Summer Reading List:
13 YA Mystery and Thriller Novels



by Moyin Agbaosi


EVERYONE WANTS TO BE THE MAIN CHARACTER. . . UNTIL THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN ONE OF THESE BOOKS. . .



Right now everyone is raving about brat girl summer, Italian summer, hot girl summer, the list goes on... But what about murder mystery girl summer??? Here's a list of my favorite thriller and suspense YA novels to read that still have the summer vibe that you're looking for. The ratings are just to see my favorites all the books are really good. (no spoilers!)


the counselors



by Jessica Goodman





The Counselors by Jessica Goodman is a suspense novel set in a summer camp called Alpine Lake, which Goldie

has been going to all her life and the place she felt most at home. Now, this summer Goldie and her two best friends, Ava and

Imogen, are counselors. Her friends are at the lake one night, and the next day, a body shows up dead. And things only get

more complicated when it seems like one of her friends are involved.


My Opinion: I liked this book alot! It was very suspenseful, but i felt like some parts were a little drawn out (or maybe that was

because another on of my books was due in a day and i needed to read this one fast lol.) And Goldie, the main character, had

very. . . interesting decision making skills. But other than that it was a great read.


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the lake



by Natasha Preston





Esme and Kayla are excited to spend another summer at Camp Pine Lake, as counselors in training, and relive thier childhood memory. However, they

share a secret from thier past, and as the summer progresses, ominous messages begin to surface and the girls are forced to realize: someone else was

there that night. Someone else knew what they did. And they are no longer safe.


My Opinoin: Here's a general rule of thumbs: never get too attahed to a character in a Natasha Preston book. Sometimes i feel like Natasha Preston

doesn't care about her characters at all, so i try not to get too attached because right when it seems the main character would have a happy ending,

something happens and you're just like "Dang, i wasn't expecting that to happen." And yes, that is what happens in this book. It wasn't that there was a

plot twist, i you kind of knew what was going to happen. It was a great book also set in a summer camp and if you liked The Counselors (see above)

then you would probably like this one too.


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liar's beach



by Katie Cotugno





Michael Linden was invited to spend the summer at a Vacation home in Martrha's Vineyard. While trying to fit in with all the posh, rich kids he is

surrounded with: something strange happens: someone is found uncouncious floating in the pool. Though it was brushed off as an accident, Linden

and his childhood friend Holiday suspect foul play and begin digging into the secrets of thier priviladged circles.


My Opinion: Even though i read this book not too long ago, i think i just forgot the entire plot, and i unfortunatly couldn't find the time to re-read it.

The main thing i rmebeer was that the main chracter was really dumb, and got on my nerves alot (though i cant even rememeber why.) I do know that

this book was a fresh take on Agatha Christie A Mysterious Affair At Styles, if you know me you know i LOVE agatha Christie, so i thought that

was pretty cool.


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summer's edge



by Dana Mele





Up until the night Emily died in a fire at her girlfriend’s lake house, chelsea and her friends were inserpareable. After that incident, however, everything changed. Their friendship fell apart. Now, a year later, they’re all back at the lake house, which has been rebuilt exactly the way it was. But something’s off.

As they try to move on strange messages start showing up as if someone wants them to remember what really happened that night. And how maybe not everyone is telling the truth.


My Opinion: This book is a little hard to rate, but it was definatly enjoyable, though a little bit all over the place. I didn't really have a favorite character, but it was very interesting to read the nature each character had with each other. Also, I despise love triangles because it never ends up the way i want it to, so the romance is this book was farrrr from enjoyable.


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the box in the
woods



by Maureen Johnson





In 1978, four camp counselors were killed in the woods. The killer was never caught. Now, years later, Stevie finds herself back at

home for the summer, after solving the famous Ellingham case. Stevie endures a few days in her boring home town, only to be invited

to a summer camp to helpsolve the 1978 murders. Joined by her friends from Ellingham, the more Stevie works to uncover the

camp's secrets, the more she learns a killer might be closer than anyone realized. After all. . . the woods always remembers. . .


My Opinion: I may be a little biased (actually ALOT biased, because the Truly Devious books are one of my favorite series), but i love

thisbook so much. I love Stevie and her friend's characters.


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tHE SUMMER SHE
WENT MISSING



by Chelsea Ichaso





Every summer, Paige Redmond's family would head to Clearwater Ridge to spend time with the Covingtons. It was the highlight of her year,

mainly because she got to be with her best friend, Audrey Covington. Their days were all about swimming, tanning, and late-night parties. But this

summer? It’s different. For the first time, Paige's longtime crush on Audrey’s brother, Dylan, is actually going somewhere. Just when things start to

get good, Audrey disappears. The police eventually give up, but Paige and Dylan refuse to. Together, they’re determined to figure out what

really happened.


My Opinion: I've read other books by Chelsea Ichaso, and this one is just as good. I actually didn't like ANY of the character, especially Dylan,

the love interest. Something about his manner just annoyed me. And I listened to the audiobook, and the narrators actually made me want to return

the book, but I won't count that towards the books overall rating.


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silent sister



by Megan Davidhizar





Sisters Maddy and Grace go on their senior class trip together. But when they both go missing, only Grace comes back, with no memory of what happened. Now, she’s trying to piece it all together and figure out what went wrong. As the story unfolds, we see more of Grace and Maddy’s complicated relationship. But the closer Grace gets to the truth about her sister’s disappearance, the more she realizes she’ll have to confront the secrets she’s been hiding, too.


My Opinion: I'm currentlyreading this book so i can't write a full review. (But when I finish, I'll come back and write a review.)


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never coming home



by Kate Williams





Unknown Island is supposed to be the next big thing a luxury resort in a secret location, totally free, but only for people under 21 who get an
exclusive invite. No one knows who’s running it, but everyone wants in. For the soft launch, ten teen influencers are flown out to the island. But as
soon as they arrive, things feel wrong. The place is barely stocked, there’s no staff, no internet, no phone service. Just them, stuck in the middle of
nowhere. Then people start dying. One by one. Creepy photos of what’s happening are being posted online. Someone’s watching. The real question
is: who invited them here—and will any of them make it off the island?
My Opinion: This book is a YA take on And Then There Were None BY agatha Chrostie, and i thought it was pretty good. My only issue with these
types of books are how there are some many character and different POVs its hard to keep track, or get invested in a particular character. I liked
how each character confronted thier sturggles and how the book showed how social media can be very desructive if used the wrong way.

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i am margaret
moore



by Hannah Capin





Margaret Moore has always spent her summers at Marshall Naval School with her friends. But this year something feels. . . off. The air feels heavier,

the lake more dangerous, and whispers follow her everywhere. As tensions rise and strange things begin to happens, Maragert is forced to confront

the truth about what happened last summer.


My Opinion: I'm not gonna lie, I've started this book many times and always stopped about ten pages it. I've read some of Hannah Capin's other books

(Foul is Fair is wayyyyyy better way), so i kind of knew what to expect with the writing style, but the jump between timelines was still very confusing.

That said, I feel like once you got past that things got easier to understand and you could enjoy it more. Capin has a very strong style of writing, and

while her book Foul is Fair (10/10 a little dark, but i recommend if that's your kind of thing) is a good example of it, but this book began to get very repetitive. I also forgot that the book was paranormal, so the plot twist caught me off guard.


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we were liars



by E. Lockhart





Every summer, seventeen-year-old Cadence Sinclair Eastman joins her priviledged, seemingly perfect family on thier private island. But after a

mysterious accident during her 15th summer, Cadence is left with many gaps in her memory. With her closest friends, she pieces together what

happened and reveals secrets that her family desperatly tried to bury. Also, at the time that i am writing this, a Movie adaptatoin justcame out!


All i haveto say is... what. is. this. book??? I would say im pretty good at figuring out plot twists, but this one was completely unexpected

and shook me to the core. Even though the book maybe be a little bit confusing, the ending tied things together, even though some parts were

definatly still confusing. Please, PLEASE proceed with CAUTION. This is the type of book that you turn the last page and just sit there for

hours thinking "What the heck did i just read?" The only thing id din't like other than how confusing it was, was the writing style, which made

me go a bit insane. There are alot of mixed reviews on this book,and the writing style is, understandably, what makes the reviews bad.

Listening to the audio book is definately your best option.


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you're not supposed
to die tonight



by Kalynn Bayron





Set at Camp Mirror Lake, a terror simulation expirience where guests pay to reenact horros scenes, the story followsm the Final Girl Charity Curtis in thesestaged horros. As the final season approaches, the line between fiction and reality blurs as staff members begin disapearing and a real killer is on the loose.


My Opinion: Im not the biggest fan of this book. The ending was a bit disappointing , and the book itself was kind of weird (??). Despite that, I really

liked the POC representation.


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difficult girls



by Veronica Bane





Greta Riley Green Takes a summer job at Hyper Kid Magic Land, hoping to escape her troubled past and reinvent herself. She quickly becomes

entangled with Mercy Goodwin, the park's star performer, who tells her a big secret before mysteriously diapearing. Greta gets more and more

entngled with the parks dark secrets and her own past, leading to a dangerous confrontatiopn.


My Opinion: At the time I am writing this, the book hasn't been published yet, but when it is, I will come back and update! (This is also why the synopsis sounds very genaric lol)


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good as gold



by Candace Buford





Casey Whitecroft, a black teenager in Langston Georgia, had a life that could be described as perfect, queen bee, and on her way to Ivy League in the

fall. But her life began to unravel when he father business failed. Now, she faces the threat of loosing her home. In an embark to save her future, Casey

and her new friends discover a secret that could change all of their lives and provide them with enough money that they will never be worrying again.


My Opinion: Lots of people have compared this book to the Outer Banks series on Netflix, and even though I've only watch a few episodes, i

have to agree that they have the same vibe. The characters were likable, though the plot was a bit predictable. The book moved at a decent pace,

though the begining was honestly really boring and made it hard to continue. But once you god past that part, the book was pretty enjoyable.


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If you liked this article, make sure to check out some of my others!



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In progress!

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