Recently Shakirah Bourne revealed the title and cover of her new middle-grade horror book. Nightmare Island (Scholastic, May 16, 2023) is “a mysterious adventure that explores one of the most chilling tales in Caribbean mythology: the faceless douen children.” Where the Black Flowers Bloom (Clarion Books) by Ronald L. Smith—prolific author of several middle-grade horror mysteries and the Black Panther: The Young Prince trilogy—will release in January 2023. And YA readers will want to look out for these upcoming anthologies, Night of the Living Queers (Wednesday Books, 2023) edited by Shelly Page and Alex Brown, and The Black Girl Survives in This One (Flatiron Books, 2024) edited by Saracia J. Fennell and Desiree.
This list features 30 MG and YA tales of ghosts and ghouls, magic and mystery, witches and wolves, and so much more for maximum thrills and chills during the spooky season and, as always, throughout the year. Leave a comment on the list below and include any book you think should be on the list.
For young readers, see Tricks and Treats: 10 Picture Books for Halloween Reading.
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1. The Vanquishers
Kalynn Bayron | Bloomsbury Children’s Books | 2022 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
2. Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Hunting
Roseanne A. Brown | Rick Riordan Presents | 2022 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
3. The Girl in The Lake
India Hill Brown | Scholastic Press | 2022 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
4. A Comb of Wishes
Lisa Stringfellow | Quill Tree Books | 2022 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
5. Ophie’s Ghosts
Justina Ireland | Balzer + Bray | 2021 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
6. Maya and the Rising Dark (Bk 1 of 3)
Rena Barron | HMH BYR | 2020 | MG |Amazon | Bookshop
7. Hide and Seeker
Daka Hermon | Scholastic Press | 2020 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
8. Just South of Home
Karen Strong | Simon & Schuster BYR | 2019 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
9. The Forgotten Girl
India Hill Brown | Scholastic Press | 2019 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
10. The Jumbie God’s Revenge (The Jumbies, Bk. 3of 3)
Tracey Baptiste | Algonquin | 2019 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
11. The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away
Ronald L. Smith | MG | Clarion Books | 2019 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
12. Dragons in a Bag
Zetta Elliott | Random House BYR | 2018 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
13. Tiffany Donovan vs. the Poison Werewolves (Devils’ Pass)
Justina Ireland | Tyler Champion | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
14. Tiffany Donovan vs. the Cookie Elves of Destruction (Devils’ Pass)
Justina Ireland | Tyler Champion | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
15. Hoodoo
Ronald L. Smith | Clarion Books | 2015 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
16.*
17. The Getaway
Lamar Giles | Scholastic | 2022 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
18. The Weight of Blood
Tiffany D. Jackson | HarperCollins/Tegen | 2022 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
19. Almost There (A Twisted Tale)
Farrah Rochon | Disney-Hyperion | 2022 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
20. The Undead Truth of Us
Britney S. Lewis | Disney-Hyperion | 2022 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
21. The Witchery
S. Isabelle | Scholastic Press | 2022 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
22. This Wicked Fate (This Poison Heart, Bk. 2)
Kalynn Bayron | Bloomsbury YA | 2022 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
23. Burn Down, Rise Up
Vincent Tirado | Sourcebooks Fire | 2022 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
24. Within These Wicked Walls
Lauren Blackwood | Wednesday Books | 2021 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
25. Blood Like Magic (Bk. 1 of 2)
Liselle Sambury | Margaret K. McElderry | 2021 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
26. Artie and the Wolf Moon
Olivia Stephens | Graphic Universe | 2021 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
27. Bad Witch Burning
Jessica Lewis | Delacorte | 2021 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
28. The Taking of Jake Livingston
Ryan Douglass | Putnam | 2021 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
29. Reaper of Souls (Kingdom of Souls Bk. 2)
Rena Barron | HarperTeen | 2021 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
30. Dread Nation
Justina Ireland | Balzer + Bray | 2018 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
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*Although the cover image is still present for #16, House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson (Ace, 2022) was removed from the list because is not categorized as a YA book. BCBA apologizes for the error. (Edited on October 25, 2022)
