Chills & Thrills
The CBC selects a theme to spotlight in each month’s Hot Off the Press list, helping parents, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and children’s book enthusiasts discover standout new titles from our member publishers.
This January’s Hot Off the Press list serves up a quartet of chilling reads for older middle-grade and teen readers. Each story is packed with suspense, shadowy secrets, and twists that keep readers on edge. From creeping mysteries to psychological thrills, these books deliver sophisticated scares that linger. Perfect for anyone ready to dive into dark, gripping storytelling.
Children of the Night, by Victoria Setian; illustrated by Savanna Ganucheau (Abrams Books / Abrams Fanfare) — Horror, Mystery / Thriller, Romance, Friendships, Teen.
A thrilling, spine-chilling YA graphic novel from debut author Victoria Setian and Bloom artist Savanna Ganucheau—a modern spin on the classic horror novel Dracula.
Mina Murray is followed by death—at least, that’s the rumor in her small town of New Whitby. An aspiring photojournalist, she has a knack for finding herself in unsettling situations to find interesting shots, like on the deck of the recently crashed boat, the Demeter.
While exploring the wreckage, Mina comes across large cases of dirt and debris—and the decaying body of the ship’s captain.
Intrigued by the ghastly scene, Mina tries to unearth more information about the abandoned ship, the captain, and the missing crew. Instead, she finds herself roped into her high school’s newspaper club covering the big school dance her BFF, Lucy, is coordinating. It’s a major bummer, but all might not be too bad if it gets her closer to Jon, her crush and guitarist for the local punk band the Romeros.
But instead of catching Jon’s eye, Mina enters the orbit of Raf, the brooding (and frankly, hot) transfer student who has everyone under his thrall. As Raf’s popularity grows and the dance draws near, sinister events begin to shake the core of the school: The head of the newspaper club gains an unseemly appetite for flies. Jon is getting close to Raf.
And Lucy falls ill . . . with strange puncture wounds on her neck. Mina starts to suspect that the new student is hiding a dark and terrible secret . . . but will she be able to figure it out before it’s too late?
The Claiming (The Last Resort 2), by Jasmine Warga (Scholastic / Scholastic Press) — Mystery / Thriller, Fantasy, Friendships, Action / Adventure, ages 7-12.
For the first time, Teddy is actually excited for the school year to start. His new neighbors, Lila and Caleb, are transferring to his school, which means he’ll finally have real friends! But Teddy has a secret he’s desperate to protect — one that explains why none of his classmates have spoken to him in years…
And that’s not all. Despite having sent the fire maiden back through the portal, strange things keep happening at the Castle Hill Inn. Teddy’s nightmares are back in a big way, and after getting stuck in the portal herself, Lila seems to be… flickering?! Almost as if something, or someone, is trying to summon her from our world into the next.
Teddy will do anything to protect his friends, but he’s terrified of repeating the worst mistake of his life. Yet Teddy might be the key to uncovering the fire maiden’s evil plans, and in order to stop her, he’ll have to face his greatest fears — the ones he’s spent his whole life running from.
Enter the world of The Last Resort! Talk to ghosts that come to life and help solve the mystery!
I, in the Shadows, by Tori Bovalino (Page Street Publishing Co. / Page Street YA) — Horror, LGBTQIA+, Death / Grief / Loss, Friendships, Teen.
Maybe this is possession; maybe this is truly what it is to be haunted.
There’s a ghost haunting Drew Tarpin’s new room. Liam Orville has been dead for ten months and has no idea how to move on. But the longer he stays, the more likely it is he’ll degrade into an energy consuming husk—which Drew is more concerned about than her grades or her inability to make meaningful connections with other students.
Drew is everything Liam never was when he was alive, but they do share some common ground: Drew finds herself hopelessly attracted to—and completely tongue-tied around—Hannah Sullivan, who happens to be Liam’s former best friend.
After a run-in with a ghost-eating monster leaves Drew and Liam desperate for answers, they strike up a deal: In return for Drew investigating why Liam is still around, he’ll help her talk to Hannah. But Liam’s time is running out, and if Drew doesn’t help him move on, he risks becoming a monster himself.
It Lurks in the Night, by Sarah Dass (Disney Publishing / Hyperion) — Folklore / Fairytales / Myths, Mystery / Thriller, Places / Travel, Cultural Diversity, Teen.
From the author of It Waits in the Forest comes Sarah Dass’s next stand-alone supernatural thriller—a lush and evocative tale of the rot that grows at the heart of even the most beautiful places. Perfect for fans of Angeline Boulley and Tiffany D. Jackson!
All Maya Woods wants is to reunite her three best friends, Pearl, Erica, and Lystra, for one last epic boat trip to the islands around their Caribbean home before they all graduate from high school. But the girls are forced to make an emergency landing on Annatto—an island avoided by locals and tourists alike because of the rumors of monsters and shadows that lurk in its depths—and their yearly tradition descends into darkness as Erica turns up dead and the girls are forced to leave her body behind.
Their tight-knit community is sent into a spiral of grief and suspicion, and Maya and her friends are at a loss to understand what happened: was it simply an accident, or is there truth to the rumors about Annatto?
And while the community rejoices when Erica mysteriously returns alive and well a week later, Maya can’t seem to let go of her questions. What did they see that night? And who—or what—has Erica returned as? As old arguments and new betrayals rise to the surface, Maya and her friends can feel the shadows closing in on them. Something is lurking in the night, and they must be ready to face it.
Drawing from the darkest corners of Caribbean mythology, acclaimed author Sarah Dass delivers a supernatural thriller that blends cultural nuance with monsters that go bump in the night, giving long-time Rick Riordan Presents fans the kind of story that will root into their hearts and awaken their deepest fears.
For more great book suggestions, be sure to check out the full January Hot Off the Press list!
List compiled by CBC’s resident children’s book aficionado, Brooke Pisarsky. Check out other Hot Off the Press Spotlight booklists on our blog.
