Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Four unlikely allies in a small town investigate a local teen's disappearance, and what they discover festering at the core of their community is far more sinister and ancient than they could’ve ever imagined. For fans of She is a Haunting, True Detective, Mexican Gothic, and Midsommar.
Even though we’re deep into the summer months, I still like a good spooky gothic story. Whether it’s at the poolside or sitting beside a campfire, there’s nothing like a solid gothic young adult novel to enthrall you. You might be thinking, what makes a gothic story gothic? Well, great question!
Gothic fiction isn’t a genre, but a mood. Gothic fiction often falls into the horror, romance, or literary fiction genres–often with a combination of all three–it can include other genres like sci-fi as well. In gothic stories, the only real “requirement” in a loose sense of the term is a feeling or setting that brings a general sense of fear, unease, or terror. Some other common aspects according to the New York Public Library include an “oppressive, inescapable, and bleak landscape” and battles of humanity versus the unnatural.
If you’ve read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or Bram Stoker’s Dracula, you’ve read a gothic book. For some less obvious options, The Secret History by Donna Tartt is argued to have some gothic elements as does Riley Sager’s The Only One Left.
Now that you know what gothic fiction is, add some to your TBR with these six new gothic YA novels to haunt your shelves! They’re sure to chill you even in the warmest of climates.
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
Effy Sayre is the only woman in her cohort studying architecture at her university. She turns as she always has to a book called Angharad, written by the author Emrys Myrddin. When there’s an opportunity to redesign the Myrddin estate named Hiraeth Manor, she applies without a second thought.
Effy’s surprised when she’s chosen for the project but as soon she’s at the manor, she butts heads with a literature student who’s skeptical of Myrddin’s writing. As the students both dig deeper into the author’s legacy, the manor around them grows more and more unsettling.
Something Kindred by Ciera Burch
Soon-to-be high school senior Jericka’s plans for an easy summer are shattered when her mother takes her back to their hometown to help care for her ailing grandmother. While in the small Maryland town, Jericka works on her photography portfolio, struggling with finding a topic to focus on. That is, until she meets a new friend, Kat, who teaches Jericka about the town’s dark history and the echoes of ghost-like entities it leaves behind.
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
Sixteen-year-old Silas, an autistic transgender boy in 1883 England, is set to Braxton’s Sanitorium and Finishing School after refusing to enter into an arranged marriage. There, Silas and the other students encounter psychological and physical abuse in the name of preparing them to be better wives. Silas meets the ghosts of past students who beg for his help in exposing the school’s horrific history.
Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma
When orphaned Kidan finds out her sister’s been taken, she’s convinced the culprit is the vampire named Susenyos, tied to their family home. To find her sister and get revenge, Kidan must work her way into Uxlay University and live with Susenyos despite his every effort to make her give up. Her hatred for him, though, changes as a murder happens that’s eerily similar to her sister’s disappearance. Was it the vampire she’s now living beside or does she have to dig deeper into the vampire realm to find out what really happened?
She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
In exchange for the money she needs to go to college, Jade agrees to live with her estranged father for the summer in Vietnam. There, she and her little sister help their father with restoring a decaying house that he’s trying to turn into a bed and breakfast. But when strange noises, bug remnants, and other terrifying events occur, Jade isn’t so sure she’ll make it to college after all.
The Dark We Know by Wen-yi Lee
After her estranged father dies, Isa Chang begrudgingly returns to her hometown–a small mining community called Slater–for his funeral and to collect her inheritance. She doesn’t plan on staying long, especially since Slater is plagued by the deaths of young people, including two of Isa’s childhood friends. When her only remaining friend tells her their friends’ deaths were actually caused by a supernatural force, Isa’s compelled to find out more.
Hopefully one of these new gothic YA novels caught your eye! If you’re in the mood for more, check out these 50+ must read gothic novels or these gothic fiction sci-fi novels!
English (US) · 