 This is our second batches of ten, so stay tuned for further parts. All are outstanding reads, irrespective of what ranking they have, and great recommendations to buy for any teens in your life. The final section will also feature numbers 51-100, but with no reviews. Here are some pointers to bear in mind for this list: a. I need to have read the book for it to be considered. Nobody can read everything. b. I do not care whether a book has 30,000 stars on Goodreads, none or is an international bestseller. c. My fourteen-year-old daughter reads a lot of YA horror and has helped with the selections. d. YA, does not mean books for children, these are ‘teen’ reads not books for younger children. e. Many of my other YA charts featured on Ginger Nuts blend into other genre fiction, this list concentrates on traditional or straight horror f. I am quite liberal with my age ‘rating’, other librarians might raise them by a year or two, especially in America. If you would like to purchase any of these books just click on the titles to be taken to you regional Amazon store  40. VICTORIA DALPE: PARASITE LIFE (2016) When it comes to unsettling and intense debut novels Victoria Dalpe’s Parasite Life is up there with the best of them. The teen market has been saturated with vampire novels, but this unnerving tale sails miles above the pack, partly because the ‘teen-life’ sequences are so painfully believable they exist without any need for horror, an isolated and lonely seventeen-year-old girl with no friends is horror enough. However, when the supernatural angle is filtered into the plot, it is done so cleverly and believably you are going to be sucked into a unique take on the vampire myth. Blend both story strands together, supernatural and teen angst, and you have an intoxicating and very feminine vampire tale. Jane is the novel’s powerful narrator and voice, who spends her time looking after her invalided mother who either cannot or refuses to talk to her and has an undiagnosed wasting illness. She has no friends, they have little money, and she escapes her humdrum life by hiding away in books. However, early in a novel outgoing and vivacious Sabrina arrives at her school and life takes an amazing and exciting upturn. Equally cool is the fact that Dalpe creates her own version of what a vampire is and sets her own rules, for example, the vampires in this story can live in sunlight. It sounds strange, but something about these weird deviations click. The author also tackles tricky subjects such as menstruation, which when you think about it, should play an important role in vampire novels, but never do. There is a budding sexual attraction between the two girls which awakens something hidden in Jane and it takes the girls into some dark places as the novel progresses. These relationship scenes are a combination of sexy, sensual, sleazy and terrifically edgy writing as Jane discovers her hidden talents. They may also raise a few eyebrows in a relatively safe YA world. This is a very mature YA novel which was originally written as an adult novel before being toned down at the request of the publisher ChiTEEN. The problems of ChiZINE have been well documented and I hope this excellent novel eventually finds a new home soon as it truly deserves an audience. An audience it will undoubtedly shock. AGE 14+ 39 ROBIN JARVIS: DANCING JAX Dancing Jax was outstanding return to form for one of the top British fantasy writers of the 1990s. With echoes of the ‘Great Beast’ himself, Alisteir Crowley, low-life thieves are fooling around in an old house looking for stuff to steal and uncover an old book called ‘Dancing Jacks’ written by a (presumed) dead mystic, Austerly Fellows, who had a reputation for dabbling in the occult before his mysterious disappearance. This book has the power to ‘convert’ anybody who reads it, brainwashing them and turning them into a devotee of Ismus, who believe in this other world where Ismus is God. Before long copies of the ‘Dancing Jacks’ books start popping up all over the place and it spreads across town like wildfire. Some of the most entertaining scenes were set in the local secondary school and I thought it was funny that the kids who did not read books, the troublemakers and malcontents, were those who were least to be afflicted. Each new ‘convert’ has a specific role to play, based upon a deck of playing cards connected to the ‘Dancing Jacks’. Therefore, we have the likes of the Jack of Diamonds, the Jill of Clubs, the Queen of Spades as main characters in this alternative world, and the lower numbers become almost-slaves with low-level tasks. And they genuinely all believe that this world exists, to them it does, thanks to the dark magic that permeates from the book, which is soon everywhere including charity shops, corrupting all who read the story. These are chunky books, but for fans of fantasy with a good blend of the supernatural, they are of the highest quality built around a convincing small-town setting, with book one leading directly into a sequel. AGE 12+ 38. JUSTINE IRELAND: DREAD NATION During the American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, the dead begin to walk and suddenly both sides of the bloody conflict realise there is a new enemy to fight and temporarily put their differences aside. This stunning novel picks up the story fifteen years later, with the Civil War effectively abandoned. The word zombie is never used (‘shambler’ is the term used most frequently) and there is little hint of anything supernatural, it is portrayed as a type of infection which science cannot yet explain. When Dread Nation opens many cities in the east of the country of already been lost to the plague and there is now a Thirteenth Amendment that ensures there is still no equality between white and black people who are still severely downtrodden, a key recurring theme throughout the story. Slavery still exists and the world-building around this is incredibly well thought out. On one level Dread Nation is a convincing alternative history zombie horror novel, but it is much more than that, having much to say about race, equality and gender. It also has both a beautiful and memorable voice, being narrated in the first person by fifteen-year-old Jane McKeene who is black (or possibly mixed-race) and is used as a virtual slave as a type of bodyguard (called Attendants) to a white woman. A new law after the uprising, the ‘Negro and Native Re-education Act’ forces young black women to be taught a mixture of fighting skills and house etiquette and are the first line of defence against any shamblers which might attack the walled settlements. Jane is a funny, sassy, proud and terrific character whom you will be rooting for all the way. The sequel Deathless Divide continues the story. AGE 13+ 37. GABRIEL DYLAN: WHITEOUT (2019) My daughter loved this book and insisted it should be featured otherwise she refused to put forward other suggestions! I really enjoyed it too, so was happy to go along with the flow. A huge snowstorm is brewing whilst a group of British sixth form school pupils retire to their hotel after a hard day of skiing, in the remote mountains of Austria. The hotel is weirdly short of staff, the locals have abandoned their shops and there is undiagnosed tension in the air. In the middle of the night one of the girls screams after blood is found and the pupils soon discover some of their teachers have also disappeared. They quickly realise something horrible is outside and once a ski instructor is ripped out of the door they are under attack. This all happens incredibly quickly and soon the kids are attempting to hide, hoping to wait it out, but with the storm raging they quickly realise no help coming anytime soon. They are completely isolated and being hunted. Whiteout is an outstanding addition to the Red Eye series which is very popular with young teens and the flagship for YA horror in the UK. It was a very gripping book that wasted no time introducing the horror elements and was unrelenting once it got going. I say this because the deaths start mounting up as early as page sixty and keep coming at regular intervals. It was astonishingly fast moving. This very violent opening section gives the reader terror, action and humour revolving around the time the enemy makes its first bloody appearance. I would recommend this novel to anyone who reads the Red Eye series or who enjoys action blended with horror and kids will not be able to tear their eyes from the blood soaked pages. Expect to see more of Red Eye in further sections of the list. Overall, it was a great page turner and a quick and undemanding read that will leave you satisfied. AGE 12+  36. MADELEINE ROUX: ASYLUM (2013) 2013 saw the arrival of Madeleine Roux on the American horror scene with Ayslum, which has since spawned two sequels and three novellas, including a prequel. Roux is much better known in the USA than the UK, where this series has flown under the radar somewhat. It follows in the footsteps of the much better known (in the UK anyway) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by using atmospheric black and white photography which adds both tension and ambiguity to a fast-paced thriller set in an old building which was once a mental asylum before being converted for summer college courses. It has not been modernised too much and some of the old trappings of the original hospital are still visible, including vintage photographs which have the habit of turning up in odd places. This was quite a cinematic book, and although it never quite strays into slasher territory, it has many of the hallmarks of the genre. I am surprised it has not become a film yet. Sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford has been accepted for the summer program at the New Hampshire College Prep and is looking forward to spending time with other intellectually minded kids. He quickly makes friends with Abby and Jordan, but a weird photo left in his bedside table throws him off his game and he begins snooping into the history of the asylum. He soon uncovers the startling fact that it was once the last stop for the criminally insane. For the most part the story is quite restrained and slowly they realise that they all have connections to the hospital. It is a relatively easy and undemanding read with Dan and his friends being good company and some decent twists and turns in the final third. AGE 12+ 35. RICHARD FARREN BARBER – CLOSER STILL (2018) Richard Farren Barber’s Closer Still is a ghost story with a seriously good haunting, much of which is very restrained and rarely stretches beyond the bedroom of a deeply troubled teenager. This book was probably was not written with the YA market in mind, but the believable and engaging characters make it a read many teenagers will identify with. Pulling in at a brief 130-pages, with absolutely no flab or a word wasted, it could be the perfect gift for a kid who does not read much or is put off by big books and fancies a very contemporary ghost story within a school setting. I road tested this out with my teenage daughter, who read it in two sittings, I since bought two copies for my school library where it has been very popular with teenage girls whom I’ve encouraged to look beyond the dull cover. It badly needs to be republished with a YA friendly jacket and to be targeted at an age-appropriate market. Fifteen-year-old Rachel is bullied by a group of girls who were once her best friends, with the tormenting often taking place at school. Much of the rest of the novella takes place in Rachel’s bedroom where she sees the ghost of her dead ex-best friend Katie. The ghost is not exactly unpleasant, more unnerving, with the dead girl having an agenda of her own. Before the death all the girls were best-friends and much of the novella is about what happened to the friendship and the circumstances which led to her death. The author expertly shrouds this shocking revelation until late into the story which picks up pace nicely as the ghost grows both more powerful and restless. This was a terrific novella which combines many clever story lines utilising social media, bully, teenage angst, friendship, guilt and the supernatural. AGE 13+ 34. - I HUNT KILLERS (2012) Any older teenager with a passing interest in horror will have heard of the infamous Hannibal Lecter, for those not old enough to read Thomas Harris’s monstrous creation Barry Lyga’s I Hunt Killers is the next best thing lurking in the world of YA, which has also spawned two sequels and several prequel novellas. The main character is teenager Jazz Dent, who for the most part is a very likable kid but is avoided by many because he is the son of America’s most notorious serial killers. Billy Dent was responsible for the death of over one hundred people, many whilst Jazz was growing up, and possibly Jazz’s mother who vanished a few years earlier. The novel opens with Billy in prison, serving multiple life sentences, and Jazz trying to rebuild his life in the same small town where they lived when his father was actively killing. Not surprisingly, Jazz has a host of personal and emotional problems connected to his damaged upbringing. Jazz might be likable, but he is also troubled with an unhealthy interest in death, crime scenes and is friends with the local sheriff, who took him under his wing after his father was incarcerated. Early in the novel a new body is found, Billy is convinced it is a copycat paying tribute to his father, who he has not seen since his sentencing. Becoming a suspect, he fights to clear his name, but other bodies appear and soon he decides to visit his infamous father in prison. I Hunt Killers was a fine example of blending the serial killer thriller with horror and for the most part you will not realise you are reading a YA novel, much of it being quite mature. Like Hannibal Lecter, Billy Dent is a superb character, and when he makes his first appearance, behind bars, the novel truly lights up. AGE 14+ 33. KIM DERTING – THE BODY FINDER (2010) YA fiction is top heavy with teenagers with weird abilities with Kim Derting’s The Body Finder quartet being one of my favourites, balancing a convincing supernatural story with a likable heroine and a style which is engaging, chatty, and easy to read. Sixteen-year-old Violet Ambrose has the power to sense dead bodies; she specifically feels the echoes the dead leave behind in the world and the imprints which might be attached to their killers, should a murder have been committed. When the story starts the only folks who are aware of this strange ability are Violet’s closest family and her oldest friend Jay Heaton, who she is also secretly in love with. It is an easy ability to keep secret until a teenage girl is murdered and a serial killer is suspected after a second teenager disappears. The Body Finder is also periodically seen from the serial killer’s point of view who is amazed his victim’s bodies are discovered so rapidly and soon realises Violet is helping the investigation, inadvertently making herself the next target. This is one of those novels where you know the killer is going to get their comeuppance, but it is a fun and fresh read which is enhanced by the engaging friendship/romance side story between Violet and Jay. The sequels develop the story by having Violet working with the FBI and eventually a secret unit which tracks killers. AGE 12+  32. KAITLIN WARD – BLEEDING EARTH (2015) Bleeding Earth was a unique read which was a clever mix of apocalyptic, dystopia and an end of the world scenario cleverly played out through the eyes of a very spunky and likable teenage girl, Lea. Near the opening of the novel blood begins to seep from the earth, initially it is thought to be an isolated incident, but it quickly worsens and soon nobody can go outside without welly-boots on. Before long, the water supply is contaminated and the shops are empty of food, this is all very convincingly described, and kept deliberately low key as things go from bad to worse. There is blood everywhere and it is vividly described with many believing it is a Biblical end of the world prophecy. There are some particularly yucky scenes and soon hair and bones start growing out of the earth and the hair really does have a life of its own and can trap those dumb enough to venture far from home in the rivers of blood. Lea is a great lead character who is gay and is just embarking upon her first serious relationship when things all kick off and you’ll root for her all the way as she struggles to survive and hold onto her sanity and those close to her. Since this sparkling debut Ward’s two other novels have effectively mixed strong thriller elements into her fiction, and I am looking forward to reading her fourth novel Lie to Me soon. She is undoubtedly an author which deserves to be more widely known. AGE 13+ 31. JOHN HORNOR JACOBS – THE TWELVE FINGERED BOY (2013) John Hornor Jacobs is an incredibly versatile author who effortlessly moves around the genres, and from YA to adult. He is equally skilled in writing about cosmic horror and zombies, as he is with fantasy, deserving to be much more widely read than he probably is. I first came across him after loving his beguiling adult horror debut about the blues, Southern Gods and followed that with an entertaining zombie novel This Dark Earth and his fantasy series The Incorruptibles which moved more into fantasy and also has a YA feel to it. I reckon this author could turn his hand to just about anything and proves it with The Twelve Fingered Boy series, a superb coming of age tale set in a juvie prison. Fifteen-year-old Shreve Cannon does not mind being locked up as he sells contraband sweets and treats, and for him anything is better than living with his drunk mother. Soon a new kid, Jack, who freakishly has twelve fingers arrives on the wing, and when he gets angry or triggered develops telekinesis powers which he struggles to control. Soon others, including a sinister doctor, begin to show interest in Jack and it is not because they want to help him. Shreve quickly takes the vulnerable Jack under his wing in this commanding fusion of fantasy, horror and teen coming-of-age drama which kicks off an outstanding trilogy in which Jack’s superpowers really come out to play. An engaging series which has been criminally ignored by the YA world. AGE 12+   THE HEART AND SOUL OF YA HORROR FICTION REVIEWS |
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