What happens when teen influencers and streamers famous for their social #content end up dead or the main suspect in a murder case? These timely, topical YA thrillers will keep readers guessing. 

Going Dark by Melissa De La Cruz. Union Square & Co. Jan. 2023. 336p. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9781454947646.
Gr 9 Up–Josh Reuter and his influencer girlfriend, Amelia Ashley, travel to Rome for vacation, but when only Josh returns home and Amelia’s busy social media goes dark, he is the prime suspect in her disappearance. Matters only become worse when the police find blood in Josh’s suitcase. Hacker Harper Delgado becomes involved, scouring the internet for digital breadcrumbs that might help solve the case. A mix of Gone Girl and true crime, this is a twisty plot that highlights the role race, media, and fame can play in solving a crime. Josh is white, but there are a number of characters of color. Chapters alternate among his perspective, Harper’s, and Amelia’s, while also jumping between past and present; even a ghost makes an appearance. The story is full of detail and nuance; however, the second half loses a bit of momentum as the mystery unravels. Despite this, there are creepy moments that will satisfy internet sleuths and thrill seekers. VERDICT Overall, this is a clever take that will please fans of the genre and de la Cruz’s books.–Kaitlin Malixi

Tag, You’re Dead by Kathryn Foxfield. Sourcebooks/Fire. Dec. 2023. 304p. pap. $11.99. ISBN 9781728278889.
Gr 9 Up–Super-famous teen streamer and influencer Anton organizes a massive, high-tech game of tag in London with a £100,000 prize. This fast-moving thriller rotates between the first-person perspectives of three handpicked contestants, each with a different reason for entering—Grayson plans to avenge ex-girlfriend Rose, one of Anton’s collaborator “Accomplices” who was found dead in his swimming pool; Charlotte, a massive Anton fan (she writes fanfiction under the username AntonsGirlXOXO) and stepsister of another Accomplice, wants to date him; and Erin, the daughter of an influencer, wants the prize money to escape the social media spotlight. Descriptions of the game are exhilarating as GPS-enabled wristbands randomly designate participants as runners and chasers and smart glasses enhance it all. But then the tech gets hacked, and an AI version of Rose takes over, saying she was murdered and revealing suspects one by one. This Rose forces a core group to play her warped game, abducting Anton to ensure cooperation, as what happened that fateful night she died is slowly unraveled, and readers learn more about each character and their motivations, including Charlotte’s stepbrother Matthew and his girlfriend Beatrix, Anton’s fiercely loyal younger sister. The characters are multi-layered and well-developed, and unhealthy relationships—familial, romantic, parasocial—abound. Overall, it’s creepy and mysterious in the best ways, as Foxfield propels the novel forward over the course of one night. VERDICT Truly unputdownable. Readers who enjoy books like Lauren Oliver’s Panic and anything by Karen M. McManus will devour this one.–Amanda Mastrull 

Only She Came Back by Margot Harrison. Little, Brown. Nov. 2023. 320p. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780316536080.
Gr 9 Up–Callum Massey, a 24-year-old YouTuber and survival guru, disappears in New Mexico, and his girlfriend, 18-year-old Kiri Dunsmore, walks out of the desert covered in his blood. The internet goes wild analyzing the couple’s videos and the content she posted after his disappearance, with the court of public opinion convinced that Kiri is a cold-blooded killer. Less convinced is aspiring true-crime podcaster Samara, who is obsessed with cases involving female killers and went to high school with Kiri in Vermont. Now working at a movie theater in Burlington, VT, and grappling with the aftermath of a breakup, Sam struggles to reconcile the glossy, erratic girl in the videos with the sweet, shy person she used to know. Determined to be the one to tell Kiri’s story, Sam insinuates herself into Kiri’s life—but as Kiri starts asking Sam for favors, Sam’s journalistic objectivity, and increasingly her safety, is compromised. Loosely modeled after the Gabby Petito case, this is a gripping, twisty mystery with strong thematic appeal for readers, exploring the pressures of social media fame, the ethics of true-crime reporting, topics of grooming and abusive relationships, and post-climate collapse survivalism. Transcripts of YouTube videos and entries from Kiri’s diary are interspersed with Sam’s first-person narration. All characters are cued white; Sam is ace/demi and romantically interested in women. VERDICT An addictive, spine-tingling mystery with an of-the-moment plot, this is a book to hand to fans of Tess Sharpe or Holly Jackson.–Elizabeth Giles

We’ll Never Tell by Wendy Heard. Little, Brown/Christy Ottaviano. May 2023. 320p. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780316482332.
Gr 9 Up–The popular YouTube channel We’ll Never Tell is a viral sensation. Friends Casey, Jacob, Eddie, and Zoe are the anonymous creators, trespassing into and filming some of LA’s most famous sites. As seniors ready to graduate, they decide to end their YouTube careers by visiting their most challenging venue—The Valentini “Murder House.” This mansion has been locked in time since the 1972 unsolved murder/suicide of a famous actress and her husband, Rosalinda and Andrew Valentini. The teens break into the mansion and start to film when the abandoned house’s alarm goes off. They run outside but discover they have left Jacob behind; inside the house, he has been stabbed in the same spot where Rosalinda was killed. They presume he is dead when they can’t find his pulse and they flee. The three friends seek to find out who stabbed their friend and if someone is protecting the Murder House legend. Heard’s quick-paced YA whodunit is sure to please teens who seek suspense. The Hollywood backdrop is intriguing. This character-driven novel keeps readers guessing as it twists and turns, and the characters try to solve the mysteries past and present. VERDICT A great fast-paced thriller that will keep YA readers guessing.–Nancy Hawkins 

Trespass Against Us by Leon Kemp. HarperTeen. Jul. 2024. 304p. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9780063324855.
Gr 10 Up–Two years ago, Riley and his friends Vee and Colton and Riley’s boyfriend Ethan embarked on what promised to be an excellent way to get content for their new Ghost Hawks YouTube channel—exploring the now-defunct Dominic Savio’s School for Troubled Youths, aka Dominic House, an old Catholic facility where a priest and five children disappeared years ago under mysterious circumstances. Tragedy struck again; Ethan disappeared into thin air in an event that left Riley with extensive burn scars on his face and arms. Now, famous ghost-hunting show host Jordan Jones has shown up with a lucrative offer: $25,000 each in return for revisiting the house to find out once and for all if something supernatural resides there. Backed into a corner, Riley agrees to the trip, only to come face to face again with the darkness that calls Dominic House home. But this time, he’s not leaving Ethan behind no matter what. Emotional revelations through dual time lines spur on an occasionally unevenly paced plot, and religious trauma creates the underpinnings of the horrors the group encounters on both trips to Dominic House. Sharply drawn characters are easily distinguished, and the story is propelled by their complex dynamic. VERDICT A searing and suspenseful debut.–Allie Stevens

Bad Like Us by Gabriella Lepore. ­Inkyard. Mar. 2024. 336p. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9781335453877.
Gr 9 Up–Nine teenagers spend part of spring break at the remote Oregon coast lodge owned by one teen’s uncle; the property is undergoing renovations, so they have the run of it. The book is alternately narrated by Eva and Colton, with interspersed content from text messages, police interviews, and transcripts of videos for social media, as well as flashback scenes. While starting out tense, with Eva hearing a scream near a dark cave, followed by a news article that an unnamed teenager was found dead and another was arrested, the book immediately jumps back to the start of the trip, making the first third more teen drama than mystery. Some may find the characters and their relationships hard to keep track of initially: Eva likes Colton, her friend Danny’s twin; Danny used to date influencer Piper, and now she’s dating Javier, but Danny might still like her. Still, readers will catch on and become invested in the happenings. The pace quickens when the narrative returns to the present, and readers are thrown into a whodunit where everyone seems to have secrets about that fateful night. Pages flow quickly in the second half, as tension builds with storms causing roadblocks, and the teens considering who among them is a murderer. Most characters cue white; Javier is Latinx, and Alice is Black. VERDICT Fans of Karen M. McManus will find much to enjoy here. Recommended for thriller/mystery collections.–Amanda Mastrull

There’s No Way I’d Die First by Lisa Springer. Delacorte. Sept. 2023. 304p. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780593643174.
Gr 10 Up–A gory, edge-of-your-seat, not-for-the-weak, slasher novel for teens. Noelle Layne is on the rise with her horror movie watch parties and social media presence. She’s a champion for Black representation in scary movies and is hoping that hosting the hottest Halloween party yet will give her career enough traction and attention to launch her podcast. With a guest list of the “who’s who” from her high school, she is ready to get on track to go to college to be a film critic. A carefully curated event in her vast home with her influencer friends, each with a different brand of expertise, starts to unravel when the scary clown Noelle hired murders one of her classmates. The jester is out for blood, yet none of the teens knows what his motives are. A high-speed night ensues where everyone is out to save themselves, especially Noelle, who has cracked the horror movie tropes and is doing everything she can to be the “final girl.” This novel is peppered with pop culture references, and each chapter starts with a line from an iconic scary movie. Noelle unpacks a lot of social justice issues as she tries to save herself and her friends from the deranged attacker. An honest conversation on class, privilege, and fame, this book will appeal to both horror addicts and scaredy cats. VERDICT A solid purchase for high school libraries, especially those where true crime and thrillers circulate well.–Carol Youssif 

Live Your Best Lie by Jessie Weaver. Hyperion/Melissa de la Cruz Studio. (Like Me Block You). Jan. 2023. 368p. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781368078368.
Gr 8 Up–Summer Cartwright’s life is picture-perfect on Instagram—a closet full of designer clothes, countless followers, even a memoir on the way. She’s living the ultimate influencer dream in her movie director parents’ upscale LA home. But then Summer is found dead at her own Halloween bash, and the police suspect murder. Someone starts posting from Summer’s account, implicating some of her closest friends and classmates from her fancy prep school. The main suspects are the four teens who found Summer’s body: Adam Mahmoud, the ex-boyfriend who recently dumped her; Grace Godwin, Summer’s purported best friend; Cora Pruitt, a sophomore who runs an intense Summer fan account; and Laney Miyamoto, a fellow junior who shared a room with Summer at international summer school. Each of them has secrets to hide, big ones—cheating, stalking, academic fraud, and more. The one person who knew all the secrets? Summer, of course. And they’re all about to be published in her tell-all memoir. Can the four discover who the real killer is before their deepest, most dangerous secrets have been spilled? In this thoroughly gripping mystery, readers are kept on the edge of their seats by a present-tense narrative with a shifting point of view, sprinkled with social media posts, text message exchanges, flashbacks, and a diverse cast of characters and suspects. Debut author Weaver clearly knows how to dole out clues and secrets at a perfect pace to keep readers hooked. While the ending thoroughly satisfies, more is promised to come in this continuing series. VERDICT A must-read for those who love well-crafted whodunits, true crime, and juicy secrets.–Darla Salva Cruz