an innocent, a young scholar and musician befriended by the Archangel Raphael, who instructs him in the lute. To save his beloved city from war, Damiano leaves his cloistered life and sets…
"A haunting YA mystery. Touching on everything from police ineptitude and community solidarity to the endless frustration of being patronized as a young person, this paranormal thriller confidently combines timely and relatable themes within a page-turning storyline." - Self-Publishing Review
"Biel's writing is fast-paced and sharp!" - author Christy Wopat
Although I write in many genres, fantasy was my first love in reading. I fell in love with the possibilities of a boundless world. And as the years went on, I realized that fantasy could be more than just dragons and sorcery. Fantasy was this big umbrella that housed all the impossible dreams. So, I gravitated toward the genre. I also have an affinity for fun things. I don’t like to be sad, so I prefer movies, music, games, and books that revolve around fun and humor.
If there is something I love outside of writing it is Disney. I won’t try and convince anyone these are great works of literature, but they do an amazing job of making the Disney magic come to life.
Ever since I went to Disney World for the first time I imagined what it would be like to work there. To see the park at night with no one in it. To be alone in all that magic. So, when I read Disney After Dark I felt like a little kid having his ideas put to paper.
Five young teens tapped as models for theme park “guides” (using a new hologram technology developed by the Disney Imagineers) find themselves pitted against Disney villains and witches that threaten both the future of Walt Disney World and the stability of the world outside its walls. Featuring a new cover design and additional content!
