10 YA Thrillers you won't be able to put down

Love YA? Love thrillers? Here are 10 books you must read.  

Sadie - Courtney Summers 

When her sister Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him. When West McCray―a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America―overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.

If you loved the podcast Serial, this is the book for you.  Prepare to be torn between wanting to read on and not being ready for what's coming next.

Buy this book here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Neverworld Wake - Marisha Pessl 

Once upon a time, back at Darrow-Harker School, Beatrice Hartley and her five best friends were the cool kids, the beautiful ones. Then the shocking death of Jim - their creative genius and Beatrice's boyfriend - changed everything. One year after graduation, Beatrice is returning to Wincroft - the seaside estate where they spent so many nights sharing secrets, crushes, plans to change the world - hoping she'll get to the bottom of the dark questions gnawing at her about Jim's death.

This book has all the teen drama and secrets of Pretty Little Liars, but there's a twist: the characters are stuck inside a time loop. If you're a sci-fi fan looking for a thought-provoking mystery, this is the book for you.

Buy this book here: Amazon | The Book Depository

The Cheerleaders - Kara Thomas

First there was the car accident.  Not long after, the murders happened. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost. That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all.

Told through multiple POVs, including Monica's dead sister Jennifer, this book sets out different strings and intricately crafts them together in a stunning finale you won't see coming.

Buy this book here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Little Monsters - Kara Thomas

Kacey is the new girl in Broken Falls, welcomed into a tight new circle of friends. Bailey and Jade invite her to do everything with them. Which is why it’s so odd when they start acting distant. And when they don’t invite her to the biggest party of the year, it doesn’t exactly feel like an accident. But Kacey will never be able to ask, because Bailey never makes it home from that party. Suddenly, Broken Falls doesn’t seem so welcoming after all—especially once everyone starts looking to the new girl for answers.

Another Kara Thomas, because she really takes YA thrillers to another level. If you are into the idea of deceptive appearances and not knowing who to trust, you must read this book. 

Buy this book here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng

Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos.

A short, compulsive read which is at once mysterious and heartbreaking, Everything I Never Told You teaches valuable lessons about the power of secrets and never knowing those you think you're closest to.

Buy this book here: Amazon | The Book Depository

See All the Stars - Kit Frick

Then: They were four—Bex, Jenni, Ellory, Ret.  Electric, headstrong young women. Now: Ellory is alone. Ellory returns to Pine Brook to navigate senior year after a two-month suspension and summer away—no boyfriend, no friends. No going back. Tormented by some and sought out by others, and consumed by guilt over her not entirely innocent role in everything she’s lost, Ellory finds that even in the present, the past is everywhere.

Told in a dual narrative of past and present, See All the Stars revolves around an incident which happened last summer in the heat of a toxic high-school friendship group. Never quite sure if you can trust your narrator, you will not see the twist at the end coming. 

Buy this book here: Amazon | The Book Depository

One of Us is Lying - Karen M. McManus

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn't an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he'd planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who's still on the loose?

By now a YA classic, One of Us is Lying is an addictive high-school murder mystery perfect for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why. 

Buy this book here: Amazon | The Book Depository

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder - Holly Jackson 

The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.
But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

Already read One of Us is Lying, but still looking for your high-school murder fix? Look no further than A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, told through an interesting mix of police reports, transcripts, and Pip's own notes. 

Buy this book here: Amazon | The Book Depository

People Like Us - Dana Mele 

Kay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet, but the past is past, and she's reinvented herself entirely. But when a girl's body is found in the lake, Kay's carefully constructed life begins to topple. The dead girl has left Kay a computer-coded scavenger hunt, which, as it unravels, begins to implicate suspect after suspect, until Kay herself is in the crosshairs of a murder investigation.

If you like thrillers which are focused around hidden secrets and twisted character dynamics, this one's for you. The character-focused plot makes this thriller more of a slow-burn than others, but it'll be worth it at the end.

Buy this book here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Wilder Girls - Rory Power 

It's been 18 months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine, when the Tox hit. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence. But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story than she could have ever thought true.

A YA re-telling of Lord of the Flies, set around a boarding school for girls? Yes please.

Buy this book here: Amazon | The Book Depository

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