Last Updated: February 10, 2023
Cold
by Mariko Tamaki
This is the story of a boy who died–and a girl who wants to know why. Todd Mayer is dead. Now he’s some sort of ghost, hovering over his body, which has just been found in the town park, naked and frozen in the snow. As detectives investigate Todd’s homicide, talking to the very people who are responsible for how he died, Todd replays the events that led him to his end in the park. Georgia didn’t know Todd. But she can’t stop thinking about him. Maybe it’s because they’re both outcasts at their school, or because they’re both queer. It might also be because Georgia has a feeling she’s seen Todd somewhere before, somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be. In the vein of The Lovely Bones, this dual narrative is told through the voices of Todd in his afterlife and Georgia as she uncovers the truth behind his death, resulting in an immersive, emotional, and provocative read.
Dark Room Etiquette
by Robin Roe
Sixteen-year-old Sayers Wayte has everything: popularity, good looks, perfect grades–there’s nothing Sayers’ family money can’t buy. Until he’s kidnapped by a man who tells him the privileged life he’s been living is based on a lie. Trapped in a windowless room, without knowing why he’s been taken or how long the man plans to keep him shut away, Sayers faces a terrifying new reality. To survive, he must forget the world he once knew, and play the part his abductor has created for him. But as time passes, the line between fact and fiction starts to blur, and Sayers begins to wonder if he can escape… before he loses himself.
Grown
by Tiffany D. Jackson
When legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots Enchanted Jones at an audition, her dreams of being a famous singer take flight. Until Enchanted wakes up with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night. Who killed Korey Fields? Before there was a dead body, Enchanted’s dreams had turned into a nightmare. Because behind Korey’s charm and star power was a controlling dark side. Now he’s dead, the police are at the door, and all signs point to Enchanted.
Hollow Fires
by Samira Ahmed
After discovering the body of fourteen-year-old Jawad Ali in Jackson Park, seventeen-year-old journalism student Safiya Mirza begins investigating his murder and ends up confronting white supremacy in her own high school.
Jane Anonymous
by Laurie Faria Stolarz
In chapters alternating between “then” and “now,” seventeen-year-old Jane Anonymous chronicles the events leading up to her abduction and seven-month captivity and her painful return to family and friends.
Queen of the Tiles
by Hanna Alkaf
Fifteen-year-old Najwa Bakri is forced to investigate the mysterious death of her best friend and Scrabble Queen, Trina, a year after the fact, when her Instagram comes back to life with cryptic posts and messages.
The Lies We Tell
by Katie Zhao
During her freshman year at college, Anna Xu investigates the unsolved on-campus murder of her former babysitter, as she and an old rival have to team up to look into the hate crimes happening around campus.
The Restless Dark
by Erica Waters
The Cloudkiss Killer is dead. Now a true-crime podcast is hosting a contest to find his bones. Lucy was almost the serial killer’s final victim. Carolina is a true-crime fan who fears her own rage. Maggie is a psychology student with a little too much to hide. But there are more than bones hiding in the shadows…sometimes the darkness inside is more frightening than anything the dead leave behind.
We Made It All Up
by Margot Harrison
Celeste Bergstein moves to a small town in Montana to escape her past, only to become embroiled in her new home town’s twisted secrets when the school’s star athlete–who is also the subject of Celeste’s writings–is found dead at the mouth of a cave.