Leah Rachel von Essen reviews genre-bending fiction for Booklist, and writes regularly as a senior contributor at Book Riot. Her blog While Reading and Walking has over 10,000 dedicated followers over several social media outlets, including Instagram. She writes passionately about books in translation, chronic illness and bias in healthcare, queer books, twisty SFF, and magical realism and folklore. She was one of a select few bookstagrammers named to NewCity’s Chicago Lit50 in 2022. She is an avid traveler, a passionate fan of women’s basketball and soccer, and a lifelong learner. Twitter: @reading_while
Random House and Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez
When Ingrid accepts an unexpected invitation from Mayra, her childhood best friend, for a weekend getaway in the Everglades, old tensions resurface. As Ingrid navigates the treacherous swamp surrounding them and the mysterious house where they’re staying, the presence of Mayra’s strange new boyfriend amplifies the tension. In this surreal setting, Gonzalez explores the intoxicating pull of early friendship and the lengths we’ll go to for love and acceptance, even at the risk of losing ourselves.
Friendships can be the biggest blessings…and the gnarliest heartbreaks. We’ve all had one: a friendship that twisted and curled its way into being toxic. Sometimes it ends in fireworks, and honestly, that’s probably for the best. Because the alternative is drawn-out, tense. Excuses are made. Stomachs sink. Plans are canceled (or worse, dreaded, and then pushed through). I’ve been there, in a friendship that strung on past when one of us had clearly left the other behind, but still trying, still pushing.
All of these novels center on toxic friendships. Some of these people feign enthusiasm, scorning the other person in their thoughts even as they hug them hello. Others feed into each other’s worst impulses, playing off one another until both are mired in something impossible to get out of. Some of these friendships implode, while others reconcile. Teenage cliques lash out, competition (for a boy, a career, a spotlight) takes its toll, and things turn ugly, angry, and sometimes, sexy (and sometimes very, very violent). Explore all of those possibilities in these eight books about (mostly female) twisted friendships.
Wahala by Nikki May
Have you ever been in one of those fun situations where someone is trying to break apart your friend group to have you, or them, all to themselves? I hope you haven’t…but if you have, this book will be relatable. Ronke, Boo, and Simi are all going through their own nonsense—Ronke, hoping Kayode is finally the man who works out; Boo, the overworked mom; and Simi, with her international and fashionable life. But when Isobel walks in, she seems determined to dig out all the little nits and nibbles they’ve been keeping from each other…so she can have each one all to herself.
Real World by Natsuo Kirino, translated by Philip Gabriel
Four painfully realistic teen girls—bookish Terauchi, dependable Toshi, troubled Yuzan, and secretive Kirarin—are close friends, or at least think they are. But then someone finds Toshi’s neighbor brutally murdered, and the four girls put their brains together and decide it must be the neighbor’s son, a local boy they call Worm, who steals Toshi’s cell phone and bike and runs. The four girls are thrown into a whirl of ambition, fear, and unexpected desire, pursuing Worm through the city and finding out they don’t know each other, or themselves, quite as well as they thought they did.
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
Our unnamed narrator was supposed to be the rising star of the piano world. But after her parents have a terrible accident, her life is shaken, and she finds herself in New York City—where she’s chosen for a role at Holistik, a beauty and wellness brand unlike any other. There, she meets Helen, who pulls her further into Holistik’s strange, privileged world, making her feel special. But in this literary fiction book that veers into horror, the hollow, dark center of the wellness industry is exposed, and it’s equal parts satiric and horrifying.
The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles
Graça is the spoiled daughter of the owner of a sugar plantation; Dores works in their kitchens. But they both want to become famous samba performers, and the two of them steal away with their common goal, with Graça’s voice and Dores’s lyrics. Once in Lapa in Rio de Janeiro, the gap between them becomes clear. Dores can fight to protect Graça and write lyrics for her to sing, but only Graça will ever become a star, and the spotlight is only so big. The dynamic between the two friends and their common dream is both timeless and deeply relatable, and the historical fiction of samba in Brazil is rich and exciting.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Does it get more toxic than this? June Hayward has been jealous of Athena Liu for as long as she can remember. June is grinding, trying to succeed, as Athena seems to float into her success. So on the night Athena dies, and June’s in her apartment, she makes a…dubious decision. She takes Athena’s unfinished manuscript, and in her grief (of sorts), she works on it. And finishes it. And…publishes it? June’s increasingly unhinged behavior is painfully realistic, rooted in real-world discussions of #ownvoices, the perfectionism we demand of public figures nowadays, and much, much more.
I’m Not Done with You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Jane and Thalia were the best of friends in college. Now, years later, Jane finds herself yearning for what they had at Oxford, wishing that they weren’t broken apart, Thalia ghosting her and disappearing out into the world. Jane never knew what happened to her dear friend—until one day, she looks down at The New York Times, and sees that Thalia has written a bestseller, a thrilling book that may or may not be about them. This time, Jane knows that she has to grab on tight to her and Thalia’s friendship. And never, ever let go.
Why I Killed My Best Friend by Amanda Michalopoulou, translated by Karen Emmerich
Maria is saved by the arrival of Anna at her school. Maria is foreign, new in town, but so is Anna, and the two of them bond instantly, becoming best friends and fierce competitors. For everything. Fast forward decades, and Maria is a teacher; when a wild child arrives in her class, she recognizes the face instantly. Her best friend is back, and she’s brought old traumas with her. This book, about one friend who always takes, takes, takes, and the friend who can’t quite let go of what they have, tells a simmering story about power.
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
A group of friends is all studying hard at an intense, rigorous Shakespeare conservatory. Getting roles each semester is cut-throat, the productions are charged with real-life tensions, and every last one of them wants to be the lead. But eventually, one of them ends up dead, and years later, detective Colborne and Oliver rehash events to unpack who really committed the act of violence. The entire novel is entrancing and suspenseful, from the drama of the unsolved crime to the ultra-competitive theater kid world, to the push and pull of the friends’ relationships.
Want more twisty, turny dramas? Check out our list of eight influencer thrillers, our list of Japanese mysteries and thrillers, or our list of eight epic crime novels by authors of color or indigenous descent!
English (US) · 