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Since Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, many young adult novels have focused on vampires along with some element of romance. Vampires used to be the stuff of horror, but in recent years they have been romanced nearly to death. Some authors are now focusing on other paranormal creatures to bring an element of originality to their tales. Whether it be zombies, faeries, curses, or dreamwalkers, the young adult genre has slowly become more diversified in its offerings of paranormal and horrifying fare.
This article gives a few suggestions of new, well-recieved novels in the young adult area that are a little different from the norm. If you are looking for books that are similar to Twilight, please try Five series to read after Twilight.
The Devouring by Simon Holt
Related Books: The Devouring #2 Soulstice (Sept. 1, 2009)
Genre: Young Adult Horror
About: Reggie Halloway is a dedicated horror junkie; from movies to books, she can't get enough. While working in an occult bookstore, she finds an old box of used books, and 'borrows' the old journal hidden inside. The journal tells of the Vours, black smoke-like beings that possess humans who cannot conquer their fear on the eve of the winter solstice known as Sorry Night. As a prank, Reggie and her friend Aaron attempt to summon the Vours, but things go horribly wrong when they possess her little brother Henry. Now Reggie face her own horrific fears as she battles the Vours for her brother's soul.
Related Books: Ink Exchange, Fragile Eternity, Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales (Manga)
Genre: Young Adult Faery Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
About: There are three rules that will keep you safe:
3. Don't stare at the invisible faeries
2. Don't speak to them
1. Don't ever attract their attention
But when the rules start breaking there is nowhere to run.
Aislinn has always seen faeries but has successfully hidden her Sight. But the rules that have always kept her safe from their cruelty are now letting her down. She is being stalked by two faeries, one as warm as the summer wind and the other as cold a winter gale. Keenan, the Summer King, has been searching for his Queen for nine centuries, bound tightly by the rules and rituals that govern his quest. The Winter Girl, Donia, is a victim of the faerie rules, consigned to role after she failed Keegan's test. They appear at Aislinn's high school as new students, with Keegan determined to court her, unaware that she can see through their magic.
As they cautiously figure each other out their greatest challenge will be to avoid Keegan's mother, the Winter Queen, who will lose her power when Keegan finds his mate- and she will do anything to prevent that from happening. Marr creates a gritty, magical world that will enchant her readers until the very end.
Need by Carrie Jones
Related Books: N/A
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal (Pixie, werewolves)
About: Zara's life is in flux. Her father left, her step-dad just died, and her mother is barely able to take care of herself, much less another person. When her mother sends her to live with her grandmother in a remote part of Maine, Zara's sure her life can't get much worse. Almost there, her car spins out and she's rescued by sexy werewolf Nick, and soon something's growing between her and classmate Ian. Though love might be in the air, danger is stalking Zara in the form of a pixie king. Pixies aren't the cute little sprites seen in movies. When the pixie kind is unmated for a period of time he begins to make horrifying demands- such as young human men, whom they will kill after using them for blood-hungry pleasures. Now it's up to Zara- will she sacrifice herself to this creepy vampire-like pixie or will she lode everything she has come to love?
Related Books: Wake, Fade, Gone (Feb. 2010)
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
About: Janie is getting really tired of falling into other people's dreams- especially the never-ending falling, sex-crazed, and naked-but-nobody-notices dreams. It wouldn't be so bad if she could confide in someone but who is going to believe a girl who claims she can see into dreams? Not wanting to be seen as a freak, Janie stays on the outskirts of her society- cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.
Everything is about to change when she falls into a dream where she's not just a voyeur, but a participant. The twisted psyche into which she falls causes nightmares unlike any she's ever known. Her life is about to change, and as she discovers more about herself, she discovers nightmares aren't just in dreams.
Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
Related Books: N/A
Genre: Paranormal, Mystery
About: Newly orphaned twins, Lia and Alice Milthrope, are enemies. Hours after their father's death a strange mark appears on Lia's arm. The mythical Jorgumand- a snake eating it's tail- signals the beginning of the Prophecy of the Sisters. This curse has affected centuries of sisters, pitting one against the other as the Guardian and the Gate. One good, one evil, one will prevent Souls from entering the world, and the other will bring about the end of the world. What the girls don't know is whose role is whose. Set in 1800's upstate New York, this dark tale combines otherwordly elements and deep psychological underpinnings.
Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Related Books: The Dead-Tossed Waves (Spring 2010), #3 (Spring 2011)
Genre: Post-Apocalypse, Horror, Paranormal (zombies)
About: Mary's world consists of two types of people: the people who live with her in the village and the ones outside the village fence- undead creatures who prey upon the flesh of the living. Set seven generation after an undead plague known as the Return, civilization is no longer recognizable. The world has narrowed to the space behind the fence, and the government is ruled by a religious sect known as the Sisterhood. Everything in the village, life, marriages, and births, is controlled by the Sisterhood in order to maintain the village's precarious existence, but people are beginning to forget. Some no longer believe that there is danger on the other side of the fence. Suddenly the walls are breached and Mary and her friends venture forth into the forest of hands and teeth to find the safety they have never known.
Ryan successfully combines the creepy horror essential to every zombie novel with a teen-angst romance. Emotion counters the sometimes gruesome descriptions, leaving the reader waiting breathlessly for the sequel.
For more information about the genres listed in this article please go to Books 101: Genres- What are they and why you should care.
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