Halloween is almost upon us, and so is the next presidential election – why not commemorate these scary times with some scary teen reads? Here are the first books in some of the most deliciously horrifying YA book series in your local library. These tales of ghosts, monsters, aliens, and zombies should frighten and entertain you just as much as trick or treating or watching news coverage of the 2016 election.
From “The Ghost of the Bloody Fingers” to “The Hook” and “The Big Toe” (tales for which campfires are made), Schwartz offers a collection of stories from American folklore. Stephen Gammell’s splendidly creepy drawings perfectly capture the mood of more than two dozens scary tales — all just right for reading along or for telling aloud in the dark. This is the first collection of stories in the Scary Stories Trilogy.
In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn’t want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human. This is the first book in Rot and Ruin series.
Following accusations that her scientist father gruesomely experimented on animals, sixteen-year-old Juliet watched as her family and her genteel life in London crumbled around her–and only recently has she managed to piece her world back together. But when Juliet learns her father is still alive and working on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the old accusations are true. Accompanied by her father’s handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward, Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father’s insanity. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it’s too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius–and madness–in her own blood. This is the first book of The Madman’s trilogy and is inspired by H. G. Wells’s The Island of Dr. Moreau.
Do you believe there are ghosts and demons and Diviners among us? Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City–and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfield girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her Uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult. Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer. This is the first book in the ongoing Diviners series.
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the un lucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother–or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. This is the first book of The 5th Wave trilogy.
After a family tragedy, Jacob feels compelled to explore an abandoned orphanage on an island off the coast of Wales, discovering disturbing facts about the children who were kept there. This is the first book in The Miss Peregrine Trilogy.
