The sequel, The Deck of Omens, picks up right where we left off with that amazing cliff hanger. I was so pleased I did not have to wait a year to pick the same story up again! In this book, we also have Isaac and May’s POV which was a nice addition, but we lose the voice of Justin. However, I kind of missed him, throughout this story he becomes a background character, but the author made it up by giving more page time to Isaac. In The Deck of Omens, we get a lot more insight into some of the characters and what occurs during their specific rituals. A few new characters are added into the mix, including Gabriel, Isaac’s older brother who he was estranged from. Also, May and Justin’s father, Ezra plays a more significant role.

Throughout The Deck of Omens, ‘The Gray’ is leaking into the town causing is to spread a disease that harms the town, but the founders are immune. In the first book, we saw that ‘The Beast’ was stopped but its presence is still very dominate, overpowering, and decidedly creepy. This book, more so than the first, shocked me because of how many twists in contained and to fully understand them you would have to read the first book. Under no circumstances pick up The Devouring Gray before The Deck of Omens, as it will not make much sense.

A key aspect of the sequel which was not heavily featured in the first was the relationships, especially those of a romantic nature. For instance, we get to see a lot more of Harper and Justin, in the first book there was a lot of tension between them, so it was great to see this develop. One of the other things that stood out from this book is that several of the characters bi-sexual, including both teens and adults. I also liked the parent child relationship as the adults were more prominent in this second novel.  Also, some of the parents have history together to which was subtly suggested in The Devouring Grey but explored more fully in the second.

Many themes are covered, including grief and trauma that a lot of the characters experienced when carrying out their rituals. I was especially drawn to Isaac and Harper because their rituals were talked about in the first book but never fully addressed until the last few pages or the second book and I was itching to know more.

The Deck of Omens answered all the questions that were left open ended in The Devouring Gray and I felt satisfied by the ending but also a little sad on how some of the relationships ended. Overall, this duology was a solid, amazing read which I highly recommend to anyone who loves creepy novels that ooze of mystery, strained friendships, and some serious twists. I am amazed I have not heard more about these YA books, where have they been hiding and seem to be flying seriously low under the radar? I am excited to see what Christine Lynn Herman writes next because I am hooked on her writing style!
AJ

For fans of Stranger Things, Riverdale and The Raven Cycle. Can a group of teenagers hold back the otherworldly horror that stalks the woods?

On the edge of town a beast haunts the woods, trapped in the Gray, its bonds loosening…

Uprooted from the city, Violet Saunders doesn’t have much hope of fitting in at her new school in Four Paths, a town almost buried in the woodlands of rural New York. The fact that she’s descended from one of the town’s founders doesn’t help much, either—her new neighbours treat her with distant respect, and something very like fear. When she meets Justin, May, Isaac, and Harper, all children of founder families, and sees the otherworldly destruction they can wreak, she starts to wonder if the townsfolk are right to be afraid. When bodies start to appear in the woods, the locals become downright hostile. Can the teenagers solve the mystery of Four Paths, and their own part in it, before another calamity strikes?

The teenagers of Four Paths must save their home, in the sequel to hit fantasy The Devouring Gray. For fans of Stranger Things, Riverdale and The Raven Cycle

With the Beast subdued, the town of Four Paths discovers a new threat: a corruption seeping is from the Gray, poisoning the roots of the town and its people. Only May Hawthorne realizes the danger, forced to watch as her visions become reality.

Meanwhile, the town is riven by change: Harper Carlisle is learning to control her newfound powers, and how to forgive after devastating betrayals; Isaac Sullivan's older brother, Gabriel, has returned after years away; Violet Saunders is finding her place and Justin and May's father has finally come home.

With the veil between the Gray and the town growing ever thinner, and the Founder Families all returning to their roots, the time has finally come to settle ancient grudges, to cure the corruption and stop the Beast once and for all.
​
But more than one kind of beast preys on Four Paths...

If you are after a fast-paced, gory, and very stylish YA horror novel then look no further than Cat Scully’s excellent debut splash Jennifer Strange. All too often Ginger Nuts of Horror struggles to find genuine YA horror to review, be rest assured this monster and demon-soaked romp is the real deal which moves at an incredibly fast and very silky lick. The novel is also part comic, with catchy illustrations opening the story, with additional drawings at various key points along the way. It is not a graphic novel and is being referred to as an ‘illustrated novel’, however, it is more of a traditional novel than anything else.
 
Be careful who you give it to, the cool packaging might look cartoony, but it is considerably bloodier than you might think. Bracken MacLeod has said: “The first time I started this novel, my reaction was, "THIS is a YA book?!" HELL yeah, it is. But it ain't just kids' stuff.” I would agree with Bracken, but also, there are plenty of kids out there who will take the numerous creatures and kills in their stride. It depends on how prudish they (or their parents) are, personally, I found it relatively harmless and I suspect most kids will take it the same way.
 
Jennifer Strange starts swinging and does not relent for a moment with the entire plot spread over a few days after Jennifer arrives in Savannah to stay with her estranger elder sister Liz, whom she has hardly spoken to since their mother died a few years earlier. Savannah is beautifully portrayed as a city where there are a lot of ghosts and helped in creating a funky Buffy: The Vampire Slayer style vibe. There was an early scene where a demon killed several school kids and it was blamed on a gas leak; that sort of coverup happened in Summerdale High all the time!  
 
Is there a dash of Buffy in Jennifer? More ‘no’ that ‘yes’ but give her time! Instead of slaying vampires Jennifer is a conduit for ghosts and demons. This means that the undead can attempt to inhabit her body and take over her physical form and effectively possess her. Bearing in mind that Savannah is regarded as one of the most haunted places in America, Jennifer really is in the wrong city and on the first day of school there are deaths connected to a demon manifestation connected to her weird gift. The plot does not hold back on either the violence or death, with a swiftly mounting body count as Jennifer begins to investigate a supernatural mystery. Much of the violence does have a stylised bubble-gum, almost comic book, feel to it which complement the expressive drawings perfectly.
 
Written with a first-person narrative, Jennifer was a cool lead character, who is presented in an accessible and down to earth manner which young teens will have fun connecting with. She is neither a superhero or ultra-cool and is just coming to terms with her new power and the reader has fun following her initial baby steps into the realms of the supernatural. I also loved her vulnerability; highlighted with her nerves when she attends school for the first time, head down, scared to draw attention to herself.
 
Jennifer Strange is not a deep book and nor does it pretend to be. The characters are sketchily drawn with limited back stories, with its strength lying in its pace, action sequences and snappy dialogue. It lacks the intense inner reflection, conflict, and maturity which you might find in other YA fiction, for example, an Amy Lukavics novel. However, that should not be taken as a criticism, as this is a light and frothy read which provides easy-going entertainment. I was delighted to hear that Lukavics was also a fan of Jennifer Strange, providing the following lovely quote: “A mysterious, dark, and perfectly bone-chilling tale of self-discovery and seizing your destiny, Jennifer Strange is a tremendous addition to Young Adult horror”.
 
I really enjoyed the supernatural world which Cat Scully develops and the colourful range of demons and other beings which pop up, here is an excerpt when they make an early appearance in the story:
 
“My cellphone shook in my hand as the bright camera light flickered when it found Bloody Mouth. He held a student up by the base of his neck and brought the guy’s face crashing down into the black hardtop of one of the tall desks. Bloody Mouth smashed, and smashed, and smashed until the guy’s face had turned to putty.”
 
Other highlights included the rekindling of the family relationship between Cat and her sister Liz, and the developing of her own supernatural powers and the mystery behind the term ‘Sparrow’ which the demons continually refer to her as. The handwritten diary flashbacks written by her father which provide insights into where the power originates was another clever development. There was a lot to enjoy in this very fine debut.
 
Jennifer Strange is great fun and a colourful read for young teenagers not quite ready to tackle adult horror novels. Even younger kids, who are not too bothered about swearing and violence, will find much to get their teeth into. The creatures are relentless in their quest to get to Jennifer and it was incredibly easy to be sucked along on this rollercoaster journey. There is a serious lack of this gory type of horror for kids on the market and I am sure if the book is targeted at the correct audience it could be lapped up. I have a feeling the story of Jennifer Strange is not yet over and I will certainly be returning for more.
 
Tony Jones

Fifteen-year-old Jennifer Strange is the Sparrow, cursed with the ability to give ghosts and demonic spirits a body-a flesh and blood anchor in the mortal world-with the touch of her hand. When a ghost attacks her high school and awakens her powers, her father dumps her unceremoniously in the care of her estranged older sister Liz, leaving only his journal as an explanation.

Drawn to the power of the Sparrow, the supernatural creatures preying on Savannah, Georgia will do anything to receive Jennifer's powerful gift. The sisters must learn to trust each other again and uncover the truth about their family history by deciphering their father's journal...because if they can't, Jennifer's uncontrolled power will rip apart the veil that separates the living from the dead.

A fast-paced and splattery romp, fans of Supernatural, Buffy, and Evil Dead will enjoy JENNIFER STRANGE - the first illustrated novel in a trilogy of stylish queer young adult horror books with big scares for readers not quite ready for adult horror.

Cat Scully's illustrations bring the ghosts and demons of her fictional world to eerie and beautiful life, harkening back to the style of SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK and Ransom Riggs' MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN.

 
I always enjoy authors making changes in direction with their fiction and with her third YA novel Estelle Laure edges away from teen dramas into the world of the supernatural with the excellent Mayhem. However, it is not a complete turnaround as a large proportion of this 1987 set story is a compelling family drama, the twist being that the Brayburn clan are not quite your average family. Teen readers will have to show patience in this slow burner, before figuring out what exactly makes them different. 
 
The novel begins with sixteen-year-old Mayhem Brayburn and her single parent mother, Roxy, returning to the family home in the seaside town of Santa Maria. For the previous thirteen years they have lived in Texas with Roxy’s violent and domineering husband Lyle who recently struck Mayhem, the final straw in a catalogue of domestic abuses incidents which led to them running away. The teenager barely remembers her ancestral family home but is aware that her natural father died there, possibly suicide, not long before her mother moved to Texas thirteen years earlier. Much of the story is built around Mayhem’s return to Santa Maria and the secrets connecting her to her family and their weird history.
 
In the years away from Santa Maria, Roxy has developed a prescription drug habit and the complex relationship between mother and daughter lies at the heart of the plot. Expanding that, Mayhem deals with the family dynamics in the Brayburn family and the vaguely explained hold they exert over the town they live just outside. In the time Roxy has been away her sister Elle has fostered three other children Jason (almost eighteen), Neve and Kidd who is nine. The eldest and youngest are natural brother and sister, whilst Neve is a wild free spirit who is a contrast to the much more reserved and closed-off Mayhem.
 
The convincing developing friendship of the four children were crucial to the success of the book and for most of the time their relationships dominated the plot and the supernatural element lurked in the background. Readers looking for a loud supernatural romp might find this book to be rather frustrating, it is a much quieter coming of age story with Mayhem trying to uncover the mystery of herself and her connection to the local area, which frustratingly, nobody wants to talk about. It is very subtly handled with the teenager being an engaging first-person narrator, moving from outsider to a key member of the group of four. On the other hand, her mother Roxy was frustrating to the point of irritation, with her daughter showing more sense of responsibility than the flaky parent.
 
I felt one of the main taglines which has been used with this book was slightly misleading; “The Lost Boys meets Wilder Girls in this supernatural feminist YA novel.” Firstly, technically there are no traditional vampires, there is only one boy in the story, and it was not ‘feminist’. Just because a book has predominately female characters does not automatically make it a feminist novel. Comments have also been made of its mid-eighties setting, it did not particularly come across as eighties; neither did it rely on the usual pop-culture references from the period, this was not a particular drawback as the story could have been set in any modern time period. The author is obviously a fan of The Lost Boys as Mayhem features several references to the film, including characters called ‘The Frog Brothers’ which viewers of the film will undoubtedly recognise. However, these references may well be completely lost on the teenagers of 2020.
 
The subtle supernatural angle revolves around what makes the Brayburn’s different from everybody else in Santa Maria, with added conflict thrown in because the three other children are not Brayburn by blood. At a certain point the ‘magic’ is explained away because the town is built upon a ‘Psychic Vortex’ where weird stuff can happen, never mind The Lost Boys, this had me thinking of Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s ‘Hell Mouth’, where Sunnydale was located.  
 
Whilst Mayhem is unearthing her family’s unusual history, helped by the discovery of old diaries, there is a second major plotline of a serial killer, the ‘Sand Snatcher’, killing young women, which eventually involves Mayhem and her new siblings. This was not the strongest element of the narrative and lurked in the background before bubbling to the top towards the end of the novel and was resolved far too easily and with little suspense or threat. However, the spooky beach setting was excellent and contributed much to the atmosphere. On the downside, an unconvincing, and unnecessary, romance was also thrown into the plot in the final third. 
 
Mayhem is aimed at girls aged thirteen, or older, and continues the trend in recent horror and dark fiction to turn male characters into background wallpaper and, sadly, this is exactly how Jason was portrayed. Overall, I enjoyed this novel, but its success with real teen readers will depend on how well they connect with Mayhem as a leading character and their interest in the family vibes which dominate the story. Some readers will find it too slow and lament the lack of action, but for those teens who enjoy thoughtful dramas with a supernatural twist there is much to recommend.
 
4/5
 
Tony Jones

The Lost Boys meets Wilder Girls in this supernatural feminist YA novel.

It's 1987 and unfortunately it's not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, Roxy. Maybe it has to do with Roxy's constant physical pain, or maybe with Mayhem's own irresistible pull to water. Either way, she knows they aren't like everyone else. 

But when May's stepfather finally goes too far, Roxy and Mayhem flee to Santa Maria, California, the coastal beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem's questions about who her mother is, her estranged family, and the mysteries of her own self. There she meets the kids who live with her aunt, and it opens the door to the magic that runs through the female lineage in her family, the very magic Mayhem is next in line to inherit and which will change her life for good. 

But when she gets wrapped up in the search for the man who has been kidnapping girls from the beach, her life takes another dangerous turn and she is forced to face the price of vigilante justice and to ask herself whether revenge is worth the cost. 

From the acclaimed author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back, Estelle Laure offers a riveting and complex story with magical elements about a family of women contending with what appears to be an irreversible destiny, taking control and saying when enough is enough.

• Author’s social handles
  • Twitter: @starlaure
  • Instagram: @estellelaurebooks
    
    
• Link to a buy-this-book page:
              https://wednesdaybooks.com/galaxies-and-kingdom/mayhem/

We hope you have enjoyed following our ‘Top 100’ YA novels published across the previous decade and find something for yourself or a loved one to check out. It is very much a personal choice and includes a fantastic blend of ghosts, vampires, zombies, and good old-fashioned scares. For the first time, we are releasing numbers 51-100 which include novels which are also well worth having a closer look at.
 
We are delighted to crown the amazing Amy Lukavics the Ginger Nuts ‘Queen of YA Horror’ as all four of her published novels are ranked within the top 100 at 4, 12, 23 and 51. My daughter, who helped with the list, had also read all of Amy’s novels argued that I should switch around 23 and 51! Perhaps, but in the end of the day all 4 are terrific. This incredible author deserves every plaudit possible and her brand of edgy, angsty, and varied YA horror needs to be made as widely available as possible.
 
Amy is followed by the uber-cool Frances Hardinge, who has three entries in the top 100, positioned at 17, 53 and 79. This British author effortlessly blends horror with fantasy and historical fiction, with number 17 Cuckoo Song her closest novel to straight horror and is regularly recommended by horror legend Ramsey Campbell. In the UK Frances is a literary institution, but lesser known in the USA, so check her out if you have not sampled her unique blend of genre-blending.
 
A group of other authors made impressive double appearances in our top 100. Most impressively Alden Bell who scored number one with The Reapers are the Angels, and 11 with When We Were Animals, writing as Joshua Gaylord. What can I say about the amazing Alden/Josh? I love the guy and hope we see another novel from him soon. Others recording fine doubles were Melvin Burgess who is not especially seen as a horror author, Dawn Kurtagich, Jeyn Roberts, Juno Dawson, Courtney Alameda and William Hussey. Well done to all. Melvin Burgess, Bill Hussey and Juno Dawson have all been around for years and are very well known in the UK, and I am sure the others have exciting careers in front of them. All highly accomplished writers and represent the very best in what dark YA fiction has to offer.
 
For the last number of years women have been responsible for much of the fantastic YA horror fiction published and this is reflected in the fact that 55 of the 100 selected were written by females. This is fantastic to see, and Ginger Nuts of Horror is happy to acknowledge the tremendous lift women given the genre.
 
It is a shame so little foreign language YA horror is translated into English and as a result, sadly, the 100 books selected are predominately from the USA or the UK, with Rin Chupeco being the major exception. Approximately 56 were from authors who were from the USA or Canada, around 42 were from the UK or Ireland, with a couple of other countries represented also. We felt this was a strong international spread with the USA rightfully leading the charge.
 
The only international book prize for YA horror is the Horror Writer’s Association Stoker Award, who have had a YA category for the last decade. However, if you are looking for recommendations, I would urge caution as their shortlists have frequently featured very mediocre novels and weak winners. The fact that zero of their last ten winners are featured in this top 100 tells its own story, although some of those shortlisted are. Also, the YA Stoker, even though it is an international award only seems to celebrate American authors, this top 100 is considerably more balanced.
 
I have not featured sequels in the list, however, there is one particularly brand which has 4 entries in the top 100, Red Eye. This is the UK equivalent of 1990s Point Horror and after 12 books is an incredibly popular UK brand with a range of top authors on their books.
 
Note also the total absence of the sub-genre Paranormal Romance, this is not because I had anything against angels, werewolves and vampires, but the big hitters of the genre all published their first books in the previous decade and sequels (which do not count) for this list.
 
A very small selection of the 100 are what you might call ‘accessible adult’ titles, these are books originally released for adults which have either picked up YA audiences, or I believe they deserve to. This includes: Alden Bell – Reapers are the Angels (1), Neil Gaiman – Ocean at the End of the Lane (6), Joshua Gaylord – When We Were Animals (11), Richard Farren Barber – Closer Still (35), Victoria Dalpe – Parasite Life (40) and Michael Thomas Ford – Lily (44).

Charts like this are always very subjective and disagreement is ultimately a good thing and in its own way every book I have mentioned is fantastic and has much to admire and worth reading. In the end of the day my aim is to encourage as many readers to try books I love within the broad remit of dark and horror YA fiction. You do not have to agree with my choices, but if you choose to take a punt on Alden Bell’s The Reapers are the Angels, I hope you love it as much as I do. There are many much better-known authors in the horror field, who have written much better known and influential zombie novels than this, but none touched my soul the way this beautiful book did.

How can a zombie novel touch the soul? Read on to find out.  

Since I randomly stumbled upon this novel way back in 2011, I have read it four times. It is rare for me to read a book more than once and I only do so when it is a title we are studying for my Psychotronic Book Club at school. We discuss six novels in a school year and over the last ten years I have revisited The Reapers are the Angels three times with different groups of teenagers. Through reading it with my book groups I have been repeatedly stunned by the impact it can have on teenage readers. Yes, it is a zombie novel, but it also an incredibly moving and beautiful story with an ending which is so powerful you may well cry once you have read the final lines. Over the years lots of kids have admitted to shedding a tear at the bittersweet end, including my fourteen-year-old daughter, who openly bawled her eyes out.

It is also one of those tales which is perfect for readers, adult or teenage, who would never ever read a zombie or horror novel in a million years. We have featured The Reapers are the Angels on Ginger Nuts before and I have said in the past, if Cormac McCarthy was to write a zombie novel, he might produce something like this. I cannot give Alden Bell’s masterpiece higher praise than that, his limited use of punctuation, in the Southern Gothic style is pitch perfect.

Alden Bell is a pseudonym for Joshua Gaylord who featured at number eleven in our chart with When We Were Animals. My daughter was equally moved by that novel and interviewed Alden/Josh for Ginger Nuts and she asked him whether both books were YA novels, because it was very difficult to tell. Josh responded:

“When I wrote them, I didn’t think of them as YA books.  I didn’t think of them as adult books either.  I just thought of them as books I would like to read.  My publishers like to market them as YA/Adult crossover novels—but I’m less concerned about categories and labels.  I think teenagers can certainly read them, and I think they would recognize a lot of themselves in the books.  But I think that’s true of adults too.  If you try to write something authentically human, then I don’t think such writing has age limits.”

Like with Neil Gaiman’s Ocean at the End of the Lane, which is featured elsewhere in the top ten, I particularly love books where it is very difficult to pinpoint whether they are aimed at an adult or YA audience. The Reapers are the Angels is an exceptional example of this, my book groups would argue until the cows come home on the subject, but for myself the strength of the fifteen-year-old narrator, Temple, makes this a perfect fit for YA audience, even if it is not ‘traditional’ YA.

Without exaggerating, I would rank Temple amongst my favourite ever characters in fiction, YA or otherwise. She is wracked with guilt, mostly on the run and trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world without any family. She is equally strong and vulnerable, making her the perfect character for teenagers to connect with. Interestingly, When We Were Animals also features an equally engaging teenage female lead and when we interviewed Josh, we asked him why he chose girls to lead his novels:

“For my money, teenage girls are the best kinds of characters to write about.  Somehow, whatever they’re doing is believable.  I think it’s because teenage girls are masters of disguise—professional adopters of roles.  They luxuriate in their own drama and they are taught by culture to don a different mask for every circumstance.  What more could you ask from a character?  Also, when I was a teenager myself, I think I was more of a teenage girl than a teenage boy.  I had no idea how to interpret boys.  They wanted me to hit a ball with a stick and run around in a circle.”

Reapers are the Angels is different from most other zombie novels in that the creatures take a back seat and there are small signs that America is beginning to recover from the apocalypse of some years earlier. The plot revolves around Temple who had lived her entire life in the aftermath of this world changing event. She has existed and travelled by herself for most of her life, struggling to connect with the other people she meets along the way. After she kills someone in self-defence, is hunted down by a man called Moses and whilst on the run meets many characters including Maurey, who has special needs, and takes him with her on race away from Moses. Throughout the story flashbacks reveal why she decided to help Maurey and the underlying reason for her guilt.

Prepare yourself for an incredible road novel across an empty America with a teenager who does not fit into the settlements which are beginning to rebuild and is more at home travelling the dangerous landscapes where there are more vicious predators than zombies. A masterpiece and one of the finest horror novels of the last decade, YA or adult.
Tony Jones

6. Neil Gaiman – Ocean at the End of the Lane (2013)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is, hands-down, my favourite Neil Gaiman novel and I have read most of them. It is predominately seen through the eyes of a little boy and features the scariest babysitter/nanny of all time who terrifies the child. Hell, she terrified me. This breath-taking blend of fantasy and horror is almost impossible to pigeonhole and possibly takes the best bits from many of Gaiman’s other novels; increasing the fear-factor from Coraline and The Graveyard Book, includes snatches reminiscent of Stardust, but without the huge page length of American Gods. It might very well be Gaiman’s masterpiece with old and dangerous magic filtering into the world.
 
On one level it reads like a children’s book, on another it is a story of loss, aging, and childhood memories. This is a big question: is this an adult or a YA novel? It is very hard to tell, and I have a special love for novels which blur that boundary. Since its publications I have read it twice with different book clubs at school and readers frequently argue about how it should be categorised. However, if it an adult novel, it is perfect for strong teenage readers and the majority I lend it to adore its strange blend of coming-of-story, childhood fear and nostalgia, not to mention very old magic. Life might not be normal for a boy whose nearest neighbours are a family of ancient witches, including a little girl who he befriends, in this dark and brooding tale of childhood and witchcraft which is half-forgotten and is totally unforgettable to the reader. Genius. But watch out for that babysitter…. AGE 13+

5. Sarah Pinborough - The Death House (2015)

When I recommend books to teenagers, I am always on the lookout for titles which the readers can make strong emotional connections with and in my experience, there are few better than The Death House. In the years I have been recommending this amazing dystopian thriller I always tell the kids to watch out for the stunning ending and if I enquire how they got on, more than a few admit to crying at the very sad end. Certain readers think the ending is unnecessarily downbeat, I am not sure though, but it is amazing that it encourages such debate. One thing is for sure: there are a lot of teenagers out there who are truly passionate about this knockout of a novel. This is another novel which has been incredibly successful at my school book club where it has been widely debated. A few years I invited the author to my school, but as she was too busy she very kindly sent me four signed copies of her subsequent YA novel, the excellent thriller 13 Minutes.

You could argue The Death House is not strictly a horror story, but it is so good I add it to just about any list I can. It has a haunting mix of dystopia, where everything is kept enticingly vague, and teen novel which has been rightly compared to classics such as Lord of the Flies. Children who are infected with a virus, which they have been told is deadly, are shipped to a remote orphanage on an island which they call ‘Death Houses’ because the survival rate is zero. What follows is a quite beautiful and haunting look at the teens who live there, waiting to die, whilst trying to live. The story is seen from the point of view of Toby, who has been in the Death House longer than everybody else (who are all dead) and what changes when a couple of girls arrive amongst the latest bunch of inmates. YA writing has never been better as young love begins to blossom on the island. An absolute stunner and I loved it more than you can ever imagine. In recent years Pinborough has written some very successful adult thrillers, but I hope she returns to YA some day.  AGE 13+

4. Amy Lukavics - The Ravenous (2017)

Amy Lukavics is the undisputed queen of YA American horror and Ginger Nuts of Horror has been a fan for some years and the fact that she has not won the Horror Writer’s Association Bram Stoker YA award turns that competition into somewhat of a joke. Amy has three books in our top fifty (all four in the overall hundred), I loved them all, but this was my daughter’s personal favourite, so I have ranked The Ravenous the highest. This terrific story has complex family issues beating at its dark heart, much more than twitching goes on beyond the curtains in this broken household. I do not think there is any better YA writer anywhere in cross-pollinating the issues of everyday life, damaged teenagers with that of the supernatural than Lukavics. It also has a healthy amount of gore, as the eldest sister makes good use of the family hammer, as her unhealthy interest in serial-killers develops and the body-count increases. But with good reason.
The Ravenous is told from the point of view of Mona, the middle of five teenage sisters. Getting into the head of a teenager, making it convincing, is incredibly hard to do but the author totally nails the isolation felt by the girl. The eldest of the sisters acts as a surrogate parent to the others, as their mother is an alcoholic and their father absent. However, tragedy strikes when their mother causes a drunken argument and the youngest falls into the deep basement, tumbling to the bottom and dying instantly breaking her neck. This was one of many brutal sequences, the family staring at their broken sibling, her head twisted at a wrong angle. In her madness, the mother claims she can “bring Rose back” and then disappears for a few days with the body. When she returns, she is not alone, and Rose is alive again. But at what cost? Brutal all the way until the unsettling end. AGE 13+

3. Peadar Ó Guilín – The Call (2016)

The Call was one of the finest horror, Irish mythology, and teenage fantasy mashups I have read in many years and should be tried by absolutely everyone, kid, or adult. It is that good. Over the last three years it is the most borrowed novel in my library, in which we have multiple copies where most are always on loan. I recommend it a lot, but its success also comes from the fact that so many kids recommend it to their friends, it is a genuine ‘word of mouth’ smash which is also incredibly rare in that it has a sequel, The Invasion, which is as good as the first. Both books complement each other beautifully and are stunningly led by a spunky teenage girl who has a handicap but does not let that drag her down. Nessa is one of my favourite characters in recent YA literature and you will love her.

The Call has a superb plot: in this weird version of Ireland the country has been sealed off from the rest of the world by a supernatural barrier connected to an ancient curse. Teenagers can be ‘Called’ at any-time during their teenage years, this means they are magically summoned (or time-warped) to another realm where they do battle with the Aes Sidhe, the ancient rulers of Ireland before they were banished in a great war. These are evil fairy creatures and down-right nasty beasts which are incredibly cruel and live to torture humans for sport. Although they are only gone for three minutes in the alternative world this is 24 hours or longer, so avoiding death, capture, and unimaginable pain is almost impossible and virtually nobody manages it. The plot revolves around a girl called Nessa, who has a leg defect, and cannot run properly, so nobody gives her a sniff of survival, however she is one TOUGH cookie and sooner or later she is ‘Called’. The tension is beautifully ramped up as the reader awaits the big moment when Nessa is forced to fight for her life.  You simply will not read a better blend of fantasy, horror and mythology coupled with stunning world building than in this blinding novel. AGE 12+

16. Jeremy de Quidt – The Wrong Train (2016)

Everyone likes a good ghost story, right? If you do, then look no further than this, a scary series of inter-connected supernatural stories lynch-pinned by a little boy stuck with a creepy old man at a deserted train station. Apparently, the author De Quidt does not read horror, making this achievement even cooler. This is a great collection for kids which expertly blends the old-fashioned MR James style with the modern, with the story of the old man menacing the poor little boy possibly the most unsettling of all.

Never judge a book by its cover and behind a rather drab looking train time-table book-jacket lurks a truly delicious collection of eight short stories aimed at the teen/YA market, or anybody who enjoys a bloody good old-fashioned scare…. And to be frank, if any adult horror writers (published or unpublished) out there want an A-Z lesson on how to construct supernatural stories for children, then look no further than this masterful collection. Many of the tales sneakily play on the insecurities of everyday life, especially those irrational fears that put children on edge, from the outdoor light which randomly flashes on and off, to the smelly old photo album, not forgetting the strangeness of a new house or even the invisible friend who is just a tad too real. Jeremy De Quidt presses all the right buttons in building an overwhelming atmosphere of darkness which permeates throughout all unique eight stories. AGE 11+

15. Lindsey Barraclough - Long Lankin (2011)

Long Lankin is a terrifying tale of a house cursed by an ancient evil, set in the 1950s, inspired by a haunting folk song about murder, witchcraft, and revenge. Two unlucky children, Cora and her little sister Mimi (aged fourteen and ten), are sent to live with their elderly aunt in the isolated village of Bryers Guerdon and receive a less than warm welcome and are desperate to return to London. Instead, their arrival has reawakened an evil that has lain waiting for years and they find themselves next on this bogeyman’s hit list. Along with Roger and Peter, two young village boys, Cora must uncover the horrifying truth that has held Bryers Guerdon in its dark grip for centuries - before it is too late for Mimi. You will rarely see a better use of a rural setting than Long Lankin, especially for city children, which also effortlessly moves into the areas of folk horror, giving this tale an exceptionally convincing backstory. Here’s part of the creepy old song:
 
Says milord to milady, as he mounted his horse:
“Beware of Long Lankin that lives in the moss.”
Says milord to milady, as he went on his way:
“Beware of Long Lankin that lives in the hay.”
 
It is roughly based around a real ghostly character from local English folklore and this horrible creation is as nasty as anything you will find in adult horror fiction. Worse even. In the past I have met Lindsay at book events and it’s amazing such a charming lady can create such an evil monster, sadly she has not published anything since the 2012 sequel Mark of Cain, but I hope she returns at some point. If Adam Nevill wrote a kid’s book it might be a bit like this, coincidentally he also found it equally scary and noted on his website “I’ll read it to my nipper when she’s twenty!” which says it all, as it is genuinely scary. Nevill is absolutely right, you’ll quickly forget you are reading a book, aimed at kids, which will creep you out more that most adult horror.  AGE 12+
 
14. Liana Gardner – Speak No Evil (2019)

Liana Gardner’s brilliant Speak No Evil revolves around a sixteen-year-old girl who is in the American care-home system and has not spoken for almost two years. The doctor treating her realises music is very important to her and uses lyrics as a way of breaking down the communication barriers. The reasons for this are revealed very slowly and is told over multiple time periods, going back to when Melody Fisher was five-years-old, with the novel repeatedly jumping across the years, but as it progresses the backstory slowly closes in on the Melody who is sixteen. Ultimately this it is a novel about real life horror; abuse, overcoming it, and the resilience of Melody Fisher as she slowly, with a lot of help, turns her life around. I am not ashamed to say I had a tear in my eye on more than one occasion.
 
It is the backdrop of the story which edges it into dark fiction, whilst also working as a compelling family drama, as this is very dark stuff. Melody’s parents both attend a church where snake-handling is part of the normal Sunday service, however, Melody’s mother is also scared of the snakes, but Melody is gifted with animals and has a beautiful voice which almost has a hypnotic quality. Soon something goes horribly wrong with the snakes which rips their family apart. Teenage novels which touch on subjects as dark as this need to applaud, and although it also features a very unpleasant rape scene, it is handled sensitively. Everybody needs hope and even though Melody does not talk she does have others fighting in her corner for her, including the reader, I loved this girl. Perhaps in real life she would slip through the cracks of society? But this if fiction and we all need hope. A quite beautiful book and one in which I am very happy to champion and have two copies in my library. AGE 14+  
 
13. E Lockhart – We Were Liars (2014)

This was one of the books my daughter absolutely adored and like most readers, once she got to the mind-boggling finish went right back to the start and reread the first thirty pages. The ending gives the beginning new meaning and We Were Liars has one of the best twists in modern YA fiction, or for that matter any novel. Ultimately, the twist makes the book which also qualifies it for this list and due to avoiding potential spoilers I am going to keep this review exceptionally vague. If you check this book out online, be careful, as it is very easy to have it spoilt, or by a friend who might let the cat out of the bag, even unintentionally. Once you have finished We Were Liars you will definitely want to talk it out with friends.
 
This suspense mystery is set on a private family owned by a rich family who holiday there every summer and centres around teenager Cadence Sinclair, her cousins and extended family. Cadence has problems with her memory due to an accident which happened prior to the book starting the previous summer, but is revisited in flashbacks,  considering what is going on in Cadence’s life she is also a classic unreliable narrator who is disconnected from the rest of her family, and with good reason. Overall, the author paints an evocative picture of a family portrait being ripped by tragedy alongside a tale of suspense which reveals its secrets deliciously slowly, building towards the killer ending. AGE 13+

12. Amy Lukavics - Daughters unto Devils (2015)

It is rare to see a ghost or horror story set on the plains of the pioneer era American outback, so Daughters unto Devils was a unique experience. This wickedly well-crafted chiller had more creeps in it than many adult horror novels and has an edginess you rarely find in fiction aimed at teens. I am also pleased to report that it creeped out (my normally unshakable) daughter so much she had a nightmare!  Written in the first person, with a very authentic 16-year-old female narrator, who lives with her parents and four younger siblings in a remote cabin near the bottom of a mountain. She is secretly having an affair with a post delivery boy and early in the novel realises she is pregnant. There is a second narrative which flicks back to the previous year when there was a severe snowstorm, stranding the family in their home, while their mother became ill while heavily pregnant. In the middle of all this stress, Amanda flips out, claiming to see the Devil after which she struggles to grasp reality. Whether her visions are merely cabin fever or something else is not revealed, but this ‘episode’ is something which the family do not talk about and is the elephant in the room.
 
Amanda feels guilty over everything, particularly praying for the death of her unborn child and her youngest sibling who screams and screams all the time, while the reader is not sure how sick the child is. Imagine The Little House on the Prairie with demons and you are heading in the direction this outstanding novel moves into. As the plot develops the family uproot themselves, once again based on superstition, and relocate to a prairie close to a forest. Moving into an abandoned cabin the supernatural element of the novel kicks in and you feel the helplessness of the young children who are easy prey without their parents. Thrown into the mix are demons, madness, guilt, nutty neighbours, young love, and teenagers struggling to hold their family in the face of real nastiness, real and very probably supernatural. There is also a meat pie you really would not want to eat, and do not even mention the ant scene! At 200 pages it is the perfect length for teenagers who enjoy intelligent horror with genuine scares. It has a strong, spunky, female lead, who although she is tough on herself, is both engaging and a great girl to root for. AGE 13+
 
11. Joshua Gaylord – When We Were Animals (2015)

When We Were Animals is a strange novel about a small town where when teenagers reach a certain age, they ‘breach’. Although the concept of breaching is never fully explained, it is best described as a strong mental and physical pull where most teens lose control of their inhibitions, running wild in the streets, sometimes naked, abandoning all normal boundaries. Their parents do not do anything about this because they did it themselves years earlier and it is seen as a peculiar right-of-passage into adulthood. Is When We Were Animals an adult or a teen novel? It was incredibly different to tell, however, it completely knocked out my fourteen-year-old daughter who found a lot of magic in the novel, particularly in relation to the ‘bad boy’ Blackhat Roy. He was not a main character, but his shadow dominated the book and my daughter felt herself being pulled to his dark, irresistible, side. Blackhat Roy was nasty, interesting, layered, violent and very human character. He was the ultimate outsider.
 
Lumen, however, swears she will never breach because of what happened to her mother. Soon everyone around her is breaching, including her only friend Polly. When the sound of the teens howling echoes the streets, she hears her classmates calling her name and the pull becomes almost irresistible. The novel also flashes forward to see Lumen as a married adult with a son, as she reflects on her past and begins to feel the urge again, it is a coming-of-age tale like no other. Technically an adult novel, but very accessible to teens, I have used When We Were Animals for my school book club and it has been hugely popular.
 
In 2019 Ginger Nuts of Horror interviewed Joshua Gaylord and asked him to provide more information on the phenomenon of ‘breaching’ which is at the core of When We Were Animals.
 
“The story is definitely my version of werewolf mythology. But it also comes from the fact that when I was younger, I always romanticized werewolves because of their freedom. I was like Lumen—a good student who was always overly concerned with what people thought about me. When I thought about what it would be like to be a werewolf, I imagined not caring about all the mundane daily concerns of image or moral consequence. I loved the idea of just running through the streets, not caring what people thought about me. For me, the werewolf mythology was always about fulfilling the fantasy of being selfish, of dropping the choirboy façade I was so intent on maintaining.” AGE 14+
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26. Brenna Yovanoff - The Replacement (2010)
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Brenna Yovanoff’s debut The Replacement is an entertaining teen riff on the folklore changeling story popular in which a fairy child is left in place of a human child stolen by the fairies. The setting for the story is the very superstitious small town of Gentry which has a very old connection to the fairy world and because of that strange things happening is accepted as normal. I could not help nostalgically thinking of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s town of Summertale when I was reading this! Another thing I really liked about this story was the fact that main character, sixteen-year-old Mackie, is fully aware he is a changeling from the start of the story. He also bucks the stereotypes of teenage boys and is neither strong, a sports star or popular with the girls, he would rather fade into the background and has complex health issues due to his true nature. 

Gentry is subject to the subtle rule of the fairy world who demand a blood tithe every seven years in exchange for the town's prosperity. Blended into Mackie's story is that of his friend and potential love interest Tate which helps develop a convincing balance of supernatural story with a teenager who has obvious identity issues. Eventually the story takes us to the underworld of Gentry and the home of the fey, where Mackie must decide if he belongs. This was a great tale of Celtic mythology shipped into a modern-day American setting. AGE 12+

25. Laura Bates – The Burning (2019)

If you’re on the hunt for a YA novel which effortlessly blends the horrors of teenage social media with the tale of a 400-year-old witch trial, then look no further. This was a superb read which carries a powerful message about the dangers of posting the wrong stuff online and peer pressure, delivering it in a naturalistic style, which never becomes heavy handed or preachy. In no time at all you will be rooting for the teenage protagonist Anna who is dragged through a horrific emotional wringer. The Burning is horror with a light touch, the pain and long-term repercussions of one naive decision becomes scarier than any supernatural bogeyman. The fallout was severe, and The Burning opens with Anna and her mother leaving their old life in Birmingham behind to live in a small coastal village near Saint Andrews on the east side of Scotland.
 
Starting any new school is difficult and Laura Bates completely nails the awkwardness of this transition, but before long she becomes friends with local girls, but bullying is never far away and soon her past catches up with her. The Burning has a second main story which nudges it into the horror genre, beyond that of everyday teenage life. As part of a school history project everyone researches a topic of local interest and after Anna discovers an obscure reference to someone who was suspected of being a witch centuries earlier. As she uncovers the story, the plight of Maggie, she realises the ‘witch’ has many startling similarities to her own plight and starts to feel a strong connection to the long-dead young woman, part of which whose narrative is told in flashback. In my experience in YA fiction kids generally avoid books which obviously have a heavy-handed message, The Burning works because its warning are very subtle with a top-notch story, believable story and a convincing dose of history. AGE 13+

24. Dawn Kurtagich – The Dead House (2015)

I backtracked to read Dawn Kurtagich’s debut, The Dead House, after being blown away by her second novel The Creeper Man. The latter is more horror than this debut, which although it has horror elements is also a convoluted psychological thriller which is top heavy with atmosphere, threat and sneaky twists. The unsettling and deliberately disjointed narrative are made up of diary entries, interview transcripts, film footage recordings and notes from medical files. Twenty-five years before the action kicks off, Elmbridge High was destroyed in a terrible five which killed five people and one pupil, Carly Johnson, disappeared. Now a diary has retrieved from the ruins of the school, which belongs to Kaitlyn Johnson, Carly’s identical twin sister, a fact which is not possible as she did not have a twin.

It is easy to forget that The Dead House is a work of fiction as so much documentary evidence is presented it is easy to think you are reading some sort of true crime report, but there are plenty of clues along the way for the clever ending. There is also an interconnecting novella called Naida which is related to one of the other characters. On one level is the tale of one girl’s descent into madness which takes in mental health issues, but part of its strength is the ambiguity is retains in not answering every question and really sucks you into the disturbing world of the girl(s). Should that be plural or singular? You’ll have to read to find out yourself. AGE 13+
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23. Amy Lukavics – The Woman in the Walls (2016)

The Women in The Walls is a complex, character driven, and highly enjoyable supernatural tale which reveals its secrets gleefully slowly through an excellently paced story to its crazy ending. Seventeen-year-old Lucy lives in a huge house in the countryside with her cousin Margaret, they rarely see anyone except for her distant and distracted father and Margaret’s mother, her aunt, who acts like a surrogate mother.  Much of the early action focusses on the two teenagers, who are very close, and how they deal with the suicide of a servant in the opening few pages. Although they are cousins they are as close as sisters and are inseparable.  I loved the vagueness of the setting, time period and location, and although the odd hint thrown in here and there it was hard to pin-point. Considering they are two seventeen-year-old girls, there are no mobile phones, internet, boys, sex, very little mention of TV, school or other pop culture references. Neither do they go to school as we are told Margaret got into too much trouble. They seem to live in their own bubble in this big empty house.
 
Lucy is very close to her aunt, in many ways closer than Margaret which leads to some friction, especially after Aunt Penelope disappears. No police come to look for the missing aunt and both Lucy and Margaret become suspicious. As do we the readers.  As the plot picks up the pace, Margaret becomes withdrawn and believes she hears the voice of her missing mother in the walls, particularly the attic. Lucy, of course, doesn’t believe her. The novel has several very clever twists, a couple of which I didn’t see coming. And you really cannot beat the cracker with the replacement cook! If you ever read it, you’ll know what I mean.  The biggest compliment I can give a YA novel is when I read it with the same intensity as an adult novel, which I do with this and everything written by this outstanding author. I don’t call her the Queen of American YA for nothing and expect to see Lukavics reappear higher up the list.  AGE 13+

22. Lou Morgan – Sleepless (2014)

Kids… if you’re ever offered study drugs… JUST SAY NO!!! Sleepless remains one of my favourite Red Eye novels and was a terrific marker early in the series a few years back showing they meant business. It has an unsettling quality, and my teenage daughter was also really sucked into this very well drawn story with believable sympathetic characters set in a busy London school. One of its major strengths is a plot which was edgy enough to be convincing to a teen readership who will identify with the kids under pressure 100%. If you were offered a pill which was supposed to improve your concentration levels and ultimately your exam grades surely there would be no harm in giving yourself an extra edge? It’s a big question.

The stress of exams leads Izzy and her friends to stupidly take this new study drug they find advertised secretly online and soon, one by one, they succumb to hallucinations, nightmares and psychosis. Then things take an even darker turn. The only way to survive is to stay awake, which is very tough with big exams around the corner, balanced with the paranoia of what might happen when sleep comes. Throw a killer into the mix, a mounting body count and you have an engrossing horror thriller which nicely keeps the reader guessing whether there is anything supernatural going on.  Sleepless is slightly more challenging than some of the other Red Eye titles and the suggestion that a pill that allows you to study better has nasty side effects was a clever one. The central London location of the school also added atmosphere and threat of something nasty lurking around the corner and just out of vision was startingly effective.  AGE 12+
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21. Graham McNamee – Beyond (2012)

Jane is not really your typical teenage girl as she has a nail lodged inside her brain which some believe was caused by a self-inflicted suicide attempt. However, the story is narrated by Jane and we quickly realise she is being stalked by a powerful dark force which wants her dead at any cost. The scared teenager suspects it may even be her own shadow, so she and her best friend Lexi are on guard 24/7 in case her ‘shadow’ makes another attack on her life. The downbeat, matter of fact, but also hopeful voice of Jane was a real standout feature of a novel which deserves to be much better known by an author who has written several other great horror YA novels including Bonechiller and Acceleration. This was also a very easy to read and accessible horror novel, which could be great for reluctant readers.
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Beyond really nails the ‘near death experience’ idea, building an exceptionally clever supernatural tale around a sympathetic lead character who was born without a heartbeat and has a much closer relationship with the supernatural realms than most normal folks. She is also prone to sleepwalking and waking up in odd places which she believes is connected to the shadow. Jane is not looking for our sympathy, but the reader will be with her all the way as her sleuthing uncovers both a killer and dark secrets which are much closer to home. The narrative escalates into a succession of harrowing, scary incidents involving Jane and her best friend, building up suspense to an exciting and well thought out climax. The final punchy chapters reveal some clever developments which I never saw coming. AGE 12+