Here are 100 books that Little Monsters fans have personally recommended if you like
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I'm a full-time author and freelance editor from a small Canadian city, and I’ve always been fascinated by a good mystery—flipping through the pages, trying to guess who did or didn’t do it. Dark and gritty are my favorites, and the titles on this list do a good job of staying in that realm while still being very much YA. I hope you love them as much as I did!
Blackout follows Allie, a girl who has woken up after a car accident with amnesia in the small town of Pender Falls, British Columbia. Allie can’t remember who she was before, but she’s forced to fall back into the life of “Old Allie”—a girl who had a boyfriend the new Allie isn’t comfortable with, a best friend she doesn’t trust, and a shady past she finds more than unsavory. Allie slowly discovers that she doesn’t like who she was before—and she wants to be better.
The core mystery of this story revolves around Allie discovering the events that lead to her car accident. What caused it? And do all these strange dreams mean anything? Can she really trust the people who apparently love and know her?
While the mystery certainly kept me turning the pages, what I loved most about this book was the characters. Allie is a strong girl…
When Allie Castillo wakes up after a terrible car accident, with head injuries and zero recollection of who she is or what happened, one thing haunts the edges of her mind: the crash may not have been an accident.
Her body still bruised, she returns to a life she doesn’t recall, to a house that’s unfamiliar, and to a family that doesn’t feel like her own. School is another minefield―her boyfriend wants his girl back, her best friend wants to carry on their old partying ways, and the mysterious guy at the back of…
I'm a full-time author and freelance editor from a small Canadian city, and I’ve always been fascinated by a good mystery—flipping through the pages, trying to guess who did or didn’t do it. Dark and gritty are my favorites, and the titles on this list do a good job of staying in that realm while still being very much YA. I hope you love them as much as I did!
In this book Ariel—AKA Olivia—is the daughter of a couple who was killed when she was a child. Olivia got away and was raised in foster care, but she’s always been haunted by what happened to her parents. The fact that his story was true crime fodder for the public doesn’t help, with many online speculations as to what really happened.
When new details arise in the case that make it seem as though the events of her parents’ deaths might not be what the public previously thought, Olivia is compelled to return home to her small Oregon hometown to uncover the truth. Equipped with enough red herrings to make your head spin, The Girl I Used to Be is a book that will keep you guessing until the end.
Winner of the Anthony Award for Best Young Adult Mystery Novel
The Girl I Used to Be is another thrilling murder-mystery that'll have you on the edge of your seat from the New York Times-bestselling author April Henry, the author of the Point Last Seen series, Girl, Stolen, and The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die.
Olivia was only three years old when her mother was killed and everyone suspected her father of murder. But his whereabouts remained a mystery. Fast forward fourteen years. New evidence now proves Olivia's father was actually murdered on the same fateful day her mother…
I'm a full-time author and freelance editor from a small Canadian city, and I’ve always been fascinated by a good mystery—flipping through the pages, trying to guess who did or didn’t do it. Dark and gritty are my favorites, and the titles on this list do a good job of staying in that realm while still being very much YA. I hope you love them as much as I did!
In this book, Elliot is a boy whose best friend, Colton, was just murdered. Devastated by the discovery of Colton’s body, Elliot is even more concerned to find a note in his locker—from somebody claiming to be Colton’s killer.
This riveting mystery follows Elliot as he desperately finds the clues left by Colton’s alleged killer. But as he does so, he starts to think that maybe he didn’t know his best friend as well as he thought he did. Either way, Elliot is determined to find the truth.
SEVEN CLUES MEANS SEVEN STEPS CLOSER TO CATCHING A KILLER.
The most page turning thriller you'll read this year, perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying.
'I'll leave you with the first confession: I killed Colton Crest.'
When high school sports captain and honour student Colton Crest disappears, his small town is quick to jump to conclusions. But when he returns two months later, unharmed, the town breathes a sigh of relief - until days later, when his best friend, Elliot Parker, discovers Colton's body in a local lake.
"A haunting YA mystery. Touching on everything from police ineptitude and community solidarity to the endless frustration of being patronized as a young person, this paranormal thriller confidently combines timely and relatable themes within a page-turning storyline." - Self-Publishing Review
"Biel's writing is fast-paced and sharp!" - author Christy Wopat…
I'm a full-time author and freelance editor from a small Canadian city, and I’ve always been fascinated by a good mystery—flipping through the pages, trying to guess who did or didn’t do it. Dark and gritty are my favorites, and the titles on this list do a good job of staying in that realm while still being very much YA. I hope you love them as much as I did!
This is a dual-timeline murder mystery from a unique perspective. Without giving away too many spoilers, this story follows Clara, whose sister has been accused of murdering Griffin Tomlin—the “golden boy” who Clara once had a crush on.
There is a lot to unpack here, and the dual-timeline makes it a fascinating read; piece-by-piece, we slowly learn Clara’s past with Griffin leading up to the events of him being allegedly murdered by her sister. Why would Clara’s sister do such a thing? And was Griffin Tomlin really the “golden boy” he seemed to be? This story gets dark, and as a fair warning, sometimes graphic—but if that sounds like a good read for you, I’d definitely pick it up!
Sometimes the lies we’re told are nowhere near as deadly as the lies we tell ourselves . . .
Four months after the murder of golden-boy Griffin Tomlin, the entire town of Shiloh is still in shock. For Clara Porterfield, the world has crumbled into a million chaotic pieces.
At home, her sister awaits trial for Griffin’s murder, her mother obsessively digs in a dead garden, and her father lives in perpetual denial.
At school, Clara is haunted by her classmates’ morbid stares and the unspoken questions they are too afraid to ask.
My mother called me a “television junkie.” In graduate school, where TV was not yet considered a worthwhile scholarly endeavor, I became enthralled by Twin Peaks and Roseanne. Rebelliously, I thought both had so much to say about gender studies and theories of postmodernism. Absent of an official curriculum, I started reading and writing about television history, medium specificity, genre theory and seriality. I got my PhD and published articles on film, TV, and my book. Since 1992, I have developed several television studies courses for our small media studies department: Crime Drama, Reality TV, Gender and Genre on Television, Transmedia Adaptations, and Media Rituals.
I am a fan of Nordic noir, and whenever I am in the middle of a Norwegian, Danish, or Finnish series, I always want to know more about the local aspects that I am missing.
As one of the earliest books covering European crime dramas in English, the individual chapters helped me understand the genre’s appeal over other genres, what motivated the different cultural depictions of local and national tensions, and how this, in turn, impacted global distribution and reception of crime series.
On top of this, the intriguing case studies gave me new crime dramas to add to my ever-growing watchlist. A win-win.
This book is the first to focus on the role of European television crime drama on the international market. As a genre, the television crime drama has enjoyed a long and successful career, routinely serving as a prism from which to observe the local, national and even transnational issues that are prevalent in society. This extensive volume explores a wide range of countries, from the US to European countries such as Spain, Italy, the Scandinavian countries, Germany, England and Wales, in order to reveal the very currencies that are at work in the global production and circulation of the TV…
I love psychological thrillers because I have firsthand dealt with OCD and gaslighting. Therefore, I find the human mind fascinating, and how the line between sanity and insanity is changeable. I think as humans we want to feel safe and hence, we box things into categories but all these thrillers I have recommended force you to look outside of the boxes and they can be chillingly thought-provoking. I am obsessed with writing that gives the reader such graphic insight into a character’s thoughts and actions. If you want unputdownable books, these are the ones for you!
This book really influenced the direction I took with my own thriller writing. I remember not being able to put it down.
Julia Crouch is supremely talented at setting the happy family scene whilst bringing in an underlying threat that may bring the ‘perfect family’ to its knees. The joy of psychological thrillers like this one is the feeling of being a voyeur. You are invited into this deliciously idyllic life which slowly disintegrates in front of you. A must read!
A dark, juicy, deliciously unsettling, read-it-in-one-sitting psychological drama. Rose has it all - the gorgeous children, the husband, the beautiful home. But then her best friend Polly comes to stay. Very soon, Rose's cosy world starts to fall apart at the seams - her baby falls dangerously ill, her husband is distracted - is Polly behind it all? It appears that once you invite Polly into your home, it's very difficult to get her out again...
When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she can't remember her past, is getting the cold shoulder from her best friend, and has no idea why she keeps repeating the same mistakes across her previous lives. Elliot just wants to move on, but first, she'll be forced to…
Having spent most of my life in the Midwest, I know a little (or a lot) about growing up in a small-town environment. When I was younger, I was annoyed by all the things I now find charming about this genre of romance books. The nosy neighbor, the know-it-all jock, the downtrodden wallflower? Stereotypical but oh-so-real. I have written several series set in small towns and have come to love them all. It’s now my go-to genre when I want to sit and relax.
I think so many of us can relate to the day-to-day life of Charlie, a single mom just trying to make it one more week. Charlie is charming with the perfect level of quirky.
One of the things I love about small-town romance is how the community comes into play. I love that his book has an amazing balance of that as well as a steamy romance between Charlie and Reid.
I’m an author, but first and foremost I’m a reader. I’ve been voracious about it my entire life, but it wasn’t until just a few years back that I discovered the romance genre—which sucked me in immediately. After a few books I stumbled onto Ruby Dixon and it was over. Syfy and fantasy romance had their hooks in me. These recs are the books I re-read and the authors I follow because they are consistent in telling captivating stories, with rich worlds, and vibrant characters. Book hang-over guaranteed.
I love everything Bex McLynn writes. There is depth to her stories unparalleled in the genre, on top of that: nobody writes a hero like Bex. I still swoon just thinking about the book Bane. Rein is as deep and complex as her Syfy work, but in a world of werewolves and moon Gods.
The hunt no longer satisfied them. They wanted more.
Nikolas has sheathed his claws. After centuries of hunting and exterminating his own people—wolf shifters cursed with Madness—all he wants is oblivion. Fortunately, a relentless huntress has targeted him, and he gladly welcomes his end by her hand.
In truth, death has never looked so lovely.
Oliviana wants her revenge, yet immortal beings who know her deadly secret have waylaid her hunt. Forced to follow Nikolas into dangerous territory, she hears whispers about an end to Madness. A ‘too-little-too-late’ cure that hinges on Nikolas being alive and well—and mated.
I first volunteered overseas as a teenager. Driven by an insatiable desire to change the world, I helped to found a rural development organisation, PHASE, but found myself confronted with and paralysed by the complexities of the aid world. So as not to become jaded, I since shifted my focus to tackle what I believe to be the root causes of injustice in the world through global education, including researching and writing Learning Service: The Essential Guide to Volunteering Abroad. I now mainly work as a consultant to improve the ethical practices of volunteer organisations.
A comprehensive guide for potential volunteers wishing to make the world a better place. It includes first-hand stories, worksheets, and evaluative information about hundreds of volunteer organisations.
Written by veteran volunteers who are all founders of respected organizations, the book covers the whole process of volunteering, from how to decide if international volunteering is right for you, to choosing the right program, to what to do before and after you go abroad. It also covers the vital political and social contexts of people from the US volunteering abroad, and how to be aware of these factors to ensure you volunteer effectively.
A comprehensive guide for Americans who want to volunteer overseas provides case studies, worksheets, and helpful advice designed to help readers find the right program in various regions around the world, as well as a listing of more than one hundred volunteer organizations, financial guidelines, and tips on how to become an effective volunteer. Original.
Liveaboard sailor Cass Lynch thinks her big break has finally arrived when she blags her way into skippering a Viking longship for a Hollywood film. However, this means returning to the Shetland Islands, the place she fled as a teenager. When a corpse unexpectedly appears onboard the longship, she can…
For almost 20 years, I worked in public and private schools, first teaching with the Peace Corps in Niger and finally in a public high school in New Jersey. For a while, I didn’t feel I knew how to teach. I struggled to reach American teens. I thought they had attitude—and were nasty and lazy. I didn’t want to be in the classroom. But then matters turned around and I began to see how I could make a difference in their lives, enjoying the time I spent with them, and shaping them into decent, hardworking types. And, in the process, they all learned some French—and respected me.
This book gave me hope that I could teach with practical tips on how to engage students, keep a lesson going at a decent pace, and discipline teens.
I learned the benefits of praising students, setting high expectations, and having fun in class. It made me aware of the importance of education equity in America.
Teach Like a Champion offers effective teaching techniquesto help teachers, especially those in their first few years, becomechampions in the classroom. These powerful techniques are concrete,specific, and are easy to put into action the very next day.Training activities at the end of each chapter help the readerfurther their understanding through reflection and application ofthe ideas to their own practice. Among the techniques: * Technique #1: No Opt Out. How to move students from theblank stare or stubborn shrug to giving the right answer everytime. * Technique #35: Do It Again. When students fail tosuccessfully complete a basic task from entering…
