I grew up in the 80s, the era of horror super-franchises. Most would be familiar with Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween, but there were so many more. Oscar-winning films the decade prior like The Exorcist and Jaws ushered a new wave of new horror. Whether it was advancement in visual effects, or improvement in production, the genre was everywhere. And I couldnāt get enough. Those experiences have possessed my pen and continue to rule my reading choices. I hope you enjoy these recommendations as much as I did. Thereās a lot we can learn about ourselves when weāre scared.
Bullies beware! Bad Girls Donāt Die features a vengeful poltergeist that possesses the little sister of protagonist Alexis Warren.
Alexis is a lonely misfit teenager on the fringes of her high-school social scene. Her home life isnāt much better as her motherās desire for corporate success leads to regular dinner table conflict. The sisters find comfort in each other, but thatās when Alexis notices a change in her sibling Kasey. Subtle at first, Kaseyās transformation into a malicious psychopath sends Alexis into an investigation that reveals a small-town secret of a fatal bullying incident.Ā
Bad Girlās Donāt Die is a story of sisterly bonds, secret pasts, and the sacrifices that are sometimes made to protect loved ones.
A page-turning, spine-chilling young adult murder mystery about surviving the ghosts around us.
Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage. Or her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey. Or even likeĀ her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude.
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When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green, sometimes she uses old-fashioned language, and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house isā¦
Iām passionate about these books and authors because Iām also a disabled author whose debut young adult novel is coming out this year. We formed the 2024 Debuts group in mid-2022, so weāve been there for each other through many ups and downs along our individual and collective journeys to publication. Our disabilities add another layer of complexity to that, and weāve found comfort and solidarity in each other. Many of them are friends, and I couldnāt be prouder to share their incredible books with you. As we approach Disability Pride Month, I hope you consider adding a book written by a disabled author to your TBR!
Weāre back to me being a baby again. As soon as people start dying, Iām usually out. That wasnāt the case with Cindy Otisā mystery. I loved the high stakes and the part that disability played in the novel.
It all felt like a thoroughly modern version of a classic murder mystery, with our hearts racing as we reached the end. Also, the fact that this YA novel was written by an actual former member of the CIA is just objectively cool.Ā
Quinn Calvet was supposed to be having an epic year. She had all kinds of plans with her best friend, Ximena and sister, Ava, and to grow her following as an influencer on The Whine. Instead, Quinn finds herself third wheel to Ximena and her new boyfriend or getting ditched by Ava who has turned into an overachiever, obsessed with studying and joining every school club. It brings up Quinn's old feelings that her disability has her left behind. She tries to talk to Ava about it, but she's too busy with the newest club at school, Defend Kids, whichā¦
"MacKenzie's Last Run is a highly recommended, emotionally compelling survival tale. It should be on the reading lists of readers ages 11 and up who look for stories of not just suspense, but revelation."Ā
Winner of the 2022 Midwest Book Award for children's fiction, readers call it, "Heart-pounding, fast-paced, andā¦
As the author of 100+ childrenās books, I work mainly on assignment for educational and faith-based publishers. But when Iām freelancing, I want the topic to be something Iām passionate about. Being married to a science teacher, we often discuss science issues. After having grandchildren, I wondered, what type of planet are we going to leave them? Our grandchildren are aware and concerned about severe weather patterns. I asked myself, what can I do? Plus, I wanted to write through the lens of my faith. I wrote my picture book, Godās Earth is Something to Fight For, to instill hope and give practical ways for children to help save Earth.
So much more than a nonfiction book, Betsy Painterās All of Creation informs and includes a Biblical perspective and Scripture related to each of the eleven chapters.
Each chapter includes how kids can make a difference and related activities with topics ranging from endangered species to coral reefs to the poles and global climate. The lyrical language emphasizes kindness and care for our planet. For example, the first chapter features water in language kids can understand.
āImagine waking up during a thunderstorm, as the rain sprays against your window like God is aiming His garden hose at your house.ā The chapter defines fresh water, explains clean water challenges, and gives concrete examples that widen a childās scope related the world and its limitations.
Nearly 200 pages, this book empowers kids ages 8 ā 12 to know more and to do more. The subtitle summarizes the book well: Understanding Godās Planetā¦
From conservation to protecting endangered species to sustainable living, All of Creation offers young readers accessible and fascinating information on the challenges our planet faces and practical ways we can care for the magnificent world around us.
Drawing on science and Scripture, this hope-filled and kid-friendly guide to planet Earth addresses our most pressing questions about caring for and respecting God's world, such as:
What are the biggest challenges our planet faces, and what impact do they have on our lives?
What guidance does the Bible offer to help us navigate environmental issues such as pollution, food shortages, and deforestation?ā¦
I fell in love with reading as a child and have carried that sense of magic and possibility with me ever since. As an adult and a writer, I believe passionately in the power of story to foster empathy, understanding, and greater human connection ā and I still turn to childrenās literature whenever I need reminding of all that we are capable of becoming and doing as human beings. This list has a strong environmental bent to it ā partly because Wildoak is a book about caring for the natural world, and partly because I believe that stories shape our sense of purpose.Ā
I originally read the adult version of this book and quite honestly, itās a book Iāll never forget. It changed the way I think about the relationship between human beings and the earth. I absolutely loved it. And I was so excited when this young adult version came out, because itās now so accessible to younger readers and I could share it with my teenage daughter. I love to read books alongside my kids and find ways to broaden and deepen our conversations about the natural worldā¦ and this one is top of my list for doing just that.
Drawing from her experiences as an Indigenous scientist, botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer demonstrated how all living thingsāfrom strawberries and witch hazel to water lilies and lichenāprovide us with gifts and lessons every day in her best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass. Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earthās oldest teachers: the plants around us. With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults brings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation.
Although I was an avid reader of romance when I was a tween, the middle grade novels I wrote prior to Crashing in Love were about more āseriousā topics. Yet, much of the mail I received from kids had pressing questions about the future of potential love interests. Thatās when I realized that Iād been guilty (like many) of considering romance to be ālightā fiction. What could be more important, more serious, than discovering ourselves while making genuine connections with others? Those letters changed my mind. Learning to love is essential and not to be taken lightly at all.
Who can resist a heroine who climbs a tree barefoot (in growing winds) and leaps to an attic window to hear one of her favorite authors speak?Ā Not me! Iām a big Jane Austen fan and K.L. Going was able to capture the spirit and wit of her work in this wonderfully layered and romantic tale. (No worries if you or middle grade students you know are not familiar with Austenāthe story stands on its own.)Ā Ā
Just like in my book, the story is set in Maine and the protagonistās parents are divorced. There are multiple loves stories in this book, and I adored every one of them. I cried big happy tears in the end. I bet you will too.
From award-winning author K. L. Going comes a happily-ever-after story of a girl who discovers the true secret to all good writing--through an unlikely friendship, some well-intentioned matchmaking, and little bit of science.
Jane Brannen wants nothing more than to become a famous author like Jane Austen--she just needs to figure out the key to literary success! Her chance to uncover the secret arrives when bestselling author J. E. Fairfax visits her tiny town of Whickett Harbor. Unfortunately, a hurricane rolls in and Jane gets stuck with the author's snobbish son, Devon, instead. But when the skies clear, Jane realizesā¦
Iāve long been intrigued by what makes a woman a hero in her own life. My three novels feature characters who are not obvious heroesāthey are trying to shed a difficult past, they may run towards risky second chances, and they eventually stand up to their history and heal it and themselves. A lot of my inspiration for my stories comes from my mother, who was a pilot in World War II. I grew up with the legacy of women as heroic; it fostered an intense curiosity about female ambition and morality, women who would risk personal freedom and safety to find something greater than they expected.
After some challenges with reading the dialect, I became so intrigued by this heart-wrenching story of two teenage girls, one Trinidadian and one African-American, who come together unexpectedly in cold Minneapolis. I loved learning about their cultures, and I loved how they grew close despite their differences and supported each other through the crises of lost family and childhood cancer.
The language and pace beguiled me as a reader. The girls' viewpoints of their past and present worlds were engaging. I felt the heroism in each of them, one facing death, one trying to reunite with her family.
Told in two distinct and irresistible voices, Junauda Petrus's bold and lyrical debut is the story of two black girls from very different backgrounds finding love and happiness in a world that seems determined to deny them both.
Port of Spain, Trinidad. Sixteen-year-old Audre is despondent, having just found out she's going to be sent to live in America with her father because her strictly religious mother caught her with her secret girlfriend, the pastor's daughter. Audre's grandmother Queenie (a former dancer who drives a white convertible Cadillac and who has a few secretsā¦
Over the past 50 years, scientists have made incredible progress in the application of genetic research to human health care and disease treatment. Innovative tools and techniques, including gene therapy and CRISPR-Cas9 editing, can treat inherited disorders that were previously untreatable, or prevent them from happening in the first place.ā¦
Iām a grown-up who struggles to stay in the here and now, vastly preferring to live in the stories in my head or in the book in front of me. I grew up in New England, Spain, and now have settled in Colorado after traveling around most of the lower 48 states. Iāve been a fan of well written fantasy since I learned to read, and at 35 I started writing my own fantasy stories. Now when I need a perfect getaway escape, I read my own books!
When a character is craftier and sneakier than me, it is so, so fun and I could barely keep up!
This is one of my favorite fantasy books ever! Also, the banter between Jude and Cardan gave me life. It is so perfectly written, and I lived for every time the two of them faced off in a battle of words.
Watching them go from intellectual enemies to lovers is the best of the best.
The enchanting and bloodthirsty sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel The Cruel Prince. You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring. The first lesson is to make yourself strong. After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power toā¦
While The Hills of Estrella Roja is my YA debut, Iāve been a big fan of YA graphic novels for years. I think YA is such fertile ground for great storytelling, because of how intense things can feel at that age, youāre on the cusp of adulthood, figuring out what type of person you are/want to be and where you fit in the world. Then throw in queerness, which adds a whole other layer to the experience. As a queer cartoonist creating work for young people (and everyone, really!) during this distressing era of book bans, creating and supporting authentic and diverse queer stories feels more important than ever.Ā
Friendship and navigating school social hierarchy is hard enough, but throw in a secret queer relationship and a bootleg anime dvd business? Yikes!
What I love about Forest Hills Bootleg Society is how messy it is; these girls have PROBLEMS. Of course they do, theyāre teens. This graphic novel is so funny and relatable at times, while at other points, itās heartbreaking.This especially speaks to me as a former anime-teen!Ā
Set in 2005, this gorgeously illustrated, funny, and honest graphic novel follows four teens who stumble into an illicit anime DVD-burning business that shakes up their conservative small townā¦and their friendship.
The stories I write are fiction, but Iāve heard hundreds of tales about survival, and family drama. Iām the secret-keeper everyone confides in. From the time I was a teen, friends shared their secrets with me. Later, as a healthcare worker, patients often told me shocking true-life stories. What started these events? How did the victims overcome the horrors? I found their tales fascinating. I invent characters that face nightmarish challenges, and they must use the tools they have to persevere. Just like in real life. My novels shed light on darker, twisted topics.
I liked the suspense baked into this story of a runaway girl, Bea. The entire novel was written in emails, mostly between her and her brother, Erza. Each exchange demonstrated their tight sibling bond and their unhappy home life since their parentās divorce.Ā
Bea leaves home after receiving a mysterious Twitter message from who she believes is her birth father. She hasnāt seen her dad in years and lives far from him. The story centers on escaping her abusive stepfather, apathetic mother, and her need to reconnect with her father. But sheās taking a risk by meeting a stranger from Twitter. Could he really be her long-lost dad or someone else?
Ezra wakes one day to find his sister gone. No note, no sign, nothing but an email address hidden somewhere only he would find it.
Escaping their toxic home life, Bea finds herself alone in a new city - without friends, without a real plan - chasing someone who might not even want to be found.
As things unravel at home for Ezra, Bea confronts secrets about their past that will forever change the way they think about their family. Separated by distance but connected by love, this brother and sister must learn to trust themselves beforeā¦
The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman
by
Robin Gregory,
After his doting aunt dies, a special fourteen-year-old boy who has trouble fitting into a remote 1906 village goes against a powerful retired Army captain determined to eradicate his outcast kin.
Iāve been exploring the natural world most of my life as a gardener, naturalist, student, and researcher. Iāve come to appreciate the essentiality of our dependence on plant and other animal life. But I always want to know more. So I try to read across diverse areas of science as well as history, anthropology, linguistics, and archaeology. I want to know the mind of the thinker, the discoverer of ideas, the developer of technology. I want to understand the process of creativity from the view of the artist or inventor. Thus, I seek first-person accounts of scientists, doctors, inventors, as they struggle to understand the world that fascinates them.
This is the classic personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA. I read it as an early college assignment, but now find it rich in history, biology, and insight. Watson described himself as an ornithology undergraduate who avoided chemistry and physics courses in spite of a desire to do scienceāa common sentiment. He unfolds in frank detail how the world of science worked, and sometimes didnāt work, early post-WWII. We learn as much about bond angles and hydration as we do about laboratory politics and personality quirks beneath the effort to puzzle out the structure and function of DNA. The epilogue pays tribute to less well-known collaborators, especially Rosalind Franklin, sometimes dismissed as uncooperative, but recognized here for her essential contributions and competence as a scientist.
Eighteen year old Eli Samuels has just graduated from high school and lucked into a job at Wyatt Transgenicsāoffered to him by Dr. Quincy Wyatt, the legendary molecular biologist. The salary is substantial, the work is interesting, and Dr. Wyatt seems to be paying special attention to Eli.
Is it too good to be true? Eli's girlfriend doesn't think so, but his father is vehemently against his taking the job and won't explain why. Eli knows that there's some connection between Dr. Wyatt and his parentsāsomething too painful for his father to discuss. Something to do with his mother, whoā¦
