The best YA books about girls battling monsters

Erica Waters Author Of The River Has Teeth
By Erica Waters

Who am I?

Maybe I’ve just watched too much Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I love stories about girls facing down terrifying monsters and coming out triumphant. These are often the kinds of books I like writing too, whether those monsters are ghosts, serial killers, or amorphous supernatural entities. As a writer of supernatural thrillers for teens, I know how empowering and cathartic it is to watch a character who has been through tough experiences face down her fears and fight for all she’s worth.

I wrote...

The River Has Teeth

By Erica Waters,

Book cover of The River Has Teeth

What is my book about?

When Natasha’s sister disappears, Natasha desperately turns to Della, a local girl rumored to be a witch, in the hopes that magic will bring her sister home. But Della has her own secrets to hide. She thinks the beast who’s responsible for the disappearance is her own mother—who was turned into a terrible monster by magic gone wrong. 

Natasha is angry. Della has little to lose. Both are each other’s only hope.

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The books I picked & why

Sawkill Girls

By Claire Legrand,

Book cover of Sawkill Girls

Why did I love this book?

Sawkill Girls is so scary that I couldn’t read it before bed. In fact, I wouldn’t even bring it into my bedroom! But it’s also gorgeously written—eerie and atmospheric, with the most immersive worldbuilding. Its monster is terrifying, but the main characters—all girls—are so, so powerful. This is one of my top YA novels of all time. 

Sawkill Girls

By Claire Legrand,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sawkill Girls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Reader, hang on for dear life. Sawkill Girls is a wild, gorgeous, and rich coming-of-age story about complicity, female camaraderie, and power." -Sarah Gailey, author of River of Teeth

"An eerie, atmospheric assertion of female strength." -Mindy McGinnis, author of The Female of the Species

FIVE STARRED REVIEWS

NAMED ONE OF YALSA'S 2019 BEST FICTION FOR YOUNG ADULTS

A BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEE

A LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD NOMINEE

From the New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn comes a breathtaking and spine-tingling novel about three teenage girls who face off against an insidious monster that preys upon young women. Perfect…

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The Dead and the Dark

By Courtney Gould,

Book cover of The Dead and the Dark

Why did I love this book?

The Dead and the Dark is a whole mood: A small town full of secrets, a mysterious dark force killing teenagers, a swoony-worthy sapphic romance, and absolutely gorgeous, moody writing. (I kept reading lines out loud to anyone who would listen!) Throw in a pair of TV ghost hunters and a great supporting cast and you have the perfect read for a dark and stormy evening under the covers.  

The Dead and the Dark

By Courtney Gould,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Dead and the Dark as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Imagine Riverdale crossing streams with Stephen King's The Outsider and you'll get a sense of this gripping supernatural mystery...Gould's debut begins as a snappy paranormal yarn and unspools into a profound story about the complex interplay between grief, guilt, and identity." - Oprah Daily

Courtney Gould’s thrilling YA debut The Dead and the Dark is about the things that lurk in dark corners, the parts of you that can’t remain hidden, and about finding home in places―and people―you didn’t expect.

The Dark has been waiting―and it won't stay hidden any longer.

Something is wrong in Snakebite, Oregon. Teenagers are disappearing,…

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Dread Nation

By Justina Ireland,

Book cover of Dread Nation

Why did I love this book?

I’m not sure I can adequately express how brilliant and original Dread Nation is. A Civil War-era alternate history about girls who battle the undead in the context of Reconstruction? I don’t even particularly like zombies, but I was completely and totally hooked. The main character is so well written and her voice is so strong and compelling that you can’t help but want to follow her anywhere. 

Dread Nation

By Justina Ireland,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Dread Nation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Trained at Miss Preston's School of Combat for Negro Girls in both weaponry and etiquette, Jane McKeene is poised for a successful career protecting the wealthy from the encroaching plague of walking dead. But when families begin to go missing, Jane uncovers a conspiracy that pits her against some powerful enemies. Sent far from home, Jane will need all her resourcefulness, wit and strength of character to survive.

A powerful, compelling tale of a young girl's journey through a hostile world, Jane McKeene is an unforgettable protagonist, and Dread Nation is an unforgettable book.

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What We Harvest

By Ann Fraistat,

Book cover of What We Harvest

Why did I love this book?

Action-packed and fast-moving, What We Harvest is one of those books that you can’t put down. A horrible (sentient?) blight infecting crops, animals, and people is a terrifying foe, and at times this book is brutal. But its main character and her friends are the most resilient, resourceful crew I’ve encountered in a long time. I rooted for them so hard.

What We Harvest

By Ann Fraistat,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked What We Harvest as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For fans of Wilder Girls comes a nightmarish debut guaranteed to keep you up through the night, about an idyllic small town poisoned by its past, and one girl who must fight the strange disease that's slowly claiming everyone she loves.

Wren owes everything she has to her hometown, Hollow’s End, a centuries-old, picture-perfect slice of America. Tourists travel miles to marvel at its miracle crops, including the shimmering, iridescent wheat of Wren’s family’s farm. At least, they did. Until five months ago.
 
That’s when the Quicksilver blight first surfaced, poisoning the farms of Hollow’s End one by one. It…

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Within These Wicked Walls

By Lauren Blackwood,

Book cover of Within These Wicked Walls

Why did I love this book?

I initially picked up Within These Wicked Walls because it was inspired by Jane Eyre, which is one of my favorite books, but I kept reading because it has some of the most original and interesting worldbuilding I’ve seen in YA. The main character is an exorcist hired to cleanse a big spooky house of its unsettling supernatural manifestations, and she puts everything on the line to get the job done. 

Within These Wicked Walls

By Lauren Blackwood,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Within These Wicked Walls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
REESE'S BOOK CLUB FALL 2021 YA PICK

"Lauren Blackwood’s can’t-miss debut is a magical, Ethiopian-inspired remix of Jane Eyre." - Harper's Bazaar

What the heart desires, the house destroys...

Andromeda is a debtera―an exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye. She would be hired, that is, if her mentor hadn’t thrown her out before she could earn her license. Now her only hope of steady work is to find a Patron―a rich, well-connected individual who will vouch for her abilities.

When a handsome young heir named Magnus Rochester reaches out to hire her,…

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You might also like...

In Human Shadow

By Gregory J. Glanz,

Book cover of In Human Shadow

Gregory J. Glanz Author Of In Human Shadow

New book alert!

Sponsored by Gregory J. Glanz Author

Who am I?

It seems that all of the fictional main characters I create have anti-hero tendencies. There is always some voice in their head telling them to do right when they are expected to do wrong, or to do wrong when it is supposed they will do right. I find this flaw very compelling, and universal for those of us of flesh and blood. Do sneering, evil characters exist? Well, maybe, but they aren’t very interesting, and I think a weak trope.

Gregory's book list on anti-heroes of fantasy fiction

Book cover of Wild Seed Book cover of The Lies of Locke Lamora Book cover of Thieves' World: First Blood Book cover of Lord Foul's Bane Book cover of The Traitor Baru Cormorant

What is my book about?

Born the half-breed, bastard son of an orc chieftain, Wrank tries to survive life in OrcHome among ignorance and spite aimed at his human heritage even as he develops a Talent for folding shadow. When life is no longer viable among the clans, he escapes into the world of humans where he once again encounters intolerance from thieves, wizards, priests, and assassins.

With the eyes of imps, demons, miscreant gods, and a changeling upon him, can he survive In Human Shadow even though his future is foretold, his death foreseen?

In Human Shadow

By Gregory J. Glanz,

What is this book about?

Born the half-breed, bastard son of an orc chieftain, Wrank tries to survive life in OrcHome among ignorance and spite aimed at his human heritage even as he develops a Talent for folding shadow. When life is no longer viable among the clans, he escapes into the world of humans where he once again encounters intolerance from thieves, wizards, priests and assassins. With the eyes of imps, demons, miscreant gods, and a changeling upon him, can he survive In Human Shadow even though his future is foretold, his death foreseen?

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