By Caitlin Taylor So
As we head into October, you might be itching for a thrill. Here at Uncharted, we’ve got you covered. After you read these five YA psychological thrillers, you might want to hide under your covers…
- Truly, Devious by Maureen Johnson
Welcome to Ellingham Academy, a private school in Vermont founded by tycoon Albert Ellingham for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists of a generation.
Soon after the academy opened its doors, Ellingham’s wife and child were kidnapped. The only clue left on scene? A mocking riddle listing different methods of murder, signed “Truly, Devious.”
Stevie Bell, a true-crime aficionado and incoming Ellingham Academy student, is determined to solve this historic cold case. That’s when, of course, something huge complicates her plans. Truly, Devious has returned, finding their next victim at the Academy.
- One Killer Problem by Justine Pucella Winans
Be gay…solve crimes? Gianna “Gigi’ Ricci and her friends receive a mysterious email during detention that leads them straight to Mr. Ford, her math and favorite teacher, lying in a pool of blood.
What happened? Gigi and her friends are determined to find out. Who knew surviving your junior year of high school could be so difficult?
- House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
Iris Hollow has always considered herself to be strange, largely due to an event that happened to her and her two older sisters, but no one can remember what. The only evidence that something happened is a shared identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats.
When Iris’s eldest sister, Grey, goes missing, strange is about to get much stranger. If there’s any hope in finding her sister, Iris must uncover the mystery of what happened to them as children and the secrets her sister may have been hiding.
- Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson
Things start to look great for Enchanted Jones when she’s noticed at an audition by none other than legendary R&B artist Korey Fields. That is until…she wakes up with literal blood on her hands and no memory of the previous night.
Korey Fields is dead…and all signs are pointing to Enchanted.
- Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell
Mara Racette has moved back to the Blackfeet Reservation and feels a bit out of place for spending some time away. When a local girl includes her in a Blackfeet giveaway to honor her missing sister, Mara welcomes it as a chance to make friends.
At the giveaway, Samantha White Tail is murdered.
There are four suspects, including Mara who hated Samantha.
Loren Arnoux was Samantha’s best friend until her sister’s disappearance drove a wedge between them.
Brody Clark is loud about his unreciprocated crush on Samantha.
Eli First Kill has a problematic history with Samantha.
The four must figure out the truth to clear their names while one of them may very well be the murderer.
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Born and raised in Queens, Caitlin Taylor So is a Chinese-Vietnamese writer who is passionate about prioritizing and amplifying marginalized voices. She graduated from Emerson College with a degree in publishing and marketing. Her writing can be found on Business Insider, PopSugar, WebMD, The New Absurdist, and Her Campus Media.